London and Stratford-upon-Avon, England 2025: November Trip
We came back to London in November for photography, rock history, theater, books, and a lot of tea. We also took a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon for Macbeth.
Where we ate and drank
London
| Place | What I thought | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Indigo London Kensington | Full English breakfast for me, porridge for Ksenia; dinner after Stratford. | — |
| V&A café | Lunch at the deli counter during our museum visit. | — |
| Kitchen W8 | A many-course dinner with deer, partridge, chanterelles, smoky truffle mashed potatoes, and clementine sorbet. | — |
| The Photographers’ Gallery café | Great chai, made by a nice woman. | ★★★★☆ |
| Mr Fogg’s | Cocktails after wandering Covent Garden. | — |
| Mangio | Good, fresh Italian lunch near St. Paul’s; Ksenia had focaccia and a tart. | ★★★★☆ |
| Brown’s Hotel Drawing Room | Afternoon tea: sandwiches, scones, cakes, Earl Grey for Ksenia, and chai for me. | — |
| Poppies | Haddock and chips for Ksenia, fish cakes for me. | — |
| The Pig and Butcher | Duck, pork belly, and desserts. | — |
Stratford-upon-Avon
| Place | What I thought | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| The Fourteas | Cozy and yummy; especially good mushrooms and potato hash browns with a full English and lots of tea. | ★★★★☆ |
Where we stayed
We stayed at Hotel Indigo London Kensington. Its dining room handled both breakfast and our dinner after the Stratford day trip.
Places and performances
We spent time at the V&A, The Photographers’ Gallery—especially its Zofia Rydet and Boris Mikhailov shows—and Tate Britain’s Lee Miller exhibition. The Hunterian Museum was really cool to me and much too creepy for Ksenia.
Word on the Water was a bookshop on a barge beside the canal. Our rock-and-roll walking tour took us through Denmark Street and Soho, past recording studios, old venues, and the Beatles’ rooftop concert site at 3 Savile Row. We also saw Paddington The Musical at the Savoy, and Macbeth at the RSC’s Other Place in Stratford-upon-Avon. Ksenia cried at Paddington; I got my rock-history fix.
Day by day
- November 8: The V&A and Kitchen W8
- November 9: Photographs and a book barge
- November 10: Lee Miller and afternoon tea
- November 11: Rock history and the Hunterian
- November 12: Macbeth in Stratford-upon-Avon
The November 10 entry has no written date. It falls between the dated November 9 and November 11 pages.