London - Spring is Here

"Baxter...I will take you to foggy London Town..." a free bag of crisps to anyone who can name the movie.

Actually, London is not foggy at all today

Here are how the flowers in Kensington Gardens looked this afternoon. A bit of a change from the snow and rain in Reykjavík...

I arrived in London this morning and headed to my hotel near Paddington Station and about 50 meters from the entrance to Kensington Gardens. One of the things I love about traveling is staying at unique hotels. I spend a great deal of time finding places online that look interesting and fit my budget. I decided to stay at the Shaftesbury Hyde Park. It is 120 years old, and although cozy, the sleeping rooms have been newly rennovated. The bathtubs are especially nice...

When I checked in, I realized that this place was in fact, more than unique, but downright funky. Anyone ever seen Fawlty Towers? Well it seems that I am staying at a very similar place...I have yet to find my John Cleese, but the Porter, a very nice fellow, is right out of central casting.

The Porter, named Brian interestingly enough, is particularly loquacious. I started chatting with him in the lobby and 20 minutes later I had his life story. Apparently he is from Bulgaria, but his grandmother was Greek and fled Greek Macedonia in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire - those darn Turks... Anyway, he speaks Russian, Italian, and even English. I promised to teach him the little bit of Icelandic I have been able to acquire so far...BTW, I made friends with an Icelandic guy on the flight in this morning - Siggi - turns out he went to Oxford too, so we had lots to talk about. We exchanged contact information and he promised to show me around Iceland on my next visit (which will be soon!)

After unpacking, I took a walk in Kensington Gardens and wandered over to the Albert Memorial

This famous London landmark was comissioned by Queen Victoria for her late husband Albert. She must have liked him... There are all sorts of great Victorian Era motifs incorporated into the memorial - Elephants to symbolize the extent of the British Empire, images of Industry and Agriculture, and of course, old Albert, all done up in gold and sitting right on top.

The weather was fine, so the park was full of Londoners enjoying the day.

London is truly an international city. I have never heard so many different languages spoken - even in New York - and not just from tourists, but from the diverse population that calls this city home. I found this scene especially charming - two women enjoying a picnic together on a Thursday afternoon...

More flowers