We were treated to a truly beautiful week here in London. The sun has been shining bright and the weather has the feel of Spring in it. I am ready for warmer weather and flip flops! Josh and I had a busy and full week.
I had a meet up (love meetup.com!) with a five ladies from the Islington area. We had dinner at The Diner, a 50's American style restaurant. I am amazed by the women I have been meeting here, many of them have moved to London on their own. I'm not sure I would have ever had the guts to move to a foreign country by myself!
Josh and I had lunch with one of Josh's coworkers, Manilla, on Friday. She is an Expedia employee from Texas who moved here in January. It was nice to talk to someone from America! She actually has dual citizenship in America and Italy, because her parents are Italian. We had a nice conversation and I'm sure we will see her again soon.
On Friday night, Josh and I met up with a guy named James at a pub in Islington. He is the friend of a friend from Healthmedx (Josh's old employer). He has been helpful with London information and suggestions. He introduced us to a few of his friends and we enjoyed talking with them.
Saturday started out wet and dreary, but Josh and I were determined to rent some "Boris Bikes". The bikes are a huge system across London that offer cheap alternatives to bus or tube transport. Plus it is just a fun way to see London! Luckily for us, by the time our bikes were rented, the sun was shining bright. It turned out to be a beautiful day.
 |
| Josh on a Boris (Barclay) Bike |
I admit, it is a tiny bit scary to ride a bike on the streets of London. There were a few times that we ended up just walking them along the sidewalks because the intersections were so busy. But drivers in London are pretty used to cyclists, so all in all, it was a pretty good experience. Following the rules of the road was a little difficult too. We had to ride on the left side and navigating the one way streets to finally reach a destination, it was interesting!
 |
| St. Pancras Station |
Our first destination was Primrose Hill near Regents Park. On the way there we stopped to take a few pictures of St. Pancras Station.
 |
| St. Pancras Station |
It is a beautiful Victorian era building that houses a hotel and a large train station. The front appeared on the Harry Potter movies, as a substitute for Kings Cross Station (which isn't as impressive). Kings Cross is the location of Platform 9 3/4th from the movie.
 |
| London Zoo |
As we continued to ride towards Primrose Hill, we came across the London Zoo location. It looked like a fun time, but at 20 pounds per person, we passed! We did get a pretty good look at the Giraffe enclosure...
 |
| Giraffe's at London Zoo |
 |
| Josh and I on bridge over canal. |
 |
| Canal between Regent's Park and Primrose Hill |
Primrose Hill is north of Regent's Park and offers a fantastic view of London. Josh and I were a little skeptical when we first heard of the hill. There are not many hills in London and we really didn't think it would be tall enough to afford such a view. But we were pleasantly surprised!
 |
| View of London from Primrose Hill |
|
 |
| London |
 |
| See the London Eye? |
 |
| Josh and I on Primrose Hill |
|
|
After we explored Primrose Hill, we headed back down to Regent's Park to walk through Queen Mary's gardens. London really does parks well. They have fabulous landscaping and are really people friendly. I love to watch the dogs running around catching balls and sticks. There are children playing, runner, walkers, picnics and football and rugby games going on. It was great to soak in the sun, take in the views and have a leisurely stroll.
 |
| Rose garden...should be pretty in a few months! |
 |
| Josh in Queen Mary's garden. |
 |
| Regent's Park |
 |
| Regent's Park |
 |
| Baby ducks! |
How cute are these baby ducks! Spring must really be here! They reminded Josh and I of our chicks when we first got them last year. So stinking cute!
 |
| Little ducklings :) |
 |
| The first flowers of Spring. |
 |
| Regent's Park |
 |
| Regent's Park |
|
After leaving the park, Josh and went in search for a bite to eat and ended up having a little picnic outside. It was wonderful to be out in the sun! We came across this street sign...
 |
| Harley Street! |
We miss out little dog Harley. It was fun to find a little reminder of him while out and about. Josh and I headed towards a travel convention where we got some information for future trips. And then, of course, we ended the day at a pub, enjoying a pint of ale.
 |
| Josh and his beer. |
This next week, Josh and I are taking a rock climbing class. Wish me luck, I'm a little afraid of heights!
Cheers! Rachel
5 comments:
Regent's Park? I've read a lot about this park in my books. Just how old is this park. It looked beautiful! Rock climbing? Well have fun with that one. Those walls appear straight up to me. The Sun ( something we've seen little of ) sounds good. And just where we're your helmets on those bikes? Great blog! You make it so interesting. Love you, Mama D.
Hey Grandma!
The park opened to the general public in 1835. No helmets for the bikes...the city should provide them with the bike rentals!
Oh Rach, your pictures are beautiful, looked like a very nice time, I would love to rent bikes when we come and do the same route, are you keeping track of everything I want to do? What was the temp on this day? Now this Islington ladies group, what is their purpose? Newcomers getting to know each other? So did you go back to the Book Club? You are doing good getting yourself out there, proud of you. You will do good at the rock climbing, just don't look down, always up! Love ya, love your blog, dad does too.
I'll make sure you get to do all the fun stuff when you get here mom. The temp was about 58*. The Islington group is just a group for women in the Islington area who want to meet other ladies from the area. Book club isn't for another couple weeks (only once a month). Thanks mom! Love you too!
Good luck with your rock climbing Rach! Hopefully, it will go better than our experience at Chesterfield! Just dont look down! Love you and miss you!
Love,
Amanda
Post a Comment