My Sobering 24 Hours In London…

By Leila

airplanes from a ceiling

We began our summer holiday with 24 hours in London, a city I love and regularly visit. This stay was particularly poignant because we visited the Imperial War Museum, which offers a sobering reminder of how fragile our civilization is.

24 Hours In London: Culinary Contentment + Chilling Chronicles

I do love the Elizabeth Line, but after a long flight and when carrying a lot of bags, I find an Uber is so much more convenient. We took an Uber from London Heathrow to my sister-in-law’s house in Bermondsey, where we’d spend the night before our onward connection to Basel (at least that was the plan…) the following evening.

We spent the remainder of the first day just resting up…my sister-in-law lives along the River Thames in a quiet brick row house. London is full of a seemingly endless array of eateries, but Heidi and I stopped at Sainsbury’s and got some meat to cook and some greens to blend for our late lunch…it really hit the spot.

a two children walking on a path in a yard

a group of packages of meat on a stove top

a bag of spinach and broccoli

a pan with meat and spices on it

a group of kids sitting at a table eating food

Then coffee at NoNo, a little coffee kiosk a few paces away, followed by the kids playing on the rocky beach looking toward the London skyline.

a store front with a green awning

a display case with pastries and pastries

a sandwich on a wood plate

a girl sitting at a table with a drink and a straw

a cup of coffee with a heart shaped foam

a beach with a bridge and trees

a child standing on a beach near water with a city in the background

a boy and girl on a beach

My sister-in-law and her husband were running a 10K in Southwark Park the following morning…but we slept in…followed by more coffee (hey, it was vacation after all!).

a girl sleeping on a bed

a boy sleeping on a couch with a stuffed animal
#jetlagged

a sign on a wall

a group of people standing outside a store

I had wanted to take the kids to the Tower of London, but we had not planned that in advance and tickets were sold out. So instead we decided to go to the Imperial War Museum, which I have not visited since 2007.

a building with a dome on top

a cannon in a field

a concrete pillar with graffiti on it

a large metal object on a stone platform

a group of airplanes from a ceiling

a plane from the ceiling

a sign in a building

a boy looking at a tank

a motorcycle on display in a building

a motorcycle in a room

a close up of a motorcycle

a military helicopter in a museum

a blue and white sign with black text

a flag in a glass case

a white sign with black text and a yellow book

a boy holding a phone to his ear

a grey wall with white text

a child looking at a yellow sign

a yellow sign on a shelf

a yellow sign with a picture on it

a map and a picture on a glass case

a white sign with black text

a yellow sign and a book on a wall

a display of posters on display

a group of people standing in front of a wall with signs

a poster on a wall

a poster of a man with a hat

a sign on a window

a sign on a carpet

a sign on a glass wall

a poster with a group of men's faces

a table with food on it and a window with a woman in the background

a yellow sign with a picture of a man and a woman

a statue of a bird with a swastika

a close up of a document

a yellow sign with black text on it

a display of old pictures on display

a display of posters on a table

posters on a wall with a pattern

a black robe on a swinger

a black sign with white text

Truly, I could have spent 10 hours here…three hours was not even enough to get through the World War II portion, but the visit was a sobering reminder of the:

  • Perils of unchecked aggression
  • Importance of international cooperation
  • Dangers of intolerance and xenophobia
  • Enduring value of diplomacy
  • Power of human resilience
  • Importance of moral leadership
  • Impact of technological advancements
  • Shift in global power
  • Responsiblity of the USA in promoting and uphodling global democratic norms
  • Importance of remembering and learning from history

As the world changes so rapidly in this latest chapter, it’s sobering to ask whether we are on the cusp of a great readjustment or rather if this is a blip in a continuing story of progress. May we not forget the price of liberty and freedom. May we never forget that delayed justice is injustice and that the US has a solemn responsibility to be a force for good in this troubled world. Finally, may we not forget that appeasement in the name of peace is not true peace.

After our visit to the museum, we enjoyed brunch in a Tunisian restaurant called Tunisian Street Kitchen (12 Lower Marsh). The coffee was good…the green drink was good…the food was very good. I ordered the brunch special (£15.50) that included:

  • Ojja: Tunisian eggs – poached in a rich and unique tomato sauce “shakshuka” style with mergez (Tunisian lamb sausage)
  • Foul: Creamy fava beans laoded with delicious spices
  • Hand: olives, cucumber, tomatoes, honey, jams and chamia (Tunisian sweet spread made with tahini)

a two men sitting at a table outside a restaurant

a display of food in a store

a paper with text on it

a paper with writing on it

a hand holding a menu

a bowl of food on a table

a group of bowls of food on a table

a plate of food on a table

a coffee machine and other items on a counter

a cup of coffee with a swirl of foam

a hand holding a receipt
A 12.5% service charge was automatically added…tipping is catching on…

Great place.

And that was that…we walked back to the house, grabbed our bags, and were soon in an Uber traveling back to Heathrow.

a highway with signs over it

CONCLUSION

I’m in London often enough that I don’t feel like a tourist anymore, yet I’m so glad we spent a few hours at the Imperial War Museum. The WWII exhisbit was a sobering reminder of how Western nations rose to the challenge and how the US asserted itslef, depsite an ocean of separation, as a force for good, determinting the cost of not doing so was even greater.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.