London is a city that embraces the medieval and the modern. We stayed in South Kennsington within walking distance of the Victoria and Albert Museum and Harrods’s Department Store. We walked to the Victoria and Albert and strolled through the medieval section. The artwork and jewelry of the time were far more detailed and beautiful than I imagined. We even saw Saint Tomas a Becket’s Bishop’s hat that had been preserved from 1170. It is almost incomprehensible to us Americans that anything could be that old. There is also an entire collection of Queen Victoria’s artifacts.

We also spent the better part of a day in the British Museum. The British Museum is one of the best museums I have ever visited. So far, I have visited the Smithsonian, the Vatican, The Louvre, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Asian Museum in San Francisco. I loved the British Museum because there was such a wealth of treasure there to view, starting with the Rosetta Stone. There were artifacts from the Anglo Saxon Period, but also India, China and Japan. There were incredible exhibits of Greek and Roman statuary and molds of the Parthenon before it deteriorated. The great part of the British Museum was that not only was it free to visit, but we went while the children were still in school so it wasn’t crowded. We weren’t hustled through the exhibits, nor were we fighting crowds to see the exhibits which fascinated us most. There was a large, centrally located cafe with lots of seating, so when we wanted to sit down and take a break, we could have a sandwich or tea and a scone. The British Museum allowed us to take in as much incredible history as we could and still take comfortable breaks. For me, history became not just something to be read in books. At the British Museum, history, in all it’s glory, wonder, scars and bloodshed suddenly surrounded me.

We couldn’t resist a break from the museums, so we took some time to visit Harrods’s Department store, the late Princess Diana’s favorite. It was much different than our American department stores, with prices to match a royal’s purse. It seemed like a mall of designer shops. Any and every famous designer has a shop at Harrods. In addition, Harrods has its own high end food court including a tea shop and a bar. Jim texted my parents back in the States to send help because I was on the loose at Harrods’s. What can I say? I have good taste.

We were able to take a tour of Lloyd’s of London in the middle of the modern, high tech financial district of London not far from the Tower of London. Lloyd’s is not open to tourists, but we got a personalized tour and a history lesson because my husband has business associates who work there. Lloyd’s of London is the world’s original insurance company dating back to the 1600s. Even though the company is housed in a modern skyscraper, they still have a special ship’s bell dating from the 1700s, the wooden stand, and the ledgers that recorded insurance agreements for centuries in the center of the building in keeping with the traditions they used since their origin. As we left the building, we were told we could have lunch at the oldest pub in London, or one of Charles Dickens’ favorite pubs, The George and Vulture. That pub has it’s origins in the 1200s. We were told that it had been nearly demolished but Dickens fans begged the city to save it. The pub was in a medieval section not much more than a crooked alley preserved in the middle of the skyscrapers of modern London. Jim and I even got permission to go upstairs and look at the apartment Dickens lived in. His descendants still get together there at Christmas each year. The Victorian era stove is still there, and it is preserved much as it had been during Dickens’ time. We had a pint to toast Dickens and split a lunch of bangers and mash, mashed potatoes with sausage, onions, and gravy on top. We also had sticky pudding for dessert, which we had never tried before. It was delicious!

Indeed, British cuisine has a bad reputation among chefs and foodies, but that assessment is patently unfair. The bangers and mash, and the sticky pudding we had at the George and Vulture was delicious, savory and tasty. We tried meat pies, mine with chicken and Jim’s with steak at another pub. They were rich, savory, and delicious. My favorite dinner was fish and chips. I loved the fried fish and homemade fries. I ate fish and chips several times because it was so delicious. Fish and chips and meat pies are a must when in England. We also enjoyed the tea shops. When we first arrived in London, we passed a couple shops with rows and rows of the most beautiful pastries and cakes I have ever seen. Jim and I finally looked at one another, giggled, and decided then and there to have dessert before dinner. We don’t have bakeries here in the States like the tea shops in London. I loved them! We tried three different tea shops and all were decadent and delightful. If I lived in London, I would be at a tea shop every day.

Visit London for the history and the literature, but enjoy the cuisine too, especially the fish and chips and the tea shops. Jim and I found ourselves looking at the listings in a real estate office window wondering if we could move there. I would love to live in London!