London Good Times

Several months ago, our friends Sean and Joe (who we know from Seattle but live in Denmark) asked if we'd like to go to London for the premiere of Harry Potter. Well, after we bought the tickets, they set back the premiere of the movie. C'est la vie. We dropped our dogs off for the weekend at a doggy daycare outside of Brussels, and with tickets in hand we left for London anyway.


They flew into Brussels and we had two hours before the train left so we dropped off our baggage in a locker and hit the Belgian Quadruple Slam - grabbed fries as we left the station, strolled by Galler for some chocolate, stopped for a quick round of beer, and finally a waffle on the way back to the train. Then through the chunnel (it was... dark) and in under two hours we were at King's Cross Station.










The dollar is doing better and London was surprisingly affordable. So in between stopping at our old favorite restaurants (wagamamas and pizza express) and some British standards (fish and chips and Indian), we got in a significant amount of shopping. a signficant amount. It seems obvious but London is a big, fashionable, European capital and the shopping reflects that. Not just high end fashion houses, but stylish boutiques, cheap trendy shops, and everything in between. I am a magazine junkie, my favorites being fashion and trendy lifestyle. At home most of these magazines run $15 - 20 because they are imported. I had assumed France would be the place to get cheap magazines, but it turns out it's Britian. The first night I bought a giant bag of them (very heavy). The other non-clothing purchase was groceries. We've been desperately missing refried beans. We have a friend in Brussels who makes them but we could use some canned ones so we're not always bugging her. Most stores in Brussels have a small Mexican food section, but never any beans (yeah, I thought it was a basic too). But thankfully London believes Mexican food is more than just tortillas and Chi Chis restaurant. Throw in some shortbread and we were back to shopping for clothes... and watches... and shoes... and hats...

We did get in one tourist item in while we were there. We went on the London Eye, the giant ferris wheel build for the millenium. Amazing views particularly at night and definitely worth it. There was supposed to be a "German Christmas Market" in the style of the one in Cologne Germany, but it was hardly worth it. Luckily the real Cologne is a short train ride from Brussels.







Overall, we had a lot of fun, came back more stylish then when we left, talked a lot of pop culture (a given when we hang out with Sean and Joe) and remembered why we love London.

And then upon our return to Brussels, snow! (though admittedly it only lasted overnight, Seattle-style)