Suttons Go To London

So we ended walk 39 right where walk 38 starts. How convenient!

Walk 38 was all about Holland Park and Holland House. The walk there was filled with old houses and fall foliage, which made me begin to remember what an actual fall season is like. I haven’t seen one in almost 10 years, so being in the midst of one makes me accidentally say things here like “unseasonably cold.” Phoenix has definitely thinned my blood out.

The park was beautiful and the colors were nice, but the air and the tranquility in the middle of London is what really makes you feel like you’ve driven out into the countryside or something. Of course, it doesn’t matter where I am, I can make a trava-sham-mockery out of anything…

The park had two real highlights for us, the Kyoto Garden, because *gasp* we’ve been to Kyoto and loved the gardens over there, and the Holland House. The Kyoto Garden was kind of a version of what is a mostly traditional garden. Dogs are allowed all throughout the park, but not in the garden and signs are posted to encourage people to use the park for quiet contemplation and reflection which is its purpose. It was no Kyoto, but it was a nice respite from the constant buzz of London.

The Holland House was bombed in 1940 and they have since rebuilt it, but what we found truly enjoyable was the flower garden which was this pop of color in a city that can terminally dwell in shades of gray.

Wow, that writing seemed a little too serious, so here’s a photo to take care of that!

Finally, after the walk we headed towards Whole Foods. On the way however, we discovered Hotel Chocolat. All I can say is, Wow. Spec-tac-u-lar. It is a chain here in London, but the liquid chocolate(hot chocolate) there is petty damn good. Jen had the caramel infused one which was very smooth and thick with a sweet taste, while I had the Aztec which was blended with chilli peppers for a spiciness. Nothing like a little extra heat to the hot chocolate!

We started with Walk 39 - Kensington Gardens because it is right by Whole Foods, and we NEED to go there every weekend.

Walk 39

Kensington Gardens

We started our walk at the mouth of the Lancaster Gate tube station, and walked acrross the street to the garden, which was designed by Christopher Wren, one of the great English architects. There were all dorts of beautiful birds and statues. This photo illustrates the magnificence of them both:

You can also go into the Kensington Palace to see the State Apartments and Royal Dress Collection, but we decided to pass on that adventure. The park was very pretty - formal and manicured, with lots of fountains and mown grass. The cutest part of the day was when Michael saw 5 guys playing American football and he kept looking back over his shoulder to see what they were doing. I think he wanted to play with them pretty badly, but he was feeling shy (and he wasn’t exactly dressed for sports).

At the end of the park, Michael decided to show his allegiance to the plant kingdom by hugging this mighty oak.

I am sorry to report that not 5 minutes later, I caught him hugging this lamp post. Traitor…

We decided to do a little shopping as we exited the park, and came across the old American favorite TJ Maxx…  wait a minute…..

My mom sent us these really cool “50 City Walks in London” cards. There are 50 walks, and each one has an area of London and a description of what to see in the said area. It is such a great gift because London is so big and even though we want to see it all, it can be hard to know where to start.

Therefore we will randomly do the walks and report back so that you know which walks are for you when you are in London. Also, we are attention whores.