Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away!

    This is what I love about London: the rain.  Is that wrong?  I don’t think so.  My love of rain (specifically, rainy days) began long ago.  Like any good mother, my mom would often tell us “Go outside and play!” when the sun was shining.  Don’t get me wrong, I love being outdoors, but the books are inside.  A rainy day means quiet indoor activities, without the guilt of "wasting" a nice day, and to me quiet indoor activities means reading.  A day with terrible weather means guilt free reading time! But enough about my psychologically driven antisocial behavior.  Why would I love rainy days when I’m walking around in it all day?  Good question, and a relevant one right now while I’m wandering around the streets of London during the rainiest summer in recorded history.  Keep in mind, London has an extensive recorded history.  I’ve yet to be here a full day without a few rainstorms.  The odd thing is, there might be a fierce downpour for five minutes, then I’ve just dug out my jacket and arranged my backpack again when it suddenly stops and the sun is shining bright again.  Today, especially, was full of these little, damp surprises interspersed in an otherwise lovely day.  This was a bit unfortunate because we climbed to the top of Primrose Hill and flew kites, just as they did in “Mary Poppins.”  We were interrupted quite quickly with one of our regular cloudbursts, but it was still great fun!  Luckily, there was a school group of youngsters there who sang the rain away with a rousing rendition of “Rain, rain, go away,” and we were able to get the kites flying once again.  I haven't flown a kite in years, I realized, which is a sad thing because I’d forgotten how fun it is!  I’m assigning everyone a homework assignment:

1. Dig out your kite (I know you have one somewhere, and if you don’t, go get one!)
2. Find an open field
3. Go fly a kite!

 The rain was a bit of a nuisance, too, while we were exploring Regent's Park (my old stomping ground!) with a photography focus of flowers.  I still managed to get some awesome shots, though, and am having a hard time picking my favorite!

  See my problem?  I just wish I could capture the beautiful aromas of these flowers as easily as I did the images.

  At the end of the day, I had the thrill of flying a kite, saw and smelled some beautiful things, and took in even more of this great city.  And I still love the rain.