Eating With Gusto

Gusto Restaurant
Earls Court Road - London, UK
On our Christmas Day walk across London, we met a very nice couple from Australia named Phil and Zoe.  They're also staying at the Presidential Apartments in Kensington (just a few doors down from us), and on their recommendation, we visited a nearby restaurant called Gusto to have breakfast.

Gusto is right across the street from Earl's Court Station.  It's very cozy and comfortable and I loved it from the moment I walked in.  There are sofas set up with bug cushy pillows and tables where you can sit and have coffee or something to eat.  There's a small dining room in the back with table and chairs, and there are books laying around throughout the restaurant that you are welcome to read during your visit.

Phil recommended a dish that was made with poached eggs, tomato sauce and cheese, but he couldn't remember exactly what it was called.  When we mentioned it to our server, he knew exactly what we were talking about.  It's called Shakahuka, and I think it was the tastiest breakfast I ever had.  It was still sizzling when it was served to me in the skillet, and every bite was heavenly.  We are definitely coming back here again before we leave.

The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone
The British Museum
Bloomsbury - London, UK
Most of my photos from The British Museum are on a separate page, but The Rosetta Stone deserves its own entry.  It was carved during the Hellenistic Period and was discovered in Egypt by Pierre-François Bouchard, a soldier in Napoleon's army, in July 1799.  It contains text written in Ancient Greek, Ancient Egyptian (Demotic) and Egyptian Hieroglyphics, and it was the key to the first translations of the latter.  It has been on display at The British Museum since 1802.

The front, side and back of The Rosetta Stone in its display case at The British Museum.

Closeup of some of the text on The Rosetta Stone.

Historical Artifacts

The British Museum
Bloomsbury - London, UK
We spent most of the day at the museum and I feel like I just scratched the surface.  You could probably come here every day for a month and still only get to experience a fraction of the treasures and history here.

Here are some photos of things that I found especially interesting.

Sir Robert Cotton (left) and Martin Folkes (right) sculptures by Louis-François Roubiliac.  Folkes looks a lot like Jim, our security guard at my job.

Sculpture casts of Osiris and other Egyptian gods and goddesses (by Ephraim Gerrish Stannus).

This is the Bust of Clytie from the Charles Townley collection.  Clytie is a character from Greek mythology who was once the lover of the god Helios.  Later after she had been spurned, she protested by sitting naked on the rocks and starting at the sun without food or water for nine days.  The bust was said to have been created around 40 to 50 A.D. and was found near Naples.

This bust of Zeus was donated to The British Museum by J.T. Barber Beaumont in 1836.  It's from the villa of the Roman Emperor Hadrian at Tivoli and was sculpted in the 2nd century A.D.

Campo Iemini Venus
This statue of Venus is from the second century and was found at Campo Iemini in 1794.  It was eventually part of the collection of King George IV and was donated to The British Museum in 1834 by King William IV.

Another statue from the Charles Townley collection.  Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare.  She was the Roman equivalent of Athena in Greek mythology.  The white marble head of this piece is from the 2nd century AD and was found on the Esquiline Hill in Rome.  The helmet and bust were added by Carlo Albacini in 1783.

The British Museum

The British Museum
Bloomsbury - London, UK
We spent most of the day at the museum and I feel like I just scratched the surface.  You could probably come here every day for a month and still only get to experience a fraction of the treasures and history here.

I'm going to post some photos of things that I found especially interesting later on.  For now, here are some museum flyers and postcards that I bought from the gift shop.

The Tardis At Earl's Court

The Tardis
Earl's Court, Kensington - London, UK
Perhaps The Doctor wanted to stop for an espresso.

Fancy Pork Sausages

Saucisses de Porc
Café Rouge
Whiteleys - Bayswater - London, UK 
After the movie, we had dinner at a French restaurant that's in the same mall as the Odeon Cinema.  I had these pork and smoked bacon sausages which were served on mash with a rich thyme jus.  Very tasty!

Stories With Santa

Santa's Grotto
Whiteleys - Bayswater - London, UK 
We went to the Odeon Cinema at Whiteleys to see Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian.  The theater is inside Whiteleys, which had this massive, tall Christmas tree.

In the days leading up to Christmas, parents could take their children to this tree for Stories With Santa.  The kids got to meet and take a photo with Santa Claus. gather round the tree and listen to Santa read a story, and they each got to go home with a storybook as a present.  The event was hosted by The National Literacy Trust Young Readers Program, and they accepted donations which are are used to promote literacy skills.

Our London Christmas Adventure

Christmas Day Walk In London with Peter Berthoud
Piccadilly Circus - London, UK
I'm exhausted and I can't feel my legs, but this may have been the best Christmas of my life.  Peter and Lindsey were incredible and made this a truly memorable day that I'll never forget.  We started off from the London Eye at 5:30 am and walked through the empty streets of London for nearly twelve hours.  Lindsey took this photo of the group at Piccadilly Circus not long after we set out.  Peter is in the center, to the immediate left of the reindeer.

This was the route that we walked.  Peter measured it out to be 11 miles long, but one of the folks in our group had a step counter that showed that we actually walked 14 miles.  I'll post a lot more photos when I get back home.

Come For The Holiday Cheer, Stay For The Proper Coffee

Winter Wonderland
Hyde Park - London
I can't believe how huge this is.  At every turn, there are rides, games, shops and food.  It might be bigger than the Bloomsburg Fair.  It's been a wonderful way to spend Christmas Eve and our first night in London.  I had a haggis burger for dinner and a cup of spiced hot mulled wine for dinner, and I even got to play some "American Skee Ball".

Our Kensington Home

Presidential Apartments
Barkston Gardens - Kensington, London
This will be our home for the rest of 2014.

Christmas Eve Flight 66

British Airways Flight 66

Philadelphia to London
Yes, I'm going to be a big dork and take way too many photos on this trip.  I've been this way since the moment I got my hands on my first camera, so don't expect it to stop now.

Make all of the airline food jokes you like, but this was actually pretty damn good.  I probably could have eaten three more of the same size, but it's probably best not to fill up too much on the flight.  There's a whole country's worth of food to discover and only nine days to do it.

Our flight took off at 6:35 pm.  The plan was to take an overnight flight so that we could sleep on the plane and wake up rested and refreshed to start Christmas Eve in London, but I was too hyped up to sleep and the in-flight entertainment included a movie library, so I watched Guardians Of The Galaxy while Angie slept.  I've never read the comics that this was based on, but the movie was incredible - probably my favorite movie based on a comic book that I've ever watched.

Overnight Flight to London

I'm very excited!  We have a 6:30 flight from Philadelphia to London.  Our flight touches down at Heathrow on the morning of Christmas Eve and we're not flying home until New Years Day 2015.

Project 161 Backstage

Joey Matthews (aka: Joey Mercury), Brodie Lee (aka: Luke Harper), Tyler Black (aka: Seth Rollins), and Jimmy Jacobs were all on hand for a recent WWE taping and took an Age Of The Fall reunion photo together backstage that was shared by Joey Mercury on Twitter.

I caught the very beginning of this stable forming in Ring Of Honor before I started college and had to put a hold on going to wrestling shows for a while.  It started out with these Project 161 flyers sitting on every chair at their live events before the group made their official debut as a group at ROH's 161st show.

That's No Christmas Ornament...

Star Wars 8-Bit Christmas Shirt
Spreadshirt - Designed by dt888

Sacré Bleu!

French Toast Crunch
General Mills (2014)
For the first time since 2006, French Toast Crunch is available in American grocery stores.  It'll only be sold in a limited number of stores throughout the month, but it's expected to be available nationwide by January.

The Father Of Video Games

Ralph Baer
1922 - 2014
The father of the video game industry passed away on Saturday at the age of 92.  Mr. Baer developed the technology that was licensed by Magnavox for the creation of the first home video game console, the Magnavox Odyssey.  He also was the co-inventor of the electronic game Simon.

Mixed Messages

Ugly Cute Christmas Panties
Boscov's - Laurel Mall - Hazleton, PA

Spacing Out With The Weekly Reader

Weekly Reader Book Club
December, 1984
Last month, I posed scans of a Weekly Reader Book Club flyer that was shared by Shawn Robare on Flickr.  This one from December '84 is also from Mr. Robare.  There are a few Christmas books that were available, and a pretty awesome tote bag with a unicorn and snowflakes.  The first page has the heavy hitters of the mid 80's: Transformers and My Little Pony.  However, the book I would have wanted the most out of these is on page 3: Spaced Out.  How could you go wrong with over 40 zany cartoons about outer space, aliens, robots and spaceships for .75 cents?  [source: Shawn Robare]

Human Beings in a Nutshell

An Army Lines Up For Battle
Paul Noth - The New Yorker

Chicago Peanuts

Garren Lazar / Chicago
Peanuts Gang sings 25 Or 6 To 4
Garren Lazar makes music videos out of Charlie Brown cartoons, and they're pure brilliance! Here is Linus Van Pelt on lead vocals covering Chicago: 25 Or 6 To 4 from 1970.