Honey’s, the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of go go go and almost on cue, it’s finally caught up to me. I’m sick. Common cold sick. I haven’t teetered on the weird fine line of sickness where you either want to stay in bed with Netflix or you are fully able to function since before the pandemic? For lack of a better word, it’s annoying. I was supposed to host Thanksgiving tomorrow at my place, but not anymore! Sorry to everyone who was supposed to come by, but also I’m so glad that I don’t have to do jack shit anymore. Love that for me. Anyway, London and Valencia were a blast and I’m very tired (and sick) so let’s dive in.
If you do one thing in London, you have got to go to the Sir John Soane’s Museum. I almost don’t even want to spoil it, because I went in with the knowledge of “it’s this guy’s house full of his quirky stuff.” But that was low-balling it. This house near Lincoln’s Inn Fields is buck wild. The painting room alone is insane!! Apparently this man, Sir John Soane, organised some Act of Parliament (sounds fancy) so that his house would become a museum the exact way he left it. And voilà, now you have an eccentric little museum to visit. Entrance is free, but the guidebook is very cheap. It definitely helps to decipher the myriad of items deliberately organised and put on display by this architect. If you’re in London, you’d be a dummy not to put this on the itinerary. And you’ve got to make sure you see the painting room in action.
Everyone knows the stereotypes about British food. I’ve never been one to rave about it. But after my trip, I’m starting to change my tune. I decided to go all in and order a full English breakfast at the café (pronounced caff) and this shit was diiivine. Here’s my ranking of each ingredient, from most to least favourite:
Sausages - Yeah, I’m a freak for a sausage link. Sue me.
Egg - What’s not to love.
Toast - Perfect for the dipping and the scraping and the scooping.
Beans - I hate baked beans but there’s something about these…
Tomato - She’s the moment.
Bacon - I love, but I don’t search out for bacon.
Mushrooms - Doing their job, but not going above and beyond.
Black pudding - I love me some blood sausage but this type is very meh.
When I went to order breakfast in Valencia, they had the option of ordering a sandwich with a beer. This didn’t stand out to me too much. It was another “oh haha Spain” moment. And after a while, these things stop surprising you as much. I decided to order a sandwich but swapped out the beer with an agua con gas. It was a decent sized baguette stuffed with chistorra, potatoes, and onions. I was thoroughly impressed.
I later learned from the friend I was visiting that there are a few very iconic sandwiches from Valencia. It sounded to me like a mission. How many of these sandwiches can I eat before I leave? The answer is 3. In addition to my breakfast sandwich, I tried el Chivito and la Brascada. The first contains bacon, lomo (or pork loin), tomato, lettuce, cheese, and mayo. Think of it as a BLT: beicon, lomo, tomate. The second involves steak, onions, and jamón serrano. What’s not to love? I mean seriously none of these were terrible and I’m actually very sad I only ate one of each.
This woman outraged by tea.
Just the vibe of this performance. I truly have no idea what’s going on.
This one member of this group wearing a Steelers jersey in this viral dance trend.