24.7.09

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

I went for a walk last night. A very, very long walk. A very, very long walk that resulted in something worth an even longer walk. Several days ago, we decided that we were going to spend Thursday night at a well-known pub called The Trout. According to our sources, said pub was approximately a 20-minute walk from our lovely apartment on St. Thomas Street. With high spirits we set off in a group 8 strong, ready for another stop on our month-long Tour de Pub. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes passed, and we found ourselves nowhere near a pub.

In fact, we found ourselves nowhere near anything resembling civilization. Fields on our left, fields on our right, and the occasional "CAR!" were all we saw for 45 minutes. The sunset, however, was gorgeous. The fields rippled like an ocean in the wind. It was breathtaking enough to subdue our fears of being attacked by crazy rapist men in the woods (yes, we do watch too many movies). Finally, when we were prepared to give up hope, we found it.

"It" was not The Trout, but a pub we had also heard of, called "The Perch." (Fish make popular pub names, apparently.)

It wasn't exactly what we wanted, but it was there, and we were ready to sit. Come to find out, The Perch is a pub that inspired scenes in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. After we walked through their doors and into their back garden, we felt as if we'd been transported into some otherworldly fantasy land. Willow trees scattered a huge backyard, with twinkly lights and candles lighting the lawn. An acoustic guitar player sang underneath a white tent. It. Was. Gorgeous. After ordering drinks (white russian! mmm), our strength revived and we went for another walk through the pub's wilderness. A winding path took us to the Thames, and we watched the sun finish setting over the river. The evening was as picturesque as I could have imagined, if not moreso. Actually, yes, moreso.

It was so beautiful and relaxing, in fact, that we spent an hour just talking and admiring the scenery; time flew by. As such, Randy was charged with leading us back to St. Peter's through the darkness. He knew a separate path by the Thames, and we crept along, laughing all the way back. What a great night. :)

2 comments:

  1. That sounded like a pleasant night out! I would have wondered the same thing if I hadn't found it after 20 or so minutes...I'm very thankful that you were with a group and not be yourself. If I ever get over there, I'd love to visit "The Perch."
    Love.
    MOM

    ReplyDelete
  2. Young lady,
    What have I told you about going to bars named after a fish, without a car, down a trail, thru the woods, and across fields?

    Honestly, I have no clue. Just asking the question ;-)
    Dad

    ReplyDelete