England -While Mike Works, Vicki Plays

May 25

After having breakfast together, Mike and I parted ways. Wednesday was a busy day for Mike, and he didn’t know when he’d be done. He had 4-5 customer testimonials. He also videoed much of the conference. He was going all day and didn’t have time for a real lunch. By the end of the day, he was spent.

It was a busy day for Vicki too – time to play. I started the day by figuring out how the Tube worked. After a little trial and error and then assistance, I bought an Oyster card and hit the Tube. The day before, I identified a good running route. It was the Princess Diana Memorial Walkway, which wound through Green Park, by Buckingham Palace, circled St. James Park, and then worked its way around Hyde Park. I didn’t make the entire 7-mile loop because I kept getting distracted and ran out of time. I had such a great run. Seeing the Palace was neat. I saw a guard display, and a tour guide near me explained that the extent of the display meant the Queen was in residence. I loved St. James Park with the birds. At the far end of the park, I saw a display at the Horse Guard Parade area. On my way past the Palace again, there were two royal carriages pulled by horses that passed by. I don’t know who was in them but my imagination went wild. When I made it to Hyde Park, I was running a little short on time. Hyde Park was beautiful and with a lot of trails. There’s even a trail for horses. I had to cut the run short because of time.

When I got back to the hotel, I did a quick change and walked to the Shakespeare Globe Theatre for my 2:00pm “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” show. It was awesome! The Globe was beautiful and fairly rustic, as it was meant to be. There was a modern twist to the show. Helena was a male (“Helenas”), Helenas and Hermia did a short Beyoncé dance to “All the Single Ladies”, and there was a strong element of sexuality in the play. The lady who played Puck was outstanding.

After the show, I was on the south side of the Thames River. I didn’t know where I was but decided to just follow people. I walked across the London Bridge against a mass of people. It was just after 5:00pm and everyone was leaving work. On the other side of the bridge, I followed the crowd through random London streets. I loved it. Mike and I decided to meet, and I found my way back to the hotel. We ate dinner at another pub and grabbed a couple of beers at the local grocery by the hotel.