British Pancakes

This may appear to be a pizza, but it's not... IT'S A PANCAKE! When I ordered a "tomato, cheese, chicken and mushroom pancake" (why I thought this would make for a good pancake is another story) I imagined it would resemble a standard pancake. You can imagine my surprise when this giant plate of deliciousness was placed in front of me. The guy next to us ordered the "chocolate, ice cream pancake." It had the same pizza formation, but with 2 huge scoops of ice cream on top. YUM.

I see London...

Above: Emily and me in front of Buckingham Palace
Above: Me and Emily in front of the Tower of London Bridge
Above: Reunion! Chrissy, Emily and me
Above: Emily in front of Hamley's (FAO Schwartz equivalent)
Above: Emily and me in front of the London Eye
Above: Me in front of Big Ben

EasilytheworstJet

I managed to avoid the "cheap" airlines when I lived in Madrid. When I say "cheap" I am not only talking about price, but cheap in pretty much every other aspect of a flight- thinking you get a really good deal but then being charged a ton to check a bag, waiting in a long line to board, horrible seats, turbulence etc. It worked out that whenever I needed to fly somewhere I was able to find a great deal on Spanair or Lufthansa. Therefore my first experience on a "cheap" airline was my trip to London this past weekend on EasyJet. Although Emily and I got the flight for a great price I had heard horror stories from friends who had flown EasyJet and RyanAir so I knew not to get too excited. Greg recently flew to London on EasyJet and said that when the plane finally landed he opened his eyes and everyone was crying and practically hugging each other because they couldn't believe they weren't submerged in water.

I am happy to report that there was no turbulence on the flight, but on the way to London our plane lacked reclining chairs. I sat upright in the middle seat staring at the back of the chair in front of me praying that the flight would go by faster. I refused to let myself pay for a beverage of food item so I became extremely hungered. Uncomfortable is an understatement. Luckily on the way back I was able to score a window seat and a reclining chair. The wait to get on the plane though was ridiculous. There was one person checking the tickets for all of the passengers. However, there were two crew men sitting nearby to her just talking and laughing with each other! Why couldn't they help her speed things along? These are aspects of European culture that will continue to frustrate and confuse me.

THE LIST

For me there are several crucial, yet standard components to making a weekend abroad noteworthy. Roughly speaking: good restaurants, good weather, good sightseeing, good people, good fun.

Here is my London List:

Stay with a best friend
Gatwick Express
The Phoenix
Chelsea
Sloane Square
Eat french fries
Chelsea Brasserie
The Botanist
Hamleys
Walk around Picadilly Circus
Rack up free holiday souvenirs
The Valmont
Very attractive people
Victoria and Albert Museum (free)
Shop at French Connection
Big Ben
Tower of London Bridge
Spacious taxis
Flavored coffee
Open markets
Brick Lane vintage shops
My Old Dutch Pancake House
Find out from bbm and facebook that you actually know 10 people living in London