Birthday, Wimbledon, Kew Gardens

Today is my 25^th birthday and as luck would have it, I’ve come down with something nasty and have mostly been in bed for the last few days. I suppose it was inevitable with all of the germs I must touch in public places but it’s made for kind of a miserable birthday. At my request, my mom sent me a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese so that was my birthday lunch – it’s the little things I appreciate now!

Last week I made two very exciting trips. The first was to Wimbledon! Now you have to understand that this was the tournament that got me hooked on tennis way back in 1993 and every year, I am glued to the ESPN coverage of this and the other three grand slams… although Wimbledon will always be my favorite. The All England Lawn & Tennis Club (the venue’s official name) is only a short voyage on the District line from where I live in the West End. They have a great tour with a very knowledgeable tour guide that took me to Court No. 1., Henman Hill (a large grassy area outside Court No. 1 where thousands who can’t get tickets to the biggest matches can watch the action on a mammoth LCD screen), Centre Court, the dressing rooms, the gymnasium for the players, and even got to sit in the chairs the players sit in for their post-match interviews with the Press. I can’t believe I got to sit in Centre Court. It was a very exciting day and I learned things like they cut the grass to exactly 8mm for the tournament and only use Centre Court and Court No. 1 for the two weeks of the tournament in June and July. They’re also getting ready to add seats to Centre Court and put on a new retractable roof to be ready for the tournament in 2009. The roof will be translucent so the grass won’t die when the roof is closed. The new museum opens on April 12^th so I’m going to have to go back for that. I am already excited to watch the tournament this year!! (Album: Wimbledon)

I’ve given up waiting for clear, sunny days to see things outdoors so on Sunday I went to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, also just a short journey from the West End on the District Line. I didn’t know what to expect but what a place this is! It’s gorgeous even on a cloudy, drizzly day in late March so I can only imagine how beautiful it will be on a sunny day in mid-April. Kew Gardens is 300 acres of paths, gardens, and greenhouses and takes about 3 hours to walk around. My favorite part were the glass houses (The Temperate House is the world’s largest surviving Victorian glass house) which house all kinds of different plants and trees. The Crocus Carpet, which is near its peak right now, creates a sea of purple and white flowers just inside the entrance. And of course, the daffodils are brilliant and continue to grow with each passing rain shower. The Davies Alpine House had just opened a week before I visited – it’s a small, strangely shaped enclosure with a glass roof designed to protect the plants inside from the British weather. Inside there are little teletubbie-like pipes that blow air of the proper temperature over the plants. It’s really a neat place and I must return to see the new growth before I leave London. (Album: Kew Gardens)

The sun appeared on Tuesday for the first time since last Wednesday and I was out the door as soon as I could, camera in hand. I walked from Knightsbridge to Westminster, through Green Park, past Buckingham Palace, and through St. James’s Park. In grand English fashion, twenty minutes later it was pouring and then ten minutes after that the sun was out again. This resulted in some interesting skies and clouds and even a rainbow witnessed while seeking shelter from a downpour by standing under the canopy of a hot dog stand in St. James’s Park. It was one of the first days it really felt like spring here and I am ready for it. It’s getting warm enough that I only need a short sleeved shirt and a light jacket instead of two shirts, a sweater, a wool coat, scarf, hat, mittens, and two pairs of socks. (I don’t even wear that many clothes in the middle of winter at home – I’m not quite sure why it has felt so cold here!) It is a welcome change. Also, daylight savings time has come and now it does not get dark until around 7:30pm. (Album: A Spring Walk)

To those who are paying attention, I have just spent hours uploading pictures from the last month or so. You will find the new albums in My Photo Album – click the link on the sidebar at the right. Look for these new albums:

A Spring Walk, British Museum/V&A/Natural History, Kew Gardens, London Zoo, Oxford, Wimbledon, Winchester

More soon!