LONDON -
Everywhere you go in England you will find a pub. A place where the ale is smooth and the atmosphere is uniquely British. If you come to one busy street in London and descend down a flight of stairs, you will find beverages. But it isn't what you might expect.
Gordon's is London's oldest wine bar. It has been underground since 1890.
"During the second war, people were coming underneath to try to avoid all the bombing of London," said manager Gerard Menan.
Historic newspapers cover the walls. Gordon's has been open through England's most important moments over the last 100 years.
"This is the cozy part of Gordon's," said Menan. "Ceilings are very low. Yes, so you always have to be very careful after a couple of glasses not to bump your head on the ceiling," said Menan.
The atmosphere is also romantic with wine, lighted candles and an old wine cellar.
"We're in the cage, as they call it," said Melissa Alger.
These ladies belong to AWOL, an acronym for "American Women on the Loose." They meet together every Wednesday afternoon to drink wine. They sat around a table in the old wine cellar. Their husbands work in England. So, they have bonded together in a new country.
"A lot of us find that as ex-pats, we embrace the culture in which we live. We're anxious to make friends wherever we are," said Alger.
One of the new friends is a Boilermaker.
"I am a Purdue grad and proud of it," said Beth Van Volkinburg.
Their lunch underground is filled with wine and laughter as they read the newspapers on the walls and listen to the sounds.
"You can hear the underground rumble. It's very intimate. It's fun," said Alger. "What happens in the cave, stays in the cave. It's cool. It's kind of like being in a cistern. It reminds me of being underground in Istanbul in the water tunnels," said Alger.
It was an unlikely place for the women of "AWOL" to gather.
"Oh gosh, it's like going into a cavern. Going into the crypt," joked Alger.
"I'm not sure I would have walked in the door on my own. I trust these ladies explicitly. You come in, it looks as if you're coming down into a dungeon, I think was a good way to describing it, in through the servant's entrance kind of thing," said Volkinburg.
So, if you ever get to England, enjoy a beer in a pub and make sure to find time underground where you can enjoy a glass of wine.
The atmosphere is also romantic with wine, lighted candles and an old wine cellar.
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