Awake in London! A couple of days early, but London nonetheless. Not quite as lucky with hotel rooms – whilst our original booking extended to our early arrival, it’s booked out the following day. It proves suprisingly challenging to book a hotel nearby at short notice. The booking sites offer helpful suggestions – 6 room suites for £12K a night. Exactly what’s called for.
Somewhat shellshocked from the last couple of days, neither of us is quite in the mindset for tourist pursuits, but perhaps the excellent British Museum will provide a soothing antidote. Hotel finally sorted, we spend an afternoon wandering through Britain’s archeological exploration history.
We tour extensive Abbyssinian, Roman, Ancient Greek and Egyptian collections.
The Rosetta Stone still has pride of place – its ownership continues to be hotly debated.
I enjoy early jewellry collections and find an exquisitely delicate diadem.
Himself considers the value proposition of Egyptian prepaid funeral plans.
We see the Lewis Chessmen, a 12th century set discovered in 1831 on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis in Scotland. Intricately carved from walrus ivory, my favourite is the Queen. I have great empathy for the look she still so precisely conveys centuries later ‘what the hell have you done now, I may stab you with this dagger later’. Ladies, I present you our leader.
Cats continue to hold our attention through millennia from this magnificent beastie, the Lion of Knidos, an ancient Greek marble sculpture weighing six tonnes, carved to top a funerary monument
to this cheeky boy in his jaunty summer shorts.
On the way home I see my first London squirrel, always much loved – he cautiously accepts a few almonds from afar.
London’s Underground proves a masterpiece of efficiency. We’re on the Piccadilly line – trains arrive within minutes, interchanges are clear, even the top up service is simplicity itself. Our Oyster cards, dormant for eons, spring into action complete with balances intact.
A quick change of hotels finds us in busy Earl’s Court, for an excellent Vietnamese meal of beef short rib pho at Med Salleh Viet. It’s quite the performance, carved at the table and utterly delicious, especially when dipped in the accompanying fish sauce/chilli combo. A wonderful French red is the perfect match. London’s food scene proves excellent on this trip, as you’ll see.
Back to the lovely Ashburn Hotel the following morning – very grateful that this will be our last move anywhere this trip. Shortly after it’s off to the Dim Sum Library for lunch.
Oh! This is seriously fancy yum cha! Black pepper Waygu beef puffs, crispy prawn rolls, silky bbq pork stuffed rice noodles, truffles sui mai and ginger lobster bao. Yum!
Post lunch, Covent Garden offers a shopping and restaurant hub with everything from designer brands to eclectic one off pieces. Halloween decorations are in place for the 31st – rather cheery mirrorball skeletons…
A small bakery churns out hundreds of Portugese pastéis de nata on the hour – flaky creamy perfection with afternoon coffee.
The Natural History museum is far too fabulous to miss, despite visiting many times before.
It’s one of my favourite buildings and for my vote, the most fascinating of the museums. We spend a happy few hours marveling at millions of years of nature’s wonder.
Back at the hotel Himself teaches our young barman how to mix a martini – most amusing.
We enjoy excellent cherries from South Africa, enormous and bursting with flavour.
The following day I have to perform an inevitable repack. The bags are collectively almost under weight limits but a few things have to be reconsidered and everything has to be rearranged. Annoyingly, it takes most of the morning.
The good news is that the afternoon sees us at Mamma Mia. Despite it running since 1999, Himself and I have never seen the stage play. High energy and flawlessly performed, it’s just the antidote for anything that might ail one – we both loved it. Gorgeous theatre too.
An early tapas dinner at the Opera Tavern rounds out the day. Padron peppers are mandatory while prawns in garlic scented oil, Iberico jambon, charred broccolini and pork belly prove excellent choices. All perfectly accompanied by an aged Rioja. Divine. London’s food scene is excellent.
Covent Garden is lit for evening on exit. Halloween seems very popular here!
It’s finally our last day in London and those of you who know me will know that feeding squirrels is always high on my list. We head towards Hyde Park but not before a quick tour of Harrod’s food hall, always a delight but suprisingly quieter than other times we’ve been. Very envious of their extensive Christmas offerings.
But as nice as the food hall is, it doesn’t hold a candle to my furry friends. A happy afternoon is spent sharing my almond stash with my finely tailed buddies. They’re busy with their Autumn harvest, tamping down their winter larder. Not too busy to accept treats delicately with eager little paws. So many squirrels, I don’t even bother to count. I’m only nibbled once in error, quickly corrected before skin is broken. We see one frisky baby missing most of his tail – he gets a particularly large share of almonds.
My stash is depleted eventually and it’s time to wander home past Queen Victoria’s tribute to Prince Albert. She certainly left no stone unturned in honouring his memory.
A last squirrel approaches with paw extended but alas I have nothing for him. The guilt is immense. He looked so hopeful. It’s pleasing to see others feeding them though so hopefully he won’t miss out altogether.
Drinks before dinner then it’s Italian tonight, a last delicious London treat. Himself’s old favourite lasagna, but I’m not in a pasta mood – it’s a burger and a Vampire’s Kiss cocktail. The girls next to us had them and I’m easily influenced!
We’re off tomorrow, but what an absolute delight London has been. OMG…the food! Incredible.
