An Evening Near London Bridge and the Globe Theater

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Tonight, Jesse had planned an optional activity for us: a stop at the Globe Theater. I wasn't really all that interested in seeing the Globe, but I definitely was interested in getting out of the hotel and spending some time with others. I think it ended up being a pretty great night.

We crossed over the River Thames on the Southwark Bridge, and we had lovely views from the bridge. Once at the theater, we were paired with another amazing tour guide, Fi. She was really into helping us picture London and the Globe in the 17th Century, and she talked a lot about the audience and their participation. I thought it was a lot of fun. She also gave us information about the original Globe, a second version that had closed, and this modern version (which is only about 20 years old).

After our tour, it had gotten quite dark out. It was roughly 5:30pm, but it gets dark early in England in January! Everything was lit up, though, including the lights on the bridges and along the river. Courtney mentioned that it would be nice to get dinner on that part of town, since we hadn't really explored this area near the London Bridge. Jesse was on it and pulled up his Yelp app. He picked out an Italian restaurant, and we set out, hoping to score a table for 8 on a Saturday night. We knew we arrived when we came upon a restaurant with a line wrapped around the building. We giggled about the small misfortune, and then I spotted a restaurant across the street. Personally, I thought it looked awesome. There was a stone archway leading to a small close. A neon sign with an arrow pointed downward, advertising an Italian restaurant called Guiseppe's. "Let's eat there!" I suggested. To me, it looked better than the other restaurant, anyway.

The group agreed to check it out, and we made our way over. Once we entered the narrow arch, we had to go downstairs to a cellar to access the restaurant. A man greeted us there, and I asked if they had seating for a group of 8. The wait staff talked it over a bit, and then he told me, "We can seat you if you don't order pizza, and if you're out by 8:30." I looked at my watch: 5:45. Deal.

We had a great meal, but the service was the best part. The servers walked around singing along with the Italian music. A few mentioned our "strong accents." Half the time we weren't sure if we were laughing with the servers, at them, or at ourselves. It was a good time. At the end, our server brought out a tray of lemon shots. She said, "Welcome to London," and placed them down in front of us. We thanked her, of course, but not everyone partook. It was a funny end to a fun meal, though.

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Photos

In the Globe
Open-Air

Guiseppe's
It's across the street, through that little archway.

London Bridge Station
London Underground