'ello Mates. Yesterday was the day Mandy arrived in London and I was quite happy to see her. According to this photo, the feeling seemed mutual:
Blurry action shot out of the international arrivals gate
We then took the Gatwick Express back to Central London. Mandy was quite jet-lagged because she forgot her very important neck pillow so her bobbing head prevented sleep on the plane. When we first arrived back at my apartment, she fell asleep to recharge her batteries. After (several) hours, she was up and running again so we decided to check out the sights and sounds near our place.
First up was Trafalgar Square, which has a large open space in the heart of London. What I mean by "heart of London", if you simply type in "London" into maps.google.co.uk, the place marker is right at Trafalgar Square. Though I'm used to seeing this sight everyday on my walk to school, this is the first time I saw the Trafalgar Square from the perspective of a tourist and appreciated the . For whatever reason, it was extra-touristy at the square.
41 days until the Olympics!
From then, we walked across the Mall to check out St. James Park and Buckingham Palace. The weather starting to become uncooperative and the wind was picking up. Leaves and debris were flying into our eyes and mouths, but we survived. Again, despite living in London, and walking by Buckingham Palace often, this was the first time I stopped to actually appreciate it.
At that time, it was getting close to dinner. London is an amazing city, but one thing it seriously lacks is decent food (or at least lacking in food that is worth the money you pay). However, notable exceptions to this are the Indian food in London, which is quite authentic and delicious. We went to a place called Dishoom near Covent Garden. Food was good there and reasonably priced. Some lamb biryani, curry, paneer tikka, murgh malai and chessy naan afterwards, we were full and headed home.
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| Mandy's favourite was the paneer tikka, but it was too spicy for her to fully enjoy it |
Today was also the birthday of one of my good friends at LSE and to celebrate we went to the Charring Cross Theatre and Player bar. This bar plays live piano music and is open until 2:00 am. For those who live in Westminster, it is a common headache that 95% of pubs close at 11:00 pm and stores stop selling alcohol. As a result, the search for drinks past 11:00 pm is always a headache unless one wants to go to one of the crappy Piccadilly tourist clubs. Finding the piano bar was an amazing late discovery for me and my friends and Christoph decided to celebrate his birthday there.
Birthday boy is on the right
That is it for now! Tune in for more updates. Cheerio!
Mandy:
My first thoughts of London:
1) I didn't bring enough warm clothes
2) It was so windy debris was flying into both my eyes
3) My fave line of the day
Norm: I need to buy a new.... falafel?
Me: You mean a loofah?
Norm: Yes... that....
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