26 May 2015 - "Have you seen the old man with the worn out shoes...Let me take you by the hand... the streets of London...".

London is confronting, even after all have seen on our journey to date.  The population density is remarkable, the stark contrast between the haves and have nots is obvious and the general grubbiness of the buildings and streets is testament to these observations. But London grows on you and before you know it, the things first noticed blend into the colourful mix, the extraordinary become the ordinary and you love London for what it is.  People have referred to Paris as a female as in "her beauty" and her this and that, but London never rates a gender, London just is!

Five little taxi cabs all in a row!

 We all went out for a walking discovery tour of our local district which is what we tend to do on our first day in a new place.  It is a luxury of "slow travel" as we don't have the time constraints many do and it means we often see things which the average tourist wouldn't.

Kilburn Grange playground

 Our walk this morning did not disappoint.  We discovered Kilburn Grange Park; a delightful large park with fabulous play areas, a gym area, running tracks and large green space.  Luke wanted to stay longer but I promised we could go back after dinner tonight, which we did.  The play ground is made from recycled doors and other materials all around a tree...excellent fun!  We also discovered the Pound Shop and a few op-shops!

Hopeful for a conversation...

It is funny being able to speak English and be understood and also to eavesdrop - which we don't do on purpose - it is just that for so many months we have been immersed in other languages that it feels strange not to have to perform charades or preface every question with "Do you speak English?"!

And then there was school...not a good day after a few days break with travelling.  I won't dwell on that any longer.

Little Venice

Little Venice

The weather was lovely, sunny and pleasant and perfect for a long walk after lunch.  We headed for Little Venice which is a cute little canal area where residential canal barges are permanently moored.  It is quiet and peaceful and close by.  When we were walking we noticed a fairly swift change from the lower socioeconomic area and long shopping streets to the well kept residences of Maida Vale and Paddington.  We wandered along the canal as far as Paddington Station and continued to Kensington Gardens.  We entered the gardens near the Italian Gardens, a beautiful fountain and lake area that Prince Albert built for Victoria.

Telephone booths

Kensington Gardens - The Italian Gardens

These beautiful Italian Gardens were built by Albert for his beloved Victoria

From there, we went along the walking tracks past the Squirrel Convention Area (!) where the friendly little squirrels darted about hopeful of treats.  They were so sweet!  The gardens are lush and forest like in places .  We even saw a couple of wild rabbits playing!

I love these little squirrels!

Luke making friends with a squirrel

Annika's little friend

Squirrel Nutkin

We went under the tunnel which leads into Hyde Park, but due to time (and walking capacity of tired legs) we crossed over the lake back into the Kensington Gardens and enjoyed some lovely water birds.  We could identify all of the species (as per the Bird Charts by the lake) except one - but we think they might be a very family of Egyptian Geese with 6 teenagers who still had a bit of down on their backs.  They were very protective parents.  Luke, our animal lover, was delighted to see a Grey Heron.

Lovely little tufted ducks in the Kensington Gardens

Teenage Egyptian Geese and a bossy Mute Swan!

Lovely gathering of the birds!

Peter Pan and Luke, our little lad who doesn't want to grow up!

It has been there for over a hundred years.

Tim, being Mr "Don't Waste Time" decided to run home while we enjoyed seeing the Kensington Gardens at a more leisurely pace.  The walk home did seem to take a while as Luke was flagging, not surprisingly, and needed to go slow.  He still had the energy for a walk after dinner to his newly discovered park, though!  We all enjoyed a Terry's Chocolate Orange after dinner which is something you HAVE to do in London especially when it only cost One Pound at the One Pound Shop!