London Trip
December 2019
Getting the trip off to a "fitting" start, Flip gets some shuteye with her mask on upside-down.
Meanwhile Ryan and Craig spent most of the trip trying to break the solitaire record.
The first thing we saw after leaving the plan were these nifty portraits of young and old QE II.
Carnaby street all decked out for the holidays before the sane show up.
Luckily, we found a lunatic coffee shop that was open at this ungodly hour the day after Christmas.
Ok, now this is more like it--time to do some shopping!
Ry looking pretty clean in London with his new white sneaker look.
The Brits just say stuff better. Not a nasty Yield! No, just a kindly Give Way.
This is probably the day Craig picked up the flu/pneumonia/covid.
There's really no instrument so closely associated with a place.
Ryan & Anhdai went to do some shopping while Craig & Zoe hit The Tate.
Some cool work that looks like bands of light but is really an oil painting.
The view looks over the Thames straight at St Paul's Cathederal, one of many gems in London.
A Picasso sculpture--man that guy was one flexible artist.
Craig in one of the 83 pics that had to be taken where didn't look like a complete troll.
We dragged ourselves around trying to stay awake until we had some Indian for dinner then crashed.
A group Jacko photo with the Tower Bridge in the background--the coolest bridge in the world.
The view of the Tower from behind. Crazy to see something so old and large in a modern city.
The moment when Craig almost lost his mind thinking we were watching a crazy pink sunrise.
Bigs & Zobo on the Tube as we make our way down the river to see the Tower of London.
The city has all these Christmas market shops and even the occasional pop-up beer stand.
Breakfast in London means one thing--bangers. I can do without the mash but love those bangers.
Up super early, Craig was convinced that Boxing Day would be crazy busy by 7am. Not so much.
The neighborhood of our condo looked a little sketch but it worked fine.
The colorful entrance to London's Chinatown.
We spent the afternoon at Winter Wonderland--a combination of Christmas & The OC Fair.
The first stop was the Ferris Wheel so that we could get a birds-eye view of the festivities.
Bigs and Flip enjoying a little warm up from the cool winter weather in the Bavarian Village.
Which worked out well, allowing us to quickly spot the vegan hot dogs.
I think London must borrow this ride from Munich every year. Bigs & I took it for a spin.
The entrance to the Bavarian Village hawking their various delectibles--beer, brats...and uh, that's it.
We then get up close to this scary cowboy who has a saddle in his pants.
After the festival, we cruised down to Leicester Square to grab some Italian dinner.
After cruising the festival for a while it was time for a cold cider.
There was a special exhibit of ice sculptures that was pretty "cool".
Ryan looking like he's ready to break out of an English prison during recess.
Some very intricate stained glass that dates back many centuries.
There are ravens that live at the tower. The legend is that if the ravens leave, the kingdom will fall.
One the Yeomen Warders who give expert tours throughout the grounds.
Bigs looking a tad chilly in front of the Tower Bridge.
Zoe hanging out in her hometown for the next four months...give or take.
There's a cool little bar at the top of The Tate--time for a cold one!
A picture of Zoe taking a picture of a bunch of pictures. Mind blown!
The stage of The Globe Theater--the exact replica from Shakespeare's time.
Bigs waiting for the train that will take us to Notting Hill to do some street shopping.
There were quite a few stands with these cool military figurines, labeled by war and year.
The most popular food on Notting Hill is the paella. We wanted to try some but held out for a pub.
Good news--Flip was quickly able to spot the home we'll be moving into if we move to London.
The moment that Anhdai discovered something called English Peas.
I wish American bars used these heavy metal tab heads--they just make the beer taste better.
I think the Brits went a tad overboard when they came up with the name for this part of town.
Craig in the back of our cab as we head over the river to see an outdoor showing of Love Actually.
Stopping off for a quick pint at the neighborhood pub called Two Brewers.
We made it to Buckingham with just minutes to spare before the Queen's Guard made it's way over.
Just in case you're wondering, this is not ginger ale. Cheers, mates!
Zoe outside what would soon be her flat for the semester.
And here's the main door to her school just a few blocks away.
Ryan got to relive a few choice memories while we grabbed groceries.
Later that night we just explored the city at night. Such a cool place.
The next day we saw Westminster Abbey on the way to Buckingham Palace.
We decided to take in London's epic NYE fireworks from the Thames.
The Parliament Building with Westmister Abby in the background.
Zoe and Craig busted out early to check out St. Paul's Cathederal.
Backyard Cinema was pretty amazing--we got to watch Love Actually on comfy couches.
Bigs taking a pic of Smalls taking a pic of Bigs. There's a theme here.
A very cool little pub where the locals can pop in for proper pint and get some fish 'n chips.
Nothing like a delicious cup of mulled wine to get the morning off right.
Notting Hill on a Saturday is about 6 blocks of street vendors selling just about everything.
The next morning we grabbed lattes and shit umbrellas below our flat.
The corner display in the shop won the award for disturbing marketing.
Another interesting piece in The Tate.
Great piece of art but it makes me sad to see how America is perceived in the era of GOP desperation.
The transition of the guard is pretty awesome to see but it was incredibly crowded that day.
A look at the packed crowd of tourist hoping to see the show.
The discover of the Rosetta Stone was a huge deal and here it is.
Ever wonder what the Rosetta Stone is? It's a tablet that translated ancient Egyptian scripts.
The Townley Discobulus--a Roman celebration of the joy of sport.
We found this awesome spot for an early brunch (code for vegan cake).
A couple of priceless Van Gogh's...ok, figure around $50 million each in 2019 dollars.
You always see artists drawing or painting inside these major museums. This guy is pretty good.
Lord Nelson standing high above Trafalgar Square.
Big Ben is still getting his face lift but the clock has not stopped.
To close out the day we got tickets to ride on The Eye at sunset. Perfect timing.
The world's largest when it opened in 2000, The London Eye is impressive.
The view of the Thames and the city--the Shard is right in the middle up top.
The clouds were perfectly structured for a fantastic sunset and we had an amazing view.
The pod just above us as we make our way down to the base again.
Christmas lights at the center of the Seven Dials area.
Bigs getting his camera ready for another day of awesome shots of this great city.
The first thing you see is the center atrium which is a work of art in and of itself.
I was so-so about hitting the British Museum but it was spectacular.
The combination of jetlag, early mornings and art finally did the big fella in.
The little gold knights standing guard on the front gates.
Craig & Zoe on
The Mall with
Buckingham
Palace and the
Victoria Memorial
in the background.
Seurat's "Bathers at Asnieres", the same artist who painted the masterpiece in Ferris Bueller.
After a bite, we headed to the National Gallery, one of the world's best.
A 7th century war helmet discovered in Suffolk, England in 1939.
The statue of Ramses II at the center of the Egyptian Hall is super impressive to see in person.
There's a lot of gold painted stuff around here.
Statue of Achilles at a special Trojan Exhibit sponsored by BP.
During WWII, Churchill proclaimed that "above all else, St. Paul's must be saved" for this I assume.
The fireworks show as fantastic and we had an amazing view.
Before heading to the stadium we had a delicious dinner at Cafe Concerto.
A view of the main atrium from a balcony above.
St. Paul's includes the tombs of Lord Nelson, Florence Nightingale, Blake, and the Duke of Wellington.
We lit a few candles and said some prayers (for Trump to lose, of course).
Churchill had soldiers and anti-aircraft weapons all around this place.
Ryan and Zoe at the Backyard Cinema concession area to grab some dinner before the show.
We loved Tower Bridge during the day but it's spectacular at night. So cool to ride under it.
London might
be the best
place in the
world to have a
pint. Just feels
like what you
should do.
The pins represented the troop lines toward the end of the war in Europe. Hey, we won!!
You can spend hours in this place and take 100 totally unique pictures.
This is classic Churchill--he never once considered surrendering. France gave up after 46 days.
The Tower of London all lit up to ring in the new year.
We had cocktails and live music to enjoy as we cruised up and down the river.
The Queen Victoria Theater might be the nicest in London
Sitting in the audience waiting for the best musical ever written to begin.
The Shard was flashing all sort of color.
The centerpiece of the show was the fireworks at the London Eye.
They pretty much froze the scene of Churchill's bunkers the day that World War II ended.
The next day we slept in late and surface in time for dinner & some EPL.
Chelsea played a few days earlier but the tix were VERY expensive. So we settled for West Ham.
West Ham fans are considered to tough hooligans...but their team song is little off-brand.
The next day, Craig was really down for the count but rallied in time for dinner & one last hurrah.
We all finally got to see Hamilton, which was fantastic to see in London.
With new years blockades in place, we went to see Churchill's war bunkers.
After seeing very little sun, the boys were really glad to see this bad boy rise.s
The next day we left our flat. Craig & Ryan headed back, while Zoe & Anhdai stayed another week.