Green Park, Buckingham Palace, and Mercato Mayfair

After our little bus detour we made our way to Green Park and Buckingham Palace.

Lovely daffodils blooming in the park.

The sunset behind the trees.

Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Coat of Arms.

A glimpse of the King’s Guard marching around the palace.

Photo by Max McDougall.

One of the statues - Agriculture - surrounding The Queen Victoria Memorial.

Max, towards the right, taking in the view.

Photo by Max McDougall.

For dinner we went to Mercato Mayfair, a vibrant food hall built into the deconsecrated St. Mark’s Church. The church has been standing since 1825. It was on England’s Historic Heritage Risk Register before getting refurbished in 2019. Very representative of London’s talent for mixing the traditional and modern.

My delicious chicken and pork dumplings.

Photo by Max McDougall.

Max’s flavorful Pad Thai.

Our wonderful chocolate ice cream sandwich.

Morning Shopping and Mount Monadnock

The fourth day of the trip was filled with some shopping in Keene and a lovely hike on Mount Monadnock.

The beautiful stained glass window at the Keene Unitarian Universalist Church, where we stopped to check out a rummage sale.

The lovely stone facade of the Saint James Episcopal Church and the brick building next door covered in vines.

I caught this adorable little bee trying to break into a comb honey package at the farmers market.

Myself with Jenny, Jon, and Liz at the start of the Marlboro Trail.

We didn’t make it to the top of the mountain but the views were still lovely.

My siblings wanted to climb a little further and sat still and listen to the pine needles falling to the forest floor. It sounded just like gentle rain. 

Jon, Liz, and Jenny coming back down the mountain.

Myself and Jenny.

Beaver Brook Falls

The third and final hike of the day was at Beaver Brook Falls.

Mom and Liz walking side by side.

Beaver Brook Falls.

Jenny, Liz, and myself.

Mom and Jenny.

Myself, mom, and Jenny.

Jenny finding a geocache, a container hidden at a specific location that can be found with an app that provides clues and a GPS device. Most contain log books where you can write your name and the date you found it, but sometimes you find one with a little trinket inside. It is customary that you leave a trinket for the next person to find if you take the one from the container. In this particular container there was a log book and two small rubber duckies. Jenny gave me one of the rubber duckies and she left a small compass for the next person to find. 

Jenny frolicking.