And Then My Heart With Pleasure Fills, And Dances With The Daffodils. Hyde Park in March.

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,                            
A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

            
                 For oft, when on my couch I lie
                 In vacant or in pensive mood,
                 They flash upon that inward eye
                 Which is the bliss of solitude;
                 And then my heart with pleasure fills,
                 And dances with the daffodils.

                                       
                              William Wordsworth






Forgive me for going all English-teachery, but how could I not think of Wordsworth when I walked into Hyde Park and saw wave after wave of daffodils!  "The bliss of solitude..."  They are indeed!

The Serpentine Restaurant on the Serpentine River in the middle of Hyde Park.  Even on a nippy March day, there were plenty of people enjoying the sea gulls and paddle boats.  This restaurant was supposedly one of Princess Diana's favorite lunch spots.

I like this picture!  Dad and daughter out for a Saturday stroll by the river.

The sun came out for a few minutes and lit up these flowering shrubs.

I smelled their sweet scent before I saw them.  When I found them, six or seven people already stood  
by them snapping pictures of the sun and shadow in the sculptural branches.
We were nature paparazzi.

This sculpture was enormous!  It must have been thirty feet high.  The top section was polished so
that it became a mirror.  Do you see that person in the middle wearing a red jacket?  That's me.

This is the Italian Gardens which lies on the north side of Hyde Park.  This garden is more formal
than most of Hyde Park, and it contains some beautiful garden sculpture.

This swan urn is appropriate because many mute swans nest in this area.

I loved this.  A stepladder for the geese and swans!

Gorgeous Urn! 

Here's a close up of her beautiful face and floral detail.

I know it's strange, but I love these grey March days! 

One last urn.  This time it's a ram.

After the Italian Gardens, I strolled down the Serpentine where the water fowl were putting
on a show.  These Mute Swans begged for food, but very politely.

The doves in Britain are huge!  I'd guess they are about twice the size of our sweet little doves in
North Central Texas.  I don't know how they manage to fly. 
They sure don't look aerodynamic.

A little further on I stumbled on this scene.  These big sea birds occupied almost every post and they
were all facing into the wind.

Finally!  I found Peter Pan.  That's Wendy at his feet.  I had forgotten that the first part
of the story takes place in Hyde Park.  Wendy and her brothers lived close by.

This was just too cute to pass up.  It's a water fountain - beary refreshing.

It's so easy to imagine a Hobbit peeking around the corner of the tree or Dobby, the house elf,
apperating in a puff of air. 

These mounted police officers just ambled down the street and over the Serpentine Bridge not seeming to care that they were making a whole line of Mercedes and black taxis wait behind them. 

My last picture of the bridge before it started raining cats and dogs!