The main plaza between Olympic venues is your usual stone and concrete plain, a vast people-sorting machine to get spectators where they're going efficiently.

But if you take the stairs down to the broad paths along the river, the walk can be considerably more pleasant. Landscape designers have done themselves proud, lining the paths with grasses, trees, wildflowers and a few avant garde art projects. One plants the top of the still-familiar red phone booth in the ground, like an archaeological discovery from the future. Another drips water through holes punched in gutters arranged under a bridge. As the water drips down to the river, the drops form seemingly random words in block letters before they drop in.

Best of all, the paths are not crowded. Yet.

— Warren Levinson — Twitter http://twitter.com/warrenlevinson

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EDITOR'S NOTE — "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.