by At the end of our second day in London, Michelle and Patrick Payne joined us.
July 2
After a day visiting the British Library, doing three geocaches (including one at the BL) and having lunch and dinner, we met them at Heathrow at about 10 P.M.. They were late getting through immigration and customs, so when we stopped at the Liberty Bounds pub for a beer and something for them to eat, the pub kitchen was closed and all we could do was drink and have some crisps (chips in American). Patrick had a Truman Attaboy; Michelle and Pat, Weston’s Old Rosie cider;me, Green King IPA.
July 3
Breakfast was at the Liberty Bounds, where Patrick and I had a traditional English breakfast.
Then it was off to the Tower of London.
Today we did a lot of walking: from Trafalgar Square, through Admiralty Arch, past the Horse Guards and over to Westminister Abbey. Then it was off to Greenwich by boat.
At some point during the day, we visited 3 pubs (The Red Lion, Prince of Wales and Kings Arms). Then as we were getting ready head back to the pier and the boat home, Patrick wasn’t quite ready, so we went looking and ran across Mean Time (The Old Brewery) where we had a very nice London Pale Ale. This was a real find, as the brews were some of the best we had tried up to then (it turns out, some of the best the whole time).
July 5
Today we went to Portobello Market where Michelle and Pat found an antique booth selling everything on the table for “Four pounds. All items, four pounds” chanted in a sing-song voice. However, for Ray (as usual) the highlights of the day included lunch at the Duke of Wellington (1/2 pint of Youngs Special and 1/2 pint of Youngs Gold). A stop at The Earl of Lonsdale for a 1/2 pint of Old Brewery Bitter. Then off to The Imperial for 1/2 pint St. Austell Tribute, a Cornish Pale Ale.
July 6
We started the day at Trafalgar Square to see the arrangements for tomorrow’s Le Tour de France, which is coming through London. It is like a mini festival with a large screen that is showing the current progress of the peleton as it makes it way through other parts of England. There are booths around the Square selling souvenirs, sun glasses, and other things we don’t really need.
Camden Markets was our next goal for today. Patrick and I stayed there for only about an hour and then headed to the BrewDog pub, while Michelle and Pat continued to wander around the markets. The BrewDog’s beers were wonderful. I especially liked their Kohatu and Punk IPA. Kohatu is now one of my favorites.
July 7
The day of the Tour de France has arrived! We got to the spot we want to be at well before the race (about 3 hours ahead). Found a great spot where the road over the Tower Bridge turns between the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge tube station. As can be seen in the video, we were on the corner where the peleton came around the corner. It was really exciting!
July 8
Went to the Borough Market on the south side of the Thames. This is a really cool market.
July 9
For our last full day with the kids we went to Brick Lane. Had lunch at the BrewDog Bar Shoredictch, where I had BrewDog’s Kohatu and a Kernel Brewery’s Cascade Citra. For lunch, I tried their Chili Mac – not bad.
Other pubs we tried included Masque Haunt and The Crosse Keys,
July 10
Patrick and Michelle left this morning to head back to the States. We’ll miss them…
