A Walk to Remember

This morning I woke up to the spring birds outside my window. I don’t know if they are spring birds, but they certainly weren’t singing in the winter. I got up, checked my watch and realized I had missed my alarm by an hour and fifteen minutes. I found the battery to my clock on the floor. Curious? I think so…

I went to get the papers and came back, had breakfast, finished my journals, and went to class at ten. It was our last class meeting. After class I took my art final and then went for a run. I went to Kensington Gardens and got caught in the rain. Nothing like being a mile from home when the rain hits without an umbrella or a subway card.

I got back to the house around noon, took a quick shower, grabbed lunch, and headed out to meet Roger at South Thames College. He was teaching an English class there to speakers of other languages. He took me to a Thai Buddhist temple. I saw monks and their gardens. We took off our shoes, entered the temple, and when I saw all of the statues (idols) I got kind of sick. Part of that could be because of the smell due to the incense, but I couldn't see how someone could bow to that. Before we left, a man came down and bowed several times before the idols. It was so sad to me. I learned a little about the assumed life of Buddha and also about his death. He didn't rise again, and there's the catch.

After leaving the temple, we decided to go to the Richmond Park, and Roger asked me how many hours I wanted to walk. I thought he was kidding, but later this afternoon, I found he was not. I suggested we take the bus to the park and then walk in the park, so we walked to the main street and caught a bus to the Robin Hood gate. Richmond Park, like all the Royal Parks in London, used to be closed to the public and was used by the royalty as a hunting grounds. It was huge. There were hundreds of deer there, and I saw several. I also saw rabbits and birds. Please check out the pictures... we walked through the Isabella Plantation which was full of blooming azaleas. So pretty. I bet Peter Rabbit lives there.

We walked and walked and walked and walked, and about six miles later, we came to Pembroke Lodge where Roger said there was a surprise waiting for me. We walked into a coffee shop, he bought each of us a coffee, and we walked to the back of the lodge where there were tables set up on the edge of a really tall hill overlooking the city. It was an incredible view! It was so cool. We sat there talking and drinking our coffee while I caught my breath. Roger is so hard to keep up with sometimes! We then walked to King Henry's mound where we could see all the way to St. Paul's (it's very far away). From there, we WALKED even more down to the Thames River and along the bank into the town of Richmond. After more walking (it was nearly six o'clock by now-- we started at 2) we finally arrived to the Tube station and made our way back home. The locals are very quite on the subway, so Roger read his Evening Standard paper while I finished a Nicholas Sparks book. Roger asked me what I was reading and I turned my book over to the cover and said, "A Walk to Remember." I thought about it and smiled. How fitting.

EIGHT DAYS AND COUNTING...