My favorite touristy thing in London: Westminster Abbey

My favorite touristy thing in London: Westminster Abbey

I love cemeteries. Not modern cemeteries so much — they feel too sad, too fresh and recent. I’m happy in old, old cemeteries with elaborate sculptures and tombs and overgrown plantings. Places like Père Lachaise, Montmartre Cemetery, and the Catacombs in Paris, the Unitarian Church’s cemetery 

The Best Wine Deals in London

The Best Wine Deals in London

Slight amendment to this post. We did find two good wine deals while in London. Half-off Champagne at Tesco. Just some random French bottle. It was pretty great and £12.99 ($21), 50% off its normal price. Not worth $42. That’s Bollinger price territory back home. Half-off 

A Tale of Three Scotch Eggs

A Tale of Three Scotch Eggs

Scotch eggs are a novelty in the States. They’re the hip new thing that gastropubs serve. I think we first had them in Chicago at either The Gage or Longman & Eagle. Not sure … it may have even been at Three Floyds brewery in 

Secret views and maritime history in Greenwich

Secret views and maritime history in Greenwich

Three weeks in London has given us the luxury of time — time to just wander around and see what we find. On our first visit to Greenwich, I was intrigued by the narrow, hilly streets, cute rowhouses, and little shops that I spotted from 

English Pronunciations for Americans in London

English Pronunciations for Americans in London

Yes, we speak the same language, but not only do we not use the same words for things, we pronounce things differently. There’s like these insider secret pronunciation rules that outsiders just don’t know and locals take for granted. Here are the ones I’ve noticed. 

British Cuisine: __ on Toast

British Cuisine: __ on Toast

There’s something going on with British cuisine. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good. We haven’t had a bad meal yet (don’t believe the rumors). Not even close. But there’s this fascination with things on toast. We had grouse offal on toast at St. John Bread and Wine. 

The London Win: Fuse Edition

The London Win: Fuse Edition

We blew a fuse on the electric tea kettle. Not sure how I managed that, but I did. Tripped the breaker in the house too. Finding and flipping the breaker back was easy. The fuse, that was another matter. In Chicago, we lived around the 

Offal Lunch at St. John Bread and Wine

Offal Lunch at St. John Bread and Wine

I cut into it and it spewed, simple as that. Not a bad spew. Just a spew. Didn’t want Lisa to see though, so I mopped it up and shoved it in my mouth. Damn, it was tasty. “What was that?” she asked. “I’ll tell 

The best free / cheap things to do in London

The best free / cheap things to do in London

London is expensive. Finding free or cheap things to do is tricky — you’ve got to be creative. At least the majority of the national museums have free admission for their permanent collections, so you can always duck inside on a rainy day. But maybe 

Things I Love about London

Things I Love about London

London is a great city. Here’s what I’m falling in love with: Free museums. Most museums have free general admission. Special exhibits are extra. Smart. “Real” ale. I asked what “unreal” ale was and got strange looks. So much for that inquiry. Anyway, the beers 

“Direct” Flight to London

“Direct” Flight to London

We wanted a direct flight when flying to London, didn’t want to transfer. Of course, no flight is truly direct. Here’s what we went through to get from A (Lake Geneva, WI, USA) to B (London, England, UK). Drive to Harvard, IL (40 minutes) Our 

The Dogs Are Better In London

The Dogs Are Better In London

We’re just around the corner from London Fields park, one of the seemingly endless London public parks. The parks are wonderful, but the space isn’t the most amazing thing about them. It’s the dogs. Like a lot of parks, people bring their dogs to London