Tag Archives: London

Other Bargains and Deals in London

29 Saturday Sep 2012

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Mr. Selfish and I are all about the bargains and deals, especially when you’re in an expensive city like London.  I’ve already gone over the 2 for 1 deals, as well as the free parks, museums, and markets available for lounging, learning, and browsing in London.

1.  Shakespeare Globe Theatre – You can buy tickets to any show for 5 pounds.  Mr. Selfish and I watched “Taming of the Shrew.”  For a 5 pounds ticket, you have to stand in the Yard for the entire performance and are subject to the elements since it is uncovered.  But hey, it’s 5 pounds.  What other performance can you see for 5 pounds in London?  Not much.

Aside from the standing and being subject to the elements, the view from the Yard is the best in the Globe.  You can see everything clearly and the actors direct their voices toward you.  Another plus is that you can bring in food and drinks (in plastic containers) to enjoy during the performance.  It’s a bargain at 5 pounds!

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Searching for the Best Curry in London

27 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, Food & Drinks, London, Searching for the Best . . ., United Kingdom

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Mr. Selfish and I enjoy a good curry.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to stop in India on this trip.  We decided to search for the ultimate curry in the next best location – London.

1.  Lahore Kebab House is a restaurant off of Brick Lane, and no, it is not just a kebab house.  My little cousin, Mr. Selfish, and I had samosas for an appetizer and then enjoyed the Bindi Lamb and the Chicken Tikki Masala as our entrees.  The spiciness was just right but I typically like my curry to be a little on the spicier side.  The naan was also perfectly cooked, and they even let us into the kitchen to show us how the naan was cooked.

Verdict:  The best naan I’ve had yet, and the bindi lamb was spiced just right.

Score:  8.5

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England Has Trashy Beaches Too – Brighton

26 Wednesday Sep 2012

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Mr. Selfish hadn’t traveled much around England, so he was happy to do most day trips.  However, I had done quite a few day trips, so I wanted to go somewhere I hadn’t been before.  I discovered that Brighton was a beach town that was only about an hour train ride from London.  Mr. Selfish saw the photos and was skeptical.  He’s not much of a beach guy and always claim that beach towns are trashy.  I convinced him to go anyway, but unfortunately, this time – he was right.

Oddly, Brighton doesn’t have sand but has pebbles instead.  I couldn’t imagine actually lying on the pebbles but people were doing it.  They were also pretty drunk so that may have been a contributing factor.

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2 for 1 Deals in London

25 Tuesday Sep 2012

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The Days Out Guide provide some great 2 for 1 deals in London. All you have to do is print a 2 for 1 voucher, buy the ticket to the attraction at the site (as opposed to online), and enjoy your savings.  But be sure to read the fine print.  In order to retrieve the 2 for 1 voucher, you are supposed to show that you have used some kind of public transportation in London.

During the Olympics, there were 2 for 1 deals with the Oyster card, which is used for bulk travel on the Underground.  All you had to do was print a 2 for 1 voucher and show your Oyster card when you purchased the tickets for the attraction, and voila, you received two tickets for the price of one!  One attraction we used a 2 for 1 voucher for was the London Eye.

We heard that the lines for the Eye could be dreadful so we showed up when it opened at 10am.  It was a beautiful clear day, and surprisingly, the lines weren’t so bad.  The total experience took about 50 minutes with 30 minutes on the actual Eye itself (so 10 minutes for the line to buy tickets and 10 minutes for the line to get on the Eye).

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Scones in London

24 Monday Sep 2012

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Mr. Selfish and I went on a hunt for delicious scones in London.  In the States, I always think of scones as overly sweet and dense.  However, in London, they are as they should be – flaky and delicate.  Unlike biscuits, which are made with animal fat or shortening, scones rely on cold butter for their texture.

Mr. Selfish and I have enjoyed many cream teas in order to rejuvenate in the afternoon.  Cream tea consists of combination of scones, clotted cream, and jam. Therefore, the key to eating the scones is to lather them in clotted cream and jam. Mmmmm…here are some of our favorite scones in London:

1.  Yumchaa – We tried three different scones here – (1) date, fig, and pistachio, (2) smoked cheddar and chive, and (3) feta cheese and olive.  Although the savory scones were different, I preferred the traditional sweet one.  I like Yumchaa scones because they have a different more crumbly texture than the other scones we sampled in London.  Also, they toast the scones in a panini maker.  Another bonus is that Yumchaa has an extensive tea selection.  Mr. Selfish and I tried the Chelsea Chai and the Chilli Chilli Bang Bang.  Both were delicious and the flavor was just right – not overwhelming.

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Day Trip to Arundel Castle

23 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Europe, London, United Kingdom

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Mr. Selfish and I wanted to take a day trip to a castle that wasn’t too popular.  After some searching online, I came across Arundel Castle, which is about an hour and a half by train from London.  The castle was founded on Christmas Day in 1067. Beginning in 1787, serious renovations on the castle began, and in 1846, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Arundel and stayed at the castle.  It was recently used in the filming of “Young Victoria” starring Emily Blunt, whom I adore.

We took a tour of the inside of the castle, including the Keep.  No photography was allowed inside the castle, which has been magnificently restored, but we were allowed to take photographs of the Keep.

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Highgate Village Food and Drinks

22 Saturday Sep 2012

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On those days that Mr. Selfish and I stay in Highgate Village, we have sampled the food and drink in the area.  The following are our favorite pub, tea room, and coffee shop in Highgate:

The Flask – About a one-minute walk from our flat is the Flask, our local pub.  Not only is there free wi-fi but there is delicious beer and yummy fish and chips.  I can’t get enough of their mushy peas!

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Free Museums in London – Part 2

20 Thursday Sep 2012

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In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the merits of the large institution museums here in London – British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Natural History Museum, and the Tate Modern.  Now, we will review the four smaller museums Mr. Selfish and I visited during our stay – the Wallace Collection, the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, the Hunterian Museum, and the British Library.

5.  The Wallace Collection – This is a smaller museum containing an exquisite collection of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th century.  It houses a painting which I’ve adored since college – “The Swing” by Jean-Honoré Fragonard.

I adore smaller museums since I don’t usually have the stamina for a really large museum.  The Wallace Collection was the perfect size and contained beautiful rooms with lovely exhibits.  I highly recommend it!

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Free Museums in London – Part 1

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

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As I write this post, the conversion from pound to US dollar is 1.58!  With that conversion, living in London can be pretty steep.  Mr. Selfish and I have accordingly become very fond of the museums since the vast majority of them are free.

We went to eight museums during our time in London.  This post will review the four larger museums we visited – the British Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Natural History Museum, and the Tate Modern.  Part 2 will review the four smaller museums that Mr. Selfish and I visited during our stay.

1.  The British Museum – Established in 1753, this museum focuses on human history and culture.  It contains over 8 million items in its permanent collection.  Mr. Selfish and I personally enjoy the Egyptian and Asian permanent exhibits.  We also visited the temporary Picasso exhibit, which contained over 100 etchings by Picasso.

It is always worthwhile to visit the British Museum.  Mr. Selfish and I have been here separately and together on a number of occasions.  The only downside is that it can get pretty swamped by tourists, especially the Egyptian exhibits.  I would recommend not visiting the British Museum on the weekends but going during the weekday.

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London Markets!

18 Tuesday Sep 2012

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Mr. Selfish and I discovered another cost-efficient way to spend an afternoon – browsing the markets.  From foodie heaven to antiques to alternative clothing, London has the market for you.

1.  Borough Market – Mr. Selfish and I could eat every day at this market.  Not only was the variety tremendous, but everything was fresh.  By far, the very best food stall at this market is Kappacasein, which sells the most delectable grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever had.  Other yummy delights were from Pieminister for Cornwall pasties, Northfield Kitchen for salt beef sandwiches, and the Guildable Manor for their mixed grill sandwich.  Although there is very limited seating, you can always grab your food and head to the area in front of the Southwark Cathedral to nibble down.

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Google’s New London Office

16 Sunday Sep 2012

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My little cousin, who works for Google, was in town and wanted to check out the new London office.  Since we were with her, Mr. Selfish and I also toured the office. As usual, Google’s office seemed like a great place to work.

There were nifty submarine style doors, funky decorated areas, lots of places to eat, and tons of video conference rooms.

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The Other University – Oxford

13 Thursday Sep 2012

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I took a day trip to Oxford while I was studying at Cambridge.  Because that day was unusually cold, I purchased a long-sleeved Oxford t-shirt to warm up.  One day when I was wearing that Oxford t-shirt back at Cambridge, someone screamed at me, “No, Cambridge is better!”  This was my first introduction to the rivalry between Cambridge and Oxford.

Admittedly, Oxford is older than Cambridge.  In fact, disgruntled faculty from Oxford left and formed Cambridge.  However, Cambridge consistently ranks higher in the list of world universities.  This year, Cambridge was ranked #2 (with MIT as #1) while Oxford was ranked #5.

Biased as I am, I also think that Cambridge is prettier than Oxford.  But you can judge for yourself…

Mr. Selfish and I started at Radcliffe Square.  We admired the Radcliffe Camera and climbed the tower in the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin to enjoy the fabulous view.

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Don’t Sit in the Chairs in the Parks

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

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Mr. Selfish and I were fortunate to have many beautiful sunny days in London.  We therefore explored the many, many parks around the city.

Regent’s Park – One of the first things we learned was not to sit in the green and white lawn chairs.  Apparently, once your butt touches the seat, you owe the park 1.5 pounds. We learned this the hard way when a man in a bright yellow vest came up to us demanding money.  We should have noticed that the older ladies near us had sprinted out of the chairs as soon as the man approached us.  However, we only had a 20 pound note and the vest guy didn’t have any change.  After he found a group of about ten people to harass for money, he left us alone (aka we ran off).

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Carded for Caffrey’s

08 Saturday Sep 2012

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As I’ve mentioned previously, I spent the summer of 2000 in the UK.  During that time, I enjoyed many a pints of an Irish ale called Caffrey’s.  I came back to the States and started looking for it immediately.  I enjoyed a couple of pints of Caffrey’s at the Green Leafe, which is a bar on William & Mary’s campus.

Unfortunately, in 2001, Coors acquired the rights to distribute Caffrey’s in the States and decided to cease its distribution.  Apparently, Coors thought Caffrey’s would interfere with its marketing of Killian’s, its other Irish ale.

After finding out that Caffrey’s was still sold in the UK, Mr. Selfish and I knew we had to track down pints of what had become mythical Irish ale to me.  We discovered that Caffrey’s was sold at O’Neill’s, which is an Irish themed pub and restaurant chain.  The atmosphere is a little too polished for my tastes, but I didn’t care much since I wanted my Caffrey’s.

Outside of O’Neill’s, a bouncer was checking people for identification.  Mr. Selfish managed to walked in, but the bouncer stopped me and asked for identification. Apparently, I look like I’m 17 years-old, since the drinking age in England is 18.

In any case, I got to enjoy my Caffrey’s and it was as caramel-y and delicious as I remembered.  We only have a week left in London so I need to enjoy a few more pints before we leave!