day 1 - fireworks & foot patrol

i shut myself down extremely hard last night for bed.
it was around 9pm local time i believe, which i must again reference was close to 5am back in HK. the couch could have been a cloud full of pillows for all i cared...it was good night wet nurse for me.
that is of course right up until the fireworks started.
yes, real light 'em up fireworks, colours and multiple bang type of fireworks.
i have no idea what time the festivities began, probably around midnight i suspect.
normally, i would use words like annoying and hooligans to explain my reaction to these types of events. yet, given my somewhat spacey orientation, i felt like the bunker was under attack...seriously. i couldn't understand what in the hell was happening. perhaps there was a major holiday in the UK on March 20 that i was unaware of....or somehow i had slept right through to the 4th of July (which doesn't make sense for a number of reasons i realize...)
it was crazy.
heart racing, eyes shifting, i finally simmered myself down after a couple of minutes and i was once again back to dreamsville.

4:30am comes and i'm wide awake, yet somewhat happy at the same time for putting in almost 8 hours. refreshed & excited, the first thing that came into my head, strangely enough, was to go for a run around Hyde Park. hmm...odd choice really, given i really don't run back home. i guess there's just something about a large well-known park that makes people convince themselves that it needs to be enjoyed at pace, i.e. Central park or Jurassic park (give it up for the 90's, people).

i gear up, including a borrowed toque from my so-called roommate given it was a little frosty this morning and start the stride. if i were to compare my running style today to someone else, there's no question that i was definitely Forrest Gump out there.
and i quote:
"For no particular reason I just kept on going."

well, actually, there was a reason. i'm crap at directions.
the plan, before i left home base, was to run in a straight line to the park, do a portion inside the grounds and basically circle back and return as i came.
didn't quite turn out that way.
who knows what happened; maybe i got caught up with all of my fellow early morning runners out there, to the point where i think i followed a few of them the wrong way out of the park. for real.
a few minutes go by and i'm definitely not remembering any of these streets and certainly cannot see any of the breadcrumbs i'd dropped.
screw it, i'm lost.
lucky for me, i'm running with my iPhone...and even though it continues to prevent me from connecting to 3G, i still have the gps/location services working.
come on, blue ball, tell me where i am....
it does just that and it's confirmed - i'm nowhere near where i should be.
for a real runner, this wouldn't be a problem. just figure out the proper route and hightail it back. for me, i was already spent. nothing left in the tank. in fact, i would need to run even further back home than the first half of the leg.
nothing left to do but suck it up and start the jog-walk combos.
jog then walk. jog then walk.
you're gonna make it, buddy, even if it takes you til Noon, you can do it!
and i did. hooray for me.
all-in, a funny (typical) experience for me.
here's the Family Circus/Google Map track for you to see. i will remind you, this should have been one straight line from A to B and back.

how was the rest of your day, Forrest?
well, actually it was great.
covered a lot of ground, from Covent Garden to Leicester Square, Big Ben, Parliament, kids (yes, i already used that one yesterday, but you gotta give it up for European Vacation). my dogs are barking, enough for one day i say. some much needed downtime, perhaps a quick nap, and then a few pints to round out the evening in all likelihood.

a quick post freedomites, i know....with little-to-no real London content; yet i ask you,
are you not entertained!?