The Crown and Sceptre

Sunday! Today was a much lazier day for a little change of pace. Alison got up early this morning to go to the Cotswalds with her family, so Brooke and I slept in. Again. We thought we had the jetlag defeated, but this may not be as much the case as we thought.

We spent the early afternoon lounging around and chatting, and I watched a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother (stop bothering me to watch it now friends). Jonathan got back from visiting Zurich today, and so he came to our room to visit, and we decided to go in search of a pub to have a real dinner. Brooke and I were craving an actual meal since we hadn't really had one since the "food" on the plane.

The three of us walked down Great Portland for a little while, as we'd all seen some cute places on our way to Oxford street the days before. We turned off onto a side street where there were a few pubs and Italian trattorias, and settled on a place called The Crown and Sceptre. Jon and I had decided on Fish and Chips since I haven't had any yet (the horror!), but since we were a little late getting there, about 6:30, all the fish was gone. The three of us ended up ordering the same Sunday Roast: pork loin with "Kentish Apple and Sage" sauce, roasties, mash, green beans, grilled leeks, a Yorkshire pudding, and lots of gravy. Brooke and I also each got a pint of Stella, and Jon was a weenie getting a half of Leffe.
To say that our meal was delicious would be an understatement. We were all starving and stick-to-your-ribs food definitely hit the spot! The atmosphere in the pub was also delightful. Everything was dark wood, with a pressed-tin ceiling painted a glossy black and low lighting.

After enjoying our food and discussing some travel plans, we headed back up Great Portland, and stopped at a Tesco Express for some much needed groceries. Each of us got some essentials: milk, juice, yogurt, fruit, veggies, hummus (as well as Boursin at £1.30 and some Ryvita for me), and then we made the trek back down Marylebone to the room.

The rest of the evening has been fairly relaxed. Jon came back, and Alison arrived home shortly after so we just chatted until it was time for me to participate in Aden's 3rd Birthday celebration via Skype. Apparently my mother is able to tell I haven't been sleeping well on this little mattress by the "darkness of the circles" under my eyes. Fabulous. Perhaps a trip up the Bakerloo Line to IKEA for a mattress pad is in order for tomorrow, depending on the status of the Tube Strike that's currently going on.
Tomorrow should be an adventure! Orientation, some sightseeing like real tourists, and meeting our professor are all on the agenda!
<3