After the tough yet rewarding week in Finland, my European Odyssey continued to London. As I arrived in England, I was greeted by blue skies, sunshine and a temperature of over 20 degrees, much to my astonishment. Having spent the day at our office in luvely Farnborough, I jumped on the train down to London – as I was in a hurry to make it to Jawad’s leaving do.
Having arrived in Waterloo, I then jumped on the tube and headed down to Kensington, and checked into our hotel. Barely haven gotten my bearings, I sped back to the underground, and headed to Marble arch for the restaurant Jawad had booked. Turned out everybody else had actually cancelled last-minute – so it ended up being just the two of us! Of well, at least it gave us the opportunity to catch up on the latest, over some very tasty Persian food. After the meal we headed down to a bar just off Oxford street opposite to Selfridges for another leaving do – this time Rosario’s (a friend of Jawad’s whom I’d actually only met the same day!). After a couple of drinks there it was time to head back to the hotel where Mathilde was waiting (she had just arrived from Nice). What a day!
On Saturday, I got up bright ‘n early, and started the day with a jogging session (practice for the Cote d’Azur marathon – honest I’ve already signed up!). A very nice area for a morning run actually, Kensington… I again observed one thing I really like about London – I’m betting there’s no city of the same size in the world with as much parklands and gardens. Having had my dose of exercise, we grabbed a quick breakkie in Starbucks (actually another “institution” I miss from England – even though Starbucks isn’t even English, of course) and headed off to explore the city. Having checked out the wildlife in St. James’s Park (in addition to the curious squirrels that are a standard feature, we also ran into a very sociable pelican, who was unworriedly wandering amongst the crowds) and explored the culinary delights of Selfridge. Having considered delicacies such as Weasel coffee, Monkey picked tea, Mopani worms and Giant toasted ants (which apparently have a “nutty, bacony taste”), we got all boring and settled for some Jelly Beans. After this culinary exploration it was time to head down to Leicester square, to meet up with Winston and Weng, who kindly had made their way all the way from Coventry to meet up.
After a very tasty Chinese lunch, we wandered through Whitehall (past 10 Downing Street, of course) and Westminster down to Waterloo, where the plan was to meet a whole bunch of other old mates for merrymaking! After a few drinks (including one or two vodka shots two many – thanks to our dear Polish friend Krzysztof) in Arch One, we headed down to Southbank for a nice dinner at the Riviera restaurant (nice food, great views over the Thames, more vodka – what more could one ask for?). After another couple of drinks in a bar near Waterloo, we stumbled back to Trafalgar square from where we caught a night bus to our hotel.
As the glorious weather continued on Sunday, we decided to do some more outdoors activities, and spent the morning walking around Canary Warf. It’s one of the parts of London that I’ve always wanted to see – and it was worth the trip for sure. Canary Warf used to be a very depressed part of London, but was redeveloped during the 80’s and 90’s – and rather successfully so if you ask me (the three highest buildings in the UK are also located in Canary Warf).
After a picnic lunch purchased at Pret-a-Manger (I also miss their tasty sandwiches), we headed down to Waterloo for our rendez-vous with Russell and Martha. After a pleasant walk in Regent’s Park, and a jug of Pimm’s (another English institution) at one of the boats moored off the Thames, it was time for dinner. This time we picked Wagamama, a great chain of Japanese restaurants. Having devoured the tasty bowl of noodles, we finished off the night with a typically philosophical discussion about life, cinema, and other important things in life with Ed at the NFT bar. As I was having my pint at the bar, it actually occurred to me that we had not yet been in a proper English pub all weekend – just bars basically. This oversight was something I wowed to remedy over the coming days…
Monday still counted as a weekend for us – since it was a public holiday in France (or rather, a day of solidarity, which means you basically have to take it off – somehow typically French?). As the weather was STILL excellent (that’s already the 4th day in a row – what’s going on here?) we decided it was the perfect day for visiting Kew Gardens (needless to stay, I started the day with a jogging session again, this time in Hyde Park). It’s one of the major London attractions we never made it to during our years in old Blighty. It’s the most popular garden in England (that’s saying something – the English are crazy about their gardens) – and I have to admit it was probably worth the shocking entry fee (13 quid – come on!). We had a very pleasant day walking around amongst the flowers and the trees and the bees… (I must be getting old or something?). A nice and peaceful way to end a great weekend!
Having arrived in Waterloo, I then jumped on the tube and headed down to Kensington, and checked into our hotel. Barely haven gotten my bearings, I sped back to the underground, and headed to Marble arch for the restaurant Jawad had booked. Turned out everybody else had actually cancelled last-minute – so it ended up being just the two of us! Of well, at least it gave us the opportunity to catch up on the latest, over some very tasty Persian food. After the meal we headed down to a bar just off Oxford street opposite to Selfridges for another leaving do – this time Rosario’s (a friend of Jawad’s whom I’d actually only met the same day!). After a couple of drinks there it was time to head back to the hotel where Mathilde was waiting (she had just arrived from Nice). What a day!
On Saturday, I got up bright ‘n early, and started the day with a jogging session (practice for the Cote d’Azur marathon – honest I’ve already signed up!). A very nice area for a morning run actually, Kensington… I again observed one thing I really like about London – I’m betting there’s no city of the same size in the world with as much parklands and gardens. Having had my dose of exercise, we grabbed a quick breakkie in Starbucks (actually another “institution” I miss from England – even though Starbucks isn’t even English, of course) and headed off to explore the city. Having checked out the wildlife in St. James’s Park (in addition to the curious squirrels that are a standard feature, we also ran into a very sociable pelican, who was unworriedly wandering amongst the crowds) and explored the culinary delights of Selfridge. Having considered delicacies such as Weasel coffee, Monkey picked tea, Mopani worms and Giant toasted ants (which apparently have a “nutty, bacony taste”), we got all boring and settled for some Jelly Beans. After this culinary exploration it was time to head down to Leicester square, to meet up with Winston and Weng, who kindly had made their way all the way from Coventry to meet up. 
After a very tasty Chinese lunch, we wandered through Whitehall (past 10 Downing Street, of course) and Westminster down to Waterloo, where the plan was to meet a whole bunch of other old mates for merrymaking! After a few drinks (including one or two vodka shots two many – thanks to our dear Polish friend Krzysztof) in Arch One, we headed down to Southbank for a nice dinner at the Riviera restaurant (nice food, great views over the Thames, more vodka – what more could one ask for?). After another couple of drinks in a bar near Waterloo, we stumbled back to Trafalgar square from where we caught a night bus to our hotel.
As the glorious weather continued on Sunday, we decided to do some more outdoors activities, and spent the morning walking around Canary Warf. It’s one of the parts of London that I’ve always wanted to see – and it was worth the trip for sure. Canary Warf used to be a very depressed part of London, but was redeveloped during the 80’s and 90’s – and rather successfully so if you ask me (the three highest buildings in the UK are also located in Canary Warf). 
After a picnic lunch purchased at Pret-a-Manger (I also miss their tasty sandwiches), we headed down to Waterloo for our rendez-vous with Russell and Martha. After a pleasant walk in Regent’s Park, and a jug of Pimm’s (another English institution) at one of the boats moored off the Thames, it was time for dinner. This time we picked Wagamama, a great chain of Japanese restaurants. Having devoured the tasty bowl of noodles, we finished off the night with a typically philosophical discussion about life, cinema, and other important things in life with Ed at the NFT bar. As I was having my pint at the bar, it actually occurred to me that we had not yet been in a proper English pub all weekend – just bars basically. This oversight was something I wowed to remedy over the coming days…
Monday still counted as a weekend for us – since it was a public holiday in France (or rather, a day of solidarity, which means you basically have to take it off – somehow typically French?). As the weather was STILL excellent (that’s already the 4th day in a row – what’s going on here?) we decided it was the perfect day for visiting Kew Gardens (needless to stay, I started the day with a jogging session again, this time in Hyde Park). It’s one of the major London attractions we never made it to during our years in old Blighty. It’s the most popular garden in England (that’s saying something – the English are crazy about their gardens) – and I have to admit it was probably worth the shocking entry fee (13 quid – come on!). We had a very pleasant day walking around amongst the flowers and the trees and the bees… (I must be getting old or something?). A nice and peaceful way to end a great weekend! More pictures from our London weekend here.
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