Day at the House

The next day I needed time to revitalise… needed to clear my head, do some writing and remember that this was supposed to be a holiday. Everything was going so fast and I was power walking for 7 hours a day without any thought for food, drink or rest. I needed to recuperate and take stock.

I woke up relatively early and started work on my computer. I needed to edit my photos, review my schedule, make a plan and do some serious writing. I was falling behind and really wanted to have a blog up and running, not to mention complete some diary writing and just feel like a normal person again.

The trouble with this experience is that it can turn into a job if you are not careful. You figure that if you are somewhere exotic then you should force yourself out to see the sights and take it all in… however this takes away from the experience. You start wanting to tick boxes and do the “American Adventure”… that is, I’ve seen this, I’ve seen that… and now we can go… that though, is no experiencing a culture or a place or really taking advantage of all that you have around you, that is being a tourist.

I have no intention of being above my station, I am a tourist and proud of my somewhat Japanese style photography (my head next to this, my head next to that… my head generally speaking)… and I am not entirely proud of my head… I realise I have one too many chins, not enough nose and heaven forbid, 24 year old wrinkles… however I didn’t want to tire myself, and to end up hating the experience all together because I had out done myself, so a day of relaxation was certainly necessary.

After hours of writing and editing and determining what I would do with my next day Mark and I decided to venture out doors. The heating in the house was giving me a headache and I needed some fresh air. Luckily, today, the sun was shining through the clouds, and although crisp, it was the perfect time for a walk.

Mark and I crossed the street and headed to the Common, where he had been few and far between. The common is not what I thought it would be. I thought it was smaller than it actually is… infact it is about two blocks in size and all natural. There is a beautiful pond where we watched large white swans milling about as people allowed their children to feed them crusts of bread. There is an area for football and ball games in general and people kicking their football around. People running out in the cold, and strolling their children while talking about the days events to their partner or friend. Dogs danced between the trees scaring the squirrels into branches far above.

The trees themselves took my breathe away once again. Maple trees, how old I can only guess, but certainly there for hundreds of years, spilling their shade on soft green leave-strewn grass. I said to Mark that I knew when Shakespeare was writing “Mid-Sommer Nights Dream” it was a place like this that he imagined the fairy king and queen to live. It was magical in its innocence. I felt as though I was in a forest far away, that at any time fairies would make themselves known. The sunlight flittered over the bark, there was almost music in the air. A two minutes walk from the house… we were in another world far beyond London and we both felt calm and recharged from the hour walk we took around the park.