London with Mom!

While this blog is devoted to the adventures of Lisa and Christos as a pair, on occasion one of the pair has their own adventures or adventures with others! In this particular case, Christos' mom (Barbara) was in England for a holiday during which Lisa had work obligations on the West Coast so off Christos went for an extra long weekend with Mom in London!

Christos arrived on Saturday morning on the bumpy red-eye flight and took the tube to Paddington Station. Given the glorious weather, it was then time for a stroll through Mayfair and other boroughs on the way to the Strand Palace Hotel, our domicile for the next four evenings.

A brief stop in Mayfair at Purdey's resulted in a lovely new Autumn / Winter tweed coat before Christos made it to the rendezvous with Mama.

After copious hugs and kisses the two of us headed out for a walk through Covent Garden and beyond to Camden for a late afternoon visit to the madness that is the Camden Market. We grabbed a pint and enjoyed the atmosphere before hopping in a cab back to the hotel. After a brief rest it was off to a French Restaurant in Soho for dinner for two. Dinner was good but not great and the escargots were definitely the highlight (not to mention the most expensive thing we had; $50 for a dozen!).

The next day (Sunday) it was off for a walk to Borough Market which unfortunately is closed on Sundays! Now that we were on the south side of the Thames, we opted for breakfast at a local hole in the wall before taking a lovely stroll over to the Imperial War Museum for a visit.

Mom had initially been reluctant to visit the IWM (military history not really being her cup of tea), but she soon warmed up to the place. It just oozes too much history and has many interactive experiences. We toured the WWII area extensively after which Christos bought a new shemag as Lisa had immediately absconded with the one he purchased on the last visit!

Then we hopped in an uber to take us across the Thames to the National Gallery. We spent a good deal of time wandering the halls, drinking in the art as best we could. Of course, Christos purchased a handful of dish towels of various famous prints. Then it was next door to the National Portrait Gallery which we once more toured for quite some time, and Christos bought more dish towels, before heading back to the hotel.

After a brief rest it was off for Sunday night roast at the renowned Blacklock in Soho. Dinner was at 5:45PM, a late seating for traditional Sunday roast, and the basement dining hall was packed with diners. After a ten minute wait with the occasional jostling we sat down and ordered the Sunday roast dinner for two.


It was amazing!!! Charcoal cooked lamb, pork and roast beef sliced up and piled high on a plate with yorkshire pudding, duck fat fried potatoes and garnish greens supporting the whole affair. I highly recommend the restaurant to carnivores in London on a Sunday night.

After a very fulsome dinner we opted for a slow stroll back to the hotel with several stops for pints and merriment on the way.

London's pub scene nightlife is European in flair and makes Toronto's bar scene look listless and weak by comparison. At each establishment Christos would have a pint of Guinness while Barbara sipped a half pint of the local lager. Some silliness may have ensued but nothing dangerous and we made it back to the hotel at a decent hour.

Monday off we went for a long (10km+) stroll to Kensington and Chelsea with the main attraction being a visit to the Victoria and Albert museum. We spent quite a bit of time at the museum before heading off on a renewed wander with stops on highbrow Jermyn Street and some shopping at one of my favourites, the amazing Fortnum and Mason.

In the late afternoon we stopped by Covent Garden and spent some time enjoying the buskers and a pint nearby. That evening we opted for excellent Indian food nearby the hotel. With our bellies full of spicy goodness we retired for the evening knowing that we had but one more day together to tour fair London.

Tuesday involved a significant visit to the British Museum as well as more wanderings including a stop at the Twinings Tea Store on the Strand, founded in 1706 as a tea house, and a quick visit to a WeWork workspace (WeWork being the business implosion story of the time).

I can't quite recall what dinner was but I do recall we hit quite a few pubs after dinner including the Black Friar, with its wonderful art deco pieces, and Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, one of London's oldest drinking establishments!

Wednesday was a shortened day with more wandering and pints before we parted, Mom for an overnight at the airport and Christos for a flight back to Toronto.