Week 15: Kew Gardens

After weeks of rain, cloudiness and a whole cold winter, spring has finally arrived. 26 C degrees! I did not even remember how it felt to walk in a t-shirt anymore! What to do in such a beautiful day that happens to be a day off from work? Surely I need to do something outdoors. But I am tired of my walks in Regents, Hyde or Holland Park. I want something new. Something exiting. Something adventurous. And I found it in London’s zone 3.

I, of course, get lost before finding the entrance to Kew Gardens. But that adds to the adventure doesn’t it?

Out of the tube station there is a different vibe then the one you get everywhere else in this city. It feels calmer, more relaxed. Like a small countryside town in France. With cafes and pubs with outdoors seating where the locals are enjoying their lunch in the sun. And all of a sudden you feel like on holiday.

I manage to find the entrance to the park and once in I am welcomed by the smell of Jasmine, one of my favorite perfumes in the world. It is going to be a good day.

 

 

I allow myself to be guided by instinct, in this journey in the variety of nature. I walk among alpine flowers and plants. Then I found myself surrounded by carnivore plants, in a room where it rains for two minutes six times a day. Better not be in there at the wrong time!

I follow the path and I explore the palm trees of Africa and South America, with the humid climate of those areas that make me wanting fresh cool air as soon as possible.

I rest for few minutes in the shadow of a Pagoda, before walking on top of trees.

 

I find shelter from the warmth of spring in a Japanese Minka, in the middle of a bamboo forest.

I admire Magnolia trees and rhododendrons, before finishing my journey in a Monet Painting.

 

The whole day was inspiring and refreshing, though it took quite some effort to ignore the planes constantly flying low on the park, and their noise.