Adventures In London: Spring Time!!!

Last week was absolutely amazing because we had a MASSIVE heat wave. Honestly it felt like summer time with temps reaching 72 degrees at times. Needless to say there was plenty of shorts wearing, park visiting, and a general happy mood around London. How it is that some people still managed to wear coat and scarves I'm not sure but I would guess that the local Londoner must have problems accepting the sudden turn of weather and couldn't cope with the changes. I, however, was well prepared with my tank tops and sun glasses to thoroughly enjoy the sunshine.

I went for a lot of walks in Hyde Park, which really is a whole new experience when the sun comes out. There were so many people I felt like I was at some kind of music festival. Groups of girls after school gossiping, families have picnics, people playing with their dogs, a few people catching a quick nap under a tree, it was a really cool thing to see. I went and hung out by the Princess Diana memorial fountain which is a very fun place to hang out. The fountain itself is really interesting because it's just a giant circle that runs water sort of down on each side from the uphill side. I don't know if that makes any sense but hopefully the picture at the bottom will help. It's only about a foot deep at it's deepest so kids can run around and splash in the water. Then the middle has a nice grassy area to sit and relax in. It was fun just to sit under a tree and kind of take in my surroundings watching all of the people living their lives. It made me think that most of these people will still be here when I'm long gone from the city and it felt nice to be a Londoner in that moment. I'll remember that afternoon for a while.

I also went on a walk around East London with my friend Maggie. For those of you who may not know, there is a particularly famous street artist named Banksy who is from England. He's not from London exactly but his work pops up in London a lot as well as in almost every other major city in the world. He was recently in Los Angeles reeking havoc and causing controversy which he does so well. His art is very iconic and recognizable and has actually become pretty valuable these days. But the coolest thing about Banksy is that in all his years doing graffiti, he has remained anonymous. Nobody knows who he really is and any interview he does has his voice changed and his face blacked out. So needless to say, being a fan of his work, I was excited to go find some in London. East London is the more earthy and artsy area of the city. There is really beautiful street art almost everywhere you look and a lot of people think of it as ugly and run down. But I really like the area. It has tons of vintage shops, little cafes, and the people seem the real people. It's not the spiffed up clean touristy London that everyone is so used to but you get the sense that people really live over there. Unfortunately, the city is trying to clean it up a lot for the Olympics and a lot of the great graffiti is getting taken down or painted over. But there still a lot left and it was fun walking around. OH! And I did manage to find a Banksy. Maggie and I located one of his most famous works with involves a man who has painted a flower on the side of the road. We had a really good time taking pictures of it and with it. For anybody interested in learning more about Banksy and tons of other street artists I would definitely recommend watching his movie "Exit Through the Gift Shop" which was nominated for best documentary at the Academy Awards this year. It sadly did not win but the film is great none the less. So check it out!

So the heat wave was wonderful but the fun couldn't last forever. Yesterday the clouds came back, the temperatures dropped, and we were all reminded of the cold and dreary London that we know so well. Hopefully the weather picks up again but if not, that's ok because I should get plenty of sun on my post-semester travels.

I have finally nailed down a schedule for my after school trip....I think. After spending a week in Paris with Mom and Dad I will move down to Bologna for a few days with Alex! I can't wait to see this place that she has been living in all year. Then I'm meeting up with my travel buddy Gemma and we are going though the south of France and then spending the majority of our time in Spain visiting Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Seville, and Grenada. It should be a very fun trip and I hope I can grab some computer time while I'm there to update you all on how those travels are going. Backpacking Europe 2011 should be a great time!

I'll leave you with some pictures of the London sunshine just to prove to you all that it does get warm in London....if only for a few days!