Feast your Eyes on Pub Grub

Pub food gets a bad rap and I don't understand why. Even as a semi-vegetarian, I find lots of great choices. And of course, it's all washed down with the local brew on tap.
On our first night in the theater district we chose the Angel and Crown pub at random and truly enjoyed the fare. The next night's meal at a French bistro was less memorable, but it was part of our theater reservation and got us to the opera on time.

We also stopped at a pub catering to the international residents of London in the Bayswater neighborhood. The friendly young woman behind the bar was from Zaragoza in Spain and  made us feel truly welcome.
Our favorite meal so far has been the one at the local pub in the little village near Hampton Court. The Albion was filled with locals and even their dogs on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The barkeeps were cheerful and we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch.

London between the Royal Wedding and the 2012 Olympics

London has recovered from the Royal Wedding of William and Kate just in time to celebrate the Queen's unofficial birthday and Prince Phillip's "retirement" from a lifetime of being the guy standing next to the Queen. There's a lot of construction going on in preparation for the 2012 Olympics, but it's not going to get in the way of a little sightseeing, beginning with the British Museum and continuing on to the Tower of London and London Bridge, where a new exhibit is a nice look at some nifty Victorian steam drawbridge engineering. Perhaps because of the Royal Wedding hangover, Westminster Abbey is so crowded that you can barely see who's buried where. St. Paul's, scene of the last wedding of the century (Charles and Diana) is much less popular. The Churchill War Rooms don't seem to be attracting many visitors these days, as World War II is a dim page in the history book for the younger generations. A hot tip for Americans: be prepared for the sky-high attraction prices and buy the London Pass before you come. Admission to just one attraction, such as Westminster, is a whopping 16 pounds, or about 25 dollars, but the pass includes almost all the major sights and can be purchased with a discount underground travel card. Highly recommended at http://www.londonpass.com/ if you're looking to stretch your weak American dollars. By far the strangest attraction we've seen is the "Enchanted Palace" at Kensington, the former home of Princess Diana. It's a bizarre art installation that attempts to remind visitors that Diana wasn't the only fascinating princess in British history. Of course, it wouldn't be London without Andrew Lloyd Weber, the Royal Opera and Shakespeare on the agenda. Tally ho! Time for some pub food and another pint.