OK, let me start by saying that if I gave any impression whatsoever that I was unhappy with the cloudy / rainy weather, I’d like to retract that. This afternoon, about lunchtime, the sun came out. With a vengeance. It’s now VERY hot and humid out there, much like late July in North Carolina. Suddenly I realize (as EB’s been saying all along) that the clouds were actually a blessing and we were lucky to have had them for most of this time.
Today was low-key to begin with. With a longer vacation time, we don’t feel as rushed to “get out and see everything”, so there’s little need to be up at 5 and out the door by 7ish most mornings. Besides, nothing really opens until after 10 anyhow so there’s not much point.
Today we walked up George Street (actually, a block over from George, just to see some different scenery) to Liverpool Street and then to the Chinese Gardens. As public gardens usually do, it whets my appetite to go home and work in the yard. And, as usual, I have to recognize that these places have an army of full-time gardeners on staff who live for the sole purpose of making the grounds look spectacular.
It’s very formal, very Chinese, but also very calm and relaxing. There are enormous koi in the pond – some are probably 18 inches long – and they’re obviously used to being treated well and fed. If you stood at the water’s edge for long, they came up and expected a snack.
We got the last brief shower of the morning there, which we enjoyed from under a little shelter whilst watching the fish and the water around us. It was amazingly relaxing.
