The Emergence of Summer

Summer has begun to peek its head out in the south of England; the days are long, everything is firmly in bloom, and on a sunny day in England there is no other place that I would rather be.

To celebrate the beginning of the nice weather (because, let's face it, good weather is a transient phenomenon here) my dear friend Ming and I took a trip to the Royal Botanical Gardens, or Kew gardens as they are better known. Kew is very near to the beautiful suburb of Richmond (which is where Hampton court palace is for those of you familiar with the UK) and the day we went was 70 degrees and sunny, utter perfection. The Kew facility itself is immense. We were there for nearly 6 hours and I think saw a fair amount of it, but at the expense of our legs. We wandered amongst the English roses (my favorite), relished in the indoor rainforest, and capped it all off with a tea break at a darling teahouse just outside of the gardens, dating all the way back to Henry VIII.

Main greenhouse for tropical plants

Kew Palace

The Maids of Honour teahouse

Another thing that I did to celebrate the onset of summer was to attend West End Live this past saturday. West End Live is a two-day event where the biggest musicals from the West End theatre district in London perform a few numbers for free to a crowd at Trafalgar Square. The event is lovely because you get a taste of a bunch of different shows in a unique atmosphere. People were singing along, cheering, and breaking out their fully stocked picnic lunch baskets. I have to say, I am very impressed by the British picnic-goer; he really knows how to make a picnic into a full on, all day affair!

Rachel met me and we hung together and then later of capped off our day at the London aquarium, which always makes me feel like a kid again. It was good fun and a beautiful day to be with friends in a city that continues to inspire and captivate me. I really believe that a day in London is the best of all days, no matter how mundane the activity is; a city as electric as this makes me feel that life can never go wrong.

Cast of Les Miserables