Another restless night of coughing with my cold still not gone meant that I ended up sleeping in until 1pm (I had been up at 6am eating breakfast because I just couldn't sleep). Regardless, once I got up, Ruth "shoo-shooed" me out the door to go run. She has finally caught on that I cannot get mobilised to do anything productive until I have gotten my run in...it's truly an addiction as many of you know ;) I had made it my mission to explore one of the other big parks in London: Regents Park. Although I had been there when visiting the college inside the park two days prior and had run it in 2008 when I visited with my family, I was excited to get back to explore all the park had to offer. It was a pleasant 1.5 miles to the park boundary and when I arrived, I tried my best to get lost in the multitude of trails. I passed the London Zoo (which we would visit later), ponds, statues, and gardens. When compared with Hyde Park, it was very difficult to say which one I liked more. They were both just great places to run and people watch! After a solid 4 miles in the park, I headed back towards the flat. Upon returning, it still took Ruth and I awhile to get going. We made lunch at the flat, which consisted of eggs for Ruth and a Jelly/Nutella/Banana sandwich for me (there was no PB unfortunately), and sat outside to enjoy the unexpectedly nice weather.
Around 5pm we headed to the main attraction for the day, a Groupon we had bought for "Zoo Lates" the day prior at the recommendation of Ruth's friend Cassie. "Zoo Lates" was a rare occasion at the London Zoo during the summer where the park would be open to 18+ patrons to eat, drink, and party 6-10pm with the animals. It ended up being as advertised and quite a spectacle: Young Brits dressed in animal costumes, faces painted, walking around with expensive drinks and poking fun at the animals. Ruth and I went for the more controlled approach (battling the American stereotype of doing everything to excess) and didn't really drink at the park with the ridiculous prices (5 pounds or almost $10 for a beer!). However, we enjoyed great food from street vendors in the park as Ruth got a sweet crepe and I stayed with my Spanish cravings from the night before by ordering paella. The weather also held up nicely and we were able to see all the shows we wanted to see from the Asiatic lions to the Komodo Dragons to the Improv Comedy Show in the oldest aquarium in the world (built in 1853!). Ruth and I got some great pictures and enjoyed watching the people almost as much as the animals. We both agreed that we wished there were more opportunities like this in the States to go out and have a social drinking night in an interesting location.
As parts of the zoo started to close around 9pm, we grabbed some dessert from the street vendors (Red Velvet cupcake for Ruth and Sour Amaretto Brownie for me) and headed triumphantly to the exit. We were in such a good mood and it was light/nice enough outside that we decided to forgo the tube ride to walk all 1.5 miles home. We were so glad we did because we got to see more of the amazing park as the sun set on the horizon, caught the game-winning England goal versus Sweden at a pub, and even found 20 pounds on the ground! Ruth and I agreed that we had really lucked out tonight...maybe some of the Irish luck had rubbed off on us :)
I love this!!!!
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