When we woke we were glad we had been talked into the full English breakfast buffet when we checked in the night before. We stuffed ourselves knowing we would not be eating until later when we met up with David and Chris. After breakfast, we grabbed our bags and walked the few short blocks to the Reading train station. A short wait and we were on the train back to London.

We arrived at Paddington Station a bit earlier than we expected, so we made our way to a coffee shop around the corner from the Pavilion, where we had booked the same room we had two days prior. At the coffee shop we sipped our drinks and shared a pastry while finishing up the last of the post cards.

We were at the hotel only long enough to drop our bags, and use the loo, before making our way to the Tate Modern. On the way to the museum we stopped for a pint at one of my favourite pubs, the Blackfriar. The place seems to be more of a tourist spot than anyone’s local, but the building is unusual, the decor is lovely, and the beer is good, and in warmer months than December one can sit outside in the garden and watch London rush past.

No time for such nonsense today as we still had plans to see lots and lots of art. We walked along the river and crossed via the Wobbly Bridge, cautiously making our way around the giant spider, and the throngs of tourists. Inside the place was a madhouse. We found a floor map brochure and made our way to the closest floor with free art, using the stairs to avoid the lift queues.

A former power station, the Tate Modern has huge spaces, which is probably a good thing when it is busy like it was. Sarah and I did our best to stay in the same room together so as not to get lost, but allowed ourselves the freedom to explore pieces on our own. It was very odd to be in an art museum and have it buzzing so, but the vibe was eventually something of an art itself, and when I wasn’t looking at the interesting (and sometimes odd) art works, I found myself watching the visitors. I heard so many languages, but rarely English. If you had asked me earlier if I would want to go to a huge museum knowing it would be packed, I would have said no. I’m glad I wasn’t asked.

We wandered for hours, looking at sculptures, paintings, video, and more; pretty sure we had seen everything available to us. I wish I had taken notes. With a dinner date at the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese coming up, we decided to drag our hungry selves away from all the culture, and go meet Chris and David.

We got turned around a few times, but eventually found the famous, and well-hidden, alleyway pub… which was dark … as in closed. We had checked the hours and they had Sunday hours listed, but perhaps their Fleet Street location and it being the Sunday before New Year’s Eve changed things. We stood outside the alleyway waiting for the Mears, and in the short time before they arrived, we noticed many people make their way toward the door only to return to the street with looks of disappointment on their faces. We hope we can visit the Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese the next trip.

When the guys arrived we passed on what we knew, and then moved on, looking for food and drink. There wasn’t much open, so when we found a Thai place we jumped inside before they changed their schedule too. Dinner was delicious and we got a chance to catch up. It had only been a few days since we last saw Chris and David, but we missed them.

After dinner we followed Chris’ lead and found a slightly-posh place near the theaters, where Sarah was dismayed to learn they weren’t “making cocktails” at that time. My guess was because it was a busy theatre crowd, but no further explanation was necessary. Four pints please! And thus, without a word of discussion, began our pub tour.

After the posh West End pub we wove our way over to Covent Garden and had our next shout at a touristy little spot called The Salisbury. Being crowded, we stayed for one round and moved on again. Where, I do not remember. Not because I was drunk, but because I couldn’t keep track of where we were in the maze that is London. I do know that we finally ended up a cool, small, pub in SoHo, near Piccadilly Circus, named Glasshouse Stores, which served Sam Smith’s! Sarah and I each had oatmeal stouts to start, and eventually tried this cherry flavoured Sammie Smith’s that tasted just like cherry cola (C-O-L-A cola), which I didn’t particularly like, and could see how easily one could get drunk off of it.

When the last shout announcement went out, we staggered out of the pub and started making our way to the Tube. We were stumbling through the crowd and dragging our heals because we knew it was the last time we’d see Chris and David for a while. At the station we said our goodbyes as a busker sang “Fearless” by Pink Floyd.

We survived the Tube ride home, despite the movement of the carriage, and made our way back to our hotel room where we drank lots of water and watched some telly until the room stopped spinning enough that we could sleep.

Next: Tube, Tarmac, Tour Bus & Truck

When we went to bed last night the wind was howling and rain was beating against the windows. We were concerned we wouldn’t have good weather for our trip to Glastonbury; however, when we got up the sun was shining and the sky was a beautiful blue.

I went down stairs to rouse the sleeping, and loudly snoring Tait, which is how I learned the poor sod had been up half the night watching a film. I am not sure he could sleep well on the floor and so stayed up until he crashed. It was very nice of him to let us stay in his bed, but now I was feeling guilty.

Once we were all up, and had a quick cup of tea, we made our way to the train station, where we easily caught a fast train to Basingstoke. Waiting there was Tait’s girlfriend Paula, who was serving as our guide. We made introductions, hopped into her comfortable car, and I began to drift off in the back seat.

Our first stop was Stonehenge. I had toured it previously (with Tait, no less) but Sarah had not seen it, so Paula and Tait were kind enough to stop. The place is a bit of a zoo with tour buses, and they charge to get within 20 meters, so we decided to park the car and scurry across the highway to steal a peak and a photo without shelling out money. Sarah snapped a few photos of Stonehenge—as well as the sheep lounging around nearby—and then we all dashed back across the highway to continue on our way.

Not having had time for breakfast, we decided to make lunch our first priority once we reached Glatonbury. Most of the shops in the village of Glastonbury serve a community of spiritually-minded people and the like-minded tourist who flock there. Swing a cat and you’ll bump into a crystals shop. Same with cafes. We quickly found a quirky little bistro-ish place where we had a lovely lunch and espresso. The place was filled with paintings of musicians—pop icons and jazz greats. It would have been a fine place to sit and have a cup of one’s favourite beverage. And, perhaps, have a proper first chat with Paula. Up until lunch, I had only really seen the back of her head. She has wonderful hair, by the way. However, as luck would have it, there was a toddler nearby who had trained his mother to give him anything he wanted as long as he pointed at said item, and screeched as loud as his little lungs would allow. Lunch, therefore, was delicious, and brief.

After lunch we wandered around town for a bit, peeking in at the abbey, and browsed some of the many shops. Tait would pop into every music shop he saw, and purchase something at each stop. He is a dedicated—if not obsessive (in a good way)—lover of music. Consuming as much as time allows. We were glad to hear he is taking up the bass.

Many of the shops in town are tucked down tiny walkways between ancient buildings, which makes shopping a bit like solving a labyrinth. Sometimes you are rewarded, and such was the case when Tait found a beautiful angel harpist statuette for Paula. While they were finishing up in that shop, I wandered into the courtyard to window shop and snap a photo of Nicolas Cage who I had seen when we entered. He had a cap on and was walking with a cane and a distinct limp. When we went by him the first time he was posing with a lesbian couple—in matching rainbow sweaters—we had seen in the cafe earlier. They had asked him to take a photo with them. He smiled, and obliged. When I turned around again, he appeared to be signing something for another person. At this point I knew I wasn’t going to intrude, so I set my camera on zoom and pretended to be photographing something else. What I ended up with was a dark picture of Mr. Cage (and his wife?) glaring at me from 20 feet away. I was trying to be respectful, I swear!

Neither Tait nor Paula were interested in walking up the Tor, so they dropped us off near an entrance and said they would be back in thirty minutes. Sarah and I climbed the steep steps that wind up the Tor, stepping aside occasionally to let those descending pass. It was a much shorter climb than I had anticipated, but significantly breezier at the top than we expected. We circumambulated St. Michael’s Tower at the top of the Tor, and it took all our energy to move forward when the wind was in our face, and every muscle we had to keep from being blown off our feet when the wind was at our back! The wind brought a chill and after a short while we returned to the spot where we had been dropped off, and took in the view of the Tor as the sun began to set behind it.

Paula and Tait picked us up and we went back to the village. Sarah wanted to buy some local sheep’s cheese, but we ended up with a local cow’s milk cheddar. On the way back to the car we stopped in a pub for a pint, where Sarah and Paula talked about how to ideally record an instrument like the harp.

As soon we finished our beverages we hopped in the car and headed back to Basingstoke to catch a train back to Reading. The ride back was mostly in the dark, but we were still able to make out Stonehenge in the shadows as we passed. The train ride to Reading was short, so we made a bee-line for an (Australian) bar to catch the Arsenal match. When we arrived the Gunners were down 0-1. I went to the loo, which was down in the bowels of the places. While there I heard a huge cheer. Not knowing the bar patron’s allegiances, I wasn’t sure who had scored, so I chanted to myself “Come-on Arsenal.” When I got back to the pub, a quick glance at the giant telly screen showed that Arsenal had, in fact, scored the equaliser! They went on to score three more goals to beat Everton 4-1.

When the match was over, Sarah, Tait and I popped over to the local Pizza Express for a late bite to eat. The pizza was delicious, but damn if it wasn’t the most expensive pizza dinner I have ever had!

Stuffed, and tired, we made the long walk back to Tait’s to pick up our things and call a taxi. We had decided to stay in Reading that night—and based on a suggestion by Tait—we stayed at the Novotel near the train station. After staying in a cramped London hotel, this place was a luxury (shower and tub, Internet, etc.), and cost twenty quid a night less. Plus, the stay included a full English breakfast buffet in the morning! Sarah had a soak in the tub, I had a relaxing shower, and we both slept very well. We highly recommend this French hotel chain, and will seek them out wherever we travel.

Next: One for the Tarmac

The Friday morning of our last weekend in England started pretty much the way the night before had finished—looking for food. We awoke hungry for food and eager to get out of the city for a few days. The night before, while wandering about in search of food, we had seen a middle eastern place near Edgware Road that also offered variations on the full English breakfast. We decided to try our luck. We were the only diners and we very much enjoyed the generous portions, which we knew would keep us until dinner.

Once fed, we went back to the hotel to gather our belongings and walk the few blocks to Paddington Station to catch a train to Reading where we were meeting Mr. Tait. We had decided it was cheaper to check out of the hotel and book ourselves back in for Sunday in order to save money. After schlepping our luggage to the station, we bought our tickets and waited for our departure platform to be sorted. Sarah wandered over to a vendor’s booth and bought a Paddington Bear pin, while I watched pigeons and train schedules.

The train was on time, and we ended up on a “fast” train that had us at our destination in just under thirty minutes. When we arrived we called Tait to see if he could pick us up. He suggested we grab a taxi at the the station as we were at the further—from his place—of the two train stations in Reading. We easily found a car to hire and arrived at Tait’s shortly thereafter, where we had a cup of tea and enjoyed him showing off his delicious-sounding stereo.

We ended up going on a long walk, up and around the main streets of Reading as Tait showed us some sites. We made our way to the ruins of the Abbey before ducking into the Hobgoblin for a pint. We stopped at a butchers, a Halal market, a microbrew/retaurant for a mini keg, and at an amazing coffee place for an espresso before making our way back to Tait’s. Once at Tait’s we tapped the keg and relaxed while he made a delicious curry dinner; the recipe from a cookbook I had bought him seven years earlier! The meal was a spicy and tender chicken dish that went well with the Pale Ale we were drinking.

After dinner we watched Ross Noble on Tait’s laptop and laughed our asses off. There were times I was laughing so hard I didn’t dare take a sip of beer for fear of having it come out my nose—and let’s face it, that’s a waste. When the video was over, Tait broke out the backgammon board and I broke Tait’s spirit by beating him 3-1 in a best of five competition. I spotted him the first game and then beat him harder than a man really should beat someone who is putting you up and just fed you a tasty meal. But he needed to be taken down a peg, and it was all for fun.

Tired, full, with a bit of a buzz, and wanting to be rested for the next day’s roadtrip, Sarah and I went upstairs to sleep, while Tait stayed up to watch a movie.

Next: Magical Mystery Tor

Our first night away from the comforts of the Mear home was a hard adjustment, but we woke up ready to explore. The first part of the day was to wander around Oxford Circus and check out the insanity of post-holiday sales, and wow was today mad. We thought it was crazy when people were out doing their last-minute Christmas shopping, but this was much worse. Each store had signs advertising up to 70% off, and it made me wonder why anyone even bothers with shopping until after Christmas. We only braved the crowds in Liberty because we had planned to pick up a holiday ornament as a memento of spending our 2007 Christmas in England, and it seemed appropriate. The tough part was finding something we could bring back with us that wouldn’t end up as broken glass at the bottom our our luggage. We found a couple of cute little unbreakable items which were small, pretty and only cost a couple of quid.

Afterwards, we looked for a place to eat and decide to sate our desire for tapas by having lunch at a local La Tasca. The place was deserted when we arrived, and we settled in for a lovely meal. The menu was a bit overwhelming, so we ordered a pre-set sampling meal that had half vegetarian and half meat items. We also ordered wine, and after the meal a couple of glasses of sweet Muscatel. It was difficult to move after that large lunch, but the wine helped reinvigorate us for the crowds still out on the sidewalk.

We decided to head back to the hotel to drop off the ornaments we bought and the heavy backpack I was carrying. The latter was because we had the laptop with us to check-in with Tait about our plans to go to Reading to see him the next day. All day we had trouble finding anyplace with free wi-fi so we had to go to the local Apple store to check email, and firm up plans for the next few days. The lack of free wi-fi in the UK surprises me.

We dropped our stuff and got ready for the rest of our long evening of doing touristy stuff. We took the Tube to Embankment, walked across the Jubilee bridge, and took in the beauty of the Thames at night. It was a clear night and places like the London Eye, Parliament, and St. Paul’s were brightly lit and glowing in the rippling river which was at high tide. We wander along the river, past the London Eye and eventually crossed over on the Westminster Bridge just as Big Ben was about to chime five o’clock.

We continued down the other side of the river. We were still early for our London Walks meetup so we decided to head over to Covent Garden and grab some sweets and use the loo before the walk.

When people ask me what to do when they go to London, I always suggest they go on a London Walk (even more than one). They are a ton of fun, educational, and often times involve drink. The walk we chose—Apparitions, Alleyways & Ales—was no exception. We met up with our guide, Adam, at the appointed time, and off we went to explore the darker side of London with occasional stops to grab a pint. At least one of the pubs we stopped in was down an alley, and we would never had stumbled on this particular spot. We started at the Embankment Tube stop, made our way through the theatre district and eventually ended up in St. James’ Park, where there was a lovely view of Buckingham Palace. Adam informed us that all walks end between a pub and a tube stop so that people can make up their own mind as to whether they want to go home or grab a pint. We stopped briefly at the near-by pub to use the loo, and since it was mostly abandoned (being in a business area) we decided to head back toward home.

We were also a bit hungry so we wandered around the area surrounding the hotel hoping to find something open. We knew the Windsor Castle was open (they serve Thai food, of all things), but we thought the place was tacky—and the manager rude—the last time we were there. Running out of sit down options, we stopped by the local corner store and bought a cheese and onion pastie and a bag of crisps, and took them back to our hotel room to nosh while watching some telly.

Next: Ready for Reading

If we thought we were being spoiled by Jenny with her Chinese food cooking and overall generosity for the week, she out did herself on Christmas. As I mentioned in the previous installment, we stayed up quite late the night before drinking and generally making merry, so when we heard Jenny yell “David!” on Christmas morning, we decided we had better get up and not make Jenny wait to open her presents.

When we got downstairs, Jenny had already put out some delicious mini breakfast baps, eggrolls, and had coffee ready, so all we had to do was fall into the couch and wait while Santa Jenny handed out gifts from under the tree. After opening gifts we enjoyed more tea and coffee and relaxed under dinner.

Jenny had dinner on the table by around 1 o’clock, and wow did she ever prepare a feast! There was a turkey draped in bacon that was so juicy, despite not being brined. She said she got the idea from Gordon Ramsey. All I know is it was juicy and delicious. The rest of the meal was made up of what I understand to be the traditional English Christmas dishes. We had Brussels sprouts, steamed carrots, fried parsnips, delicious roasted potatoes, cranberry relish, and three kinds of sausages—one of which was wrapped in bacon!

Before we sat down to stuff ourselves with this amazing culinary display, we pulled crackers, put on our paper crowns, and read the lame jokes. A real English Christmas.

After dinner, we waddled out of the dining room to plop ourselves in front of the telly to catch Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas message—her 50th, and the first in high definition. The Queen had barely finished her speech when Jenny called us back to the table for dessert… errr… pudding, which was made up of Christmas Pudding, trifle and an assortment of fresh fruits, including mango, papaya and pineapple.

After puddings we again made our way to telly room to watch universally recognized tradition holiday films like Finding Nemo and Shrek 2. By the way, one of the differences I noticed about Christmas in America and Christmas in England is that Americans are more likely to have traditional films we watch for the holiday. Think Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, A Christmas Story, etc. While the Brits seem to be nostalgic about Christmas music. And the British Christmas music is more likely to be pop music than American holiday sounds. When I think of Christmas songs, I am likely to think of standards like “White Christmas,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Little Drummer Boy,” etc. The pop Christmas songs I hear in England are songs that may have been played in America the year they were released, but rarely are played after. Songs like “Last Christmas” by Wham!, “Wonderful Christmas Time” by Paul McCartney, and Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas.” The latter seemed to drop off American airwaves almost immediately after Live Aid in 1985. Anyway, just an observation. I still never heard Santa’s Super Sleigh though.

After watching the aforementioned Christmas classic films, Sarah, Chris and I took a long walk around the neighbourhood to walk off dinner and pudding. We must have walked for an hour or so, but still felt full when we returned. Before we left we knew that there was still another course of food, but when we were told there was cheese, we envisaged a cheese plate and some crackers. What we returned to was a whole new meal. There were 8 different kinds of cheeses, a deli meat platter, crackers (the edible kind), bread, chutneys, bread sauce, olives, onions, pickles, celery, carrots, and port wine. We told ourselves we wouldn’t eat much, but it is impossible to get away with not eating when Jenny is in charge! Besides it was cheese! So it didn’t take too much convincing to get us to over indulge.

At this point I had to loosen my belt and have a lie down. We retired for the final time of the evening to the television room to watch the Red Dwarf marathon before I excused myself to go to bed. Sarah, Chris and David popped open a bottle of champagne and had a few glasses before finally saying goodnight to Christmas. One of the best Christmas’ ever.

Next: Boxing Day (Adventures with Essexjan)

For the first time since arriving in England we took it easy today. No shopping, no site-seeing. Mostly we hung out drinking tea, talking, watching Christmas-related shows on the telly, and occasionally slipping away to wrap holiday gifts. A nice, lazy, Christmas Eve.

In the late afternoon Jenny surprised us with another scrumptious meal. Sarah had told Jenny how her favourite meat was lamb and so there it was. Jenny is amazing!

After supper Sarah and I watched our traditional holiday film, About a Boy. Not exactly a Christmas film, but with some elements that we think display Christmas spirit. David joined us and seemed to enjoy our silly little tradition. Once the film had ended, Jenny, David, Sarah and I played Upwords. It was the first time I had played, and while it seems familiar to Scrabble fans like me, it is a game that requires a different way of thinking. Jenny and David competed with each other while politely watching while Sarah and I struggled. It was still good fun to relax and play a good board game.

While we were playing games, Chris was off practicing for the night’s gig… playing organ at midnight mass at St. Mary’s Church in Walthstow. He came back after rehearsal to pick up Sarah and I so we could join him for the jam.

It was short drive to the church, and we arrived well before the worshipers, so Sarah and I wandered around the ancient place, checking out the architecture and the burial stones. The only people around when we arrived were the Vicar, deacons, and another gentlemen—who later was revealed to be the new archdeacon … and a West Ham supporter. People were polite at that news, but it may have been because it was Christmas. There was at least one guy, sitting behind us, wearing an Arsenal jacket. I was polite when I met him (before the West Ham announcement, naturally) while I wandered around before the service. He asked if I was a regular, and I replied that I was visiting from the States and there to support Chris, the organist. He asked me where I was from in the States, and when I replied Vermont, we said “ah, yes. That’s in the west, correct?” I politely corrected him, we conversed a little more before parting ways.

Sarah, who had gone outside to wait for our friend to arrive, returned a few minutes later with Jan in tow. Jan took a few photos of Chris and then joined us in a pew nearest the organ.

The service was somewhat familiar to me, but still different enough that I kept my mouth shut most of the time. Even with the karaoke screens and monitors everywhere displaying the words to songs didn’t really help. Songs that I thought I knew had completely different words than I recalled from my childhood.

The vicar was nice, and funny. At the beginning of the service he made some announcements. He said that Jesus didn’t want us to hold it, and directed people to where the loos were located. He said that there was a carpeted area with toys if the kids or adults needed a lie down. He reminded people to turn off their mobiles saying that at midnight they would start beeping with text wishes from family and friends hoping to be the first to wish a happy Christmas; and that some of these people would no doubt have been indulging in a bit of holiday cheer.

We came for Chris’ organ playing though, and we were not disappointed. He rocked the house! The organ sounded great and Chris made it sing. Sending people home with Toccata from Widor’s fifth organ symphony.

Once the service was over the four of us wandered around the village near the church. We said goodbye to Jan and headed back to Chris’ place where we ended up staying up until 4 a.m. drinking scotch whisky and singing songs while David played guitar.

Next: Happy Christmas … pass the sausages.

When we woke up this morning it looked like quintessential English weather as a fog hung over London. I assumed it would burn off as the day went on, but we lucked out that it remained for the rest of the day. It added a lovely aesthetic to our trip to Cambridge. The drive to Cambridge, however, was uneventful because the same fog made it impossible to view any scenery with the exception of the motorway. Thankfully Chris knew his way.

Once in Cambridge, we made a beeline to the outdoor cafe near the carpark for hot coffee, before making our way to the outdoor market to shop for last minute gifts. The market was an eclectic mix of art, knick knacks, and food shops all with interesting wares as well as shopkeepers.

We had no real destinations while in Cambridge. Chris guided us around in order to see the various colleges and their sites, all the while imparting little bits of wisdom on Cambridge history and lore. Many of the colleges were closed due to the holidays, including Emmanuel—Chris’ college—while others thankfully had their gates open. The buildings and chapels are breathtaking.

After wandering around for a few hours we stopped in for lunch at The Eagle, which is possibly best known as the place where Francis Crick announced that he and James Watson had “discovered the secret of life” after coming up with their proposal for the structure of DNA in 1953. I didn’t find this bit out until I went looking for a link for this post, though, so all I knew at the time is that the place had delicious fish n’ chips and tasty beer.

After lunch we walked around a little longer, stopping briefly at a Rɘvolution—a chain of trendy vodka bars that seem to be popping up everywhere. We stopped primarily to use their loo, but decided to at least have lattes since we were using their facilities. The service at this place was odd. We sat down and ordered our drinks. A short while later they arrived; we finished them and then waited and waited and waited and never saw our waitress again. I approached another staff member to ask for our waitress letting them know we wanted to settle our tab. They, at first, were confused and thought we wanted to order another round of lattes. We explained we needed to leave and the woman left to find our waitress. The same woman returned and told us that she was sorry we had to wait and that our drinks were free. At least we think that’s what she said. We slowly put on our coats and just as slowly made our way to the exit, in case we were mistaken. No one stopped us, so I guess we heard correctly.

We were still making our way to the carpark, but there was a John Lewis‘ across the street so we stopped briefly to look for more gifts. The place was packed, but again queues moved quickly and the staff was helpful and nice.

On the way home, the traffic was a bit slower as people made their way to their Christmas destinations. We drove mostly in silence while listening to Christmas songs on the radio.

I am glad to report that it remained foggy the whole time we were in Cambridge, and I will always recall it romantically draped in mist. It was a great day all around, and I am grateful to Chris for chauffeuring us as well as showing us around Cambridge.

Next: Christmas Eve Midnight Mass … Jam!

As promised the night before, Sarah and I made our way over to Jess & Nick’s flat the next day to have tea (and whisky) and Christmas fruit cake. We even remembered to drop off the gift we forgot the night before!

They have a brilliant flat near the Pimlico tube stop with a lovely view from the roof deck. We had a nice visit and the conversation was stimulating. Sucks that there is a big ocean between us.

As their last great service, Nick & Jess alerted us to the time-saving of using the overground train from Vauxhall to Wimbledon, and walked us to the train station. This allowed us to visit with them longer, so we were grateful.

The train ride was quick and we easily beat Spahr, Tait, and Sharp to the planned meetup spot at Wimbledon station. It was great to see the lads again and I was pleased to introduce them to Sarah. Spahr brought along his son, who I hadn’t seen since he was a tot. Great kid.

As a group we rode a train over to a stop near the grounds and walked until we reached Craven Cottage. Once there, I had a small issue with my ticket, which required me to bounce around between helpful people with orange jackets and handheld computers; however, I eventually was able to enter and meet up with Sarah, Sharp and Tait at our seats in the neutral section (”Come on, Neutrals!”).

Despite ending in a 1-1 draw, the match was quite enjoyable. The home team fell behind late in the second half on a goal by Marcus Bent—who, from my vantage point, appeared to be offside. Up until that first goal, Fulham had been the better side going forward. After the goal they worked hard and, eight minutes later, American Clint Dempsey, equalized with a low drive from the edge of the area.

After the game, we met up again with the Spahrs and headed over to a pub by the tube stop. The place was packed, but I managed to wiggle my way to the bar rather easily and ordered a round for the group. The Spahrs left shortly after, and the rest of us (Sharp, Tait, Sarah and myself) went in search of another drinking establishment. Hopefully one showing the late-starting Wolves match.

We only walked about a block when I noticed the familiar orange strips on the telly in a large, posh bar. We went inside, Tait got the round and we all ordered food. The burgers were huge and served on thick breadboards. The game was at half time and the Wolves were down 0-1, but they scored midway through the second half to equalize. Shortly after that they scored what appeared to be the winning goal, only to have it (rightfully, honestly) called back for offsides.

After the match, Sharp left for home while we made our way to a quiet pub to catch up. The Harcourt Pub near the Edgware Road tube stop met our needs and we relaxed over a last round before calling it a night.

Next: A Day Trip to Cambridge

The Friday after the London MetaFilter meetup was a tough one. All I could manage to eat was toast for hours. So, all-in-all, I’d say the previous night was a smashing success.

One of the things Sarah and I were looking forward to the most on this trip was the chance to meet two people with whom we had chatted and exchanged emails with for years. Actually it was more than just electronic exchanges. Nick and Jess had also provided both of us with design help for our respective businesses. So we were excited that the day had come when we would finally meet them.

The plan was to meet at a tube stop and then go out for drinks and then dinner. We missed them at the tube stop so we went looking for a place that does its best to stay hidden. Milk & Honey is a private club with no sign on its massive door. The place looks like something out of a Harry Potter book. Like it has a spell cast on it to keep non-members from even seeing it. Luckily we looked up the address before we left.

We spotted Jess & Nick right away, and the four of us spent the first 30 minutes or so in the usual awkwardness that comes with a first meeting—except each couple brought little gifts for one another, which helped. It was rather amusing prior to our meeting when I told Nick that we wanted face time with them and that the place we went didn’t matter. I don’t recall the exact wording, but he said “We thought we’d start with drinks, and if you aren’t as cool as your online personas then we can call it a night.” It ended up we all hit it off (at least that was our impression) and so delicious and strong drinks at Milk & Honey was followed by a yummy dim sum dinner at Ping Pong in Soho, where we also had flowering jasmine tea.

After Ping Pong closed we wandered around Chinatown doing our bests to avoid the stumbling drunks. I had forgotten that it was the end of the work week before the start of Christmas holidays. Londoners—and the English—love their drink, but this night seemed extra special. As Nick emailed me later, they saw a record number of “Christmas sick puddles” on their way home that night.

We parted company just after 11 p.m., and since we had got on so well—plus we had strategically forgotten a present for Jess that Nick asked us to buy in the States for him—we agreed to meet the next morning before Sarah and I headed over to watch the Fulham match against Wigan in the afternoon.

Next: Who are you!?

Thursday we spent most of the afternoon braving the crowds in the shops and on the streets near Oxford Circus. At times it was so crowded one could leave their feet and be carried by the crowds. The shops were mad! But one of the things I noticed while holiday shopping in London was that the stores were all very well staffed and that staff were significantly more helpful than I have encountered in the states at similar times. All the registers were staffed, people were nice and efficient, and if you looked lost someone approached you and asked if they could help.

After shopping we took advantage of a little downtime before heading off to the MetaFilter meetup. The meetup [Meetup Flickr set] was held at Dovetail, a small bar that seemed to cater to a business crowd, that is known for its fruit beer and Belgian ales. When we arrived, cillit bang, and a few others were already there and had managed to stuff many people around the reserved tables. The drinking had begun, but we weren’t too far behind.

When we first arrived, randomination greeted Sarah with “they have fruit beer!” which bewildered her. Sarah’s more of a dark beer drinker after all. David and I decided to share jugs of Leffe Brun, which was delicious, but, in hindsight may have gone down a bit too easily.

We had a great time getting to meet all of these nice, intelligent people, but the bell rang a bit sooner than we expected. A few people joined us for an afters party at Chris’, which was funny as we all wove our way to the tube stop and eventually stumbled the few miles to Chris’ once we arrived. Thank goodness Chris had the forethought to stock up on beer and scotch!

The afters party went on until about 5 a.m. and did we ever pay for it the next day.

Next: Meeting Nick & Jess