As part of my birthday present for October last year, James had bought us tickets to go to The Comedy Store in central London. We are seasoned travellers, and we decided for this journey we would substitute train travel for coach travel. This was at James’s suggestion – he quite wisely said that it would be cheaper and although not necessarily quicker, be less busy than the train service.
Ever the bargain hunters, we booked our coach tickets in advance and then set off on Wednesday 27th November to get our ride. What we hadn’t accounted for was the bad storms that had battered Britain in the last so many days. It had caused no end of chaos on the roads and rails, also for air travel. This meant we had a backlog on our local roads and in turn it had caused a delay to our journey. We waited around 50 minutes for the pick-up, but we weren’t the only ones, as we got chatting to two fellow travellers who were venturing into London.
Finally, we were on our way on the M25 to central London. It did feel like we then crawled along in the town traffic, but soon we were drawing into the coach park at Victoria. Once we landed, we headed for lunch at one of our favourite haunts, Costa Coffee, in the shopping mall. We plumped for the coffee and sandwich deal, which consisted of a latte with a cheese toastie. Afterwards we made our way to our hotel in Covent Garden, via the Underground. It was pretty busy, as you might expect on a weekday lunchtime, but bearable.
Arriving at our hotel, the Seven Dials, in central Covent Garden, we checked in and then went to our room. It was nice to rest for a minute and take stock of the place. Quite a small, cosy room but reasonable for access to Leicester Square and beyond! After we had freshened up and unpacked our bags, we went out to find a restaurant for dinner.
It transpired we didn’t have to walk far as there was a restaurant next door to the hotel, called Rossodisera. At first an unassuming Italian café with a shop counter at the front, showing off the meats and cheeses on display. Then when it opened at 5pm, we stepped inside and encountered the beauty within. Its authenticity rang out with the continental background music. Also, there were wine bottles lining the walls interspersed with paintings showing scenes of Le Marche region of Italy. We were hooked and getting hungrier by the moment.
I asked for the set menu, and we ordered some recommended rosé wine. I chose the two-course option and went for the Spaghetti “Co Lo Sugo Finto”. This came with a traditional tomato sauce and basil. For dessert I picked their traditional Salame... made of chocolate.
James opted for a starter of Mussels sauteed with garlic sauce. Then Spaghetti Carbonara with pork and peppercorns, followed by Tiramisù.
We didn’t have to wait long, and the waitress brought us the delicious-looking wine. It was time for James to have his starter and believe me when I say I’ve never seen such a big bowl of mussels. They looked plump and very tasty, as James got stuck into the bowl and enjoyed his starter.
After a suitable break we were served our mains, and they were divine. The spaghetti was seasoned well, and it was of a generous portion size. Likewise for James’s meal which he said was very flavoursome. To finish we had the wonderful desserts that were like a treat on our tongues.
Once we had settled the bill and finished our wine, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for seeing the comedy show. James checked the route for us, and we saw that it was only about 20 minutes’ walk, via Leicester Square. We set off and passed a lot of cultural landmarks along the way. As you might expect there were many people milling around, waiting in queues and walking around the Christmas market that was in the centre of the square. It did make me feel a little festive!
We arrived at The Comedy Store and showed our tickets on entry. Inside the venue the walls were filled with pictures of all the comedians that had performed there over the last 45-plus years. The likes of Julian Clary and Jo Brand smiled down on us. James bought us a rosé wine and we headed to the seating area. Some minutes and a few chair choices later we got settled. We were situated in the middle seating zone which we had decided had a better view of the stage.
The audience assembled and after a little wait, we were introduced to the stars of the evening, Paul Merton, and Suki Webster. They introduced each other to us, the enthusiastic crowd. This was followed by their co-stars for the evening: Stephen Mangan, Charlotte Gittins and Kirsty Newton. We learned that Kirsty would be the pianist, accompanying the players for all the fun and games.
And so the games commenced, which consisted of improv word and mime sketches. Paul and Suki had us laughing so much, and when Stephen and Charlotte joined in it was at fever pitch. Their skills with language and quick-thinking really came to the fore. They ended the first part of the show by asking the audience to write ideas on slips of paper and put into a box for the second half.
After the 15-minute interval, they then resumed the show and again had us giggling and almost crying with amusement. The slips of paper were duly included in a new game where Suki and Paul had to continuously tell a story. They deftly read out the suggestions while entertaining us and making it an even more memorable event. The players came to the finale of the show, and we all whooped and applauded them to show our appreciation.
We left the venue around 9.45pm and headed back to our hotel, via the same route as we came in. On the way we noted it was extremely cold, but we were warmed by the romance of the twinkling Christmas lights lining the roads and lanes, all making for a wonderful atmosphere. When we got back to the hotel, we made ourselves cosy and soon got to bed.
The next morning, we made the decision to try Caffe Nero for our breakfast, as we had seen it on our walk into Covent Garden the previous day. It is a relaxed and smart café situated across the road from St Giles Church, and I can highly recommend the food and coffee. I enjoyed a tuna melt panini with a latte and James had a cheese and ham toastie with a latte. It fuelled us up for our homeward journey.
It was then time to travel back and James had the idea to walk to Victoria instead of getting on the tube. I was on board with that! It would save us a trip with crushed commuters. As he tracked our route back on Google maps, we were able to march past various landmarks. These included the famous Fortnum & Mason, The Ritz, and Savile Row. It was exciting to see them in all their festive finery.
On our route we came out via Green Park, which was dressed in an autumnal mist. It gave a thrilling and nostalgic air as the hazy sun glinted across the huge trees and the leaf-strewn paths. As we neared Buckingham Palace Road, I spotted some soldiers doing their physical training and pointed them out to James. We observed them as they were put through their paces on the grass.
The next landmark was in fact Buckingham Palace, and we had a brief look over as we passed the royal residence. As you might expect there were tourists galore at the gates, snapping away with their phones and cameras This was only 9.30am or so, meaning that the tourist influx would surely increase later.
We then moved on and made our way to the coach station. About five minutes later we reached our pickup stop and went to find a coffee before boarding the coach. We reflected that the London mini break had been fantastic, fun-filled, and full of memories to treasure.
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I hope you’ve enjoyed my post about our trip to London. Please leave me a comment in the section below and let me know your mini break anecdotes. Until next time, happy reading and sight-seeing.
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