Thankful for comfy walking shoes

Today I made my familiar pilgrimage to Marks and Spencer at Marble Arch. Taking the tube from Canary Wharf to Bond Street, it's a short five minute walk to M&S for a lunch break and a touch of shopping before getting my walking exercise for the day.

Walking down Oxford Street is always a challenge due to the sheer numbers of people and today in the drizzly rain there was the added hazard of umbrellas with people walking along texting.  I was able to make Rebecca jealous by texting her photos of the many shops including the huge H&M and Top Shop I passed before turning onto Regent Street.

At the end of Regent Street I reached Piccadilly Circus and the ever popular tourist spot of the Eros statue dating back to 1893. There were quite a few large groups of student tourists in this area today, perhaps they had visited the nearby entertainment center called the Trocadero or one of the cinemas at Leicester Square. If you are in town when a movie premier is taking place, this is the area to be to see the stars walk the red carpet.

I wound my way around Trafalgar Square passed the National Gallery (free entrance so well worth a visit) and St Martin in the Fields (think Mary Poppins feeding the birds) and walked up the Strand passing The Savoy Hotel and Simpsons before taking a left towards Covent Garden. The numerous market stalls and the street entertainers were attracting the crowds despite the inclement weather but luckily some of this area is undercover.

A quick stop at the huge Apple store by the Royal Opera House before heading back to the tube to get back home rounded out my day of exploring. Not sure how many miles I walked today, but Im thankful that I have comfy walking shoes especially when navigating the cobblestones that seem to be everywhere.