By Friday evening, I was definitely ready to get away... far, far away. And so I did just that. Kohl and I got to Sky Harbor a little after 5:30 p.m., and were settled into British Airways Flight 0288 direct to Heathrow by 8 p.m. "London for the weekend" hasn't been in my vocabulary since the days that I was dating Asher, but it still has a great appeal to me, even without the Essex boy.
London has always been a favorite of mine. I owe a lot of who I am to the city and have many incredible memories there. From laughing and joking with my German and British friends at the many pubs, clubbing from Covent Garden all the way up to Ongar, eating shawarmas hot off the skewer at Sami's Deli, watching the stars up in Epping Forest on a cold, clear night, running up Notting Hill at the stroke of midnight to bring in the new year, pretending to be guides in the Tate Modern, and simply chillin' in the tall summer grass of Hyde Park, eating ice cream with a Flake, watching the clouds roll by and smiling at the simple pleasures of life. I owe my first love to the city, and pretty much owe the biggest dream of my life to a small bookshop on Oxford Street, where I picked up Debra Veal's ocean rowing book. It didn't take much more than the tiring week behind me and a little James Blunt on the in-flight radio to fondly remind me of how much I really loved the time that I spent in the city and how happy I was to be going there.
After 10 hours, two movies, a couple of meals, and several cups of tea, we touched down shortly after 2 in the afternoon GMT at Terminal 4 and hopped on the Picadilly Line of the Tube to Central London. It was Kohl's first time in England, and we both enjoyed watching the quaint little townhouses with full flowering green spring gardens roll by before the train went underground. We found our way to Jury's on Great Russell Street near Covent Garden, unloaded our backpacks, and then headed back out to take in all that we could in the short time that we had in Old Blighty. Even though I hadn't been to London in a few years, it all came back to me, and I could alm
ost take the Tube to where I wanted to go without regard for the map. We made our first stop at Embankment along the Thames near the Golden Jubilee Bridges. From there we crossed the famous river and walked along the rain soaked streets past the London Eye (-sore, it kind of takes away from the beauty and history of the area, but that's just my opinion, and I haven't been up in it either). Then we crossed over the Westminster Bridge, admiring Parliment and Big Ben just as the skies opened up on us. We opted out of going to see Buckingham in the rain, and instead decided that a pub was a good way to get out of the rain. I knew of a good one down by the Tower Bridge, so we hopped back on the Tube to go find it. An advert positioned above us changed our minds though... there's just something about Jack the Ripper that is too inticing. Since we were headed for the Tower anyways, and the London Dungeon was just up the street from it, Kohl decided that we should go check it
out. I was stoked, as it was something that I had always wanted to see, but never had time or money to explore before. The London Dungeon is part museum and part reenactment of some of London's darkest history, including the plague, torture, witch trials, Sweeney Todd, Jack the Ripper, and the London Fire among many other things. Although gruesome at times and a bit dull at times (it was the end of the day, and you could tell that some of the actors were tired), it was definitely worth the 20 quid we paid for the hour and a half tour through the Dungeon, especially with the last part where we were all "hung" from the gallows (basically a free fall drop ride like you'd have at an amusement park). The looks on our faces when they dropped us were hilarious. When we got back out to the streets, the sun was just beginning to set, so we walked along towards the Tower Bridge. Although there were several pubs along the way that would have sufficed, by that time we were both getting pretty hungry and we had a free meal waiting for us back at the hotel. We walked back across the Thames on one of my favorite London landmarks, the Tower Bridge, and by the London Tower, and all of "new London" including the Gherkin (Swiss Re Building) befor
e going back underground and back to Jury's. Unfortunately, the restuarant of Jury's was about as far from British pub culture as we could have gotten. We were two of a half dozen people in the very posh little dining room. The waiters were almost too attentive, and had us a little creeped out to be honest, especially when Kohl's dinner turned out to be disgusting (if you ever go DO NOT get the Benedict Omelette with haddock) and she had to try and pretend that all was well. Fortunately, my lamb and potatoes was much better and I ended up sneaking pieces over to her when the waiters weren't looking. I don't think the resuarant has ever seen the likes of two tired, giggly American girls before. If it wasn't humorous for them, it still certainly was for us. By the end of dinner, it was 10 p.m. and though I was aching to get to the pubs, Kohl was beat, so I settled for some cider from Marks and Spencer and ended the night in the hotel room watching Premier League Rugby and movies until we both passed out.
ost take the Tube to where I wanted to go without regard for the map. We made our first stop at Embankment along the Thames near the Golden Jubilee Bridges. From there we crossed the famous river and walked along the rain soaked streets past the London Eye (-sore, it kind of takes away from the beauty and history of the area, but that's just my opinion, and I haven't been up in it either). Then we crossed over the Westminster Bridge, admiring Parliment and Big Ben just as the skies opened up on us. We opted out of going to see Buckingham in the rain, and instead decided that a pub was a good way to get out of the rain. I knew of a good one down by the Tower Bridge, so we hopped back on the Tube to go find it. An advert positioned above us changed our minds though... there's just something about Jack the Ripper that is too inticing. Since we were headed for the Tower anyways, and the London Dungeon was just up the street from it, Kohl decided that we should go check it
out. I was stoked, as it was something that I had always wanted to see, but never had time or money to explore before. The London Dungeon is part museum and part reenactment of some of London's darkest history, including the plague, torture, witch trials, Sweeney Todd, Jack the Ripper, and the London Fire among many other things. Although gruesome at times and a bit dull at times (it was the end of the day, and you could tell that some of the actors were tired), it was definitely worth the 20 quid we paid for the hour and a half tour through the Dungeon, especially with the last part where we were all "hung" from the gallows (basically a free fall drop ride like you'd have at an amusement park). The looks on our faces when they dropped us were hilarious. When we got back out to the streets, the sun was just beginning to set, so we walked along towards the Tower Bridge. Although there were several pubs along the way that would have sufficed, by that time we were both getting pretty hungry and we had a free meal waiting for us back at the hotel. We walked back across the Thames on one of my favorite London landmarks, the Tower Bridge, and by the London Tower, and all of "new London" including the Gherkin (Swiss Re Building) befor
e going back underground and back to Jury's. Unfortunately, the restuarant of Jury's was about as far from British pub culture as we could have gotten. We were two of a half dozen people in the very posh little dining room. The waiters were almost too attentive, and had us a little creeped out to be honest, especially when Kohl's dinner turned out to be disgusting (if you ever go DO NOT get the Benedict Omelette with haddock) and she had to try and pretend that all was well. Fortunately, my lamb and potatoes was much better and I ended up sneaking pieces over to her when the waiters weren't looking. I don't think the resuarant has ever seen the likes of two tired, giggly American girls before. If it wasn't humorous for them, it still certainly was for us. By the end of dinner, it was 10 p.m. and though I was aching to get to the pubs, Kohl was beat, so I settled for some cider from Marks and Spencer and ended the night in the hotel room watching Premier League Rugby and movies until we both passed out. The next morning, we got up and joined our ever attentive waiters for breakfast and The Worst Waffle Known to Mankind. Honestly, for such a posh place, you would think that they would learn to cook at least a little bit. I KNOW that British tastes are different than ours, but I was hungry, and I don't think that even the natives would have eaten the thing. If you'd like a good representation of the aforementioned waffle, take some PlayDough, smash it in a Belgian waffle maker, and then deep fry it in a mixture of lard and brown sugar. The tea and toast were delicious though, and I am grateful that the Brits have perfected those things, otherwise I would have been very hungry until lunch.
After breakfast, we walked down to St. Giles Hotel where our interviews, the main reason for being in London, were to be held. Chris met us in the lobby and directed us down to the conference center for some more tea and biscuits, hurray, food! All of the crew were incredible, from the director to the sound guy, and we had a lot of fun with them, just chatting and laughing while they continually moved lights and shadows around for the shooting. They interviewed us separately, about an hour each. I have to say that the interviews were probably the best ones that we have ever done. The questions that they asked us were thorough and the atmosphere was both professional and relaxed. The final product is due to be broadcast as part of a six part mini-series on primetime BBC, and I can't wait to see it.
Alas, weekends always seem to go by to fast, and our time in London was no exception. Before we knew it, we were back on our way to the airport, wistfully listening to the sound of the light spring rain on the daffodils and ivy as the train stopped for a few minutes in Northfields. The flight back was enjoyable, though our destination was not quite as exciting as the outbound journey, and we slept most of the way to back to Sky Harbor before being reunited with the dry heat of The Valley of the Sun. A few hours after we returned, I went out for a run and caught the tail end of the Tempe Ironman race. As I was trying to convince my body that it was 8 p.m. and not 4 a.m., a few thousand runners were trying to convince their bodies that 140 miles wasn't going to kill them. It's not often that people get to witness both the London Marathon and the Tempe Ironman in the same day, but it was quite inspiring to say the least, and made my 6 mile jaunt seem pretty insignificant, even though I had just returned from a few thousand mile journey myself. I ended the evening with some Twinnings and Cadbury's and considered the weekend to London a brilliant success.
Alas, weekends always seem to go by to fast, and our time in London was no exception. Before we knew it, we were back on our way to the airport, wistfully listening to the sound of the light spring rain on the daffodils and ivy as the train stopped for a few minutes in Northfields. The flight back was enjoyable, though our destination was not quite as exciting as the outbound journey, and we slept most of the way to back to Sky Harbor before being reunited with the dry heat of The Valley of the Sun. A few hours after we returned, I went out for a run and caught the tail end of the Tempe Ironman race. As I was trying to convince my body that it was 8 p.m. and not 4 a.m., a few thousand runners were trying to convince their bodies that 140 miles wasn't going to kill them. It's not often that people get to witness both the London Marathon and the Tempe Ironman in the same day, but it was quite inspiring to say the least, and made my 6 mile jaunt seem pretty insignificant, even though I had just returned from a few thousand mile journey myself. I ended the evening with some Twinnings and Cadbury's and considered the weekend to London a brilliant success.
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