My travel journal about London #5

September 29, 2011
I woke up around noon after a late-night drinking session.
My friend left for the US in the early morning.
After I took a shower, I went to a cafe to have brunch.
I found a nice cafe called "EAT." near my hotel.
"EAT." provides real homemade food (sandwich, soup, coffee etc) at reasonable prices.

There are more than 100 EAT cafes in London.  I saw some EATs here and there around London.
The shops are modern and clean.  The staff are friendly.
I ordered a vegetable pie and fruit salad.

The taste is extremely close to a real homemade pie.

If EAT. catches on in Japan, it would be popular among young Japanese people.
I really want them to start business in my country.

After eating brunch, I went to Slone Square.
This area is one of my favorite places in London. It's very cozy.
I walked along the King's Road and enjoyed shopping.

I decided to take a double decker bus from Slone Square to Piccadilly Circus.
The view from the top of a double decker bus is just like sightseeing.
I was interested to notice that on the second floor of the bus, there is a monitor at the front, showing us the driver's eye view.  It must be connected to a camera downstairs.

There is a monitor at the front, showing us the driver's eye view. 

I finally got to Piccadilly Circus and went straight to The Prince of Wales Theatre.
The show started at 19:30.  The theatre was almost full.
The most of audience were singing and dancing with actors and actresses.
I really enjoyed seeing "MAMMA MIA".
"MAMMA MIA" filled me with energy.
I finished my journey by watching this uplifting show.

My travel journal about London #4

September 28, 2011
I was thinking about visiting Buackingham Palace because I saw a poster at the tube station during my stay in London.
The Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress took centre-stage in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace during the annual Summer Opening.
I tried to book a ticket on the Internet.  However, the tickets were sold out.

I should have booked the ticket beforehand.

I decided to go to the National Gallery.
I went there on my first day in London, but I didn't have enough time to see the exhibits.
I paid ￡3.50p for a Multimedia Guide.
The Gadget guided me through the gallery efficiently.
After I enjoyed seeing some exhibits, I went to the Prince of Wales Theater to get tickets for "MAMMA MIA".
It was easy to get good seats at the box office.
After getting the tickets, I went to Monument to see my friend.
He was my English teacher in the past.  He taught me English for 3 years.
I intended to take him out for lunch but he treated me.
He made a reservation at a restaurant for us. The food was really delicious.

The food is delicious at Butcher at Leadenhall 

After I met my friend in the City, I returned to my hotel and took a break.
I walked around "Tower Hill", the area near my hotel.
Tower Bridge and The Tower of London are the landmarks in this area.

The Tower of London

Tower Bridge

In the evening, I went to dinner with my friend.
I really enjoyed having Indian food.  There are many Indian restaurants in London.
I went to a traditional English pub after having Indian food.
The pub is called the "Pommelers Rest", which is on Tower Bridge Road just a block from the Thames River.
The atmosphere was very English. 

Pommelers Rest is near Tower Bridge

My travel journal about London #3

September 27, 2011

I woke up around 7:00 am and went to Starbucks that morning.

A Latte was ￡2.20.  The quantity of coffee was almost double compared to a Latte in Japan.

I usually drink a cup of coffee (Latte) and pay ￥340 at Starbucks in Tokyo.

I think the price of coffee in London is cheaper than in Tokyo.

I ordered a butter croissant.

After breakfast, I went to the British Museum.

When I entered the museum, I paid ￡5 for a Multimedia Guide.

It was easy for me to understand the exhibits that way.

Although I walked around the museum for 3 hours, I hadn't finished seeing all the exhibits that the Multimedia Guide included.

I wish I had learnt about the exhibits I was interested in beforehand.

I recommend that visitors to the British Museum should do research beforehand.

I decided to take a break in the coffee shop at the museum because I was tired of walking around.

When I tried to pay the cashier, the cashier refused my cash.

I changed some yen to pounds 4 years ago, so my currency was old and wasn't distributed in the UK.

I had to go to a bank to change the old currency into the new currency.

I felt uneasy because I walked around the city without carrying cash.

I found a bank near the museum and got some new currency.

The lady I was dealing with at the bank was very kind.

After changing the money, I went to Harrods in Knightsbridge.
Compared with the situation 2007, the number of customers has decreased.

A posh area, like Knightsbridge might be swallowed by the wave of the recession.
I bought some things in Harrods and went to MARKS & SPENCER to get some food.
The cooked food I bought in the store was really delicious.
I thought the food in the UK was not good. However, the quality of UK food is improving.
I love rhubarb crumble. Unfortunately , I don't have any chance to buy it in Japan.

My travel journal about London #2

September 26, 2011
I woke up at 8:00 and went to the restaurant to have breakfast in the hotel.
The restaurant provided a bountiful buffet breakfast.
I tried the grilled tomatoes.  They were really delicious.

I walked the 5 minutes from the hotel to the tube station.
I was worried that my Oyster card might have expired because I bought it 4 years ago.
However, I was able to go through the gate.  I got off at Charing Cross and went to The National Gallery.
I explored the gallery quickly because I was expecting to meet my friend at 13:00.  So, I couldn't take my time to enjoy the beautiful paintings.  I decided to come back again sometime in the future.
I met my friend and spoke about what we would do that day.
We decided to watch a show at night. I requested to watch "Ghost".
I love the story line and the show is not in Japan yet.

We tried to book tickets on the Internet or by phone.  However, there were no seats available.
We went to Piccadilly Theater by taxi immediately.  Fortunately, we were able to get tickets at the box office. Then we walked around Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden.
When we passed "The Trocadero", he nostalgically remembered having a good time there in his youth.  It must be a place that holds many good memories for him.
Then we went to two English Pubs and enjoyed drinking.  We were having a conversation and talking about our memories and recent events.  We were staying at "The Devonshire Arms" until the time the show started.  The staff were friendly and the food was good in the Pub.

The show was fantastic.  I really enjoyed it. The actors and actresses performed very well.  The story-line was reproduced from the original movie precisely.

My travel journal about London #1

September 25, 2011
I was leaving for London from Narita airport to meet my old friends.
My company gave me a one-week vacation as a length-of service award this autumn.
It was a first time to fly Virgin Atlantic. The seats were almost full on the plane.
I enjoyed watching some movies during flight.

• Jusst Go with It
• Bridesmaids
• Tha Adjustment Bureau

"Bridesmaids" was the funniest movie of the three.

Unfortunately, the movies were played only in English (without Japanese subtitle), so I did not understand the story precisely. However, I understood the plot and enjoyed them.

I watched a TV drama called "The Big C".
I've been a big fun of Laura Linney ever since she played the role of Sarah in "Love Actually".
Do you remember Sarah?
She has been in love for years with her company's creative director, Karl. A tryst between Karl and herself is interrupted by Sarah's mentally ill brother, Michael, and this effecively ends their relationship.

This show also played only in English. (without Japanese subtitle)


Laura Linney's interview about "The Big C".

I finally arrived at Heathrow airport in London.
I got on the Heathrow Express and got off at the terminal, Paddington.
I took a cab from Paddington to Tower hill.
It cost ￡30 from Paddington to the hotel.
It was OK because the driver was very kind.
After I checked in to the hotel, I decided to walk around the hotel to get a bottle of water.
Although there were some beverages in the fridge in my room, I wanted to keep a bottle of water.
It was already 8pm. I finally found a newsagent near the tube station.

*A newsagent's shop (British English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, snacks and often items of local interest. In Britain and Australia, the person who operates such a business is said to be a newsagent. Newsagents typically operate in well-trafficked public places like city streets, railway stations and airports.


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