Eat London: Soho.
Woo, check it out – 2 posts in as many days! I am back baby! And am I going to pick up where I left off yesterday with another tale from my adventures in London.
A stroll through Soho
Last weekend I set off to meet some friends at a Dutch pub located on a street that borders Chinatown and Soho. I hadn’t been to this particular pub in more than a decade, but my memories (made misty through the combined effects of time and Oranjeboom) were that this was what a Londoner might describe as a “decent boozer”.
The Oranjeboom was gone, but this Lindeboom went down very nicely, even if it did look a bit like an ice-cream!
The thought of hanging out with some good friends in a pub that serves great beer had put a skip in my step. As it turned out, I found myself having a great time before I even got there. In order to get to the pub, I was going to have to walk through Soho.
Soho is a great part of London. As you walk its streets you can feel the history practically oozing out of the walls. And it doesn’t feel like all that history was particularly clean or wholesome! In places it borders on labyrinthine, with narrow, grimy looking alleys disappearing around corners to who knows where.
For years, Soho was associated with brothels and sex shops, but since the 1980s things have been gradually changing. Today, Soho retains its seedy edge (and a few of its sex shops) but it is also stuffed full of great pubs and clubs, top quality restaurants, theatres and hundreds of independent shops.
As I passed this shop it struck me as such a ‘London’ sight. I love independent shops and I wish there were more in Rio.
Soho has quite a full-on gay scene which I suspect has driven the surge in great bars and shops and at the same time has made it possible regenerate things without over-sanitising.
There’s also great street market which specialises in Fruit and Vegetables. Berwick Street Market started way back in the 1600s and is still going today. I love markets no matter where I am and as much as I loved the ones I visited in Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico, I think it’s important not to overlook the good things closer to home.
Here you see Ronnie and his flower stall. I know it sounds a bit weird, but after I’d taken my photo I secretly listened to him chatting to the guy who worked on the stall next to him. They were both proper, salt-of-the-earth Londoners and it was good to hear a real London accent again after all this time.
OK, apologies if I’m getting a bit misty eyed here, but I think Soho has so much personality and flavour that it deserves the praise. It wasn’t until I came back that I realised how much I missed it. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend you set aside a full day to wander and explore this area – you’re sure to find something interesting along the way.
Stop with these London posts, its making me jealous I’ve never “met” that obviously wonderful city.
Alex, it’s not all good. Did I mention how cold it is here? Seriously, I don’t know how people live in this. :(
nice pics again! What you descibe as “looking like an ice-cream” is what they call “a decent draught beer” on the continent. The German word for the foam on top is “Blume” which means flower (says the wine drinker. I like a good English cider by the way and will drink a Guiness or two tomorrow ;-). How long are you planning to stay in England, is that a temporary thing? Greets to Manuela and take care!
Hey Carina,
I’m here for another 6 weeks – hoping I’ll get to see Spring do its thing because right now it is a little bleak. But spring is a great month that we don’t really have in Brazil, so perhaps this is the perfect time to visit.
Blume is a great word for all that foam! The girl behind the bar actually used a little metal scraper thing to cut it off at the top, but it kept growing! :)
I decided to look up the comical hotel I stayed in during my London trip almost a decade ago. Sadly it is no longer in operation. I hate to sound corny but reading this made me somewhat sad. The place had a vibe of its own and although I could go on for ages complaining about all the shortcomings they just didn’t bother me that much. Actually I would say that those shortcomings were a quirky addendum. to my whole London trip, which lasted 7 days.
To get a feel for the place read Kristina A’s comment linked below: it really resembles what I felt , and her description of the hotel bar is right on target. I also went thru the alarm prank experience, and like her it happened while a bunch of us travellers were having a few, laughing and exchanging stories at that same bar. I guess we were better off than the poor guests who had to come down to the lobby, many in their pijamas. LOL.
http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/regent-palace-hotel-london
Tom, please raise a glass to this once beloved landmark during a Lindeboom toast. The old RP was probably the only hotel in all of London which provided that quirky atmosphere one could expect to find in a pousada in Bahia for instance, but never in Northern Europe.
I salute you Regent Place: may you rest in peace.
Ahhhh, sounds like a great place – especially for some travelling adventures. The more expensive a place is, the harder it is to find that kind of atmosphere – probably because all the interesting/fun people are priced out.
Today I’ll be raising a glass of Guinness to this place. Glad to hear you have some good memories of good old London town… :)