Pubwalks and Biscuits

On Nov 17 weekend I had the fortune of inviting new friends that I met that week at a London meetup group to to a pub walk put on by ‘london walks’. It was based in Southwark near Southbank, which is of course my favourite place to go. We started a pub called the Kings Arms which looks pretty small in the bar part, but then you go through a short alley and there is a whole back dining area with a hearth and everything. It was so neat!

We then walked on and had more history lessons, including looking at a Peabody mansion - which is a series of social housing buildings built in 1869 and funded by a Mr. Peabody of the US for $4.5 million (USD) to allow city workers to afford to live in the community that they worked within. They can be recognized by yellow striped bricks and a bank of lit windows crammed together at the top floor that are the communal bathrooms for all residents.

We then went to the top of the OXO tower to view the Thames from above. It was just gorgeous in the dark up there and there was a great view of St. Pauls Cathedral lit up at night.

The second pub we visited was the Stamford Arms where the great train robbery was devised by a group of thugs in 1963 whereby they managed to steal 40 million pounds from a train that was en route to a bank. Most of the money was never found.

Lastly, we ended up at the ‘Fire Station’, which is a bar that was converted into a pub from an old fire station (duh). Very neat, and high ceilings too! I had a great time chatting with Caroline, her friend Alisa and 3 new friends that I met this week at a ‘citysocialising.com’ pub event. We made a great crew of 2 Canadians, 1 American, 1 Australian, 1 Turkish, and 1 Brit. ;o)

The next day I walked around High Street Kensington but soon realised that I couldn’t afford to buy anything. So I walked to the tube station to go home. At the tube station in this pretty mezzanine there was a shop that wafted wonderful scents. I guided my nose to the unassuming shop called Ben’s Cookies - which is actually a chain and UK/US online store. The cookies looked pretty boring and were quite expensive for their small size but I decided to give it a go. There were 14 different flavours and I ordered a milk chocolate one and a lemon one. I didn't expect what I found upon my first bite. The cookies were filled with melted warm liquid (chocolate and lemon respectively). They were honestly the best cookies I have EVER had (and I have had many). If you ever see to this shop, its worth the stop, believe me.