Christmas Lights at Covent Garden, London

I just got back from a quick 7-day trip to visit my friend Diana in London. We had tickets for C.P. Taylor’s West End play Good, starring David Tennant, who played my favourite (tenth) doctor of the long-running BBC series Doctor Who.

While I was in London, I checked out some Christmas lights, starting with this one at the Covent Garden.

There are several budget airlines flying the Lisbon to London route. I flew Easyjet to Luton airport and took the National Express into the city.

After settling down, I took the underground to Leicester Square. I was in the mood for a Chinese dinner.

Initially I had my mind set on Dim Sum, but while sitting down at the crowded Dumplings Legend and got told that the time had past for their Dim Sum menu (it ended at 4:30PM), I decided that Szechuan would be just as fulfilling.

I found Jinli, a restaurant named after a famous street in Chengdu.

The food was authentic: The Couple’s Beef 夫妻肺片 was spicy and numbing, whereas the Shredded Pork in Spicy Garlic Sauce 鱼香肉丝 had the perfect sweet and sour balance. The price, however, came at a bit of a shock. An appetizer + a main dish + rice + 12.5% service charge totaled at £35, that’s about $42. I’ve never had Chinese food this expensive. It looks like I have been living in Lisbon for too long 🙂

After dinner, I went for a walk and noticed that Christmas was in the air.

I turned a corner and miraculously caught the snow falling from the sky

It took me a minute to realize that the snow was man-made but it’s magical all the same.

The large halls in Covent Garden were lit up with glistening disco balls.

And the tree sparkled!

There were music performances

Good one actually!

How I missed good live performance of English songs…

Right outside Covent Garden was the Dolce & Gabbana Christmas Market.

This was my frist (half) day back in London. The air was crisp, cold but refreshing, full of holiday spirit.

Coming up next: Christmas at the Selfridges