This morning, I woke up at 7:30AM and was out of the hostel within 30 minutes or so.  I spent a relaxing day walking through Hyde Park, up to Little Venice, across to Portobello Market, down to Kensington Gardens, and back through the Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, etc.

It was a long day with plenty of walking, but it was bearable due to a mid-day 2 hour break at a Starbucks near Portobello Market.  While walking for many hours this day, I reflected on introspective/deep thoughts and questions:

• Why do I think I’m not right for partnerships?
• What don’t I like about Michelle? (Just for the sake of making sure I’m not infatuated)
• Would I live anywhere else besides Los Angeles?
• Am I racist for being concerned about the seemingly inevitable Muslim takeover of Europe?

It was also interesting to visit Kensington Palace and to see the birthday cards that were left for Princess Diana at the palace’s gates.  It’s difficult to wrap my head around the relationship/admiration that the British people have for the prince/queen/king.  It’s unlike anything that we experience in the United States.

After Kensington Palace, I made my way back to Piccadilly Square (for the second time in two days) and also visited Trafalgar Square, another gem of a beautiful public outdoor area.  There were many buskers and street performers at the square including mex.fs (https://en-gb.facebook.com/mexfs/), a street performer who plays a guitar while tapping the guitar for extra sound effects.  His music was really impressive and enjoyable.

Once arriving back at the hostel, I realized that I misplaced my toiletries bag.  For the next 30-45 minutes, I looked for it to no avail.  I ended up walking over to the supermarket to buy new toiletries.  In the midst of this search, I met Annie at the front desk of the hostel.  Annie is a botany student at Cal State SLO, and will be spending the summer working at Yosemite National Park.  I asked her if she knew Lexi (from the Iceland Layover) and she mentioned that they were close friends… small world.