Great Trip

We might not have had much time to plan, but we did have a guide book (which we hated, and replaced day one of the trip) and good international friends who gave us great ideas. We managed to make the most of every day, and came back to the hotel exhausted every night. The weather forecast didn't look so great. We thought every dry day might be our last, so we opted to walk as opposed to taking the tube. The result? Three full days of no rain, and two sore bodies. Our first walk was through Hyde Park. They had spots that looked JUST like what you picture when someone says "English garden." Gorgeous.














We saw and shopped Covent Garden, which was amazing. The highlights were Paul Smith and Ted Baker. Ryan got something, but I held back. I'm such the unemployed adult! Our goal was to have as much ethnic food as our stomachs could handle, and that day we had Portuguese, which I think was a first for me. We ended the night at Lamb and Flag. The book mentioned that it served "cask ale." Ryan forgot what it was called (and didn't mean for it to come out this way) but when trying to ask about the drink, he ended up saying "what do you guys have that's special?" The response was classic disdain. The bartender responded with something like "I don't know, we're one of the oldest pubs in London?" It was funnier than I can write... all night we kept asking each other, "so why are you so special?" Gotta love the American tourist.













We went to our first Michelin rated restaurant (thanks Mark). It was amazing. Totally worth it, even though we sat next to 15 year old spoiled brats looking like they came right off the Gossip Girls set. We were marveling at our luck, loving every spoonful of hot and sour soup, and they were complaining about how one time their driver was actually smoking at the party entrance. OMG!




















We saw the typical stuff... Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the list goes on.

















We went to the play, Billy Elliot. Ryan wasn't too excited about the picture... who knew that when NOT using a flash, your camera still spotlights the target? I didn't.



One of the absolute BEST parts of the trip was Borough Market. This made us the most jealous of people living in London (the list included stores open past 5:30, food choices besides pizza and pasta, and the English language). The market had homemade ale, great coffee, beautiful flowers, and food, food, and more food. We were so happy in this picture - loved every bit of that day.



The weirdest part of the trip was how we kept getting upgraded. Parts of the tube were closed the day we left, and we didn't have great options of getting to the airport. It was either take the tube, switch a few times, then take a series of buses. Or, a cab that would cost around 75 pounds (do the math). The hotel offered to get us a car, which would be cheaper than a cab, and more of a safe bet compared to the tube/bus combo. We went with it, and were picked up in a chauffeured Mercedes. After a silent "this can't be for us" face, we jumped right in. Then, we get to the airport and realized we were bumped up to business class! We deserved it though... WAY overpaid for our tickets since we only booked a few days before the trip. There was one other thing but I'm drawing a blank. We were sort of tallying them up as we went along. It's late here, so that might explain the memory gaps. We've actually just come back from another mini vacation, this time in Italy. I don't want to make you too jealous, so I'll save that post for tomorrow.