The worst part of our trip was finding food that was affordable and tasty at the same time. England is obviously not known for its culinary flair, so this became a task. Finally, we found that the Hard Rock was within walking distance of our hotel. Never has a hamburger and fries tasted so wonderful. In fact, the line to get in stretched around the block. It was mostly hungry American tourists.

This is the first of the Hard Rock Cafes. According to the story, Eric Clapton would come down to the "American Cafe" and sit at the bar. As the place became more popular, he could not get his seat. So, one day, he gave them one of his guitars and said, "Put this on this wall. This is my seat." Later, other musicians did the same thing and the Hard Rock was born. I apologize if the story is not 100% accurate, but you can get the full story from the people there.

The real reason to go is to see the vault next door in the store. If you are a Jimi Hendrix fan, you MUST GO there. I have a photo of me playing the guitar pictured. It is the last guitar he ever played, AND YOU CAN TOUCH IT!!! It was worth the entire trip to just do that.

On our first night we headed over to the Hard Rock. I am a huge fan of the Hard Rock and always go whenever there is one in town. In this case, we had taken a very long nap and didn’t feel like venturing too far. Thankfully, the restaurant was right around the corner from our hotel and the front desk rang ahead, so we were able to get right on in the front door. This Hard Rock happens to be the original Hard Rock and has been winning fans since 1971. They even still have their original waitress, Rita, in the house. But she only is there at certain times and just happened to be out of the house on our visit.

Now, while no one has ever accused The Hard Rock of having the best food around, it is quite tasty and a welcome relief when visiting outside the States. I went with the old standby of the original burger. This is one pretty thick and very tasty patty. It comes served with a very large order of fries. John went with the club sandwich, which comes with homemade mayo, ham, bacon, and two types of lettuce and is served with coleslaw and fries. We very rarely make it though a meal with room left for dessert, so we split one. We gobbled up their Down Home Apple Cobber. It’s definitely a must-try. The cobbler is toped with walnuts, caramel, and oh-so-divine ice cream (made just for the Hard Rock) and topped off with just a dash of cinnamon sugar. What a way to end the night.

While waiting for your meal, everyone enjoys checking out the walls chock-full of rock-and-roll memorabilia. After all, that is what most people come for. Everyone from Madonna to Hendricks to Clapton, and London favorites as The Beatles, Billy Idol, and Sting have something here. The staff are always hip and trendy, and quite a few sport tats, which is why I also love this place. Imagine the looks you get in stuffy restaurants if you walk in sporting 11 tattoos like I do!

After you have made your tummy and taste buds happy, head next door to the gift shop. Purchase a Hard Rock T-shirt so the whole world knows what a world traveler you are. I have had many conversations about my London trip started by, "Have you been to the Hard Rock in London?" You can also get a London Hard Rock pin to add to your collection. You can also purchase shot glasses and a Barbie decked out in rock-and-roll gear, leather jackets, and more. And now they have a version of the vault, where you can see some of the major pieces from their rock-and-roll collection.

You can go to www.hardock.com for more information. You can also make reservations here up to 1 month in advance.

If you're a fan of Hard Rock Cafes, then the Hard Rock-London is a must see. It is the original Hard Rock Cafe and, as such, the lines are usually quite lengthy. While you're waiting, make your way down stairs to the bar and have a drink. Hard Rock is known for their "pig sandwich" and they claim you haven't been to Hard Rock if you haven't had one. Try one; it's perhaps not the best barbecue you've ever had, but good nonetheless. The apple pie for dessert is excellent and another one of the things Hard Rock is known for. As in any other of these theme restaurants, the memorabilia could keep you busy for hours as you explore the artifacts from your favorite band or performer and the loud music won't let you forget where you've chosen to eat for dinner.

If you've had a bit too much to eat and need a little after dinner exercise, it's a good walk from here but head down to Harrods, several blocks away!

As with all Hard Rock Cafes, the food is about the same... but it's always nice to have something familiar in a familiar setting. They have all the usual burgers, grilled chicken, appetizers, desserts, and their drinks.

However, the best thing about THIS particular Hard Rock is that it was the first one ever built!! It was "opened in London on June 14th, 1971, by two Americans who thought Europe should have a taste of authentic, down-home American cooking flavored with a heavy dose of rock 'n' roll."

There is a separate store on the side where you can stand in line (we waited an hour in the rain) to buy your HRC souvineers, or you can wait in line for an hour or two to eat there OR you can do like we did (we were just looking to have dessert and get out of the rain) and ask to sit at the bar, for which there is NO wait! We did this and they took us to the bar in a big room in the back of the restaurant with a big motorcycle sitting with all the bottles behind the bar. The bartender down there was very cool and very nice, and we stayed for 3 hours, having dessert, chatting with him, and having a couple of drinks. It was an excellent way to spend a rainy sunday afternoon!