Home safe and sound

I arrived back home safe and sound, but incredibly tired. I cannot even begin to describe just how jet-lagged I am. After working London hours, but staying up until midnight for US coverage it is going to be a long week, especially since I am back in the office right away.

I guess the best way to close out my journey, is too share a few tips/observations.

- The weather is completely unpredictable. When I arrived it was 80F and sunny, during that time, it dropped down to 60 and back up to 70 with spots of rain. People may laugh about how much I pack but I learned the hard way last summer to always be prepared.

- It's just damp and the water is hard = wrecks havoc on your hair. The water is brutal on hair and skin, it's good to have a lot of products with you to be prepared for anything. Each time in London, I just assume my hair will look mostly like crap. I think this explains why so many girls in London wear their hair up on clips.

- The public transport system is excellent and much more efficient than taking taxis. However, I do advise against taking the tube during rush hour. It is not air conditioned and ventilation is pretty bad. Being short runs you the risk of being at the armpit of someone who believes personal hygiene isn't important. This is where my scented sandalwood fan came in handy. They are also doing a significant amount of work on the stations so always check for closures. It's good to buy an Oyster card if you are going to be there for awhile.

- Having a map is important - even Londoners have/use them. The streets aren't on a grid system like NY or Chicago, and sometimes they change name for no clear reason and not all streets are labeled. Although in London proper, it's pretty easy to find the street - it's posted on the side of the building, not on a pole. Once you get the hang of it, it is really easy to find your way around, and it's not a bad city to get a little lost in because there are tons of charming shops and pubs in the most unassuming spots. (Just don't get lost in the bad neighborhoods).

- Black cabs. In order to drive a cab, the driver has to pass a test proving they know the streets of London. I'd often get in not knowing the exact address, or just starting with the name of the place and they'd get be there and know exactly what I am talking about. You typically tell them where you are going before you get in the cab and pay after you get out. They lock the doors while you are in the taxi and control when the doors are unlocked. I have never encountered an unfriendly driver either. It's not typical to tip, but I think it's a good idea and they always appreciate it and say thanks. Try getting that in the US.

- Oxford Street is incredibly annoying, particularly on the weekends. When in London, you have to go to TopShop, their flagship store is right at Oxford Circus. Other than that, stay far away.

- I am sorry to my English friends, but the fashion sense of girls in London - the streets of London mostly - is absolutely terrible. I like leggings and belts but it's done to a ridiculous excess here. Even W noticed this. And sheer tights/leggings with shorts and ballerina flats...never a good look. The men on the other hand, dress beautifully. The woman from my office/sig other of co-workers don't fit into this category, and my English friends agreed with my observation on this phenonmenon.

- Go to the markets or museums early or you will be in the middle of crowds and not appreciate what you are seeing. Some of the museums are open late during the week.

- Pedestrians don't seem to have any rights. It's important to look down and know which way you are supposed to look for traffic (the streets say "look left" or "look right") and cabs/cars have no concern in honking at you.

- Definitely go to a pub, but find one that is off the beaten path or gets a good reference on-line. Like a bar in the US, there are good ones and bad ones, but the good ones are wonderful and worth a visit. They have some GREAT food and visiting one with historical significance is the way to go. People go to pubs and stand around outside on the sidewalk drinking. After work, you see tons of people gathering outside until about 10 or sometimes 11. I think as long as you are in direct vicinity of the pub, you can stand outside with a drink. And get a meat pie or fish in chips - when in Rome....BTW - you can buy fish and chips for takeway - it's not wrapped in newspaper anymore because it was found that the ink from the newsprint could be poisonous.

- There aren't very many "lounges". It's either a restaurant with a bar, a club or a pub. Many of the clubs have memberships which don't necessarily mean too much other than VIP priority in line and cover charges in general are pretty steep. There are a ton of "private clubs" and I think the fee is anywhere from 2500 - 10ooo BP, depending on the stature. And the doorman at the clubs have a ton of power on whether or not you will get in - sort of like the US I suppose. They'd do well with more lounges IMO.

- I mentioned this before, but it's worth mentioning again. July/August is packed with visitors from the Middle East because they are escaping the heat. So you will see tons of expensive cars, etc. At Harrods, the majority are from the Middle East - all the mannequins have dark hair/dark eyes which is obviously meant to appeal to their core shopping audience.

- When you go to dinner, they will inform you that they will need the table back in 2 hours. This happens everywhere you go. And the service in restaurants/bars is not terribly attentive. They don't make a lot of money, grat is included in the bill at 12% and apparently the government is thinking about taking the practice of tipping away altogether. And you cannot go to London without dining in one of the many Indian restaurants - the best I have ever had an many say it's better than what you'd get in India.

- A great way to see the sites is to take a taxi on the Thames, or buy yourself a day pass and you can stop on an off a few ports. I took a water taxi last year from Greenwhich to Waterloo at night and it was beautiful - the Tower Bridge is probably one of my favorite sites. You can also do the Tate to Take water taxi (Tate Modern to Tate Britain).

- London can be pretty dead on Sundays - I guess there is a law in place about markets, etc., remaining closed on Sunday to encourage people to stay home with their families. This can be annoying if you need a sundry item.

- Edward II ruled in the early 1300s. His lover, Piers Gaveston and he were murdered allegedly in captivity by having a sword or a poker inserted where the sun didn't shine as a statement against Edward's choice of partner. Oxford University has a group called the "Piers Gaveston Society" comprised of members who engage in "debaucherous sexual acts" and is an invitation only club. It was described to me as similar to the scene from Eyes Wide Shut. Interesting.

- Tarty girls are called "Slappers", this has now become my favorite word. If you see a girl in a ho dress smoking, then she is definitely a slapper.

- There is a ton of construction going on in London, it's kind of a bummer because the cranes ruin the view when looking at Parliament and Big Ben. By the way, Big Ben is not the name of the tower or clock, but actually the bell. The tower is technically called St. Stephen's tower.

- While the architecture, museums, shows, etc., are certainly a draw, you cannot go to London without going to one of the many parks. They do a great job keeping the landscape up, hardly any garbage and very vew homeless people.

London is a wonderful place to visit once you get past how bad our dollar is (just plan on paying twice as much for everything). I am lucky to have made so many friends there and cannot wait to return very soon.

My Blair Witch Basement

Some of you may recall an earlier about the murder that occured in my building . The body was found in the basement back in March. Here's proof that not only is it creepy, but it reminds me of the last scene in postthe Blair Witch Project.

Kind of a icky day but ended well

For my last day in London, I wanted to accomplish a few things - 1) Portobello Market 2) British museum and 3) a walk through Hyde Park. Whenever I am here, I try and do at least one tourist thing and not repeat myself. Obviously it's hard because I work during the day so my weekends are really the only time I get to wander around and explore.

Unfortunately, it was a terrible weather day - reminded me of last year actually while I was here for the wettest summer month in history. The day started out unassuming, a little overcast but that's just how it gets in London. To get my day started, I headed over to Terre D'Oc, which has all these candles, incense, etc., that are made in Provence, France - you can't find their stuff in the US and they have the best products I have encountered (I hate cheap candles and incense, it's like burning glade candles or spraying febreeze. ) Lucky for me they were having a sale so the weak dollar didn't totally kill me.

I headed over to the tube for Portobello market, once I arrived, it started to mist. It's always best to go to the markets early to avoid the crowds, however, by the time I got there, it was 12 noon so it was packed. I wasn't too worried about it as I wasn't planning on spending a lot of time there, knew exactly what I wanted so would be done in an hour. My visit focus was a gift for W, pashmina shawls and maybe something from one of the Moroccan dealers. I scored on all three - got the greatest Moroccan slippers - I will have to take a picture of them. Then the downpour happened - and it was cold, just absolutely miserable - it's not easy to navigate through a crowd in the rain with umbrellas. I got the hell out of there and headed over to the British Museum. Not the best idea either.

Many of you know how much I hate people - and this was probably the worst two things one can do on a Saturday - it's just mobbed with tourists. In fact, I think the entire country of Japan was there with their cameras, it was hard to get around so I just focused on the things I wanted to see. Unfortunately, some wings were closed and with it being so crowded, I didn't make it to everything. I had already seen the Rosetta Stone and most of their Egyptian collection before, so I was able to skip that this time. My favorite was the Asian and Roman collections. This statue below made me laugh because it reminded me of Chloe and Ella when they beg for food like little goats.

And this lady had dark brown hair but was using a fake blonde hairpiece in her hair. I couldn't stop staring.

I walked home from the museum up Oxford Street - which is a mess in itself, but I had to return the hideous bathing suit I bought at the Gap for our trip to Bath. By the time I got home, I think I clocked in a few miles, was soaked through and through and just felt icky. The tube was disgusting - what made me really get grossed out were these people sitting on the stairs in the tube. Those of you in Chicago/NY - just imagine sitting on the stairs in the subway after rain and hundreds of people dragged mud through.

Obviously, not the best day to go through the park, not such a big deal but I was hoping to spend more time there - next time!

I was supposed to grab dinner with my friend M but I couldn't get in touch with her. I decided to head over to the Villandry on my own and have dinner in the bar. The Villandry is just a few steps away from my flat and is one of my favorite places ever. It's sort of hard to describe - it's incredibly charming and loftlike - a gourmet foodshop/restaurant. On one side you can grab fresh baked breads and pastries, yogurts, juice, crackers, wine, candies, etc. In the middle is a section of long tables that can be communal where you can sit and enjoy a sandwich or cheese and some coffee. In the back is a upscale restaurant with large windows along the street. On the other side is a smaller restaurant - more casual with a bar. That's where I decided to go for dinner - it's nice and dark, with candles, incredibly comfortable. To my pleasant surprise, there was a jazz trio playing that night with a female singer. It was the perfect end to my day - I had a glass of wine, a great burger and sat and enjoyed the music. If they had a fire going in the fireplace I think I would have stayed there all night long. http://www.villandry.com/index.htm

Finally, the Kensington Roof Gardens

On Friday, I focused on getting myself organized to go home. I packed in the morning and went into the office to gather up all my crap and get it home. D and I went over to Harrods in the afternoon and I purchased a special gift for the girls ... the igloo dog bed. A bit extravagant but a great reminder of London. We then shipped all of my work stuff which was a pain in the ass and incredibly expensive - but they had no boxes in the office so I had to do it all myself.

We go ready for dinner at Babylon which is just above the Kensington Roof Gardens. My other friend M, joined us and we had a great meal. It's a really cool space - the interior is fairly minimal but it's set long against an outdoor terrace - you can see all the way to the Thames, etc. After dinner, D and I went downstairs to the gardens for an after dinner drink. The Roof Gardens were the place we tried to get into last weekend but couldn't get in because of the line. After arriving, I can see why. They have multiple areas throughout the terrace and it's covered with flowers, plants, etc. In fact, there is an area with a small pond that houses flamingos - unfortunately, they weren't out that night. We sat at a little table near the champagne bar and just people watched - it was fantastic. Lots of good slapper sitings - and a lot of drunk 25-year olds. We were definitely the old people there.

Going there was a highlight for both of us - I could do without the crowd, but we got there early enough to grab a seat and left as it was getting obnoxious. If you can believe - we got hungry again and grabbed a burger from their outdoor grille. That is absolutely brilliant and I think more places should have that sort of thing. Really beats the crappy bar food you end up snarfing at 1 am. We had a late night, but a great time. We were very lucky that it was a such a great night.

Yummy Amaya and a garden party

On Wednesday, D and I had dinner at Amaya with my friend M at Amaya. Amaya is truly an amazing dining experience. It is really unfortunate that there are no high end Indian restaurants like this in the US, I'd move in permanently. The concept of Amaya is that it's a grill and the food is meant to be shared. This is not your curry place - the three different grills they use are a tandoori, over coals and on a tawa - a large iron griddle. The kitchen is open so you can watch them prepare everything - it's pretty cool to watch. We started with this gigantic Madagascar prawn (they loved it) and then had the goat cheese stuffed mini peppers along with some naan and sides. The naan is the best here - it's perfectly cooked, nice and thin but fluffy in a few spots. I hate naan that is really thick and chewy, it's too filling. The condiments they give you for the naan and dishes are a plum sauce, crushed dry peanuts, crushed dried coriander and tomato. Next we had the quail - now the only meat I eat is red meat - from a cow - chicken, turkey, etc., are revolting to me - but last time I was at Amaya, one of my dining companions had the quail and I tried a bite of it and liked it - so I ordered it for our table. Don't like bird, don't like quail - but this is melt in your mouth, pass out good. I think they way they prepared it was in the tandoori oven - the secret has to be the marinade which was apricot, vanilla...and that's all I could figure out. We then had these finely diced sweet potatoes served with a tangy yogurt and tamarind sauce whisked over the top. Our final dish was an asparagus biryani with some dal..probably the only thing on the menu that you'd find in a typical Indian restaurant. So by the end of the meal, we rolled home.

On Thursday, one of my co-workers had a garden party at his home. All of the people in the London office are just fantastic - I am very lucky to have such a nice bunch to work with but also socialize with at night/weekends, etc. This includes the spouses/significant others. Usually, the last thing one wants to do is go to an after work function, but I had been looking forward to this since I arrived, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. When I think garden party, I think deck of some sort and of course I wore high heels. This was actually in a garden, in the grass so I had keep moving or my heels would sink into the grass. Apparently, this is sort of good for the grass as I was aerating it.

Being the city girl that I am, I was mesmerized by the bumble bees doing their part for the environment having a good time with some lavender. I have never seen this live before and I know that right now, my mom is up in heaven laughing her ass off at what a complete dork I am. (Mom grew up on a farm and liked to tease me at my lack of experience with nature)

Thank goodness for YouTube, you can see this for yourself.

Disturbing commercials

The last couple of nights for D and I were pretty uneventful - dinner at The Villandry on Monday, dinner at home on Tuesday followed by a drink at the Browns Hotel on Tuesday. But what really is fantastic is the commericals here in the UK. Seriously very dirty...yet fun. Our favorite so far.

Bathtubs and the pigs

After Stonehenge, D, M and I arrived in Bath after a journey through picturesque small towns. It actually reminded me a little bit about when I was with G and J in California driving from San Francisco to Sonoma. Very hilly and lush. We arrived to our hotel, nothing to write home about but a decent, clean place to stay for the night. I will save you the history lesson on Bath, but the city is around the Avon and a majority of the buildings are constructed of limestone. The architecture is amazing - the color of limestone resembles the color of butter to a pale grey or ivory. Against the green hills, trees and landscape, it gives off this old world feel.

We just walked around town and visited the Roman Baths. You can take the route of the official tour with a guide but we opted to walk around on our own. You obviously can't partake in the baths on premises but there is a spa around the corner that is somewhat molded on the original baths. We tried to figure out what people from Bath are called, in our slaphappy state, we stuck to "Bathtubs' although we learned from the woman in the German shop they are called "Bathites". I prefer Bathtubs.

Around town, there is an exhibit called "King Bladud's Pigs". Those of you in Chicago may recall the cows that were smattered around town a few years ago - it's sort of a similar concept. Different artists painted pigs and you'd find them in museums, on the street, in restaurants, etc. The legend is that Bath was founded back in 860 BC, when Prince Bladud, the father of King Lear, was abroad and caught leprosy. He was fearful of going back to court and not able to become king, so he went west and became a sort of pig farmer. The pigs also caught leprosy and began wallowing around in this hot mud and became cured. Bladud did the same, was cured of leprosy and later returned to court and became king. It was in this area where he founded the town of Bath. I personally think the pigs are a lot cuter than the cows. Here is the website if you'd like to learn more about them or see pictures. My favorite was the "Pig in Prada" which to me, looked like a hooker/S&M pig, apparently, I am a sick person to have such thoughts over a wholesome project. http://www.kingbladudspigs.org/pigs/index.php

We also visited the Fashion Museum - it reminded me a little bit of the V&A and their fashion section. Their exhibit was on the designer for many of the films Marilyn Monroe was in - Travilla. While some of the dresses weren't the exact dresses worn by Marilyn Monroe (some were second versions, etc.), we saw the ones that were in her films - the pink dress from Gentleman Prefer Blondes, the gold dress she wore in one of her famous pictorials and the white dress from Some Like It Hot.

Other than that, we didn't do a whole lot other than wander and explore the town. They have a lot of cute shops, most of it overpriced of course, since their biggest $$maker is via tourism. However, we did go into this shop called Hansel and Gretal, which is a Bavarian shop - they have items from Germany, Austria, etc. We all ended up buying something - the shop owner mixes her own essential oils and I could almost pretend to be Maria in The Sound of Music spinning around the hillside. I also purchased some almond honey which is absolutely delicious. Speaking of The Sound of Music, in London there is a sing-a-long show not far from my flat, and I am seriously tempted to go.

Before heading home, we stopped off at Lucknam Park for afternoon tea. Lucknam Park is an estate home that is now a hotel with about 40 rooms. There are multiple gardens, croquet, equestrian riding, etc. It was very much like walking into a Jane Austen book. M knew one of the sous chefs so we were able to tour some of the suites and walk amongst the gardens and learn more about the history of the place. This was truly a highlight for us on the trip.

And I have to admit, ever sense seeing Stonehenge, I just cannot get Spinal Tap out of my head.

Is this the road to Bath?

On Saturday, D, M and I headed out to the country to Bath and decided to stop and see Stonehenge along the way. It was such a glorious day - sunny, 70 and perfect. We had such a great time laughing and telling stories - driving vs. taking the train made such a difference. When you drive to Stonehenge, you go through some pastoral country, etc., and then you can see it from the highway - sort of odd given it's historical significance. Once we arrived, we walked the circle to see it from various angles. I will save the description of what Stonehenge is, etc., but we were so lucky in that it wasn't too crowded and the day was bright and sunny. You cannot get up close to the stones, around it is a small fence so you can't get close - it would be easy to jump the fence and walk up to it but any respectful, smart person wouldn't do so...of course that didn't stop some people and a couple of children were lounging about on the grass - no security, etc., but you'd think the parent's of these brats would be responsible. I am so glad we saw it, it's really amazing but after 30 minutes, one is ready to go.

We then headed onto Bath but realized that the directions we had didn't match the roads we were on. We knew enough to head west, but the roads in England aren't marked very well. So we were driving through a bunch of small towns and every so often we'd have to stop and ask along the way if we were headed in the correct direction..hence the title of my post "is this the road to Bath". I am glad the roads we ended up taking were through the small towns as we really got a sense of the countryside and saw a lot of charming towns, farms, etc. I was really interested in seeing sheep, luckily, D's nose was in fine working order and as we were driving down one of the roads, she announced "I smell sheep" and sure enough, there they were doing what sheep do. Nothing. More on our Bath trip later...

Stupid long queue

D arrived on Friday afternoon and she and W tooled around the city for a little bit while waiting for me to get off work. I think her flight was late so they got to a late start but did make it over to Fortnum and Mason so W could buy some parting gifts for his family. That night, we headed out to E&O for dinner in Notting Hill with a couple of my London friends. We had a great dinner - dim sum, etc., and shared our dishes. It was absolutely delicious, however, the one thing about dining in London that is so annoying is that your table booking is only for a certain time - you have to give up your table after about 2 hours. While that seems like a long time for dinner, when you are with a group of friends you like to linger and have post dinner drinks and catch up. They had us go to the bar at 10 which didn't offer us a ton of time to finish up and head over to the Kensington Roof Gardens before 11. The KRG are located in Kensington, owned by Richard Branson and are above a restaurant called Babylon. Apparently, they are quite beautiful and popular and having secured us on the guest list, I figured it was easy enough to get in. Wrong. When we arrived at 10:30, there were a bunch of people waiting. Like any club in the US, all you need to do is approach the very authoritative, self-important person holding a clipboard and give your name, wait for a sneer and then go in. Not the case here. Apparently, being on the guest list means squat as there was a huge line of people all on the guest list. Being the old people we are, we said "fuck that" and left.

D, W and I proceeded home and had a bottle of champagne, some wine, some cheese and took a bunch of ridiculous photos. In the end, a much better choice then spending a bunch of money on drinks for the privilege of sitting outside I suppose. Hope to get to the KRF before I leave but won't lose any sleep if I miss it. Frankly, do I really want to go somewhere with a stupid long queue?

Sketch

While I am working, W has toured around London on his own. I tought him how to ride the tube, he got himself and Oyster card and he's been fine to navigate around on his own. I think his favorite thing so far has been the Imperial War Rooms which I still haven't seen - and I came across a gallery that has a show featuring photographs of Johnny Cash which he also checked out. That will be on my list for sure.

In any case, last night we had drinks with my friends at Sketch and then had dinner. Sketch is really one of my favorite places - not for the food but for the decor - which is impossible to really describe eloquently. The first thing that hits me to describe it is Alice in Wonderland. In the room we were in, The Glade, the wallpapers has little fairies on it and then there are these lights that rotate around the room with what appear to be red laser dots. Of course the bathrooms are a must visit and this time, each pod had a different soundtrack element inside - one greeted me with a cheering crowd, one was laughing - no porn background this time around. The main dining room - the gallery - is kept pretty dark and along the top half of the room along the wall is a large screen that wraps around the restaurant projecting different images. During the day, it's a regular art gallery and then they switch to the restaurant at night. Their artist rotation is fairly frequent so you never know what you are going to see when you sit for dinner. I was facing the wall so that W could appreciate the full view of the restaurant so I didn't see much. The dinner was good - insanely expensive - they even charged us for bread and butter - that's not normal in the UK - and it was 4.50 BP - about 10USD. Oh, and I am pretty sure we sat next to a guy on a "date" with a professional. But here is my question - why buy her dinner?

Take a moment to look at their website, it has a lot of pictures and it's a good read. http://www.sketch.uk.com/

The Cod

On Tuesday, W and I headed out the The Admiral Codrington in Chelsea (aka “The Cod) which was named after a Edward Codrington the captain of the HMS Orion at the Battle of Trafalgar – a very pivotal event in European History. When you enter, there is the original pub and then there is an outdoor area on the side with tables and then, towards the back of the bar, is a refurbished dining room. All along the center ceiling retractable glass contraption that opens when it’s nice out. I picked it because I drove past it on my way to dinner at Daphne’s last week and liked the looks of it and, when I looked into it, the food was reviewed well and looked pretty traditional so I thought W would like it.

It’s also popular with the “Sloane Rangers” which is a term applied to young, upper class men and woman living in West London. The word came about by combining Sloane Square – a very fashionable/wealthy area in London and then the Lone Ranger (how this was combined, I will never understand, but so be it). There was actually a book written in 1982 and Princess Diana was on the cover as an example of what a Sloane Ranger would be. Basically, the equivalent of a Yuppie/Preppy in the US. (Remember the Preppy Handbook?)

The pub had a mix of people, but I definitely saw some of the wealthier inhabitants of Chelsea in there along with a few regular types. W and I headed over there with a few friends of mine from work for some drinks and ate dinner in the restaurant. W went all the way with fois gras and fish and chips which he said were delicious. Mine was good too but entirely to rich. And there were some very young boys in there drinking a pint – I am talking 15 years old if they were a day. And they reminded me of the boys I went to Hinsdale Central with freshman year at the height of turned up collars and lavender.

Last night, W and I headed over to Harrods for a couple of reasons a) because they have a new Pet Emporium which is HUGE and b) to check out the historic food halls. They also sell pets – they had some very cute Papillon puppies, kittens and bunnies there and they were incredibly expensive – I am talking £1500. Their screening process for adoption is pretty elaborate – someone had inquired and was getting grilled about his background.

The department is much larger than the one I visited last year and I guess the reasoning behind expanding it is because of the “..huge demand for pet fashion.” You would see the requisite Puppia and Juicy stuff but they also had some Swarovski crystal collars that ran upwards £300.I walked away with a wind-up hamster in a ball to torture the girls along with a couple of leashes – wouldn’t really make much sense to buy them stuff I can get in the US for half the price. I liked the Harrods small igloo dog bed, and the price isn’t too far off the US. And they event have pet fitting rooms. I am the first person to admit that I spoil my dogs but fitting rooms are beyond my scope…along with dog prams.

Harrods itself can be a bit of a nightmare – it’s packed, not completely horrible but it’s not really worth shopping for clothes if you are from the US. However the multiple departments are really worth a look if you have the time. There just isn’t anything like it in the US. The toy department is really cute and you can find toys very unique to London without breaking the bank. The Diana/Dodi memorial bronze statue is pretty big and kind of sad – but the strangest thing there is the wax figure of Mohamed Al Fayed in the store. Seeing that put me off a visit to Madam Tussdaud’s – it’s just a little too “Twilight Zone” for me.

The Harrods food halls are absolutely amazing and a must see for anyone visiting London. They are huge, opulent and contain just about everything you could ever need. For example, one large hall has sections of prepared foods for takeaway that can be reheated at home – everything from chicken tikka to sandwiches to lamp kebabs. Huge selection of cheese, wines and then there is the meat/poulty/fish area – not only can you buy pigeon but you can also sit at the oyster bar and have a meal. We picked up some snacks to take over to Hyde Park and sat along the Serpentine and enjoyed a bottle of wine and some great people watching. There really is something to be said for some of the various cultures and the trends in fashion, just inexplicable.

Regents Park, Camden Market and Afternoon Tea

On Sunday, W and I walked up through Regents Park with intention of going to the zoo. Wonderful sunny day, quite hot but a nice long walk. I just can't get over how beautiful the parks are here, they are kept impeccably and no garbage like you see in NY or Chicago. I wish we had something similar. Once we got to the zoo, it was 17quid which equates to about $35, as much as I love animals, it just didn't seem worth it.

Instead, we walked up to Camden and hit the market. Probably not something I need to do again but am very glad we went through it. Mostly clothes, some tourist crap but I did come across a small booth selling music and I bought a couple of CDs - one of which was a Chicago hometown DJ - Mark Farina and something else by Miguel Migs - Coast2Coast. It's from the nightclub Fabric here in London and they have their own music label. http://www.fabriclondon.com/label/home.php

We then headed over to The Mandarin Oriental for afternoon tea on their terrace - such a perfect day, right in this small garden along Hyde Park. My friend M came to join us and we sat outside for a few hours. I just love the clotted cream here - you just cannot replicate those cows in the US. I was able to get a snapshot of the terrace below.

The one thing about this time of year in London that is interesting, is the number of people here from the Middle East. Apparently, it's very common for them to holiday hear during July/August because it's so hot at home, so they come here to escape it. The gobs of beautiful cars, women decked out it the most amazing fabrics, bags, etc., is incredible. I was at Harvey Nichols and was definitely in the minority of these wealthy people...sigh.

Big Poppa

W arrive Saturday morning safe and sound and we had breakfast at The Villandry and set out on our day along with N. We took the tube to my favorite market – Borough Market at London Bridge. Bought some gorgeous fruit and had my favorite falafel. The queue (can't say line here) for the falafel guy is always long but it moves fast and of course after your first bite it is totally worth it. We went to the Tate Modern and I was very happy to see one of my favorite video installations – Meat Joy – was there. I seriously don’t know why I like it so much – it’s quite disturbing but pretty funny. The context of it being created in 1964 and so…well, judge for yourself as I was happy to find it on YouTube.




I was a little disappointed some of the other pieces I enjoyed so much weren’t there as they rotate their collection pretty frequently. By the way, those of you in NY should go to MoMA and check out the current Dali and Film exhibit and Quarta-Feira de Cinzas/Epilogue – a video installation. Last year when I was at the Tate Modern I really loved seeing these and strongly recommend a visit.

However, a few that stuck out were Susan Hiller’s “Psi Girls” and Paul McCarthy’s “Projection Room”. The article below describes the “Psi Girls” piece better than I could ever hope to and the McCarthy piece….well, he is an interesting fella. It was a video installation on multiple screens – one image was him in a monkey mask, naked, jumping up and down, the other was him in a filthy tub – naked. But I have to tell you, it was pretty fascinating, I was glued to the screen for a bit, kind of grossed out but appreciated the creativity.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_12_89/ai_80747850

My other favorite piece was called “Inflammatory Essays: by Jenny Holzer. Basically, on one side of the wall in a gallery, there are all of these perfect squares in varying colors. Each square has a different essay, I believe there were about 8 different essays, but it was hard to stay and read all of them. I recommend checking it out and it's easy to read each of the essays from the Tate Modern’s website:

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=1307&page=1



"The essays present a range of provocative statements which were inspired by the texts of political theorists, religious fanatics and impassioned “folk” literature. Since childhood, Holzer has been interested in ‘rapturous writing’ and wanted to write ‘ecstasy, fantastic things’. Each essay has exactly 100 words in twenty lines and Holzer uses this rigid format to explore a range of extreme ideas. She questions the viewer’s response by setting fanatical statements against the certainties of common opinion. The Essays were fly posted across NYC. "

After N left, we wound down our day and went and had dinner at one of my favorite places, Rasa Sumudra. Indian food in London is so delicious and I wish I could clone Rasa and bring it to Chicago. We had a superb feast and then headed over to the Charlotte Hotel for a nightcap. I was very impressed that W was able to stay up until midnight.

Hallo Kitty

Last night, my friend N drove in from Windsor to have dinner. N has been over here for the past few months on a work assignment and doesn't get into London very much. It was good to catch up with her and I look forward to her being back in Chicago soon. We walked over to Roka (yes, I walked a whole half mile in my big shoes and didn't trip once) which is over on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia. It's a great little area, there are a bunch of restaurants and pubs, quite lively. I've been there before to the Charlotte Hotel and to Rasa Sumudra, so it wasa nice to try something else. Roka is a very cool place, very tough to get into but I was able to secure us a spot in the lounge - Shochu - which is beneath the restaurant. It's Japanese so we had the obligatory edamame, tempura, maki, etc., and we both tried their specialty, obviously, Shochu. N had one with rhubarb, sparkling water, lemon and shochu and I had one called the "Hallo Kitty" (spelling is correct btw) which is raspberry, lemon, rose petals and shochu. The 8-year old in me loved the bottle and they were kind enough to give it to me as a keepsake.

The girls are now staying with D and seem to be settling in well. I miss them so much but know they will be loved and taken care of. Of course they immediately got in bed, Ella jumped on the pillows so she was higher than the other dogs (little alpha) and Chloe and Idgy hung out on the end. I am certain D won't get much sleep with the constant wrestling of Idgy and Chloe.

Strange Days

Well, today has been a very interesting day indeed. Since my last post, I’ve been lying low trying to manage my jet lag with working US and London hours. On Tuesday, I had dinner at Daphne’s with Tiggy and had a great time – no Pierce Brosnan sitings this time, unfortunately, but they gave us the best table in the restaurant and it was the perfect night. The weather here has been great, so much better than last year.

This morning, my front buzzer rang and it was a policeman. After I made him show is badge on the video monitor, I let him in. Surprisingly, he rang my doorbell. Of course having done nothing wrong, I immediately felt guilty – as if watching Weeds last night automatically made me a drug dealer or something So, I answered and he asked for a someone else. I explained that I was a new renter and that he should contact the lettings office.. Being curious, and a bit scared, I asked him what the reason why was. Apparently, there had been a crime in the building and they had collected DNA/fingerprints from all the tenants at the time. The person in my flat before me didn’t leave a clear fingerprint and they needed a different one. He added I had nothing to worry about and apologized for disturbing me.

Before I left, I had to take out the trash. Normally, you leave your garbage on the street. In this building, you have to bring your items down to the basement. When I went down to the basement, I was instantly creeped out and the trash bin area reminded me of the final scene in The Blair Witch Project. No way I was going down there again.

I then called my building to inquire about what had happened and was told that there had been a “serious crime” committed in the basement and that the police were still investigating the situation. The person in question had fled to Yemen so they were still working on the case and “don’t worry”.

At lunch today, I mentioned it to my friend, A, and he mentioned a recent case in my area involving a Danish socialite getting murder and the suspect was from Yemen. After a quick Google search, I learned that indeed that a Norwegian woman had been murdered and found in the basement of my building under a pile of rocks. The main suspect was a man living here from Yemen, he fled the UK the day after the murder and, because his father is a very wealthy man and the UK has no extradition arrangement with Yemen, they can’t interview him, file official charges etc.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3570999.ece


Later this evening, I was with a friend for drinks and I received a call from my dad. As many of you know, I am not very close to my dad nor do I see him very often – but he is still my dad and I love him. My father was calling to tell me that he had been going through chemo for the past two months for esophageal cancer… but that it was all gone now. Why he didn’t call to tell me is a mystery, but he referenced what I had gone through with my mom and didn’t want to bother me. Frankly, I am still in shock and don’t know what to think…but he’s such a strange man, I can’t say that it totally surprises me that he wouldn’t mention it. At least it is gone and his health is good.

London Arrival!

So I have landed safe and sound in London and had a pretty good flight. Somehow, I managed to sleep most of it but still woke up groggy. My flat is good, not as charming as the one I had last year but it’s in Marylebone and a few steps away from a tube stop, has a gym in the building and plenty of space. The only downside is that it is a little quiet around here. I didn’t have any hot water and the bedsheets were horrendous but that’s all been taken care of.

My first course of action for the day was to get my place stocked with the necessities such as soap, food, wine, etc., so I headed out to take care of everything. I just love the Whole Foods here, if I was interested in actually cooking meals from scratch the various ethnic ingredients they carry here are amazing. I ended up running into someone I knew believe it or not so that was nice.

My day would not have been complete without a visit to my favorite place – La Fromagerie. The thing I love about it is that it’s all locals – perhaps a smattering of visiting Europeans but it is way off the the tourist radar. So imagine my surprise when I was seated next to two American woman who looked straight out of Walmart in Nebraska. Since it’s communal seating, I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation – the cadence of their voices and the things they talked about reminded me of something – and then it hit me, they sounded JUST like Anna Gaysteyer and Molly Shannon’s skit with Alec Baldwin “Schwetty Balls”. If you haven’t seen it before, you definitely should watch it because it is hilarious.