Category: Travel

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

Travel

Pineapple Coffee

Coffee for me today was at a little Lebanese cafe restaurant early this morning where I took the opportunity to catch up with one of our software vendors whilst I was visiting the London office. The coffee was a real surprise, was way better than I expected, a decent 7.5/10

Later in the morning I acquainted myself with the Houndsditch Post Office. I’ll know the Royal Mail system quite well soon, as we bought a few more books than we expected and I’m posting a few home.

Whist I was in the office, Sharon and Emma did a bit more shopping in Bond St, bought some strawberries and ate them in Green Park, walked past Buckingham Palace, had lunch at Borough Market and then headed over to Pineapple Dance where Emma attended another dance lesson.

img_3112

After work I had a beer with a few of the guys from the office in the Bell. Thankfully the Bell had re-opened after the car ran into it. Visiting the London office and not having a beer at the Bell just wouldn’t have been cricket. The Bell is a must.

Now that England are through to the next stage, it would seem most people here are just happy England made it further than Germany. Of course everyone still hopes to beat France, but they hasn’t stopped some of the World Cup jokes starting:

  • Q. What is the difference between Germany and a tea bag ?
  • A. Tea bags spend longer in the cup…

Walking back from the Bell, I managed to get a shot for the Obligatory Daily Gherkin.

img_3090

I travelled down to Covent Garden, found Sharon and we had cocktails at a little drink wagon in the garden. Summer in London is just wonderful…..

When Emma had finished the lesson we had dinner at the Nag’s Head, another place we seem to visit yearly now.

And much to the amusement of my inner 13 year old, the trip back to the apartment involved a stint on the Piccadilly line

img_3111

Oh, and one last thing. A funny comment I heard last night about the State of the UK. They are concerned they are turning into Australia. Makes sense when you consider some of the stats

  • Winning at Sport
  • Its a really hot summer
  • They have bush fires in the north
  • Concerns there could be a drought with water restrictions coming….

 

 

 

Travel

Broken Bell Coffee

I’m visiting our London office for a few days, so the amount of interesting things I’m posting about may decrease a little as most of my day will be consumed with work related items. However I did of course get out for my daily coffee which was had at the cafe in the bottom of the Gherkin so I’m able to combine the obligatory daily gherkin with the coffee report. Winning !

Whilst I was at work Sharon and Emma had breakfast then went up to Fortnum and Mason and Hatchard’s book shop.  Emma spent a few hours at dance classes with Pineapple Dance in Covent Garden. Participating in a dance lesson here will likely be one of the highlights of her trip. Sharon popped into the Nag’s Head at Covent Garden for a G&T and when Emma had finished dancing went off to the M&M store and the Lego store.

Disaster has also struck here in London, the favourite watering hole of the office, “The Bell” had a car drive into it over the weekend and is out of action for a while. We paid them a visit over lunch and they are not sure when they will be trading again, its with the insurance company to work that out. We are all devastated, it’s just not the same with the Bell out of action.

After work we met up with my Cousin Kristy and her partner Mark for a fantastic dinner at Blanchette on Brick Lane. Fantastic French / North African fusion food.

img_3014

Bus ride up Bishopsgate Road, top level

img_3007

Travel

Coffee Bombs & Pestilence

Coffee today was had down at the Imperial War Museum near Elephant and Castle station. The IWM has five locations in the UK, three of them are in London (The other two are the Churchill War Rooms and the HMS Belfast). The IWM is on the old site of the Bethlam Royal Hospital (Often referred to as Bedlam). Coffee was 6.5/10

The museum has 5 levels of displays, the bottom level focused on WW1. This is where we spent the most time as it was relevant to some school assignments Emma was working on. Its interesting to compare the WW1 display here with what we have in Canberra. Here in the London museum, Gallipoli is barely covered and only warrants a small mention where for Australia its a nation defining moment and warrants significant space in our National War Memorial.

After a few hours at the museum we headed back to the apartment, grabbed some sandwiches for lunch then headed out on a Fire, Pestilence & Plague walking tour organised by http://freelondonwalkingtours.com. The tour was very good starting at the fire monument and ending up near St Paul’s. The tour covered much about the fire and plauge

  • How and where the fire started
  • How building methods contributed to the deadly ferocity
  • Why it spread
  • The incompetence of the authorities that allowed it spread as far as it did,
  • how the French & Dutch were initially blamed (with one person hanged)
  • Where it eventually stopped
  • The spark the started the London Banking, Finance & Insurance industries
  • How many streets got their name
  • Why pudding lane should really be called Rotting Animal Guts Lane
  • Where and when the plague took hold
  • Where the burial plots are

The tour was well worth doing, its “free”, however nothing in life is free and especially not in London. The guide explains that its expected that if you enjoy the walk you will leave a tip. No problems with that, it was a fantastic two hour tour. We also learnt about a massive Roman amphitheatre that was discovered where the public can view the ruins on a Thursday.

After the tour we walked across the Millennium Bridge for a drink at a pub along the river, then off to Brick Lane for a curry at City Spice

This is the third year in a row we have been to city spice.

img_2976

Not everyday you see someone riding a 1970s chopper bicycle in the middle of London ! I just love this city.

img_2978

The ODG (Obligatory Daily Gherkin)

Once on the way to dinner, the other from an Uber on the way back

Travel

It Don’t Rain in Pubs

After breakfast we headed up to Liverpool St Station where I grabbed a SIM card for Emma’s phone. She is now online again and very happy about it. She will likely be hitting Instagram and snapchat like crazy.

Got over to Camden, and as expected it was just pumping with people. I bought two T-shirts as I think I might have packed too many socks and not enough shirts (I’m not commenting on the tech…). Sharon found on of her favourite stores and picked up some pictures. I was chatting to the store vendor about the fantastic London weather and the fact that it always seems to be hot when I’m here and never cold. He himself is planning to travel to Australia in August. During our chat he uttered the most most London comment ever when discussing the propensity for London to be wet : “it don’t rain in pubs”

One thing I really wanted at Camden was another lamb jalfrezi burger. I had one last year and I thought it was one of the greatest burgers I’d ever had. It’s London through and through, a wonderful food fusion packed with flavour.

At about 2pm I left Sharon and Emma to do some more shopping and headed off to the Postal Museum. I Got off at kings cross and walked the mile or so to the museum. The footpaths went from frustratingly overcrowded to deserted ones very quickly. A pleasant walk in the shade.

The postal museum and mail train are actually in two seperate locations, separated by about 50m. Naturally they are in a area of London surrounded by Royal Mail infrastructure as the exhibition is part of that infrastructure. The museum and train were way better than I expected. I thought it would be just a quick ride in the train, but it stops along the way to show you a few things and play some video. I had a ride booked at 4.15, however I got there early and hardily anyone was there so they let me on early.

The museum also has a “ride” where you can pretend to be a mail sorter in a train carriage and times how quickly you can correctly sort all the mail. A bit of fun for the afternoon.

Inside the Mail Rail train. Royal Mail stopped using it in 2003

Whilst I was there Sharon and Emma continued the shopping and had ice-cream at Chin Chin again where they make it on the spot with liquid nitrogen. This was a Mango Lassie with coconut yoghurt and bee pollen honeycomb.

img_2894

Other exhibits in the museum.

img_2882

After a break in the apartment for a few hours it was off to Borough Markets to find some dinner and walk around. It was a magic evening here in London. A few of the pics below. The old ruin is Winchester Place.

The ship Golden Hinde (Francis Drake’s Ship)

img_2912