London Calling

Last weekend, we decided to have a weekend out of Brum with our Mississippi friends, Melana and Kyle, who live just outside of London. Melana is an excellent planner and Adam and I were thankfully asked to tag along. Living a short ride away from the city proves helpful as we can pop in when fun events are taking place.  I could find a million reasons to pop back to London weekly, but I'd possibly go as far to argue that how we spent this particular weekend would be a great way to spend 48 hours, if that's all you had, in the city. While we didn't hit some of the major historic sites this trip, we absorbed much of what I feel makes the culture in London so rich.

I took the train in Friday morning and Melana and I started our day at Buckingham Palace. The Palace only opens it's doors for a short couple of months a year, and I'm not sure how people can resist their own curiosity.  While you see much less than you do on a tour of the White House, (note-it's easier to get in to Buckingham, no background check required here), you do have the opportunity to see the rooms used for state dinners and the likes.  To be honest, most of the rooms (more like hallways) felt somewhat dated.  This surprised me a bit for some reason. I guess I assumed that since the palace was still in use that it would have some more modern, yet classical decor.  Regardless, the art is amazing, and the upkeep is impeccable.  The best room was hands down the dining room staged for a state dinner - simply exquisite - and I will continue to have fantasies about being invited to a dinner in said room one day before or after our time here in the UK... the invitation to come from Kate herself, of course.  You aren't allowed to take photos in the palace, but I did snap a few on our tour of the Royal Mews.

Picture the Queen in all her wedding glory riding inside

Cruisin' through the Royal Mews (pun intended)

Royal stags

View from the back of the palace

What does one do to after cruising through royal hallways? Why, high tea of course.  Our next stop was one of the coolest restaurants I've ever stepped foot in.  Sketch boasts six different rooms, each with a different theme, design, and aesthetic.  When given the chance to do some site seeing sans husbands, you naturally choose the all pink room, also known as the Gallery.  We were treated to champagne, mini sandwiches, scones, tarts, pastries galore and tea.

The Gallery @ Sketch

Afternoon Tea @ Sketch

The Gallery @ Sketch

Treats for days

Special toilets @ Sketch

Sufficiently stuffed, we made our way home to rest, refresh and meet the guys.  We had dinner reservations near Bankside and tickets to a midnight showing of As You Like It at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.  As an English major who took not one, but two Shakespeare classes, I hate to admit I wasn't familiar with this particular play (sorry Dr. Griffin).  Ground tickets were sold out, which I was a bit thankful for once we arrived.  While it would have been cool to stand stage front as viewers did back in the day, it rained most of the show and did I mention it was midnight? Excitement and all, the adventures of the day definitely wore on me throughout the play.  Delirium set in sometime around intermission, but nonetheless, it was an extremely cool experience.  I plan to go back, but maybe for a matinee next time. Here's a view from our seats:

Saturday we slept late and saved up our energy to cheer on the England Rugby team at Twickenham stadium that night against France! After a quick run to the stadium to get new tickets (yes, we left ours in Brum), we met the crew at a local pub near St. Margaret's with dozens of fellow rugby fans to do a bit of pre-gaming and dinner.  Our new seats actually ended up being in a much better section than originally planned and with some spare seats around us, so Kyle and Melana were able to join us for the second half.  English sport fans are extremely enthusiastic and a lot of fun to be around.  Rugby is much easier to follow than I anticipated (having already struggled with cricket) and I can see myself getting into the World Cup matches as they approach.  

Twickenham Stadium

Twickenham Stadium

Stadium fan fare

Rugby scrum

England's favorite expats

We slowly made our way back to Brum Sunday afternoon, sufficiently exhausted, yet feeling sufficiently more British.  To be honest, I knew Buckingham was a long shot in regards to a Kate sighting.  However, I did get my hopes up slightly when I heard that Will and Harry often show up to cheer on their rugby team and our seats happened to be just in front of the Royal Box.  Alas, not this time.

Next time on the blog - Paris (finally)! You can find more pictures and frequent updates (including my adventures in British baking) on social media (Instagram & Twitter - @jordanwhaywood; Snapchat - jdubhay).  Also, we love to hear from friends back home! While we had to retire our US phone numbers, we use What's App to text, so message me if you'd like our UK contact info! Cheers mates!