October 10, 2022
London
Our adventure is almost over. We leave tomorrow. I am amazed at everything we have packed in so far. Still we have a full day left. I wanted to try to visit the Royal Botanical Gardens. We left the hotel a little after 10am.
We stood at a bus station nearby and tried to use our apps to board. They wouldn’t work. The bus driver looked perplexed and couldn’t help us. We got off and returned to the hotel for help.
One of the hotel staff told us we could use our credit cards to pay for the fare. Ah, of course, the not-so-old old tap-and-go method. Somehow, in my research online I got all wrapped up in thinking we needed to have our credit cards loaded in a special app to use the public transportation. WRONG!
It was getting late and we were getting hungry. We decided to skip the Royal Botanical Gardens and head to SoHo for brunch at Mildred’s. We hopped on a bus, tapped our credit cards and we were on our way.
It’s good to be back in London! Everything sparkles.
Back at cosy Mildred’s we started with our hot drinks, Matcha Latte for me, Mint tea for Gary.
It’s so hard to choose. Ultimately I went with the Bokkeumbap with kimchi fried rice, clean bean salt & pepper tofu, crispy shallot, nori. So good!
Gary was remembering my Thali dinner I had a Mallows which came with lots of little dishes. It’s one of the reasons he chose the Market Thali with kiri hodi, tamarind laam, coconut cashew basmati, gujarti dahl, hari mirch cauliflower, pineapple achar and flatbread. He was not disappointed.
After a nice full meal, it was time to walk it off and take in a bit more of London before leaving tomorrow. Chim, chimney, Chim, chimney, Chim, chim, cher-ee…
Back to Carnaby Street before heading to the hotel.
Tonight we have tickets to see John Gabriel Borkman with Simon Russell Beales at the Brudge Theatre, a treat for theatre lovers like us. We hopped on the bus to take us about half way there. We got off at Elephant and Castle and walked the rest of the way. Walking is the best way to get to know a city. And then we saw it, the iconic Tower Bridge.
The view across the water was gorgeous.
The Bridge Theatre is right here. Of course it is, right by T-H-E B-R-I-D-G-E!
We are pinching ourselves. Are we really here?
And another view of the bridge.
We had a lot of time so we walked around the area. Earlier I had checked online for vegan restaurants in the area. I noticed there was a vegan Thai place called Roselyn nearby. I didn’t want to make our theatre evening about food but I mentioned the possibility of going. Gary was more than willing to go.
Take a look at the menu here.
We started with tea. They have the traditional Thai tea here that is typically served cold. The service was excellent and they made it hot for us.
For starters we shared the smoked sweetcorn cakes. So good.
The atmosphere is light and bright.
Gary had the Peanut Satay Tofu for dinner.
I wanted a comforting soup and chose the Phuket Coconut Noodle Soup.
I love restaurants with lovely bathrooms!
Finding this restaurant was an unexpected bonus. I am so glad we did not miss it.
Our last event for the evening was the play. We walked into the Bridge Theatre lobby.
I headed to the bar and looked at the menu. I was curious to see the offerings. They had Vegan Ice Cream! I couldn’t believe it. Yes, I must be dreaming. We ordered the vanilla and the chocolate. They were perfect, small dixie cup servings, just right.
The theatre was small and comfortable. The tickets were very affordable and we were sitting close to the stage. We enjoyed watching Simon Russell Beales and the cast at work, presenting this Ibsen classic.
The Tower Bridge sparkles at night.
Gary thought of finding a cab to take us back to the hotel. I was already on my phone finding the bustop and schedule. There was a bus coming in a few minutes. It was fun riding back to the hotel at night seeing all the sights we had passed during the day. Everything looks different in the evening.
What a day!