My Hammersmith girlies came over from the States to see their husband/brother play with his band again (much like last year!) so naturally, I flew up to London to see them. In our discussions of the trip, Kristin and Jen decided they wanted to also visit another city "for like a night." At first, they wanted to go to Greece, but that's a really far trip (and two time zones away) to go for one night. So I suggested Edinburgh or Amsterdam, and they chose Amsterdam. Edinburgh would have certainly been easier (same currency as England, same wall plugs, same time zone) but who doesn't love them some Amsterdam?
I had an early morning flight out of Nuremberg and it had snowed a bit overnight. This is what the wing looked like before it got doused with de-icer.
They used SO MUCH de-icer that my view looked like THIS the entire flight.
My lovely ladies made it safely to London and we met up at the hotel to drop our bags off before immediately heading to one of our favorite pubs, The Clarence.
Jen and I were craving some mushy peas that come along with the Clarence's delish fish and chips!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... Todd took these crazy kiddos skiing at Ochsenkopf and they tackled some new runs!
My boy Kit Harington was in a play only a few doors down from where we were staying at the Strand Palace Hotel! SWOON!!!!!! Later when I went out to dinner with Kristin, as we passed by, I asked the two outside attendants if I could stalk Jon Snow. They said I could... if I went to the back door at 9:30 pm (but we were already back in the room and in bed by that point!) Next time, Crow!
Everyone else was rightfully more tired than I was. But this year, I actually scored a BED so I pretty much fell right asleep!
But because we got SUCH a good night sleep, we got up early in search for coffee and some sights. We swung by Leicester Square where the fountains were still running, despite it being near the end of January!
There's a little statue of Charlie Chaplin in Leicester Square!
We strolled up to Piccadilly Circus to see the lights and videos. It's amazing to me how clear the videos were in high definition! I remember being here in 1989 and they weren't nearly as cool as this.
Also in Piccadilly Square is the Shaftesbury Memorial statue featuring Anteros, the brother of Eros (in fact it is often mistaken for Eros.) It was dedicated to Lord Shaftesbury, a Victorian era philanthropist.
Of course, we needed coffee, STAT. So we grabbed some cappuccinos because cappuccino was better at this early hour than beer was.
Anteros flying high above Piccadilly Circus with the most beautiful building behind it! They sure don't make pretty buildings like they used to.
We decided to wander a bit before heading to Covent Garden where I was going to have lunch with my friend Mary who happened to be in London for work. We went through Chinatown with it's beautiful entry gate.
Such pretty red lanterns!
The winter flowers (or, errr... um, cabbage?) at Covent Garden were SO pretty.
I ran back to the hotel to meet up with Mary so she could put her bags in the storage place for a couple of hours while we had lunch. I got their a bit early so, oh well. I had to have a cocktail!
I met back up with Kristin and Jen to get ready to head up to Kentish Town for the Skid Row concert so we could pregame. Hence the selfie of ourselves when we still looked pretty good.
Mind the gap!
Jen, can you turn on that heater for me?
After numerous cocktails and beers, we headed up to the O2 for the show. I wish this picture wasn't so blurry - it was so cute of Jen!
In between Backyard Babies and Skid Row, we went upstairs for some fresh air. The views from the top of the O2 were really pretty!
Honestly, my Dad shows up in the weirdest of places. When he was alive and he traveled, he would always love having a "frosty" (his term for a beer) in whatever city or country he was in. I was having a frosty in London, and for some reason in the dressing room, there was a box of Frosties!
We didn't want to eat all of Skid Row's snacks... but Kristin found a beat up, juicy pear that she tackled. I don't think anyone was gonna eat it anyway - it was really messy!
Kristin felt the need to surprise Jen with a bottle of scotch when she came out of the bathroom.
I felt the need to take a picture of myself in the bathroom because the toilet paper was above my head! You'll be glad to know this was one of TWO toilet selfies I took on this trip.
All right, let's do this. Our curfew HAD to be midnight anyway, since we had a 7:00 am flight to Amsterdam. (Gag.)
One more selfie before the show. You'd think WE were the rockstars, instead of the band!
Skid Row shows are just SO. MUCH. FUN.
Me and Scotti bonded over some stretches before the show. We did some kneeling hip flexor stretches and I could definitely tell by his on-stage movements that it helped him! (Ok, I'm just kidding about that part.) Anyway, we had to capture the moment. Good times are always had at a Skid Row show!
Until next time, London! (And that's gonna be in a couple of weeks!) Now it's on to Amsterdam!
I had an early morning flight out of Nuremberg and it had snowed a bit overnight. This is what the wing looked like before it got doused with de-icer.
They used SO MUCH de-icer that my view looked like THIS the entire flight.
My lovely ladies made it safely to London and we met up at the hotel to drop our bags off before immediately heading to one of our favorite pubs, The Clarence.
Jen and I were craving some mushy peas that come along with the Clarence's delish fish and chips!
After lunch and a couple of pints at the Clarence, we went down to the always crowded Red Lion pub. While we were sitting outside, these four walked by us and across the street with their big old guns. Safety first, kids!
On our way back to the hotel (at this point, everyone was tired), we stopped by the iconic red telephone booths for this ubiquitous selfie.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch... Todd took these crazy kiddos skiing at Ochsenkopf and they tackled some new runs!
My boy Kit Harington was in a play only a few doors down from where we were staying at the Strand Palace Hotel! SWOON!!!!!! Later when I went out to dinner with Kristin, as we passed by, I asked the two outside attendants if I could stalk Jon Snow. They said I could... if I went to the back door at 9:30 pm (but we were already back in the room and in bed by that point!) Next time, Crow!
Our hotel is just too pretty for words, especially all lit up at night.
Everyone else was rightfully more tired than I was. But this year, I actually scored a BED so I pretty much fell right asleep!
But because we got SUCH a good night sleep, we got up early in search for coffee and some sights. We swung by Leicester Square where the fountains were still running, despite it being near the end of January!
There's a little statue of Charlie Chaplin in Leicester Square!
We strolled up to Piccadilly Circus to see the lights and videos. It's amazing to me how clear the videos were in high definition! I remember being here in 1989 and they weren't nearly as cool as this.
Also in Piccadilly Square is the Shaftesbury Memorial statue featuring Anteros, the brother of Eros (in fact it is often mistaken for Eros.) It was dedicated to Lord Shaftesbury, a Victorian era philanthropist.
Of course, we needed coffee, STAT. So we grabbed some cappuccinos because cappuccino was better at this early hour than beer was.
As we were still in Piccadilly Circus, we noticed you could look down Waterloo Place and see Westminster Abbey, with the Duke of York fountain in front of it. I also liked this lady barreling straight at me on her bicycle!
Of course, we need a Piccadilly Circus selfie!
Anteros flying high above Piccadilly Circus with the most beautiful building behind it! They sure don't make pretty buildings like they used to.
We decided to wander a bit before heading to Covent Garden where I was going to have lunch with my friend Mary who happened to be in London for work. We went through Chinatown with it's beautiful entry gate.
I loved the lanterns in Chinatown, but what's with the random Italian restaurant!?
Such pretty red lanterns!
We next walked to Covent Garden, where I spotted a Lauderee and HAD to get a box of macarons (ROSE flavored are the best - one of my favorite things in the whole world!) The classic green doors are so pretty, and Jen was taking a bunch of pictures in doorways - so, this picture!
The Punch and Judy show at Covent Garden was in full swing when we arrived. Ok, I'm too short to even know if that is what is going on here, but it is the right place for it!
The winter flowers (or, errr... um, cabbage?) at Covent Garden were SO pretty.
I ran back to the hotel to meet up with Mary so she could put her bags in the storage place for a couple of hours while we had lunch. I got their a bit early so, oh well. I had to have a cocktail!
We had a delicious Indian food lunch at Masala Zone where they have a ton of Rajasthani kathputli (puppets) hanging from the ceiling, creeping me out.
"Mary, stop for a second, we need a selfie or Todd won't even believe we had lunch together!"
I met back up with Kristin and Jen to get ready to head up to Kentish Town for the Skid Row concert so we could pregame. Hence the selfie of ourselves when we still looked pretty good.
Mind the gap!
We decided we needed t-shirts for our kids that say, "Mind your head." Here is Jen, minding her head! (Also, I now know that Mind Your Head is a Harry Potter quote from the Prisoner of Azkaban! Thanks, Natalie!)
We got off in Camden Town looking for a pub but they were all SUPER packed. So we started walking north toward Kentish Town, and we found a great pub, but they didn't serve food and my girls were hungry. We continued to walk until we found The Abbey Tavern Pub, across the street from this delicious row of homes on Kelly Street. I wonder if they had to fight for which color they got to paint their homes?
After they grabbed some dinner downstairs, we asked the bartender if we could sit outside upstairs on their patio. I think they thought we were crazy because it was spitting rain, but the temps were in the upper 40s and they had little heaters, so why not?
Jen, can you turn on that heater for me?
After numerous cocktails and beers, we headed up to the O2 for the show. I wish this picture wasn't so blurry - it was so cute of Jen!
We got there pretty much just in time for Backyard Babies but after a beer upstairs in the dressing room, I needed a REAL drink so I went to the bar for a bourbon and Coke. I tipped the bartender and she gave me two little shots of JD Honey! Kristin apparently thinks this is how you should drink these. (This photo was made possible by a flashlight!) Also of note in this picture - the guy on the far right was a upper 40s father who took his 13-year-old daughter to the show. We kept telling her that her dad was the COOLEST! (This wasn't his favorite genre by the way, ha ha!)
In between Backyard Babies and Skid Row, we went upstairs for some fresh air. The views from the top of the O2 were really pretty!
Honestly, my Dad shows up in the weirdest of places. When he was alive and he traveled, he would always love having a "frosty" (his term for a beer) in whatever city or country he was in. I was having a frosty in London, and for some reason in the dressing room, there was a box of Frosties!
We didn't want to eat all of Skid Row's snacks... but Kristin found a beat up, juicy pear that she tackled. I don't think anyone was gonna eat it anyway - it was really messy!
Kristin felt the need to surprise Jen with a bottle of scotch when she came out of the bathroom.
I felt the need to take a picture of myself in the bathroom because the toilet paper was above my head! You'll be glad to know this was one of TWO toilet selfies I took on this trip.
All right, let's do this. Our curfew HAD to be midnight anyway, since we had a 7:00 am flight to Amsterdam. (Gag.)
One more selfie before the show. You'd think WE were the rockstars, instead of the band!
Skid Row shows are just SO. MUCH. FUN.
I swear this pic looked much cooler on my phone! I think it's the only one where you can kinda sorta see Rob (Kristin's husband/Jen's brother/band drummer.)
Me and Scotti bonded over some stretches before the show. We did some kneeling hip flexor stretches and I could definitely tell by his on-stage movements that it helped him! (Ok, I'm just kidding about that part.) Anyway, we had to capture the moment. Good times are always had at a Skid Row show!
Until next time, London! (And that's gonna be in a couple of weeks!) Now it's on to Amsterdam!
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