London

So one post for all of London (which was 5 nights total, from Oct 26 to Oct 31). We're here so often it's a bit like meeting with a good friend. You enjoy the time but you don't take much effort to go over familiar territory (in our case take pictures and do touristy things).

We enjoyed three plays while here:

1. The Ocean at the end of the Lane (a fantasy story - we both enjoyed it a lot)

2. Hamilton (our second time)

3. Back to the Future - The Musical (probably won't be a second time)

We ate three fine and a couple of other less fine meals

1. Tom Kerridge's Bar and Grill - the famous chef does fancy (I won't say fine) dining in London - 8/10

2. The Ten Cases - A simple wine bar and French bistro in Covent Gardens we've loved for years - 9/10

3. Angela Hartnett's Murano - A Michelin star restaurant in Mayfair - 10/10 (one of the top three for our trip the others being Midsummer House and 64 degrees)

4. We did a tapas night around the Back to the Future Play - First place was called Dehesa 5/10, unimaginative tapas and mediocre preparation (their black rice with squid was nice, about the only thing even remotely standing out). Second was Tapas Brindisa where a grilled goats cheese with honey and orange, and a pork cheek were amazing - 7/10.

5. Our first night here we had a bit of Tapas from PIX (sort of a local tapas chain) which is reliable but not "fine" dining 7/10 and a pre theater snack at some non-descript Nicholson's pub - terrible 2/10

The rest of the time was sight seeing (Big Ben is no longer covered in scaffolding), shopping, and walking this vibrant and wonderful city. 

We've enjoyed the entire trip here (all 6+ weeks of it) celebrating our 40th anniversary. 

I'm writing this at four in the morning on the day we leave for home. If I have the energy on the plane on the way home I'll write up some final thoughts about the trip and do a bit of a "lessons learned" post. 

Below are a few London pictures: