Chicken curry and exploding dead kings

Saturday 

Dec 22

London night 2

Today we played tourists.  

Sort of.  

But first our Airbnb. 

It is on the third floor of a funky restaurant/bar - Metro Garden. 

Both are owned by Fran.   

I texted her last night on the tarmac of Barcelona airport after we had filled the new Norwegian Airlines 737

And then told by our pilot that London’s Gatwick was closed again due to drones.  

We finally got in the air about 90 minutes late and landed at Gatwick.    

I was pretty beat from a long day and we were able to find the train for the 45 minute ride into town.  Outside the train station we found a cab for the ten minute ride to Clapham Commons.   

As we stumbled around looking for the apartment entrance next to the restaurant, out pops Fran. Sort of a middle aged Mary Poppins who ushers us in, gives us drinks and brings us food.   

The absolute perfect nurturing for a long day of complicated travel.    

This morning we got up and found this neighborhood awash in funky shops.  It is undergoing a rebirth and there is a lot of energy here.   We started with coffee and then found a Saturday market nearby where I bought some artisan bread and quiche.   

I stopped to talk to an Ethiopian woman serving vegan food.  I never knew lent for Ethiopian Christians lasted nearly a month.  She said meat markets close for the month as people eat only vegetarian.    

Cate picked up some things and we went back to the flat to make breakfast in a nicely stocked kitchen.   

Then it was off on the tube.  We picked up tickets for a city tour bus.   Every city I’ve done this in I’ve been rewarded with an entertaining and educational time.   No exception here.  

As a college student I studied history and theater in London so I’m always excited to learn a good new story.   One of the 12th century Kings died and it took so long to decide who would replace him that the funeral was delayed.   Decomposition gases built inside of him so he didn’t fit into his coffin.  They squeezed him in so hard that he exploded.    

Now that’s a history lesson.  

We came back to the flat in the afternoon to rest and then went  to Piccadilly Circus to see the lights and a Christmas village.  

Around me were the languages of the world.  As I learned at FOB trivia with Chris, Sarah, Jennifer and Debbie —  London has more languages spoken than any city in the world.   

We walked past two Indian restaurants.   Cate asked it I had eaten at one.  Couldn’t remember but let’s give it a try.    Fancy place.  Good food and enjoyable old pair of English gents chatting next to us.  For such an old culture, one of them said of Indian cuisine, they never learned how to make good bread.