Yenda’s legend lives on

• The wisdom of Jesus
• Morning exercises
• Free breakfast and caffeine-ation
• Hyde Park & Oxford Street
• Marlyebone High St – History and books
• The Wallace Collection, Hertford House in Manchester Square
• Dinner at the “Lords”

Jesus mentioned something about not putting new wine into old wineskins, and I so get it. Four times I awoke last night, the old skin not sufficiently pliant to hold yesterday’s wine (coffee, juice, water, you name it). I hope it settles down or I’ll be buying some incontinence nappies just so I can get some sleep. Otherwise, all good for the both of us, jet lag-wise. The hardest part was staying up beyond 6pm.

We’re both determined to keep our health and fitness up, to enjoy the smorgasboard of nations that travel provides – without turning into fat bastards. Di has her Pilates, me my resistance bands, and a mini HIIT routine. Our petite London hotel room provides free space roughly the footprint of a one-door fridge on edge between the room door and the desk/table/drawer/suitcase stand combo thingy. Before heading out to find a morning brew, we swap between the shower and dangerously compromised exercise routines. Coffee at the cured meats and cheese bestrewn Italian deli on Westbourne Grove gets our hearts started, and we head back to “Lords” for our free breakfast before heading out. Toast, Croissant, yoghurt, tea, and juice. The backpacker staff seem very jolly and helpful.

Whilst brass monkeys would be spared their cliched ignominy today, the Hyde Park squirrels look like they’re feeling it – at least compared to “nungers”, our old Kenmore possum friend (or maybe it’s a girl squirrel – not sure?). In any event, we’re well rugged up for the drizzly London cold as we walked along the Oxford Street side of Hyde Park with joggers, dog walkers and horse riders.

Actually, it was just like walking the river at West End in puffers rather than Lululemon (perhaps minus the horses), except the off-leash dogs were all covered in mud. Crocuses were pushing up through the muddy soil under wet, winter-naked tree boughs, and a single blossom illuminated the otherwise dank, grey morning.

We purchased some boots for Di’s Camino from a lovely pommy fella at Eccos in Oxford St. and enjoyed wandering the London back streets via St Christopher’s Place to Marylebone Lane, where we happened upon a delightfully sandwiched (roast beef and horseradish, salmon, cream cheese and capers, pastrami and Swiss cheese, hummus and sun-dried tomato etc. or less sandwichy dishes such as scotch eggs, pork pie, quiche and cheese and ham toasties, goulashe etc.) and incredibly well patronised deli, stopping to revital and rest our street weary legs.

On the back of a reminiscence from Colin, we headed to Marleybone High Street and stopped at a small park, the foundations of St Marleybone Church, whose now war-demolished stones once saw the marriage of Sir Francis Bacon, the batisim Lord Byron and the regular worship of Lord Nelson. Amazing!

The warmly lit, timber doored shop front of “Daunt Books” on Marylebone seduced our resolve to maintain multi-trial-packed-minimised bag weights, and we found ourselves happily browsing its many bookcases, clutching volumes for purchase we never realised we wanted. Oh well.

I think the Wallace Collection, just off Marylebone High St, was the day’s highlight. A free museum at Hertford House in Manchester Square, opulently furnished with original period pieces, paintings from Boucher, Oudry and Fragonard (including the original “The Swing”) et al, assorted period nic-nacs and an impressive armoury. We spent hours there before heading back to Saint Christopher’s Place for a quiet red.

We saw the sun set whilst reminiscing about the day’s adventures over our pub wine before making our long walk back under the glow of the Oxford St shop lights. We dined in our hotel’s common room on a bottle of Montepulciano red from Waitrose and Partners and some ready meals from Marks and Spencer’s before calling it a night.

It was a lovely cruisy day. Tomorrow, probably Regent St., German St., Picadilly and all around there – maybe.