We were still a bit tired out from the day before, so we decided to stay in and sleep as late as we could. It still wasn’t very long though – we were leaving the hotel by 7 a.m. Our first stop was to find a supermarket in Camden Town. We took a train there and then walked a block or two to a big American-sized supermarket called Sainsbury’s. We love to explore supermarkets when we go to other countries, and this was a good one. I was really surprised how many of the items were pre-packaged/ready to eat foods. They had ingredients and such also, but the prepackaged foods took up a considerable percentage of the store shelf space. The buzzwords in London seemed to be “fair trade” and “organic”, with just about every item having some seal proclaiming these words. We also saw some big packages full of scotch eggs – I love those! I didn’t know they were so popular in England.
After looking at all the food on the shelves it was time to go get some breakfast. Across from the train station we found a little corner sandwich shop that was also serving breakfast, and we had an omelette and a ham/cheese panini. It was filling, but not altogether exciting. It was very nice to take a slow breakfast on a busy street corner and watch London passing by outside the windows.
We dropped off our groceries at the hotel, and then got back on the train and made our way to the British Museum. I was surprised to find that all the museums in London are free of charge, and with the British Museum you get a lot of cost performance out of your zero pounds. We spent more than an hour there covering only some highlights of the museum, but it was clear that it could take days and days to completely see everything. The main hall was especially well designed and impressive, and we also made our way to the Japan section, even though we just came from the real thing a few days ago. There were so many interesting exhibits, but my favorites were the Ramses II statue, a statue from Easter Island, and also we could see a big piece of the Rosetta Stone. Those Brits are real collectors!
We had pretty tired feet by the end of that, so we stopped at a pub right outside the museum to recharge ourselves with beer. They had an interesting toilet that was located underground beneath the ground-level pub. While I was in there I noticed a big poster to give information to people about premature ejaculation and new treatments that were available. I was startled later when Kuniko mentioned that the same poster was in the women’s bathroom. Interesting conversation ensued!
Next stop was Piccadilly Circus, where we went to afternoon tea at a hotel restaurant called “Brumus”. Kuniko had found out about it in her Japanese guidebook, and since we had made a reservation the previous day it was easy to get a table. We had dressed up a bit compared to our usual casual attire, but we needn’t have bothered – almost every other customer in there was dressed extremely casually. I sensed the atmosphere was a little different from what Kuniko expected, but we still had a great time and really enjoyed the champagne, tea and snacks. The food was especially well chosen to match the tea and champagne, and it was nice to eat upscale for a change. Among the bite-sized dishes we enjoyed were lobster rolls, cherry tomatoes filled with chutney, and scones with jam and clotted cream. It was a very impressive meal!
Once again we were a little tired after all the tea (and champagne) so we made it back to our hotel for a late afternoon nap. I was really happy with the location of our hotel – being near King’s Cross station made transportation all over London a snap. One bad point was that there was a playground nearby, so the kids would run around screaming and freaking out during the afternoon, which cut into our nap time a little.
After our short sleep in the room we decided to keep dinner local, and we walked a little to the southwest to visit a pub that was more out-of-the-way than some of the touristy ones we’d been to already. This pub was definitely a local’s place, with gruff owners and lots of people talking with friends both inside and out. We had roast lamb and chicken mushroom pie, along with our cold beers. I liked the atmosphere of the place, kind of like what you imagine a local pub to be like. Quite a bit different from Applebee’s!
After the heavy dinner we decided to be active and take the train to see the night versions of Big Ben and the houses of Parliament. The subway system served us well again – we took the Circle Line around to Westminster. The advertisements in the tube stations were really well done. Some had big digital screens with interesting video ads; others were simple eye-catching displays along the escalator. We even saw an ad for Martin Freeman playing Richard III in a play in London – not just a hobbit anymore.
We arrived on the river Thames and walked across it to a little park where we could observe the buildings as darkness fell. Unfortunately darkness was falling a little slower than we expected, and it was a little cool while we waited on the park bench. More opportunity for us to snuggle, though! It finally became dark enough for them to turn on the lights around 8:45 pm, and we were finally rewarded for our patience. I could take a few pictures, and then we walked on.
On our walk to Victoria station we passed Westminster Abbey and it appeared that there was some kind of big event going on. There were many men and women in various military uniforms all lined up on the street to go inside, and later we found out that the night was the hundredth anniversary of the first World War. The media was there as well, covering the event and taking pictures of some of the Royals inside.
Back at King’s Cross station we did a little shopping for juice and waters for the next morning, and I lined up at the local convenience store, M&S (Marks and Spencer). A little pudgy kid bypassed the line and went all the way to the front. He even looked over at me standing in the front of the line, but still put his items in front of the cashier. Luckily the cashier sent him to the back of the line, but I was really surprised that the kid tried that move. Most stores in London had a great system where the first person in line had only to wait for a digital sign to flash saying which number register was available, and then you just walked up to it. You didn’t have to check the progress of each of the registers to determine when they would be available. It was a nice system that let you turn off your brain, and I’m all for it happening more often in Japan.
Finally we made our way back to the hotel to conclude the day. We’ve been really active out on the street, so we’re coming home tired every night. That’s got to be a good thing considering the calories we’re taking in!
