London Digested, pt. II

Here's some photos from the second day of my attempt to stay away from the tourist hot spots. It rained for about two hours right as I got off the train at Fenchurch Street and my one goal for the day was to find a pub Jon had told me about called Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, a place referenced in numerous Dickens novels and also rumoured to be the place Samuel Johnson worked on what would become the first dictionary of the English language. Pretty cool huh? Yeah, I couldn't find it.


A statue thought to be Roman Emperor Trajan, aka the Virtuous Pagan. There's a nickname you don't hear nowadays.


I was thinking this would be a good look for me in the 2009


Don't worry, he sees me


This is the most beautiful photo this swan has ever taken


There's a pigeon obesity epidemic in the UK


Moments later the birds carried this man away. There was nothing I could do.


This is actually very cool


Outside Buckingham Palace


Don't be so coy


This reminds of something


Westminster Abbey = Brilliant


If you try long enough to take a photo of yourself in front of Parliament some stranger will finally come rescue you and offer their services


Not all great historical figures have great historical posture


I will model my own landscaping after that of the Houses of Parliament


Obligatory shot of Big Ben


In London, ferris wheels turn counter clockwise, unless you're standing on the opposite side of them.


I stood and watched this for some time

For my final night in England, Jon & Michelle took me out for some good food and drinks. We started off at The Hoop, a pub in Stock.




Perfect!

We couldn't decide what we wanted so just ordered three dishes and wherever the waitress placed them, that's what we ate. It worked out well because after two pints...



and a bowl of winter root soup...



...I was ready to dig in & I got the heartiest of the three meals.

Meal #1: Homecooked Smoked Ham, 2 Eggs & Chunky Chips



Meal #2: Hunters Chicken with Chunky Bread



Meal #3: The Hoop’s Toad in the Hole with Mash & Onion Gravy



Can you guess which I got?

You know it! Toad in the Hole! And I killed it.



On our way to the next pub Jon took us thru some backroads which highlighted driving the car thru a fjord, some breathtaking houses, and deciding to pull over on the darkest road I've ever been on to explore an old church.






Just before we got back home we stopped at one last place to cap off the night with a pint or two of Guinness and some good ol' conversation. We closed the place out.




The next morning it was time to go, but not without a final bowl of my beloved Mini Banana Wheat Bisks, the best cereal ever.



My flight home was rough. A lot of turbulence, but I had great company. A couple of ladies, BB & Jenny, traveling to NYC to do some Xmas shopping. They were a riot. BB all but maimed the row behind trying to change into her "flying socks" in the aisle, and only upon landing did I learn that, in some way, somehow, BB was the original Bridget Jones. She had to change her name to avoid the publicity. Strange. Here we are.



England is pretty cool.