Anytime is a good time for LONDON! I picked sometime around October for no particular reason other than I had not been yet. London was awesome, albeit it expensive. The people were nice, the food was good (most of it), and the general environment was very pleasant.
Somewhere in Shoreditch. Found a pretty cool outdoor food festival. It was in the back of some buildings in what looked like an industrial area but the line was half a block long to get in. Turns out the atmosphere was great. Tons of different delicious food stands, good music, and good drinks. Nice welcome to London.
Riding the tube.
It was a sunny day out so there were people laying on every open patch of grass in the city.
The famous Tower of London. They used to execute people here in various ways. Hangings, beheadings, you name it, they did it. Wild when you think about it…
Tower Bridge.
I found a real Beefeater! All this time I thought it was just an alcohol brand but turns out they are in fact a thing. Forgive my ignorance, but, I really did not know.
Well hello there Benjamin.
Yes, I did the obligatory phone booth picture.
My first British Ale. Survey says: BOOOOOOO! I ordered the local beer as I do in any country I visit and did not think anything of it. In the picture it appreas to be normal however it is not. My first sip was room temperature and had no carbonation. My second sip followed the same trend. Thinking something was wrong with mine, I tried my friend’s beer. Same results.
I immediately returned the beers and complained that something was wrong with his tap because the beers were both flat and warm. The bartender laughed and said “yes, that is how they are supposed to be”. I was dumbfounded. People actually enjoy flat warm beer??? Yes, the Brits do. He gladly replaced my beer with a real, respectable beer, a Brooklyn Lager. I was happy.
Lesson learned, never order British Ale if you are a real beer drinker. Yet another disappointment, the fish and chips. People please do not be fooled into thinking this is a magnificent tasty treat. It is not. As a person who has grown up eating seafood I consider myself somewhat of an expert. I have had fried fish of several hundreds of species and scores of different methods of frying. ALL of them, where better than this. I know in the picture it looks like a normal piece of friend fish, however, allow me to correct you. The fish itself was cod and as you may know has very little flavor in an of itself. In fact I never order or buy cod usually for this reason. Second of all, there was zero seasoning on it.
I live in Scandinavia so I am used to ummmm “bland” food but this probably takes the cake. The only thing I could really taste was the oil it was fried in and a slight hint of beer from the batter it was coated with. If you have not figured out by now, I horribly disappointed that this gorgeous “looking” plate could be so completely useless. The best thing on this plate was the mushy peas in the corner. I’m sorry London but there is a reason why you are not known for your culinary expertise.
Continuing my tour of the city, Westminster somewhere I believe, I have yet again perfected the “lookaway”. *fist pump* and *raise the roof* and *exit stage left*
They told me I would never make it to Buckingham Palace and I did. Currently sitting here waiting for the Queen to invite me in for tea though.
Trafalgar Square
Yet another outdoor food festival. I just cant get enough!
Dee-lish!
The party was just getting heated up!
We all smiles over here. Food and drinks make us happy.
And just like that, I am 20 pounds heavier.
So, we found a place that hosted a game playing party. Every fun party game I could think of was represented there including giant Jenga. Do you see the look of pure joy on her face?! Yes, its no longer just a kids game.
Meh, whatever that means.
My final night in London was spent in an emergency room. On the way back from a raging party there was a trip, a fall, and oops a broken leg. Don’t mind my surroundings, this is London after all.
I so love reading your blog.
Keep the adventures going.
I cosign you have said. I live here and I haven’t seen all the tourist attractions. Every time I have fish and chips, I put the Old Bay on it that I keep in my purse. London ERs are interesting…been a few times myself. The horrific culinary disaster that you are grateful you missed is the Sunday Roast. Geezus.
Too bad you didn’t get to a soccer game. You would have had 3 more paragraphs, easy.
Glad you enjoyed yourself!!