Our flat came equipped with an older model Nespresso Virtuo machine and a couple coffee pods (that’s how they get you hooked!). While I’m not crazy about the disposable pod situation, I’ve always heard good things about the convenience and comparative quality - and I must say I was impressed! During one of our first big grocery trips I grabbed a couple boxes of new pods, which of course turned out to be for the newest model nespresso . . . and thus the search for coffee pods began!

This was the perfect opportunity for one of my favorite activities - exploring on foot! I decided to dip into Hyde Park for the first time and to explore a bit to the north on my way back, a nice ~5 mile loop.

maps-timeline

Crossing over the Serpentine into Hyde Park, I was tickled by a giant sandy avenue for horses . . . because of course they have horseback riding in the middle of London. Walking the shore of the Serpentine was a bit more relaxed than the constant feeding frenzy that is Round Pond (though of course the occasional group chooses to ignore the ample signage, trying to give these dang birds diabetes by feeding them nothing but bread). There are a few cute cafes and sitting areas right next to a small roped off section reserved for swimming, which, with the proper membership, you can do year-round (brr!). Heading northwest, I passed by several pickup games of football - having grown up playing a ton of soccer, the popularity of the sport here gives me an inordinate amount of joy.

Two perfect examples of why I love walking around so much - there’s something extraordinary about happening upon these things:

  • A bunch of noise coming from the edge of the park piqued my curiosity, and, after a small detour, I stumbled into Speaker’s Corner - a pretty famous open-air public speaking area ( wiki link ).

  • After crossing the street to check out the Marble Arch, I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time to experience the post UK Arbaeen Procession gathering. Arbaeen doesn’t get much western media coverage, and, admittedly, I am woefully ignorant of middle eastern culture in general, so I had to look it up afterwards (I couldn’t tell exactly what was going on and didn’t want to be disrespectful). The procession is a short walk to emulate the 80-kilometer walk from Najaf to Karbala in Iraq that happens every year.

I made it to Selfridges, a huge upscale department store, where I promptly got lost trying to find the Nespresso kiosk. It was a good time casually browsing the wide range of wares until I finally found my coffee fix hiding in a far corner just out of view. I nabbed three boxes of pods and got to scootin’.

On the trip home, I walked along Paddington Basin, a little strip of water lined with restaurants. It featured a neat bridge that can roll up on itself, aptly named Rolling Bridge (wiki link). I also ran across a jumbo sized drainstop art installation which I got a kick out of:

drainstop

Shortly after the basin I crossed over some train tracks - for my video game fans out there it gave me City 17 Trainstation vibes from Half Life 2.

trains

In an attempt to make amends for the lack of pictures, I offer up this shrimpjam cutie:

shrimpjam

Till next time ya’ll!