St Patrick's Day Parade 2009 - 16 March 09

We are obviously not Irish and cannot exactly considered ourselves Irish at Heart. Nevertheless, the St Patrick's Day Parade which took place on the nearest Sunday to 17 March and it's also Remembrance Sunday) shouldn't be missed! It's a great excuse to get out of the house, soak in some Irish culture, enjoy the Irish music and dance and give our usual strained 'laptop focused' eyes a break with the different shades of green (not the green as in grass but the hints of green hitting the streets of London as countless people came set in green in celebration of St Patrick's Day). What a healthy vision sight! It isn't just limited to the attire...even the hair isn't spared!

The crowds are all waiting eagerly for the parade to begin..... and btw, the following is one of the most important participant - the Irish Wolfhound (one of the tallest dog breed - and I am not kidding - this dignified four leggy can easily kiss the belly button of an average adult) is the Mascot!
Tall, Dark and Handsome is now being fussed over in the limelight with many reporters clicking on their cameras. Lord Mayor himself has also arrived at the scene (see extreme left hand corner of the photo).

Set in his smart London Irish green coat, Handsome is now all ready to lead the parade! Woof! Woof!
As the participants stand in their position ...
And the parade begin!
See my lovely backside?

London obviously cannot do without the red bus...

but knowing everything got to be green.. so here comes my green buddy! This can't possibly be missing from a St Partrick's parade!
How can we forget the pretty tap dancers?

And more band to round up the celebration! Our bodies unconsciously moving along with the rhythm of the lively and beautiful Irish music!

End of the parade...(ok..there were a lot more floats, cars and bands etc etc..just that lazy me didn't bother to capture everything this time round!).. oh..btw, u can still c people trying to sell all kinds of Ireland souvenirs after the parade..


We didn't exactly felt the hunger pangs with all the excitement. As the crowd begin to disperse, we suddenly realize it's lunchtime..


While the Irish maybe hitting the pub, the famished us decided to hunt for food..as usual..

A perfect day to head for the park with our hot takeaway...

It's feels so good and relaxing to bask in that warm sunshine, surrounded by trees and green landscape under the bright blue sky, slurping something warm, creamy with added spices and ending up the meal with something chocolaty - a chocolate croissant and a warm mocha.
To be heading home now on such a fine day is definitely a no no... so we decided to check out the surrounding areas and the popular parks nearby...
- to be continued in the next blog -