It’s been lovely weather this weekend in London – very cold, but nice, clear days. Given that we could actually see the sun, we tried to get out as much as we could to make the most of it.
Yesterday we decided to have a bit of a “treasure hunt” day around the city; though why we called it that I don’t know, as there was no treasure to hunt for, and to be honest, we weren’t even hunting for anything, except maybe a bargain. Our first stop was Covent Garden, where we headed to the London Transport Museum, and one of my favourite stores – Oakley. I resisted the temptation to buy a whole bunch of new things that I really don’t need, but only just!
Covent Garden was filled with it’s usual army of street entertainers, as well as the usual crowd clapping and cheering them on. Before we went into Oakley, there was a guy standing out the front blowing up a rubber glove; by the time we came out, he was standing on stilts, juggling knives, wearing only his underpants. It was about -1 degree Celsius. I must admit, I really don’t know how you transition from rubber gloves to knives and underpants, so I partially regret missing my opportunity to find out.
We walked from there to Chinatown for lunch. Having recently celebrated Chinese New Year, or perhaps because they heard we were coming and wanted to impress us, Shaftsbury Avenue had hundreds of Chinese lanterns hanging up. They looked very impressive against the bright blue sky!
We ate at a funky little restaurant that Jules and Shelley had been to before. They had those funny little tables that are at floor level, but have a bit “pit” underneath the table for your feet – so the net effect makes it look like you’re sitting on the floor and you have no legs.
It was a novel concept, and their food was none-too-shabby; unfortunately the service left a little to be desired, such that by the time they brought round the bill, my back was well over it.
Brad and Jackie happened to be at our local pub when we got home, so we popped in for an ale and a meal with them before heading to Cafe Kick for some table football, which Nick had organised. It was awesome – a huge turn out of people, and lots of games played! Overall I got hosed, the people at the cafe are generally far better than I am, but it’s such a fun game that I still had a great time.
We barely managed to scrape onto the last train home at 12:18 AM from Waterloo, which meant a late start to the morning. A few phone calls later and it was suddenly 11 AM! Kristy and I headed to Carluccios for brunch on the river.
Somehow I’ve managed to go until Sunday afternoon without doing any real chores, so I’m guessing that’s what will be occupying the rest of my day. But, with dinner tonight at Todd and Shannon’s as our reward, it’ll be worth it!
