Big London Flavour, Little London Cost

Everybody warned me that London would be expensive. I beg to differ. Armed with an EasyJet ticket from the Hague and a friend kind enough to let us sleep on her floor, our biggest investment in London last month was our unlimited public transit pass (less than 7 GBP per day). Well, and food, but everybody has to eat.

So how did we achieve a full-flavoured London experience in two and a half days, without mortgaging our unborn child's college education? It turns out my favorite London experiences are free:

The British Museum: My life feels more complete now that I have seen the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon Marbles (the politically correct term for the Elgin Marbles) - although I am of the school that believes the Marbles belong in Greece. Equally impressive: beautiful Japanese prints, both ancient and modern; a moving array of Egyptian statues; and the stunning atrium of the museum itself. I could have spent the entire weekend here. For the intellectually curious, I also recommend "A History of the World in 100 Objects", a radio program in partnership with the BBC. 

Monuments at night: Put off by Westminster Abbey's stiff admission charge of 16 GBP and restrictive tour times, we instead decided to take the Chevy Chase approach ("Look kids, Big Ben!"). And if there's one thing I learned from living in DC, it's that national monuments always look more monumental when lit up at night. So after dinner Saturday, we took the Tube to Westminster for a photo op with the brilliantly illuminated halls of Parliament and Westminster Abbey - and from Big Ben, it's just a short walk up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square, where the lions likewise look more regal when lit from below. (Bonus points if you know anything about the Battle of Trafalgar.)

Tate Modern: The current temporary exhibit in the Tate Modern's massive main hall entails one million hand-crafted porcelain replicas of sunflower seeds, spread out like a grey sandy beach. The scope is impressive, though it would have been even more impressive if people could romp through it as originally intended (it's been roped off due to health concerns). But as far as Jeff's concerned, no Tate Modern exhibit will ever compare to the infamous (for the number of times I've heard about them) multi-story slides that were installed in the main hall during his first visit.

I also have to mention:

• The British Library: Free exhibits of ancient illuminated manuscripts; the papers of famous British authors (like Jane Austen, Samuel Johnson, and Lewis Carroll); the original index cards used to compile the Oxford English Dictionary (which I mention as a shout out to Lyza); and of course the Magna Carta. Also home to a popular cafe full of strung-out students and frumpy scholars and a bookstore with the best postcards in London. 
• The observatory at Greenwich: It's a World Heritage site! And (for the time being, at least) there's no admission fee. 
• Double-decker city buses: Let's just say I discovered the inspiration for J.K. Rowling's Knight Bus. (Free with unlimited transit pass.)
• Harrod's: A minor anthropological adventure in the middle of prime window-shopping and people-watching territory. 
• Organ concerts at St. Paul's: St. Paul's significant admission fee is waived during church events. As I'm less interested in the details of which royal sat where than in the general feeling of a beautiful church, this suits me fine. In particular, I would have loved to attend one of the church's free Sunday afternoon organ concerts.
• St. James's Park: Although London has many parks to choose from, I like St. James's Park for being centrally located and nicely landscaped, with the added bonus of allowing you to say you've "seen" Buckingham Palace - and its famous guards.

And then there's the eating. At Jeff's prodding we tried one of the classic London pubs recommended by Rick Steves. (Interior decoration: Notable. Food: Decent. Beer: Flat.). But perhaps my most favorite London activity of all was our all-out East London Pakistani feast at Tayyabs.

In heaven at Tayyabs.

Seriously, this might rank among the 10 best meals of my life: spice-rubbed grilled lamb chops, platters of tender tandoori chicken and fish and the complex flavors of house-made seekh kebab, haleem (a rich, slow-cooked lentil and meat dish with an undercurrent of heat), and spicy okra with meat. Even the pastry desserts were perfectly flaky, nutty, and buttery. And with the final tally coming to only 18 GBP per person (cheap by London standards, at least), Tayyabs has a staggering price-to-quality-and-quantity ratio.