Sloane Square and the Royal Hospital

Sloane Square & Royal Hospital

Last weekend we decided to take a walking tour close to home. We set out from our apartment and took the bus to Sloane Square. We walked along and looked at several little shops that line the street. Then we made our way to the Royal Hospital, which is like a veterans home for retired soldiers. However, it's not like any veterans home that we have in the U.S. The men we met were characters, and they are a very big part of this community. They still have uniforms that they wear, so they are easily recognizable when they are out and about. The men that live there all consider themselves to be "ambassadors" of the Royal Hospital. They were all very helpful, and they LOVED to talk to us. Michael and I weren't sure we'd ever be able to get away! It was very beautiful, though and we enjoyed seeing it. We took some pictures of the grounds, the great hall and the chapel.

After leaving the Royal Hospital we made our way home. We passed St. Luke's on our way and I was able to get a nice picture of that as well. We were starting to get tired and hungry after all of the walking we had done, so we didn't go inside. We did take a quick detour through the gardens next to the church. It was a great opportunity to watch people.

The album also includes picture that we took around Sloane Square: a cool window display made with postage stamps, a giant chess board, an outdoor market. The outdoor markets are the thing to do on the weekend. They are everywhere and there are always a ton of people around. We also took pictures of a cool map we found set into the concrete that shows the road from Chelsea to Buckingham Palace.

We leave for Paris early Friday morning and we'll be gone until late Sunday night. Monday is a holiday here, so at least Michael will have a day to recover before he has to go back to work. I can't wait to tell you all about it once we get home. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy these pictures.

(To our mothers: Please take note of the fact that we made sure to include pictures of us in this album. As much as we might dislike the idea, we knew that you would appreciate getting to see the kids!)