Zedel

Just off of Piccadilly Circus there is a sign for a "Brasserie", this is where you find Zedel. Zedel is a very special eating experience especially if you care about aesthetics. You walk into a dark bar room and follows signs and arrows leading you down a staircase. When nearing the end of the staircase you see a huge glass chandelier. It really catches you by surprise. 

At the bottom of the stairs you have to choose a room, we chose the Brasserie room but the other options are the "Bar Americain", "The Crazy Coqs" and the "ZL Cafe". Each one has different ambiances and different food and drinks. When walking into the Brasserie we got a little nervous, because after passing the door the room opened up into a huge marble ballroom filled with people dining. And we hoped we didn't need a reservation. The Concierge gave us a card and told us to wait at the bar until a table would be ready for us. So we joined the crowded bar and ordered some wine for the wait. Feeling a little under dressed we looked around trying to catch a glimpse of the food. After about an hour or so we were seated. 

The menu was very French, and I overheard a woman say that they change it every time she's there. We decided it was worth getting a starter and a main because how often are you in a beautiful ballroom having dinner? I got some paté as my started because its one of my guilty pleasures. I just love how good paté tastes. And as a main I got duck confit with lentils.

I think what I enjoyed the most about this dinner was that I had food which I love and it was up to my standards. Of course we didn't pass on dessert therefore we each ordered a creme brule. This was when we should have stopped, and maybe gotten one to share. The creme brule was delicious but it left us feeling much too full, uncomfortably so. Other than leaving the restaurant with the impression I was about to explode it was an incredible meal. It wasn't even too pricey, I think I spent around 35 pounds for the whole meal and the wine at the bar. I will definitely go there again, I just need a new food-loving buddy.

Here's their website: http://www.brasseriezedel.com/

Public Transport in London

 I don't think there's been one single day in London that I haven't taken the Underground, or the Overground, or the DLR. The public transport in London is very advanced for such a big city. It links  the extremities of the city to the center without causing too much disruption on the streets.

The underground is one of the best things London has, you travel without traffic, without getting rained on. Occasionally it gets really crowded, for example never take the central line around 6pm on a week day, you will be crushed. Another recommendation do not walk up the stairs at Covent Garden unless you want to pass out half way up. No matter how much you're in a hurry taking those stairs is never worth it. 

The biggest flaw of the underground is that it closes at midnight. This means when you're out at night you have to take a bus or a cab. 

It took me a very long time to get used to taking the bus, especially fully understanding which routes could take me home from different locations. I still write down what Google maps suggests when I go somewhere new. I am lucky though, I have a bus that goes from Oxford Circus to my house. I've never gone to west London by bus so i don't know how well linked it is, and I tend to not go out in Camden because I don't know how to get home.

I hate the train systems that bring you to the airports. I've had to go to Stansted and Friday I'm going to Gatwick, i usually fly to London City Airport so I really hate going to airports with the tube and trains, I feel like the tube should go to all the airports. I just don't particularly like big train stations because there aren't always all the labels showing where to get which train. The streets in London are also like this, when I first got here I didn't know my way around but it didn't help  that none of the roads are labelled.

Here I've attached a map of the underground with labels of special things at each location.