With a few hours to spare we went back to the Plaza Premium Lounge. This was a different location as we were now in the Departure area. The lounge was large and had a few rowdy guests. We managed to find a really private nook with extra comfy seats where I was able to do some remote work before the flight. We also noshed on some good eats like salad, fruit, cheese, meatballs, chicken tikka masala, Tom kha gai (ต้มข่าไก่), and sticky toffee pudding. Two flights away from Thailand!
Lounge Food:
PS - it's "possible" that we almost missed our next flight because we underestimated how far the lounge was to the gate.
Lesson learned: Always leave ample time! As we ran through the airport like fools, my lungs nearly gave out and I told DH to go ahead and I would catch up ASAP. At least one of us could hold the plane for the other right? (Theoretically) When I finally huffed and puffed into the shrinking boarding line, he was no where to be seen. Turned out the gate got switched. I saw the updated sign and went to the changed gate, but he went to the original gate only to find a totally different flight boarding there and that he had another jog ahead of him. Fortunately we made it, but it was a good lesson learned and a lot of exercise I'm sure I needed, but that I wasn't originally looking for. Lol! More From London:
0 Comments
And by that, I mean one more Fish n Chips before we head out of the UK!
A lot of places were shut (closed), so we found the Night & Day bar to be opened.
One more crispy piece of Fish with some hot chips and a cool Cider were a perfect way to finish our week here in London. Tomorrow we're off!!
More From London:
Oxford Street is home to some high end retailers and world famous mega-department stores. Selfridges and Harrod's are places you should definitely wander around if you're looking for something to do. The sheer enormity of these stores is mind boggling. It's easy to get lost! Most things are laughably beyond my budget, but still fun to look around and people watch. You can grab something to eat in the food hall. You can pick up a bottle of whisky. You can have an afternoon tea. And you can pick up a Barbour Jacket. Don't forget to check out their window displays outside. Elaborate and eye-catching, if you were a fan of the PBS series Selfridge, you'll appreciate the people who work to make these displays come to life!
Fun Window Displays:More From London:
This might sound like a dumb post, but if we were confused, someone else probably was, is, and will be.
In the states, generally when you go to a restaurant and the server asks what you'd like to drink, if you tell them "water" they will bring you back a glass of ice water. They may even offer you a lemon wedge. There is no charge for this. At Avista Restaurant in London, we were asked "still or sparkling". Well we knew we didn't want sparkling water. 1. We just didn't prefer that. 2. We didn't want to pay for it. Thus we requested still water. Then when they brought us a bottle of artsianal water we joked about how much this was going to cost us before we researched how to get just a glass of water around these parts! Turns out you need to ask for tap water if you want the free stuff. Fun fact. In summary: 1. Tap water - free, from the tap (faucet, spigot, sink, whatever you call it where you're from). 2. Still water - bottled water, no carbonation, available for a fee. 3. Sparkling - bottled, carbonated water, available for a fee. There you have it! Hope that helps you stay hydrated to your preference! ;) More From London:
Whenever you travel, if you're looking to save a few bucks and try something new, you may want to check out what deals Groupon has for the town you are going to. You may not realize it, but Groupon is not only good for deals in the US. Prior to the trip, I signed up forGroupon London and kept and eye on the deals. We wanted to go out for a fancier dinner, but who wants to pay for a fancier dinner? Not me! Lol So we found a deal on Groupon for a lovely multi-course meal including bellinis!! Score!
Follow along for the courses we enjoyed below!
I really enjoyed the food and presentation was excellent. My favorite would have to be the Marinated sea trout with Granny Smith foam, samphire, pickled shallot, and coconut snow.
It was also at this restaurant that we learned and finally understood the process of ordering water at a restaurant in London. If you would like to visit Avista, you can find them at the Millenium Hotel London Mayfair 39 Grosvenor Square. More From London:
Looking for a way to spend the afternoon? Head to Notting Hill and wander around their market! You'll find random second-hand clothes and accessories, three dimensional greeting cards, a wide variety of food vendors and bizarre street art. If you're there when things are about to close up, you may get a huge deal!
We heard the sounds of "Everything for a pound now Anything just one pound!!" and it was music to our ears!! Trying to sell out so they could pack up and go home, one stand sold off in minutes a ton of pastries, cookies, cupcakes, donuts, breads, sandwiches, little salads, everything for a pound each! Genius! It was just as fun to enjoy our cheap eats as it was to watch the fervor of people rushing over to get theirs. Walk with us through the Notting Hill Market:More From London:
Don't you just love finding a great cafe? One with wifi when you're abroad is especially good. Send some quick messages out to family and friends to let them know everything is good while you are thousands of miles away without paying an arm and a leg for overseas data on your phone if you haven't got a local SIM card. What about finding a great cafe with an art gallery inside? Are you intruiged?! Come along!
The cafe offers a variety of fairly reasonably priced drinks and sweets. (I paid way more in DC for coffee & treats!) Check out the menu below. At least this is the menu they had in December.
I guess they serve union coffee? I had an espresso DH had a mocha, I believe. Looks like some cocoa powder sprinkled on top. I love a good sprinkling of cocoa powder, myself! That cookie, though, was sooo good. It had a texture that was a little crisp and almost merengue-like on the outside, and chewy in the inside. Man, I could go for one of those right now...
If you head downstairs, there is a free art gallery that you can peruse. I'm not sure what the schedule is as to when it rotates artists, but it was a fun thing to do after my espresso and before the cafe closed for the day. As with most art, some of it I found a little unusual, even unsettling, and other pieces I found interesting and amusing. Check out this bee keeper!
I would recommend checking out this cafe for a chill place to enjoy a cuppa with a friend or while you get some work done, and enjoy some free culture downstairs!
Connect with The Koppel Project:More From London:
While not a fan of his aggression on most of his television shows (is this real or just acting??) I am a fan of Gordon Ramsey as a chef. I own numerous of his cookbooks and have entertained impressed guests based on those recipes. So I was excited to try one of his restaurants while in London. I chose one that was more affordable, York & Albany.
I won't say I was disappointed, but I will say I wasn't nearly as impressed as I thought I would be.
The decor and ambiance was great. Of course we were made to feel slightly awkward that we had no reservation even though the place had only a couple people at the time we arrived. We sat down and they had advertised some sort of special both outside or inside. I can't remember if it was a happy hour-type promotion, or what. But when we wet to order we were informed that the special was not going on that day. Okay, then why do you have signs about it inside and outside?? In the end we were tired from wandering around the Zoo all day and definitely on the hungry side. We ended with a simple Margherita pizza and a burger with fries. They were all good. But nothing that extra special. There was no particular pizazz that said "Look Ma! I'm at Gordon's restaurant". Maybe if we had ordered something more unusual it would have been more special. But at the end of the day, we just needed sustenance and for this day to end because we were super tired out. I hope to try one of Gordon's Restaurants again sometime. And I hope to be blown away! Have you been to any of his restaurants or would you recommend any of them? More From London:
I recommend finding a Wafflemeister if you are interested in a sweet treat. We existed the Tube station to an alluringly sweet smell only to discover fresh waffled being made and topped with a variety of ice creams and other toppings. Decided to go with Nutella. It did not disappoint!!!!
More From London:
Camden Town is an area you may enjoy checking out on your visit to London. A canal runs through this town complete with occupied houseboats. You can even rent some houseboats for your visit, if you'd like! It's really charming to see them all lined up. A few things to do in Camden:(in no particular order)
1. Check out the Houseboats2. Floating Chinese Restaurant3. ZSL London Zoo
|