Hyde Park

One of the first things to say about Hyde Park is that it is huge. It is bigger than the Principality of Monaco for example. But don't be daunted. It is easily accessible and a great place to enjoy the sunshine.

If you are in London at the right time, keep an eye out on the concerts and gigs in Hyde Park. It is host to some amazing artists including Arcade Fire and The Killers. There are also other events, including an outdoor cinema. It's worth visiting this page to find out what's going on so that you can plan your visit accordingly.

Parks are for relaxing though and for enjoying the feel of the green grass beneath your feet and the sun on your face. If you want to collapse after one of our strolls around London why not hire a deck chair? You can out more about hiring here. You can also swim in the open air Lido if you want to. There is something liberating about swimming in the open air and it isn't something we get to do very often in London. The sun on your back while you glide through the water is a wonderful feeling. Find out more here. Just don't forget your trunks!

If you're looking for more to do in London, why not check out our London Strolls? You can find out more on our website www.strollon.co.uk

Regent's Park

Regent's Park is one of my favourite parts of London. Located south of Camden and Primrose Hill, it links the North West London. You can walk from Camden Market to Lord's Cricket Ground, home of the game and the M.C.C., if you want but you don't need a reason to visit Regent's Park.

We've mentioned the park before, in this post, but here are a few more tips about this wonderful place. It is home to London's Zoo, where you can see a range of animals during the day and, if you're visiting in the summer, at night too. You can boat on the Regent's Park lake too. The lake, in the South West of the park, is a lovely way to spend a summer's afternoon: you can row safely and easily and bask in the summer sunshine.

But, if this is all a bit much for you, why not take a picnic and sit in the sunshine for an hour or two? If you can face the walk, there is an excellent deli to the north in Primrose Hill. Melrose and Morgan will provide delicious pork pies, thinly cut hams, freshly baked bread and some tart artisan cheeses. It is worth visiting for some supplies but there are plenty of supermarkets dotting the edge of the park. A picnic is one of the best ways to relax in a park, so take some time and enjoy it.

If you want something to do before or after your visit to Regent's Park, why not try one of our strolls? You find out more about our audio guides here.

Hemingway in Paris

One of the oddities of Paris to my mind is that it was the centre for American Modernism as much as European Modernism in the early twentieth century. In late 1921 Earnest Hemingway arrived in Paris with his new wife to be the foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star.

Paris was a shock: it was cheap, it was full of beautiful women and you could drink legally there to boot. Earnest met his fellow American writer Gertrude Stein who introduced him at her salon where he met Pablo Picaso, Joan Miro and other modernist artists. He also ran into another American writer, Ezra Pound, who was just finishing his edit of The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot. It hard to imagine the artistic electricity fizzing through the city, but in places like Saint Germain Du Pres you can still feel an echo of it on the air.

The Paris Hemingway new is not that different to the one we visit today - he spent so much time living in the Latin Quarter, which is still full on winding side roads and cafe's that spill onto the pavement. Some of his haunts included Les Deux Margots (we mentioned it in this blog post) and The Brasserie Lipp. This is a wonderful Alsatian restaurant, serving simple ham and onion tarts and great piles of Choucroute Garni - sauerkraut, served with smoked sausage, ham and pork. Sitting here with a crisp glass of Riesling you could be almost imagine Hemingway walking in.

Do check out Hemingway's Paris if you can. It is beautiful. And if you need anything else, why not try out Sixty Minute Stroll? You can find out more about the Left Bank, seeing Notre Damn and learning about the Revolution.

London's Parks

The parks of London are one of the city’s glories. Like lungs, they let us breath by pumping oxygen into the air and no trip to London would be complete without a ramble through some of the Royal Parks like Hyde Park or Regent’s Park. Here then are some interesting facts that you might not know about the parks of London.

• At 253 hectares, Hyde Park (when combined with Kensington Gardens) is bigger than Monaco.
• Hyde Park, Green Park, Buckingham Palace and St James’ Park form a chain that take you from Kensington Palace to Horse Guard’s Parade in Whitehall.
• Hyde Park was once a hunting ground for Henry VIII and wasn’t open to everyone until 1637 when Charles II turned it into a public park.
• Green Park was once a notorious duelling venue.
• St James’ Park is the oldest of the Royal Parks in London and used to belong to Eton College.
• Regent’s Park’s real names should be The Regent’s Park but this is rarely used.
• The Official Residence of the American Ambassador is in private land in Regent’s Park
• Regent’s Park was originally supposed to be where a palace and series of villas would be built for the Prince Regent (later George IV) and his friends but this plan was only partly completed.
• Regent’s Park became a Public Park in 1835, initially for only two days a week.

You can find out more about the parks mentioned above on Wikipedia:

• Hyde Park
• Regent’s Park
• St James’ Park
• Green Park

If you want to find out more about walking in London please click here and if you have any tips please do leave them below.

Wikipedia in you ears

Not one to shy away from warmth and sunlight, I decided to take an hour off for lunch today. I wasn't, however, set for one big picnic in the park; I was due to meet up with an old friend of the family. She's a fascinating woman, full of ideas, who has successfully set up several companies and still seeks to initiate new and occasionally absurd ventures. The point is that, although amusing company, she is open minded, observant and incisive. She is able quickly to grasp a new concept and then outline its pros and cons as she is able to see it. And she is always able to "see it". 

So when I explained to her the concept behind MP3 and iPod audioguides she was quick on uptake. Using her own experiences in travel and technology she wanted to know what it was that StrollOn was. Not what did we do, but what we were. After a tiring and longwinded explanation from my part she then clicked into action: "Oh", she blurted, "so it's like Wikipedia but in your ears". My memories of the rest of lunch fades into cheesecake and goodbyes, as from that point on I couldn't stop thinking about the idea of an "audio-wikipedia". 

Was this what we wanted to be? Was this a product that people would consider useful, amusing, intriguing and enlightening? Was this what we were and indeed, if so, what we should continue to be? And on further reflection I would be inclined to say yes, it would be good to be considered an audio-referencing tool as well as a guide; something that you can dip into whenever confronted by something that you feel needs further explanation when strolling around a city. In order to be able to dip into the guides they need to be available in short, bite-sized chapters, using simple, clear and memorable descriptions. You want to better and easier understand what is going on about you, or at least that is why I use Wikipedia. 

However, maybe you have alternative reasons for using Wikipedia - ones that aren't immediately obvious to me! Maybe you feel that the idea of audioguides is to give the user a much more in depth and detailed structured analysis of all that surrounds him/her. In each case let us know: at what level would you seek to better understand and appreciate a city such as London with an iPod at your disposal?

In the meantime, StrollOn...