12/29/10
We just got back to the hotel from a pub in Leicester Square that was straight out of a scene from a movie. It was packed, the line to the bar was about 5 rows deep of thirsty (mostly) locals. As we were waiting to order a pint the guy in front of us (pretty intoxicated) turned around and just started chatting with us.We have found just about EVERYONE to be extremely friendly in London, it's great. When he realized we were from America he said, "Do you guys like Will Smith? I love the Fresh Prince!" Then he broke into the whole theme song and by the end had me singing along and banging on the bar with him to the beat of the song. It was quite funny, and so random. As we were singing the Fresh Prince theme song there was a group of guys in the corner chanting and clapping to their own song as they slammed flagons of beer (working on my lingo). It reminded us of the pub scenes from the movie "Green Street Hooligans" where they chant the West Ham United rally song. These guys went on all night, we even tried to sneak a video of it. We had such a blast we are thinking about coming back for another night or two before we fly home.
Today we toured the London Tower and walked across the Tower Bridge. Once at the tower we headed straight for the Crown Jewels. Yup, that's right, we saw the kings jewels. The most impressive was the worlds largest diamond, The Star of Africa, that sat on the end of the Sovereign's Sceptor. The diamond is 530 carats and is roughly the size of my fist. Wow. As you're waiting to see the Crown Jewels there are videos of the jewels up close and in action. There was a video of the current queens coronation as well as photographs of the Jewels being used in passed coronations. I look forward to someday watching the coronation of Prince William, knowing that we have seen those treasures up close and in person, as well as stood in the church where it will all take place. I definitely have a new found interest in the royal family and the centuries of tradition. After checking out the royal shimmers we took a tour of the whole tower led by a "Beefeater." He was very amusing and had a way of making us laugh even when telling the bloody, torturous history of the tower. We saw where the beheadings took place and visited the "bloody tower" where most of the torture took place. Lesson learned: don't ever piss off the royal family.
We have an early flight to Paris in the morning so we decided to end the party a little early. London has been wonderful and I think we got to do all the things we set out to do. Marcus even got his tri-fecta of English staples: fish & chips, meat pie, and bangers & mash. I think I've had my fill of fried food, though it's quite delicious, and am looking forward to the french cuisine. Mmmm crepes, cheese, croissants... I can't wait!
Thursday 30 December 2010
Wednesday 29 December 2010
Day 2: London
12/28/10
We finally got a full nights rest since traveling and I think we are officially adjusted to London time. We had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel and headed off to do our exploring of the city. We took the tube to Westminster to see the major sights. We stood in awe as we walked up the steps from the underground to find Big Ben right there in all his glory. The clock chimed right as we were arriving. We snapped a few photos and headed over to Westminster Abbey. We were indecisive about whether or not to tour it. It was bombarded with tourists and we just weren't quite sure if it was worth the wait. In the end we decided we had to do it. It is greatest church in all of Britain, the church where Kings and Queens have been crowned, married, and buried since 1066... how could we not? It was impressive, as to be expected. Unfortunately, like St Paul's, there is no photography allowed except for in the courtyard so our minds will have to serve as our photo album. One of my favorite parts of the church was the High Altar. It is the holiest place in the church and the place where Princess Diana's funeral was held (as well as Kings and Queens dating back 1000 years ago) and where the current Queen took her first communion after her coronation. We learned a lot about Britain's history and heard some very interesting stories that I will never forget such as Queen "Bloody" Mary who locked her half sister, Elizabeth, in the London Tower... only to die childless (no one to pass the crown to) and have her once prisoned sister become her successor and one of Britain's most endeared Queens. Though the sisters were near enemies in life, they are buried side by side in the "Lady Room" of the Abbey.
We spent a good portion of the day touring the Abbey. We then walked over the Westminster Bridge and grabbed a quick bite to eat. We had a local favorite, the jacket potato (baked potato) before heading over to the London Eye. We had looked up sunset times earlier in the day hoping to ride the Eye at sunset. However the day was overcast, and while at home that often makes for gorgeous sunsets, in London it was just slowly getting darker. So we rode the Eye as dusk turned to night and it was BEAUTIFUL. The city was twinkling with lights and Big Ben and The Parliament just glowed. It was very romantic.
After the London Eye we took a stroll along the Thames River to Trafalgar square. We hung out there for a bit admiring the fountains and ginormous ship in bottle before heading off to find food, which turned out to be quite a task. Restaurants close unexpectedly early in London. While the pubs are open late, they usually stop serving food around 8. We went back to Nags Head Pub in Covent Garden, where we had a couple pints the night before, only to find the kitchen was already closed. We grabbed a couple drinks, I had my first mulled wine and Marcus had a McMullen Cask Ale. A couple from Arizona joined us at our table and they happened to be on the hunt for food as well. We sat around and chatted for a bit until our appetites led us to bid adieu and find some grub. A local had told us to head to Leicester Square to find late night restaurants. As we started our walk over to Leicester Square we came upon a Restaurant just around the corner from Nags Head that appeared to be open. We were seated at a window table on the second floor with a great view of the quaint shops along the street. Marcus was dying to have another local favorite and found what he was looking for in their steak, Guinness, mushroom Pie. As if he wasn't in heaven enough already, they lady sitting behind him had a Raider's jacket draped on the back of her chair. She had a thick European accent and was presumably NOT from Oakland. Marcus beamed as he pointed to the jacket and proclaimed "The Raider Nation has crossed the pond!" After our late night meal we went back to the hotel and crashed out while watching a hilarious British sitcom "Peep Show."
We finally got a full nights rest since traveling and I think we are officially adjusted to London time. We had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel and headed off to do our exploring of the city. We took the tube to Westminster to see the major sights. We stood in awe as we walked up the steps from the underground to find Big Ben right there in all his glory. The clock chimed right as we were arriving. We snapped a few photos and headed over to Westminster Abbey. We were indecisive about whether or not to tour it. It was bombarded with tourists and we just weren't quite sure if it was worth the wait. In the end we decided we had to do it. It is greatest church in all of Britain, the church where Kings and Queens have been crowned, married, and buried since 1066... how could we not? It was impressive, as to be expected. Unfortunately, like St Paul's, there is no photography allowed except for in the courtyard so our minds will have to serve as our photo album. One of my favorite parts of the church was the High Altar. It is the holiest place in the church and the place where Princess Diana's funeral was held (as well as Kings and Queens dating back 1000 years ago) and where the current Queen took her first communion after her coronation. We learned a lot about Britain's history and heard some very interesting stories that I will never forget such as Queen "Bloody" Mary who locked her half sister, Elizabeth, in the London Tower... only to die childless (no one to pass the crown to) and have her once prisoned sister become her successor and one of Britain's most endeared Queens. Though the sisters were near enemies in life, they are buried side by side in the "Lady Room" of the Abbey.
We spent a good portion of the day touring the Abbey. We then walked over the Westminster Bridge and grabbed a quick bite to eat. We had a local favorite, the jacket potato (baked potato) before heading over to the London Eye. We had looked up sunset times earlier in the day hoping to ride the Eye at sunset. However the day was overcast, and while at home that often makes for gorgeous sunsets, in London it was just slowly getting darker. So we rode the Eye as dusk turned to night and it was BEAUTIFUL. The city was twinkling with lights and Big Ben and The Parliament just glowed. It was very romantic.
After the London Eye we took a stroll along the Thames River to Trafalgar square. We hung out there for a bit admiring the fountains and ginormous ship in bottle before heading off to find food, which turned out to be quite a task. Restaurants close unexpectedly early in London. While the pubs are open late, they usually stop serving food around 8. We went back to Nags Head Pub in Covent Garden, where we had a couple pints the night before, only to find the kitchen was already closed. We grabbed a couple drinks, I had my first mulled wine and Marcus had a McMullen Cask Ale. A couple from Arizona joined us at our table and they happened to be on the hunt for food as well. We sat around and chatted for a bit until our appetites led us to bid adieu and find some grub. A local had told us to head to Leicester Square to find late night restaurants. As we started our walk over to Leicester Square we came upon a Restaurant just around the corner from Nags Head that appeared to be open. We were seated at a window table on the second floor with a great view of the quaint shops along the street. Marcus was dying to have another local favorite and found what he was looking for in their steak, Guinness, mushroom Pie. As if he wasn't in heaven enough already, they lady sitting behind him had a Raider's jacket draped on the back of her chair. She had a thick European accent and was presumably NOT from Oakland. Marcus beamed as he pointed to the jacket and proclaimed "The Raider Nation has crossed the pond!" After our late night meal we went back to the hotel and crashed out while watching a hilarious British sitcom "Peep Show."
Tuesday 28 December 2010
Day 1: London
12/27/2010
After months of anticipation, and a week of being glued to the weather channel, we finally arrived in London! It still doesn't feel real yet. We were both commenting (over a couple of beers last night) that it feels like we are in grown up Disneyland, but everything is real. The beautiful Victorian buildings draped in moulding and history... narrow roads that look like they were made for toy cars. It feels a lot like Main Street in Disneyland... but with great pubs. We spent most of the evening just walking around and admiring the city. Our plane landed around 900 and we got to hotel around 1130. I was a little surprised by how smoothly everything went getting to the hotel. We purchased a 3 day oyster card at Heathrow and hopped on the tube like we knew what we were doing. Marcus said he was totally geeking out the whole tube ride over, just gawking at the city as it whizzed by. We arrived at the hotel and luckily they let us check in early. We napped, showered, and hit the streets around 1530. We really had no plan except to find some fish & chips and beer. We hopped on the Piccadilly line and got off at St Paul's in search of a pub built in the 1600's called Ye Old Cheshire Cheese that we read about in Rick Steve's London. We stumbled upon St Paul's Cathedral and decided to snap a few shots. As we did so we noticed people were actually walking in and that it was open (it was dark already and I had just figured it was closed.) We walked in to find that a special "Christmas Songs & Readings" service was being held. We grabbed a seat and listened as the choir sang. The cathedral was amazing with ornate details everywhere you looked. After the service we walked around the cathedral and stood under the dome. If you stand in the very center and look up you can see the 3 levels of the dome and all of the ornate detailed painting of each. I felt like we cheated a bit because not only did we tour St Paul's for free (usually 12lb) but we were also serenaded by a choir singing Christmas songs and hymns. Lucky ducks. After the service we headed out to find the pub only to find it was already closed. We headed back to the tube and stumbled upon the Black Friar, another pub recommended by Rick Steve. We ordered a couple draft beers and the fish plate which was a combo of fried fish, calamari, scampi, and chips. Despite the fish looking more like fish sticks than fillets it was quite tasty. After our dinner we hopped back on the tube and wandered around Covent Garden & Piccadilly Square. We were both still quite tired from traveling and called it a night fairly early. We plan on doing the Westminster Walk tomorrow and seeing Big Ben, The London Bridge, The London Eye, and everything else in that area. Cheers!
After months of anticipation, and a week of being glued to the weather channel, we finally arrived in London! It still doesn't feel real yet. We were both commenting (over a couple of beers last night) that it feels like we are in grown up Disneyland, but everything is real. The beautiful Victorian buildings draped in moulding and history... narrow roads that look like they were made for toy cars. It feels a lot like Main Street in Disneyland... but with great pubs. We spent most of the evening just walking around and admiring the city. Our plane landed around 900 and we got to hotel around 1130. I was a little surprised by how smoothly everything went getting to the hotel. We purchased a 3 day oyster card at Heathrow and hopped on the tube like we knew what we were doing. Marcus said he was totally geeking out the whole tube ride over, just gawking at the city as it whizzed by. We arrived at the hotel and luckily they let us check in early. We napped, showered, and hit the streets around 1530. We really had no plan except to find some fish & chips and beer. We hopped on the Piccadilly line and got off at St Paul's in search of a pub built in the 1600's called Ye Old Cheshire Cheese that we read about in Rick Steve's London. We stumbled upon St Paul's Cathedral and decided to snap a few shots. As we did so we noticed people were actually walking in and that it was open (it was dark already and I had just figured it was closed.) We walked in to find that a special "Christmas Songs & Readings" service was being held. We grabbed a seat and listened as the choir sang. The cathedral was amazing with ornate details everywhere you looked. After the service we walked around the cathedral and stood under the dome. If you stand in the very center and look up you can see the 3 levels of the dome and all of the ornate detailed painting of each. I felt like we cheated a bit because not only did we tour St Paul's for free (usually 12lb) but we were also serenaded by a choir singing Christmas songs and hymns. Lucky ducks. After the service we headed out to find the pub only to find it was already closed. We headed back to the tube and stumbled upon the Black Friar, another pub recommended by Rick Steve. We ordered a couple draft beers and the fish plate which was a combo of fried fish, calamari, scampi, and chips. Despite the fish looking more like fish sticks than fillets it was quite tasty. After our dinner we hopped back on the tube and wandered around Covent Garden & Piccadilly Square. We were both still quite tired from traveling and called it a night fairly early. We plan on doing the Westminster Walk tomorrow and seeing Big Ben, The London Bridge, The London Eye, and everything else in that area. Cheers!
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