“Here, there and everywhere!”, was my answer—quoting Paul MacCarthy.
And indeed we “tubed” and walked everywhere for the next two glorious blue-sky-days in London.
With a little help of our trusty TimeOut guidebook, we were on our way. What follows are pictures and impressions of what I saw and heard— not necessarily in the order that we saw them.
As was suggested by my daughter, we walked through the long and winding road of both the north and south sides of the Thames River. This gave me a better feel of the areas than if we had taken the bus or taxi (so expensive) and zipped around like crazy. At a leisurely pace, I saw some notable structures and everyday life along the River Thames.
Tower of London
A Beefeater acted as our guide— actually he would make for a different kind of stand-up comedian. He regaled us with stories of intrigue, murder, scandal and romances—peppering his spiel with witty remarks.
Did you know that King Richard III is alluded to in the nursery rhythm “Humpty Dumpty”? It was said that this king had a hump and that during the war of the roses, he was pulled off his horse and killed with a blow to his head. So that “all of his horses and all of his men, could not put Humpty together again.”
Bridges of London
London Bridge- I had expected a wooden, rickety structure but was dismayed (!) to find that it was all cement and definitely will not be falling anytime soon.
Millennium Pedestrian Bridge- oh, so modern and elegent with all its cables holding it together.
Tower Bridge- It's a pity we did not have time to see a ship pass through this draw bridge.
At a short distance, we spotted the St Paul’s cathedral and many imposing and luxurious buildings. For lack of information, we took turns making up stories of the history of such a building--- like that was the palace at which Princess Kate had her engagement party with Prince William. If Her Majesty, The Queen, found out about our little tales, we would surely be deported.
Big Ben
He was silently looking down at all the tourists clicking away with their cameras. How many millions of people have looked up to check the time?
London Eye
The Brits have a knack of making the ordinary, extraordinary. This giant ferris wheel sure makes all others puny in comparison.
Modern Art at the Tate Museum
Who would have thought that it would be possible to turn a former power plant into an art museum? Even the giant, now empty fuel tanks were mini venues for an out of this world experience of red lights, black and white artsy movies. But I must warn you—trying to decipher the meaning of some of the art works displayed —like a torn canvas or pieces of wire attached to a ball —can be a head banging experience.
As the weather was sunny, I could not help stopping every now and then to take pictures of everything I saw—to the disapproval of my daughter. She wanted me to act naturally. But I felt that it’s all right. Everything was just so picturesque against the blue, blue sky.
Regent’s Park
Since winter was just around the corner, all of the flower beds were already asleep. But this did not take away the pleasure of walking around the huge park—there was a soccer match going on in one area, bikers sharing the lane with mothers and their well-behaved babies who quietly took in the scene from their strollers, I saw a pair of swans gliding down a stream and heard a black bird call to its mate. Only prime and proper dogs on leashes are allowed in the parks. And best of all, there were strategic wash rooms with toilet paper!!
Evening at the heart of London's West End theatre district
I had booked tickets for “Singing in the Rain” over the internet while I was still in Manila and we just needed to walk over to the theatre to pick up our tickets. It was very convenient. While it was still early, we spent our time in a second hand bookstore browsing away at the collection—I was surprised to find Philippine coffee table books on furniture and food. Imagine that! Then it was time to see the play and my daughter had to restrain me from singing along with the actors. The play brought back visions of Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. The play was made special with the “rain on stage” effect that got the front row theater guests wet with the splashing and kicking of the actors on stage.
London Eats
Fish & Chips- This meal of battered fish and potato fries could fetch L5 at the market and L11 at a pub. It can go as high as L18 with fancy fixin’s of mash peas and a cabbage slaw. I imagine that to get that proper crispiness, I would have to get a fryer before I attempt this at home.
Pret A Manger- It's the opposite of all the fast food chains in the world. This restaurant serve food that do not have the usual preservatives, chemicals and additives very common in fast food offerings. I love their porridge (oatmeal) with honey. It is the creamiest I have ever tasted. There was one outlet close to our hotel and my sister and I would have our breakfast there. They also have free wifi-- a big plus for my sister who was on a working vacation.
Restaurant at Large - While at Harrods, we thought we'ld check out their food outlets. But Harrods (a department store that is possibly the grandest grandmother of our Rustan’s) was literally crawling with people. Their in-house restaurants were filled to capacity. We opted to try one of the many restaurants lining the streets outside of Harrods and entered a restaurant named Area (162 Brompton Rd) that seemed Turkish on the outside but had an extensive Italian Menu on the inside. One wall was decorated with different kinds of world currencies. Our apprehensions were put to rest when we tucked into our orders (osso bocco, pasta with salmon and asparagus, and pork ribs). Delicioso!
Food Tripping at Boroughs & Camdem Markets- There were such a variety of food offered in these venues. It’s like every country in the whole world was well represented in both markets. French cheeses, German sausages, Spanish paellas, English organic farm produce, European cakes, candies, preserves, meat pies, sandwiches, pizzas—even siopao!!
xoxoxox
I must make mention of our late lunch at The Lamb—a very old Pub in Bloomsbury. Prior to my visit to London, I thought that a pub was the English counterpart of a American Bar or the Pinoy’s beer garden. Boy was I wrong. Pub is short for public house. I felt like the fool on the hill. It’s more of a meeting place for friends and families to have a meal together, relax and have a beer. Also, my daughter informed me that one ordered and paid at the bar as it is very rare for a waiting staff to come to your table to take your orders. And did you know that tipping at a pub requires a little “drama”. One does not tip the barmen or barmaids. Instead, one says “please have a drink on me” or something similar. The barman then adds the cost of the cheapest drink to your bill.
I was also pleasantly surprised that English pubs were a go-to place for comfort food. You’ll find man-size sandwiches, eggs, sausages and mash potatoes, meat pies and stew in their menu. At The Lamb, we had a lamb and tripe stew—but of course. It was delicious with chunks of soft and gamey lamb cubes and chewy tripe. Two very generous slices of bread came with the stew. The serving was quite big that we had no need for dinner.
This has been quite a lengthy blog entry and so I will spare you my usual recipe offering. I shall promise to share with you a British dish or two as soon as I have tried out recipes from a cook book I bought in a London bookstore.
Tata! Do come back to read my next and final blog entry about my UK trip.
Meanwhile, please do enjoy this little trivia: How many Beatles songs can you spot in this blog entry?
