Dinner with a Canadian in the UK

Matt’s Canadian colleague joined us in London.  He had a much shorter ride to London because he finished his vacation in Paris the day before - a quick ride across the The English Channel was all it took.  

The three of us went out to dinner on Monday night.  The Canadian is a certified sommelier and enjoys his liquor.  If you know me well then you know I don’t typically drink alcohol.  In my opinion it’s pretty nasty stuff.  Don’t get me wrong I occasionally enjoy a bit of Guinness, Blue Moon, or delicious Summer Ale. 

Anyway, we rode a black London cab to a tapas place in the Theatre District.  We sat at the bar and had a fantastic meal & great conversation with the bartender.  As the night progressed we consumed plates of soft-shell crab, empanadas, skirt steak, pork belly (I graciously passed), and alcohol.  The bartender and the Canadian had lively conversation about wine and spirit pairings for different dishes and ogled at different rarely seen bottles.  The bartender was quite generous with samples (for the men, thank you very much) of different wines and spirits.  He even made me an Earl Grey Iced Tea, which was spectacular.  I will have to try my own very soon.  It was certainly nice to eat in a restaurant without a kids’ menu.

Going Solo in London

Let me tell you I squeezed as much out of this day as I possibly could. 

One thing to remember about traveling to Europe is that the plugs are quite different.  We brought the necessary adapters, but Matt needed to take them to work with him.  That left me only one choice  - get up at 6:30 to use the adapter or take my chances.  I chose the former.  Getting up early certainly got me on my way.  Plus I had a surprise to look forward to this afternoon!

At home I drive everywhere – everywhere.  In London I am compelled to walk everywhere – everywhere.  Today was no exception.  I could have taken the Tube to my first destination, but the amazing weather was too good to miss. 

I made my way to Tralfagar Square to visit the lions, see the Olympics Countdown Clock, and the world’s smallest police station.  I then went to see Winston Churchill’s War Rooms based on several recommendations.  On my way there I passed Number 10 Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives.  I thought about cutting through on Downing but soon realized that was not going to be possible upon seeing the number of police and gates.  

 Churchill’s War Rooms were a worthwhile trip.  During the war he created a home-base underground to run the war.  The rooms are just as they were left after the war.  The mannequins in some of the rooms are a tad creepy, and a few of them even startled me as I rounded a few corners. 

   

 Then I doubled back to Tralfagar Square and toured the National Gallery.  I was thrilled to tour the Impressionist gallery.  I got goosebumps when I saw Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières because we just saw A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte @ the Art Institute three weeks ago.  

Since I was in the area I decided to tour Westminster Abbey again.  The last time we were there it was so packed I did not get a good feeling for what it really contained.  Also I wanted to stand on the same floors as William and Katherine.  It was just about one year ago that I got up at 4AM to watch the amazing nuptials of these two beautiful people.  

Kate took this path to her William <3

 By this time it was almost 1:00 and I was starving.  I decided to ride the Underground back to our hotel (Piccadilly Line – Holborn) to rest my feet for a bit.  While on the ride I realized that the Piccadilly also goes up to King’s Cross Station.  If you remember Harry Potter walked through Platform 9 ¾ each fall to go to Hogwarts.  I read an article in the paper detailing the renovations that just finished at this station.  So I skipped Holborn and checked it out.

The funny thing is that during the renovations they moved the Platform 9 ¾  display nowhere near Platforms 9 or 10.  They put it right inside the front door of the station.  I suppose it’s better for people to tick that site off their list without needing to bother people who actually have business on Platform 9 or 10.  I grabbed some sushi (£5 – score!) from one of the new restaurants and watched the crowds from above.  

The highlight of my day was catching up with a colleague that lives in London.  She suggested that we meet at Covent Garden at 4:15.  Covent Garden is a hopping place. There is more shopping than I imagined, plus some flea market stalls.  Even with all the people around we found each other.  We walked and talked for almost two hours.  She took me to one of her favorite coffee places called Monmouth.  I have to say it was the best cup of coffee that I’ve ever had.  It was smooth and delicious.  The nursed the small size for almost 45 minutes - worth every minute.  Too bad there was not another Monmouth closer to Holborn.

@ Piccadilly Circus

We walked through Covent Garden, Tralfagar Square, Piccadilly Circus, and finally over to Buckingham Palace.  We ended our visit at Leciter Square so Melissa could hop the Underground back to her flat.

Admiralty Arch on the way to Buckingham Palace

After we parted ways I window-shopped on Regent Street.  I also had to pee and bathrooms are a difficult to come by so I went into the biggest store I could find, Hamley’s Toy Shop.  After taking care of business I walked back to the escalator who did I see, William and Kate!

Oh yes I did.

Made out of Legos that is.  And the Queen and her Corgi.

Such a great day.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

If you remember from the last post I mentioned something about the sound of water in our hotel room.  After we returned from dinner the noise was still audible.  By this point we figured it wasn’t someone’s shower.    

While I’m one for the sound of the ocean, I can’t handle it in my room at 3AM.  I stopped at the front desk to see if they had any idea of the source of the noise.  The gal gave me a raised eyebrow as if she thought I as crazy. 

Two guys promptly came up to our room and gave me same the raised eyebrow as the front desk lady.  I invited them in and hushed them as I closed the door.  Simultaneously their heads tilted up to the ceiling and the raised eyebrows turned into a confused look.  They agreed that the noise was odd and understood why we didn’t want to stay there. 

Thankfully they had an open room, and we were actually happier with the extra space. 

The best part – it was quiet. 

Matt in the loo

Running on Empty

On Sunday morning we made our way on the Underground to our West End hotel.  They were not quite prepared for our arrival so we stowed our luggage walked down the block to The British Museum.   

Of all the times we’ve been to London we haven’t seen too many museums.  Luckily The British Museum was four blocks away.  Along the way we stopped for coffee at Pret a Manger that was only two doors down - now that’s London to me. 

 We saw the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles.  There were many other exhibits I wanted to see, or at least read about, but Matt was running on less than fumes and wandering aimlessly around the museum.  So we had to go back to our hotel.  

Thankfully our room was ready.  When we walked into our room we could hear water above us.  No big deal, someone is taking a shower upstairs.  After my shower it was still going on.  Man, that person must be dirty.  Matt was in full pass-out mode by the time I was freshened up.  He asked for me to wake him up in two hours so he could still go to sleep tonight.  

  

I knew if I sat down next to him we would not see the light of day until tomorrow (it was only 1:00 PM).  It is Sunday and many places close by 5:00, so I wanted to make the best of what was left of the day.  We’ve never stayed in West End before, and I had no bearings about anything.  I grabbed my trusty map and book to start walking.  

Temple Bar Memorial @ entrance to City of Westminster

I stuck to the main streets and kept track of when I turned so I could find my way back home.  Well my strategy didn’t work out so great because the street names in London seem to change on a whim.  That does not really help a girl in a city that is not on a grid.  I stopped into a Pret a Manger to ask the girl if she could give me a clue about our location on the map.  I was shocked that she had NO clue.  I had the wherewithal to ask for the nearest Underground station.  That was helpful.

On the way I got a little nervous since several of the streets were minimally populated and some even had signs warning of thieves.  Great.  I hugged my bag a little tighter and walked just a bit faster.  I eventually made it back within the two hours to wake Matt up.  Let's call today's walk a primer for tomorrow's marathon.