Schmoozing with Shakespeare

For dinner after Wicked we walked back up to Buckingham Palace rd to dine at The Shakespeare. It's was a large pub style restaurant filled with dark woods and leather seats. Outside up front along the windows there was seating to drink your pint of ale and catch a smoke while watching the tourists pass by on their way to and from the palace and Victoria Rail Station. The outside even has a painting of Shakespeare himself to add the the character of the place. I had yet another pie for dinner. This time the Venison pie with mash. It was deliciously rich and sweet made with a port sauce and onions. Of course I did what any good Englishman would do and mixed the mash right in! 

"170 to Victoria"

The public transportation is starting to become ever more clear as to how it works. One thing I will say is that it is exceptionally efficient. The buses run much later than those of Cedar Rapids running till after one am and during the day most routes have busses coming to each stop nearly every five to ten minutes. It puts most public transit systems in the United States to shame. Our most common bus that we take is the 170 line to either Victoria station or Clapham station. We are staying in the Battersea park neighborhood. And I can honestly say I am happy we are. We are a little off the beaten path and its most locals in our neighborhood so the foot traffic isn't too bad and we have a bus stop literally on our front step. My general experience when traveling abroad is to steer clear of tourist hotel destinations and I am glad we have done that. Overall it's a nice area and free of the hassles of being a tourist. 

"Are people born wicked, or do they have wickedness thrust upon them...?"

It's always hard for me to see musicals that are on tour somewhere when I have seen them on Broadway with the original cast. But I can honestly say that the British cast and crew of Wicked did an amazing job. It was a return to the land of Oz that I enjoyed very much. I give it five stars! Also I have to say that the Apollo Victoria Theatre was the perfect venue for this show. The interior was almost designed with this production in mind. 

An English Breakfast

Good morning from Clapham! We weren't really sure where to go for breakfast this morning so we headed back to Clapham Junction as that's the nearest shopping and restaurant district to us. We wound up at Jack's which serves breakfast all day. It was small but a great cross between modern and rustic. I had a traditional breakfast of eggs Benedict over ham on English muffins with hash browns and BOTTOMLESS English breakfast tea. I highly recommend Jacks forbthebgreay food and the bottomless tea and coffee. Those make it with the 15 gbp for two people! On to the tourist traps!

The stories are true....

Pie. Sweet, delicious, and hearty pies for dinner here in London help keep you warm. From chicken and mushroom to venison and mash, the pies are many to be had and I have to say that they are super delicious. They are definitely stick to your ribs food and will definitely be one of my favorite things to eat while we are here. 

Naive American

I'm I want to share a lesson I am fast learning here in London. Don't ever doubt that you can get lost on a bus that has a specified route. They don't make rounds and circle back. Nope you have to go on the bus going in the opposite direction to get to a prior bus stop. Also be sure to download yourself a copy of the bus routes and the underground (tube or subway whatever) maps as they each cost about 3 gbp here. 

New beginnings.

Hello world! I know it's been quite awhile since I last wrote, but there have been some big events going on in my life and I feel it's time to share. First off I got married! I am so happy it's silly and I am waiting for my husband to freak out at me for all the staring I keep doing towards him. While we legally got married over ten months ago it hasn't really felt official till now! I will post a few photos of the wedding as I get them from the photographer. Now on to some other fun news. For the honeymoon we are traveling in Europe! My husbands first time out of the country and my first time in over five years. I have decided to blog about our adventures and share our joy with the rest of the world. They just called our boarding group for the plane. First stop London!