Day: July 6, 2018

Travel

Working towards the Globe

Whilst I was at work (and sampling a few coffees) Sharon and Emma were doing a little more sightseeing around London. Their plan had been to check out the Churchill War Rooms (I’ve done this twice already – they are awesome) however the three hour queue for entry killed that idea.

Instead they headed over to the Victoria and Albert museum. Before heading in for a look around the coffee and cake there was sampled, with reports that it was quite good. The cake certainly looks alright !

after a good look around here they had lunch in the grounds of St Paul’s. A truly wonderful spot for lunch on a warm London summer’s day

At 5pm we all headed down to the Globe Theatre for a evening showing of Hamlet. Stopped for some Italian food along the way at Zizzi

Some excellent advice from Josh back at home we got great seats. More info on which seats to pick below

Even if you are not a Shakespeare fan, from a historical perspective its worth a visit. In terms of tickets, for London theatre its reasonably priced, you can get seats for around £30 (way cheaper if you want to stand in the pit in front of the stage, only £5). Whilst the building is a modern construction, its as close to the original as modern safety and fire codes will allow. Its not on it original site where it was in the 16th century, but its very close. The original site is only a few hundred meters away and its worth walking around the corner to look at it.

One of the most interesting facts about the theatre is that its the only building in central London thats allowed to have a thatched roof (they learnt a lot after 1666). Lots more info on it over at good ol’ wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_Globe

In my opinion the best value seats are in the lower gallery. There are a handful of cheaper seats (slight view obstruction) but they have no one in front of you so there is stacks of leg room and no on behind you so you can lean up against the wall. Also very close to the exit.

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After Dinner we walked back to the apartment and took some photos. Glorious warm night to be walking along the river

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Travel

Double Coffee and Gherkin

This mornings coffee on the way to the office was from the notes chain, which have a coffee shop on the ground floor of the Gherkin. Below is a picture from the inside looking out as well as a selfie with the Gherkin ” A Gherkie”. The coffee was surprisingly good, at least a 7.5/10

It’s possible that it’s because it was my first morning coffee after a few pints last night that made it so good, rather than the quality of the coffee itself. Ones own perception of these things is impacted by many factors….

I had to pop out to Houndsditch Post Office again today to post home the second tsunami of books. I’m really thinking I should buy shares in Royal Mail as this is costing a right royal fortune in postage.

On the way back I passed secret frog coffee and the temptation was too great to resist. This coffee is great a decent 8/10. They sell coffee in cup sizes equal to the sizes at home for a similar price. This one was £2.85. I’ve been paying that or £3 for what would be a small or below small at home

On my way back I ran into Wilson and Rikesh from the office who got their coffee at “Association” coffee, right behind the Gherkin. This is another great coffee place that is rated highly by the Australian contingent in the office.

And of course since it was behind the Gherkin, another opportunity to provide the Obligatory Daily Gherkin pic.

Lunch was from the Japanese Canteen behind the Gherkin. This is right next door to “Association” coffee. This lunch spot is excellent and it’s extremely popular.

One more thing…

If you like my blog you will probably like my mate John’s blog. John and Perry are currently traveling through the USA and Canada. Here is the link

http://johnandperrystravels.blog