Nov Week 4
November week 4 (and change)! It was another busy one as we packed as much as we could in before leaving for Paris.
World Cup
We watched the Wales vs. USA World Cup game at The Champion just down the street. This pub is allegedly where “We are the Champions” was written (according to them, at least). There is even a “Mercury Lounge” downstairs fully decked out in Queen memorabilia.
There were only a handful of fans huddled under the TV - everyone else seemed pretty disinterested. Despite it being unusually quiet, we still had a great time watching the match. We even got to socialize a little with a super friendly couple in town to meet with the founders of a CBD company. We happily offered to share our table which had the only remaining seats with a view of the TV. After talking a while, it turned out that the husband was some super famous former hockey player and his wife was an olympian! Definitely made for some great conversation.
Winter Wonderland
It was finally time to visit the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, and we decided to go all out.
We had an absolute blast riding a ton of rides and eating/drinking our way around the park. I will say the market portion left something to be desired (lots of repeat stalls selling the same generic looking merch) . . . but the rides more than made up for it.
We bought tickets for several rides in advance to whet our appetites - a few of the coasters that looked most promising as well as the big drop tower. Coaster-wise, Munich Looping was my favorite by far. 5 loops packed into a tiny track, it was short but super epic. Arriving early meant we got to nab the first car, too! K’s favorite was the drop tower; she cackled as I screamed.
The mouse rollercoaster’s entrance had a goofy gimmick requiring you to traverse a bunch of obstacles (like a walkway of rolling cylinders and seesawing platforms). In hindsight, the entrance was probably more fun than the coaster itself. Each compact little four seater minecart slammed through each of about one hundred 90 degree turns. Each ticket should really come with a complimentary chiropractor visit.
At the very top of the big drop tower, the platform rotated around for 360° views of the city which was awesome. Even with a countdown warning, the drop was pretty jarring (falling, still falling, still falling?!!)
This adrenaline junky partner of mine needed more excitement!!! We had stopped to watch two brothers go on this ridiculous slingshot ride when the smaller of the two chickened out. The ride requires two people and they had already paid, so the older brother pleaded for one of us to take his free ticket. I said absolutely not, while K said absolutely YES!
Just look at this ridiculousness:
About a week later, K happened to spot a news article about that same ride breaking down. Yeesh!
And if that wasn’t enough, K also somehow managed to talk me into going on this monstrosity. They pulled the same “wait at the top” gimmick as the drop tower, but this time I was doing some (very audible) controlled breathing in an attempt to calm myself down. The seats spinning around independently of the pendulum was wild and super disorienting in the best way. One of the best rides I’ve ever been on - I have never screamed so much (and K has never laughed so hard!)
This ride is more my speed (and style):
Or maybe this.
Food!!
This rotating bar seems like an invitation for disaster.
We’ll also get some other silliness out of the way upfront.
For dinner we finally settled on a couple of gigantic brats, which did the trick! The condiment station cracked me up.
There was also much mulled wine to be had, and for dessert we, shared a cinnamon sugar chimney cake that was otherworldly.
Feeling fabulous, and . . . I don’t even know.
For the walk home, I nabbed some roasted chestnuts and K nabbed more mulled wine.
Other Silliness
Animatronic Cows. Cute!
Christmas goblins. Not cute.
You could pick out the carnival gaming elite by these giant multi-colored bananas.
And my absolute favorite - Santa is watching ;)
Failed Beer Trip
Wanting to squeeze a brewery visit in, we went to check out The Kernel way down South. K fed the squirrels on the walk over to the tube station - check out this chonk:
After getting off south of the river, it turned out I expertly planned to visit the one day they were closed. Doh!
We didn’t let it get us down, though; a short walk through suspiciously empty streets along the river took us to a great (also empty) pub, The Angel. They seemed surprised to receive customers but were plenty warm and welcoming. Awesome river views were a fantastic backdrop while we planned our next stop.
Back North of the river, we nabbed some tapas at Camino Shoreditch who were nice enough to sneak us in despite the fact that basically the entire restaurant was reserved by three giant parties.
Next up was The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town - another secret bar that K wanted to check off her list. Hidden under a fully functional diner, to get in requires a multipart call and answer routine with the host. There was a decent wait to get in (can’t catch a break!), so we backtracked to a hoppin’ bar we passed that had a World Cup match on.
It was well worth the wait though - a quaint dimly lit cellar with fun experimental drinks like the Cinema Paradiso, a whiskey drink somehow served inside a tin of popcorn.
Thanksgiving Thai
We took our last trip to the Churchill Arms for a tasty Thai food dinner (a proper Thanksgiving feast) and to see their new christmas light setup.
Will definitely miss this place 🥲
First Tattoo for NW!
The plan was to piggyback on K’s fun idea of getting a new tattoo in each of our home bases, but I was running out time in London! With an expert suggestion from K, I decided to commemorate catching the world premier of My Neighbor Totoro (or should I say Tattooro HA HA HA!!!!) - so now it was just a matter of finding the perfect tattoo artist. I was so very lucky to get a last minute appointment with my top pick, the wonderfully talented Evita Loveheart over at Skunx Tattoo.
The tattoo itself was a cinch, but within a few minutes of walking out the door the second skin protective barrier kept rolling up on me. I only had a single replacement intended for a few days from now, so we ducked into a corner store and got a wrap that I could use to better secure it in place.
Luckily, we were already doing a quick trip through Camden Market, which is chockablock of tattoo spots, so we stopped in for another strip of second skin. Only seeing the compression wrap around my thigh (and not the second skin underneath) their immediate reaction was pretty funny - “uhhhhh that is NOT okay”. After clearing up the confusion they were nice enough to provide another patch free of charge! This meant I could clean and re-cover my leg later and still have another replacement in a few days, satisfying the original care instructions I was given. This being my first tattoo experience, it was a big relief.
Ready to head home, K talked me into an Uber which I was very grateful for after the fact. A 30+ minute tube ride on a busy Friday night with a gross and bloody leg would not have been ideal.
I’m so so happy with how it turned out. These little dudes are on my outer thigh, my constant running companions.
Shopping and Falafel
With my leg all cleaned up, it was time for some last minute shopping!
I took us back for one more trip to Portobello Market to make a final decision on a green corduroy flat cap and to grab other assorted last minute knicknacks. The hat was a bust, but we did grab a few new tea blends, a neat screen printed shirt for both of us, and K landed a killer deal on some gloves after trying to walk away several times.
I also just had to get my last falafel fix in. This place is so ridiculously tasty.
Done with Portobello, we took the long way home to do some boot shopping for K (no dice for her either, dangit!).
On the way back up, we passed by K’s old flat.
I also received my tea towel in the mail from eating a completely reasonable number of hand pies. Woohoo Pieminister!
Hot Stone Dinner
Before even leaving the states, K found a Groupon type deal for dinner at a hot stone place “way out” East in Islington.
Mind the gap!
This made for a perfect first stop to Canopy Market where we enjoyed a ton of cool arts and crafts while sipping deliciously creative mulled gin drinks.
I finally found the perfect hat!
K bought a few pairs of neat earrings - one booth featured jewelry upcycled from all sorts of unconventional materials. K got a nice pair of small earrings made from a cross section of telephone cords from the upcycled jewelry maker as well as earrings of a thin metal face in profile made by another vendor. And we picked up some new art. Can never have too much art!
It turns out dinner was just two doors down from my tattoo spot. I knew it was close, but not THAT close! Dinner was tasty - a nice mix of small bites, sashimi, and sushi rolls, with the main event being a hot stone plate where you got to grill your own wagyu slices.
The picture I took of the hot stone was blurry and . . . not very exciting. If you would like, you can imagine a small rectangular stone that is very hot with small strips of steak sizzling away.
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Checking off one last must eat item, we headed to Gordon Ramsey’s burger bar where K felt confident she wouldn’t be let down by their sticky toffee pudding. It was also a fun way to hit a Gordon Ramsey restaurant while not breaking the bank (though it certainly wasn’t cheap for a burger shop).
The food didn’t disappoint, however. This thing was a monster!
Very sticky, indeed.
Packing Up
Some last minute scrambling saw a shipment of odds and ends successfully shipped to good ol’ Texas.
K got a last minute COVID booster since she was eligible for the latest version in the UK but not in France. Other boosters have been uncomfortable at best, but this one just absolutely annihilated her. Leaving bright and early for Paris in the morning, K was only able to nab but a few minutes of sleep.
Spoiler alert: K, the ever champion, made it to France without much complaint by timing every WC break between our flats in London and Paris . . . sometimes to the second! We reached Paris exhausted but relieved to reach another homebase.
Bonus Cat Pics
So pretty.
Bah, that is one slippery avoCATo.
And finally, “Um, EXCUSE ME! Occupied!!”
Goodbye London!
Next up, Paris!
Jump to:
- 11-21 Mon - World Cup
- 11-22 Tue - Winter Wonderland
- 11-23 Wed - Failed Beer Trip
- 11-24 Thu - Thanksgiving Thai
- 11-25 Fri - First Tattoo for NW!
- 11-26 Sat - Shopping and Falafel
- 11-27 Sun - Hot Stone Dinner
- 11-28 Mon - Sticky Toffee Pudding
- 11-29 Tue - Packing Up
Posted 2023-04-03