DAY ONE IN LONDON!!!

We had an uneventful trip over to London.  All got enough sleep to be humans, and we disembarked, grabbed our bags and met our driver quickly.

It was a 30 minute jaunt from Heathrow to our flat in Notting Hill.  Ben met us at the flat and gave us a quick tour of things, and we headed out to Portobello Market.

CRAZY!!!  I knew it would be a zoo at 11:00AM on a Saturday, and it was!  We strolled around and then decided we needed to get off our feet.  I remembered a cafe nearby that I had gone to on a previous visit so we stopped in there, and my cousin and her boyfriend joined us.

We then bid them a brief farewell and headed back to the flat to unpack and unwind.  As of this writing I am the only family member awake!  I'm headed out to the market to pick up a few things, and we're going to an English Pub for an early dinner.

Weather is absolutely gorgeous - especially for London.  68 degrees and the best part - - - SUNNY!!!

Hittin' the streets of Notting Hill:

 First stop - Barclay's Bank ATM for some British pounds!

 A quick shot outside of Jamie Oliver's "Recipease" - such a cool place!

 Ta-Da!  We make it to Portobello!

 The adorable pastel flats:

 The NOT so adorable mobs of humanity!

 Ubiquitous English Telephone booth shot:

A stop at 202! We dodged the crowds at Portobello and ducked into a restaurant I'd been to before and liked with my cousin.  We called her once we got there and she biked over to meet us.

 After noshing a bit, we headed back to our flat to unpack and get settled.

Our very cool flat:

Master Bedroom

Classic double decker busses are everywhere:

 Tesco - around the corner, where we picked up "provisions."

 The outside of our flat in Notting Hill:

Our quick walk around the corner for drinks and dinner:

Tonight's dinner: English Pub

But first, a stop at a wine bar - Kensington Wine Rooms

My cousin recommended this wine bar, and I was so glad she did!  We had a blast there!  You pre-pay an amount and they give you a card.  You then decide when wine(s) you want to taste and whether you want a "taste" or a 1/2 glass or a full glass.  Then you just put your glass underneath your choice and push the button!  So much fun!

The first of MANY Sancerre's this week....

Kriss and Steven!

Beautiful flats we passed walking to dinner:

We made it through the first day - jet lagged yes, but happy!

Enjoying a pint at the pub!

The pub was very fun, and Steven ordered up some classic British dishes that we otherwise would have avoided.  One we loved, and one we, well, didn't....

Spinach Artichoke dip

 A scotch egg:

 Pork crackling:

 Served with applesauce:

We then ALL went back to our flat and enjoyed some more good wine and company.

We even got to watch the Champion's League Final - Barcelona won!  

First day - in the books.  We had a ball!  The trip over was easy; the family was patient with my dragging them to Portobello Market; we had some great food and got to see our cousin!  

Now - on to bed so we can go go go tomorrow!