london: day one

The Tree Room at Waxy O'Connors, featuring a preserved peach tree.

I love London. LOVE it. Love, love London. Besides New York City, London is my favorite city in the world. My coworker and I got a last-minute package to London through Travelocity.com and paid $1,200 each for airfare AND five nights at the Hilton Park Place. Sooooo cheap. I had visited London three times before, but my coworker had never been there before.

Here we are, jet-lagged, trying to look deep and intense, and enjoying our first beers at Waxy O'Connors. Sorry for the blurry photo - I was holding the camera and trying to do the self-portrait thing. After a few beers, that's not so easy.

Here's what it looks like from the outside.


Our first beers in London - mine was a Caffrey's Irish ale, and hers was a Carlisle. 

Fish and chips with mushy peas. I love mushy peas! I must learn how to make them. The fish was served with malt vinegar and tartar sauce. It was heavenly. We were soooo hungry.

We left Waxy's in search of a pub recommended by our bartender: The Porterhouse in Covent Garden, and wandered into the Queen's Theatre to inquire about Les Miserables tickets. Aren't these just the greatest door handles? Ever?!

I love this photo - the blurred people walking, the wide angle lens distorting the building and making it appear to be tilting to the left, the general "off"-ness of the whole thing. I think it sums up the energy of the city that night.

This is another photo taken along our walk, near Chinatown.

Chinatown.

London phone booths, a pub, bicycles, and locals dressed in trendy clothes. What else do you need in life? 

The very cool Prince of Wales theatre, showing Mama Mia.

 

The Astrology Shop in Covent Garden, taken because it reminds me of Laura. 

Our final destination: the Porterhouse Pub, where I fell in love with the Porterhouse Red beer. And I mean FELL IN LOVE. It's the best red beer I've ever had. I would go back to London just to sit at the bar and have another pint. Someday I will.