London

Hello there.

In many ways London was the center of the world for centuries. During that time Britains have created and amassed many of the greatest treasures of civilization. So with all of the British national museums being free, first thing being first, time to get us some culture:

Only Ali made it through. And yes we went to Kings Cross Station and waited 45 minutes for the opportunity to buy a £9 photo of this SUPER cool moment. We aren't just on a Harry Potter tour though. We also wanted to see the historical sites... especially the Tower of London which coincidently is connected to a lot history that may have inspired George R. R. Martin.

I blinked. We did go to the British Museum where we saw the Rosetta Stone, Sutton Hoo, Parthenon walls and mummies.

We saw the Westminsters. I saw an organ concert in Westminster Abbey while Ali got a massage (she had already seen it while I snoozed on a bench by the Mandela statue.) 

We really wanted an authentic London theater experience, so we looked through all of the Andrew Loyd Webber classics before making a decision.

Truly a masterpiece, but not so London. But we made up for it by having a spot of manly afternoon tea before the show at Soho's Secret Tea Room.

Straighten that back Dave! 

Lift that pinky Ali! 

That was exhausting. We went to Lamb and Flag, a pub after the show, a little more my style.

 

We had already been to a few pubs including the Earl of Lonsdale in Notting Hill:

Smithfield Real Ale made the beers that I liked best. 

Ali's bangers and mash.

My mushroom, cranberry, and brie wellington.

The next pub was my favorite. They served Smithfield Real Ales hand pumped out of oak casks and fed me a farmers pie:

Dickens frequented Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese back in his day. We went on a Dickens and Shakespeare historic tour around the City of London (old town). Shakespeare owned several buildings and likely stowed Catholic Priests in this property during the rein of Bloody Mary.

I was a little apprehensive about staying in a neighborhood that may or may not have been chosen because of a certain rom com. Turns out I love Notting Hill (the neighborhood). I found a great artisan coffee place, Coffee Plant. The Earl of Londsdale pub was a few blocks from our studio. We had a pint and yummy Thai dinner in this old pub, Churchill Arms:

 We had a £7 three course gourmet meal in the back of a book store, Books for Cooks (served at noon everyday they are open). The store mascot looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy before he moved to America (thinner). 

WARNING: graphic food porn below.

The Portobello Market seemed like the best market in London in terms of seeing decent British goods. The market on Camden had more street food and the South Bank sounded like a better farmers market though (we didn't go to this one). I want to go back to London now more than I originally wanted to go for the first time, mainly because I liked the pubs, cafés, history, funny names, and our neighborhood so much. We also never made it to the British Library which has a copy of the Magna Carta among other treasures. Hopefully we will see it in November.