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Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Thames Path



What a fun night! I left work shortly after 5 and headed home to put on my tennies. Though it was rainy in the morning, it had cleared up and was in the mid-60s, so it was a nice night to be out for a stroll. When I was bemoaning my exercise options last week, someone told me I could easily walk along the Thames Path from Canary Wharf to London Bridge, as it’s a big jogging route. Eureka! I mean, I had literally gotten out the map and poured over it and wondered if maybe I could take the tube down one stop to a park that looked like it might be OK for jogging…

Seriously, folks, I have missed a majorly cool thing to do for the past month! I just think that being outside along the river is so lovely. My flat in the boondocks is to the east of Canary Wharf, but somehow I had not realized that if you walk off to the west, it is super cool! There is a whole new set of restaurants and bars I haven’t even checked out. I did not make it all the way to London Bridge because it started to get dark, and I wasn’t sure how good of an idea it was to be by myself (aren’t you impressed, Mom?), but I went all the way through Limehouse (where Leigh Ann and I had dinner at the Gordon Ramsay pub…little did I know we could have walked home…in 30/45 minutes) and up to part of a park. It was so neat! Part of the route is along the water, and part cuts through the streets of Limehouse and Wapping (both are converted industrial areas – warehouses turned into apartments). I passed another pub/restaurant I’d read about, and I must say it’s too bad my visitors came before I had scoped out the good haunts!

When I got home, it was only about 7:15, and I was feeling very peppy, so I walked down to the new Italian restaurant that has opened on the corner. I pass it every time I come and go from my building, and for the past week, once I realized it was going to be a restaurant, I have been SO excited that there would be somewhere else to eat in my ‘hood! (Just FYI, that steak sandwich from last week rang in at $50 by the time my wine and dessert were added, so I don’t think the Radisson is a viable frequent dining option!)

Well, just my luck, they were having an open house at the new restaurant! They had free food, drinks, etc. It was hilarious; I’ve just never been in a restaurant where they were literally giving everything away, even alcohol. And I experienced the friendliest service I’ve had since I’ve been here. I ate standing up at the bar and started talking to a couple standing next to me, only to find out the girl was Brazilian, so we spoke Portuguese for a while.

I repeat: what a fun night!

And how fun is this...I found this whole set of 360 views on a BBC site, so you can see parts of the walk I took for yourself!

www.bbc.co.uk/london/in_pictures/360_degree/docklands/

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