London Calling

Now that I've recovered from my first Edinburgh cold, it looks as though we have some catching up to do on the ol' bloggin' front. But don't worry, I won't blog about my cold!

A couple of weekends ago, we finally made it down to London to visit Cordelia, Liam, Brad and Em. (Faithful readers will remember our first attempt, which was substituted by a trip to the Highlands.) A great time was had by all. I'd even dare say that some formerly negative opinions of London were brightened.

On Friday, we hopped on a National Express train from Edinburgh to King's Cross in London. On the suggestion of Cordelia, we stayed at the Mad Hatter, a great (and relatively cheap) place close to their house and central to London sites and scenery. We had actually got our wires crossed a little, and originally thought we were staying above a little pub we had visited several years earlier. As it turns out, this other pub has turned a little too seedy for us - so the Mad Hatter was a good choice.

On Friday evening, we had some great Thai food at Marie's Cafe. On young Brad's recommendation, I had the Pad Thai. Alette had a suitably gluten-free green curry, while Cordelia had a red curry. Brad and Liam joined me in having Pad Thai. After dropping Brad off with Em at home we headed out to a local pub (Duke of Sussex) for a traditional London evening of drinks and karaoke. Suffice to say that Liam was the only one brave enough to sing. Twice. Good on him!

On Saturday, while Brad and Liam were birthday shopping, we visited the Borough Market with Cordelia, as highlighted in Alette's e-blog. We then went to the Museum of London and saw an exhibit, Homeless in the Capital, that was coordinated by Cordelia's workplace: Connection at St. Martins. It was a great exhibit that emphasized the personalities impacted by homelessness, including small personal items and accompanying stories. We also saw exhibits about the Great Fire of London and others covering the history for the past few centuries. Oddly, they don't seem to emphasize their invasions of Scotland as much as the Scottish. We also went to the Tate Museum and had some lunch at the refectory at the Southward Cathedral, both of which offered some refuge from the surprisingly cold and damp London winter.

On Saturday evening, we had a nice dinner together, listening to Raffi and other Canadian music (once Brad went to bed). On Sunday, after brunch, we returned on the train to Edinburgh. You can see some photos from our trip by clicking on the above photo.