There is a Five Guys burgers in Covent Gardens London. Not sure if it makes me feel better that there are Pret a Manger’s everywhere you go in both New York and London?
My First Free Day By Myself In London
Since having kids it has been rare that I have not had to get up to do anything. With that in mind and the fact that I was up really early most days this past week I slept till almost 10 today. To pack light I didn’t bring my small messenger bag to carry my iPad. I didn’t want to carry my big laptop bag with me for just my iPad so I was happy to find out that my iPad Mini fits perfectly in the pocket of my North Face Jacket. With my book/research tool/all around time waster in hand I headed out for the day. I had breakfast at an Italian coffee house near the hotel while I planned my day. I had lots of ideas but generally I was going to wing it.
I started off by hopped the tube for Westminster to do a walk from the Rick Steve guide book. I saw Big Ben, London eye, Westminster, Downing Street and then off to Trafalgar Square. It was interesting and a great day for a walk.
After that I headed over to Baker Street to see Sherlock Holmes’ place but didn’t go into the museum since the line was huge. I may try again tomorrow but I am not sure. I was a bit disappointed by not getting in but i really didn’t want to waste what looked like at least an hour or more waiting on line. While on line I got a FaceTime call from MC and Teagan. I was happy to talk to them, and impressed that the video call worked pretty well over 3G.
Instead I headed over to Fortnum and Mason. I wanted to do afternoon Tea. MC and several others suggested it as the best place to go for Tea. I didn’t have a reservation and they couldn’t seat me. My backup location Brown’s Hotel was only a 5 minute walk so I headed over to there. They were able to seat me after a short wait. I like the fact that they brought seconds of the sandwiches. Otherwise I had a good time but was generally underwealmed by the pastry and the service. I don’t regret going but would try to find a new location or get reservations at Fortnum & Mason’s if I ever did Tea in London again.
After tea I walked around all the shops near Piccadilly Circus. I got the girls cuddly gifts at at Hamley’s Toy Store. Was able to do another FaceTime with MC to confer about what to get. I am pretty pleased with what I got!
After walking and shopping I headed back to the hotel to relax a bit before heading out for dinner. At my friend Tony’s suggestion I went to a burger place called Meat Liquor. It was very loud, but I got a seat right away. The drinks were good and the food was also good. I was in the mood for a greasy burger and this place delivered. After dinner I headed back to the hotel hoping to find a desert place nearby. The desk clerk had some ideas so I walked over to Covent Garden. It is about a train station away or 5 minute walk. I checked out the square there. There were tons of shops and restaurants and live entertainment. It was fun, but all the live events just made me a bit home sick since i thought how cool it would have been to have MC and Teagan there. Amelia is of course too young to appreciate it. I didn’t find anywhere i wanted to stop at so i walked back to around my hotel and ended up at the same cafe I started the day off in to have a piece of cake and a cappuccino. Now i am unwinding at the hotel writing and thinking about plans for tomorrow. It was a very active day for me. My Jawbone UP is saying I did 252% of my activity target or 20,161 steps. Not a record. That goes to the day my friend Jenn and I walked around Manhattan. This takes 2nd place for most active day since I started tracking my activity!
A bit weird that I just found a Shake Shack in Coventry Gardens London. Still trying to find a desert place
Finally a reason to use FaceTime
Loving the ability to send and receive FaceTime calls over the mobile network anywhere since I am in London and missing MC and the girls. MC just rung me up twice and I rang them once to check on a gift I wanted to get. That it works so easily is fantastic. This is why I love apple products they just work.
The guidebook does not explain why there’s a statue of Abraham Lincoln Westminster.
Spent the Day at a CIA Listening Post, Well Sort Of
Today I am in London and I spent my entire day at a CIA listening post. Well that is partly true. It was depicted as a CIA listening post in a James Bond film but in reality it is just a Thomson Reuters Data Center in London. I am not sure of what movie but several people have confirmed it. I can talk about it only because when I pull the area up on a public map the building is labeled.
I was in a workshop all day, but the views from half the building are of the river overlooking the Millennium Dome. I would have loved to take some pictures but I am pretty sure they frown on that. The workshop was very interesting. I have two more days of it but the next two are a bit different than the first one so we shall see how they go. I was just thankful that we got to the office and back without too much drama. The trip was already planned before we found out about the Tube strike. Thankfully we left early enough this morning to get a cab directly to the office. We were able to take the DLR halfway back to the hotel and then got lucky finding a cab. The down side of the morning cab was I went to bed at 11:30 and got up at 5:30 to be out early. Tonight I am aiming to goto bed a bit earlier to get up tomorrow at the same time. Thankfully the strike is over tomorrow, but I have to deal with it next week if they keep to their plans to strike again
After work I got drinks and dinner with one of the trainers who is staying at my hotel. I was also able to get a pre-pay SIM card so i am a bit more connected for the long trip. WIFI at the hotel is great. Work is more limiting so having additional freedom is nice. Even after all the suggestions from MC, Cathy (thanks Cathy but I am not spending 50 pounds on a Doctor Who tour) and others I still don’t know what to do this weekend while in the city by myself. On that note I am off to bed. I will try to read some travel guides tomorrow night.
Off to London (Aka if this gets posted to my blog I am already there)
Today I am off to London for a bit for work. My boss is hosting a workshop and then I have a two day training. The trip is longer than originally planned because i am combining the two events.
On one hand I love London and both functions seem very interesting but on the other it is the first trip I have taken since having kids. I started missing T & A while at the airport going through my photostream. I am hoping to catch them and M on Facetime as much as possible but I am not holding out hope i can do that everyday.
The flight has given me the opportunity to at least get in some writing i have wanted to do. This post included.
The World Really Does Need Another Father of Two Blogging About Stuff
When I was single I blogged about work and tech stuff. Then I got concerned about writing about work so if I do write about work it is few and far between. Any real detail is a private post, so that left writing about some current events and technology. I never liked writing much about dating or my social life when single just because I wasn’t sure who would look me up if I did go out on a date with someone. The only person who did look me up that i know about was one of the last people I dated before I met my wife. Of course she didn’t find my blog but just found me on Facebook.
Now that I am married and have kids I am finding what I can and want to write about has changed since my life has drastically changed. That means that if the world is ready or not they get another dad blogger. I still aim to write about tech stuff since I still like to do it, but the kids (yeah still weird for me to say multiple kids) are very entertaining.
Now all I need to do is force myself to make time for writing. I can use the excuse that I dont have time. It is partially true but the real reason is I haven’t wanted to spend the little time i do have writing. I should spend time writing since I always found it relaxing. Maybe that will be my May resolution to write more!
Rain Day at Home
Its a rainy day at home today. MC tried to take Teagan out to the park but it was all wet and Teagan went back to the stroller and wanted to get back in it. I on the other hand did laundry. Laundry went from an annoyance (I haven’t liked doing it since i was a kid) to a workout chasing Teagan around. She was generally good but had a good time exploring the basement and the laundry room.
Soccer Time
Today was T’s first day of Soccer class. M signed her up and I got to take her to it this week. It is a good time first thing in the morning Saturday. We used to goto open gym at Gymboree but since we stopped going to Gymobree to try new classes out we haven’t had an early morning activity.
We can say T had fun. She did. She ran around and had a blast. She really didn’t get that into the activities. M said she was like that the first time she went to music class a few weeks ago but after a class or two she got used to it and was a better participant. Let’s face it though, if T is horrible at sports she is just taking after both her parents!
The rest of the day was spent at home. It was rainy and there was not much to do out. M and I splurged and ordered Sushi for dinner. T ate Baked Ziti and if I wasn’t all excited to eat Sushi I would have had a lot more of that Ziti. It was good. It was part of the same batch M made for my birthday!