London….it’s a wrap.

 Let’s see if i can pump out this last post at a Heathrow bar while next to the Gucci store!!!!

Went looking for cucumber sandwiches in Pancras International, no joy. I believe the HQ has a $75 dollar tasting item on their menu…..that tea better be infused with bacon and lobster. 

I like the terminal almost as much as the Eurostar ride. 

Missed my chance for champagne upstairs…

Schlepped over near my digs at Tower Bridge….Getting hungry, so my first English breakfast….no pork roll. 

Madness…

I scored again in the berthing category; a slight notch above Lyon, but nowhere near Valencia and Eijsden….just sayin’

 

Not to mention a dozen coffee pods for the Nespresso machine…a far cry above the COMBINED 1 pod from Girona and Lille).

Fully stocked, tastefully decorated, like someone actually lives here. Full complement of kitchen gear, including SHARP PREP KNIVES!!!! (Are you listening, Girona and Lille?). I do prefer having a kitchen for longer stays, because perusing an unfamiliar grocery store in a different language is kinda fun. 

First up: the London Olympic Stadium (2012 Games were here). With their most decorated middle distance runner as the current head of World Athletics, surely this stadium will have some very visible memories of a tremendous event. I would have bet my hot tub that this location would have more going on than the Paris stadium. 

Nope. Nothing.

No Olympic Rings, no memorabilia. Nothing. What a bummer!!! I’ll just have to go back to Rome every so often to get my fix of Olympic history; that stadium is done up right. 

Wanted to treat myself to a nice coat….looked in France and the Netherlands, nothing caught my eye. 

This did, but felt a little too heavy….

Selfridge’s looks like Buddy the Elf just finished decorating. 

My favorite coffee has its own flagship store. 

Oh, HELL yes!!! A side trip to the home of AFC Richmond. 

Ted and Beard spent many a morning on this very bench…

HS classmate Annette has lived out here 30 years, great to see her. 

Sea bass….nom nom nom. 

A little walk along the Thames….and a wee bit of flooding…this car must have been the amphib driven by Bond….James Bond. 

Did I mention the Shard view from my flat? 

And the roundy roundy thing to the left…Ferris Wheel? Carrousel? Centrifugal G-force trainer? 

Gotta get my roadwork in…always loved watching Prime Minister’s Questions…the Brits can be so polite while calling you an idiot!

Tom Cruise legit landed a helicopter in Trafalgar Square!! Two takes…on the first one, he was caught on camera smiling at the inherent coolness of the event (and his director yelled at him). 

Buncha wacky folk live here…

Lunch was gonna be fish and chips at Borough Market, but this curry looked amazing. 

Later, I had to try some fish and chips, because London. Way over-battered…glad i did the curry. 

The peanut gallery…people sitting down to eat in the bleachers. 

Found this coat and went with it. 

Tube ad for the first musical I took Zoë to…

Finally saw The Producers!!! You just can’t walk past a Mel Brooks creation…

Last shots of my backyard…

Way early to Heathrow, and the window shopping which would have bankrupted me. 

Yes, I like the coat!!!

What a trip. The final event…next up, 11 hours on a plane!

Lille

Ok, one thing about European trains….comfortable, wide coverage…and cryptic tickets. Unless I’m missing something, an intermediate stop is not always shown on the monitor, and nor are transfers. Thankfully, Google Maps Transit layer helps a lot!

The northern France town of Lille….

 

Another nice AirBnb, except no prep knives, no cutting board, a single coffee pod, and LOTS of floor dust. But tons of hot water, and a perfect location.

Another foodie tour….cheeses washed in beer are nice, even though I’m not a beer guy. One of the cheeses had a very pockmarked rind…..from mites. Yikes….but they don’t reach the cheese inside. 

Some really nice hummus/guac and beignets. 

Gravlax and coconut cream. This was quite nice!

One of the other guests was allergic to seafood, so she had an amazing carpaccio with slices of beef tongue. Her friend was Mexican, and loved the lengua. Me too!

Clarification: the other two women on the tour made the fatal mistake of having a large steak lunch around three hours prior. Suffice it to say, they donated most of their samples to the nordic skier in the crowd!

Really nice kitchen operation. 

Fries with beef stew…..and the pub starting playing ‘Nightshift’ by the Commodores. Five stars on all. 

In honor of a favorite movie, I had to order The Thunder. 

Les Grossman approves….and supposedly has a movie of his own in the works!

Next morning in the Basilica Plaza, some nutcase doing resistance work. Passers-by were quite amused. 

The post-workout baguette didn’t survive long. 

Oh my ever loving GOD…..

Went back and bought some cheese from that first shop. Went nicely with the bread. 

One more tour….loved the ‘stache. 

A welsh version of Croque….fancy name for a grilled ham and cheese. 

No…just no. 

Car tours with style. 

I succumbed. 

Cool vintage store that charges by the kilo. 

I was successful in walking away for once. 

Last day here…decided to jump a train for Belgium. Roubaix is the ending of a very famous cycling race that covers around 150km, and 20 percent or so over some very nasty pavé (cobbles). The French have a sense of humor, for sure. 

Back in the day, young pup Greg Lemond relocated his family to the town of Kortrijk as a central base to grow his cycling career. He did okay, if memory serves…three Tour de France wins. 

The city of Ghent…big universities, lot of sights, and canals. 

A $4 walking tour sounded about right. 

500 chocolate shops in town, and Belgian fries with Flemish beef stew. Incredibly good. 

Valencia’s crest includes a bat….Ghent has a dragon…..Navy (and Bill the Goat) have nothing on these folks. 

Anyone heard of this madness? It’s basically a hollandaise with sugar and brandy. An after-dinner drink or spread, I’m not sure. But jeez it’s incredibly yummy. The name derives from ‘advokatenborrel,’ or ‘The drink that lubricates the throat of a lawyer.’

Some quick pad thai before hustling back to the train. 

Saw this in Maastricht as well, on the sidewalks….the Nazis kept records of who was abducted when and where. Just sobering. 

After that, I needed a drink. 

Lovely town, this Lille. Very walkable, and trains in every direction.