Derek's Pit Stop in London

Hi readers! I (Derek) had the time of my life for the last 3 weeks skiing, exploring, learning, and above all *eating* as much as I could in Japan. Unfortunately, on January 22nd, it came time for me to leave the incredible country and my dear friend CJ to return home.

Much like Jake, I decided to make a pit stop in Old England to visit a friend before returning home to New England. When I booked my flights, London seemed like a natural stepping stone to get back to the states. But after almost 16 hours in the air, I started to think something was up. The pilots opted for the scenic route I guess.

After landing at Heathrow, I took the Piccadilly Line to Cockfosters and got off at the Earl's Court stop. What an introduction!

At Earl's Court, I met up with Thomas, my longtime friend from preschool who is studying at Imperial College London. Having arrived late and jet lagged, I quickly downed a shawarma (Challenge: comment below how many times that word has been used in this blog) and slept for 11 hours. Much needed fuel for the weekend ahead.

THOMAS

We began our weekend with a walk to Borough Market. We glanced at a few pretty places along our route, but much like my time with CJ, our bellies were calling the shots.

Buckingham Palace:

Westminster Abbey:

Big Ben:

And finally.... The Black Pig in Borough Market (Appearance #2 on the Blog)!

At the Black Pig, we shared their signature honey truffle and pork ciabatta. We devoured it on the street over a pigeon poop painted window sill and a discarded spoon -- an experience I could never have found in Japan.

We wandered around Borough Market a while longer to soak it all in and scarf it all down. I cleansed my palate with truffle oil mac and cheese, bread soaked in various olive oil samples, mulled cider, chocolate covered strawberries, and a macchiato to go. 

We wrapped up the afternoon with a couple more landmarks including: 

• The Tower Bridge and London Bridge

• Left: The Tower Bridge (not the London Bridge) as seen from the (very underwhelming) London Bridge

• Right: Two handsome fellas in front of the Tower Bridge

• St. Paul's Cathedral

From there, we went to F1 Arcade London where we caught some more views of the cathedral and where I got repeatedly smoked in race simulators by my automotive and aerospace engineer, F1 fanatic, and healthily competitive friend, Thomas

We spent the rest of the night hopping between pubs older than the USA, including one pub so old King Henry VIII could have had a pint there after beheading one of his wives

Finally, we ended our night under the Golden Arches

The next day, we started slow and late with an English Breakfast and a stroll around Hyde park 

I couldn't resist seeing one last Japanese garden at the nearby Holland Park 

At this point, it was time for the most exciting part of our weekend: seeing an English Football League Championship (EFL Championship is to Premier League as Triple-A is to MLB) football (soccer) match (game) between Wrexham and the Queen's Park Rangers. Of course, we got some fish and chips (fish and french fries) and a pint (beer) before the match (game).

In true American fashion we went into the game ready to support Wrexham (the Welsh away team) with the only reason being that the club is owned by Hollywood stars and national heroes Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac.

Also in true American fashion, I was unaware that they physically separate the two team's fans in the stadium and I accidentally bought tickets in a Queen's Park Rangers section -- QPR fans it is. 

On our way into the stadium we saw scores of officers, a few mobile drunk tanks, two ponies, and a man trying, but failing, to resist arrest.

I went into the game with high expectations, and it turned out even better than I expected. The atmosphere was electric, and the game was intense. We were sandwiched between a group of loud older men who conveniently announced the entire game, and a just-as-loud 10 year old boy who shouted creative insults at any Wrexham player in hearing distance.

After being behind all game, Wrexham came back to win with two goals after the 90th minute. Wrexham fans it is! It was an incredible game -- check out the highlights if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZwb-QcjSPo

We ended the day in SOHO with Thomas's friends from school singing, dancing, and drinking my second to last night away

The next morning, the long travel days and extensive activities were catching up to me. We kept it simple with some pastries in the morning, followed by a quick self-guided tour of the British Museum

The Rosetta Stone and Parthenon Sculptures!

 

We then got dinner at Dishoom, another London staple appearing for its second time on this blog. Then we ended the day with a movie night and got some much needed rest before my last full day in London

We had another late and slow start to the next day. By this point I felt I had gotten what I came for. We were both happy chilling, catching up, and casually walking to find food all day -- an activity I have become well practiced in since landing in Japan. We checked off one last British culinary staple for breakfast: a steak and ale pie with mash

We then took a long slow walk around Chelsea, stopping for pastries and coffee at the end. 

We took the tube back and had Lebanese food followed by Chinese food for dinner -- no pictures unfortunately :(

We ended day 4 with another movie night. Unfortunately, my time was coming to an end, and I had an early flight back to Boston the next day. We tucked ourselves in early.

The next day, Thomas and I both woke at the crack of dawn and said our goodbyes before returning to the real world. As I left for one final ride on the Piccadilly line, Thomas got ready for his return to studying rocket science. 

Thank you Thomas and CJ for being great travel buddies and great friends 💝. My time in Japan and London was incredible and I can't wait to see what other adventures the future brings us.

Back to a cold, slushy and always beautiful Hanover, NH