Cycling to Graduation...

Rather than take the train to Penryn, Veronica used the journey from Exeter (where she had moved back to in September 2023) as her first long-distance training ride for her planned cycle ride around England in 2025 to collect data for her PhD. She and Brett covered the 150 miles (241 kilometers) over 4 days, camping along the way. It was exciting to be with her when she was interviewed by BBC Radio Cornwall, her first ever radio interview. 

After breakfast on July 25, they cycled the final hill up to the Penryn campus of the University of Exeter, while Jimmy and I took a bus. Here’s a short summary video that she made of the trip and her blog post with a lot of photos. 

The actual ceremony would take place in Truro, over nine miles away, so Veronica traded her cycling clothes for a beautiful dress and graduation gown...

…and took a bus with other grads to the ceremony.

Due to limited space in the cathedral, tickets were limited to two per grad. We were happy that we both rated the tickets and that the school provided a bus. We had to bring our bags with us as we had a tight schedule to attend the ceremony and then get to the train station for our trip back to London. 

 

Celebrating Veronica’s 2nd Master’s...

On July 24, 2024, Jimmy and I took a train down to Falmouth...

...to go to Veronica's graduation ceremony one year after she finished her second master’s degree, which was in Sustainable Futures. 

Since we had already booked flights to Germany for a hash weekend, we had just the one night to celebrate. We took a nice walk along the coast...

...to reach Hooked on the Rocks, a very nice fish restaurant that Veronica had chosen for our celebration.
 

An Outdoor Movie...

We finally made it to Coal Drops Yard to see a free outdoor movie, which are offered for much of the summer. We went to see The Devil Wears Prada in anticipation of seeing the musical on the West End. Somehow we forgot how crowded London is and hadn’t expected it to be so busy. There were absolutely no seats left.

However, we managed to find a space along a pedestrian bridge with a good view of the screen while leaning against the railing. It was funny watching a movie with a variety of items passing in front of the screen including this paddleboarder...

…and this canal boat.

In the background is the giant new European headquarters being built for Google, which is an entire block long. Apparently construction started before the pandemic. 

After the movie, we stopped at the store to pick up some basic picnic supplies...

…and went to Potters Fields Park next to Tower Bridge. 
 

Open Sesame...

For the first time, we were on Tower Bridge when it opened. We enjoyed having a chat with the guy who pushes the buttons to close the gates and open the bridge. 

I just can’t resist taking photos from my favorite bridge.

Within view of Tower Bridge is another bridge that occasionally opens: a pedestrian drawbridge at the lock at St Katharine Docks. 

The lock is used to access Central London’s only harbor.

Not sure what hit this pole in Wapping, but we couldn’t pass up taking a photo.

It’s pretty common to come across fake flowers in London.

 

Hashing Along the Themes...

That evening I went to the West London H3 trail in Bermondsey on my own (no idea how Bermondsey qualifies as west). The views from the drink stop were spectacular.

I enjoyed the trail so much that it inspired me to run/walk the rest of the way home for a total of 7.75 miles (12.5 kilometers). I especially enjoyed dodging tourists as I ran across Tower Bridge

The moon wasn’t quite full, but put on a nice show.

 

A Long Walk with Ashlynn...

After Ashlynn learned that there was a place to swim at Hampstead Heath, she was determined to see it for herself. She was in charge of our route, which started with a walk down Brick Lane, where she enjoyed seeing a sculpture dedicated to her favorite vegetable. Ironically, she was stopped by a modeling agent and she thought it could be fun to do some modeling in London, but that contact went nowhere. 

Our 10.2-mile (16.4-kilometer) walk took us through Shoreditch...

…where we saw some cool street art....

…Angel...

…where we saw some interesting architecture...

…and some giant wings...

…and Camden...

…where we ate lunch along Regent’s Canal. 

It’s always nice to visit Hampstead Heath on a clear day.

 

Hanging with Ashlynn...

Just two days after Georgia left, Ashlynn arrived for three nights. After an appointment at the US Embassy...

…we headed to Brixton for lunch.

We found an amazing Japanese restaurant called Okan at Brixton Village.

We decided to walk the five miles back home crossing through Burgess Park. 

It was really nice to have Sophie join us for dinner at home that evening.