One eye on the boundary, one eye on the pub

Popping up in Russell Square, my dad and I began our London visit with coffee and an aubergine panini at Caffè Tropea – an “Anglo-Italian family job” tucked beneath London plane and beech trees. After checking in at our Holiday Inn on Coram Street, which was mid-renovation but offered an incredible IHG points bargain (sorely needed, as most other hotels were over £200 per night), we headed south across the Thames to the Imperial War Museum.

Though I am not usually much for traditions, there are some I keep returning to. With my dad’s lifelong fascination for trains, it was obvious that no London stop would be complete without champagne at the ultra-cinematic Searcys at St Pancras. So, after our WWII history lesson, we did some “station studies” for his travel agency and then sat down with a glass overlooking the Eurostar departures to Brussels-Midi/Zuid and Paris Gare du Nord.

My original plan for the evening had been an Irish singalong at Waxy O’Connor’s, but the pub turned out so loud and crowded that any chance of conversation was lost. Instead, we slipped away on the Tube to Regent’s Canal, where Narrowboat served us a far calmer pint of Camden Hells Lager to close the evening.