Off To A Great Start!

We woke up blissfully well-rested and wondering what to do on our only Sunday in London over our morning cigarettes and breakfast. First on our 'itinerary' was the West Minister Abbey not far from Victoria tube but we ended up at the Cathedral (thinking it was the Abbey) and walked into the serene Sunday service. Starving at almost 2pm and in the thick of the mid-day summer heat, we stumbled upon the nearby historic Albert Victorian pub - originally known as Blue Coat Boy. The pub was built in 1845 and apparently frequented by royalty and parliament members.

Wasting no time, we tucked into the kick-arse pub grub and lager-top, gobbling up the chunky 'award-winning' pork, apple and cider sausages with caramalised onions and mash (6.25 pounds) and a generous portion of cottage pie with peas, carrots and slathered with a lipsmacking thick meaty gravy (5.75 pounds)... as you could see, it was really yummmy. The ambience of the pub was also quaint and authentic, with its old polished wood and antique Victorian glass.

Our next stop was Camden, which was how I remembered it, except it was much cleaner and there were more markets. I also didn't recall the dodgy characters whispering "marijuana?" and the public display of 'magic mushrooms' on sale! In comparison, the indoor Old Spitalfields Market and Up Sunday Market were more charming and offered more original stuff by local young designers. But do go early becos we arrived late at 5pm and most stalls are closing up. Dammit!

So we consoled ourselves with our second lagertop of the day at this Ten Bells Pub, which soon escalated into the third, fourth and fifth one (who's counting)! The pub had probably seen better days but still it retained a scruffy run-down charm which was authentic and not replicated. Lucius' Spanish friends had a private do on the 2nd floor and we were soon swigging pints with his English mates Luke (who had a recovering black eye), Martin (who was dreading to go back to Swindon), Rob (a deadringer for a young Ian Brown), Sharon (cool S'porean gal) and plenty of hilarious characters.

Just into my third pint on an empty stomach, I was doing the tango with his Colombian mate Carlos while the sky was still bright outside at 9.30pm! The party moved to this underground bar aptly named 'Public Life' becos it used to be a public toilet and we had to pay 1 quid to get in! Hungry and tired, we left soon to catch our last train back. Needless to say we had a full day!