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a rush like the wind |
1. Flexibility. The plan was to take the boys to the British War Museum. However, we just couldn't get there. Our bus couldn't get to its terminus because of the (as we later learned) triathalon which was taking place in and through Hyde Park, which had left several roads closed. So... we just dropped that plan, and instead hung out to watch part of the triathalon. Why not? Totally delicious to let the plans fall to the side, knowing that we can go on some other day. It was quite fun to stumble across the triathalon ... little stretches of nothing, followed by bursts of activity as the cyclists rounded the track again. I particularly loved watching the cyclists emerge through the Wellington Arch, the sound of the helicopter (which was following the cylists) from above. When the cyclists passed by, they were so close and so fast that you could feel a gust of wind that reminded me of the feeling you get in the Tube station as a train approaches. This shot is blurry, but it captures what it 'felt' like to be standing so close!
2. The sky. It just kept changing. There were huge dark clouds on the horizon. Still, the sun kept trying to push through. It wasn't always successful. We wandered our way through 3 or 4 small showers, and 2 major deluges, the kinds that send everyone scrambling into the shops and cafes, as water streams off the roofs, and leaves small lakes in the gutters. Still.... I am always struck by the beauty of dark clouds mixed with the blues and greys of the skies.... i have a whole new appreciation for all those Flemish paintings that used to seem, to me, to be nothing but dreary overcast skies! :-)
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| clouds on the horizon |
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The sun trying to push through |
3. I love the Quadriga (a chariot drawn by 4 horses) at the Wellington Arch. I don't have a great set of reasons... i mean, there are lots of beautiful statues out there. Maybe it really still something about the sky? :-) Maybe also something about seeing the cyclists pass through the arch beneath it....
4. Trees. Seriously. I love them. Or maybe it is just tree bark that attracts me so much? I really adore the trunks on one particular kind of tree. I have no idea WHAT kind of tree it is, but it seems the model for traditional camoflage paint.
4. I loved hanging out in The Duke of Wellington Pub with my little family of men, while the rain fell outside. A nice end to the day!
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| Its' bark is better than its' bite! |
Having been there and seen that, but knowing nothing about it, I clicked on your link to the Quadringa -- which was a new word for me, and new information for me.
ReplyDeleteNext time I am in London, I am getting off the bus as it passes that point and going in to take a good look. In fact, on my list of things yet to do is "visit Hyde Park".