Thames Path Hike

Despite an iffy weather forecast I headed out bright and early, taking my first high speed train out to the country. The plan was to hike a short portion of the Thames Path, from Goring to Pangbourne. Both cities are stops on the rail line which made for a nice and convenient first jaunt out.

While wandering through town I stopped in at the local library and enjoyed their small local history exhibit complete with Roman relics that had been excavated nearby.

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As soon as I walked out the door it started pouring down rain, but luckily only for a few minutes. The first half of the hike was very wet and puddle laden, but it cleared up nicely after that.

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Starting at Goring Lock, there were some nice colors still around.

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This must be a terrific spot when the flowers are in bloom. I could still hear tons of birds flitting about in the brush.

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Clearing up nicely.

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Cows!

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Getting close to Pangbourne now; this was a lovely stretch of road.

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A double repurposed phone booth.

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One heck of a tree.

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Heh. Heh. Heh.

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A pretty church along the way.

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The path continues . . .

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And a bridge view of the same church. Beautiful!

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I also happened upon a random lambo service station. Not what I expected to find in such a small town.

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While waiting for the next train back, I enjoyed a pint on the river.

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The mini keg of water gave me a good chuckle.

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At the trainstation there was no place to “tap-in” for a ticket, so I boarded anyway then spent half of the trip home scrambling on my phone trying to sort that out. It turns out that train tickets are much more expensive than I thought, and that my trip from the morning wasn’t totally legit :X The convenient tap-in method is only valid through Reading station, which I missed by two stops. I would become even more familiar with this on my next trip out, but that’s a story for another day. Train confusion aside, it was a wonderful day out.

Another Trip to Round Pond

It was super windy today which made for some wild midair feeding opportunities.


Little cuties.

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K very much enjoys strategically throwing out food so that everyone gets a nibble . . . but not everyone agrees with this tactic.

swan-steal

Double trouble!

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Wicked!

We wanted to go to at least one big show while in London and neither of us had seen Wicked yet, so we got gussied up and had a lovely Thursday night out!

A lovely walk over to the venue; nothing like feeding squirrels in some of your finest attire.

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Harrods all lit up! Much to Ks delight, we also spotted a fox dart into a park nearby.

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Waiting for the show to start, we could already tell we were in for a treat.

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And as expected, the show was incredible!! Amazing performances, music, set design, etc., etc,. etc. - all 11/10. After a late night visit to the Shake Shack around the corner, we were met at the door by these two dorks.

whereWEREYOU

Mercato Mayfair

Missy V soaking up the rays.

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Another treat from K today - we set off for Mercato Mayfair, a food hall set in a beautiful old church. On the way over we spotted tons of trailers lined up in preparation for the upcoming Hyde Park Winter Wonderland.

Not creepy at all.

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The market is absolutely stunning and gigantic. Two levels of food stalls, a rooftop terrace, and a wine cellar.

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After wayyy too much (delicious) food, we started meandering home. K had another trick up her sleeve, showing me a neat little elevated garden nearby. It was supposed to have a nifty art installation, but I think we missed it by a matter of days. Blast!

We did however catch some pretty Christmas lights.

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And this time the cats couldn’t be bothered to wake up.

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Lazy Day

Oh no! Jamal turned into a shrimp!

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And I got some good MV cuddles.

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Sunday Roast

We somehow snuck in to fully booked Sunday roast. They first quoted us about an hour wait, then ended up just serving us at the bar. Score! It was really, really, really ridiculously delicious. Ridiculously crispy pork belly, perfectly roasted veggies, and a yorkshire pudding to tie it all together.

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And that’s a wrap! I’ll leave you with one more shrimp picture.

screee







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