London Calling

Living in San Diego now it's hard to imagine wanting to live any place else - much less a place like London where the it's rarely sunny, way more expensive than here and so far away from friends and family. With that said, I'd say at least once a month we talk about our time living there and what it would be like to be back there with the kids.

In June, Katy and I had the chance to spend a couple of nights there on our way up to Scotland. We stayed at a hotel a block away from the flat we lived in for 3 years...so it was kinda like going back to the old neighborhood.

I had been back to London a few times for work but it was Katy's first trip back since moving away in 2001. Fun to be back there and it brought back lots of good memories. It also gave us a chance to visit a few of our favorite local hang outs.

Nothing better than heading up to Wagamama's on High Street Kensington for a little ebi katsu and spicy chicken ramen on a foggy afternoon in London. Think we ate there 3 times in our 3 days...

Other highlights:

Spamalot - Got tickets last minute. Katy hadn't seen it yet and for me it was just as good the third time around...have to be a real Monty Python fan to fully appreciate it.

The Abingdon - Met our good friends the Sayers for dinner down the street from our old flat.

Da Mario's - Went to Da Mario's for lunch our second day. It's just across the street from our old flat on Palace Gate. Apparently this place was Princess Diana's favorite pizza place so they've got her named etched in the stairs. Kind of a funny place - definitely a family place but at night the basement turns into a disco. Katy and I probably ate here twice a month for 3 years (don't think we ever did the disco though...).

Hyde Park /Kensignton Palace - Went for a walk in Hyde Park first thing after we dropped the bags off at the hotel.

21-23 Palace Gate - Our flat for 3 years. Looks pretty much the same. The window in the top left corner was our living room.

Trafalgar Square at night - Had never really been there at night, very cool with a great view of Big Ben.

Harvie & Hudson - Best shirts in London. Got hooked when I was working in London and my office was on Jermyn Street right next to all the famous shirtmakers. Gotta make a stop here whenever in town (an excuse to spend the few pounds left in my UK bank account).