I Didn't See Will and Kate, But Still Not A Disapointment

Heather and I love NYC and have held it in stratospherical regard since last year. Well, welcome to second place New York. London takes the cake (and the eccles too). Not only is London full of amazement and charisma, but it is easy. We just walked from neighborhood to neighborhood....oh, there is the British Museum....oh, there is an entire street of guitar shops....oh, there is St. Paul's Cathedral....oh, oh, oh! Was it my own ignorance that I didn't know so much awesomeness could be contained in a city?

We took the train down from Manny and were in central London within two hours. Two Freakin Hours! Soooooo easy and pretty cheap too. It cost us 50 pounds each return (around $80). Part of the problem with a city so big is remembering all of the different neighborhood names. We stayed with Sarah and Ralph, friends from SFU who are studying and working in London for the year too. I'm not sure where they lived, but we walked there from King's Cross Station and it close. Russell Square? Anyway, it was awesome. We arrived and went out for a pint before dinner in Soho--my favorite.

Thanks to Kim Duff (all hail the mighty Duff) who supplied us not only with wicked restaurant intel, but with a 50 pound off coupon (that's right--50 pounds!). The restaurant was called Sketch (click for the link) and it was really deluxe. Heather and I were saying that it's just the type of restaurant that you would think is in London. The walls were all projected animations that change monthly.

The mains were good, the starters even better (the best risotto I have ever had), but the real stars were the bathrooms. I wish I had more pictures. You leave the main dining room, then walk up a double stairway--the men's are illuminated in blue, the ladies in pink (lame)--and they are all individual egg-pods with toilets in them. They each have their own personality too. The one I went in cheered when I flushed and the one Heather went in had airline announcements playing and shuttered a little with turbulence.

Again, thanks to Duff, the bill was quite reasonable. We headed off and walked back to Sarah and Ralph's place for a nightcap and good night's sleep.

The next day Sarah and Ralph played tour guides and took us to see the major sights of the Southbank. My stupid photos are out of order (aaahhhh blogstrations--I forgot how much I missed loathe you) so I will just have to list them. 

The Gerkin--I don't know what the real name is, but it's is the coolest skyscraper I have ever seen.

Heather and Tower Bridge. It was really strange to see these iconic places in real life. I've been to 'famous' places before, but these are ultra-familiar......maybe it's because of the colonialism. Maybe it's just because I watched the new Sherlock Holmes two weeks ago too. Jude Law was quite enjoyable as Watson.

St. Paul's Cathedral--We didn't go in. Didn't even stop. This was from the bus. Same as Heather and Tower Bridge. She just jumped out really quick. Unfortunately, she didn't make it back on the bus in time and we are looking for her. Heather: If you see this blog--please call me!

Some apartments that I would really like to live in. I think Madonna lives here. They back the Thames and are the old shipping/storage warehouses. Some are called things like 'rice house' or 'java house'. They even kept all the old bridges and trusses. They now have tables and are the balconies for the apartments.

A crazy sculpture that will give me nightmares. It's a steam engine sailboat with spears for sails.

We stopped to explore this market that Sarah had been meaning to go to called Borough Market. A very good stop. It has been going on since the 13th century and it was delicious. There was food everywhere!!! Cheese, meats, pastries from everywhere in Europe and North Africa. It was soooo good. Heather and Sarah got some Thai green curry that was cooked on this giant paella-like shield. They even had a wall of fresh, dead rabbits. I didn't buy one.

Chowin' Down'

Heather and the Globe Theater. Not the original that Willy played in, but re-created in the same location and to the original specs. It might also be titled "Heather and The Super Soft Ice Cream Truck."

 

The eye! The eye! We didn't ride it this time, but might when we go back in 30 years.

So cool. I mean me, not Big Ben and Parliament. My future is so bright, I gotta wear shades....even when it is completely overcast and grey. Hey, the sun never sets on cool right? Ok...that's enough. I'm a dork.

I wonder how much all that gold is worth now?

Tube Time. They go down a lot further than I imagined they would. The escalators always reminded me of scenes from American Werewolf in London. We did not see any werewolves. I did see at least two Americans though. They were loud.

It was really great for Sarah and Ralph to take us out and show us the town. We later had some pints at the Lamb (not the Lamb and something, just the Lamb. Wicked) and questioned if we walked too much in the day.

The next day we left to a hotel for one night and then headed out to meet our friend Nick from Kelowna, who just happened to be in London on business for a couple of days! We went over to East London for Brick Lane and Spitlefields Market. We met up with Nick, his sister Rachel and friend Matt. Unfortunately, this is the only picture we have of them. Yes......they are our friends, not just Londoners on the street.

We went with Nick, Matt, and Rachel to have some pints at the Ten Bells, a super cool pub with a dark history. The last victim of Jack the Ripper worked at the Ten Bells and they think he drank there too. We split with the gang and headed off on our own stopping at Covent Gardens (boooooo! Waste of time) and Picadilly Gardens.

We went to a restaurant called the Saltyard for dinner. Again, super delicious. We made reservations for 9:00 being cosmopolitan. We showed up at the restaurant at 7:30 famished and begging to get in. They took pity on our small-town stomachs and sat us in the chef's table! It was spanish tapas done very, very well. MMMMMMMMM.

We stayed at the Marble Arch Mariott in London. It is a crap building, but the rooms were nice. It would be a lot better in the summer because of it's proximity to Hyde Park. We woke up and it was pouring, so we went for a nice Lebanese breakfast and waited it out. It passed and we hit the park!

And rented bikes!! We had them for an hour. 2 pounds each. Sweet!

 

The original Speaker's Corner is in the park--not from Muchmusic--it was given to the commoners as a place where they could speak out about anything without reprisal. It was Sunday morning and just after the Japanese earthquake, so there was a whole lot of Apocalyptic smattering.

The park was really nice. There were a number of football games going on and it was very 'used,' which is nice. I made a video of it and should have it in the future.

What can I say? Loved, loved, loved, London. I would go back in a second.

Blast-er from the Past-er

From the land of floatistan where I built the biggest driftwood fire ever seen. Looks like the eye of Sauron!

Mallorqui Cats!

Is it rude to call this guy Adolf? I think so. Let's say Chaplin then.

Off to my ancestral land of Scots this weekend! Later!! CC