London - Sunday 5/25/2025

• Aji Restaurant 
• The London Eye
• Uber River Boat (aborted)
• The Household Calvary Museum
• The British Museum
• Crown and Anchor
• Ben's Fish and Chips
• Donutelier 

As the first thing getting away from the flat, we decided to ride the London Pass a bit more, adding a few more drive-bys we hadn't seen before.

A note on dust and air born particles here in London. They are extreme. I don't know if it's a seasonal thing, or a constant, but my eyes are constant full of grit and I'm sneezing/coughing. And it's not just me, everyone you see walking around is doing the same.  Pollution? Pollen? Shed skin cells from millions of people living here for the last few thousand years? Maybe it's better not to know. 

That aside, after the bus ride, we stopped for lunch at a Japanese restaurant on the West side of the river, just over the bridge. The Aji Restaurant serves up traditional Japanese ramen, rice and noodle dishes. It was tasty and in a peaceful environment, in spite of being steps away from a tourist path. 

We scheduled our ride on the London Eye (450 ft tall Ferris wheel) immediately after lunch.  It was a short walk to the queue.  While loading up, we saw a guy on a power wheel chair nearly drive off the ramp and into the Thames while loading into the compartment next to ours.  He had a front wheel over the edge and (luckily!) got stuck.  They had to lift his chair off of there to get him unstuck. 

The ride itself was fine, even though we were trapped in our 20x30 ft egg shaped compartment with a crying baby.  Who brings a baby onto the London Eye? Forget about the chance of dropping the kid in the Thames, what about exposing him to the germs and unknown diseases of several thousand people he's passing by? Not to mention the exhalations of 25 fellow passengers, who are trapped in the sealed chamber with him? I don't understand young parents these days.

Once off the Eye, we walked back across the bridge to the Uber Boat pier.  We picked a West bound route (seemed like fewer people) and waited to board. After about 10 or 15 minutes of waiting, I suggested we abort.  The trip would take us further away from activities, where we'd have to disembark and wait for another boat back.  Plus, they were all enclosed boats and appeared very crowded. 

So, we walked back up from the Thames in time to see the changing of the Household Calvary guards (video below).  Then we checked out the Household Calvary museum. The Household Calvary is considered the King's personal bodyguard and is very active in military engagements.  4 members and 7 horses were killed in a tragic 1982 IRA bombing at Hyde Park.

We then came back for a short break at the flat, then marched off again to the British Museum We got there a half an hour before closing.  Not much time to spend in such a large museum, so I opted to sit outside and enjoy a Coca Cola while the other 3 went in to see whatever they could.  Honestly, I didn't need any more fuel for my dislike of British empire and their ... "involuntary appropriation" of cultural artifacts (mentioned in the last post).

When the crew emerged, we retired to a pub called the "Crown and Anchor" for a pint and a debrief.  Thirst quenched, Yelena wanted fish and chips so she could compare to the Irish version.  We went to a Coventry Garden neighborhood shop called "Ben's Fish and Chips" The surrounding was simple... stools and a small table on the sidewalk. But (I'm told) the fish and chips were great. Personally, I ordered a steak and kidney pie, as I had yet to try one of those.  I wish I would've ordered the fish and chips.😒

As an after dinner treat for our last night in London, we walked to "The Donutelier" and ordered 3 of the fanciest donuts I've ever seen.  Mine was the vanilla pecan.  Excellent! Natalie had a pistachio and Austin had a strawberry creme. 

Video:

London - Saturday, 5/24/2025

• Hooligan update
• St James Park
• Buckingham Palace
• Westminster Abbey
• Big Ben 
• London Pass and Big Bus Tours 
• The Shard
• London Tower, Crown Jewels 
• Chill Since '93
• The Garrick Arms

With earplugs, I only woke up a couple of times from the chants/shouts of the soccer Hooligans. It was tolerable.  I recorded this short snippet while lying in bed around 11 pm.  FYI, this is with the window closed. 

Leicester Square by Tom Jahnsen on Soundcloud:

https://on.soundcloud.com/LSQtAWRFuK1WaijWA

This morning, we breakfasted here at the flat, then walked through Trafalgar Square and proceeded to St. James Park. The walk through the park was voted, amongst us, as a highlight of the day! A lovely stroll along the lake, lots of ducks, geese of many different varieties. We grabbed a latte and a slice of sweetbread at the park cafe. Then we arrived at Buckingham Palace and re-merged with the crowds.   Lots of school kids on tours. They were loud.  No changing of the guard on Saturdays so we just walked around the exterior and snapped photos.

Our next walking stop was Westminster Abbey, final resting place of many kings, queens and nobility. Lots of dead Englishmen. I could feel my distaste for the nobility growing as we toured.  So much ego and vanity! Monuments and statuaries to themselves so they can be honored for the next thousand years? Ick. The crowds probably didn't help my attitude. I have an aversion to crowded, tight spaces and there was a plenty of that in this enormous church - turn abouts in mini-mausoleums, sub-chambers, burial rooms dedicated to one earl or another.

After the Abbey, we snapped a picture at Big Ben, then hopped on the "Big Bus" tour - a hop-on-hop-off service here in London.  I got a multi-pass at www.londonpass.com, which allows us to visit over 100 attractions in the next two days. We'll only hit about a half dozen, but the pass will save us money. 

For the first visit, the bus delivered us to "The Shard," which is the highest skyscraper in London.  On the 68th floor, we had 360 views of the city. I had gelato and Yelena had a special gin-based drink. After spending a few minutes there, we ate cannolis at a market near The Towers Bridge, then took the bus back across the Thames to London Tower. The bus service wasn't perfect. Either there were three buses all in a row or no bus for 20 minutes (they are supposed to run every 10). The number of double deck buses in London is staggering.  In addition to the normal city buses, which are constantly running, there are at least 5 tourist bus lines with buses running every 10 minutes.  Then also unique, old timey buses & private party buses. Throw in pedicabs, taxis, horse carriages, bicycles and all the pedestrians. What chaos!

At the Tower, there were also throngs of people. Hundreds...a thousand?  But we all trudged through in an orderly fashion. Starting at the Medieval Palace and the Traitors Gate, we methodically walked around all of the battlements and towers (displays and information at each) until we finally  reached the crown jewels. Here, instead of being bedazzled (humbled?), as perhaps intended, my contempt for the monarchy grew and grew.  All this ostentatious, gold plated and jewel encrusted wealth, maintained and protected for the elite by the very people they fleeced it from! Disgusting. They don't even allow their subjects to take photos of the jewels they've paid for with blood.  Bah, humbug! 

Touring the Tower, I was proud to be an American.  No Kings! Or Queens! Or "God anointed" aristocracy! Every person is an equal and no one inherits a right to rule. This is the way.

I was reminded by plaques in the Tower that in 1649, emboldened by generals like Oliver Cromwell, British parliament decided to eliminate the monarchy. They executed the king (Charles I) and melted down the crown jewels and all the golden spoons, plates and punch bowls.  The Tower plaques bemoan that the original jewels were all lost. But I thought it sad that just a few years later, Charles II rose up and re-established everything!  What a shame! 

So here we are, nearly 600 years later. The UK still has a king and is still holding onto jewels like the Koh-i-Noor (one of the largest diamonds in the world.) They can it a "legitimately held conquest relic." They do this in spite of the protest of the  conquered  countries they stole such things from (India, Pakistan, etc).

Ok. I'll get off my soap box. Obviously I have strong feelings about the monarchy and the "Divine Right of Kings."

On the way home, we stopped by a Tesco (grocery) for some tonic and ice.  Our friendly flat owner, Ian, had invited us to enjoy his stash of alcohol, so we were making gin and tonics. Tesco's was mad.

For dinner tonight, we had amazing focaccia sandwiches at a local corner place, unusually called "Chill Since '93." I've made a mental note to put focaccia sandwiches in our dinner rotation at home, provided I can find a source for fresh focaccia in Minnesota. 

It's a bit sad that Minnesota will never have a neighborhood like this, walkable pedestrian oriented streets with pubs, restaurants and odd little shops... like a hat shop, or a shop that only sells maps.  I suppose the weather, combined with our car obsession, will keep things "shopping center" oriented in MN.

We made one last stop for a nightcap at The Garrick Arms, directly behind our flat here at Leicester Square.  I chatted a bit with our Hungarian barman, who's name I've now sadly forgotten.  He complained about his mad dictator, Victor Orban, and named him the reason he left Hungary, along with all of his friends. He thanked us, as Americans, for giving the world Kurt Russell and Metallica, then he bought us a beer. What a great chap! 

Another final American vs Brit observation.  I think "bouncers" at bars in the US reflect American attitudes. They are typically enormous, tattooed, unpleasant, egotistical assholes.  They keep the peace by intimation and force.  Here in the UK, the bouncers (doormen?) seem more to keep order by assertive politeness and social expectations. The doorman here at the Garrick Arms was a little dude of Indian or Pakistani descent, barely 5 ft tall.

In this regard, America has a long way to go.