I know I’ve been absent from this blog for so long! I didn’t take a fun break, I didn’t go on holiday or a retreat. I actually was quite under the weather. I caught that summer covid that’s going around and it’s wiped me out for the whole of July!
This has caused me to have missed out for a major chunk of this lovely summer and I felt a serious urge to catch up with all the fun summer frolics.
I mean look how pale my legs are…
The result of a whole month in bed with tea and honey, bowls of chicken soup and too many film marathons to count.
Thankfully Dominika had also returned from her very enviable holiday in Portugal and we decided to pop out together for a cuppa and some frolicking around.
I can’t even begin to explain how good it feels to finally be out again after spending a whole month in bed!
We decided to head to Kensington Gardens to spend some time out by the pond: one of the closest things to a beach day you can get in London.
We did casually book a seaside trip for next spring, so things will definitely change by then. Besides, I’m going back to my coastal hometown next week, so I might be getting some Vitamin Sea this year after all.
But for now this is what we had to make do with.
Do you see the little sailboats behind me?
I was curious about them too. So I approached a very friendly man with a controller in his hand to enquire about his boat.
They’re part of the London Model Yacht Club. For over a century, model yacht enthusiasts have been gathering in Kensington Gardens every Sunday to take their little boats for a spin around the pond. The ducks and swans are so used to it they seem completely unbothered.
But what’s that on the other side of the lake?
That looks an awful lot like a…
… Yayoi Kusama pumpkin.
Remember the exhibition we visited last summer in Manchester? I wrote quite a detailed post about Kusama’s work and her interest in pumpkins and polka dots.
So if you’d like a recap, you can read all about it here.
But I think was quite a funny coincidence that we saw that just now.
Kensington Gardens is generally always a beautiful place to hang out in during the summer months. Of course there’s the beautiful Italian Gardens for a mini Mediterranean holiday.
Or cross the West Carriage drive into Hyde Park. Perhaps rent a bike and take it out for a spin? I haven’t done that in ages!
I know summer is almost over, but for me it really felt like it had only just begun.
More summer adventures will follow shortly!