London, in the slow lane

We have been to London before, but always with limited time and a long list of things to see.  This time we are spending a bit over two weeks here, which lets us slow down and just enjoy being here.  Some days we see a few things, some days are just time to relax and take walks in the park and cook our dinner.   This is the benefit of slow travel.   We are staying in an AirBnB flat in Marylebone, a fairly affluent section of London just south of Regent’s Park.  It’s a short walk to the Baker Street Station, which is served by five different Underground lines.

This is a wonderful time of year to be here:  spring flowers blooming, relatively nice weather and without the crowds of summer.  We’ve spent time at the National Gallery, the British Museum, the London Museum and the Museum of London Docklands , St Paul’s Cathedral.  We’ve walked around and through Regents Park, browsed the massive Selfridge’s Department Store on Oxford Street.

We also met with Rob and Tenney Jensen, our good friends from past trips, who also happened to be in London.  The four of us ate at Rules Restaurant, the oldest restaurant in London, which was founded in 1798 and which serves old English dishes.  Let’s just say that some dishes were better than others (Steamed Steak and Kidney Suet Pie anyone).

We’re also trying to walk more each day in preparation for the Cotswolds Way, the whole length of which we are planning to walk later this month.   We are eating breakfasts at home and graze when out and about.  We generally split meals and drink tap water when eating in restaurants.  This is partly because we are cheap, and partly because we just don’t eat as much as we used to.

Some selected photos from our trip so far:

Asyrian relief, 645 B.C. telling the story of a king on a lion hunt

Roof of British Museum Courtyard

Typical corner pub in our neighborhood

View from the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral

Climbing down from the top of St. Paul’s

A few of the 528 stairs

Getting ready for the Royal Wedding in a couple weeks

Dinner with the Jensen’s at Rules Restaurant

Rembrandt self-portrait at the National Gallery

Another Rembrandt self-portrait

Execution of Lady Jane Grey

Regent’s Park

Regent’s Park

Regent’s Park

One of the more odd museum displays was found at the Museum of London.  Awhile back, there was a 143-ton fat-based blockage found in the London Sewer system, dubbed the Fatberg.  They added a display in the museum about this, complete with a chunk of the stuff in a triple sealed box.  Kind of like looking at a moon rock, except not.