Getting Over "the Lag" in London

Morocco is back in business, fully reopened to visitors following Covid. We have been trying to get there for a few years, so close to Spain, but never made it. The Moroccan coastline teased us from several places in southern Spain and Gibraltar, and there is so much north African influence on Spain. Finally, this week we flew to London and are continuing on to Casablanca from here. We will explore Morocco for most of November, then finish off the trip in Canary Islands. We will be home for Christmas, traveling to Denver via London on Dec 20.

We have spent the last few days visiting our niece Erika, getting over jet lag and doing final prep for our first trip to Africa. Nice that we could travel to her, instead of the other way around! After dropping our luggage at Barclay House London, our BnB, we met Erika at Green Park. We needed to make sure Buckingham Palace was still standing without the Queen. It is and no signs of King Charles lll, the guards are still changing, and the flags are still flying.

This one's for you Auntie Donna!

We walked along the Thames and saw Big Ben and the London Eye, just like every other tourist in London!

We walked through the West End Theatre District to see some places Erika has worked and will be working in the future. We look forward to returning and see her in action at one of these fancy theatres.

Had dinner at Masala Zone, a great Indian restaurant. Man, do they know how to make Indian food here! Erika had a fancy drink called an Almond & Rose Sour (amaretto, ginger liqueur and rose petals):

Headed off to see “Cabaret”, which was fantastic and in a super cool theater, set up as a speakeasy or cabaret called the Kit Kat Club. Highly recommend this remake of a 1960’s classic musical. Really makes you think about how tough some people had it leading up to and during WW II. (No photos allowed inside)

Our BNB at 21 Barclay Road is in an awesome location in Fulham, very clean and quiet. Highly recommend and of course the wonderful breakfast, including welsh tea cakes that were delicious, but not as good as Auntie Donna’s! Here’s the link if you are looking for a place in London:
https://www.barclayhouselondon.com/

Met Erika for lunch at Kings Cross Train Station as she was headed towards Manchester for work. Kings Cross is an international station with Eurostar trains from all over Europe arriving and departing. A great statue, unofficially called "The Lovers":

We had never ridden the London Eye before, so decided to join the hordes of tourists. Awesome views…once in a lifetime is more than enough!

Next stop: #2 Best Bar in the world! Really! (Here is the link to the article: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/world-best-bars-2022/index.html). I enjoyed a Bergamot Margarita and Dean had a Sandalwood Martini. The drinks were very tasty, the service was exceptional, but the ambiance was quite understated (I’m trying to be polite, Dean said “they forgot about ambiance “). All the drinks were pre-made and served in very simple glasses. Check out the picture of the world’s smallest back bar! Definitely the focus was on the drink!

Next day we needed a rainy-day activity, so headed for the Victoria and Albert Museum, part of Prince Albert’s legacy to the nation after the Great Exhibition of 1851. We always go to the British Museum when we are in London so decided it was time for a change. All the big museums are free in London, a great value! Amazing how many 100’s if not 1,000’s of treasures are on display there.

A Chihuly chandelier in the entrance:

A bed big enough for Dean (Great Bed of Ware):

The cast room, copies of famous sculptures:

Queen Victoria’s sapphire and diamond coronet, designed by Prince Albert:

We walked by Trafalgar Square to see if the Canadian Embassy was still in business, and were pleased to see it was. It was getting dark but still a great view:

We headed to the theatre district again, heading this time for “Come From Away”, the production about 9/11 and the 38 flights carrying 7000 people and 19 animals, landing in Gander, Newfoundland, unexpectedly due to the air space closure. A very remote, small town of about 9000 people. Very different from Cabaret, but equally good. Hard to believe there could be an uplifting play about 9/11. Made us proud to be Canadian! 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Had a lovely dinner at Mortimers before the show, food was so great we just ate it! They really perfected the two vegetarian meals we had - grilled pumpkin & mint gnocchi and grilled cauliflower with Romescos sauce. We highly recommend this restaurant in Soho and it’s a short walk to the theaters.

It was sunny today, so headed for Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens in Richmond. This is Britain’s most spectacular Tudor palace from the 16th century. Think Henry VIII and what happened to his six wives, all that history is here at this palace. I think his last wife made out the best, she out lived him. Very interesting!

King Henry VIII’s crown:

King Henry VIII’s wine barrel room:

The extensive grounds and gardens:

A pano for Zane:

No time for the Kew Gardens, so we headed to Forest Hill for our last night with Erika. We had a chance to see her flat. A large place that she shares with 2 roommates. She has a big bedroom and a decent size living room with a separate room for her piano.

Off to Morocco! First stop - Casablanca.

The dogs we miss:

We plan to post regularly but depending on connectivity may be delayed. We will be in touch soon!