I was back in London for a quick work trip. Because of family commitments, I couldn't extend the trip beyond two extra days.I was able to see London despite of the time constraints. It still was an enjoyable trip.
This trip was like the Bangalore trip I had right before this one. Abrupt and last minute. This was the reason why I couldn't plan my itinerary outside of my work hours properly.
I flew with United Airlines this time and it was a very pleasant flight. The good thing about flying into London Heathrow is that it is only a little over 10 hours of plane ride away from San Francisco. For freebies, United gave this cute goodie bag during the flight. I am not sure if this is something they're doing now because they used to only give out small tin cans with the toiletries in it. I like this goodie bag better because a bag is more practical and can be reused many many times unlike the tin can which has very limited ways for reuse.
[read my United Airlines blog, January 2019]
Even though I had flown into Heathrow airport many times and three times in the last three years, I always forget the very long walk I have to take to get out of the airport and to the transportation lines. That walk must be longer than a mile! I would perspire by the time I reach the train platforms.
I love London's public transport and they made the London Heathrow (LHR) airport easily accessible to and from the city. San Francisco International (SFO) is also easily reached via the Bay Area Rapid Train (BART). There was a time when Mijo and I traveled on a personal trip to London and we literally did a train-to-airport-to-train by hopping on a BART train from our neighborhood in the city to get to SFO and then from Heathrow to the London borough of Westminster via the London underground.
The ride to Paddington station from the airport is roughly 15 minutes.
I can never get tired of this view!
This time the Hilton Paddington hotel was selected for me as my temporary home for this trip. The hotel is connected to the station via this small shopping area with lots of options for dining and shopping.
I arrived early and I couldn't check in to my hotel room right away so I decided to walk around the city while there was still day light. I was going to meet up with my childhood friend B later on the day. I got off Leicester Square station and had planned to walk from there all the way to the Southbank.
I had done this Golden Jubilee Bridges walk before but on the other side. This bridge is actually a set of three parallel bridges. One railway bridge and two foot bridges. The footbridges are on the sides of the railway bridge. This is why there are two completely different views. Both views are equally picturesque.
This side has this view - the Thames River, the London Eye, and the Big Ben.
I always enjoy a stroll around the Southbank especially during the weekend. There is an air of easiness and relaxation.
There was a Christmas Market up already this early in the season.
I love it!
There were a lot of families with young kids having fun!
And of course, the view is picturesque no matter what time of day I am there. One of my favorite skyscrapers in London is One Blackfriars, which is the glass building that has a boomerang shape in the picture below. Because of its shape, the building has a different look depending on the time of day because of the way the light is reflected off the building.
Even though I had no plans of buying anything, perusing through these used books and prints gave me a very London feel. I was browsing through the books and trying to think if these titles are available in my little neighborhood bookstore in San Francisco. There were times I felt like I was judging London readers based on these selections of books.
Fortunately, the museum currently has these massive sculptures by Kara Walker on display in its main hall. This one is called Fons Americanus. It is inspired by the Victoria Memorial (in front of the Buckingham Palace) and presents a story of the African diaspora and a statement about slavery. It explores the intersection of the histories of Europe, America and Africa and uses water as its key theme.
The other sculpture is a shell grotto. I didn't see an inscription written anywhere near the sculpture so I do not know if this was part of the Kara Walker installation.
After my visit to the Tate Modern, I decided to finally walk on the Millennium Bridge. I had been to London many times but I have never been or walked on the Millennium Bridge. If you had seen the Harry Potter and Half Blood Prince movie, you'd probably remember this bridge. There was a moment I stopped and tried to feel the wobble but no wobble.
The St. Paul Cathedral is on the other end of the bridge so I decided to walk to the cathedral. Taking photos is not allowed inside and I knew that. I just went inside to escape the cold weather and get myself some needed rest and break.
I went to get a quick bite at Paul Cafe which is near the cathedral. I had eaten at a Paul Cafe in their other London and Paris locations before so I had an idea what I'd get. I had an artichoke salad and but got carried away with the dessert of lemon tarte and raspberry macaron. Mind you, these sweets are a bit larger than the normal sizes I'm accustomed to. I only had a small slice of each and then brought the left over back to the hotel. I didn't want to waste these tasty treats.
I went back to the hotel to finally check in and to freshen up. I took a short nap and then waited for my friend B to meet me up at the hotel to go have dinner. She suggested to go to a Filipino place called Romulo Cafe on Kensington High Street.
Coincidentally, I had been to a Romulo Cafe in Manila before and I loved the food they serve. This made me even more curious to check out their London location. They sat us right away and served us these warm pandesal as soon as we got there. Apparently, you can buy pan de sal for take away at this restaurant and this is exactly what B did.
We decided to get the following: shrimp paste bagoong fried rice, chicken sisig, grilled stuffed squid and smoked fish tinapa spring rolls with cider vinegar. Everything was super delicious and it was truly Filipino but with a British twist!
For desserts, we decided to get the banana fritters turon with toffee sauce and sans rival coated with coursely ground nuts. Even though I saw my friend B a year ago in London, I still had a great time catching up with her over Filipino dinner. I was going to see her and her husband J later on this trip.
Monday morning arrived and the Hilton Paddington was serving a familiar breakfast selection of eggs, grilled tomatoes, beans, sausage and toast. They leave an entire carafe of coffee on the table. They have an omelet station and a good selection of fruits.
As always, I love the English style orange marmalade!
Monday ended and my first day at work was a success. Since I cannot tell you what had transpired at work, I can only tell you about my daily evening strolls in London. I can also tell you about my dinners and the live theatre performances I saw that week. The sun went down after 4pm during the month of November so 6pm looked dark like it was already very late at night.
I went back to the hotel to drop off my work stuff. Like my previous work trip to London, I decided to do another 'after office hours walk' around the city on Monday evening. After a quick bus ride from Paddington to the Marble Arch, I decided to walk from there on Oxford Street.
From there, I walked a couple of big blocks to The Selfridges department store to get my shopping list checked off.
My shopping list wasn't a lot but I had in my list some tea for family and there is no better place for that but at the Food Hall of The Selfridges.
Since I was in the area, I decided to get dinner inside the department store at a place called Brass Rail. I had a light dinner of tuna melt with a cup of chicken soup. The food was good but I couldn't finish the dinner because I think I was more tired than hungry.
Tuesday went by so quickly and it was another prolific day at work. I was going to meet my friends B and J at Covent Garden for drinks and dinner after work. Since I had time to kill before our planned meeting time, I decided to drop by an eclectic record store called Fopp. My plan was to get off at Picadilly Circus and walk on Shaftesbury Avenue to Fopp.
I made it to Fopp and was able to find the CD that I was looking for and another one my friend D wanted me to get for her. It was drizzling that night with a bit of wind making it extra challenging to use my umbrella. From Fopp, I walked on Earlham St. and got to this cute intersection called Seven Dials.
My leisurely walks brought me to this well lit alley called Conduit Court. I am not sure if it was lit because of the Holidays or it is always like this? It leads to another equally cute street called Floral Court.
I finally made it to Covent Garden! I was secretly happy about all the different sights that I stumbled into during my walks that evening.
My friends B, J and I grew up in the same neighborhood outside of Manila but they now live in London. I saw them a year ago when I went to London for another work trip. Mijo and I also saw them a couple of years ago when we visited London on a personal trip.
B, J and I decided to go to Buns and Buns to get something light for dinner. I ordered this very tasty Passion Fruit by Drake drink and then we shared an order of crispy calamari and then we each ordered a bun. I ordered the truffle and mushroom bun. B and J ordered pork belly buns. It was a very delicious and light dinner.
We continued our catching up while leisurely walking to Chinatown. I had never been to London's Chinatown before that evening. The place is crowded even though it was raining. The lanterns hanging above us made the scene extra festive despite the cold and the damp feeling.
B and J wanted to have desserts at a Filipino ice cream parlor called Mamasons. I didn't ask what's with the name but I thought it is kind of catchy and quite easy to remember.
I didn't expect for an ice cream place to be crowded on a cold night. We were there for a long time and I noticed the turnover was pretty quick because groups would come and go. Business is doing well and I'm so happy for them. We ordered what is called bilog or ice cream filled sandwiches or pandesal. The flavors are ube and black coconut. They were both extra delicious!
Wednesday felt long and I could feel the exhaustion taking over my body. I decided that evening maybe a good time to see a musical or live theatre. That night was my chill night.
I decided to see Only Fools and Horses at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. The musical is based on a popular British sitcom of the same title. Even though I didn't grow up in London, the musical made the punchlines easy to understand that even I was able to get most of them so that was great. Some references to the French and Italian languages were also used in the jokes so my little European language skills came in handy. The play was so good and entertaining that it kept me awake the entire time.
I went to Duck and Waffle Local for dinner which is near the theatre. I decided to get their... duck and waffle. That was so predictable of me, wasn't it? I must tell you though. It was so good I'll try to go back here and bring my friends B and J if I get to go back to London for work.
Thursday also felt long. The good thing was that I had a full night of sleep the night before so I had reserved energy for my city stroll on Thursday night. Carnaby Street in SOHO was having a lighting ceremony that night so I went to check it out.
They even had a live DJ playing festive Holiday songs and also the latest pop songs. Too bad my friend B and J were not available because they would have enjoyed this event.
Even the adjacent streets near Carnaby also had their festive lights on.
For dinner, I went for simple and unassuming Italian comfort food at Spaghetti House near Carnaby St.
Finally, Friday arrived and it was going to be the last day of my official work duties. The day felt long and the week longer and I felt exhausted. However, I didn't want to waste my Friday night so I decided to take it easy and saw Woman In Black at the Fortune Theatre. It was my first time to see a suspenseful plot on a live theatre. That was a great play and managed to keep everyone on our toes. It was that scary!
For dinner, I went back to Paddington and found a restaurant near the hotel called Il Gusto. I had a light meal of minestrone soup and bruschetta paired with a house wine of Chianti Classico while trying to fill out my post cards. Like the other evening, I was more tired than hungry.
I extended my stay for two more days to take advantage of the weekend so that I could spend one more day with my childhood friends B and J and also to see some part of the city that I haven't seen before.
Since I was going to be paying out of pocket for my accommodation during that weekend, I wanted a budget hotel near the Hilton. I checked out of Hilton right after breakfast and then checked in to a more modest hotel called Rose Park also in the same Paddington area.
This place is only one block away from the Paddington station and the surroundings look like the place was miles away from the train station. The great thing about that boutique hotel was that they checked me in right away. This gave me extra time before I meet up with my friends B and J later that morning.
After I checked in and left my luggages at my hotel room, I took the underground to go to Westfield Shepherd Bush because that was where I was going meet up with B and J. I got to the mall early so I was able to walk around the mall to check it out. People seem like they were already in the festive mood for some Holiday shopping.
B, J and I went to Oxford and spent the entire rainy afternoon there. I'll try to write a blog about my trips to Oxford when I get a chance. We had a late dinner at Jollibee back in London. I had a great time with them. Even though this work trip was only for one week, I got to see them on two evenings and the entire Saturday.
Sunday arrived. The breakfast at my modest hotel was also simpler compared to my breakfasts at the Hilton. This continental breakfast was enough to last me until noon.
It rained all day Saturday but Sunday was sunny and fair.
I had planned to walk around SOHO that day. The Sunday scene was peaceful and very quiet.
I did a similar Sunday walk a year ago around Picadilly Circus. This is where I did mental notes about stores, restaurants and hotels for the next trips, if there would be any.
I even saw restaurant called Tortilla that is not only Californian, not only San Franciscan, but Mission District of all places.
Mission District burrito rocks!
I love these streets. I remember I had lunch with a colleague around this area and this street looked different during the week with crowd in it.
I saw the Jamie musical a year ago and I loved it. I noticed that they have a new lead actor different from when I last saw the musical.
My walk took me to the National Portrait Gallery. In my many travels to London, I had not been to this museum until this trip. So I made sure to give myself enough time to see the collections.
This museum houses portraits of prominent British from several centuries ago to the present time like portraits of Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, famous royals, dukes, writers, scientists, showbiz, etc. Of course, my favorites are the Tudors and Queen Elizabeth I.
And guess whose portrait made it to the museum? Everybody's favorite pop singer?
I went to the nearest Pret-a-Manger for a late lunch. I ordered a salmon salad, a split pea soup and a cup of fruit.
I also tried, for the very first time, minced pie. I didn't know it was really good and sweet. I had originally thought it was a savory pie. I think they are only available during the Holiday season.
I dropped by the National Gallery just because it is next door and I had time to kill after my late lunch. That was just the second time I visited the museum. The gallery where Van Gogh's works are displayed, as always, was packed with art lovers.
I also brought home a Van Gogh magnet for the fridge.
Outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, there was a Christmas Market.
Too bad because I just had lunch about an hour ago. I very much wanted to try these pancakes but I was still full. I couldn't buy anything either because there was not any more room left in my luggage.
I walked back to Leicester Square and I couldn't help but admire these Christmas lights. It is true what they say about London during Christmas season. That Christmas time is a magical experience because of the city goes out of its way to show the Holiday spirit.
I heard about the angel lights on Oxford St. from my coworkers. Unfortunately, those lights were not going to be lit until one week after I leave.
Fortunately, the Christmas market just opened that evening.
I feel lucky to have seen these markets while I was there. Too bad I couldn't bring these goodies with me because I wasn't sure if they travel well.
For dinner, I wasn't really hungry but I didn't want to go back to the hotel and then look for something to eat around there. Good thing I found this place called Wok to Walk selling chow meins to go.
Even though it wasn't late yet, the thin crowd in the subway was a tell tale sign that it was Sunday night and my trip was winding down.
The following day was a Monday and I took an early Heathrow Express train back to the airport.
Even though only I saw the city mostly at night, I still managed to enjoy this work trip. As always, I love going to this city. Until the next time, London!
~rl
No comments:
Post a Comment