The sail from Dublin to Southampton was bumpy and the bars and dining rooms were relatively empty as lots of folks were suffering from sea sickness. Luckily rough seas don’t bother us and we rather enjoy the rocking and rolling. Despite the weather, we docked on time in Southampton (referred to locally as Soton), and we skipped breakfast and disembarked at 8:00 AM after the luggage had been offloaded. We quickly claimed our bags and found our driver to London waiting for us. The drive took a bit over two hours in some rush hour traffic. Fortunately our room was ready at the Nadler Kensington, and we settled in before heading out to lunch. Our room is at the back, so there will be no noisy traffic and street noise at night.
The Nadler is in the Earl’s Court area of London. We wandered down busy Earl’s Court Road and picked the Blackbird Pub for lunch. I decided to try a real cask ale and chose Fuller’s London Pride. Cask ales are served at room temperature, so they are an acquired taste for Americans. It’s nice for a change, but not really to my liking. We both had pies for lunch – mine was White Texel Dorset Leg of Lamb Hotpot Pie with red wine, rosemary, and mint gravy , Elaine’s was ham hock, leek, and chicken in tarragon cream sauce. With chips they hit the spot.
We did a bit more walking around, then stopped at another pub, the Courtfield, for beer desserts, and went back to the hotel for a rest. Tomorrow we’ll be a bit more adventurous and will get some pictures.
