Another day in London and more to see. Before we left, our daughter Meagan purchased the 3-day London Pass. The pass is a bit pricey, but gets you into loads of Museums, Memorials, Churches and many other places. This includes, the Churchill War Rooms, HMS Belfast, the Shard, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and many others. So we thought it might be a good buy.
Churchill War Rooms
If you have any interest at all how the British and their Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, survived and ultimately helped win the war, then you have to see his war rooms.
As can be imagined, London itself is teaming with memorials from all of its wars. This one however is amazing, because it impresses upon the visited some of the effort, at the highest levels, it took to fight a war on a global scale.
England was not only fighting the Germans, but also the Japanese, who invaded their southeast Asian colonies as well.
During those times both England and America saw the need for direct communications and arrange a phone system to stretch completely across the Atlantic Ocean. A feat we take for granted today.
The War Rooms are full of interactive venues where you can take your time to read, explore and learn about the man who took England through one of the most dangerous and dark times in its history.
The HMS Belfast
As promised in my earlier post, we did indeed have the occasion to board the HMS Belfast. Again, it’s part of the London Pass and allows you to roam a WWII era British Cruiser.
Since we have already discussed the ship in Part One, we give you a slide show of the ship as you can explore and see it.
And if you are looking for enemies, well I imagine this baby can still find ’em..! [Joke: it’s only a prop]
Eating
If you are ever in London and looking for a place to eat, there are of course as you can imagine, thousands to choose from. We have eaten at the following restaurants and can recommend them all highly.
The Wolseley
We had a brunch here and the atmosphere, perhaps a take on old empire England with Oriental panels, was unique.
The food was everything, from the usual simple English breakfast fare, to the more exotic dishes with fish, animal organs, etc. However, they have bacon and eggs and their egg omelets are great too!
The Hawksmoor Seven Dials
I have no idea how they derived this name, so do not ask. However, if you are looking for a good steak, this is the place to go, a carnivores heaven.
The food prices here are, as expected, a bit on the high side, but not as high as some of the wine. There are only a few entries in the wine list under 50£. For example, the Chateau de Beaucastel above, went for 165£. So bring your plastic, or plenty of cash.
The Ivy
This is perhaps my favorite. A cozy place that serves several different and interesting kinds of fare, backed up by a reasonably priced wine list.
The atmosphere here is just great, since the architecture of the building is a triangle; there are stained glass windows all around you. The bar is the centerpiece and very well done, surrounded by tables with small lamps on them, reminiscent of something out of a by-gone era. Highly recommended!