I'm loving my new jacket - I took the liner from my snowboard jacket to use on this trip. It's got so many pockets - perfect for guidebooks, notepads, pens, and miscellaneous backpacker crap. Breakfast was a blueberry muffin, OJ, croissant with cheese and lettuce, and a strawberry breakfast bar. All of it was pretty blah. I've been tucking away packs of instant creamer and sugar to use in the London apartment we have rented.
I landed and hopped onto the Gatwick Express for the city centre (or so I thought ...). Turns out I was on the wrong train, and the ticket I purchased a few weeks before on-line wasn't valid here. The problem was that I forgot the printout at home and had no proof of purchase.
Normally on the Gatwick Express, you can just give them the credit card used for payment ... but that wouldn't work here. The lady was really nice about it - she was willing to let it go, but the problem was that you needed a ticket to exit the station after. She managed to print off some free ticket for me that allowed me to exit. She could have easily fined me or made me pay for another ticket, but didn't. I thanked her and wished her a merry Xmas after.
It was foggy and cold as I stepped out of the train station. I am NOT dressed appropriately for this weather!!! I arrived at the apartment at 7 or 8 AM to drop off my bag. There were some issues - the guy had two "Wongs" booked and wasn't sure which apartment was mine. I told him no big deal, I'd come back later to sort it out once his manager was awake. Off to sightsee until 12:30, when Ben and Ha (hereafter referred to as B&H to save typing!) were due to arrive.
Off to Whitechapel and Eastern London, areas I haven't really seen before. Not really touristy, more of an area for locals. I saw a travel show before leaving for this trip, and they went to this incredible mosque in London. I DEFINITELY wanted to see that this time ... but I didn't! I went to the wrong mosque! Apparently it was in Neasden, and not Whitechapel. D'oh! The entire area was dead - it was too early in the morning. The art gallery was also closed today.
Over to Bricklane - home to much of London's Indian community. There was a flea market (more of a junk market) and was a decent spot for a stroll. I had a horrible pain au chocolat - I should've known better. It was cold out, so the pain au chocolat didn't look too tasty. It was big, not flaky or crisp, and didn't have enough chocolate. But I couldn't resist - it's been far too long since I've had one! I was pretty tired as I strolled around London this morning - I'm used to arriving in Europe when there is daylight, but the darkness made me feel like I arrived in the middle of the night. So far I'm not terribly excited about being in London, but that will probably change once I feel a little more awake.
Off to Spitalfield's market - awesome! Lots of stalls selling funky things and more importantly, LOTS of food vendors! And even more importantly, LOTS OF PASTRY VENDORS!!! The selection was a little bit repetitive, but all looked good. Incredible Italian-style sandwiches (prosciutto/fresh mozzarella/olive oil, tomato/fresh mozzarella/olive oil/balsamic vinegar/basil - beautiful in their simplicity!), salads, cakes, cookies, crepes ... I'm always repulsed by the price of things in London once I do the conversions in my head, but I simply couldn't resist getting some food.
I wandered around until it was time to return to the apartment. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get enough cash from the ATM to pay for it (there's usually a daily limit), but it worked. The apartment was a little dumpy and definitely not worth $270 CAD/night! A lot of wear and tear in the apartment - no coffee maker, dish soap, dish sponges/brushes, the toilets didn't flush very well, cold (radiators didn't work very well), black mold in the shower ... but this is London, after all - there is no such thing as good value for accommodations here when compared to other European countries. There is only relative value ... and I guess for what we were getting, it wasn't terrible for London.
B&H were late - problems with their flights. They quickly freshened up and left the apartment at 1:30 - I desperately needed a nap (only 20 minutes, though I lay in bed for another hour after). It's unusual that I rest upon arriving in Europe, but my whole body just felt totally out of whack. Normally, I arrive in the afternoon and don't let myself sleep so that I can adjust quicker to the time difference. But usually I don't have to make it through an entire day before going to bed. I didn't want to leave the comfy bed - but sightseeing awaits!!!
Covent Garden was even busier than normal, and even better than I remembered. I needed some mulled wine to warm myself up. I later ducked into the Transport museum to warm up even more. I managed to see the museum for free - I didn't realize it was paid entry and stumbled in through the automatic doors at the exit as people were leaving. But I didn't stick around long, thinking that I could return later. But when I came back I realized that it was paid entry so didn't bother. It wouldn't have been worth the price of admission anyway.
In addition to the regular market in Covent Garden, numerous Christmas food stalls were set-up. Lots of baked goods, cheeses, deli meats, all manners of food - very tempting. It would have been a great place for dinner, but it closes at 5 or 6 and I wasn't scheduled to meet B&H until 7.
They had numerous special performances scheduled for the weeks leading up to Christmas. The first performance by "Strange Fruit" was amazing. They're from Australia and they perform on four-metre-high poles. I guess the inspiration behind them was wheat, swaying in the wind. The precision and synchronization was astonishing. Check out the pics and videos. The Heliosphere was crap, however. I later found out from B&H that I missed a third performance by "Cirque U Aerial", but it looked like something similar to Cirque du Soleil so it probably wasn't anything I haven't seen before.
I was getting too cold walking around outside, so I used an internet cafe to warm up. I did a quick stroll around the area to scope out dinner options and noticed Sofra, a Turkish restaurant. It's actually quite well known and is in numerous travel guides. They're renowned for their set menu of mezes - almost like the Turkish equivalent of Spanish Tapas, small plates of food that are good for sharing.
I met up with B&H and they liked the idea when I suggested it. It turned out to be a great choice. We stuffed ourselves - check out the pictures for the play-by-play. After dinner, everybody was quite exhausted from the day of travel so we ordered some tea and Turkish coffee. The tiny cups of thick, soup-like Turkish coffee were good - but pretty disgusting at the end. It's pretty much finely ground coffee mixed with water, so you're left with some sludge at the bottom of the cup. The caffeine did us good, because all the coffee grounds we swallowed continued to steep in our stomachs, releasing more and more caffeine for the rest of the evening.
We definitely needed a walk after that massive meal. Though cold, it was a nice after-dinner stroll. The Trocadero, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar and Leicester squares ... we covered a lot of ground. The much-hyped Christmas lights at Regent Street were a bust. Afterward, we picked up some groceries for the next few days. Our apartment is located in Marble Arch, an area home to a large Middle-Eastern population. It's a cool place to be in - though not touristy, it's vibrant and packed with locals at all hours.
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