London

Rugby and Steel Drums in London

The staple picture of Big Ben

After a short train ride from Edinburgh, I’ve found myself back in one of the most international cities in all of Europe: London, England.  Though the city is enormous and spread out over a massive area of land (divided by the River Thames), it is surprisingly easy to explore it’s many sites using the bus systems or the famous Underground — known as “The Tube.”
And as an added bonus, I was able to crash with a few very kind and hospitable friends for the duration of my stay, so no more creaky hostel beds and water-saving showers (yay!).  Thanks again, Mark and Lauren!  This was particularly nice, too, in that every person I’ve interacted with on the trip so far has been a stranger I just met for the first time — so seeing a few familiar faces was more than a welcomed sight.
I won’t bore you with details about the city or its history, as England is usually one of the most familiar countries to Americans, but I will still provide you with a series of pictures of the major sites for your enjoyment, which will commence now:

Houses of Parliament

The Eros Statue in the center of Picadilly Circus

The Tower Bridge over the River Thames

Trafalgar Square with Big Ben in the distance

Westminster Abbey (or more importantly, where Prince William and Kate were married)

The Tower of London

The Eye of London through the trees (basically a huge Ferris wheel)

If you happen to visit London when it’s raining, as I did, two great alternative options are the British Museum and the National Gallery — both of which offer the very budget-friendly admission price of nothing.  The former museum houses a vast collection of culturally significant pieces from across the world (though there has been some controversy over their unwillingness to repatriate several of these), whereas the later is a magnificant art museum displaying works from the 14th through the 20th century from such artists as Monet, Seurat, Da Vinci, Van Eyck, and Botticelli.

Entrance to the British Museum

The ceiling of the Great Court room

The Rosetta Stone

Reliefs from the Parthenon

Three statues of Buddha

The National Gallery as seen from Trafalgar Square (unfortunately they don’t allow pictures inside, so this is the most I can give)

Besides seeing the sites and doing all of the touristy things (riding a double decker bus, getting your pricture taken with a British guard, going into a red phone booth, etc.), I was lucky enough to be visiting during the finals of the Rugby Carnegie Challenge Cup held at Wembley Stadium.  Admittedly, we had to read up on the rules of rugby before going and still didn’t quite follow all of the action, but we had a blast anyway.

The entrance to Wembley Stadium

The interior of Wembley

The Wiegen Warriors in red were able to take down the Leeds Rhinos to take home the cup

See, we really did go! (and that is Mark and Lauren with me, by the way – they are the hospitable friends I spoke about earlier)

And fresh off of the Fringe Festivals in Edinburgh, I arrived just in time for Europe’s largest street fair: the 2-day dance festival that is Carnival in the posh Knotting Hill neighborhood.  Eventhough the official Carnival originated in Trinidad and Tobago and is generally celebrated throughout parts of the Carribbean and Brazil, the English folk still like to dance to the rhythm of samba and steel drums (though they wait for August, as the weather in London in February can be a bit tough).  The festival included a series of music and DJ stations, dozens of floats circulating through the crowd blasting music, and hundreds of food vendors serving up the likes of Jerk Chicken and Goat Curry.

Costumes ‘a plenty

The festival draws in millions of party-goers and revelers, and takes over the streets of the entire neighborhood

Another view of the crowd

It wouldn’t be Carnival without a steel drum band

Dancers following the parade procession

I was hoping for some Shark ‘n Bake, but the Jerk Chicken turned out to be a pretty tasty back-up option

England is also a great city from a culinary perspective (markets seem to be on every corner), so I’ve got another post due out in the next day or two concerning that which can be consumed or imbibed.  And further, I’m catching a plane to Copenhagen, Denmark tomorrow for a few days, after which I’m planning on heading Southwest to Amsterdam, Netherlands followed up with a beer tour through Belgium, and then into France and Spain.  Until then, cheers

London

Fish, Chips, Markets, and Cider

An example of the ever-present Chip Shop

Anywhere you go in the UK (and Ireland, for that matter, too), you’ll notice the overwhelming abundance of Chip Shops.  There’s one on virtually every corner offering cheap, filling, and quick fare, although not the best for the waistline.  I’ve held off on indulging my hankering for Fish and Chips long enough, but now that I’m in London, the time has finally come:

Cod (the classic), Haddock, and Callimari versions, served up with ketchup, tartar sauce, and malt vinegar (and rolled in a newpaper cone if taken away)

Besides the classic English dish above, one great aspect to London’s food culture is the presence of several various excellent markets spread throughout the city.  These usually give you the best insight into that culture’s tastes and preferences, in addition to bringing in some of the best meat, seafood, and produce that can be had in the city.

A fruit and veg market in Soho

One of the more well-known markets is the Borrough Market, located across the River Thames, just South of the Tower of London:

The entrance to Borrough Market

Sausages and Cured Meats for sale

Enormous vats of simmering curries

Another shot of a fish stall – though beside this one, they’d happily shuck oysters for you on the spot!

Excuse me, but I believe I ordered the large oyster.

Turkish Delights in every conceivable flavor

Savory pies are another large part of English cuisine, though I’m not quite used to eating them cold yet

Another market called Old Spitalfields Market, across the river and a short hike from Borrough Market

Though Borrough Market was the most popular and most well-organized of the various places I visited and Old Spitalfields the most stylish and trendy (offering vintage clothes and artistic knick-knacks), my personal favorite happened to be the Broadway Market, a bit outside of the city center.  It was essentially just stalls thrown up along a street, but the food here couldn’t be beat as it took on an edgier, more international flavor.

Show me the way, o’ all knowing sign…

The market in action

Yay for Pork Buns!

I’ll always say yes when offered free samples of Iberico Ham

Scotch Eggs for Sale - a soft-boiled egg wrapped in sausage or bacon, then breaded and fried

I opted for the Black Pudding variety (blood sausage)

Mark and I with our Vietnamese Coffees (Ca Phe Sua), which they should just go ahead and rename “Crack”

A bowl of Pho Bo (one of my favorites) being prepared for me

A whole pig being roasted in plain sight? I guess that means I’ll have to check it out…

Oh yeah, that’s a nice close-up!

Another interesting aspect of London’s cuisine is the significant presence of Indian Restaurants.  From a historical perspective, I’m sure this is as a result of the fact that India was once under the control of Great Britain, and many of the English picked up a taste for curries at that time and have held on to it ever since.  Regardless, the culmination of the Indian cuisine in London lies along the Brick Lane neighborhood, otherwise known as ”The Curry Mile.”  For several neon-lit city blocks, each storefront is another Indian restaurant serving various curries, vindaloos, tikki masalas, and copious amounts of naan bread.  And because there are so many so close, each has its own tout outside, offering deals to entice passerbys to enter their establishment and away from others.  It is a bit surreal to have this experience in downtown London, but it turned out to be a lot of fun seeing who could offer the best deal.  I’m not sure what the going rate was, but we finally settled on 30% off the total bill and 2 free drinks for each person (pretty good in my opinion).

The neon streets of Brick Lane

London also has quite a bit to offer for those looking to imbibe a few adult beverages.  And for the second straight country (if you consider Scotland a separate entity), I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the fantastic beer selection.  And for the first time, I’ve run across multiple pubs that stock full menus of Belgian Ales (some of my favorites), so I’ve been a happy camper.

Much like I found in Edinburgh, cask ales seem to dominate the scene

Despite the glass’s attempt to fool you, the beer on the left is actually a Trappiste Tripel (Chimay, to be exact)

The bottle selection at the Borrough Market

After our day out at Carnival, we decided to see what all the buzz what about and checked out a Cider Fest at a pub just down the street from where we were staying.  Although I didn’t snag any pictures, it was an eye-opener to try a large variety of craft ciders (though I’m probably still going to stick with ales, when given the chance).

A scene from several floors underground at Ye Old Cheshire Cheese, a pub founded in the mid-1500′s

Nightlife in the bustling Covent Garden neighborhood