02/21/19
Woke up today and felt a little sluggish, so no run happening. I think I am going to go to the Palace and check it out and follow that up with some Dishoom again for some delicious Indian food. Looked up when I could make my way over to the palace, and found out that it costs money, so it’s time to do a game plan switch up. Going to do a short run and make my way over to Cereal Killer Cafe...again (I know, third time in one trip, still not enough). After that I will make my way over to Kew Gardens (highly recommend), and then off to the Chelsea match!
I go on my run through Regents park again and then make my way back over to Camden Market. I decided to order the Chocoholic (forget the name, but it’s all chocolate based cereal and ice cream) and it is delicious.
In regards to which was better, Oreo-M-G takes the cake at Cereal Killer, but if you are in for a chocolate dream of lavishness this one is for you. I make my way back to the hotel to shower real quick and make my way to King’s Cross station to head to Kew Gardens.
I get to Kings Cross and there is a pop up farmers market so I decide to peruse and see what there is to buy. I know, I just ate, but when there is an opportunity to try something new, can you say no? Maybe a lot of you can, but this guy can’t.
I see someone eating something similar to a Porto’s potato ball, but with an egg in the center of it. Where do I find one of those? I find the vendor, it turns out these are called Scotch eggs, and I buy one. It’s a fried mixture of potato, meat, and the centered egg. I wish it was warm, but this is something that I could eat for breakfast everyday. Great mixture of ingredients.
I grab a vegetable samosa on the way out and decide I’ll have that for lunch when I get to the Kew Gardens, and that’s where I am off to now.
Side Note: Does anyone work out here, the tube is still packed and it’s midday in the middle of the week?
Another Side Note: With the decent food at the King’s Cross Market, I’m definitely looking forward to going to Borough Market tomorrow!
I am definitely getting a little tired, this running and then sugar high is really followed by the sugar low. Will definitely need to grab a tea when I get to these gardens. My first impression of this place is that it is expansive.
There are different places for all the different plants they have from around the world. Just starting out in the temperate house where the “Goldilocks Zone Plants” are housed is unreal. The place is massive and the plants are various, I can’t believe a place like this exists (or I just haven’t been cognizant enough to seek it out in other places)!
I walk around the grounds, amazed by the size and array of all these plants, then decide to sit down to eat my little lunch of a samosa.
The samosa, as you would expect, is delicious, but as I eat the chutney that comes with it, I notice that either the British don’t do spice, or American Indian food caters more to the spice than this culture. Maybe that’s the exact same thing (probably is), but who knows.
As I just sit back and take in the beauty of the place, surrounded by families with their kids, couples on dates...and a peacock standing in front of me. Yeah, just a wild peacock making its rounds. Nobody else seems to think it’s a big deal, so I carry on as usual too.
Side Note: It’s weird to think how the friends our parents might pick for us could be the ones leading us to destructive lifestyles down the road. *Sorry, dark side note, but something that just popped into my head.
I FaceTime both Emily and my Mom at different times to show them the beauty that is Kew Gardens, and then I make my way out as I have a football match to catch.
As I look around, I still have some time to kill and am looking for another afternoon tea spot. I find one and mozy on over.
I get seated, and sit without any interaction from someone for a good five to ten minutes. It’s interesting to me how slow the service is. Maybe it’s a European thing? Like, you are supposed to sit and just enjoy relaxing in a place with family, friends, or on your own? I don’t know. I would be fine with that as long as it’s after my order is taken, especially since I am trying to get to a soccer match after. I order a little afternoon tea which comes with two scones, 1 tart, and a pot of tea. Delicious, delicious, and delicious.
The first afternoon tea and Dean’s Townhouse was better, but this hit the spot for what I was in the mood for. I see a lemon almond triangle danish that catches my eye, so I get one to go right before I hop on the bus.
I hop on the bus, down the lemon almond triangle, which was more almond-y than I was expecting. Good if you are really into Marzipan, which I am, but not THAT much. After a good ten minutes on the bus I notice that I am dozing off. I am going to definitely need a tea, energy drink, or to just start drinking beer when I get to the Chelsea match…
Side Note: I know what you are thinking. I am definitely tired because I’m solely eating sugar. I’m a child with food when not supervised.
Get off the bus and decide to take care of this dozing off, and grab a little falafel kebab wrap to give me some energy (other than the sugar of course).
The place is packed with Chelsea fans, blue everywhere, some alternative jerseys, this is the environment I wanted. I can’t wait! I walk into the stadium and decide to make my way to the team store to see if there was any merchandise that is worth getting. I mean, when in London, right? I walk around, take a couple of laps around the store to see what is the best thing to buy. I decide to get an alternate yellow jersey that is on sale, a scarf, and I grab a water bottle for a co-worker’s son who is really into Chelsea as well.
I throw the jersey and scarf on and truly immerse myself into the culture of the Chelsea fans, and how do I do that? Go find a beer. I walk into the stadium, check out my seat (which is bottom tier next to our goal, crazy close. It is a Europa League game, so I guess that’s what is expected), and then hop back to grab a beer before the game starts.
Side Note: The stadium doesn’t allow alcohol at your seats. These fans do take their team very seriously.
As I drink my beer and wait for the match to inch ever closer, the energy in the place is like a Warriors game but amplified. I cannot wait to see this stadium rocking! I walk to my seats and it is buzzing, but as the game starts the energy isn’t at its highest. The visiting team’s fans, who definitely is a lesser team, are definitely the louder of the two fan bases. I mean they are playing one of the premier teams in the world. That is until my new favorite player, Callum Hudson-Odoi, scores the first goal! And then the next thing I know Ross Barkeley scores on a free kick, and then Kante scores as well! 3 goals! And then the game was over. It went by in a flash, but what a fun first game it truly was!
I walk back to the tube, which London has down in terms of crowd control and getting everyone where they need to be. American sports arenas should follow suit and maybe just come to a Chelsea game to study how it’s done.
Side Note: I don’t remember why I wrote this down, but there was an American guy with a man bun in the tube on the way back that was trying to impress his girlfriend by being super judgemental of anyone on the tube. I don’t know, in my eyes, you can’t be judgemental if you’re rocking a man bun.
I get back to King’s Cross and decide that I am going to try the chain known as Nandos out. Aaaand it’s closed. Guess I gotta go to Subway, which seems like might be the only place open other than McDonald’s and Burger King. As I’m making my way over there I notice that an Indian restaurant is still open and has a late night deal...sorry Subway I’m going to King’s Cross Indian (name of the establishment).
I walk in sit down and order my meal along with a Kingfisher. For 7,95 pounds I am getting a samosa, tikka masala, rice, and naan, we will see how it is. I had no doubt in my mind, it is delicious. I enjoy every bit of the meal along with my Kingfisher and stay around until it is time for the restaurant to close.
I truly had a glutinous day of food, but it was so worth it with all the different things I was able to try. Also, it is now triple verified, that the British don’t give you the bill until you ask for it.
As I walk back to my hotel I decide, maybe I want a little ice cream for dessert (I know glutinous). I stop at Burger King where I run into a couple of Chelsea of fans who try to talk to me about the match but they are visibly drunk with strong British accents, so all I can really do is say “Yeah” and smile and nod. It turns out Burger King is out of ice cream, probably for the best. I wave to the Chelsea fans, and I head back to the hotel for the night. Can’t wait to see what the next day has in store.
Comments