Paddling on the Serpentine

Today was a better day. I tried a little toast and some fruit for breakfast and while I wouldn't say I felt great afterwards, I certainly felt a lot better than the other night. So. Joe's plan was for us to walk to Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens and stroll around. These gardens are basically behind Buckingham Palace whereas St. James Park is in front of it. Like St. James - lovely. We actually spent several hours there, although I'm sure Mike and Joe could've circled it twice but they matched my pace so it was a family stroll. We entered at the Hyde Park end, momentarily hearing a steel drum band, and then stopping to wander in a flower-laden garden. We moved on from there to the Serpentine, a small lake in the middle of Hyde Park. We each got a drink in this little cafe/kitchen and sat in lawn chairs looking out at the water and all the many geese, ducks, and swans for a bit. Going on from there, we passed the water-bird horde and watched while two parent swans chased all the other water birds away from their four cygnets as various people tossed them bread. Pretty fierce!

Joey realized you could rent paddle boats so we did that. It was fun, although I didn't have to do the paddling. It was mostly Joey; he's so good! Even though the picture makes it look like Mike paddled, too, he only did so at the beginning and the end. But Joey didn't seem to mind. In general, people really seemed to be enjoying themselves out on the water and all over the park. Lots and lots of happy dogs, too, some of them wet from retrieving sticks from the water. Two Jack Russells were having the time of their lives and one collie-type dog was carrying, not a stick, but a tree branch that was almost longer than she was. 

I was getting tired out but it was such a nice day, I didn't want to take the subway home (as we'd originally planned). I wanted to stay with my guys. Joey wanted to circle around to the other side of Kensington Gardens to see the Royal Albert Hall (a concert hall), which is right across from the Albert Memorial (erected by Queen Victoria when he died). Then Mike found us a route home, down Sloane Street and then some less-traveled side streets that took us through some interesting neighborhoods. Altogether I guess we spent about 4 hours walking around. I was pretty tired getting back to the hotel but was the only one who did not take a nap when we got back!

Mike and Joe went off to dinner again and I found a protein cereal bar in the local convenience store. By all accounts the dinner was very good. Very ironic that the only London meal I had was the worst one. I made the mistake of asking Mike to tell me about the dinner, which just made me pine for a happier tummy. Oh, well. At least by avoiding food, I could enjoy my day (and sleep at night). Tomorrow we have to get up at o'dark hundred to make our flight to Bologna, which requires getting a train from Victoria Station to Gatwick. Flight leaves @ 8:30 so we need to be at Gatwick at 6:30. We'll be wheeling our luggage down the road at 5:15 AM!