A Jog in the Park

The pirate ship

   This morning, as planned, Melissa and I went for a run in Hyde Park, which is very close. It is a beautiful park and we were amazed by how many people(and dogs) were there. It is centered around a lake with swans and other birds, and there is a statue of Queen Victoria near by. Melissa and I only ran for a short time because we are both easing ourselves back into running. We are going to run on our days off and it should be nice. While we were running we stumbled upon a few things, such as, Kensington Palace and the Diana Memorial Play Ground. I know that it strange to think that one could 'stumble upon' a palace, but we did. We wanted to walk through the gardens surrounding it, but we were afraid at first, we saw no other people. After reading a sign we saw that we were allowed and we took a quick look around vowing to come back with our cameras. On our way out we saw a tree that was in a cage; confused, we went over to it. The tree was carved so that it looked as if painted little elves were hidden in it. It was carved in 1911 and is absolutely adorable. As we were looking at it, something caught my eye. I am not sure how many of you know about my Peter Pan obsession, but if you did not, you do now.I have loved Peter Pan ever since I was a child( I was even Tinker Bell for Halloween one). Back to the story...The Diana Memorial Playground is Peter Pan themed. There is a pirate ship and tepees and all sorts of magical things. There was a gate, and you had to be buzzed in, so we did not enter, but we are going to go back. It looked so cool! I would have loved that place as a child! Hyde Park was so beautiful and green(probably because it rains every night). It was shocking to see so many people out running and walking. Tons of people were out walking their dogs, none of which were on leashes, they were so well trained they would just follow their owners. That is not something that you see in the States.  

Kensington Palace and statue of Queen Victoria

Historical Quick Facts: 
Kensington Palace was where Queen Victoria was born and raised. 
Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are two different parks, but they flow seamlessly into each other. 

Hyde Park

The park is cut in half by the Serpentine River.
One of the most important evens that took place in the park was the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace was built in the park.