London Trip Day 4: London’s Rain is Falling Down (June 5, 2011)
After two straight days of road trips, today marked the first in which we stayed in. For good measure to as it rained for the majority of the day. Jenn and I ended up waking up at around 11 AM and started to get ready. Our original plan was to go tour Wimbledon but with the weather and feeling like we all needed a break it ended up being a rest day.
For some reason I thought for sure I saw a Burger King right around the corner from us on one of our walks and thought that would be a perfect quick meal for lunch. So Jenn and I headed out at around 1:30 to go in search of it and bring it back to watch the French Open Final with Jenn's dad. After an hour of walking in about a mile radius we confirmed there was not a Burger King so we made it back to her dad's room and ordered room service. Jenn and I split a burger and fries and her dad got a chicken sandwich and bruschetta.
Come On Federer You Can Take Nadal!
We did stay and watch almost the entire Nadal v Federer final but when it looked like Nadal had it won in the 4th Set we turned it off. We did however go downstairs to the free business center and purchase tickets to go see Lion King (the musical) on Wednesday June 8th at 7:30 PM in the front row. It should be a pretty fun musical to see
Gloomy Day in London
Once dinnertime rolled around (7PM) we went to the local Lots Road Pub and had dinner, well sort of. Jenn only had a roasted tomato soup with a chocolate brownie w/ vanilla ice cream and her dad got bread and butter and a toffee brownie with ice cream. I on the other hand ate dinner and had the same soup as Jenn as well as a sausage and potatoes main course. I also went with the waiter’s suggestion on a beer, which was the same that they supposedly served at the Royal Wedding and it was good but not great a little darker then I prefer.
Jenn's Soup
Good Beer, Just Not My Favorite
Sausage and Potatoes
Jenn's Dads Dinner
After that we called it a night. It was a really simple and relaxing day. The trip will regain some momentum tomorrow when we head off to see Windsor Castle a short 30-mile drive from our hotel. Let's just hope the weather holds out for the rest of the trip.
Just Got Back From A Weekend Getaway at Indian Wells
Jenn and I both have been ready for a vacation for quite sometime, and so we took a quick over night trip to Indian Wells about an hour drive from where we now live. This weekend they had the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament or now known the PNB Paribas Tennis Tournament that we were going to try and attend when we were down there. So a little back story for those who don't personally know me or who haven't followed the blog for a while I used to go to Indian Wells every year with Jenn and her parents but that hasn't happened the last few years. Jenn and I have our honeymoon in September but were looking for some quicker trips to help us relax on the weekends while we wait for the big day! So Jenn started searching for places to go and poof she finds a great deal to go Indian Wells for a night so we booked a night in a two bedroom villa at the Hyatt Grand Champions.
So we left pretty early on Saturday morning around 9am to try and hit some early matches but when we drove up we saw a big sign saying "Saturday Day Session Sold Out". We have never bought tickets early so we never even though we would have to buy tickets before hand, but needless to say we called and they confirmed they were sold out for the day session. So we went to our hotel only a minute or two from the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens. So we drove there and checked in and confirmed our room and were told they would call us when it was ready.
So in the meantime we had lunch,walked the resort, played some ping pong, and laid by the pool.
Steak Sandwich for Lunch
Jenn's Hamburger for Lunch
Walking Around The Hyatt Grand Champions
The Villas at The Hyatt Grand Champions
When we did get the call at 2PM we were off to our room. I made this quick little video and put it on Youtube to show our room.
We got really lucky with a great deal on this room, a lot less then what it normally goes for. Jenn does a lot of research on Kayak.com and it made this one of those trips that we jut had to take. So we got the room, did this quick video and laid out on our patio and used the spa. The patio was one of the nicest parts of the room, it was huge with a spa, loungers, a few chairs, a bbq, and a really nice view.Following that we went to dinner, since we did not go the the tennis tournament we decided to go for a big dinner at a place called LG's Steakhouse. I got a glass of Pinot Grigio, and had a three course set dinner which started with a Salad, Prime Rib and Capaccino Ice Cream. Jenn had cranberry juice and also went with the set meal starting with a Salad (which I ate), Filet Mignon, and Vanilla Ice Cream.
LG's Steakhouse Menu
Prime Rib @ LG's Steakhouse
So after we got back from dinner we spent some time in the spa and then watched Notting Hill one of my favorite romantic comedies. Although I own the movie it was one of those right place right time movies to watch so we watched it.
Our Spa at Night
So that brings us to today which we woke up at about 8:30ish and spent the rest of our time at the hotel just relaxing by the pool. We got a Pina Colada from the pool side bar and did our best to get as much of a tan as we could. All in all it was a really a great weekend. We learned that overnight trips are far to short, and that if we do another mini vacation we are at least doing two nights so we can get some more relaxing time. Regardless it was a great weekend and one that will really help us in the weeks to come.
Pina Colada on Our Patio
Federer Falls Again to Nadal at the Aussie Open
I am not a big fan of Rafael Nadal at all. In fact I will root for just about anyone on the men's tour besides Nadal. There is just something about him that just really irritates me. It could be his girl pants, but ever since he won his first French I just have never liked him. As many of you know my favorite Tennis player at the moment is James Blake and will be until he retires. I am still rooting for him to win a major! However back to the topic at hand, how does Federer keep loosing to Nadal? This Aussie final with Nadal and Federer reminded me far to much of the Wimbledon final of 2008.
I know Federer was really down after loosing this latest match to Nadal, and in fact I can't blame the guy, he gave it everything he had. But how great would it be for Federer to match Sampras's record on Nadal's court of Rolland Garos? Not only would he tie Sampras but he would complete his career slam, something that Sampras never was able to do! Do I think it will happen? Probably not but here is to hoping!!