Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I am still on my quest to find patience as we wait for our life to move forward. Yesterday I was feeling restless and frustrated. I decided to get out for the day and explore one of the "lungs" of London. Maybe there I could release the tenseness and and find my breath.
"Time Flies"
This was the first thing that I saw as I entered the park. I think this was a good idea.
Hyde Park is one of the largest of the Royal Parks. Combined with the neighboring Kensington
Gardens, the park covers 625 acres.
I stopped to say hello to the "fairies, gnomes, elves, imps and pixies" who call the Elfin Oak their home. The 900 year old tree stump was carved by illustrator Ivor Innes in the 20's. It is at the entrance to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Playground.
It was overcast, but the sun kept peeking through the clouds. The park was full of people walking, running, cycling. There were dogs everywhere. I took my Nook and would find a park bench to take a break and read.
I'm not sure what breed of duck this is, but the coloring was beautiful. Like a patchwork quilt.
What's a garden without roses?
The Albert Memorial, unveiled by Queen Victoria in 1872 to honor her late husband.
Isis, the Egyptian goddess of motherhood, was unveiled in 2009 and is the newest sculpture in the park.
The Serpentine runs through the park. I walked all the way around and spent about 3 hours in the park.
I stopped at the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain.
It's a granite ring with water running through it and it's a beautiful spot.
I stopped at one of the two restaurants within the park for lunch by the water. And, yes, it was nummy.
My lunch companion.
I only covered a small section of the park and plan to explore again.
The Italian Fountains
The squirrels are used to being fed and are not above begging. Next time I will be sure to have some treats for them.
It was a long walk, but I didn't want to leave the park. It was such an amazing place. I adopted the pace of nature and it was nice to just be quiet, observe and breathe.
xoxo,
Selena
The pics were taken with my iphone and I tweaked the colors a bit with iGoogle.
Being in nature is always a great way to slow down and breathe. Looks like a beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteIt was just what I needed. When are you coming to visit??? That would be so cool!!!
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ReplyDeleteThis blog makes me a little ashamed to be English because I've been to Hyde Park sooo many times, but have never seen it in the detail and beauty you have captured here - thanks for sharing! Your pics are amazing, I even had to show them to my photographer husband and ask him to guess what camera they were taken on cause my jaw dropped when you said they were taken on your iphone! that is seriously impressive! and your pizza looked a-mazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Because I'm not working all of my efforts are going to the blog and the pictures. It's keeping me sane, so to have someone say they like it makes me grin from ear to ear! I'm dying to take a photography class! What other parks should I explore?
DeleteWell as you can tell from one of my other comments parks aren't really my forte...restaurants/bakeries are! I haven't really properly checked out any of the other big ones like St.James or Regents Park but I have spent lots of time at Hampstead Heath (which is really pretty and you get some good views) and is amazing in the summer when everyone comes out! We cycled there for a picnic last summer and it was awesome. Also Primrose Hill is really great and there's good shopping/cafe's to check out round that area too! and if you haven't beent to Kew Gardens yet that is a must, but maybe wait til the weather is a bit warmer. It has some truly beautiful gardens, and a treetop walk and tons of greenhouses filled with unusual flowers etc..
DeleteIt looks like a beautiful park...can't wait to check it out! I'm ready for spring!
ReplyDeleteI'm ready for Spring also! Although rainy Saturdays aren't so bad.
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