United Airlines sucks. Don't use them. We tried them for some shuttle flights to SF and Portland in the past and were disappointed with their "cattle car" attitude. They had the best travel times though so we decided to chance their 777s - how bad could an international flight be? Well, sad to say the same cheap attitude has taken over their international flights as well. The class system is in all its glory -- great-looking first class seats with full lounge chairs and all sorts of remote control electronics followed by a so-so "economy upgrade" section followed by the worst -- the "cattle car" section, aka "economy"...I felt like we were in a 3rd world country - actually nothing in any of our SE Asian flights from last year could compare to the misery of this flight.Enough of that.
We made it in and, after fumbling around a bit trying to get an "Oyster Card" for the subway (credit card machines weren't working, luckily we had over 100 GBP we bought from a friend who just been in London a few weeks ago)we checked the map and waited for the train which was going to take us to the Gloucester stop where our friends' swank pad in the Kensington area was. It was most amusing to see that we would be on the "Cockfoster's" line and we laughed everytime the lusty-voiced female announcer mentioned it...Met our friends Issy, Roger and their children, Jason and Maya then walked over to Kensington Park....walking through there we see a lot of British policemen and women standing near the exits. It seems a "knife tackler" was lurking about (see photo) and they felt compelled to warn people... felt exhausted but went over to the V&A Museum ...great, amazing place...started 
watching a film on Victorian times but started falling asleep! Walked out of the viewing area and went through a few exhibits including fashion history, a small SE Asian gallery (mainly devoted to Buddhas of various countries), and a handful of galleries focusing on British cultural artifacts (including the "Great Bed of Ware" - see photo)
With the children falling asleep we crossed the street went back to their pad, hung out for a bit more, then hit the sack, knowing full well that a long day was awaiting us.
watching a film on Victorian times but started falling asleep! Walked out of the viewing area and went through a few exhibits including fashion history, a small SE Asian gallery (mainly devoted to Buddhas of various countries), and a handful of galleries focusing on British cultural artifacts (including the "Great Bed of Ware" - see photo)Left the museum and began walking around the upscale South Kensington neighborhood -- partially just to stay awake since we were exhausted but did not want to suffer from jet lag the next day. Laura spotted a cute square (Thurloe Square) with beautiful buildings just south of the V&A so we took a walk around it and snapped some photos. Charles encouraged Laura NOT to look into the windows of the residences in the area, but she 
couldn't resist because the interiors looked so sumptuous. She swore she saw ghosts of Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman walking out of one of the townhomes (nod to "Gaslight" - this will surely be the first of many movie references in this blog). Then we came across an old red phone booth which, of course, we had to take a picture of. Laura was shocked to see postcards of escort services plastered all over the inside. On our way back to Issy & Roger's, we passed by some great pubs and shops which made us even more excited to be in London and start exploring.
We decided to go to Issy & Roger's local pub, the Gloucester Arms (briefly mentioned on this site as "a stolid affair") , for dinner that night. We were looking forward to some authentic pub food and tasty beer. It was fun for all of us to go together, including the kids, which is something you don't see in the US too often. We got a kick out of bringing Maya up to the bar with us to order food and drinks. (Of course we didn't order drinks for her!) Laura had one of the meat pies of the day which was quite tasty with a nice, flaky crust. Charles had fish and chips. All of our meals were superior to any pub fare we've had in the US, and the beer selection was great. We stayed for a while, quaffing a few pints and hearing about Issy & Roger's time in London. Roger amused us with tales of cultural differences including one story 
about a co-worker asking him to join him for a "swift half." Roger had no idea as to what the gent was referring to and it took a few amusing moments of repetition and explaining for the guy to convey that he wanted Roger to join him for a "quick half pint of beer"...
couldn't resist because the interiors looked so sumptuous. She swore she saw ghosts of Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman walking out of one of the townhomes (nod to "Gaslight" - this will surely be the first of many movie references in this blog). Then we came across an old red phone booth which, of course, we had to take a picture of. Laura was shocked to see postcards of escort services plastered all over the inside. On our way back to Issy & Roger's, we passed by some great pubs and shops which made us even more excited to be in London and start exploring.
We decided to go to Issy & Roger's local pub, the Gloucester Arms (briefly mentioned on this site as "a stolid affair") , for dinner that night. We were looking forward to some authentic pub food and tasty beer. It was fun for all of us to go together, including the kids, which is something you don't see in the US too often. We got a kick out of bringing Maya up to the bar with us to order food and drinks. (Of course we didn't order drinks for her!) Laura had one of the meat pies of the day which was quite tasty with a nice, flaky crust. Charles had fish and chips. All of our meals were superior to any pub fare we've had in the US, and the beer selection was great. We stayed for a while, quaffing a few pints and hearing about Issy & Roger's time in London. Roger amused us with tales of cultural differences including one story about a co-worker asking him to join him for a "swift half." Roger had no idea as to what the gent was referring to and it took a few amusing moments of repetition and explaining for the guy to convey that he wanted Roger to join him for a "quick half pint of beer"...With the children falling asleep we crossed the street went back to their pad, hung out for a bit more, then hit the sack, knowing full well that a long day was awaiting us.
No comments:
Post a Comment