3-Day Weekend

We had a bank holiday yesterday, which allowed for a wonderful 3-day weekend. So, Jeff and I did a bit of relaxing, but even more of exploring London. Friday was a fairly restful day, more for me than for Jeff. After work, Jeff was invited to "go for a curry," so he enjoyed Indian food with some friends, while I went for a nice run and had breakfast for dinner. I love scrambled eggs and turkey bacon at any time of the day! Saturday morning, we met Mike and Andrea at a newly opened restaurant called Sweetspot, where we dined on what was advertised as "American-style pancakes." They were good, but definitely no match to Cracker Barrel or IHop. After our leisurely breakfast, we all walked down Oxford St. and Tottenham Court Rd. and did some shopping before we later ate lunch at Vapiano's (their carbonara is great!). Then, we said our goodbyes after visiting one last shop together. Jeff and I, once again, did some more walking. Our first stop was Cybercandy, a multi-cultural sweet's store (with American sweets being the main attraction), where I bought a Dublin Dr Pepper and some SweeTarts. Jeff and I then walked down Oxford St. (again) over to Charing Cross and to Covent Garden Market, where we checked out many neat stands and were entertained by different street performers. Next, we headed to The Strand for tea and pastries at Paul; there are always so many delicious options, that it makes deciding so difficult! I love a good fruit tart, so a strawberry one it was! We were able to rest our already tired legs and backs during our tea break, and then we were off again to The National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square. We made it there an hour before closing, which is not nearly enough time to see all the amazing paintings this gallery holds, but what we were able to see, we really enjoyed. Our favorites were Manet, Monet and van Gogh. When we left Trafalgar Square, we walked under the Ministry of Defence's (correctly spelled with a c in England) Arch and down The Mall (street) to Buckingham Palace. Wow! I can't even imagine living in such a grand place as that! It was really awesome to see. All of these sights seen and it wasn't even dinner time yet, so Jeff and I finally decided to head home and research a good Mexican restaurant to eat at in honor of Cinco de Mayo.

We were given some names of Mexican restaurants to try, but Jeff and I decided to be risky and try one we hadn't heard of. After reading some good reviews provided by other Americans living in London, who had been deprived of real Mexican food and claimed this place cured their cravings, we picked a place in Brixton called El Panzon. I won't go into much detail, but what would have been a 5 minute walk to this restaurant from the tube, turned into over an hour walk in search of this place, and all because my Iphone provided one mistake in the directions. After a couple of phone calls, more walking and the immense determination to have "Mexican" food, we finally made it to El Panzon. The food wasn't horrible; Jeff and I did enjoy what we ordered, but there was nothing authentic about it (which we expected to begin with). We also think the Americans that wrote the reviews must have been from up North because, again, this wasn't even close to Tex-Mex. Smooth paste-like guacamole + ill-seasoned (Piri-Piri) chicken for my quesadillas (apart from Mexican food, Piri-Piri seasoning it great!) + oregano/spaghetti sauce-like Ranchero sauce + salad WITH sweet pickles served with a burrito = so wrong but an interesting attempt. We won't go back, but I am glad we tried something new.

We were suppose to try a nearby church on Sunday morning, but embarrassingly, we slept till almost 1 in the afternoon. I blame it on the large amount of walking we did on Saturday. I am looking forward to trying out this church next Sunday though. It is pretty small and it would be nice to attend somewhere close by so getting involved would be easier. The rest of Sunday, with the exception of taking Monk on a short walk, Jeff and I hung around our flat. The most exciting part of our day was Skyping with my parents and our good friends Nicole and Tyler. We really enjoyed catching up with you both!

Monday, Jeff and I decided to do a bike tour of Central London. Apart from all the other ways to get around in London - train, tram, tube, taxi, boat - you can also rent bicycles from docking stations that are all around the city. It is really nice, especially for commuters. (The first 30 minutes is free of charge, so that is a big plus for those who don't have far to go.) The weather was less than cooperative with our cycling plan after lunch time, so until the weather cleared up around 3 that afternoon, we walked through some nice neighborhoods and parks, checked out different charity shops (thrift shops) and book stores, and browsed at Camden Market and Camden Lock Market. As excited as I was to ride around Central London, I was very nervous at the same time. Riding that close to moving cars is scary, and I could just avoid the streets altogether by riding on the sidewalks, but it's illegal to do that here. Riding on the streets wasn't bad; there were a few times when I felt uncomfortable, but I made our 8-mile trip safe and sound. Jeff and I started our bike adventure just north of Regent's Park, where we then made our way through and down to Baker Street (took a quick photo of The Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street) to Hyde Park and then to St. James's Park, where we rode by Buckingham Palace and down The Mall before hitting Trafalgar Square, crossing the Waterloo Bridge and finally docking our bikes before heading home [I'm ignoring this run-on sentence ;)]. It was so much fun that we decided in future weekends we'll pick different areas of London and do the same thing. After a train ride and quick walk, we came home and took Monk to our nearby park, and the rest of the evening we relaxed. It was a great but long day!

Here are some photos from our weekend. Hope everyone has a great week!

Yummy breakfast on Saturday.

Oxford St.

 My treats went away quickly after this photo.

Street performer, who needed more clothes, in Covent Garden.

Apple Market in Covent Garden.

The Strand.

One of my favorite places for tea and pastries - Paul.

Delicious.

Victoria Embankment Gardens

Too bad the Mexican food here isn't that good (from what we've heard).

The National Portrait Gallery.

Ministry of Defence Arch.

The Mall.

Fancy gate at Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace.

Ornate gate at Buckingham Palace.

View of one of the guards.

St James's Park and Lake.

Wall art at El Panzon.

Our appetizer - nachos.

Jeff's burrito with pulled pork (which was good) and the salad with sweet pickles (gross!).

My quesadillas and the spaghetti sauce-like Ranchero sauce.

Top of Parliament Hill.

By Camden Lock Market.

Looks like Texas State Fair delicacies can be found in London.

Beginning of our cycling adventure.

Regent's Park.

221b Baker Street.

Hyde Park.

Marble Arch in Hyde Park.

Horse's Head statue in Hyde Park.

Genghis Khan statue in Hyde Park.

Even horses have to cross the road too.

Cycling in Hyde Park.

Hanging out at King George's Park with Monk.