Day 2 - So Sleepy

Hey folks!

Day 2 in the UK.  Poor Hubs...he's having a bit harder of a time adjusting to the time change...the last time when we went to Hong Kong, we had no trouble adapting.  However, that could have been because of that horrific flight that we were on where we didn't sleep a wink.  So on that particular trip, we flew out at 2am in the morning and landed in Hong Kong 7am their time.  We hit the ground running and didn't go to bed until 11pm that night, so if you do the math we were up for 48 hours straight.    Almost delirious and so tired I felt sick, we slept like logs that night and bing!  The next morning we were right on Hong Kong time.  This time, not so much...anyways, it's not too bad and tonight we're already feeling much more in sync with the time change.

So on today's itinerary...Tower of London and the British Museum.  Hubs and I toodled off this morning bright and early and...well, we got a little lost.  Google directions for walking...not so much, people.  We got a little turned around and were going in the wrong direction and Hubs...just like a man...wanted to keep walking and I finally just said let's just go ask someone, for crying out loud!  As I walked across the street to a coffee to once again don the forlorn lost Asian face, there was a street sign that was pointing to the Tower of London, which was a short 5 minutes away!  Excellent.  As we walked in, it was just starting to get pretty busy so we gunned it for the Crown Jewels...now today's sights were my choice, so Hubs wasn't really into the Crown Jewels but even he was a-gog at them.  Seriously amazing and so beautiful, it took my breath away to look at them, particularly some of the crowns.  As we walked out, we were thankful we saw them first as the line up as we walked out was insane...it wrapped all along the courtyard and honestly, if I'd seen that I would have thought screw the Crown Jewels, ain't no one got time for that.  

After doing a couple of the other towers, it was getting a bit late so we headed off to the British Museum.  This place was absolutely amazing...like I said, I'll do a catch up photo post once I'm back home but some of the exhibits were awe inspiring, in particular the Egyptian and Roman exhibits...we just couldn't get over how intricate and beautiful some of the works were, and how old...I would just stand there and stare at some of the artifacts in wonder and true awe.  The one highlight of the exhibit for me was the Rosetta Stone...probably the biggest attraction of the whole museum, as soon as you walked into the Egyptian exhibit it was surrounded by people pushing to get to the front to take a shot. Not wanting to be left out, I sharpened my elbows on a few people as I pushed my way to the front and took some pics.  Hee hee.  Little asian, also little pushy.

So...food adventures for today?  After the Tower of London, Hubs and I were starving so we were hunting for some off the wall little place to have coffee when we came across this odd little coffee place called the Wild and Wood Coffee Shop.  It was the weirdest shape, almost triangular inside but the food was not bad (just sandwiches and pastries) but it was well known for it's coffee.  Ordering our usual americanos, they were pretty darn good.  For dinner, we wanted to head to pub to have a pint of a little somethin' somethin' and some dinner, so went to this place called the Grazing Goat.  A definite hot spot in the Marylebone area, it was filled with people grabbing a beer after work as it was filled with men in suits (swoon).  Food wasn't exactly traditional pub fare but still yummy...Hubs ordered a smoked fish on celeriac puree, while I ordered the braised lamb which was sooooo good.  Hardly gamy at all and extremely tender, it was definitely some of the best lamb I've ever had.   The one thing that really amazes me though is the cost of food in London.  I knew it was expensive but wow...prices are what you would pay in Vancouver for a nice dinner, but then when we double it for the exchange...ouch!!  Oh well, YOLO, right?

After dinner, Hubs and I decided to wander around our area and head down Oxford Street.  A mecca of shopping and consumerism, it was packed for a Friday night...it reminded me of a mix between Vancouver's Robson and Hong Kong...big wide sidewalks packed with people shopping their faces off.  I didn't buy anything as the stores were mostly the same as what we could get here (Forever 21, H&M, Gap) or not my style, but it was pretty cool to check it out.  We were a bit peckish after all that walking (and holy, my feet are absolutely killing me) so we walked one street over from our hotel and bam...we were right in the middle of one of the biggest Middle Eastern communities, with wall to wall restaurants with people sitting outside smoking hookahs.  Hubs and I just looked at each with big grins on our faces...as diehard foodies, coming across something like this is what we love...discovering places where the locals eat. Seriously, if you go into a Chinese restaurant and no one there is Chinese, get out the eff out of dodge...sweet and sour chicken balls a la Manchu Wok is what you're going to get, not the good stuff.

So tomorrow, we've got Westminster Abbey, a peek at the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square and the Churchill War Rooms.  We're particularly excited about the last venue as both Hubs and I are huge war buffs.  And then for dinner...we've already picked out a Lebanese place to go.  Stay tuned...