Last things in London

5/26/2018

We saw a lot of things besides musicals and museums, so I thought I'd lump them all together at the end and it would be enough for one more blog. I had tea and cake while I was writing this, so you should have some tea and cake while you're reading this. The tea and cake at Drury was the best (and cheapest) tea and cake we had the whole trip. Four cups of tea fit in those pots each!

the National Gallery

We did two visits to the National Gallery to see the Van Gogh paintings. The first time we didn't realize that it was OK to take photos. So we went back and took photos the next day. Contrary to the Doctor Who episode, "Starry, Starry Night" isn't there.

National Gallery

St. Paul's

We toured St. Paul's on May 21. Christopher Wren built it after the fire. He's also buried there. They wouldn't let you take photos of the inside, which is too bad because it's beautiful with mosaics and stained glass. We bought guidebooks. I didn't realize that it's mostly a war memorial to all the soldier's who died in WW I and II. There was one chapel dedicated to the American soldiers who died in the Wars. There was one corner that I found where a few women were buried. In the ccrypt in the basement they had some effigies that had survived the fire that were from before 1666. That is also where Admiral Nelson and Wellington are buried. That's also where the keep the toilets, the gift shop, and the cafe. It was super weird down there. I got a very creepy feeling. We bought sandwiches at Tesco and ate them on the lawn. We weren't the only ones having a picnic. Do we look tired? Yes, we are absolutely exhausted from our sunburn on the river boat the day before and the miles and miles of walking we'd done already.

Westminster

We took the tube from the O2 and did the tour. We had to stand in line for an hour by the time we got there at noon. We saw the Poet's Corner with the graves of Shakespeare, as well as some famous English monarchs: Henry V, Henry VII, William the Conqueror, Richard II, Anne of Cleves, Mary Queen of Scots, as well as Darwin, Noel Coward, and Handel. They don't let you take photos inside, so here's some lovely views of the outsides. We made the mistake of eating inside. It was way too expensive. There was a food truck parked right outside by the exit that we could have eaten at and it was way cheaper.

Buckingham Palace

We walked over there from Westminster it's not far.

Parliament

We walked from Buckingham Palace.

Trafalgar Square

We ended up at Trafalgar several times.

Agatha Christie Memorial

It's right across from a Tesco.

Roger's The Demon Barbershop

Yes, this barber shop is really on Fleet Street. Hilarious!

I saw this sign on our way to the British Museum. I guess Romeo doesn't live here anymore.

Don't walk down here at night, you're liable to end up in a horror movie.

Memorial bench outside the Tower of London. Yay Henry V!

I have no idea what the little diorama has to do with health food.

Just a random cat climbing down a wall on Wardour Street

Sometimes, it's not a cat, it's a rhino on the roof.

Tube Station art

All the stations are tiled differently.

Transport and communication

I love the double decker busses, phone booths and mailboxes. They are all super cute here...and color coordinated.

It was our goal to ride in a real Black Cab.

Here's an inside view.

In a bizarre turn of events, we had a truck sighting. There are no trucks in London and then we saw this one. It was the only one we saw the whole time we were there.

Food

Punjab makes really good Indian food and it was right by our hotel.

Choccywoccydoodah

Choccywoccydoodah is a chocolatier shop that has the most amazing chocolate plus it's a cafe and we ate tea and cake or death there. It was the biggest slice of the most chocolatey cake I've ever had. They also had the kitchiest decorations. And you can order online!

choccywoccydoodah

Doughnut Time

Donuts!

The Donut store has a donut school!

The cafe and creperie with the cremerie next door is named after me!

Suckling PIg

I've always heard about a roasted suckling pig, but I'd never seen one till we went to the Tower of London and they were having some sort of event there that they were setting up for. We could smell it all day!

Pubs

the Devil Tavern

Blackfriar's

Blackfriar's was built on the site of a medieval Dominican friary in 1875. It's a pub now, with a jolly Friar Tuck sculpture on the front of the building.

The Nell Gwynne Tavern

The signage reads:
Built on the site of the Old Bull Inn, the Nell Gwynne Tavern was named after the infamous mistress of King Charles II. Nell, born and raised in this locality, sold fruit in nearby Covent Garden before gaining fame as an actress on the Drury Lane stage. Samuel Pepys, the renowned diarist, describes seeing "the mighty pretty Nell" on his way to the Strand in 1667. In 1897, William Terris, a well known actor of the day, was murdered yards from this spot by a stage hand from the Adelphi Theatre.

The Cross Keys Pub

We passed this one a lot on our way to the tube station. I just liked the way it looked. It was built in the 1840's and is full of Victorian bric-a-brac as well as Beatles memorabilia and a napkin signed by Elvis.

Bar 190

Right next to the Royal Albert Hall. The Rolling Stones launched their album, Beggar's Banquet here.

Harry Potter

I have no idea what shop this was, we passed it on our way home from Kinky Boots. But the Harry Potter window display caught my eye.

The Palace Theatre showing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. We really wanted to see the show but we couldn't get tickets that we could afford on consecutive nights. But we kept walking past it, so I finally took some photos.

HarryPottertheplay