Day #105 - London, England

Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum - Piccadilly Circus

Piccadilly Circus

Trafalgar Square

Phone Booth - they're on all the postcards

Paul McCartney's concert - Hyde Park

Monday, June 28th

Well, not so good news to report on the US World Cup front. Losers 2-1 to Ghana. That's OK - it was alot of fun to watch them while it lasted.

Today has been great - even though I didn't do much. I really, really like London. I've spent a ton of time here now - and it's a fascinating place. So many things to see and do: Wimbledon, Big Ben, Tower of London, Parliament, Oxford, Windsor/Warwick Castles, Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace, the Royal Family, Shakespeare's place, Hyde Park, etc. Maybe because I've heard of many of these before the trip - it means more when you see it in person.

This morning, I moved out of Forestgate and into a much nicer place by Paddington Station. This is my 4th place I've stayed in London. I've just about got it figured out.

I took the afternoon to walk around. I watched England get killed 4-1 versus Germany in the World Cup. The town was devastated. It went from people driving around with flags waving -- to relative silence for a while.

I then got my hair cut, bought some things I needed, and got some dinner. One of the reasons I chose this location for my final spot in London - I wanted to run through Hyde Park.

I took off for my first run in a couple weeks about 8pm. Just a map in my pocket and a room keycard. I ran threw Hyde Park and headed towarded Piccadilly Circus. This is an area of town very similar to Times Square in New York. I'm not sure why I haven't been here yet - I'd been all around it - just never there before. Really cool place. The big flashing signs, even the streets angled away from the central point just like in New York.

I then ran down to Trafalgar Square. This is right by the National Gallery. I wanted to take some more pictures of this area. Neat area just minutes from the River Thames. I then walked/ran back to Hyde Park - passing Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and the Queen Victoria Memorial along the way. This run for me was almost like a final overview of the city -- it was awesome.

It was now about 10pm - I just got to the corner of Hyde Park. I needed to run across the park to get back to my hotel. I start out on the trail. I hear some music in the foreground. I continue running. I can now make out the words. It's "Hey Jude". The Beatles? - they can't be here. I continue running and then see some fireworks go off up ahead. Then I hear the next song: "Live and Let Die". I now see a bunch of people in the lawn. I can see in the distance that an outdoor concert is going on. I asked a guy nearby: "What's going on tonight". His exact words: "Dude, It's Paul McCartney"

Now, on trips you're never going to have perfect days, there's ups and downs, you have to roll with the punches and hope you can get some perfect moments. Tonight was one of those moments.

I pulled up a seat on the cool grass in Hyde Park. It was about 65-70 degrees. I was experiencing a runner's high after just completing an 8 mile run/walk throughout London. It was about 10:15pm. People were all around, laying on blankets, kicking the soccer ball around, dancing, enjoying an adult beverage. I just laid back and listened to the concert while I stretched out after the run. For that hour in Hyde Park - things were perfect.

I never realized how many great songs McCartney has. He was playing music from the Beatles, his Wings group, and his solo albums. One of the last songs he played was "Yesterday". The last time I heard this song was outside a cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, Spain - the pilgrimage site I had visited. It was as good tonight as it was then.

I followed the crowd out of Hyde Park around 11pm and back to the hotel. It's after 1am now and I'm just finishing up this blog.

I know I use the words alot - but today was 'all-good'.