somewhere there must be a list of the great parks of the world. and somewhere near the top of that list must be hyde park. from the sinuous curve of the serpentine to the duck-feeding madness of round pond, this park is simply superb. (i'm writing this on a park bench overlooking the italian fountains at the top of the serpentine, having just gotten up from a lazy nap in the sun on one of the lawns.)
during my return to london, i also had the chance to stop by the london branch of trader vic's and enjoy a suffering bastard at trader vics while waiting for my crab rangoon. nothing like an occasional taste of home, and this also was an opportunity to visit another trader vic's in my quest to visit every trader vic's in the world.
i'm staying in a different flat than last time -- instead of the more dynamic neighborhood of streatham, i'm in the rather gentrified yet fairly hip neighborhood of islington just off upper street. my host is a venture capitalist with an amazingly redecorated flat who somehow doesn't mind having me take up space on his sofa for a week, so i've also been exploring the many restaurants, bars, and other locations in the neighborhood with him and his friends.
it's been great to return to london -- with my oyster card firmly in hand, i now finally have the chance to visit many local sights that i hadn't seen before, such as riding the massive ferris wheel that is the london eye, attending an evensong service at westminster abbey and hearing the the choir's voices echo off off of the magnificent vaulted ceiling, roaming through the dinosaur skeletons at the natural history museum (some of which were discovered at the gobi desert locations i'd been to in mongolia!), and seeing the treasures of egypt and mesopotamia at the british museum. in addition, my "regular" bar in the depths of soho welcomed me back with open arms, and it wasn't long before i was deep in conversation with my friends there and throwing down pints of london pride once more.
during my return to london, i also had the chance to stop by the london branch of trader vic's and enjoy a suffering bastard at trader vics while waiting for my crab rangoon. nothing like an occasional taste of home, and this also was an opportunity to visit another trader vic's in my quest to visit every trader vic's in the world.
i'm staying in a different flat than last time -- instead of the more dynamic neighborhood of streatham, i'm in the rather gentrified yet fairly hip neighborhood of islington just off upper street. my host is a venture capitalist with an amazingly redecorated flat who somehow doesn't mind having me take up space on his sofa for a week, so i've also been exploring the many restaurants, bars, and other locations in the neighborhood with him and his friends.
it's been great to return to london -- with my oyster card firmly in hand, i now finally have the chance to visit many local sights that i hadn't seen before, such as riding the massive ferris wheel that is the london eye, attending an evensong service at westminster abbey and hearing the the choir's voices echo off off of the magnificent vaulted ceiling, roaming through the dinosaur skeletons at the natural history museum (some of which were discovered at the gobi desert locations i'd been to in mongolia!), and seeing the treasures of egypt and mesopotamia at the british museum. in addition, my "regular" bar in the depths of soho welcomed me back with open arms, and it wasn't long before i was deep in conversation with my friends there and throwing down pints of london pride once more.
