London Calling

Kew Gardens and south of the river

Islington is the least green borough of London, in case you were wondering. That makes it difficult to enjoy the few really nice days we've had this summer.
Trivia question: what is the rainiest May-July since the UK began keeping records in 1760?
Trivia answer: 2007 (worst summer in 250 years and here we are - recognise !^%#)

On one recent nice weekend we headed down to Kew Gardens to enjoy a day out. Kew is a very nice botanical garden that runs along the river in the south. We spent several hours wandering around the various sections of the gardens.

I particularly enjoyed the pepper house, which had peppers from around the world - the smaller the pepper, the hotter it is - note to self, avoid the small ones.

We made sure to enjoy an ice cream as we took in the Pagoda, Minka House (a traditional Japanese wood house), the Olive exhibit, and various other green houses featuring cacti and other tropical plants.

This world heritage site is truly one of the most relaxing places in London and we'll be sure to go back...

...especially when we move to Putney, which is south of the river. If you've read this far you become one of the luck few, an insider, a person in the know, part of the wink wink nod nod crowd. We are moving south of river for a number of reasons - cheaper, more green space, along the river and closer to our friends (aside from you all of course). So with that said, come on over, we'd love to host a bbq in your honor in our new big back garden. hope to see you soon, the autumn/winter can't be much worse than the summer. Ah the UK.

posted by Brian and Kirsten Hennigan @ Tuesday, August 21, 2007