We got back from our London trip a week ago. My expectations were far exceeded. Truth is, I fell in love with it a little bit.
We stayed at an Airbnb in Brixton. We met our friends there and had breakfast at an amazing place called Pimlico Fresh. It had great lattes and traditional British breakfasts with fresh ingredients. Then we went to the Tate Britain. It was such a beautiful location.
I was so obsessed with seeing British school kids, who wore classic uniforms. Had to creep on these ones in the Tate.
Then off to the inimitable British Museum. It holds so many treasures from all over the world and throughout history. Most of it sacked by the Brits, uhoh. I was quite impressed nonetheless.
We had a late lunch in the neighborhood of Camden, at a pub called the Spread Eagle. I wasn't too hungry so I got the Treacle Pudding with custard. And beer. Which was so gross! Flat and not very cold. I learned that I prefer lager.
After lunch, we took a stroll through Regents Park and I felt as if I stepped into a story like Mary Poppins, when the children jump into the chalk painting, or Peter Pan, with babies falling out of the prams pushed by nannies.
For dinner, we went to Kettner's in SoHo. It's a French restaurant open since 1867! Favorite patrons included Agatha Christie and Oscar Wilde! There was even an English king who had a secret tunnel built from a nearby theatre to Kettner's for his mistress, an actress. I loved the dining experience. I had boeuf bourguignon.
We went on to an after-dinner pub, but on the way I got distracted by a crowd outside a stage door (there are lots of theatres in SoHo). It turned out it was Angela Lansbury's opening night in a Noel Coward play! She's 88 years old, NBD. So I got to see the top of her head as she went from the stage door to her car. Woohoo!
The next day, our friends wanted to get out of the city so we went to Brighton, a city on the coast. It was a beautiful day to go there. We went to the pier, and went on a few silly rides. We sat in a coffee shop for awhile and talked to friendly locals. We perused the quaint local shops. It's really a wonderful place.
We ended up having dinner at a cozy and busy pub called the Basketmakers Arms, recommended by a local (seriously the people there were so friendly). Look at all that food! (A few of these photos were taken by our friend Chadwick by the way). That was one of the most awesome part of the trip was all the amazing food. Fresh, comforting, and lovingly prepared.
Case in point, the next morning we went back to Pimlico Fresh. Josh got the savory French toast again. It was that good; I mean, look at it!
Our friends departed after breakfast, so Josh and I took a cab to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was Ash Wednesday, so we couldn't explore as freely, but it was just so beautiful to hear the organ being played, and candles lit. I lit a candle for my grandmother, thinking about how much she would have loved seeing London.
Josh wanted to go and spend some time at a typography library, so I walked around on my own and found some cool stuff...
I went to the Savoy Hotel, also known as heaven on earth. Look at those gorgeous orchids. Beautiful fresh flowers everywhere. The hotel employees were unbelievably friendly. I reapplied my lipstick in the fancy lobby washroom and thought about Miss Pettigrew.
Such fun signage everywhere. It's always a little awkward for me to stop and take pictures and feel like a dorky tourist, but I've got to.
We found Trafalgar Square around sunset and it was crawling with folks. We could even see Big Ben, looking properly perfect in the distance. We took a double-decker bus back to the Brixton area and had Indian food for dinner.
I am so excited to go back to London someday. I'm hoping to take a mother-daughter trip, because I know she'll love it so much. And there's still so much for me to see.
No comments :
Post a Comment