The World’s Greatest City

Although we are regular visitors to England’s wonderful capital city, there are always new experiences, this time we take in a comedy club. The dark cellar club known as Bar Rumba in the heart of London’s West End hosts the comedy carnival for a couple of hours on a Friday and Saturday night.  It’s worth a visit, we have fun and a lot of laughs despite the inflated drinks prices expected in any event in a capital city. You can’t help but note the tough life for these comedians, working hard to be on form and make people laugh, down in this underground bar beneath the West End. For every star, there must be hundreds who nearly make it…but not quite…

We move on to the bustle of Gerrard Street, the heart of Chinatown and settle into our favourite Chinese restaurant, The Golden Dragon. Of course it is touristy, where isn’t in Soho,  but the food is good and the atmosphere lively.

Saturday, we soak up the atmosphere of Covent Garden before a matinee show, “The Book Of Mormon”, well what can we say about that show. Well, we’ll try and give hints. If you’re not open minded, this show is not for you. It’s a brilliant satire of religion, political correctness, modern day prissiness, all of the bollocks that goes with certain modern attitudes. Virtually nothing is safe. For us, it is hugely amusing and a real breath of fresh air in the current crazy political climate. We leave the theatre somehow combining dropped jaws with big smiles.

We begin our evening with a glass of wine in a London favourite, it’s an essential part of our family trips to London, Gordon’s Wine Bar. Renowned for being London’s oldest wine bar, situated in Villiers Street, Charing Cross, the bar is a vaulted candlelit Dickensian style cellar bar. Open brick arches beneath the street inside ancient wine cellars, dark and dank, moisture oozing from the bricks and dripping down the walls, the candlelight providing an atmospheric setting albeit a little claustrophobic. It’s an iconic London institution, the dank walls adorned with old photographs of London, and newspaper front pages from momentous days in history, the rumble of the underground trains deeper still beneath our feet.

If you come to London, just go. Lose who you are. Just for a short time. Oh, and take some time to read its fascinating history. 

After Gordon’s we complete a commendable pub crawl, including, amongst others, one of our favourites, The Harp near Covent Garden, so many good ales always on tap. London has so many great pubs, we could do a whole blog simply on the ones we know. Our evening ends at Cafe Pacifico, a very decent Mexican restaurant just off Long Acre. 

Sunday’s walk along the South Bank is bathed in sunshine, welcome but still a little tame for late May, summer is slow arriving this year. The South Bank is another measure of London’s transition over the last two decades or so; so many areas now with open air bars, convivial atmosphere, continental vibe. Given London’s cosmopolitan character, it’s no surprise that food from around the world is readily available, but the welcoming atmosphere, the inclusive spirit, the thoughtful decor, has transported London from great city to marvellous city. Love it. Proud of it.

If you come to visit, let us show you this wonderful city at its best.

Great weekend. Far too much to drink. Far too much fun. Love London.

We leave you with a famous quote from Samuel (Dr) Johnson, so close to our own hearts.

“A man who has tired of London…..has tired of life”….