A Quiet Week of Eating Around Town February 23, 2007

Melanie and I kept the ball rolling throughout the week by eating our way around town. We decided we had enough of the curry based foods and ventured on to the Middle Eastern, Italian, European and a few home made cuisines.

There is a Lebanese restaurant by my house which I have wanted to try so we ventured there one night. It was just like being at home. We got the mixed appetizer plate with all the fixings followed by a shish kabab plate. Luckily we split both because there was more food than we could have ever wanted. The waiters enjoyed our company enough that they also brought out some free desserts which just topped off the night.

I finally made it to Pizza Express and it was everything people have told me about. They have a special salad dressing which I recommend to everyone. I will do my best to buy a few bottles and bring them home. Melanie bought a bottle which we enjoyed on a salad with some homemade cooking one night.

On Melanie’s last night, we traveled up north a little fish and chips place. When I say fish and chips, I mean that is the only thing they had on the menu. You could pick from a variety of about 6 or 7 fish, but that was about all the menu selection available. I definitely got my fill of fish for a few weeks.

It was a great week of eating around town.

The Secret Passage February 19, 2007

While Sunday seemed to be the longest day ever, I would definitely qualify it as the best of the three day adventure. After grabbing a bite at Eat, the local sandwich shop, we headed off to Buckingham Palace. What an incredibly beautiful home. We hung around there for a while admiring the beauty of the palace and then headed off through Green Park to grab the tube and move on to our next tourist destination, the British Airways London Eye. Stephanie isn’t much for heights so she and I left Rachel and Melanie at the jumbo ferris wheel and headed off on our own adventure.
Girls at the Fountain
Quart yard 3

We could see Westminster Abbey across the river and figured it was a walkable distance. There was a Sunday service so there were no tours available. We figured we would walk the perimeter of the building and enjoy the architecture. As we made our way around the East side of the building, we found a small private entrance into a court yard. Since no one was around, we figured we could make it in for a few pictures. As we entered the hallway, we heard a choir singing in a room off the court yard. They sounded amazing. A security guard found us and told us we could go to the service if we wanted to hear. We nodded and walked on hoping he wouldn’t ask us to leave. Since the service was going to begin shortly, we sat on a bench in the yard and hoped for a passing glance at the choir. The choir seemed to be running late and came running out just before 3 and headed into the sanctuary in full robes. Looking around the yard, we realized this was the area where soldiers and past royalty were buried. This little court yard was a great find.
Quart yard 1
Quart yard 2
Eavsdroping on the choir
The Choir

We headed back to the London Eye to meet up with the girls and head on to more adventures. A few weeks earlier, I heard about a flamenco band playing at a bar in Camden Town so we decided to head that way. Since we had a little time to kill, we found a great little Thai restaurant and enjoyed a plethora of curry dishes. We then headed to the bar to hear the band and found we were the only ones in attendance. It turns out it was acoustic night which isn’t a big night for the crowds. It also turns out the band I was expecting was a one man show. He was so great; he even inserted a little Justin in one of his songs which made my night. The bartender, whos name was Ben or Matt or possibly John, was in a mood to make mix drinks and began pouring mojito after mojito. I will let the pictures explain the rest of the evening…
The Girls
The Happy Couple Take 1
The Happy Couple Take 2
Pose 1
Pose 2
The Girls with Ben_Matt

Everyone should meet a Scotsman February 18, 2007

We made it up bright and early (around noon) on Saturday and were ready for a big day. We started our day at the Pie Minister which was delicious! From there, we took our pies and ate on the road as we were headed to the east end to visit the Spitafields Market. Little did we know that it is only open on Sunday. From there, we headed on the Jack the Ripper tour and ended up at a little pub where we came to meet our favorite Scotsman names Joseph. He was definitely the highlight of the day. He informed us of the Celtics (not Boston) and of some poor building planning in the neighborhood. He pointed out where someone decided to remove a load barring beam from a building across the street and the little that remained after the collapse. After spending a good hour deciphering his Scottish/Cockney accent, we decided it was time to hit the road and let him enjoy his afternoon pints.

From there, we headed south to Fleet St. and found another nice little pub called the George which was across from the Royal Courts. Amazing building but no one was wearing their robes and wigs. We headed towards St. Paul’s from there and then jumped back on the tour bus to complete our trip around the city. The sun was setting at this point which gave us a wonderful view as we crossed the Tower Bridge which is often mistaken for London Bridge.

At this point, we were famished and needed food. We were on a hunt for fish and chips. As it was Saturday evening and all the pubs were packed, we had a terribly hard time finding this delicacy and opted for Indian in stead. After our three hour curry meal, we headed up to Soho to hit some pubs. I had some stomach issues due to the over indulgence of curry and so we decided to call it an early night.