London Day Nine -- click for pictures

The next morning was the most relaxed we’d had. After stowing our luggage with the hotel concierge, we took off to Hyde Park to see Speaker’s Corner. Unfortunately it was under renovation, and no one was there sharing intellectual thoughts. According to the guide book, it’s a place to practice free speech, and we were hoping to be enlightened during our stay. After that small disappointment, we walked further on to Kensington Palace to try to find the gates where so many people honored Diana with flowers. We’d been by the palace twice already, but kept managing to miss “the entrance.” Once we found it and took some pictures, we sat on the park-like grass areas and watched some very entertaining 3-4 year olds at a football (soccer) practice. Cute stuff. They sure do start them young. The weather was pleasant and fairly warm. Again, these parks are beautiful, so people were out in droves enjoying the sunshine, sitting on park benches reading newspapers, watching their kids practicing soccer, jogging, feeding swans on the lake, throwing Frisbees to their dogs, bike riding, you name it. At around 1-ish we got back on our feet and walked to the Peter Pan statue, which was a highlight I really wanted to see in Hyde Park. It was everything I had hoped. It was not only Peter Pan, but it had small animals and fairies intertwined around the base leading up to Peter at the top. Yes, I took way too many pictures of it. There are some things I just don’t want to forget any details of. We then headed back to our hotel to get our luggage, then rode our last time on the Tube, quickly and efficiently to Heathrow. It was a piece of cake compared to when we arrived. It was hard to leave. London is definitely a place where I’d love to spend some more time in – even live here for a little while to really delve into things. This trip was pure heaven – even with sore feet and tired bodies. Of course I’m home and all the tiny aches and pains are forgotten. I just remember the wonderful things I saw and experienced, and the added blessing of sharing them with Rikki. Very cool. Oh, another thing – we actually came home with English pounds in our pockets. Bonus!!