Today we (Premila, Laura, Corey, Christine, Mathias, and I) went to London. Premila and Laura just went for the day, whereas Corey, Christine, and Mathias were returning to Christine and Mathias’s place in town. For me it was time to check into my dorm room at the LSE. Before doing so, however, we had eggs with asparagus as well as sliced flank steak, leftovers from the prior evening. These were a very nice, comforting way, to start the day.
I spent the afternoon with Premila, Laura, Corey, and Christine, walking along the Thames, and going to the Tower of London. Within the Tower, you can do different tours, so we chose imprisonment and execution first. There were no actual prisoners or executions to see, so I felt misled. Otherwise, it was impressive if only for the parallels to the current fear of terrorism and waves of paranoia that engulf our country. The second tour was the Crown Jewels. They’re of course incredibly opulent and beautiful. Definitely worth a visit.
By this time we were all famished and followed Premila (?!) to a pub where I had a cider and we all split some haddock and chips. The haddock was firm yet tender, and the chips were decent. This was my first experience with mashed peas. They were actually kind of nice. There is a bit of tartness in them – perhaps a bit of vinegar? – that livens up what could otherwise be rather bland.
In addition to the Strongbow Cider (wahoo) I had a St Johns Ale (?). This is a darker, headier beer, with chocolatey notes, but not as much bitterness as I pick up in Guiness. I suspect many another pint of this will cross my lips during my visit here.
We finally parted ways as a group, and I checked into my dorm room at the LSE. It is clean, if not somewhat spartan, and located just off Trafalgar Square. The traffic can be vigorous at night, but it doesn’t much bother me. This room is a great deal for a great location.
The rest of the evening involved Corey and I wishing we had a map of London and watching a parade of some sort along the Thames.
April 4, 2021
This post leaves me with so many questions. How did I fail to comment on the security at the Crown Jewels? I still remember how tight the security was. And why were we following Premila? I really missed so many opportunities to show you London in this post.
The only bright spot is that I did a better job describing the beer. And the fish – the fish still stands out in my memories as being excellent.
butterblogger 