My Trip to London March 2011

[Sundae]

DanaC is currently in London doing research for her MA.
She invited me down to stay Saturday night, and keep her company on Sunday.

I enjoyed myself enormously - it's always good to see her and on a fair day it is a treat to walk someone else through our capital city. It was a fair day, and I did make her walk. I thought her brain might need a break from facts and figures, so I really just steered us about a bit.

I ended up with blisters. I have two in a very peculiar place on my big toe. I might even share them later.
Dana took lots of pics of views etc, and she does have a superfine camera, so I hope she'll feel the need and find the time to post some here. Without wanting to sound arrogant, I already have plenty of photos of the areas we walked round (and have posted quite a few here), so mine are just a few snapshots of a friend.

First, leaving Aylesbury in the sunshine. The Committed Scholar was still working on Saturday, so I didn't leave home til gone 15.00. As you can see, at this time of day the platforms are empty - too late for a shopping day, too early for a night out. I am wearing my Wonder Woman t-shirt.

[limey]

You look so fine, SG!

[Sundae]

Got completely lost and turned around on the Tube. My goodness I used it every day for years! I've no idea how tourists cope. The weekend is when all mechanical/ maintenance work is done, and many stations/ some lines are closed. They're getting ready for the Games next year. Darned inconvenient though, even for someone with a working knowledge of the main connections.

I found my way to the hotel in the end. It was clean and had decent sized towels. I liked. Of course I wasn't paying anyway!

Another shot of ME ME ME in my room - still suffering the issue of how to take photos without an obvious camera shadow. As you can see, I cheated and kept my eyes out of the sun. I look cabbaged - I wasn't, I'd just arrived.

Second pic is a weirdly sited mirror.
Too low for a standing adult, too high for a seated one.
Perhaps I was given a room for people of restricted growth?
If so, they couldn't have got it more wrong - I was wearing my platform trainers which bring me up to 6 foot.

[Sundae]

View from the window.
Well, Dana never promised me a rose garden.

Outside view.

[Sundae]

Dana, finally!
Ever notice how when I write up a trip the main reason for it doesn't appear until halfway through? No, I didn't either.

Check out the reflection of her arse in the blank TV screen.
Dirty minx knows how to pose.

We stayed in Saturday night, and mostly introduced eachother to some new obsessions. Or if not new, at least new angles.
The Eternal Student outdid me in every aspect of partying and I retreated, a shambling mess, off to bed. I'm sure I snored like a coalition airstrike.

[Sundae]

This is approaching Kings Cross on Sunday morning.
Note the beauty that is St Pancras/ the old Midland Grand Hotel in the background.

Attached is a proper pic of it - it's a ridiculous Gothic folly that lost money for aeons. Or at least decades. Now run by Rennaisance Hotels, it is on my go-to list for when I get my pick of five star hotels. Gotta happen sometime, right?

[Sundae]

And off to Covent Garden!
Down to Belgo, a subterranean Belgian Restaurant - I took Mum there last year on her post-birthday pre-lumpectomy treat.

Dana was as enthralled and appreciative as she always is and I felt as proud as if I ran the place myself.

Is it pictures of food now?
It is.

I definitely had the best starter, busy as it was. Not a dieters' salad
Warm salad of smoked bacon, shredded duck, eggs & black pudding with garlic croutons and a Dijon mustard dressing

Dana had Croquettes with cheddar, gruyère & Orval beer cheese served with piccalilli & salad garnish. Which I found a little heavy. But then I was patting myself all over in appreciation of my own fine choice.

I honestly cannot remember which beer she had.
Something with a coffee aftertaste - but not actually coffee flavoured of course, the Belgians are serious about their beer. I had Strawberry Fruli (as usual) which is about a foppish as they get. On investigation she probably had a Westmalle Dubbel, as it says it quite clearly on the bottle!.

[Sundae]

Mains!
Lots of pics of mine.
Dani was delighted by the colours, so took some pics to do it justice.
I was more interested into laying waste to Moule Mariniere-town.

So yes, for me a kilo pot of the moules (Marinière – steamed with cream, white wine, garlic, celery & onion) with fries. Not a dieter's main course!
For Dana, slow cooked shank of lamb served with roasted winter vegetables, creamed mash and a DeKoninck beer and balsamic jus.

Hers was lovely, but again mine was far nicer.
In the competiton of the food, I win.

[Sundae]

And here am I, contemplating whether mussels have souls before devouRing them and all their kindred.

I look very fat in this photo. I'm not. Dana just isn't good at taking photos.

[Trilby]

YAY! You two look amazing! SO happy you shared your pics!

gawd, looks like fun!!!

[Pete Zicato]

I like how Dana went from Committed Scholar to Eternal Student.

Very nice journal, SG, as always.

[Sundae]

So, talky bit.
We came out of Belgo and wandered Covent Garden.
The street performers were out in force on the first really fine Sunday of the year.
If you're prepared to put your hand in your pocket you can be entertained there for hours. Of course you could get a drink and stand on the balcony of the Punch and Judy and get it all for free, but sometimes they send a collection plate up there too, and if you can afford Covent Garden beer prices you'd be pretty mean not to contribute.

We saw some good living statues - the idea is done to death so it's down to the performer to make it their own. And a dog in a doghouse - I know Dana has a good photo of that. She can explain. He was funny, as was the camp Centurian.

We browsed a lot of super-fine things. Dani bought an authentic Jedi robe.
She can explain.
I think we were mistaken for a couple by a gay ice cream seller - we got a big discount and a smile anyway. I had strawberry and Dana had coffee. We licked eachother's cones, in case he was watching.

We walked from Covent Garden to Leicester Square, to the outskirts of Piccadilly, then down to Trafalgar Square. From there across the Embankment and Old Father Thames to the South Bank. Again - LOTS of entertainment, from a free-running competition/ demonstration outside the National Theatre (official, set up with mats and pommel horses and other ways to simulate locations) to a sand sculptor, to a Cuban three piece band to pavement artists.

On the way back up to Waterloo station, we stopped for a hotdog. So a sister picture to the one I took of Dana in Glasgow. No Limey this time though Still, if anyone can work a mouthful of hot meat product on her own, it's DanaC.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by limey

You look so fine, SG!

Cheers doll.
Would have been fine to have you there too, but I know from experience what the trek is. Anything less than 48 hours in London or Glasgow stops the journey being viable.

Cheers Bri, I can't wait to see if Dana puts any up.
Hers have far more general interest.
Of course what you can't see from any of the pics is the time we spent gasping for breath while laughing. We're fellow word-perverts (werverts) with a very similar comedy-landscape. It was just great.

Ah Pete, you see I saw it from both sides of the fence.
I admire her dedication on the one hand, but when it comes to out-partying me I can hardly be expected to condone it. I have standards.

[limey]

Bah. I wish I'd been there! You look like you had a whole lotta party!!!!

[DanaC]

It would have been awesome had you been there, Limey. Alas, in my usual haphazard way I ended doing it all at the last minute (only finalised dates of my trip and booked hotel four days prior ;p)) and as I only had saturday evening and Sunday free, it would have been a hell of a haul for you to get down here just for an overnighter.

Gotta say it was great fun. Sundae's a peach for coming, as I basically dropped it on her mere days before. Much as I enjoy my own company, and as naturally solitary as I am, I am not used to extended periods of time on my own. I may only spend half an hour in a day with Mum, or my bro or J, but it's a rare day I don't spend time with someone I am close to. The prospect of 10 days away felt like an awful long stretch of time 'til Sundae agreed to come over Saturday.

I have promised fair notice next time lol.

I have photos, and was going to sort them tonight, but after nearly two hours wrestling with the travelodge central booking system in order to extend by one night (want to take advantage of Thursday's late night opening at the National Archives) I have had enough of computery activities.

Couple of points:

Firstly, re: the Jedi robe. I am wearing it currently. I reallly wiish I had a light sabre. In fact...I am just about to watch the second half of Phantom Menace. I started watching it on Friday night, but was shattered so only made it to the midway point.

It's not actually a Jedi robe of course :p It is a gorgeous bathrobe, with hood. Having been on an intermittent quest to find the perfect dressing gown/bathrobe, for about the last ten years, I was finallly introduced to The Bathrobe Company, Covent Garden. They were all lovely. Lots of russets and ochres and terracottas. kind of Persian weave type things. Heavy and substantial, with gorgeous details and proper big hoods. All lovely, but I saw one that I just had to have. In amongst the autumn colours was this one blue robe. Ahh but it's sooo nice. I just fell instantly in love wiith it. And what's brilliant is, the design is suuch that even when it fades in the wash, or if the dyes run, it'll still look gorgeous. The kind of thing that actually looks better when it's been worn in.

The shop and its wares came highly recommended by past customer, Sundae And I can now tick that quest off as completed.

I really like bobbing about London, but I never know where to go. Having someone there who knows it well is so different. I got to see way more of the sights than I normally would, and ended up eating in the wonderful belgian restaurant pictured above. It's a hidden gem of a place. You'd have to know iit was there. And I truly could not believe the prices. I'd expect those prices at a restaurant or good pub round my way, but this was Coven Garden ffs. And the food was really good. Cooked to perfection and well-presented without being showy. Lovely relaxed atmosphere to the place too.

The night before we'd had a very pleasant evening watching and listening to stuff and generally laughing our tits off. Sundae is very funny. (vunny). I suspect the staff thought we were slightly mental. Also very funny was the DvD commentary of Blood on Satan's Claw, as recorded by the League of Gentlemen, and provided by Sundae. As a horror fan it's great to hear other horror fans pull apart a movie, but so much better when those horror fans are themselves writers and moviemakers. They have a real insight into the technical stuff. And since all the contributors are thoughtful, witty and erudite, the resul;t is very entertaining.

Right.... I'll post other stuff soon. But I have to go. Got a pressing engagement on Tatooine... *swooshes a lightsabre*