Travbuddy meet up. Yay!
OK, I will write a proper entry for this. But in the meantime, here are some photos from our fantastic meet up. It was brilliant, and I had a great time. ANd fitted in two museums whilst I was at it. SUCH a geek!
The week before the meet up, I had had one of my busy weeks at work, culminating in a trip to Reading to learn about... well, boring things that only I could get overexcited about. It was good though - props to the Holiday Inn for the food. So I was totally shattered by Thursday and made the bus by the skin of my teeth-except that then it was late. Despite the fact that traffic happens at predictable intervals in the UK, it always takes Thamesdown Buses by surprise. That was an 8.20 bus. The first lovely person of the day prize goes to lovely Bus Stop Chatty Lady, for brightening up the ten minute wait for the bus.
I got to Paddington, 55 minutes late. That's five minutes not late enough to claim compensation, folks. Gotta love First Great Western. And I sort of felt like I was on holiday, so I went to Yo Sushi to drink unbelievable amounts of Miso soup and eat some fish. Then I wandered to the South Bank. The South Bank is one of my favourite bits of London, because there's always something random there. Today, it was a couple of skips full of neon lights. Apparently, it has something to do with exploring the interplay between the mundane reality of a refurbishment programme and the hopes for a new.
Then I went to Mile End to meet Ruby, who coped with the fact I'd had five coffees admirably.
Hannah came round, and the three of us got changed, chatting happily about, oh, jewelry choices and whether anyone had any hair slides I could borrow. Like I said, we hit it off immediately! Then we got back on the tube to go to Camden. Bar Fifty Five awaited.
Two for One cocktails. Possibly the worst idea in the world, for the sake of my poor battered liver, but an amazing idea for making friends.
Wagamamas is a chain of Japanese restaurants - not sushi, but noodles and stuff. They're consistently good and I've never had a bad meal in one. And this one was right next to fifty fives. I had a beer, and then decided that that was enough alcohol. Unfortunately, there comes a point when you keep getting drunker even though you stopped drinking.
Hannah, Ruby and I went back to Mile End. Hannah went to sleep, and Ruby and I gossiped for a while, and I got the inside gossip about Amsterdam, which sounds like several adventures. It was a great night out, and I can't wait for the next one!
If you're interested, the other blogs telling this story are at:
http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/24061/London-London-3
http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/24550/London-Meet-up-London-1
http://www.travbuddy.com/travel-blogs/24396
[reviews for 55/wagamama/yo sushi/samurai/british museum]
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The food is served at big canteen style tables, and there is no music- the atmosphere is very much aimed at chatting with your freinds. Many branches have queues, but they move very fast. Main courses are under a tenner and drinks are average priced. The seats are kinda close together and bench like, so I don't know if it would be that easy in a wheelchair, but They would probably make adjustments if you asked. They have child seats and I've seen loads of happy kids in there at lunchtimes. It's consistently really good food, which is the most important thing.
I'd recommend it, and I've been to at least four branches several times each.
The food is pretty good, and I had three cups of the miso, which for me, is the mark of decent japanese food. Obviously, it's about as authentic as I would be in a kimono, but it tastes really nice, so who's checking?
It does get pricey, though - by the time you've had three bowls of food it adds up. I think the ones outside of Paddington might be a bit more relaxed, but this being a station, there's quite a noodle-bar atmosphere, which I really enjoy, especially as I'm often on my own and that can be uncomfortable sometimes.
I'd recommend it.
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Aside from one of the most extensive cocktail menus I have ever seen- six kinds of everything including one called "sorry about the mess"- the bar staff are friendly, to the point of flirtatious, and can do that impressive twiddly thing with the shakers. They're happy to reserve an area for you and although when we were there there was a funny smell, it's clean. Did I mention two for one cocktails yet? And it's next to wagamamas. The prices are good, when the offer is on, and good-for-London the rest of the time. I'll be going back next chance I get!
