Day 5- Brussels to London

I was sure to have Chris double check the time on our train tickets to London. I can't be trusted. Then we had an amazing breakfast buffet at the hotel (with an amazing price tag to match). I'm not sure we would have enjoyed breakfast there had we known how expensive it would be.

We got on the train and wouldn't you know it, they served us breakfast. It would've been nice to know that ahead of time. We were seated in a row with forward and backward facing seats with a table in between. Across the aisle was an older couple that were returning to London from a 2.5 week trip through Europe, having visited nine different countries I think. Wouldn't that be nice?

The set up of the row we were in was perfect to have a nice conversation with them. We talked so much that we had been in the tunnel under the English channel for about 15 minutes before Chris even noticed. We learned that Will and Kate will be having a fruit cake for the wedding cake, which is the traditional wedding cake in England. We told them that in the U.S., fruit cake is kind of a joke and made fun of and they weren't aware of that. Mary explained how to properly make a fruit cake, which includes lots of ingredients that I have never heard of and it also requires that you poke holes in the bottom, pour brandy or whiskey on it, wrap it up and do it over and over again for several weeks I believe. It's called 'feeding' the fruit cake. Still not sold on the idea of fruit cake. She said she would think of us every time she makes a fruit cake from now on.

Once we got to London, we grabbed a taxi. They are so nice. There is no seat next to the driver, so you can put your luggage up front. Also, in the back, there are fold down seats on the back of the front seat, so there is a ton of room if you don't need those extra seats. There's a glass window behind the driver, so you have to push a button to talk to him. I only had one problem with our particular taxi; our driver opted to take us on the scenic route to our hotel.

We were in an older hotel, but not old as in quaint, charming old. Just old. I think Chris was allergic to something in the hotel because he seemed to have breathing problems when we were there. Just around the corner was an Underground station, so that was nice. There was also a coffee shop nearby, so we spent time there every day.

We had lunch in a pub; steak and ale pie for Chris and fish and chips for me. We walked down a street near our hotel that was lined with lots of shops, browsing through a couple of them. Later that night, we went to the coffee shop and didn't do much else that day. I know, pretty boring.