Catching up

I knew I've been slacking on blogging. Since mid March, there were not a lot of things going as far as traveling. I did go back to Atlanta end of March for a week. The weather was really nice. I did work crazy hours, not the quantity but just the hours. I was trying to do some work that I do here, so I got to the office before 4AM. That meant I got up every morning around 2.30AM, then showered, got ready and left the house by 3.30AM. I worked for 3 hours and then, hit the gym, and back at my desk again. I left around lunch time. It worked out really well because then, in the afternoon, I could run errands, from oil change, hair cut to massage (which was long due, my back, neck and ITB needed some TLC).

Pictures from the plane. Beautiful cloud and sky.

When we were about to land in Atlanta.

Sunrise when we were approaching London.

This is how spoiled the Business Class gets.
Dessert cart for custom ice cream sundae with any toppings you want.
I skipped this, by the way. Trying to loose some lbs.

Beautiful tree in front of my townhouse complex. I appreciate flower and trees more since I moved to London.

I met up with some friends. On Sunday, I ran with Sarah and had dim sum. I always enjoyed my time with her. I was catching up on her IM Austria training, work and life in general. Sarah loves sweets, and this time I brought her some Cadbury's creme eggs. She absolutely loved them. In fact, she mentioned to Eric that she hoped I brought some creme eggs before I came. Now, I need to stock up some creme eggs when I get back from Istanbul this coming Monday. I like that she's easy to please.

Then, I also met up with Karen for coffee one afternoon. It's weird to hear stories about training, miles ramping up, rides, races, centuries and exhaustion. These used to be a part of my life before London. I miss it a little bit but I don't think I'm missing out much. I really enjoy living in London. My favorite (or one of them) is running in London. How cool to say that I ran to Kensington Palace (Will and Kate's house that is going under renovation) before work, or I ran to London Bridge this weekend from my flat. Here are some of the pictures that I took when I went out running.

Hyde Park. I love how the trees are lined.

Beautiful Daffodils.

Green Park

St. James Park.

Buckingham Palace in the background.

Where Queen Lizzi lives.

On a bridge in St. James Park looking over
Westminster and London Eye.

Victoria's memorial

The Buckingham Palace. Isn't that odd that you don't see
a single soul in this picture? Brits are not early risers.
This picture was taken at 8AM on Sunday.

Had to take a selfie in front of the palace.

Churchill war room. Will go inside sometime this summer.

House guard parade.
No one was around since it was early in the morning.

Hungerford Bridge. To the right is the bridge for the train
coming in and out Waterloo Station. I use this tube line daily.

Just gorgeous. I surprised my crappy Blackberry
took a pretty good picture.

Never get bored of London Eye.

Millennium Bridge.

It's a suspension bridge opened in June 2000. Londoners nicknamed the bridge the "Wobbly Bridge" after participants in a charity walk on behalf of Save the Children to open the bridge felt an unexpected and, for some, uncomfortable swaying motion on the first two days after the bridge opened. The bridge was closed later that day, and after two days of limited access the bridge was closed for almost two years while modifications were made to eliminate the wobble entirely. It reopened in 2002.

St. Paul cathedral in the back ground.

Borough Market. Last weekend's destination run.

The weekend of London Marathon.
The flowers bloomed just in time for the race.

These pictures were taken over several weeks. I love how tranquil London on weekend's mornings. I feel like I own London. My heart is filled with gratitude. My career is going very well. I'm healthy (and my family is too). I enjoy my time in London and also home in Atlanta when I go back once a quarter. So thankful to God.

After the runs, then I would meet up with friends and do fun stuff, like last Sunday, I was watching and cheering London Marathon.

Disabled athletes. She runs with her guide.
What an inspiration!

Mo Farrah at Mile 16.
Go Mo! It's his debut marathon.

I went with Amy, Jessica, Lauren and one of their friends, I forget her name. We had gorgeous weather. Sunny and not single drop of rain. I'm going to Istanbul tomorrow. We have bank holiday on Good Friday and Easter Monday. So excited!