London, Friday, April 8
On Friday we met our English friends, Dan and Tracy and their little addition, Grace, for lunch and a tour of the Southwark "Borough Market".
But before that, we decided that we had enough time to tour Westminster Abbey so took the tube down to Westminster Station and headed on in. No photos allowed inside though, but it was a good tour and we saw all the same places again the other day when we watched the Royal Wedding.
Se here are a few photos of the outside. I'm a big flying buttress fan.
"Westminster Abbey is one of the finest examples of medieval architecture in Europe", according to Frommer's. Lot's (over 3,000!) of famous people are buried, entombed or otherwise memorialized within it's walls, floors, sarcophagi, etc. You can't help but step on them.
After WA, we jumped on the tube again and headed to Southwark. Greg & Kelly first met Dan & Tracy in San Francisco when both couples were on their honeymoons. They hit it off and since then, Dan & Tracy have visited G&K in San Diego (where Lorri & I met them) and G&K have traveled to England and visited with D&T. Grace, the first kiddie for both of them, was born last November, and her Christening took place on Sunday, April 10. We were honored to be invited to attend said event and you will see photos of it on the next page!
Meanwhile, time for sausage and mash and a few real ales at The George Inn, where my ancestors ate and drank. Well, I don't have any proof of that, it's not something you find on Ancestry.com, but The George has been around for quite a while. I'm guessing the ancient Hills hung out here with Bill Shakespeare and Chuck Dickens.
The Borough Market was a big surprise - probably the most extensive farmer's market type affair that I've ever seen. From all types of cheeses to 45-day aged rump steak to jars of goose fat to belly pork to...
...to lamb and mint pie to a pig head with sunglasses to oysters to artichokes to...
...to artisan breads to cheeses upon cheeses... cheeses there was a lot of stuff!
This is Southwark Cathedral which, like the George Inn, has been around for a long time and, like the George, allegedly was visited by said Will and Chuck and possibly some of my ancestors. Around the corner is "The Clink" the "Most Notorious Medieval Prison" as "Voted by the People". I'm wondering what people? The Prisoners?
After perusing the Borough Market we strolled back toward Waterloo along the Thames, stopping at The Anchor for a fresh supply of fine British Ale. The guy on the right was playing a Taylor Guitar (made here in San Diego) and they both were singing sort of a reggae tune and sounding good! I put a Pound in the guitar case.
The Millennium Footbridge across the Thames with St Paul's in the background.
Dinner Friday was at The Orange restaurant in the Chelsea neighborhood. We had a great dinner at the corner table on the upper level. And so ended another great day in London. Actually, we probably stopped at the Ebury Wine bar for a nightcap!
London, Saturday, April 9
On Saturday, Lorri and I decided to take a walk through Chelsea, along the Chelsea Embankment along the Thames and then up to Kensington for lunch and to pick up a few items at Harrods (jk).
We walked past a gas station where gas was 1.339 pounds/liter which translates to about $8.30 per US gallon. Gee only $4 more a gallon and we'll catch up! We walked past Mozart's house, the place where he composed his first symphony which was titled " If Gas Prices Go Any Higher, I'm Taking the Tube".
Lorri is standing in front of Carrafini where we ate on Wednesday evening, our first night in London. The guys in red are wearing the traditional garb of pensioners at the Royal Hospital. We saw a few of them toddling along the streets. Then we passed a place where Oscar Wilde used to live.
And then, John Singer Sargent's old digs which was down a really Tite Street.
The Chelsea Embankment is essentially a pedestrian promenade (is that redundant?) along the River, a favorite of joggers, walkers and gawkers, like us. There is another set of steps at low tide.
Sir Thomas Moore sits to the side of Chelsea Old Church.
By this time (maybe about 11 AM) we were weary and parched so we stopped the Cross Keys for sustenance. Chelsea Old Church, on the right, is where Thomas Moore hung out and also the place where Henry the Eighth, that old rascal, secretly married his third wife, Jane Seymour, in 1536.
After passing a cow hanging out the side of a building, we made our up toward South Kensington, found a Place called "The Bunch of Grapes" where we had some nice fish & chips and a bottle of wine.
This is as close as we got to Harrod's.
In the late afternoon we met G&K at our pre-determined meeting place, The Antelope, around the corner from our hotel. It was a brilliant English Pub!
We stopped at the wine store to pick up some supplies for our planned "picnic' dinner back at the hotel, which, along with the Ebury Wine Bar is shown in the photo on the right.
Lime Tree Hotel Ebury Wine Bar
It was a little chilly in the court yard, so we commandeered the hotel's breakfast room for our picnic dinner.
Later we skyped Dan & Tracy and sang them an excellent rendition of "Amazing Grace" in honor of their daughter and her Christening the next day. On the right is a view of our shower (don't drop the soap!) and the courtyard from our window.
Ireland, New Market and Dingle
Paris, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday
