The Pubs
No visit to England is complete without a visit to a traditional pub.
The first pub we tried was called The Blackbird Pub.
It was festive and warm inside and their ales were very good, though a bit hoppy for my tastes.
I ordered the bangers and mash:
While Tyson ordered the fish and chips.
They were both "lovely jubbly" or great, as we say in the U.S.
While we were there's I also got to try Pimm's, both the winter and the summer types. Winter Pimm's has a base of brandy, with added apple juice and orange peel. It can also be served cold with ginger ale and lemonade. Summer Pimm's has a base of gin and you add either ginger ale or lemonade to it. Both drinks are refreshing and quaffable. A Pimm's cup:
Another beverage I got to try for the first time was Rekorderlig's strawberry and lime cider. This is a sweet beverage and barely tastes like alcohol at all. It's like drinking a delicious soda that has a bit of alcohol in it.
We also got to try an English fry-up for breakfast while we were in London and it hit the spot:
Tourist Sights
Here are pictures of some of the touristy things we saw.
Big Ben:
Buckingham Palace:
This is the Queen's least favorite residence, apparently.
Trafalgar Square:
Westminster Abbey:
I enjoyed how creepy and gothic Westminster Abbey was, especially on a dark and rainy day.
Covent Garden:
Christmas Day-Charles Dickens Walk
For Christmas Day, we went on a walking tour of London and a guide told us about Dickens' life in London.
Dickens regularly walked around London, typically walking 10-20 miles at a time. During these walks he would gather inspiration for his books from the city.
This door knocker may have been the inspiration for Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) seeing Marley's face in his door knocker:
Here is the Lamb and Flag pub that Dickens frequented:
Here's "The Old Curiosity Shop" (maybe). Named after the Dickens novel, they thought this antique shop may have been the inspiration for the shop in the book:
After the tour, we had to find a place that was open on Christmas for dinner. We finally happened across a French restaurant:
I got the coq a vin, which was excellent.
Tyson got the steak frites and he thought it was very good also.
Jack the Ripper Tour
I don't have any good pictures of this tour because it was dark out, but this made for a spooky atmosphere. Our guide was an awesome Scottish man. He was very respectful of all the victims of the ripper and he painted vivid pictures with his words. He was a great story teller; I felt like I was walking the streets of London in Victorian times. Here's a dark image I captured of the Ten Bells Pub, where some of the Ripper's victims would drink. You can't see much, but maybe you can imagine how scary it would be at night.
Here's a picture of the gas lights one would expect to find in the Victorian era (the city keeps up some of the gas lights to this day):
Friends
One of the coolest parts of this trip was that I got to meet my mom's longtime pen pal, Tracy. They had been writing letters and talking on the phone to each other since I was a little girl. My mom would show me and my sister pictures of Tracy's sons and tell us that we would marry them when we grew up! I regret that my mom passed away before she and Tracy could ever meet in person, but I'm so thankful that I was given this opportunity to meet her. She is a sweet person and a wonderful friend to my mom.
Farewell for now!
P.S. if you want one of the most delicious burgers of your life, go to a place called Byron's.
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