The green bubble

Hyde Park, attached to Kensington Gardens, is one of my favourite places in London. Rather a matter of “survival”, when you live in such a busy city, surrounded by hundreds of people and traffic, wide-green spaces like the very park can often become a precious getaway, almost a sanctuary. This is just one of many spaces London offers, but it is certainly the largest and most significant. The two parks together are the great green lung of the British capital and are in the heart of the city centre. The beautiful trees and the quiet walks are the perfect escape from the city’s maelstrom with a lake wherein you have the option to take a cool swim, rent rowboats or sun loungers to rest and sunbathe. Marathons are ran in this park and there are also many paths and trails for walking or cycling. In addition, it offers numerous possibilities to practice sports in the open air. In fact, there is an area called the Sports Field where soccer, softball, cricket, tennis, and other team sports are often played. Summer open-air classical music concerts, organised by the BBC, are held here, as is the famous Winter Wonderland from November to January. A great Christmas theme park with roller coasters, Ferris wheels, food, ice skating, live music, candy, and lots of beer. You can stroll through all the areas of the park; enjoying a coffee at one of its terraces, having an aperitif in one of its bar restaurants or taking advantage of the good weather with a picnic, are some of the many options there are.

The park was created in 1536 by order of King Henry VIII as a hunting ground. It was the first royal park opened to his subjects by Charles I in 1637, thus making it the oldest park in London. It was the venue for the Great Exhibition of 1851, for which the old Crystal Palace, now non-existent, was built. The public did not want the building to remain in the park after the exhibition closed, and the architect, Joseph Paxton, who was the creator of the structure bought an estate and raised funds in order to move it to Sydenham Hill in south London. Being a small oasis, Hyde Park is one of the great attractions of the city and of the 17 million people who visit London every year at least 4.5 pass through this park. It has been, since its opening to the public, a centre of life for the English society. Concerts, shows, festivals or even protest demonstrations have come together among its trees. The Chartists, the Reform League, the Suffragettes and the Anti-War Coalition or more recently the Black Lives Matter marches have staged protests in the park. In a more superficial but historical aspect the photograph of the cover of the album "Beatles For Sale" by The Beatles was taken in Hyde Park, in the autumn of 1964.

The park is divided by the Serpentine Lake. Although, during the day, the two parks seem to merge, Kensington Gardens closes at dusk while Hyde Park stays open from 5 am to midnight, including many hours of darkness. Other highlights of the park include the Serpentine Gallery, Diana the Princess of Wales’ Memorial which is an oval stone ring that opened in 2004 and the Holocaust Memorial. A magnificent specimen of botanical curiosity is Fagus Sylvatica, widely known as "the upside-down tree" and opposite Hyde Park Corner is one of London's largest hotels, The Lanesborough, which offers its best suite for £8,000 per night.

Now, when it comes to what I am wearing, the juxtaposition is a beige fitted suit over a multicoloured, long-sleeve, white-collared Polo. I love its retro green, red, yellow and navy stripes as a chunk of vertical colourblock which is matching the asymmetrical, bright, bold, green brogues with a quirk. The brown, leather belt adds more colour that goes beautifully with the sunglasses accompanied by a navy pocket square creating some contrast and elevating the smart look. The maxi-cross bag is one of my favourite pieces making the whole look more fun and contemporary with the skeleton print enhancing my waist and blending in with the suit and the socks.