La Tapas (Londonium - 2)

And so our first night in London after a hearty drink in a good ol British pub which went by the not so glamorous name of "Slug and Lettuce". My watch showed 5 AM (Indian time) when we hit our hotel beds. That meant nearly 40 hours on the go. Actually wanted to hit the bed as soon as we landed but London and our wonderful host would have nothing of it and insisted on hitting the bars rather than the beds.

Breakfast on a cool morning. London was still sleeping. After the raucous parties we witnessed last night it was a no brainer. A sandwich and hot chocolate in a stall at the Tube station came to around 3 Pounds. Only 3 I thought while my mind automatically did the conversion and after I had paid, a stunned realisation dawned on me that I was going to eat sandwich and chocolate from a road side stall for INR 250.00. But then that was the last time I ever converted and decided to enjoy whatever London had to offer.

London had Art (the National Art Gallery which overlooks Trafalgar Square). This gallery is so huge and has wonderful paintings from Van Gogh to Picasso and to top it all entry is FREE. So many huge rooms with high ceilings and a quiet crowd silently admiring the masterpieces, you would need 2 weeks to properly see all the paintings. Sadly I could spend only 2 hours. After taking pics and chasing pigeons at the Trafalgar Square we walked down past No. 10 Downing and upto good ol' Big Ben. A short walk further you reach a bridge on the River Thames and the "London Eye". Me thinks the real London eyes are all those CCTV cameras which peek at you every where you go!!

And London had food. Italian, French, Mexican, Indian, Chinese you name it and theres always one at a stones throw from you advertising their wares on menus posted outside. This way you know exactly how much they were gonna charge you. And almost all of them charged you the same so you could walk into any place. As my friend told me, people go to a particular place coz they get used to it and like the ambience, so you would see the same faces if you went to the same place.

What London didnt have were the small stores one so often finds in India. Tesco, Marks & Spencers, these are the ones more common and ofcourse the omnipresent Starbucks. All these would be considered very expensive in India but in London they are at the lower end of the spectrum. I though about this over a glass of Glenmorangie in a pub overlooking the Thames and realised that the small shops in India are able to offer much lower prices since they have very low overhead costs compared to these retail chains. But in London, its the chains that control the retail scene and to accomodate their overheads the costs are higher but with the absence of the small stores who is there to compare. Then I downed my Glenmorangie and our host took us to La Tapas.

La Tapas is a Spanish restaurant somewhere near the Thames. A Spanish waiter showed us to our seats. They had a drink called the Sangria - which was essentially fruit juice and Spanish wine. It had a tangy taste to it had pieces of fruit floating in it. For food, I ordered a Prawn in Lemon and got 6 huge prawns neatly placed on a small plate with their shells intact. Oh no! I thought. But the Sangria and the good Lord gave me the strength and using both my hands unshelled the Prawns and ate it. What a taste! I cannot describe that here. Praws and Lemon and maybe even the Sangria had a part to play, I was in gastronomic heaven. Such taste I had never experienced before. Six delectable prawns washed down by a glass of Sangria. A simpler and more wonderful meal I have never had.

La Tapas I said as we left for our hotel, I will be back again!! Muchos Gracias!