One night in London

I left Hamburg on Thursday morning and arrived in London in the afternoon. I had no agenda for the rest of the day until my dinner with Flying Pink Elephants (FPE) at the Lebanese Restaurant.

With a few hours on my hands, I decided to go for a walk in the park. Before that, I went for a quick lunch of fish and chips at a small outlet across my hotel. I ordered cod but found the taste unfamiliar. Well, it was quite good, especially the chips. I read later in the newspaper that some outlets in UK use haddock to save cost and most diners wouldn't be able to tell the difference. No wonder my cod tasted like something else!

Fish & chips.

It was a chilly afternoon but that didn't deter me from walking to Hyde Park. The trees were bare and people were walking their dogs before the sky darkens at 4.30pm.

I wanted to check out the Christmas fair in Kensington Park across the road. I asked for directions and was told to walk towards the huge ferris wheel. It was a lovely walk by the lake inhabited by ducks and birds.


The duck and ferris wheel in the distance.

I was finally in the fairs ground. There were haunted castles, sleigh rides and little wooden stalls selling mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, hotdogs, candies and Christmas decorations.



When it started turning dark, I headed back to my hotel to prepare for my dinner with FPE who showed up punctually at my hotel lobby. She was well wrapped up in layers of clothes. We clicked the moment we met and was chatting non-stop all night.

We ordered a big spread of Lebanese food complete with a bottle of Rose which we enjoyed very much. We were treated to belly dancing by a gorgeous dancer who managed to make us do some belly dancing in front of all the diners. Read FPE's elaborate account of the dinner at her blog.


The spread of food.

FPE weilding her latest camera.

Two charming dancers!

Too soon, we had to go our separate ways. I went to bed feeling extremely jolly from the meeting. The next morning, I checked out and made my way to the train station. Next stop - Marlow.


The hotel owner's pet.