papa and mama in London

What a relaxing Sunday.. chilling out to the max; a nap in the afternoon, some lazy news watching, reading some, writing some, eating snacks throughout the day, looking back satisfied on a great visit from the parents and with a good week at work ahead. Superb! The extensive run this morning (the only time I left the house so far) compensated the excessive eating and drinking of the past 48 hours (even more than the usual) and implied a decent pace along the banks of the Thames and the neighbourhoods bordering it, all the way to parliament and back along the other river bank. Apart from visiting some supposedly renowned tourist attractions (among which the dread of PortoBello market – which doesn’t deserve such a pretty name – and the enjoyable Kensington palace) I took papa and mama mainly out for food experiences. And though my dad and I seemed to be on opposite sides regarding the tourist stuff (I don’t like markets with crowds squirming around me versus I don’t like gazing at the splendour of the royal house) we obviously share a passion for food & drinks. We did the entire spectrum; expensive French food in Soho (Thursday eve), low-budget Pakistani food north of Brick Lane (Friday eve), and the classic pub food (fish & chips) in a bar bordering the Thames (Saturday). Wines and French cheese for lunch on Saturday near Embankment, beef with pickles and mustard for lunch on Friday at Borough market; these days have been a sequence of my favourite food places that the miles of strolling around could not compensate for. Awesome.

The rest of the past week implied butter chicken on Monday with David, wines & cheeses with Gabri on Tuesday, Vietnamese food with David on Wednesday (we couldn’t find the sign that said beer&pizza for five pounds that I remembered seeing hence we end up eating Vietnamese – awesome), and the already discussed grande bouffe the three days thereafter. The upcoming week features plenty of awesomeness as well; going to a lecture with Marry on Tuesday, drinks with Gabri and his colleagues on Wednesday, drinks at the Australian Embassy with Vasiliki on Thursday, and Bo arriving later on that evening. Plenty to look forward to, and even more to enjoy consciously while it’s happening right now.

All the best from a chilly but dry London!