The London Blitz

1 major metropolis, 2 crazed Canadians, 3 dizzying days and 4 noisy nights. Well really only one of the nights was noisy which led to the Canadians only being briefly crazed. But more on that later.

I returned to London with my friend Kathy who had not been before, so we blitzed the major sights. Some I hadn’t seen for 35 years.

We stayed in a hotel above a pub and our first night we ate there. A Tuesday night and it was quiet. We told the bartender we didn’t like hoppy beer and he let us sample several different draughts. Kathy picked one but all were too bitter for me and I had the Aspall cider from Suffolk in the end. Very veggie menu. I had the tomato soup with a side of Cumberland sausage because I am not veggie.

Day One

We were close to Kings Cross/St. Pancras tube and train stations, not far from the British Museum, which was our first destination. We were happy to be walking because we had started the day with full English breakfasts which led to full Canadian stomachs. It would be my first and last on this visit. Greek yogurt and fruit the rest of the days for me.

The British Museum did not disappoint. When I was there in 2007 I didn’t take any photos because my camera sucked without flash which is not allowed. My new camera is more than capable so I have some great photos of mosaics (I haven’t forgotten your moment of mosaic) and other Roman things.

From the British Museum we walked along Oxford Street, a major shopping street crowded with people, all the way to the Marble Arch. We stopped into Selfridges to see Harry but if his ghost was there we couldn’t see him for all the hordes of shoppers, shop assistants and security.

Day Two

Jam-packed starting with Westminster Abbey and the Westminster area, walking from there to Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, an hour or two in the National Gallery, a wander up to Covent Garden, then over to Leicester Square and finally Piccadilly Circus where we stopped for supper.

It was later that night or should I say morning because at 2:30 we were awoken by a drunk couple below our window at a picnic table speaking very loudly in a foreign language. After a half hour of this I suggested we could throw a glass of water on them. Kathy, who had been scheming for a while on how to shut them up, went with it. It was more a shot across the bow aimed a couple of feet from them. They got the message and moved on. At breakfast the next morning our bravado was applauded by fellow guests who had also been disturbed by them.

Day Three

A late start but we managed to accomplish a lot, continuing our blitz in London’s east end. Tube to the Museum of London with a quick tromp through the Roman period then back out to the Guildhall to see what’s left of Londinium’s amphitheatre. After lunch in Paternoster Square at the Pret-a-Manger, we circumnavigated St. Paul’s Cathedral, took a gander at the Millennium Bridge and headed back onto the tube to go to the Tower of London.

Managing to keep our heads, we got thrown out of the Tower at closing time. It’s just a short wander through narrow, twisting streets to the newly opened Roma Restaurant for our dinner reservation. Roma’s food is inspired by recipes that survive from the Roman period. We enjoy a really delicious meal of olives, hare terrine, leg of lamb roasted in hay with lavender and honey sauce, and apricot cake accompanied by Roman spritzes and red wine.

The next day it’s time to leave London. Not just because we have plane tickets to Spain but the weather has turned and it started to rain.

Now here it is, your moment of mosaic.