The Magic of a City Park

If you've never lived in a large city or an area where all of the apartments and houses are up on top of each other, you may not know the magic of a city park. Most Americans where I grew up had yards - nice big ones - with plenty of space for grass and trees and flowers. Not so in most of Europe. So, today I have decided to educate you on the benefits of a park.

Cities are loud. There is the constant rumble of traffic and sirens. And the hum of so many appliances being run in such a small space. And most houses are more like duplexes or triplexes or you live in flats and can hear your neighbors running water, watching television, or the baby is crying. At night, you have to leave the windows open so it doesn't get too warm so you hear the raucous pub-leavers after they've indulged in a little too much, or the whining motorcycles as they pass by going much too fast on the open road. Then there are the buses and trains that run at all hours (which I am grateful for, but they still contribute to the cacophony of sound). There is a lot of noise. All day. All night.

But when you walk into a city park, it's like a hush falls over your spirit. The traffic noise is still there, but somehow it's muted. The deeper into the park you go, the more your soul feels refreshed. As you take in the sights and smells and sounds of nature it's like a breath of fresh air.

Today, I went to Kensington Gardens - one of the royal parks located in London. It is enormous. And as I sat quietly on a bench under a bower of budding trees and read a bit of Jane Austen among the chirping birds and scampering squirrels with the faint scent of daffodils in the air it was as if all of the noise just faded away and I was able to just be.

I highly recommend the experience. So, have you been to a park lately?

So serene - it makes my heart happy.

You knew there would be more tulips, didn't you? They make me happy, so I have to take advantage of the few days that they look great!

The formal gardens at Kensington Palace - complete with fountains in the middle. The more I see well laid out English gardens, the more I'm a fan. They're just so nice to sit in and just "be."