The Afternoon Light is So Pretty Here

The weather yesterday was glorious—sunny, windy, not too cold. Roxi and I stayed home to do some schoolwork for most of the day, but about 3:00, we walked over to the London Eye area to meet Chris and K for coffee. When K suggested a walk to St. James’s Park, there was no question!

The tourist in me wanted to walk at a snail’s pace and enjoy the architecture (I’m still a gawker), but as soon as I saw St. James’s, I was eager to get into the green space with its soft-looking grass and cheery yellow daffodils.

My new studio, I wish. A little cottage in St. James’s Park, London. Canon Digital Rebel XT.

St. James’s is London’s oldest park and located right behind Buckingham Palace. According to The Rough Guide to London, Charles II used to promenade through the garden with his mistresses and go swimming in the Canal. Well, yesterday, we didn’t run into any royalty, and the only swimmers were the many ducks, swans, and other birds awaiting handouts from their human visitors. People were also hand-feeding the very tame, very plump squirrels. K said that once she tried to feed one of the squirrels a bit of stale bread, but I guess the little guy was confident that he could get something better elsewhere because he turned down her offering!

A pair of feathered friends, St. James’s Park, London. Canon Digital Rebel XT.

We had tea on the deck of Inn at the Park, which overlooks the pond. This little café has a casual, a la carte, afternoon tea with pretty looking little pastries. I just had tea, which I truly enjoyed. I have to interject here that I hardly ever drank hot tea in Texas. For one thing, the weather is just plain too hot, so we usually drank unsweetened iced tea. Well, heck, we hardly ever sat outside because of the bugs, namely the bloodthirsty mosquitoes. And well, shoot—even if there weren’t mosquitoes and too much heat, I had allergies most of the year anyway, so I didn’t do much outside when it was nice. Back to London… Roxi and I have had tea here every afternoon. Maybe it’s my Diet Coke substitute. Or maybe it’s just an excuse to eat a few of the surprisingly good store bought biscuits (cookies).

The London Eye from Westminster Bridge. Canon Digital Rebel XT.

The pedestal benches along the Thames, London. I love their feet! Canon Digital Rebel XT.