Given the opportunity I will gladly spend time in London, and on my way back to the US I enjoyed an 18 hour layover. As with earlier trips, I stayed along the Piccadilly line since it runs out to the airport, but this time I stayed in South Kensington.

After dropping my bags at the hotel I headed to Cask, one of my favorite pubs in London. It was busy but not packed (surprising on a Friday evening) so I was able to snag a table. I started with a half pint of Pheasant Plucker cider and bacon dusted chips, then tried the Barbour Special B, a belgian red cask ale aged in rum casks… complex, and very good. My last was a Belgian ‘zinbier’ on draft.

Saturday morning I wanted to visit the V&A museum before I headed to the airport at noon, but the museum didn’t open until 10a. While I waited for it to open I walked up to Kensington Gardens since I’ve never seen them in the summer time. The weather and the views were both great.

Royal Albert Hall

Albert Memorial

 
gardens in bloom

seems like a good policy

Once the Victoria & Albert Museum opened I headed to a side entrance and made a beeline for the sculpture rooms.

courtyard

detail above doorway

I also checked out some of the silver rooms and an exhibit of old 1800’s photographs. The collections and sheer amount of objects in the museum are just astounding.

Two days in the V&A Museum wouldn’t be enough, let alone two hours, but I enjoyed my limited time and definitely want to return for more.

My hotel was three blocks away, so I checked out and crossed the street to catch the tube back to the airport. An hour and a half later I was enjoying dandan noodles in the Cathay Lounge; little did I know that American Airlines had upgraded me to business class for the flight back to New York! As usual, I enjoyed my time in London, and can’t wait to go back for something more than just one night.