Day 1 (Continued)

After our nap, we were ready to explore some more and find a good place to eat, so we hopped in a taxi and headed to the Savoy Grill. It was inside the incredible Savoy Hotel where rooms are 500 pounds per night! The outside displayed beautiful flower beds like this one to the right. When we arrived, I was a bit nervous that we were seriously underdressed, so Jason asked the maitre d and he responded, "I think you're dressed perfectly fine, even for Americans!" So we perused the menu and made a quick decision to get a table. The waiters were dressed according to their roles: 1) white shirt & long black apron - just deliver food...no talking to the customers 2) white shirt and gold vest with a short black apron - pour water/wine and short conversation with guests and 3) white shirt, black jacket, black pants and no apron - head waiter - no delivery of food, check on customers regularly. It was a definite change from the restaurants of J'vegas where you typically get a high school girl wearing seriously inappropriately short shorts and a t-shirt:)

We had the most incredible food, starting with appetizers - Crispy Pig's Head Croquettes w/ Gribiche Sauce and a half dozen Oysters on the half shell w/ a Shallot Vinaigrette for Jason and Burford Brown Egg Cocotte w/ French Roasted Ceps (mushrooms):

This was followed by entrees - Roasted Goosnaugh Duck Breast w/ Sauteed Foie Gras, Braised Endive and Smoked Bacon for Jason and West Country Pork Belly w/ White Bean Cassoulet & Brussels Sprouts for me. We also shared sauteed spinach and chips. I was so excited about eating this course that I totally forgot to take pictures! For dessert, we shared a Blackberry and Banana Eton Mess:

This picture was actually from the kitchen, because again, I was so excited to dig in that I forgot to take a picture.

Now what I've failed to mention, is that this is one of Gordon Ramsay's many restaurants in the London area. We spoke to the head waiter about this and expressed our love for Gordon Ramsay, so he kindly offered to let us take a tour of the kitchen. Naturally we jumped at the opportunity and headed back to see where the magic happens. 

The man, the myth, the legend...

An 1,800 pound charcoal grill that runs 15 hours a day!

The chef's table!

All in all, it was an incredible experience and quite a way to kick off our journey. One of the most interesting things about dining in London was how late people came out to eat. We finished our meal around 10:30 and people were still coming in to be seated. 

After all that great food, we decided we needed to walk around for a bit. We did a bit of sightseeing and wandered through Chinatown, Leicester Square, Soho and M&M World:

This was one of several windows displaying one of Jason's favorite things ever: Peking Duck!

Very helpful markings on the street that kept us from getting hit crossing the roads:)

With billboards like Times Square - here's J in Leicester Square (where everyone was trying to get passersby into their clubs and we were offered cocaine!)

M&M World (apparently there are 3 in the US) was 4 stories of all things M&M

We ended up back at the hotel around midnight and crashed shortly after. What an incredible first day!!