We have not flagged in our effort to do something new and exciting every day. I realised that a vacation — a holiday here — is special because it takes you out of ordinary life and gives you the opportunity to live another life for a limited period of time, and because it is special and limited, you live it intensely. This is the root of the error for people who pick up and move to a favourite holiday destination and then are disappointed to discover life is no longer a holiday. By keeping our staycation intense we are enjoying the benefit of a real holiday that transcends ordinary everyday life.
The day dawned grey as they have been doing, and the sidewalks were damp as they have not been in a long time. So I admit we had a momentary lapse of thinking a day of rest might be nice, but quickly thought better of it, and headed off to the train station for the half hour journey to Kew Gardens.
We spent the day walking along the Thames Path in London from Kew Bridge to Putney Bridge, about 5 and a half miles. A lovely walk, but we have no photos since I forgot the camera, and Bob forgot to charge up his phone. All this holiday activity is addling our brains.
On our way to join the Thames Path at Kew Bridge, we stopped at St Anne's church on Kew Green. This is the 284th church we've visited using Simon Jenkins's England's 1000 Best Churches as a guide. This is our eleventh year of church visiting, and if we don't pick up the pace, I'm afraid we won't be seeing all 1000. We have visited many churches that were not open, so they do not qualify for listing in our little notebook roster. The church has a royal pew for George III who lived in nearby Kew Palace during his periods of madness. Thomas Gainsborough, the Georgian painter, is buried in the churchyard.
The Thames Path runs for 184 miles from the source of the river in the Cotswolds to the Thames Flood Barrier in East London. For the section we did, we walked on the south bank from Kew Bridge to Barnes Bridge. The southern path is earth and woodsy. We passed the spot in Mortlake where the annual Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race finish line lies. The day was warm and breezy and mostly sunny. Really a perfect day for a walk.
Then at Barnes Bridge we crossed to the north bank where the path is paved and developed. We ate a superb light lunch at a pub that is now a French restaurant on the Chiswick Mall, one of the toniest streets in London. We chose the terrines for our lunch, and the young French chef came bounding out asking how we liked them. He had been training with a famous charcutier in the France, and Saturday was the first day the terrines were on the menu, and we were the first people to order them. Shortly we reached William Morris's London home on the river in Hammersmith. To confuse everyone, including me, he named his London house Kelmscott House after his country house Kelmscott Manor. The house is a private residence, but the lower level houses a few exhibits and the headquarters of the international William Morris Society.
We were only in Kelmscott House for a short while, but when we left, the weather had changed for the worse. The sun was gone and the rain was steady and cold. A fog had fallen over the Thames. We hoped it would stop quickly as rain showers have dissipated quickly all summer. Not this time, by the time we passed Fulham's Football Stadium, where a game had just begun with lots of yelling, cheering, and foot stamping, we were soaked through. The rain did let up as we arrived at our last stop, Fulham Palace, the country home of the Bishop of London since the Norman Conquest. Sadly, the main palace rooms were closed for a wedding, and the small museum galleries were about to close. We did get a quick look at the special exhibit on the Japan-British Exhibition of 1910, a combination trade fair and amusement park that attracted 8 million visitors. Three Japanese villages were constructed with real Japanese living in them for the duration of the fair. A baby was born in the Ainu village. That was a big draw for visitors. The rides looked amazing. Walt Disney must have been paying attention: a mountain railway that overlooked the grounds like Kilimanjaro in a Hiroshige print; and the giant Flip-Flap that swung cars into the sky and down again in a 180 degree arc that was left over from a similar Franco-British Exhibition in 1908. The Japanese were not happy. They felt there was too much amusement, not enough serious trade.
But we were happy to call it a full day, and head home from Putney Bridge, have a quick lie down and join a friend for dinner at a local pub that serves good Thai food.
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