Last Full Day
As the trip winds to an end I am finding it a little harder to get up and go in the morning. I am having a great time, but running on fumes now. It’s a grey, rainy morning. I am not hung over, but feel a bit out of it. We meet up with Rich and Carol early before they make their way to the airport and back home. While walking around Pimlico we found a modern, yet cozy, little place called Carmel’s, across from Kazan. We each tucked in to some variation of a full English breakfast and quietly chatted about our various adventures and plans for the our return to the States.
Mirror Fun at Tate Britain
Once breakfasts were finished, we said our goodbyes and parted. We then made our way to the Tate Britain for some culture. We decided to investigate the Eadweard Muybridge exhibit and if there was time check out the Rachel Whiteread drawings, which were included with admission to the Muybridge. We did end up seeing both, and very much enjoyed the Muybridge exhibit. We went in knowing a little bit about his work in timed photography, and came out amazed. The large-scale panoramic work was particularly fascinating. We also found time to walk around other permanent collections that were beautiful, and got to people watch.
Feet starting to drag, we eventually made our way to the museum’s shop, and found a few gifts for ourselves and a few friends. While waiting for Sarah to complete the purchases, I ran into Dan and Sophie in the lobby. Appears they fancied a bit of culture as well! Before they went on their way though, we made plans to have breakfast in Pimlico in the morning so we can return the key to the flat.
People & Paintings
After all the pretty things and culture and stuff, what we fancied most was lunch and we decided we had to go to the Queen’s Arms one last time. We made our way through the sprinkling rain back to our new favourite comfort food pub where we split a burger and a sticky toffee, and I had a pint. As we left we said our goodbyes to the staff we had spent time chatting up over the week and headed back to the flat to rest and clean up before our date with the Mear family later.
After all the pretty things and culture and stuff, what we fancied most was lunch and we decided we had to go to the Queen’s Arms one last time. We made our way through the sprinkling rain back to our new favourite comfort food pub where we split a burger and a sticky toffee, and I had a pint. As we left we said our goodbyes to the staff we had spent time chatting up over the week and headed back to the flat to rest and clean up before our date with the Mear family later.
We finally left the flat and began our journey to North London just after dark. The tube was filled with people when we got on at Victoria, but eventually thinned as we made our way north east across the city. Most of the way we amused ourselves people watching.
We were in great moods when we arrived at our stop. We walked the long platform, checked our Oyster cards’ values, and turned the corner to see Chris’ smiling face once again. We assumed we were walking to their place, but ended up meeting David and Jennie just up the road and continued with them to their local Chinese restaurant. Jennie’s milieu.
Jennie took charge and ordered (in Chinese) the set family meal, but we didn’t know what that meant. A pile of plates came out and we ate. And more came out and we ate. And then soup came out and we ate. And by now we are feeling more than full. It was then we found out we hadn’t even had the entrees yet! And the thing about the set meal is there is no take away leftovers! You eat what you order. By the end of the meal we could barely keep our heads up. Full and tired, and happy. Jennie continued to speak Chinese to the staff and it became obvious she was picking up the check despite our offer to take her and her sons out as our treat! She’s so sweet. We’ll miss her and the boys!
After dinner, we barely had the energy to waddle back to the South Woodford tube. However, being a few zones outside the city meant we got seats. The train filled as we got closer to the heart of London. The ride was long and filled with characters coming home from football matches being played or pubs where they were watched and discussed. We leaned against each other in solidarity and exhaustion, remembering to switch at Oxford Circus and getting off at Pimlico, which we’ve learned is a much nicer walk this time of night.
Starting to think living here (not London, though) would make all this visiting so much easier than these marathon visits every few years, but tomorrow we begin the process of going home.
Tourist Day & MetaFilter Meetup
Back of a Double Decker Bus
Allowed ourselves a bit of a lazy morning knowing it would be a long day. After bowls of cereal we cleaned ourselves up, made our way to Victoria Station and caught a bus to Liverpool Street. Being a little early to meet Dan, Sophie, Carol, and Rich, we wandered around the streets outside of the station taking in the architecture and taking photos. After meeting the others we grabbed another bus to a pho place Rich suggested once he realised his favourite spot was closed.
The food was delicious and we all enjoyed ourselves, but the restaurant made things a little difficult by refusing to honour our American credit card. Rich said they can’t legally do such a thing, but ultimately we decided to repay Rich and Carol later rather than argue.
After lunch we parted from the group to go to St. Paul’s Cathedral to do a little site seeing. Neither of us had been inside St. Paul’s so we were curious about the London skyline landmark.
Different Footprints
Once inside, we paid our fee, picked up the iPhone audio tour device, and made our way through the beautiful space. Eventually we climbed to the top and made our way around the dome, dodging other tourists, and taking photos of the stunning views of the city.
With the closing hour nearing, we made our way toward the exit, stopping by the gift shop and restrooms before heading out into the dusk. We made our way to the Tube stop and head toward Oxford Circus to have dim sum at our favourite place, Ping Pong.
The closer we got to Oxford Circus the madder the Tube trains and stations became. When we got off the train and made our way to the surface it was wall-to-wall people moving in every direction. We stepped against the wall to check the iPhone map and then did our best to stick together as we moved with the crowd.
We ducked down and alley seen on the map and found a less busy route to the restaurant. Ping Pong was busy, but we were shown to our table right away. The table was small, making it a challenge for the wait staff to find places for our items, and as more people poured in the service got spottier. We eventually got our puddings, settled the check and scrambled to get back to the flat so we could make the MetaFilter meetup.
London Skyline
Once outside the crowds seemed larger and when we got to the Tube we encountered long queues at all the Oyster ticket machines. It took 20 minutes just to get a top-up so we were definitely running late. Glad we called the meetup for a place close to where we are staying!
We got back to the flat, dropped our packages, freshened up, changed clothes, and dashed out to Pimlico The Queen’s Arms to meet the others. As we were walking, I sent a Tweet asking for someone to post updates from the Arsenal/Chelsea match that was about to kickoff. The Queen’s Arms doesn’t have a television, and I wasn’t about to be rude and be glued to the phone for updates. Someone offered to send me direct message updates shortly after we arrived at the pub, and we settled in at the large table set up for our group.
View of St. Paul's from St. Paul's
We got to meet some new people; however, we found it amusing that very few of the attendees were actually British! Other Americans visiting — including Rich, Carol and Dan — plus an American who works in London, a few Canadians, and at least one lovely Irish musician were there. The Mear brothers, Sophie, and some bloke were the only proper Brits!
Some people ordered food, most had drinks, and everyone had a good time. The staff was great to us; Ollie and Rosie really took care of us. Rosie was curious about brewing beer, so I helped explain the basics to her, and at last shout bought the two of them a beer of their choice. Rosie opted for an Anchor Steam just as I had just ordered. We also learned that Arsenal had upset Chelsea, 3-1, so we were chuffed … and surprisingly not too drunk.
We said our last goodbyes to Chris and David, and Rich and Carol for this trip, and made our way back to the flat for the last night in London, where we got ready for bed immediately.
