Final Summary

Here are the winners in the contest for Amanda Giles' favorite London Walks:

3.  Fleet Street and St. Paul's

I liked this walk mostly because I love St. Paul's cathedral.  I did this walk right before we visited St. Paul's as a group and, in retrospect, that was one of the coolest days of this entire program in my book.  I learned a lot about London.  This walk was fun because I was still trying to figure out my way around and it seemed like every time we turned a corner, I saw another really famous London monument or building.  Some of the things I saw dated back hundreds and hundreds of years, whereas some of the things were modern and cutting-edge.  The juxtaposition was surprising and beautiful and truly set the tone for my London experience.  One of my favorite things about being in London has been observing this phenomenon--things in London have changed so much throughout its lengthy history, while at the same time, staying the same. 

2.  Bankside and Southwark

This walk lead me to some of my favorite places in London--the Tower Bridge, the Globe Theatre, and the Tower of London.  These are some of the coolest pieces of architecture in London in my book.  Bri, Kelsey, and I did the walk at sunset after just returning from our weekend trip to Rome.  I was exhausted and suburned and could barely muster the will to go on this walk, but I'm so glad I did.  It made me feel so happy to be in London.  It really is a wonderful here and seeing all of these quintessentially English sights reminded me of that.

1.  Central Parks

And, the winner is...Central Parks!  This walk is absolutely my favorite that I have done in London.  As I've already said, I did this walk pretty early in the program for my morning run.  I hadn't been to the parks in London very much at that point, so I was really glad I was able to acclimate myself the the trails in the park by doing the Central Parks walk.  It was beautiful and refreshing.  These well-kept, secluded parks are my favorite thing about London.  Ever since, I have gone running through the parks a few times a week, adapting the Central Parks Walk so that I don't have to take the Tube or cross major streets.  It has been fun.