Hiking Around Hampstead

Explore Hampstead Heath


75 and sunny this past Thursday! Clear blue skies, warm breeze....it was a dream.
Honest - when I woke up and felt the sun shining through my window, I had to make sure I was not dreaming.

After a fabulous 7am class at Barrecore, I got to work and received a big fat check that put a big fat smile on my face, since it tipped my total sales for my first year of work to over double the goal that was given to me! July marks 1 year that I've been a working woman. I plan on celebrating my $$$$$$ victory with a big, fat cupcake! Sadly, I don't get commission but I do get rewarded with sugar.
My boss knows the way to my heart.

Given that it was a rare day of amazing weather  - we closed up shop at 5 on the dot, I changed into some Luon and I headed up to Hampstead Heath. I kept hearing how gorgeous it was from everyone, and felt that a rare sunny day was the perfect opportunity to finally see for myself.

I was expecting a park of sorts, but what I found instead was vast woodlands, meadows, strings of ponds, valleys, tall ferns growing out of unkept grass, huge shady trees, small dirt trails, flowers, leaves, shubbery - need I go on! It is a magical, huge, chunk of glorious nature in the middle of the city!

I roamed around enjoying how absolutely lovely everything was and taking in huge breathes of fresh, non city air. I laid in the grass, I hiked the trails, I watched some english lads fish, and eventually I got all the way to the Pergola and Hill Top Gardens where I stayed until the last bit of sun disappeared and then I popped on the double decker towards home.

The Pergola at Hampstead Heath

As I was nearing my flat, I noticed my two flatmates sitting outside the corner pub, pints and cigarette cartons on the table. I stopped to say hello, and Suze asked,"Where have you bean?" 
She prounounces "been" very englishly and it sounds like she is saying bean. At least to me.

I explained I was just hiking around hampstead heath and laying in the sunshine, exploring trails and admiring the Pergola.

"Gosh, you look just like the picture of health," said Jacqueline, as she took a drag from her cigarette!
And you look just like the picture lung cancer, I thought. But I didn't say that because I love her.

They both  agreed that I have seen more of England than they have after living here their whole lives.

I'm about to see more as I've planned an Island Getaway for this weekend with my friend Christina and her adorable yorkie, Herbie. We are having a girls + dog weekend, on the Isle of Wight. Apparently, it has nice, English beaches - if such a thing actually exists. When we booked this getaway the forecast for the weekend was sun! But sadly since then it has changed to rain, rain, and more rain. So here's to looking on the brightside and hoping the sun prevails afterall.

My flatmates helped me pick this location the other night as we watched re-run after re-run of Sex and the City until we finally gave into our growing sleepiness at 2am. I could recite each word of the episodes we watched I've seen them all so many times. But who can turn off the finale of SATC when its on tv?
No one can, that's who.
No female can tear their eyes away from Mr. Big flying to Paris to rescue Carrie. That grand gesture moment is something we all dream of.

My flatmates they ask if life in New York is really like that, if people are really dressed like that, do that, say that, eat out in places like that....

"Yes" - I answer. It's everything you see and more!
The clothes, the restaurants, the lights, the trannys, the crazies, the cosmos.

The only thing I never experienced in my life in New York was the uncanny amount of good looking men Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Samantha seem to come across. And the gorgeous apartments they all live in. In real life, there are no Mr. Big's parked outside the stoop of your brownstone.
I lived in New York for 3 years without so much as meeting a soul I would maybe want to date before Josh walked through the door of Quality Meats and into my life.

When the last episode was over I was slightly tempted to pop in my DVD of the movie, but having to be up at 7 for Barrecore stopped me. I pulled the case out of my drawer, but promptly stuffed it back in between Music & Lyrics and The Little Mermaid.

I own a very small and strange assortment of DVDs, which also includes High School Musical 1, 2, and 3. And I'm proud of it.

So instead of putting on a bad girl movie, I packed up my suitcase so I was ready to depart for the island the next evening, fell into my 500 thread count sheets, and said a selfish prayer for sunshine.  Lots and lots of sunshine....