Good Friday April 7, 2007

We kicked off the holiday weekend with a trip to one of Londons most famous landmarks, the Tower of London. Before we got there, we did a little detour to the oldest wall in London. It was the marking for the original city limit built by the Romans in 200AD. Very cool landmark.

Heading over to the tower, we had two goals in mind. We wanted to see the crown jewels and the torture chamber. Ha! Talk about a well rounded experience. We walked through some of the old living quarters and then made our way over to the crown jewels. They are really amazing but I would say that today’s rap stars have much better jewels. From there we headed over to the Bloody Tower which is now somewhat of a memorial to the two prices who were supposedly killed there as children. We didn’t find any notes about Anne Boleyn although she is one of the most famous people to be killed at the Tower.

From there, we headed out towards the most famous bridge in London, Tower Bridge. This is the bridge most people mistake for the London Bridge. While it is not as old as the Tower or London, it is just as beautiful. I love that they took the time and effort to build a bridge to mirror the surrounding environment rather than just throw up a cheap bridge (like the London Bridge).

Since we were close to an area we had discovered on our pub tour from earlier in the week, we headed over to the Black Friars for a drink and some chips. This was a nice little pit stop to get us energized and we hit the road again for an afternoon of shopping. All that shopping brought us back into my neck of the woods and we made the decision to have Italian food for dinner. We weren’t so lucky on this mission and after an hour or so of hunting for a restaurant; we ended up at the closest thing to Italian, Pizza Express. Another great ending to a great day.

The Oldest Wall
Mom and Dad at the Tower
Mom and Dad at the Bridge
Princess with his beers
Ladies on a Bus

Smelly Day Out April 6, 2007

Today was one of our most relaxed days. I say relaxed from my point of view as all I did was go to work. I think mom and dad did some walking, tubing, and busing around the city. For lunch, they met me at the office and I took them to a little hole in the wall fish and chips join near Covent Garden called the Rock and Sole Plaice. It was the best F&C we have had and we carried the smell with us for the remainder of the day. I walked back into the office and everyone commented on the odor.

After work, mom and dad met me back at the office and went to a great little Indian place off of the Seven Dials. Of all the places I have tried around town, I keep coming back to this little place as it continues to be the best. This meal caused our bodies to smell thanks to the high amounts of curry but we didn’t mind as that was our final destination for the day.

Thursday was a similar low key day without the smelly food. For lunch we hit a local burger joint called Ultimate Burger. This is the place to go for a good burger. Do not go to Gourmet Burger as they aren’t known for their cleanliness. Mom enjoyed Wagamama from Tuesday night so we revisited that for dinner and then walked Sloane Street and did a little window shopping at Tiffany’s and Cartier. What a night.

A Wicked Anniversary April 4, 2007

Happy 36th Anniversary Mom and Dad
I planned on waking mom and dad up for breakfast in bed but dad beat me to it, the waking up part, not the breakfast in bed. They met me for lunch and we headed to a little pub next to the office and had a nice warm lunch as it was a rainy day.

We met up after work for a quick bite to eat at Wagamama before heading over to the Victoria Apollo Theater to watch Wicked. I must say, both mom and dad were rather adventurous at dinner. Dad tried a few of the Asian beers while mom went all out and tried a spicy noodle dish filled with chicken and veggies. Even more to my surprise was how much she enjoyed it. For those who don’t know my mom, she is not known to each much outside of chicken and chicken.

After our adventurous meal, we headed over to the theater for our big night out. The performance was even better than I remembered it being the first time around. I think the British accents. The one draw back was that we didn’t get any ice-cream during the intermission since we had eaten so much good food for dinner. We read in one of our tour guides that this was a must when going to one of the big performances. Ha! So much for the days of champagne and fur coats.

Pub Crawling April 3, 2007

I worked all day while mom and dad did their first day alone on the town. We met up for lunch around my office and grabbed a bite at Pizza Express. I knew dad would enjoy their salad which comes with their special house dressing. From there, they were off again for more adventure. I believe they spent most of the afternoon at Harrods and the V&A.

After work, I met up with them at Blackfriars (a tube stop) to join one of the walking tours. This one was a pub walk along the Thames. As with all the tours, we had a blast while getting educated on the history around the area. (see description below). Dad and I ventured out and tried all the local brews at each venue. Mom was our designated walker but I recall that she did get a cider at one shop.

From the tour, we headed back to my neighborhood and did a late night dinner at my local Arabic restaurant. As always, it was a great meal and we smelled of garlic for the remainder of the night.

Along the Thames Pub Walk:
If you only have time for one walking tour, this is the one to go on – it’s the classic London pub walk. It takes in London’s last remaining galleried coaching inn, its best riverside walkway, its oldest market, the finest art nouveau pub in England, the most sensational art gallery in the world (on Fridays we pop inside for a quick look!), the church where Harvard University’s founder was baptized, and an 18th-century pub that brews its own beer – plus lashings of Shakespeare, a jot of Dickens, lots of pub lore, and London’s best skyline panorama. It gets better. Because there’s also the recently discovered remains of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (and its sister playhouse The Rose)…and the thrilling, thatch-roofed reproduction that’s risen, Phoenix-like, only a stone’s throw away. Let alone the astonishing replica of Sir Francis Drake’s Golden Hinde, the ship that the great Elizabethan mariner sailed around the world over 400 years ago. Anchored there in the murky Thames, its timbers creaking eerily in the misty London night and The Globe just yards away…it’s a ghost ship lost in time. Go on this walk.

Blackfriars

Apples and Pears April 2, 2007

This was the second big day for the Stevens family. After getting up and getting dressed, we all headed down Kings Rd. to a local pastry shop called the West Cornwall Bakery. Mom opted for her usual croissant while dad and I got a little more adventurous and split the steak, cheese & veggie croissant. It was definitely worth trying but not sure I would order it again…

From there, we headed off for a day of adventure in East London. Our first top was Spitafields Market. It is only open on Sundays so we figured it was a must see. We wandered through the stalls and made our way out on the other side of the market to one of the oldest pubs in London which was also the site of one of Jack the Rippers murders. Of course we had to go in! We had a pint, used their loo and then hit the road as we were due to meet up with a walking tour.

Today’s tour was called The Unknown East End. It was really an entertaining walk as you can see the history of the area layered through culture. For centuries, it has been the landing point of many of the immigrants. We also learned a little bit of cockney rhyme but it still makes no sense to me so it is nothing I can explain. The title of this email means “Stairs” in cockney. How they get that, I just don’t know. For those who are visiting London and have time, I recommend this walk.

The tour ended just off one the largest Indian neighborhoods in London, Brick Lane. We figured we would stop in one of the nice little restaurants and find some of London’s national dish, chicken tikka missala. We did, and it was good. We had a bit of odd people watching, if you would call it that, out the window of the restaurant. Some kids in a building across the street where throwing eggs on people as they walked by. They only hit two girls and it was so sad. Everyone around them acted like they didn’t see anything happen.

By this point we were getting a little tired from the long day out so we headed back to my neighborhood and ventured on to the local grocery store. We ended our evening watching Monsoon Wedding. If you haven’t seen this movie, rent it. The story line is interesting but it is known for all the beautiful colors.

The Unknown East End:
Showtime! The East End is street markets, boxing and old style gangsters. It’s Darkest Victorian London, Jack the Ripper, gin palaces and the Elephant Man freak shows. It’s18th-century coaching inns, Dick Turpin and bare knuckle fighters. It’s both Fort Vallance – home of the infamous Kray twins – and the beginnings of the Salvation Army. It’s Russian revolutionaries and the unemployed tailors” presser who shot three London policemen to become a national hero. It’s L for leather, trouble and strife and have a butcher’s at that whistle…yup, you’re going to hear – and learn – some Cockney rhyming slang. If you want the colorful and the bizarre, the strange and the unusual, this is one fine ball of chalk.

Queen Alexandria Memorial
Religon Side by Side
Mom and Dad in the flowers
The Monument

The Longest Day April 1, 2007

Mom and dad arrived right on time yesterday. It sounds like about five other flights arrived at the same time which got them caught in immigration for a good hour. Then they headed my way. I messed up and didn’t give them the local version of my number (requires an additional digit) so they sat at the local train station for a little while waiting on me. Luckily I am #1 and easily forgiven. We made our way back to my place and mom decided she needed a short nap before we headed out for a day of adventures. Dad and I ran over to one of the local markets to pick up a bite to eat. Then we returned home where he passed out as well.

I let them sleep for an hour or so then woke them up and told them they could sleep when they are old. The bus us my favorite mode of transportation at the moment, so we hopped on a double decker and headed off. We got off just before Piccadilly Circus and found an incredible little shop called La Maison du Chocolat. You know dad and I couldn’t resist that place. We tested a few items while standing around and then made a wonderful dark chocolate ganache purchase. From there, we walked on to Piccadilly Circus.

After taking in all the advertising at PC, we decided to head over to Trafalgar. On the way, we ran into a great little bar called the Texas Embassy Cantina. I think I am the only person to enjoy such a place but oh well. We enjoyed some Mexican beer and chips and salsa. What a great way for mom and dad to begin their European vacation. At Trafalgar, we found the spot where dad took a picture with Chris and me about 25 years ago. We tried to reenact the moment but I believe I was sitting on dad’s shoulders in the original picture. We did have Chris either so we just took a cute one of him and me.

From there, the afternoon went by pretty quickly. We walked down to see Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, hit a local pub, walked the Thames, hit another local pub and then headed up to Covent Garden.

By this time, I could tell mom and dad were beginning to fade but needed some good food. We decided to hit a traditional fish and chips joint but when we got to the place, it didn’t open for another 15 minutes. We headed across the street to grab a pint and enjoy the lovely weather. After finishing our drinks, the restaurant was open so we headed over for a great dinner at the North Sea Fish Restaurant. This is a good recommendation for any of you looking for a nice place to have dinner.

With full bellies and a minor case of jetlag, we headed back home and I put the kids to bed. They had a very successful first day out and have a full week of adventures awaiting them.

Texas Cantina
Phone Booth Peep Show
The Ladies
Lovers at Trafalgar