Thursday 31 May 2007

Food for thought…

Realizing that I’ve been in the UK a year (Amy a skosh longer), I find it interesting how we’ve slowly adapted.

We’ve grown accustomed to living in Central London, with its noise and utilization of mass transit. Not to mention the walking.

Although I only cycle (commuting 1-2 times a week to work) traveling on the left side of the road is becoming second nature. Did I mention the walking?

Certain phrases have crept into our daily vernacular. (Another post, another time)

And then there’s the walking.


My sister and her husband arrive for a 10 day visit this Friday, and knowing that there will be several more visitors in the coming months perhaps it might be of use to supply a series of a Public Service Announcements.

Today let us discuss culinary quirks. Not the preparation, but rather what is what.

I won’t bore everyone with the obvious chips are fries, crisps are chips, biscuits are cookies rhetoric. Although located in Victoria Station one can visit Millie’s Cookies and partake in their gooey baked offerings especially Toffee/Chocolate or White Chocolate or…

Note to self: Pick up cookies on way home tonight.

Apologies, I digress.

Carrots are called carrots, corn is called corn (although in the UK it tends to show up in sandwiches more than I would care for it), and tomatoes are called… nevermind. However, cross the Atlantic and eggplant become aubergine and zucchini becomes courgette. I was always indifferent on the zucchini-squash debate, but request squash and you will receive a beverage consisting of fruit juice and fizzy water.

Prawns are obviously shrimp, but if you order scampi and were expecting grilled/sautéed crustacean drenched in garlic butter you’ll be disappointed when you receive what is best described as Shrimp McNuggets.

At breakfast, bacon is more like a ham steak, and don’t ask for jelly, because you’ll receive Jell-O. Stick with jam as it is… well… it’s jam. Quite nice combined with clotted cream on scones, but that’s tea, not breakfast. Again… I digress.

Lastly a word about Marmite. Make that two words: No thanks. However, if you feel the urge to sample the processed yeast extract left over from the beer making process (think brown goo at the bottom of the barrel), then by all means, go for it. Just remember to spread it thinly over previously applied butter.

This by no means was meant as derogatory, as I truly enjoy traditional British cuisine. Shame I couldn't touch on more, but if you choose to try some Bubble and Squeak or a Toad in the Hole may I highly recommend finishing it off with a Spotted Dick.

Bon Appetit.

Friday through Monday 25-28 May 2007

This being a Bank Holiday Weekend (we get Monday off) we hopped on a train and headed to the English Riviera, a portion of southwest England in South Devon. The quiet harbour town of Torquay was our destination which is not only known for being the birthplace of Agatha Christie, but also the site of Gleneagles Hotel which was John Cleese’s inspiration for the sitcom Fawlty Towers.

Our “home” for the weekend was a turn of the century hotel with a great view of the Torbay harbour making it the perfect base for a much needed period of rest and relaxation.

Saturday we took a harbour cruise to Dartmouth passing the villages of Paignton and Brixham, as well as, the scenic South Devon coastline.

While in Dartmouth, we had an excellent lunch in the Royal Castle Hotel, est. 1630, and also found time to sample the wares at Dartmouth’s oldest pub, the Seven Stars. We decided that we really need to come back and re-visit as the short time we spent there wasn’t nearly enough (the town that is… not the pub).

Filling in the rest of the trip were Devon Cream Teas (complete with scones and clotted cream of course), an adult beverage or two, and the occasional nap.

A much needed recharging.

Thursday 24 May 2007

We saw on the news that for the next two days Trafalgar Square was to be covered in grass as part of a publicity plan to bring attention to the “Green” areas within Central London. We decided to check it out.

Honestly… I was a tad disappointed as I was expecting the WHOLE Square to be covered, but it turned out to be only the area between the fountains. Still, as you can see, it drew bunches and bunches of people.

Click here for the whole story

Wednesday 23 May 2007

Role Reversals…

Fear not… this isn’t a post about how we are trying to put some oomph back into our marriage, but rather how I ended up spending almost a week away from London on a business trip while Amy stayed home.

Last Thursday I flew out to Kalunborg, Denmark (an industrial/port town about 75 miles west of Copenhagen) for what was intended to be a 2-3 day assessment in a supplier’s fabrication plant. Mix in some product anomalies and a procedural snafu causing severe delays, throw in 12-13 hour days through the weekend, some stressful high profile decision making (still haven’t figured how I got involved with THAT), and then simmer for seven days, and there you have my week.

However… I did discover Leffe Dark, a VERY nice Belgian beer that if I can find it in London will be in my top two beers of choice, joining Fuller’s ESB ale.

Oh… and I did have a pastry.

My turn: It was quite a turn this week - and a bit lonely, I must say. I took advantage of the beautiful London weather this week and did a bit of walking about the city. Read a few books and watched a movie or two. Found myself wandering into the National Portrait Gallery this weekend and even had a few meals out on my own. Skipped the cemetaries and the smoky pubs. Can't wait for 1st of July when London becomes smoke free in all public establishments. That means "sneeze free" for me...

Tuesday 15 May 2007

Can youuuu feel the love tonight?

Well? Can you??

Tonight we made it back out to Covent Garden to take in a show, this time seeing the Broadway production of The Lion King. It was playing at the Lyceum Theatre which was built in 1834, although a theatre has been on this site since 1765. OK… your trivia for the day: In 1802 the Lyceum was the site of Madame Tussaud’s initial display of waxworks. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog. The Lion King itself has been playing this theatre since 1999!!

Anyway… it occurred to me during the pre-show conversation with Amy and her friend Elizabeth, that I hadn’t even seen the movie, so it would all be new to me. Amy had seen the musical before so she knew to choose seats on the aisle (not to mention 6 rows from the front, thankyouverymuch).

The grand entrance at the beginning was by far (to me anyway) the most impressive scene of the evening with the procession of all the “animals” coming through the aisles toward the stage. The costumes, which were a combination of wardrobe and puppeteering, stole the show. Not that the singing and the music weren’t entertaining, mind you, it just seems I was drawn more to trying to figure out how they made their costumes “work” than listening to the performance. Visually stimulating? Yeah, you could say so.

Still, all in all, a very enjoyable evening.

Saturday 12 May 2007

Three down and four to go, as I wandered into South London, actually the Borough of Southwark to see another of seven original Victorian garden cemeteries, Nunhead.

Opened in 1840, Nunhead was not as “glamorous” as the other two I’ve visited as there weren’t any of the large family vaults and far fewer large monuments. Yet, I found exploring this one far more enjoyable. Access to some of the more remote spots were via “paths” through the bramble, overgrowth and fallen trees.


It also seemed that more monuments here were in far worse shape and fallen over than in Highgate and Kensel Green, but to me, strange as it sounds, this added to its character.

Saturday through Monday, 5-7 May 2007

Amy is still in the States, and because it is a three day Bank Holiday weekend, my Houston KBR work mate, Marty (who has been working in Paris) came to see London…

One

Pub

At

A

Time

Three days, the basic sights, a bit of culture at the Tate Britain and sixTEEN different pubs later I think Marty probably saw more of London than he bargained for, especially the guest of honour of a travelling stagger (bachelor party) of RAF lads that we ran into at two different pubs on Saturday. Just another boring day at the pub...

Saturday 28 April 2007

Never… EVER… Would I have thought that I would have some of these opportunities. Here I was on a Friday night sitting at a sidewalk table, having a beer, sampling some antipasto and watching people stroll by the Leaning Tower of Pisa!

While Amy was preparing for her two week business trip to Houston , I decided to make a quick day trip to Pisa , Italy (boy… does that sound pretentious or what?). I won’t lie to you, other than the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles), there’s not much else to see in Pisa (trust me I tried), but STILL!!

A little background… The Field of Miracles (actually the Piazza del Duomo) is a large area of Pisa that contains the Duomo (cathedral), its Baptistery, the Bell Tower (the one that leans) and the Camposanto (monumental cemetery).

Getting there first thing on Saturday morning, I was part of the initial group of the day to climb the Tower. The 185 ft. climb wasn’t so tough, but you really can feel the tilt, especially as you near the top. The one thing I found interesting was just how worn the marble steps have become after “only” 700+ years of use.

The Baptistery, dedicated to St. John the Baptist is basically a large building that houses the baptismal font. The immenseness of the interior really isn’t captured in the pictures. It is difficult to fathom that the font and the pulpit were both constructed in the 13th century.

I was actually quite disappointed with the Camposanto (seeing that I’m on a cemetery kick lately). It seems that most of the original Roman monuments and frescos have been removed and relocated to other museums.

Last but not least was the Duomo itself. While the Leaning Tower gets all the attention, it is the Duomo that is the centerpiece of the piazza. While maybe not as ornate as the cathedrals in Rome , you have to realize it was built almost 500 years beforehand. As in the Baptistery, there was a very intricately sculpted pulpit. As always it seems, photos just don’t do these justice.