London in April

London, a city full of history, art, ethic food, flea markets, and a city that can surely make you feel alive with all its hustle and bustle. A city where Giovanni Versace used to go to get inspired by the way its inhabitants dressed when he had to create a new collection. In London there's always something to do, whether it be an art exhibition, a concert, a premier of a movie or show, any time of the year is a good time to go there, since, as I said, one can always find something to do other than visiting its countless museums and admire its modern and historic architecture.

Any excuse is a good excuse to fly to the English capital, and I never hesitate to book a flight to London when I know that one of our favorite bands is going to have a gig there, because concerts in London are never just normal concerts!!!

This time it was Devin Townsend's turn with the premier of his latest album “Ziltoid 2” that take place at the Royal Albert Hall, a theater built to fulfill the wish of Prince Albert of having a “Central Hall” that would have been used to promote Arts and Sciences and that stands at the heart of South Kensington. An incredible building with a wonderful architecture and incredible acoustics, even if I have to admit that this place is probably not that suitable for rock concerts. Maybe it was just from the place I was that both the voice and drums sounded a bit too loud compared to the rest of the band. I remember when Devin Townsend played at the O2 Academy 2 years ago, and how the sound was simply perfect!

Anyway, the show was incredible, and the band played 3 hours taking just a 25 minute break with two Poozers (two guys dressed like giant farting ball bags) that every now and then ran randomly on stage making everyone laugh. Awesome! I think no one could have wanted more than what they did! Everything was just perfect and very exciting, and I can't believe that we also had no problems in going back home after the concert. I don't know why, but every time we are in London and we want to go home after a concert for one reason or another we always bump into problems. Either the subway we have to take is blocked somewhere, or we miss the last bus because a drunk friend runs in the opposite direction of the bus forcing us to follow him in order to bring him back, or...or...or.....But this time everything went fine and after a good night’s rest, the following day we were ready to hit the city during the few hours we had before our flight would have taken off.

So, fully rested and still excited about the concert of the previous evening, we headed to London Bridge hoping to find a nice place where to have breakfast. Walking along Canvey Street in Southwark we noticed a place whose sign advertised organic food. Considering all the food allergies we have, we decided to give it a try, and we absolutely did the right thing. 

My porridge with fresh blueberries was exquisite and the freshly brewed coffee smelt like toasted nuts. What a pleasant surprise! My husband had a cup of tomatoes, beans, eggs. and sausages and he said it was delicious. We also bought some sandwiches to go and they were also amazing! I really suggest everyone who will ever happen to bump into a LEON bistro to stop there and grab a bite. You won't regret it!

With a full belly and a shining sun, we just kept on walking to take the friend who was with us (he was in London for the first time) to see a bit of the main attractions of the city. We started from The Tower Bridge, then we headed to The Big Ben, The Westminster Abbey, and we ended our walk at Buckingham Palace. We took a rest at St. James Park before walking back to our apartment, and it was a pleasure to see the park so full of people. Everyone lay nicely on the grass eager not to miss a single ray of sun. London is beautiful during this time of the year and the gorgeous flowers of the park were releasing such a marvelous fragrance that I could smell it from quite a distance when the wind blew in our direction.

Moreover, all the little statues of Shaun the Sheep scattered all over London gave the city a new touch of color.

All in all, it was a very nice trip even if extremely short – we landed in Heathrow on Monday morning and left in the afternoon of the following day. The only “black” point of our stay was given by the fact that unfortunately from the 19^th floor of Burwash House it is not possible to see the St. Paul Cathedral anymore, since the wonderful view has been blocked by a new and quite awful building. But this is London, too, considering the new buildings pop up like weeds. :/

It was also a pity that our friends weren't home and we couldn't hang out with them, but it was incredibly nice of them to let us use their apartment anyway. Not many can say to have such great friends! :)