Kevin Runs Europe: Day 1

Distance: 12.0 miles (19.3 km)

Twas a fine day in London. We took the underground from the airport to the city center, getting an authentically claustrophobic taste of London's rush hour. We got out at Green Park and Curtis decided he'd take a nap under a tree while I ran. Well, not yet. First I had to let my Garmin GPS watch load the satellites, which takes forever after you move halfway across the globe. When I got started, I felt great, even though I was pretty tired. I ran past Buckingham Palace, through St. James Park, and through an almost-empty Trafalgar Square (I guess 8am is too early for most tourists). With one mile down, I found myself thinking "only 799 to go." I then followed the bank of the Thames for about 5 miles (with a detour to St. Paul's Cathedral) until I reached the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. There, I crossed to the South Bank, running past the London Eye and crossing back over a bridge to run past Parliament and Westminster Abbey. I then fought my way through the crowds awaiting the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, ran back through Green Park, made a loop around the Serpentine Lake at nearby Hyde Park, and then back to Green Park. I took my time and stopped often to take in the view, so the whole thing took about two hours. In those two hours, though, I think I saw more of London than I had seen in two days while on a school trip in 2008 with a group from my high school.

The rest of the day was pretty laid back. We took a nap (or two or three) in Green Park and in St. James Park. Napping in parks actually seems to be one of the most popular activities among the locals - at least on the rare occasions when it's sunny and warm. We went through the National Gallery because it was free and close to us, and other than that, our day was generally filled with walking around, people watching, and eating. Around 11, we took the the tube back to the airport, where we would sleep for the night.