A Life, Lived

Our Last Day in London

We've been back for 5 days and I've taken a day off of work. Reality is I am waiting for a delivery but I confess that sleeping in was joyful. To say that it has been a hectic return to work would be an understatement.

Enough of that. Let's head back to last Saturday.

The first order of business was to head out on the tube to Westminster. We had booked a 90 minute guided tour of Parliament. Much of the building was under scaffolding because of much-needed upkeep . . . as well pictures were not allowed inside (I assume for security purposes).

Because of security measures and such we were advised to arrive at Westminster early. We did and raced through security so we were let to cool our heels a bit.

The tour was fabulous. Our guide explained how Parliament works as we traveled through the Commons Chamber and the Lords Chamber. For part of the tour we actually followed in the footsteps of the Queen as she would arrive for the State Opening of Parliament. The tour ended up back where we had started - cavernous Westminster Hall which is almost 1000 years old and likely the only part of the current structure to survive fires and bombings.

After the tour we wandered around outside. There was an anti-Brexit march taking place in the city and a million people were expected to take part. It was pretty exciting joining the early crowds for a bit.

We made our way across the Thames. We had a champagne tasting and London Eye experience booked and I needed to pick up our tickets.

As we walked along the bridge I was struck by the number of memorials placed there - I can only assume to remember those who had jumped from the bridge to their deaths.

Although London has its fair share of free and yet world-class activities —looking at you, British Museum— making it a lot more affordable to visit as a tourist than other leading capitals, there also are a few noteworthy attractions that come with a somewhat hefty price tag. In a city where so many goods things come for free, the question begs to be asked: is splurging actually worth it?

As far as the view from the London Eye is concerned, I would say it is entirely worth it.

There was some time to fill before our London Eye Champagne Tasting Experience and we were both hungry so lunch was next on the agenda. I found a Polish restaurant nearby so off we went. I ordered a chicken breast stuffed cheese and mushrooms. Paul ordered pork schnitzel with mushroom sauce. He also had some pierogies as an appetizer. The food was delicious and plentiful - in fact we were both unable to finish our lunches.

MMMMm . . . now I am hungry again.

We had booked the London Eye Champagne tasting experience. This meant we would have a private guide lead us in a tasting of five champagnes while we enjoyed 2 rotations. I knew we were in for an experience when our guide dragged this this case with her towards the Eye.

We whisked on board with fast track access. We were joined by 6 other guests and two guides.

Once we got underway the guy leading the tasting talked to us about champagne production and how to taste it properly. I think only Paul and I cared about this - the others just wanted to guzzle. Whatevers.

It was quite an experience - 5 champagnes in an hour. Then they said 'you're welcome to finish off the bottles!'

Oh boy.

The walk back to the apartment might have been a bit more slow than normal as a result of that champagne but it had been a fabulous day!

Back at the apartment we rested and packed in preparation of the return home the next day.

Dinner was at an Italian wine bar and restaurant near the apartment. I forgot my phone so there are no pics but the food was fabulous and the wines delicious (I guess you'd expect that at a wine bar).

Wandering back from the I was struck by how comfortable this neighbourhood felt. It was an interesting mix of cultures and people . . . I'd definitely return!

That's a Wrap

We fly home today.

How could a vacation have flown by so quickly?

Of course today the sun came out and it looks like it will be a beautiful day.

While our time in London was shorter than we might have liked it was certainly long enough to convince us to return.

We have to leave the apartment at 10 which was fine when we were scheduled to be on a 11 AM flight to Toronto however British Airways cancelled that flight and we depart Heathrow at 5 PM. I guess that this means plenty of time to shop and relax at the airport. LOL

 

A Mixed Bag of Art

Because Thursday had been such a day on the go we hadn't made any really significant plans for Friday. In fact, we had no plans at all.

For breakfast we went to a restaurant near the apartment that had been recommended by two of my friends plus the tour guide the other day. It was deserving of the recommendations!

Next up was some shopping - there were two of London's better chocolate shops nearby and with Easter coming it made sense to purchase some treats.

Later we headed out to the Whitechapel Art Gallery. This small gallery focuses on modern art. The Whitechapel Gallery was founded in 1901 to bring great art to the people of east London. The Gallery’s history is a history of firsts: in 1939 Picasso’s masterpiece, Guernica was displayed at the Whitechapel Gallery on its first and only visit to Britain; in 1958 the Gallery presented the first major show in Britain of American abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock; and in 1970 and 1971 the first shows of David Hockney, Gilbert & George and Richard Long were staged to great acclaim.

The major exhibit featured groups of artists and architects working together to envision the future. It was a modern iteration of a similar exhibit from 1956. Anther exhibit told the story of when the gallery held the first exhibition of Jackson Pollock's work outside of the US. There were also two video art installations.

After leaving the gallery we wandered Brick Lane - a street we had heard a lot about from everyone we spoke to who knows this area of London. It was easy to see why: eye-popping street art, street food markets, vintage finds and cutting edge designers, it’s everything that makes East London such a vibrant wonderful place, distilled into a thin cobbled street that’s seen more action over the last 100 years than possibly anywhere else in town. This street has seen waves of immigration which has caused it to develop such an interesting mix of things - at one time this was home to poor Jewish immigrants - hence the two dueling bagel shops sitting side by side at the end of the street. Now there is a large Muslim population giving rise to a mosque and middle eastern restaurants. In between there was a wave of Bangladeshi immigrants - this group gave the street its nickname 'curry lane'. The end result is a fascinating mix of everything.

Oh yes, along the way we found another chocolate spot.

The clothing market near us was in full swing. We wandered through but we weren't looking at the clothing instead we were looking for the food trucks that Paul had read about. There were about 20 and they served up just about an type of food that you could think of. We both got a chicken katsu wrap and headed back to the apartment to eat them.

It had been a lot of wandering around but we weren't done yet. After a nap we were talking about heading out for a drink and somehow that morphed into a visit to the National Gallery. The gallery is open late on Fridays so we headed there. We only saw about a third of the exhibits but it was a great bookend to the est of the art we had seen during the day.

One thing about London - there is always something to do and no matter how hard you try, it is difficult to do more than scratch the surface.

 

Visiting the Queen

Our day yesterday was bookended by two planned activities - a late breakfast at the Wolseley with a former student of mine and tickets to see a performance of Handel, Bach, and Vivaldi by candlelight in St. Martin in the Fields. Since we would be near Buckingham Palace we decided to wander about in that area.

The Wolseley’s glorious past is reflected in its black and white marble and its towering, Venetian-inspired pillars, arches and stairwells. Inspired by a Boston bank, it was built in the 1920s as a car showroom, before becoming an actual bank – Barclays – until 1999. It was refurbished and opened in 2003 as a “café-restaurant in the grand European tradition”. It really is the type of restaurant that reminds one of past days with servers in starched aprons, linen table cloths, impeccably plated food, lots of people murmuring quietly to their table mates.

Leith was late so Paul and I enjoyed the people watching . . . well, and a really, really good Bellini. When Leith arrived we ordered food and had a great time taking about life, London, and politics. Leith has been in London for 18 years and had plenty of tips for things we should see and do (although how is it possible to live in London all of that time and never visited the British Museum??? :-) )

After lunch we wandered through Green Park to Buckingham Palace. The Union Jack was flying over the palace which meant the Queen wasn't present. So much for staring at the windows to spot a hand pull a curtain aside and peer out  . . . a glimpse of royalty (or a curious servant).

Anyway, we wandered to the south side of the castle where the Queen's Gallery is located. The Queen’s Gallery is a permanent space dedicated to changing exhibitions from the Royal Collection – an astonishing and wide-ranging collection of paintings, sculpture and other works of art as well as a glittering array of priceless treasure held in trust for the nation by the Queen.

The exhibit we saw was Russia, Royalty & the Romanov’s Regal History Through Art . This exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, traces the royal alliances and dynastic connections between Britain and Imperial Russia. From Peter the Great’s 1698 visit to London, to the marriage of Tsar Nicholas II to Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, every artwork tells a story.

All of the pieces on display – including portraits, sculpture and Fabergé miniatures – are part of the Royal Collection, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the world. What is most fascinating about this curated set of objects is that many of them were made as grand gestures to mark historic events or as personal mementos of diplomatic visits. When viewed alongside the archival photographs and documents on display, they offer a glimpse into the history of these two nations and their royal families.

Later we walked along the Mall to Trafalgar Square. Over the years I've seen this route plenty of time on TV as cameras panned the route following dignitaries on various life's journeys, it was a bit odd being there in real life.

We were thirsty at this point so we headed to a pub we had wandered past - the Admiralty. Located on the S/W corner of Trafalgar Square this may be london's most central pub. It may also be its busiest. I am sure fire codes were broken while we were there!

The menu looked good so we decided to stay for dinner. With the exception of the crowds and noise it was a great choice for our first English pub food.

After dinner we made our way through the throngs of people in the square (it was a protest against violence and terrorism) to St. Martins in the Fields.

There has been a church 'in the fields' between Westminster and the City since the thirteenth century, but the current church was built in 1726 by James Gibbs, using a fusion of neoclassical and baroque styles. The parish church for Buckingham Palace (note the royal box to the left of the gallery), St Martin-in-the-Fields benefited from a £36 million, Lottery-funded refurbishment, completed in 2008. The bright interior has been fully restored, with Victorian furbelows removed and the addition of a controversial altar window that shows the Cross, stylised as if rippling on water.

We were there to hear Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi played by the Trafalgar Sinfonia - one of the UKs best ensembles. It was an amazing experience listening to wonderful music played in an old church lite by the flickering lights of candles.

After the concert we made our way to the Tube and headed back to the apartment. We had been on the go for over 12 hours and we were both exhausted. It had been a brilliant day!

A Historical Day

Historical because we were surrounded by history - not because anything earthshaking took place . . . well, at least not in our worlds.

I've wanted to visit the British Museum since I was a child and yesterday I finally did. There was awhile when I wanted to grow up and be an archaeologist so this was the spot to go to see the world's greatest collection of treasures from antiquity. At this point in my life I realize that many of these treasures actually came to London as the result of shady deals and looting I will persist in my blissful dreaming for the purposes of this post. This was the world’s first national collection, based on a bequest from Sir Hans Sloane in 1753 and added to over the centuries.

Its mighty colonnaded building on Great Russell Street displays around 80,000 objects, approximately 1 per cent of the 8 million-strong collection, including controversial superstars from the Rosetta Stone to the Elgin Marbles (now delicately referred to as the Parthenon Sculptures) and British favourites such as the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial and the Mildenhall Treasure.

In 2000 the inner courtyard, once filled with British Library books, was capped by an elegant cushion of glass panels, adding 40 per cent more space for cafes and shops below and freeing up exhibition space. This stunning space is worthy of a visit itself.

Remember I mentioned that there were 80,000 objects on display? We spent close to four hours at the museum and we barely scratched the surface. The highlights for us:

The Egyptian Sculpture Gallery which is a vast room and seemingly one of the most popular. Here we saw depictions of kings, deities, and various symbolic objects that go as far back to the time of the Old Kingdom to the middle of the Roman Period. There were also towering sculptures of various rulers down the centre of the room.

Also located within the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery is the world-famous Rosetta Stone, a giant slab inscribed with three versions of a decree issued at Memphis, Egypt in 196 BC. After it was discovered in 1799, this stone turned out to be one of the key factors in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Next up was there Assyrian rooms where historical treasures such as sculptures and reliefs from the palaces and temples of ancient Assyria (modern northern Iraq) are displayed. The reliefs appear to be in remarkably good condition for their age and it's incredible to see how many pieces have been preserved for visitors to gaze upon.

Finally we arrived at the Parthenon sculptures.The Parthenon in Athens has a long and complex history. Originally built nearly 2,500 years ago as a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, the famous structure was converted into a church for the Virgin Mary of the Athenians and stayed that way for a thousand years. Later it became a a mosque, and finally an archaeological ruin. Over the course of many centuries, the building was altered and the original sculptures damaged.

The surviving sculptures have been divided among some of the great museums of the world, with a large collection housed in the British Museum. To this day, the sculptures are still actively studied and researched by an international community of scholars to promote understanding both of ancient Greek culture and its role in the cultures of the world.

Lord Elgin purchased the sculptures from the Turkish rulers of Greece and every since the Greeks have been calling for their return. When we were in Athens the new Acropolis museum had spaces on the walls where the marbles would be stored when they had been returned by the British.

One of the things that Paul wanted to see was in the Mexico rooms so that was our next stop. From prehistoric times, the regions in what is now considered Mexico have housed distinctive cultures, until the first European contact in the sixteenth century. In Room 27, you'll find early Mexican civilization is explored, which includes artifacts from the Classic Veracruz and Huastec cultures, as well as from the magnificent Maya city states of the first millennium AD.

The exhibit features rare objects, including highly-prized turquoise mosaic which dates all the way back to AD 1400–1521, and stone sculptures of female deities from AD 900-1450.

We were hungry by now. The museum has plenty of cafes and spots to eat but most were filled with rambunctious school children on field trips. My field trip days being over I sought out the peace and quiet of the pizza cafe where we both ordered calzones.

Paul wanted to shop in the gift shops for a bit. In the end I bought a few thins and he bought nothing.

Mueseumed out (it happens) we decided to head to St. Paul's Cathedral. Rather than figure out how to get there ourselves we hopped in one of the cabs lined up in front of the museum and enjoyed a ride on one of London's famous black cabs.

Towering over the city in a spot that's been a place of Christian worship for over 1400 years (and pagan before that), St Paul’s is one of London’s most magnificent buildings. For Londoners, the vast dome is a symbol of resilience and pride, standing tall for more than 300 years. Viewing Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece from the inside and climbing to the top for sweeping views of the capital is an experience not to be missed.

St. Paul’s is notable for housing the remains of its architect, Sir Christopher Wren, as well as the Duke of Wellington, Horatio Nelson, among many other notable figures. It was also the site of the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.

Admission to the Cathedral includes a headset and Ipod in the language of your choice which contains videos explaining the history, architecture, and other interesting info which you can refer to as you explore the cathedral.

We headed back to the apartment (stopping for supplies at the Tesco Express) and relaxed with wine and food bought at the Borough market the other day.

Walk 'til you Drop

I realize that title is not particularly descriptive but it feels appropriate.

We began at Embankment in central London where we boarded the Clipper Thames, one of London's riverboats, with our guide Phillipa. Paul and I were the only people on the tour so we got a private tour for the price of a group tour . . . plus we had the guide's undivided attention.

From there we traveled east along the Thames. Our journey took us through the heart of London, and from our vantage point royal palaces and modern government buildings illuminated the River's role as a power base, while old warehouses and wharves illustrated the working river, and bridges told the story of the areas previously divided by the River. Along the way Phillipa described the role of the river, especially as it pertains to Britain's relationship with the sea.

Normally we would have gotten off the boat at Greenwich but Phillipa suggested an alternative. We got off at the next stop and took the Emirates Airline - a giant cable car which spans the river. Located by the O2 stadium, the cable car whisks you across the river and back again. It was an amazing vantage point seeing London spread out in every direction.

From there we got back on the tube to Canary Wharf. We were right across from Greenwich at this point. You could really see the entire royal site there and have a sense of how the construction was perfectly orientated so that the Queen's House had a completely unobstructed view of the water. We were at the north end terminus of the tunnel under the river so down, down, down we went and after walking for about 750 m we came up on the other side of a river (Using the lift, thank goodness).

In Greenwich, we started by looking at the world famous ship and last surviving tea clipper, the Cutty Sark. From here, we  moved on to other relevant sites including the Old Royal Naval Academy, where we discussed the history of the site, from its origins as a royal palace favored by the Tudors and birthplace of Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, through its complete Baroque rebuilding during the Restoration, to its transformation into the Royal Naval Hospital, and, finally, into a college under the supervision of Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor.

Eventually we emerged out into Greenwich Park, with scenic views of the first Palladian House in Britain, the Queen’s House, and the National Maritime Museum. Beyond the perfectly manicured lawns of the Park, a path through the trees lead us to a small hill (small but STEEP) on which the Royal Observatory and Flamsteed House are built. Once we reached the top the hill, we were presented with a wonderful view of London, both old and new, spread out before us with the River Thames cutting a silver ribbon through the city, separating the historic site of Greenwich from the modern buildings of Olympic Park.

The Royal Observatory was founded by Charles II in 1675 and by international agreement, each new day, year, and millennium starts there. This alone should be enough to pay this place a visit, but if not, the fascinating history of how longitude at sea was determined should do the trick, and all the key elements of that story can be found here. In 1714 the Board of Longitude was set up. A prize of £20,000 was offered for the answer (= £2m today) to find longitude at sea. The prize would be awarded if timekeeping remained accurate within 2 minutes on a journey across the Atlantic. The winner was a clockmaker, John Harrison. All the prototypes of his clocks are visible in the Observatory in Greenwich.

At the top of the observatory roof is a large red ball - every day it rises exactly at 1:00 PM. Our visit was perfectly timed, we watched the ball rise at 1:00 and fall back down again.

The Prime Meridian - the line of longitude that separates the Western and Eastern hemispheres runs through the site. Paul and I took the obligatory pic of us standing with our feet on either side of the line.

By the end of the walk we had a deeper understanding of the important role that the River Thames has played in British naval and mercantile history. We will also came away with an appreciation of London as a city that constantly changes, but that also prioritizes the preservation of its history—something we will saw first-hand in Greenwich, a microcosm of the unique dualities that exist in London.

We were feeling rather peckish at this point (and exhausted I must point out). Phillipa was heading back into the city and she suggested we tag along and she would leave us at the Borough Market where we could get something to eat. The market is rich with history, but it remains relevant to the lives of Londoners. As London’s oldest food market, it has been serving the people of Southwark for 1,000 years, and that extraordinary heritage is an important part of its appeal.

First and foremost, though, it is a source of genuinely exceptional produce. Many of the Market’s stallholders are themselves producers: the farmer who reared the animal, the fisherman who caught the fish, the baker who baked the bread. Other traders have built their reputations on seeking out small-scale artisan producers and bringing their wares to Borough. Together, the Market’s stalls, shops and restaurants reflect London’s status as a truly global city, with traditional British produce sitting alongside regional specialties from around the world.

As we were entering the market we were offered a sample of duck confit by a vendor - imagine a vendor who specializes in that? It was fabulous. The stall offered a variety of duck confit sandwiches and we decided upon the duck confit wrap. It was a sizeable wrap stuffed with shredded duck, greens, onion confit, and a lively yet sweetly homely honey mustard sauce and I think it just might be the best thing I have eaten in London so far!

We also found Ginger Pig which is supposed to make the best sausage rolls and Scotch Eggs in London. I ordered two sausage rolls and they asked if we wanted the regular own or the one with Stilton. I immediately said 'one of each' and was answered with a smile . . . it clearly was the right answer!

This market sure makes the food offered at the St Lawrence market back home in Toronto look sad.

We bought provisions for dinner (wild boar tortellini, sugo, focaccia, and some dessert) and headed back to the apartment.

I had walked more than 15,000 steps and was exhausted. It was definitely time for a nap.

After I woke up we decided to head out to a wine bar a friend had suggested. When we found it it was packed so we just bought a bottle of wine and headed out. We decided to pop into a rum shop called Limin. In Trinidad ‘liming’ is about getting together with friends at home, the beach, river, street corner or rum shop. We ordered a couple of rum cocktails and a snack - friend savoury dough balls that were served with tamarind sauce. Delicious.

Of course, the rum was double proof and the drinks generous. By the time we left there was no way we were cooking dinner. :-)

We crossed Commercial street and stopped by Poppies Fish and Chips - winner of the best fish and chips in the UK award. Dinner was fabulous!

After we ate we walked back to the apartment. Along the way we checked out the many bars and restaurants on the street - honestly, you could be here for two weeks and eat at a different spot every day and not run out of choices.

The Tower

Yesterday when Paul and I were up and going we decided to visit the Tower of London - the owner of the apartment said it was a 10 minute walk away. I walk pretty quickly but there is no way that walk was 10 minutes - more like 20.

We paused outside the Tower to snap shots of Tower Bridge.

One of the things I really enjoy about London is the juxtaposition of the old and the new.

The Tower of London is one of the most important landmarks in England, and has played a significant role in shaping the country's history. Since being built in the 11th century, it has been used as an armory, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record office, the home of the Crown Jewels of England, and perhaps most famously, as a prison that held (as well as tortured, sentenced, and executed) notable figures such as Anne Boleyn and Guy Fawkes.

Today, the UNESCO-designated site of the Tower of London is one of the most visited places in the United Kingdom, and with such a far-ranging background, it's easy to understand why.

This is one of London's busiest tourists spots so my advice is start early - head to the Crown Jewels first and then enjoy the other parts in the complex that the crowds don't go to as they race from site to site. Honestly though, there is so much to do at the Tower that you could spend all day there.

One of the highlights for most is the Crown Jewels, a unique collection of royal regalia which are still regularly used by the Queen in important national ceremonies. The amazing collection includes the biggest cut diamond in the world. Almost equally impressive were the entry doors, or should I say vaults, which are made of some type of heavy duty, nuclear-proof steel that you only see in Hollywood films. Unfortunately, you’re not allowed to take any photos but here are some official pictures to give you an idea of the beauty that awaits inside.

The Royal Ravens are one of the most famous sights at the Tower, and legend has it that if they ever leave the Tower, the kingdom will fall! The birds all have their own names and very different personalities – you can meet them next to their lodgings on the South Lawn.

There are other 'beasts' around the site. For more than a thousand years various royals kept exotic beasts within the castle grounds as a way if impressing visiting nobility, ambassadors, and showing their might to the royal subjects. You'll spot plenty of evidence of these 'guests' throughout the site.

There was one primary purpose of the White Tower – to intimidate and unnerve invaders – and it served its purpose incredibly well! Built by William the Conqueror in the 1080s, the White Tower is the most recognizable tower in the Tower of London. The tower was a castle keep, the strongest part of a medieval castle, and was, in fact, known to be one of the strongest military holds in the Christian World.

Today, it holds the Royal Armouries Collection, including the Line of Kings exhibition. You will also find an incredible Romanesque Chapel inside known as St. Johns’ Chapel. The White Tower also has a macabre history – the top floor of the tower has an 18th century executioner block with an axe! The tower’s basement also has witnessed gore, including the torture of Guy Fawkes and the Jesuit priest John Gerard.

When most people think of the Tower of London, they recall its use as a prison and the site of the beheading of such famous folks as Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey, but this was not its primary purpose when it was built in the 11th century. After the Norman Conquest of England, the castle was built on this site as a royal residence and was protected as such.

After touring the tower for about four hours we headed out. Paul wanted to visited a nearby Marks and Spencers so we did that - I bought stuff, he did not. :-)

Soon we were back at the apartment for a nap before heading out the the theatre.

I had bought tickets last June to see the play Hamilton. I am glad that I bought when I did as it is a tough show to get in to. This must be the number one show on the planet right now. Normally I am predisposed to dislike shows when they are wrapped in a huge cloak of hype but this one was amazing. I laughed, I cried, and I was left with plenty to think about.

All in all it was a fabulous day in London!

Our First Day in London

OK, technically it wasn't our first day in London but we didn't do much on arrival day other than survive and explore our neighbourhood.

Yesterday we spread a bit further afield.

Our first need (after coffee and showers) was breakfast. Apparently London enjoys a more leisurely start to the day on Sunday as most restaurants did not open until 10 and we were hungry. We decided to just head out to out first stop and see what we found on our way. It turns out that while there weren't many restaurants there were plenty of cafes where we could grab a snack.

We loaded the Oyster cards that one of my colleagues at the office had loaned to us and headed off on the tube.

Our first stop was the Museum of London. This is a free museum that documents the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. The museum also includes some new galleries - the Galleries of Modern London, that focus on the lives people lead from 1666 to the present. There was also a special display the shows how the Olympic Cauldron was made for the 2012 London Olympics.

We spent close to 3 hours wandering around the museum - a great spot to spend a morning.

Our lunch reservations were for 1 PM so we headed to Barbecoa. This is celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's tribute to fire and smoke. They featured a special Sunday lunch - a traditional English roast with all you can eat Yorkshire puddings, coal roasted potatoes, roasted cabbage, and roasted carrots. You were able to select one appetizer, one main, and dessert. You could also order all you can drink wine.

Our table had an incredible view of St. Paul's Cathedral - I would have sat there for three hours just looking out of the window.

Lunch was amazing.

After lunch we decided to wander around St. Paul's Cathedral for a bit. As we were doing this it started to get a bit drizzly. We heard some thunder and saw lightning. We sought shelter in one of those old red iconic telephone booths to the right of the Cathedral. There was room for both Paul and Jerry in there but no room for the others who also had the same great idea when it started to hail.

After the cloud had passed we hopped on the tube back to the Agate station, followed by a short walk back to the apartment.

The all-you can drink wine hit me and a nap was required!

Later we lounged around and went out to a restaurant near the apartment that is known for its hand-pulled Asian noodles and dumplings. Delicious!

We Made It

So our travel to London was pretty uneventful and things went pretty well as planned (noticed I said pretty well, there is always bound to be some sort of glitch but on this trip there was nothing major).

We had booked seats in Premium Economy (whatever grandiose term BA uses) which meant better food and more room. Poor Paul sure needed that room because the lady in front of him refused to put her seat up during dinner:

Had we been in economy he woulnd't have been able to move. Mind you, he likely wouldn't have wanted to eat the meal so I guess everything is relative.

I had overestimated the length of time it would take to get through customs (even with only 1 customs agent on duty for non-EU folks) and retrieve our luggage (I think many people on our flight were connecting through to other places). As a result we had about a 30 minute wait for our car. The car service was great - we received a text saying the car was on route with a map showing us the driver's location.

The drive into London was unremarkable. I was tired. Yesterday was a gray day. I did manage to connect with the guy who was supposed to greet us at the apartment on the journey - this was sort of my only stressor. Once that was resolved I chilled and looked out the window.

When we went past the National History museum there were HUGE crowds - take that one off of our list. It wasn't so bad at the Victoria and Albert Museum though - that one is on the list now. Funny how that goes.

They were setting up for the St. Patrick's Day celebration in Trafalgar Square.

(not the best image - I was in a van).

Peter met us at the apartment and explained how everything worked. It is a huge apartment - 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, big kitchen. Just what we love - lots of room of spread out and only for $ 125 a night. The building has been refurbished (back in the early 2000s this was known as Heroin Tower). When they renovated this unit they really did a good job - the kitchen is furnished with Bosch appliances, for example.

Once Peter left we just crashed - I think it was almost 2 hours before we woke up.

After a fortifying shower we went off to explore the neighbourhood.

We decided to walk down to the Spitalfields Market - one of the largest in London. There has been a market on the site for over 350 years. Mind you, the market of today is very different than the one in 1638 when King Charles I gave a license for flesh, fowl and roots to be sold on Spittle Fields, which was then a rural area on the eastern outskirts of London. Today's market is craft stands, restaurants, and food stalls.  .  . and we loved it!

After wandering the market (where I picked up a great pair of socks and some treats for the cats) we walked back to the apartment. Along the way we passed the Ten Bells pub which is where Jack the Ripper is said to have been a patron and where he connected with two of his victims.

We also discovered a candy store that makes giant suckers that look like people. You might recognize this character:

I think the hair gives it away.

We also spotted this wash house from the 1840s.

This was built through subscription of the wealthy. It was a place for the poor to come and get clean and wash their clothing. Now this building forms a part of the London University.

The wind had really picked up and it was cold and drizzly. Rather than wander about for hours we decided to pop into a Tesco express (a small inner city grocery store) for provisions  (mostly coffee essentials, wine, Walkers Crisps and Cadbury chocolate) and head back to the apartment. I will say that compared to the small stores for urban dwellers in Rome this one sucked. It had essentials but you couldn't have cooked a proper meal with what you found there.

Later we decided to head out for some dinner. There was a Greek restaurant nearby and they were able to fit us in without reservations.

Great food and wine - just what we needed.

On the way back to the apartment we spotted the famous landmark of modern London - the gherkin.