Hamburg Happenings: November Break 2013

I can barely believe the November break has already come and gone. For those of you that followed this blog since the beginning, you know the November break has always brought bad luck for us, well mostly bad health luck for Kev. You can refresh your memory here and here. Good news on the November curse, no health problems during the trip! The trip was, however, dampened with a decent amount of rain, but that is expected in London! I was lucky to see a familiar face and a great friend from University because she and her husband had recently moved there for jobs.

In three full days touring London, I feel as if we just scratched the surface of the city. It is an absolutely massive city with so much to do. We probably wouldn't have seen nearly as much either, if we didn't have Megan and John to tour us about here and there.

In our short vacation to London, we did the following:

Double-Decker Bus Tour
Saw the main sights: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Picadilly Circus, etc.
Saw the World's Longest Running Show: Agathe Christie's the Mousetrap. The play is a murder mystery on it's 60th Anniversary and I won't dare break the oath I took at the end by telling you "whodunit." The theatre (to us) was the epitome of an old theatre experience, uneven floors, steep staircases, uncomfortable seats, and full of charm! We loved it. Photos in the theatre were prohibited, but you can see a virtual tour of it here.
Saw John's office for his new job
Ate lots of pub food and pot pies. Whoever says English food is bland doesn't know what they're talking about. The English breakfast is killer, the pub burgers are way better than anything I've had in Germany, and the pot pie options are endless. Kev's favorite was the basic chicken pot pie and I enjoyed the mixed fish pie. Everything is served with mashed potatoes and mushy peas, of course!
Kev and I decided we definitely aren't museum people after we strolled through the massive Victoria and Albert Museum. Beautiful though.
Tasted a bunch of different beers on a mini-pub crawl with Meg and John. I swear there is a pub on every corner and at least two in between. Very few dance clubs, overload of pubs, also known as my heaven.
Saw Notting Hill and the famous Portobello Market.
Went to Regent Street for the famous "switching-on" of the Christmas Lights. Decided to avoid the crowds on the street and headed for a pub instead. The Christmas build-up is about 2 months long as the stores reap a massive percentage of their annual profits during this time. Makes sense when you don't have Thanksgiving to celebrate, I suppose!
Mistakenly thought we saw Barbara Streisand at one of the pubs downtown. We sent the usually-willing John for a picture with her before we found out we were wrong.
Saw the London Eye and Tower Bridge at night, which was gorgeous all lit up.