Walking

This morning, without class in the morning, we slept in a bit.  When we did get up, we went to the blue lounge here to start reading the material for Monday.  After we had lunch, D'Layna and I went to see the National Gallery to finish looking at the paintings that we were supposed to do yesterday.  It was pretty neat getting to see some Van Gogh, Rousseau, Monet, and Manet in person.

 Though I still liked the Tate Britain best, these paintings were also pretty beautiful.  Afterwards, we just walked.  I've gotten pretty good at taking pictures at the same time that we walk.  We saw Big Ben from the road, rather than from the Thames today.

We also passed by the horse guard.  WE felt kind of bad for the men who have become so much of a tourist attraction.  Part of me knows that they know what they signed up for, but it can't be fun to have people treat you as if you were just a statue to be used in photo shots day in and day out.  Nonetheless, I managed to take pictures over the large crowds who gathered.

We went through St. James park and ate a snack there.  It was very beautiful and relaxing after so long a walk.  It made us laugh though to see people taking pictures of the squirrels and pigeons.  There are just so many of them in New York and Pennsylvania that we just laughed at the city folk.  There were so many of them there too and so calm around the people!  I saw the one squirrel take a peanut out of a man's hand while the pigeons swarmed some kids who were giving them bits of their sandwiches.

This was one of my favorite photos there because if you look carefully at the dead stump, you can see a flash of blue that was the one bird flying.  We also saw a random cocker spaniel there behind the fence that seemed to have gotten away from its owner.

After that, we went to see Buckingham palace.  It was crowded enough that we didn't try to get too close but it was good to see it at the least and take pictures.

We both took a lot of pictures there.  How could we not with the Victoria Monument and the Memorial Garden and the beautiful gates and the beautiful statues?  We didn't resist!  One thing that made me smile was the crowns that were on top of the poles and light fixtures

We then went ahead and walked down the Mall.  We have no clue why it was called that because there was not really any shopping there but whatever!  We passed by the parade grounds for the horse guard and though there was nothing going on there anytime soon, it was neat to look at.

As we walked back the way that we came, I have to admit that I got a bit bored since there was nothing really new to take pictures of except what we already saw coming the opposite direction.  So I remembered what Matthew did at graduation with my camera and decided to do the same!

Yep.  I was taking pictures of myself while I walked!  Better than taking pictures of the one-who-must-not-be-named-but-will-hurt-me!  By the time that we came back to the Highbury though, we were exhausted even though it was only about 4pm.  With a neighbor who was loud until about 2:15am and walking over 4 miles in 4 hours, while being almost constantly on our feet and pushing through crowds, we had good reason!  Dinner was okay.  It was hamburgers.  But from what I understand, it isn't just the Highbury who doesn't know how to make hamburgers but the whole of England.  Just something to remember next time!  Church tomorrow!

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