Setting out from Smee's place, I was running a bit late (hooray for holiday sleep ins!) so I decided to be lazy and catch a 5 minute bus ride down Fleet St to Strand rather than spend, oh I don't know 15 minutes walking? But somehow despite getting off at the right stop, knowing the address, and WHAT THE BUILDING LOOKS LIKE, I somehow headed in the opposite direction and ended up at Aldwych.
But it's okay because I got to see this novelty - the abandoned Aldwych/Strand Tube station. It was taken out of commission in 1994 and now used as a filming location for TV/Movies that need a Tube platform. When I showed it to people later in the day, they said they never noticed it! It makes me wonder how many other people walk past without realising it's right there...
Now the Twinings Museum itself would probably be best described as...hmmm...a disappointment. I walked into the shop (216 Strand directly opposite the Royal Courts of Justice for anyone who wants to go) and met the wonders that was a shop full of tea. It smelled like glory. Having read that the museum is at the rear of the store, I continued in until I reached a well-lit room with cabinets lining the walls and a table in the centre around which a number of people were sitting around drinking tea. There was a door at the rear with the label *Emergency exit* and I was about to head there and open it with I heard another sucker ask a shopgirl, "Where is the Museum?" and she replied, "This is it." WHUT?!?!?! I'm glad it was free! Being a tourist, I decided to take some photos anyway.
A plaque tribute to the founder of Twinings, Thomas Twining
The Twining Family Tree
Old tea chests
Old tea cans. Okay, I felt a bit stupid photographing these.
It turns out you can have some tea FOR FREE!!! and the entire collection was pretty much at the rear of the store. I had some spicy mulled tea - recommended for the colder months. I couldn't taste that much spice. Maybe I didn't let it brew for long enough. Also, I wasted some money by buying a packet of the Royal Wedding Blend Tea - I actually wanted the commemorative tin but I was told they had sold out but if I wanted to go to Westfield at Shepherd's Bush, they had some. Ummm....no.
Knowing that I was supposed to be meeting Leesh and SEM at 12:15, I decided to leave the store at midday and walk to our meeting place, Ribon Japanese restaurant near the Old Bailey. Having been there before, I knew vaguely how to get there but somehow...I got lost! The stairs at Farringdon St. up to the Holborn Viaduct were closed and I figured I could work it out when I ended up in some streets I had no idea what they were and then to add insult my GPS wasn't working because, since I was roaming, the maps wouldn't load! I eventually got there, albeit 5min late.
But here's to being Asian - my lunch! The Unagi lunch box special, all for only £10!
The rest of the day passed moderately uneventfully. I spent the afternoon walking around Covent Garden/Oxford St. for shopping purposes and then met Cam, Lydia and Dan for a mini-Melb catch up.
Cam took us to Queen of Hoxton - a bar near Liverpool St Station/Old St. that had a Melbourne-esque rooftop bar. Kinda like Rooftop Bar on Curtain House or Madame Brussels. We reckon there's only about 10 days/year where it can be used and once the sun was down, it was pretty cold up there! Also, the bartenders were Aussies! Coincidence? I think not.
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