June 28, 2016 by Rae

I Couldn’t Leave London Without Having Curry!

By 8:30 this evening, I’d gone almost straight from “I’m never eating again!” to “I’m famished!” I was going to grab a burger and a pint at the nearby pub when I decided that I had to have curry and didn’t want to chance that I’d have time for it tomorrow. I Googled something like “curry Kensal Green” and found the highly rated Curry Nights in Kensal Rise, a mile away. Ignoring my aching legs and badly blistered little toe (that I really should get amputated), I hoofed it over there and found a surprisingly posh looking decor. That would be two very expensive meals today, but whatever, I wasn’t going to worry about such things. 😀

And then I looked at the menu and blinked. I don’t know if I’ve just gotten used to prices here or what, but everything seemed very inexpensive! I ordered papadums as a starter for £1 as well as a Kingfisher Indian beer for a mere £2.95:

The sauces were so good! The green stuff, the chutney, and the raita (white) were my favourite. The red sauce at the top was a bit earthy, but still enjoyable.

I was going to do chicken tikka masala for £6.95 and add plain naan and rice when I spotted their non-vegetarian platter, which was at the most expensive price point I saw on the menu, including the seafood, £11.95. It had five dishes, fancier rice, naan, and raita.

I could have easily split this meal in two and brought home leftovers! My favourite dishes were the tandoori chicken at the top (an insanely generous portion) and whatever that is on the far left below the naan. I thought it might have coconut milk in it. At eight o’clock, there’s a cumin-heavy chicken that was very tender. The red sauce is their chicken tikka, which was actually too sweet for my taste. I enjoyed it in combination with everything, but would have been disappointed to have it on its own. The last dish was ground lamb, which I did not finish since I don’t like lamb. I made a valiant effort, though, since the spices it was cooked in were so good!

No, I did not eat the entire thing. But I didn’t leave enough to justify taking home leftovers. 🙂

Service was as attentive as at The Wolseley, making this a perfect meal for my last night in London!

I don’t fly out till 4:30 tomorrow, but was advised that I should be picked up at 12:30 and it looks like I have to go all the way back to Victoria London even though I’d been told originally I could be picked up at Baker Street… So all that said, I figure I might as well have a lie in tomorrow since I am completely exhausted, pack (not looking forward to doing that again), and head straight for Victoria London at about 11AM. I’ll have my bags and won’t be up for doing anything anyway.

June 28, 2016 by Rae

Afternoon Tea at the Wolseley

I just happened to find myself in London on the anniversary of five years of running my transcription business and wanted to do something special to celebrate surviving all those lean years. Afternoon tea felt like the right thing, but I was intimidated by the prices and the fact that you have to dress up. I did a lot of research my first night in London, during those long hours when I couldn’t fall back asleep, and The Wolseley seemed to be perfect for me. It was the least expensive tea I found that was still in an upscale, by my standards, place and they didn’t seem too snotty about people dressing up. The cost was just over £30 with the service charge. I could have had tea for £10 (or more!) less at a small informal café, but I wanted the whole experience.

The Wolseley is located right next to the Ritz, between Piccadilly Circle and Green Park, but much closer to the latter.

I wore a long black skirt, a plain dark grey top, my walking sandals (not too sporty), and earrings and felt chicer than most of the patrons there, many of whom stood out from the elegant art deco surroundings in their jeans and sneakers. I was greeted like a valued customer and promptly seated and served. They don’t like folks to take pictures, so I respected that (although I did sneak a picture of my meal!). The atmosphere was comfortable. Definitely upscale, but not intimidating.

When I booked online, I had made a point to say that I have an intolerance to eggs, so I didn’t want mayonnaise, egg salad, or meringue, but a bit of egg wash or egg in a cake was fine. Someone came out to confirm that the kitchen got my order and told me the proposed menu, which was fine.

There didn’t seem to be that much food when it all came, but it was enough even though I was offered more!

I was surprised that they replaced my egg salad sandwich with a second of smoked salmon instead of something cheaper, like cucumber. All the sandwiches were great. I think the chicken with tarragon (on my plate) was my favourite, but the smoked salmon with butter was a close second!

The cakes layer had a chewy chocolate and nut thing that I didn’t care much for (difficult to eat), but I loved the strawberry tart and the cake with marzipan around it, so much so that I did accept a second piece of it! I finished my meal with the two raisin scones with jam and clotted cream.

For tea, I chose their Wolseley afternoon blend. It seemed really pale in the cup, but had a good strong flavour that paired beautifully with my food.

Service was stellar and attentive all throughout the meal. I had asked for water and every time my glass was empty, it would magically fill up.

My celebratory afternoon tea at the Wolseley was even better and more special than I could have hoped for. It will be my fondest memory of my brief trip to London.

I then decided to go check out Piccadilly Circus. On route, I checked out a menu that reminded me of something I wanted to share that has surprised me. Look at the coffee and tea prices.

Coffee has been consistently cheaper than tea. I wonder if that’s because you get a whole pot of tea?

I passed Fortnum & Mason, but wasn’t tempted to go in.

So strange to see a Mexican bank here in London.

Piccadilly Circus was hopping and there were buskers…

Until it started to rain. My rain coat is great!

I wanted to go check out Soho, but it really started to pour, so I headed home. Piccadilly Circus is on the Bakerloo line, so I didn’t have to change trains again until Queen’s Park. For some reason, even though the Bakerloo line goes much further, you have to do it in two trains. Kind of a pain when I’m only one station from Queen’s Park.

It was an awesome last day in London! Now, I am trying to work up the energy to walk the 20 minutes round trip to the nearest pub for a final pint…

I will do a sum up post of London later, as well as a write-up about Oyster. I don’t think I’ll do much tomorrow since I’ll have my luggage with me.

June 28, 2016 by Rae

St. Paul’s Cathedral

Next stop today was St. Paul’s Cathedral. But on the way…

First glimpse!

In the gardens at the rear.

It was only here that I realised that I hadn’t budgeted my time to include waiting in a long queue! Well, to my surprise, there was absolutely no queue!

Photography is not allowed in St. Paul’s, so you’ll have to go here to see some of the wonders within. It was more beautiful than I could ever have imagined… The £18 entry fee included a very good audiovisual guide that let me explore at my own pace.

One thing I didn’t realise you could do was climb the dome! You start up a wooden spiral staircase to the interior Whispering Gallery, then climb to the exterior Stone Gallery through a narrow stone staircase. I thought the Whispering Gallery was alarmingly high up until I got to this first exterior gallery…

You then climb a series of metal spiral staircases to the Golden Gallery. Total steps from the ground: 527. OUCH. But the view!

The main things I took away from St. Paul’s:

-How controversial the design was for the day. The Protestants were used to Gothic architecture with its arches, not the domes of the Baroque style;

-This ornate church was more Catholic in style, but was very much tailored to Protestant practice;

-St. Paul’s survived the Blitz almost undamaged thanks to a fire brigade that patrolled the roof. Only one bomb got through.

-Almost nothing of ancient London survived the Blitz. This is why the city looks so modern and is so drivable as it was rebuilt after the Second World War.

Last glimpse!

I had about an hour and a half to my tea reservation when I came out St. Paul’s. When I had set out in the morning, I regretted scheduling tea for midafternoon, but it wound up being perfect timing since I was famished when I came out of the cathedral! I wandered around the area a bit, stumbled onto another major Sherlock shooting location that delighted me, and then took the Tube from St. Paul’s Station to Oxford Circus on the Central line, then I rode one block south on the Victoria line to Green Park.

That reminds me that I forgot to give my Oyster update! A newsagent on the way to Kensal Green Station was able to sort out half of my Oyster problem, ie. putting money on the card so I could travel today and tomorrow. I’ll sort out the other half when the charges post…

June 28, 2016 by Rae

Guildhall Art Gallery & Roman Amphitheatre

I’d asked my best friend Bast what she would like to do in London. Most of her list was of interest to me, but the only thing on it that fit in with my itinerary was the Guildhall Art Gallery & Roman Amphitheatre. It was about halfway between the Tower of London and St. Paul’s. Considering what an amazing find this amphitheatre was, it really isn’t that well known. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Bast!

London is really easy to get around. There is tons of signage everywhere, so even getting to something a little off the tourist path was super easy. I never did get a SIM card for my phone, so I couldn’t use it for directions and I also never got a paper map. I didn’t need either.

On the way, I decided to mail Bast a postcard. That was… trying. I passed a business marked “Post Office,” but it didn’t say Royal Mail anywhere. I logged onto the free WiFi provided by the Tesco Express a couple of doors down to confirm that “Post Office” is just that and that Royal Mail has been privatised. So I went back to Post Office and a very large and scary looking man demanded to know what I wanted. I said that I wanted to mail a postcard and he looked at me like I was a complete idiot (maybe that’s not how you say that in the UK?) and told me to use one of the self serve machines.

I wasn’t keen on doing that and tried to get to a counter, but he blocked me and repeated that I had to use the self serve machines. I went to a machine and poked around the menus for a bit until I was fairly confident that I had located the correct postage. I then had to figure out where to insert the coins I wanted to use for payment. That done, a stamp printed, but I had no idea where to mail my letter. I went back to the entrance and found two slots marked “Franked mail”, one for 1st class and the other for 2nd class. Mr. Big Scary Dude was gone and there was a long queue at the service counter, so I went back to Tesco for their WiFi to look up which slot I should drop my letter into and got nowhere. So I went back and stuck it in the 2nd class slot… Bast, I hope it gets to you. If not, I tried my best! 😀

I then found the Guildhall Art Gallery, located in a pretty courtyard. The amphitheatre is below it. The entrance is to the right where you can see people queuing. Admission is free, but you have to put your bags through a scanner, hence why it took some time to get in.

The amphitheatre was found during the construction of the art gallery and was one of the most important archaeological discoveries in London in over a century. The discovery meant that major changes had to be made to the art gallery’s design.

The amphitheatre would have been oval. You can see here a drawing of what it would have looked like.

I liked this door. 🙂

Remains of the wooden drainage system.

The ruins were amazing!

It was already past noon by this point and I knew St. Paul’s could warrant a couple of hours, so I didn’t visit the art gallery, although I did check out a couple of works that caught my eye.

June 28, 2016 by Rae

Morning At Tower Bridge

It’s a good thing this was my last full day in London since I’m exhausted and my legs hurt! 😀 Last night, other guests were extremely loud and traipsed up and down the stairs into the wee hours of the morning and then got up at the crack of dawn, so I didn’t get much sleep. I’m definitely ready to be in my own space again, and especially my own bathroom!

I spent some time on Google Maps last night trying to come up with an itinerary that would get me to Piccadilly for my 3:30 reservation for afternoon tea without spending a lot of time going between places and still allowing me to cross off a few things on my list of things I thought I might want to see while I’m here. I still had two big and expensive things left, the Tower of London and St. Paul’s. Having poked through ancient castles before, it was very easy to decide to just look at the exterior of the Tower of London. Plus, a fellow I met on the London Eye had told me that Tower Bridge, which should have been on my list, would be a great place to view St. Mary’s Axe/the Gherkin.

If I started my day at the Tower of London and ended it at Piccadilly, I could fit it in St. Paul’s and the Roman amphitheatre as they were right between the two points. So there was my plan for my last day!

To get to Tower Bridge, I rode the Bakerloo Line to Baker Street, then the Jubilee Line to London Bridge. There, I wandered around for a bit as the area was interesting.

The Shard rises above London Bridge Station.

This was an interesting foot path. Don’t want to misstep!

First glimpse of Tower Bridge.

The Gherkin at last!

A lot of folks think this is London Bridge, but it really is called the Tower Bridge.

The Tower of London.

Before crossing the bridge, I decided to explore this unusual street, Shad Thames.

So much history in these worn steps…

I think the Gherkin is rather beautiful…

I hadn’t had coffee or breakfast yet and was starting to get peckish. I passed this restaurant on the way to a café that looked promising.

Found a Café Rouge on the St. Katharine Dock and enjoyed breakfast while looking at the activity on the quay.

Pain aux raisins and an Americano count as breakfast when you’re on vacation and spending a lot of time on your feet! The pastry was not what I was expecting at all, but dang was it yummy! I was surprised when the bill came since the coffee was about £3 and the pastry about the same, but my bill was only £3.85 with the service charge. Must be a coffee and pastry deal. I’m trying not to freak out over prices (and doing a really good job of it), but that was appreciated.