Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Trafalgar Square and the Crypt Cafe

Trafalgar Square is always a must-visit spot in London. Nelson's Column with all of the tourists cornering the lions. The National Gallery sporting art that one can see for free. The entertainers who delight the crowds for tips. The 4th Plinth where some general dude on a horse statue was supposed to be erected, but no one put up the money for the guy, so it was left bare. Now it's open for a contemporary sculpture that changes frequently. Another Trafalgar Square story involves the pigeons (or lack there of). Apparently, the square used to home to tens of thousands of the urban birds. The city got tired of cleaning all of the bird crap off of Lord Nelson and the lions just could not keep up with their grooming. Now the city feeds the pigeons early in the morning and engages falcons to keep the birds at bay the rest of the time. Brilliant!

Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square - Not a pigeon in sight
Lions
Lions - Tourist-free for the moment
Welcome
The National Gallery
The Forth Plinth
The 4th Plinth
Toot Toot
Man with fire-breathing tuba
Across the street from Trafalgar Square is the little church of St. Martin in the Fields (no field in sight now). In the basement of the church is the crypt which is now hosts the Cafe in the Crypt. And it still is a crypt. We ate over grave stones. Weird, eerie, and something that we had to do. The cafe is a cafeteria that offers soups, salads, hot entrees  and sandwiches.

St. Martin in the Fields
St. Martin in the Fields
The Crypt Cafe
Cafe in the Crypt
Steak Sandwich
Grilled Steak Sandwich
Rose Lemonade
A variety of Fentiman's beverages abounded in London. I really liked the Rose  Lemonade

The fare is simple, but decent.

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