London, England Day 1

After a long flight non-stop from Phoenix to London Heathrow, we arrived safely, but tired at 1:00 pm on Saturday.  It took us about an hour to get through customs, but we were greeted by a wonderful British woman who bussed us to our hotel, the Ibis Earl Court.  The accommodations are clean and efficient. Nothing fancy, but the beds are comfortable and the bath water is hot!

Once we unpacked and settled in, our group ventured out to navigate our way through the underground (subway) to Covent Gardens.  Ed Carmines, the trip captain, had researched the Internet for the best fish and chips in London.  Thank goodness his wife, Karen, had GPS on her phone!  A few wrong turns were made but we were very happy we stuck to the plan as the restaurant proved to be all it had promised.

We all enjoyed a meal of fried cod, French fries, Mushy Peas – yes, it\’s really called that – at The Rock & Sole Plaice. We were seated in the basement to accommodate our large party.  We were honored once we learned the history of the restaurant.  From the smiles on everyone\’s faces, it is apparent we were enjoying ourselves.

Now a little history of the restaurant. It came to be in the 1800\’s.  It was instrumental during WWII in distributing food to the war torn areas of London.  I have posted – or at least I have tried to post – part of the menu which explains there role.  To think we sat in the same basement as these phenomenal people.

The rest of the evening was filled with taking in the sites, finding our way through the Underground back to our neighborhood.   Before retiring, we had one last night cap at our newly adopted neighborhood bar.

I know I am a day or two behind in my blogging, but will try to catch up tonight.