Toad in the Hole

A few final thoughts about London.

I found a new pub food that I really like. Toad in the Hole is a dish with sausages, mashed potatoes, and vegetables in a Yorkshire pudding. I tried Toad in the Hole at The Sherlock Holmes pub on Northumberland Avenue.


With everyone having cell phones, the traditional London phone booths looked lonely.


And, one of the great walks in London is to start at Westminster Abby and make your way up to Trafalgar Square. You pass Big Ben, 10 Downing Street, and the Horse Guards. A thousand years of history in a 15 minute stroll.

The Globe Theatre

Until this week, I thought that the best place in the world to see Shakespeare was Stratford upon Avon. I was wrong. There is nothing that comes close to the Globe Theatre in London.

It is common to see a Shakespeare play set in the 18th, 19th, or 20th century. The plots are timeless. But there is something special about seeing a play performed the way it would have been in Elizabethan times.

I was struck by the intimacy of the Globe theater. Most of the audience sits on benches. I had a chair in one of the Gentleman's boxes and so had a view of both the stage and the audience.


My gaze was drawn to the "groundlings" who were standing through the performance. They were enthralled, and I could imagine what it must have been like to see and hear the play when it was first performed.

And as good luck would have it, I got to hear "and as good luck would have it" because it is a line from The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Chowki

As I was wandering around the neighborhoods off Regent street, I reached the point where I couldn’t make a decision about dinner. I passed some pubs, a Thai place, and a Modern Euro place. I felt like I was walking around searching for a needle in a haystack when I passed Chowki.

I noticed the sign for the pre-theater dinner special and thought I’d check it out. Chicken Tikka as a starter, Lamb as a main, rice, nan, and dessert. That sounded great; so in I went.

The tables are communal style which I didn’t mind. It was just starting to fill up, so I had enough room. The food was flavorful, and the service was friendly. All in all, it was a great bargain. I’ll put this one on my list of places to visit again.

Regent Street

On my way to dinner, I took a walk up Regent Street.

As you stand in Piccadilly Circus, you can't help but notice it; the beautiful street that curves away in the distance.

My girls love to shop; I don't. So, for them, I took pictures as I walked up the street. Needless to say, I looked like some kind of fashion spy taking pictures of the window displays.

Let's start with a nice dress.


And, for those who (including me) who have now had enough shopping, there is a nice pastry shop to get a treat.


Back to shopping. How about a handbag.


And some shoes.


And more clothes.


And after walking Regent Street, I was hungry and ready to eat. More on that later.

Mushy Peas

I like pub food, and you can find pubs all over London. The picture above is a pub in the West End. The picture below is near St. Paul's.

It took me a while to crack the code of getting food in a pub. When you go in, you first pick out a table, then go to the bar to order your meal. You tell the bartender where you are sitting, and they will bring your meal. And you pay the bartender up front.


My favorite pub foods are fish-n-chips and bangers-n-mash (sausages and mashed potatoes). But yesterday, I was in the mood for fish. I looked at the menu and decided that I'd try the "mushy peas" with my dinner.

I admit that I picked the "mushy peas" mostly because I really wanted to see what would come out. And, I have to say that I don't quite get it. I ate all of the fish and only a couple of bites of those mushy peas.

Heathrow Express

I arrived in London this morning after one of those "red eye" flights. The flight from Boston to London takes about the same amount of time as San Francisco to Boston. But, we arrived at 6:30am GMT which is 1:30am EDT. Needless to say, I was pretty groggy.

Thank heavens for the Heathrow Express. You can take the train right from the airport, and in 15 minutes, you are in Paddington Station in central London.

A quick taxi ride, and I was able to drop off my luggage the hotel. I walked past Trafalgar Square and found a place to get breakfast.


The Full English Breakfast seemed like the thing to order. And, I even ate the mushrooms.