Monday, September 11, 2006
Days 3 & 4 in London
Note: Updated on Oct 1 with pictures.
So we're now in Amsterdam, but I have to catch you up on London. I don't have any pictures just yet, as we need to find an Internet cafe' where we can upload from our USB drive. But I''ll just get this post written for now and try to fill in with the photos later.
Day 3 in London - Saturday, September 9th
After sleeping in (we've been doing that lately, feels great - more like vacation and less like work) we decided to go over to the Trafalgar Square area AKA Tourist Central, take some pictures, and watch people. We enjoyed a simple but delicious lunch in a little pub on Charing Cross Road - I had cream of tomato soup and a beer, and Michael had some kind of pasta dish with a beer. The bartender was really friendly, and knew about Portland and our microbrew scene:
Garrick Arms - a suprisingly convivial pub in an overly touristed area
Steps in front of the National Gallery, at Trafalgar Square. Look closely, you may spot a familiar face.
After lunch and Trafalgar, we hopped on the Tube to Knightsbridge - one of several snobby shopping areas in London, to hit the super pricey but oh so out-of-this-world Harrod's. We skipped right by the $3,000 handbags and $20,000 necklaces and headed straight for the food halls, where mere mortals can indulge in a reasonable splurge. There was an ice cream counter in the center and the two free stools were just begging us to sit down, and so we bellied up to the bar and ordered an 8 GBP strawberry sundae, which is about $15 USD! A $15 sundae!!! But, it was out of this world - it was more of an art exhibit than any sundae I had ever seen, but fortunately it was exquisitely delicious too. Shopped around a bit and picked up a few souvenirs and then decided we had ENOUGH of humans and headed back to our apartment to relax.
After a couple of hours, we got cleaned up and walked quite a long ways (not planned, but it worked out that way) to the Baker Street Station to catch the Bakerloo line to Maida Vale - an area not too far from St. John's Wood which is where Michael's former boss, Phil, lives. We met Phil at a Thai restaurant called Street Hawkers and the food wasn't bad, although not as delicious as the Thai restaurants in Portland. After dinner, Phil took us to a traditional English pub near his flat and we shared a beer and lots of secondhand smoke. Coughing, we walked out into the night and caught the Tube back home.
Day 4 - The Absolute Bliss of Doing Nothing
We finally left the apartment around 11:30am - it seems we are less ambitious with every passing day. But, we planned the trip that way by design - visit Paris (brand new to us) with fresh nerves and legs, then visit an old favorite (London) while we were still semi-fresh but waning, and finally, visit Amsterdam when we've just had enough and want to take it really slow. I think it's been brilliant and boy am I ready to chill out in Amsterdam!
But I digress. So we left the apartment at 11:30 and caught the #24 bus up to Hampstead Heath - a huge nature park about 20 minutes from our apartment. I had heard it was really beautiful with some good views of the city, and I was dying to get out into nature and away from the mobs of annoying humans for awhile. We got off the bus and found our way into the heath, where we walked around and explored for a couple of hours. It was very beautiful and relaxing, and from what I could tell we were the only tourists there.
For some reason, this sign was responsible for lots of giggling
Natural beauty at Hampstead Heath
Afterwards, we were famished and walked back down the hill and enjoyed a delicious lunch at Hamburger Union - where I enjoyed a spectacular chicken sandwich and M chowed down on a burger. Sated, we caught the bus back to our neighborhood where we shopped at Waterstone's book store, stopped for groceries at Tesco, and then went home and DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for the rest of the afternoon. I finished The Devil Wears Prada and Michael got started reading yet another science fiction novel. Towards the evening, it occurred to me that I "should" go for a stroll and say a proper goodbye to London, but I was too lazy. Went to bed early, because our 5:45am wakeup call was going to come very very early ...
London - love you lots, see you again soon!
Next: have I ever mentioned how much I HATE flying, taking the WRONG train, and ahhhh ... Amsterdam! ΒΆ 7:57 AM
So we're now in Amsterdam, but I have to catch you up on London. I don't have any pictures just yet, as we need to find an Internet cafe' where we can upload from our USB drive. But I''ll just get this post written for now and try to fill in with the photos later.
Day 3 in London - Saturday, September 9th
After sleeping in (we've been doing that lately, feels great - more like vacation and less like work) we decided to go over to the Trafalgar Square area AKA Tourist Central, take some pictures, and watch people. We enjoyed a simple but delicious lunch in a little pub on Charing Cross Road - I had cream of tomato soup and a beer, and Michael had some kind of pasta dish with a beer. The bartender was really friendly, and knew about Portland and our microbrew scene:
Garrick Arms - a suprisingly convivial pub in an overly touristed area
Steps in front of the National Gallery, at Trafalgar Square. Look closely, you may spot a familiar face.
After lunch and Trafalgar, we hopped on the Tube to Knightsbridge - one of several snobby shopping areas in London, to hit the super pricey but oh so out-of-this-world Harrod's. We skipped right by the $3,000 handbags and $20,000 necklaces and headed straight for the food halls, where mere mortals can indulge in a reasonable splurge. There was an ice cream counter in the center and the two free stools were just begging us to sit down, and so we bellied up to the bar and ordered an 8 GBP strawberry sundae, which is about $15 USD! A $15 sundae!!! But, it was out of this world - it was more of an art exhibit than any sundae I had ever seen, but fortunately it was exquisitely delicious too. Shopped around a bit and picked up a few souvenirs and then decided we had ENOUGH of humans and headed back to our apartment to relax.
After a couple of hours, we got cleaned up and walked quite a long ways (not planned, but it worked out that way) to the Baker Street Station to catch the Bakerloo line to Maida Vale - an area not too far from St. John's Wood which is where Michael's former boss, Phil, lives. We met Phil at a Thai restaurant called Street Hawkers and the food wasn't bad, although not as delicious as the Thai restaurants in Portland. After dinner, Phil took us to a traditional English pub near his flat and we shared a beer and lots of secondhand smoke. Coughing, we walked out into the night and caught the Tube back home.
Day 4 - The Absolute Bliss of Doing Nothing
We finally left the apartment around 11:30am - it seems we are less ambitious with every passing day. But, we planned the trip that way by design - visit Paris (brand new to us) with fresh nerves and legs, then visit an old favorite (London) while we were still semi-fresh but waning, and finally, visit Amsterdam when we've just had enough and want to take it really slow. I think it's been brilliant and boy am I ready to chill out in Amsterdam!
But I digress. So we left the apartment at 11:30 and caught the #24 bus up to Hampstead Heath - a huge nature park about 20 minutes from our apartment. I had heard it was really beautiful with some good views of the city, and I was dying to get out into nature and away from the mobs of annoying humans for awhile. We got off the bus and found our way into the heath, where we walked around and explored for a couple of hours. It was very beautiful and relaxing, and from what I could tell we were the only tourists there.
For some reason, this sign was responsible for lots of giggling
Natural beauty at Hampstead Heath
Afterwards, we were famished and walked back down the hill and enjoyed a delicious lunch at Hamburger Union - where I enjoyed a spectacular chicken sandwich and M chowed down on a burger. Sated, we caught the bus back to our neighborhood where we shopped at Waterstone's book store, stopped for groceries at Tesco, and then went home and DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for the rest of the afternoon. I finished The Devil Wears Prada and Michael got started reading yet another science fiction novel. Towards the evening, it occurred to me that I "should" go for a stroll and say a proper goodbye to London, but I was too lazy. Went to bed early, because our 5:45am wakeup call was going to come very very early ...
London - love you lots, see you again soon!
Next: have I ever mentioned how much I HATE flying, taking the WRONG train, and ahhhh ... Amsterdam! ΒΆ 7:57 AM
