My Trip to London

London

First off, let me tell you, London rocks! It's not the cheapest place in the world, but it still rocks! Lots to do, lots to see and most important, lots to eat and drink.

Before going, I had read that in order to eat well in Great Britain, you needed to eat breakfast three times a day. Obviously, this was written a while back, because there was no shortage of fantastic restaurants to choose from. Here are a few exceptional ones we ate at:

179 - This one is located at 179 Shaftsbury, in the theater district, and is incredible. even though they (like a lot of places) offered a great pre-fixe, multi-course lunch menu for only a few pounds, we opted to choose from the regular dinner menu. Exquisite preparation and presentation, along with little bonus bites before the appetizers and desserts. A great wine list, but the only good values were the Rhone selections, which really worked in our favor since they're our favorites.

Isola - Located a block or two away from Harrods department store, this very swank Italian restaurant is located downstairs of its equally swank bar. Leather sofa seating and a top-notch service staff complimented the bold, fresh flavors of the artfully presented dishes. The best deal on the wine list was Taittinger Champagne. They did have the best Italian list I have ever seen; however, their prices reflected how proud they were of it.

192 - Another one named after its address, this one was located on Kensington in the Notting Hill area of town. A small, wonderful place much like Mr.Friendly's. Great food, great staff, great wine list. A real neighborhood gem. If I lived in London, I'd eat here once a week, at least.

For great picnic fare or stuff to munch on in the hotel room, Marks & Spencer can't be beat. This department store not only has a great selection of top-notch clothing and such, but it also has one of the best grocery stores for "those who don't cook". Lots of exquisitely prepared items ranging from vanilla custard sauce to smoked salmon sandwiches, Nicoise salads to Stilton cheese and everything else you could ever want. If you did cook, they even had a whole,stuffed and boneless duck for only fifteen
bucks! This store ruled! You could even buy individual portions of nearly every kind of cheese you could imagine along with a mini "to-die-for" cappucino cake. If you go to London, plan on a picnic in one of the parks and get all your stuff at Marks & Spencer. You may decide to dine like that every day.

There is also a chain of shops called Pret a Manger (I think that's right) that are great for sandwiches, wraps, coffees and desserts. They make everything fresh at each location and are a great place to drop in for a snack.

Overall, I highly recommend a trip to London. The museums are overwhelming in their depth and breadth of subjects covered. Choose carefully and don't over-do it. It's very easy to become over-museumed. When you reach a Michaelangelo and don't feel any emotion, it's time to leave the museum and do something else for a while. As long as you can remember to look right, instead of left, before stepping out into the street, you should have a great time. If not, you'll be a hood ornament.

If we go back in the near future, we will definitely spend a few days in one of the most beautiful little cities I've ever seen, Bath. This little city, set in a river valley and surrounded on all sides by gorgeous homes built from the legendary, honey-hued Bath stone. This place was simply breath-takingly charming and I can't wait to get back to it and spend some time there.

- Kristian