Regents Park

Regents Park is easily my favourite spot in London so far. Part of the reason is that it is located only 3 minutes from our flat, making it an ideal destination for my evening runs (only started last week).

The park is not as big as some of the larger parks like Hyde Park, but it has a little bit of everything - a beautiful rose garden, a small boating lake, football and cricket pitches and a wonderful variety of trees. For all those coming to visit, be assured that you will be taken for a few strolls through it.

Coffee in London

One of the joys of being unemployed in a new city is that you can plan a new exploration every day. I've been planning mine around coffee. Yes, I know I'm in the land of tea, but I like my coffee.

Timeout recently published a list of best coffee in London. My plan is to walk to these cafes to provide some direction to my otherwise aimless walks around the city. I've tried some of these already, and they are quite good. My favourite, thus far, is Kaffeine, an Australian establishment close to our place. Their cappucinos are simply delicious, very similar to Think Coffee in New York.

Walking on the Thames Path

Walking is a very popular activity in the UK. Travel books that I have been reading talk about thousands of people heading out to the countryside every weekend. Almost every town has a trail network that allows you to explore the neighbouring area, and almost every town is accessible through the excellent public transportation system.

In addition to the smaller trails, UK has a number of National Trails which link vast portions of the country. These are long distance routes that cover hundreds of miles of terrain. The routes were created by linking exiting roads and bylanes and by creating new paths where needed. Well-marked and well-maintained, they are relatively easy to follow.

To celebrate the advent of warm weather (finally!), last Sunday we headed out on one of the national trails - Thames Path. It is a 184 miles trail that runs along the river Thames from its source in Cotswold to the sea. We walked a 11 mile stretch from the town of Bourne End to Windsor. Because the trail follows the river, it is a fairly level walk with few inclines.

The walk was peaceful, except for the time when we thought we had 9 miles to go when actually we had only 3 miles remaining. Our GPS had miscalculated our progress. I have to admit that I was doubtful about completing the remaining 9 miles, but luckily, that was not the case, and we made it through easily.

A very pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I'm looking forward to walking on the remaining stretches of the Thames Path.

IPL

Just when you think that the IPL is overrated with inexperienced, Indian unknowns and retired international players that are past their prime, you see a match like the Rajasthan Royals versus Deccan Chargers. Shane Warne basically led his team to victory with his talent and sheer will power. Its a shame he didn't captain more for Australia.

I don't think another captain could have willed that victory, definitely not Dhoni or Sachin. Ganguly has the temperament, but not the talent. Maybe Kumble.