London Part II

For the last three days of my London stay, I spent most of my time walking around the different neighborhoods. I spent an evening in Notting Hill, a day in Primrose Hill and Regent's Park. A day walking from the City (Central East London) over to southwest of Buckingham Palace. I crossed off various types of food and drink from my list of things I needed to try in London. I had fish and chips, Indian food, Yorkshire pudding, beans and toast, marmalade, scone, a pasty, and just about any kind of beer I could find.
The first day, Saad and I headed out to Notting Hill to explore its bars and restaurants. A few pints of beer (Red Stripe on tap!), some pretty spicy Thai food with a nice view of the city, and then we headed back to Saad's place. I found the best possible way to pass out on a couch about 3.5 feet wide.
Turns out the best thing to do is take off the cushions and set them on the floor next to the couch. The next day I grabbed some quick breakfast from a small cafe on the way up to Primrose Hill and Regent's Park. Any cafe in which there are equal numbers senior citizens and guys in coveralls and work boots is good in my book. £1.60 for a breakfast is good in my book, and it was.
From there I headed out to go look at Lords Cricket Ground. Unfortunately, the only way to get in was a organized tour that cost £15, which I decided not to pay, as this is the cost of a ticket. Later that day I met up with a British guy I had met in Oslo who worked in London, so we grabbed a pint at about 530, and then met up with Saad at a pub near his work for a few rounds of drinks. At about 10pm we realized that we should probably grab some food, so we headed over to a kebab shop, talked them into making a chicken schwarma sandwich, grabbed a BBQ type of baguette, and then covered them in various types of hot sauce.
The next morning, I grabbed a pasty for breakfast (I contend this a completely viable option). Then I walked the various shopping districts from Covent Garden to South Kensington. I met up again with Rob and Saad for more pints, then we headed out to a really nice Indian place for some dinner. Before heading back we grabbed one final pint of tasty British beer.
The next morning at 530am I grabbed the Underground to Heathrow. The plane was about 35% full. This gave me a full row to myself. Upon arriving in Detroit, back in the good ole US of A, I was selected for a "random search" of my bags; scruffy-looking guy who spent 2 months overseas with one big bag. The Customs guys were really cool, and the search was pretty quick.
An 8 hour layover in Detroit spent at my parent's house for some excellent venison sausage and cheese, and I headed back to DTW for my flight to the windy city.
I arrived in cold Chicago, where the drinks come with free refills, the condiments are free, and about 70% of people speak English. Just the right amount.
I'll probably come up with a profound-looking summation post tomorrow, but I think I'm good for today. I'm also working on getting the pictures posted.