Kensington Palace & Hyde Park & Portobello Market

This weekend I decided to venture out to a place that I hadn't been yet. I've been here for a little over a month and I can't believe I still haven't covered a large portion of this incredible city. We took a day trip out to Hyde Park & Kensington Palace (home of Princess Diana). It's a short tube ride away from the dorm and we hopped out at Hyde Park. Now, normally I'd think that going to a park would be boring as hell, but the day was beautiful. It was clear, blue skies and the sun was out. We made our way through the park and it was just so nice to feel the sun on my face. The park is huge, and it's similar to what Central Park would be. There were people rollerblading and skatboarding down the strip. People sitting along a tree enjoying a book, picnic or playing some good old football. A lake divides the park in half and the water's infested with ducks, geese, swans, pigeons and other birds. I was able to borrow a friends camera and take some pictures. It felt great to have a camera in my hands again and being able to take my own pictures at my discretion.

I don't know what it was about this particular day that made this ordinary park so enjoyable. It could have been that the sun was out and I got a chance to sport the Oakley's for old times sake. The rays of sun just glistened off the ripples of water the swimming ducks made. You could sit on the bank of the lake just close enough so the geese and swans swim right by your feet. A few even gave us a little performance of shakin' their tail feathers (shout out to my boy Nelly). Haha.

We finally made it through the park and came to what is Kensington Palace. Well, actually I had no idea it was Kensington Palace because I'd seen houses back home that are bigger than that. I suppose that's why everyone fell in love with her because of her humbleness. I didn't go in, just merely walked around the "palace" and wasn't very much impressed with it. Tell you the truth I was disappointed. The thing is I have not idea what I was expecting. I mean Buckingham Palace is no out of this world splendor.

Since we were just on the outskirts of Zone 1 we decided to walk to Portobello Market which is in the famous Notting Hill sector of London. I'd been to the market before and every time you find something new there. Basically, it's like a swap meet on this long road that's pretty famous: Portobello Road. The streets are lined with stalls of antiques, produce, clothing, knick-knacks and crap. There is literally something for everyone there and it's incredible how many people show up to walk up and down this thing. If you go at the right time you can get some ridiculous bargains for the fresh fruit because most of the vendors are trying to get rid of it before they have to pack up. There is a vintage clothes sector and independent brand section. It's mostly geared toward women and the stuff is by no means cheap. You can find some good knock offs. I suppose it's kind of like Canal Street in New York. I've never been, but so I've heard.

This city is growing on me a lot. I'm going to find it difficult to leave here simply because I've become so accustom to the big city life. Everything here is so fast paced, lively (except the people on rainy days), and ecclectic. There is so many things you can do here and you'll never get bored. I still haven't been to one entire half of my surrounding neighborhood. It's insane.

The part that really makes me realize that I'm in London is everytime I ride the Tube. I suppose it's because it's not something that I'd do back home or have the option of doing when I get back. It's so awesome to have to commute via public transportation. Dont' get me wrong though I miss driving and I miss my car. I see Golf's everywhere and I'm always taunted by them. The Tube to me is awesome. You can literally get anywhere you want. Sometimes it's packed as shit and you just force yourself on it. Like Sardines. You have people breathing down your neck. Certain stops get like that and sometimes you get a car that's empty. The people are often quiet in it, hardly anyone talks and everyone's pretty much kept to themselves. If anyone is talking it's usually the American's being loud. Sometimes we get these nasty looks. The stations are located soo far Underground that a few escalators are sooo long. The tube station nearest my dorm (Russell Square) has 175 steps to go up. You take lifts to get up, but if you want you can take the stares. Sometimes we'll race eachother up them. It reminds me of doing stadiums at UF. A good work out.

It's interesting because I can see this city changing me. In a good way. I'm definitely learning a lot more about myself than I anticipated. I knew that I'd grow up here, but I had no idea that I'd do it so drastically. It's going to be interesting to come back home and see what life is like after this experience. I'm excited to see how much I've grown up and changed.