The next day was bright and clear, unfortunately I wasn’t. Despite more than twelve hours of sleep I was still somewhat vague and fuzzy. Still I was in much better shape than yesterday which was good as I was due to meet work colleagues for lunch. For the morning though I decided to go back and take a non-delirious look at Hyde Park.
I trotted back up various streets that all seemed to be named Grosvenor until I reached the park and headed for the Serpentine. As I approached the lake I was greeted by signs forbidding off leash dogs and feeding the birds. I pushed past a bunch of off leash dogs and made my way to where a group of people were feeding the birds.
This did allow me to take photos of swans, geese and other less easily identifiable birds that had gathered for an illicit feast. According to the signs the rationale behind not feeding the birds was due to the danger of bird flu being transmitted if the birds all congregated together. So presumably I may be one of the last people to see any birds at all in Hyde Park.
Have you ever seen a swan’s feet? They are huge. The rest of the swan is a decent size as well of course but their feet are amazing. However there is only a certain amount of entertainment value to be gained from looking at swan feet and after a decent interval I headed on down the lake.
What I was really hoping for was the opportunity to photograph a squirrel. I had seen a couple the previous day but my mental state had not been up to the challenge of coordinating a camera. Along the way I paused for what could possibly be the most revolting cup of coffee I have ever drunk.
By now my journey down the Serpentine had reached the boundary with Kensington Gardens and I abandoned the water briefly to get past a bridge. On my way back to the waterside a squirrel obligingly stepped out from some bushes and posed for photos. It did this so blatantly that I couldn’t help suspecting it was paid a retainer by the park authorities for doing this in front of keen but lazy tourists.
I took many photos of the obliging squirrel and then headed back to my hotel. The clear day of an hour or so ago had degenerated into grey skies and drizzle.
I walked through Kensington on my way back, at least I did if all of the signs saying Kensington were anything to go by. Having gained a, probably unwarranted, measure of confidence I didn’t just retrace my steps but wandered through Belgravia checking out the embassies. The Turkish embassy had armed police at the door and the Italian embassy looked a little shabby (insofar as a large elegant building in Belgravia can look shabby). I took a photo of the Luxembourg embassy but didn’t push my luck by trying the same with the Turkish one. By the time I got back to my hotel there was barely time to come down from my squirrel induced high and prepare for lunch.
My employers have their London offices in a modest but elegant building in Monument. By a brilliant piece of organisation my hotel sat on the same tube line and I caught a train virtually door to door.
I got off at Monument station and the first thing I saw was the eponymous monument. It is huge. In fact it is so huge that the best vantage point to see it from would probably be about a quarter of a mile away if it wasn’t for the fact that you’d have to demolish a decent chunk of London to do so.
The monument commemorates the Great Fire of London (presumably the victims and not the fire itself) and was apparently designed with input from Sir Christopher Wren. Having almost dislocated my neck trying to see the top I wandered about thirty seconds down the street and met my London colleagues.
A pleasant pub lunch was had marred only by the fact that my brain was disintegrating almost visibly. By the time it came to say goodbye I was in a similar zombified state as the previous day. Conner, one of my colleagues, suggested I walk back to my hotel along the river bank as getting sunshine is a good way to deal with jet lag. I wasn’t sure at this point if I could make it back to the tube station so I thanked him for the suggestion and declined.
And then I did it anyway. At least I wound up wandering alongside the Thames and I presume that was the reason. I didn’t make it back to my hotel. I got as far as the Temple and turned inland through the grounds. The buildings were impressive, the gardens well tended but my overwhelming impression was “what the hell is this place?” I think it has something to do with lawyers.
The sunshine that was supposed to be curing my jet lag was obscured by all the clouds and rain so I fled to my room for the remainder of the day.
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