the catz romp in lundun!

at last, another cat in foggy london town! i had been looking forward to hosting helen for the weekend for ages, and finally the time came for our joyous reunion. as i picked her up from the tube station on friday afternoon, we both got a tad emotional after being separated for so long. we couldn't wait for our adventures to begin!

i thought that i should show her the infamous brick lane, since that's been my most frequented london hangout so far. after walking through its neon-ed streets, we finally made it to the "ten bells" pub, which has been around since the victorian period--and used to be frequented by victims of JACK. THE. RIPPPPAAA!!! helen manned up and got a pint of strongbow, whereas i settled on a titchy half pint of foster's. the place was pretty crowded, so after downing our drinks we headed for cafe bangla, to munch on some authentic bangladeshi food (i'd never tried it before!).

for some bizarre reason, we were the only customers in the restaurant. it might have been because we were a bit early at 6:30 (most people eat later in the evening here). it didn't matter, though, becuase it meant we got good service! we started with some popadoms (thin crackers) with four different sauces, then moved onto scrumptious veg pakoras. we had ordered the "set menu," so when our bountiful feast of bangla beauty was set in front of us, we went to town. there was chicken in a red coconut sauce, some weird-looking but very delicious greenish mash, more meats in sauce, and some doughy naan. i wish i knew the names of what we ate, but i can't remember. all i know is that it was amazingly good. hel and i gorged until we thought we'd burst...then she unabashedly asked for a doggie bag, which apparently is quite gauche here. irrelevant, it was worth it!

of course, after that we had to get more food, even though we felt like vomming. we headed for the "beigal" place my flat usually visits. helen had to try the salt beef bagel!

so, after a pitstop at home, we decided to try to find da lundun clubz. we eventually made our way to camden town, but it was pretty sleepy for a friday night. instead, we went to "the earl of camden" pub, and then to another cool-looking pub (forget the name...) afterwards. i wish i had taken pictures, but i didn't have my camera...look at helen's blog for visuals!

still full of bangla, and tired as hell, we hit the sack in preparation for saturday. waking up the next morning, we sojourned into the heart of westminster to ride the london eye! the views were amazing...see for yourself!

poser!

i realize that i've already taken 1098983 pictures of big ben, but i thought this one was extra purty

lillycat likez da rivur tems.

initial views of westminster as we ascend into the london sky. look, you can see that eagle war monument i almost desecrated a few weeks ago!

helen and i took way too many pictures in our eye bubble

a view of the east side of london. can you see queen mary?? me neither. but you CAN see the "suppository" building

the more posh west end. they're just jealous of our street cred.

protesters

after our stint in the eye, helz and i bustled over to westminster abbey, which was a treat indeed. we spent probably two hours wandering around inside, looking at all of the famous tombs (queen elizabeth I, queen mary, henry VII, newton, darwin). the poet's corner was the best--they had everyone! chaucer, dryden, tennyson, handel, olivier, tributes to the brontes, shakespeare, austen, etc etc etc. i was so impressed with how big the abbey was, too (i had forgotten since being there in 2002). the architecture is absolutely gorgeous, and it goes on forever and ever. after lighting a candle (of course), i rejoined helen and we continued on. oh, and here are some pictures of the abbey...unfortunately, you couldnt take any pictures inside. so let your imaginations run wild.

we were really hungry after all that looking, so helen and i mapped our way to covent garden, a really popular and crowded area of london. we had lunch at porter's, a place that serves traditional english food. i had beef and guinness pie, which was scrumdiddlyumptious! i really do like english food! anywho, afterwards we ventured into the heart of covent garden to watch the street performers, take a gander in the various markets, and bop around topshop.

loads of brits.

eventually, though, it was definitely time to head home. we were tired, and helen really had to pee, hahaha. but on the way, we had to take the mandatory telephone booth pictures...too bad the booth smelled like asparagus urine. we also briefly stopped in trafalgar square, to admire lord nelson atop his column and pay homage by climbing all over the monument with dozens of 10 year olds.

cute cat!

lord nelson! he defeated the french, so the british love him to bits

trafalgar squizzare

it was really hard to get up on the monument becuase the stones were so slippery. these kids were having major problems. helen and i weren't much better.

can you see big ben in the background? hai ben!

finally, after all that sight-seeing, we headed back home for an evening of chillaxery. the next day (and sorry again for lack of photos...) we ventured into the beautiful hyde park to listen to the speakers at "speaker's corner," which is a famous london tradition. basically, crazy people can get up on their soapboxes and talk about anything they want. helen and i listened to a few, then got a little sketched out and disinterested. instead, we walked through the freezing park, almost getting blown over by the furiously strong winds. i was wailing a little bit, hahaha.

unfortunately, after lunching, we had to say our goodbyes on the tube. i was quite sad to see the precious helencat go, but luckily i'll be seeing her in just a few weeks when i go up to edinburgh!

if my poor picture taking hasn't sufficed, seriously...check helen's blog. she had the cajones to ask random strangers to take our picture, which i rarely do, haha. and on that note, i must be off. until next time, dear readers--

biscuitly (i just ate some...),
lilly