A Tourist in London

Yesterday was the first day we tagged along with my little bro and his gf on their travels around London in their attempt to see pretty much everything.

The first place we visited was the British Museum, which currently has a Australian landscape set in its front court. The kids especially enjoyed the Asian exhibit, and J and I hadn't seen it either so it was new for all of us.



We took a quick taxi ride to the National Gallery with a very amusing driver. He asked where we were from and I explained to him that we lived in London and our guests were visiting us from LA. He then informed me that he watched Real Housewives of Orange County and Jersey Shore quite regularly. We all groaned in unison, and we had a good chuckle over our American reality TV embarrassments. But I had a chance to tease him in turn for The Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea and Geordie Shore - trust me, you don't want to know. It's true what they say about London taxi drivers - they're the best in the world.

I was amazed when we arrived at Trafalgar Square - it was packed! I had never seen the square so full of people, and we quickly beat a hasty retreat into the National Gallery where we wandered about for an hour.


Our next destination was Covent Garden, where we caught a quick street performance and wandered in the Apple Market for a while.


We then headed to Jamie's Italian for a quick dinner. The food was great and well priced - you haven't had pasta until you've had homemade pasta! We had a selection of desserts - walnut and espresso tart, tiramisu and a chocolate brownie. The tiramisu beat all, hands down. I'm proud to say that I picked it. =)

Full of delicious food, we then took another taxi to the Lyceum Theatre for an evening showing of The Lion King. The theatre was absolutely beautiful and the seats very comfortable, and I had heard excellent word-of-mouth about the show so we were quite excited. The production was absolutely amazing, probably the best I had ever seen, but the singing was a bit sub-par. Although the singing was a bit disappointing, the production and some of the actors were fantastic enough to make up for it.

We were pretty tired by the end of the night, and we headed home. I'd forgotten how exhausting it can be to be a tourist in London. All of the museums have so much to look at, and navigating London streets can get a bit confusing. I was really really glad to see my front door that night.

A German Christmas

If you want to celebrate Christmas, the best place to do it is in London. There's Christmas fairs and festivals galore, and the hardest part is picking which one to go to. I settled on the Cologne Christmas Market at Southbank Centre since the Real Food Festival was also going on at the same locale.

Sausage, onions and potatoes. Yum!

It was dark by the time we arrived there, so we got to fully appreciate all the fairy light canopies that were hung from every roofline. Each of the 60 or so wooden stalls had their own Christmas decor, and J and I had a grand old time perusing the goods offered up for sale along with a ton of other people. There were a variety of things, and all things Christmas, of course, such as roasted chestnuts, mulled wine (J enjoyed a cup), and lots and lots of sweets. And we also got to catch our first glimpse of the London Eye, Westminster, and the Golden Jubilee Bridge in the evening, all lit up. After we were Christmased out, we headed back to the Real Food Festival, where J and I shared a sausage dish with boiled potatoes and onions with toasted cheese. Sooo good.

Old-fashioned carousel for the kiddies

The gingerbread stall - Definitely one of the more popular ones!

The Thames looks a lot nicer at night

Anyway, we decided to walk off some of the food and wine by walking over the bridge and ended up walking over to Trafalgar Square where surprise surprise, the Christmas tree was up! Along with a giant menorah and a nativity display. The tree is a gift from Norway, and it's decorated in the Norwegian style. The tree has been given every year since 1947 in thanks for British assistance during World War II. Isn't that amazing?

 

We finished off the evening with a stop at the nearby Waterstone's to pick up some books for the remainder of the evening, and we're going to order a Thai takeaway and settle in for some X Factor. A great Saturday night.

Korean Food, Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, My Oh My

We had our first tube debacle today! I suppose it's somewhat of a minor miracle we haven't had one thus far considering we're out in the sticks (for London, anyway), and we only have two lines that go where we usually want to go, which is somewhere in the West End. The good news is, I now have faith that I can figure out a route to get where I need to go even if all the lines are shut down at some part or another. As for J, well, he just better stick close to me... But we made it in a piece to Soho, which is known for three things: (1) Chinatown, (2) Porn, and (3) Gay capital of London. Which is why I find it so confusing that J's friend Tom recommended that J go there immediately. Unless he knows something about J that I don't...

Asian people! Eating sushi! Okay, calm down and approach them quietly...  Oh, forget it, take me to your bosom my people! Embrace me as one of your own! Photo by Patrick Scales.

After spending an hour trying to get to Soho when it really should've only taken half that time, we finally ended up at Arang, a Korean restaurant that got pretty good reviews. We ordered a couple different things to test drive the place out, and we were pleasantly surprised. We got the lunch specials for bibimbap, daeji bulgogi, and kimchi chigae. The kimchi was actually pretty good and had had time to ferment properly, but the kicker is: they charge 2 pounds for kimchi! Arghhh! Luckily for us, it came with our lunch specials, but still... that just ain't right. The LA ktown ahjumas would be rolling in their graves if they ever found out. Anyway, this place should do in a pinch, but we're still going to try out a couple more places before settling on a favorite.

Oh fermented cabbage, where have you been all my life? Photo by Jess Lander.

After bloating ourselves with all the sodium and MSG filled goodness that was lunch, we decided to take a walk to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Trafalgar Square is possibly the most famous square in the whole world, and it's easy to see why. The National Gallery is the backdrop, and there are two large fountains with a phallic monument in the center with a Napoleon look-alike perched on top. "Napoleon" is surrounded by four large lions with their tongues lolling out, and there are some pretty random things laying about such as a large ship in a bottle.

It's a man. It's a dolphin. No, it's mighty Fountain Boy! Photo by Mike Peel.

This picture must've been taken when the American Idol finale was on or something, cause this place was packed today.   Photo by Kowarisuki.

The place used to be overrun with pigeons, but it hasn't been since they prohibited feeding the filthy flying rats. The birds here are bold - it's not uncommon to see someone with a pigeon perched on their arm, pecking away at whatever they're holding up when I know they'd rather be pecking your eyes out. But there were lots of tourists, and I've noticed that they really like climbing things. All kinds of things. Trees, benches, national monuments, that kind of thing. Apparently, it makes for a really good photo. Until J and I unwittingly stumble into the frame. Oops.

Aslan is not happy. Not happy at all.

Anyway, we spent an hour or so in the Gallery itself, looking at paintings ranging from 300 AD up to 1900. Needless to say, it's a bit overwhelming. There were lots of Jesus paintings, and the requisite bared boobs and naked cherubs flying about. It's kind of odd when you think about the stuff people used to like to paint back in the day: Jesus, the Virgin Mary, cherubs, demons, naked ladies, middle-aged men, random barn animals not excluding dogs. It kind of reminds you of that game: which of these things do not belong?

We then walked to Covent Garden, which became one of the most important markets in London after the great fire of 1666 when all the other markets burned down. Suckas! It's also the birthplace of Punch and Judy, the great ancestors of the Muppets and Sesame Street. The place was paaacked! Punch and Judy are no longer there, but have been replaced with Banana Republic, the Gap, and Reiss, along with a bunch of other large retailers. Locals and tourists alike thronged the joint, and it was a bit of a nightmare getting in and out of the area. But now it's one more area of London I got to know, and I'm happier for it.

Regent Park and the London Zoo tomorrow!