Regent's Park

Prior to going to bed on Friday night, Jason and I agreed to go running in a park that is a few blocks away called Regent's Park first thing in the morning.  He mentioned it was really pretty and that it had some nice flowers yada, yada, yada... sounded like every other park in London so I really didn't expect much. 

Well it turns out that the park was originally built to surround a palace for the Prince Regent so the grounds are impeccable.  According to sources the palace never materialized so they turned it into a regular park for the public to enjoy.  The outskirts of the park are normal greens with large bushy trees.  There are squirrel playing like they were little cats and dogs running from tree to tree or just playing "your it" with another squirrel all within arms length.  They are as common as seeing a bird and they will come if you call them.

 

Jason and I began the day walking through the park holding hands as I was in awe.  The flowers are so vibrant and well manicured.  It was truly breathtaking.  After an hour of walking around we noticed the park had a section that was a dog park so we watched the dogs run and play.  If we were to walk further we would have hit the zoo which is right next door to the park but we weren't prepared for that.  There is a place for coffee and the whole nine and if you want to bring your family for lunch there is a local eatery to enjoy. 

 

Since its Saturday I set myself to go out into the ministry (as it my routine) so being in London should not change that.  I set out with coffee and my Bible on my way with my hand held directions to find the local Kingdom Hall which meets at 10am here.  As I got to the Euston station (where the train leaves) I saw a big disappointing sign that said closed due to construction(they were working on the subway) and since this hall is just under an hour away and these were the only instructions I know- I was unable to make it to service.  (very disappointing for me) I headed back home, and as I was walking I saw a nice little hair shop and decided to pop in for a wash and blow dry.  Hair appliances from the US don't work here (even with a converter or adapter) so my hair had since gone to its natural curly state.  About an hour later I was walking out feeling much better and cuter.  I went home to show Jason my new hair style since he was home resting and re cooperating from his long week of school, papers, and homework assignments.  We got dressed and ready (since it was about noon) and went out to Piccadilly Circus since they have many options for food and fun shopping. 

 Food was very interesting because there are many options to choose from here in London so I settled on something I had never settled on (Lebanese food) and picked up something that was so good that once I ate my food I literally turned around and went back for seconds.  I tried their chicken pastry and Jason tried a Shawarma which is marinated meat (either chicken or lamb) that is skewered on big rods and cooked slowly, then shaved and placed in a 10 inch pita roll with pickles, tomatoes. We walked around and found a local Gap got some jeans then came home.

Once we got home Jason was pretty tired so he wanted to crash.  Generally I sleep and rest when I see fit I usually am a big ball of energy.  When he went to sleep I went back to Regents park to enjoy it.  I grabbed my new FedEx blanket (that I won .. little plug for FedEx) and carried my book pillow and snacks and literally sat in the park listening  to my book until it was almost 8pm.

 Since it was Saturday it was safe since the park was completely full of people.  The sun doesn't go down here until after 9pm so it was so nice.  I then went to grab my Watchtower went to McDonald's to grab a latte and sat there studying for another 2 hours.  It was 10pm and (really very late) so I high tailed it home and read my book until I crashed.  It was a very memorable day.  Never have I had so much alone time to enjoy and think about things in such a wonderful scenic environment at that.  Had to be one of my best days so far.