All about the UK, mostly for work

Post date: Feb 24, 2017 9:45:14 AM

I am working on building a collaboration with some colleagues in Cornwall, so I spent a week in the UK. On the front end of this trip, I spent a weekend in London.

Nick was SUPER sick, so although I stayed at his flat, he was down and out for the count for the weekend. No worries, Penny happily stepped up to the plate and we had an awesome weekend. It started with tapas near Piccadilly Circus (above), before we went to the THE-ah-tah. Since moving to Germany, trips to London are easier and likely to be more frequent. As a result, things like going to London to see a show are all of a sudden more possible. So I mentioned to Penny that I wanted to see “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime” and she got us tickets. It was awesome, talk about amazing set design.

We spent Sunday at Camden Lock, one of my favorite parts of the city. I love the thriving markets, and once again confirmed that a place I loved when I was a child, I still love.

While in Camden, we checked another box in my “London list". Wagamama’s, now a rather big chain, first started when I was living in London and as such has a soft spot in my heart for awesomeness.

And while in Camden we tried the cronut. Half croissant, half donut, and really not worth the hype. This photo is WAY better than the cronut was itself.

We also went to the movies! Penny loved the lego movie so we went to see the Lego Batman movie. In Leicester Square there is a new Lego store that just opened up. There was a line just to get in, so we didn’t bother, but they did have a lego big ben in the window which was pretty awesome.

Although nothing compared to the real thing. I love this city, and plan to be spending more time there over the next few years….

I haven’t been to Cornwall since I was a kid, but I loved it when I was last there. But first I needed to get there, which involved a sleeper train. It’s just as awesome as it sounds. You go to sleep in London and are woken up 20 minutes prior to your destination for breakfast to be served in bed. Really awesome.

I was in Falmouth, which looked exactly like you would expect Cornwall to look.

Which didn’t detract at all from my enjoyment of the lovely hills and adorable shops. Most of the time I was working, so I don’t have too many photos of sweeping landscapes because most of the time I was in doors talking about science.

But we did go out for dinner at a pub (although not the “bookstore pub” I had been told about on my way down to Falmouth). It had a sweeping view of the harbor, and was genuinely cozy inside with an epic view outside. Which is kind of what you expect from a British pub.

Back on the train, but during the day this time which afforded me dazzling views of the seaside on my way to Kemble.

I couldn’t stop taking photos from the train, it was so lovely the whole way to Kemble.

I was in Kemble to see these two, but it turned out I wasn’t going to Kemble at all. Apparently, Katie lives in Malmesbury (there was much debate on the correct way to say this name, which I will not rehash here… just know I’m constantly saying it wrong). At any rate, it is the stereotypical Cotswolds small town. Also, apparently the Cotswolds are an area of England I have never been to or heard of.

The visit was really really lovely. It was great catching up with Katie, and she is SO happy in Malmesbury. We had a lovely dinner, watched a movie, caught up, talked about politics and generally enjoyed each other’s company. This was the view from breakfast, which was very VERY British and lovely.

This is bubble and squeak. It’s hard to explain besides you take all the leftovers and make them into a mash for breakfast. It was interesting looking...

Katie did her PhD in Idaho, and lived just around the corner from me for years. One of our few actual fights came when I insulted the British Breakfast. I said it was basically just a plate where the entire thing is dipped into the deep fryer and then served. By way of apologizing I suggested we go out for a British breakfast, which was really really nice.

Downtown Malmesbury! It’s hopping! But seriously, although I would never want to live here, Katie really does seem genuinely happy. She’s thriving living in the small town, and I suspect it has something to do with simply getting to live with Andy.

They look adorably happy and adorably British (those are not mutually exclusive), in front of the Abbey, the main site in Malmesbury. Behind them you can also see the oldest bed and breakfast in the UK. Or something like that.

The Abbey was gorgeous, and I regret not taking photos of it at night when we walked to dinner. All in all I feel like this tiny town has untapped potential, and it is likely that this won’t be my last trip to the Cotswolds.

One more train to London, then a flight to Berlin, then home. Another successful trip to the UK.