Ok, May flew...and the last few days have been spectacular. England in great weather is beautiful.
Ava was off school this week so we hung out, caught up on some house stuff (we are now sporting cable; it actually works). Installed by a surly gentleman who reeked of cigarettes and coffee (he kept disappearing to his van during his 4 hour installation stint so I'm assuming he was refueling).
He also just plain reeked but since he actually set about doing the cable job, who's complaining? Plus he opened all the windows in the house...
The BT engineer was here for hours this week, too, but he left without solving the internet problem. (Why BT had to cancel broadband when it was happily minding its own business and working is beyond me.) His recommendation as I was again left high and dry without internet access: cancel and call Sky (competitor).
This I did promptly. So we begin again...
However, I've gotten no less than 8 calls from BT technical help trying to track me down to "help" me. I wonder when their own activations dept. will tell them we cancelled?!? I've already informed at least three of them.
Ava and I hit the zoo on Friday with some friends from her school -- great day for it. Big news: warthogs had babies. They're as cute as a warthog can be, I guess. Poor buggers were hot; no doubt heat in London is a rarity for them, so they were well and truly wallowing in the mud.
To end the week Joe and I had incredibly good steak at a little French restaurant near his office. We haven't eaten much good red meat since...well, really since Texas, which of course has the corner on good, big food.
BUT our little French spot was fabulous, with intimate, wood interior in sight of the kitchen, great service and a baby artichoke appetizer that was out of this world.
Yesterday we headed to the butterfly exhibit at the Natural History Museum per Claire's request. It's set in the front yard of the museum with numerous varieties of butterflies and moths flitting about. A big crysalis display is featured in the middle, so you can see the creatures as they "hatch" and are later turned loose.
Snakes, scorpions, hairy tarantulas, a variety of bugs and other assorted creatures were also featured in the exhibit (these fellows were caged, thankfully). Outside the exhibit is a playground and picnic area, nice way to cap off the outing.
Oh and we stopped at Whole Foods on the way home. I hadn't set foot in Whole Foods, again, since leaving Texas. What fun what fun! Claire and I sampled our way through, left with a couple items (must be careful at WF or you leave half your bank account and walk away with 2 grocery bags).
Today we hit the Spanish Festival for a couple of hours. Regent Street was shut down for flamenco dancing, horse dancing, food sampling, face painting, caricatures, etc. Kids enjoyed the latter activities most. We also left with all kinds of travel info on Spain. Plenty of lovely destinations to check out when the weather turns south here.
Last night I managed to saw through my index finger so spent half the night trying to convince it not to throb. This morning it wasn't much better, this afternoon it seems more agreeable. I have of course convinced myself it does not need medical attention; an iodine wipe and some neosporin solve everything, don't they? (Lord knows I'm caught up on tetanus and every other booster out there.)
Speaking of shots, sounds like we need one for swine flu. A "mild" case was reported at Claire's school this week, so it's clearly making the rounds. Bird flu, swine flu, what's next?
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Aldeburgh, internet challenges, Ancient Britain...
Hello from Aldeburgh, England
Well I'm way behind on blogging, aren't I? Must say I don't have a great excuse other than trying to do too much in too little time, but that's fairly typical for everybody these days, I guess.
Now that we're AWAY from it all (in Aldeburgh, a little coastal town in Suffolk, a couple hours from London), I can actually take a minute to write.
This is a lovely place, 2,500 inhabitants in winter, swelling to 12,000 in summer. Little cottages line the windy streets and go up the hills overlooking the coast, which is full of rocks that in my mind are larger than pebbles. (They call it a pebble beach.)
It's windy, of course, and cool, and I'm sure the water will be cold to our toes (we're planning to dip them in today). Yesterday we sat out on the rocks and enjoyed the view and the kids' energy as they ran back and forth looking for the "right" 4 rocks to bring home. (One must put limits on these things or the luggage will weigh more than we do.)
Fishing boats and fish stands are here there and everywhere along the windy coast, and plenty of people are out and about flying kites and playing along the water. What a contrast from India's beach, where heat meets water.
We left a sunny London, took the train to Saxmundem, then cabbed it a short way to the fine Wentworth Hotel. Our cabbie said it's a traditional English Inn, frequented by people who've been coming for years upon years, some still coming even after they've passed. Food: adequate. He gave us the two minute tour of town (it's a one main streeter).
We checked in and headed out on foot to check the lay of the land, first stop being the North Sea. Very much a breath of fresh air. We headed through town and stopped for ice cream at the most popular shop around: the ice cream place. (Line half way down the block.) (There were also lines around the block for the fresh fish and chips shops.)
Claire ordered her standby: lemon sorbet. I had a chocolate crunch that was missing the chocolate (huh?), Ava had chocolate mint, Joe banana fudge (again light on the chocolate). We checked the rest of Aldeburgh out, then had refreshments at the hotel bar (doesn't that sound so British) and dinner at the hotel restaurant. Our driver was spot on; we were clearly among the younger crowd.
Day two in Aldeburgh was fabulously lazy; Joe and I each headed out, taking turns exploring before the kids got moving, then had breakfast at the hotel. And from there we spent 3 hours on the coast. Kids pored over the pebbles, donned swim suits and checked out the water temp. (Frigid.)
Eventually I was convinced to leave my sunny spot and we wandered through town, had ice cream again, this time before lunch. Why not?!? Then down to the wharf to check out a tower (couldn't go in though). And we landed on a Michelin listed restaurant for a late lunch. Superb fish and asparagus.
Then onto our hotel for a bit of regrouping...the bath tub is the longest I've ever bathed in (love love love baths). We then enjoyed a bit of time in the main part of the hotel (we're in the annex across the street, which is supposed to have family rooms vs. smaller ones at the property itself -- maybe it's code for "let's keep the noisy people off site.)
Anyway, some cards and Ava's purple nail polish later...we ate dinner at the hotel again (why not? It was included in our stay...). Great duck I must say.
Lovely day. Following a good, busy week...and what did we do last week? Bit of a blur but what stands out:
- Lipchitz art exhibit on Tuesday night. A curator from the Tate museum lectured and walked us through drawings and studies at the Ben Uri Gallery in St. Johns Wood. More than 150 of Lipchitz’s works spanning 60 years are featured there. (Lipchitz was a Lithuanian-born sculptor and “pioneer of Cubist sculpture in Paris.”)
Many of the drawings were studies for very well known sculptures in the U.S. and in Israel. The curator discussed how his art changed over the years, how it was influenced by other artists, political events, religion, etc. from when he began in 1910.
Very worthwhile experience, and apparently the gallery expects to move into a larger space near the National Portrait Gallery and other frequented museums/tourist destinations. Their focus will continue to be on immigrant artists, many with a Jewish background like Lipchitz.
- On Wed. I headed off with my Ancient Britain class to Butser Ancient Farm, south of London, for a tour by working archeologist. The bus trip there wound us through London and eventually into the crisp, green countryside. Butser is gorgeous -- farmland area, verdant green hills surrounding a spot with roundhouses recreated from what is perceived to be farm homes from the Iron Age.
Our guide was an impassioned, energetic man with wild salt and pepper hair who moved quickly and spoke eloquently about all the projects he's been working on at the farm. Among them: a number of roundhouses he and others have built, using materials from the areas upon which roundhouse remnants have been found (various areas in England and Wales).
Some have roofs made w/ reeds, others with straw, for example). Mud daub walls, chalk floors (chalk is commonly found in the soil here and in other areas around England.) He showed us where he'd dug holes for grain storage, as would have been done during the Iron Age. Sheep from the time period are raised on the farm, fed with “ancient” grains. (That sounds tasty, doesn’t it?)
Inside the houses are no windows, just a single door, generally facing east, with thatch thick enough for protection yet thin enough to let smoke seep out (holes in the roof would lead to leaks and/or fires). One of the houses was "furnished" as it would have been then -- some spinning tools, grain pounding implements, shelves for pottery, etc.
The last structure we toured was a Roman villa from more recent times, featuring an under-floor heating system.
From Butser we headed off to lunch at the Red Lion pub, which had a warm ambience with plenty of wooden furniture and a big table to seat all of us. I had a fabulous lamb pie with superb potatoes and onions. A warm, satisfying meal after a breezy couple of hours wandering about the farm felt just right.
Friday evening Joe and I met up for theatre -- Sunset Boulevard at the Comedy Theatre. While it wasn’t our favorite, the performance was excellent, the twisted Hollywood plot kept us engaged and we had great seats. We ended our evening with a bite to eat at a nearby Italian cafe.
The prior week...(May 11 onward)
Ai yai yai…I have been booted off the internet again by BT (British Telecom). Boobs. Sometime in the next millennium we’ll have cable and wireless internet. The former I could live without, the latter is a bit of a lifeline these days, especially as we’re going on 7 months out of country.
If and when we get back online you’ll be the first to know.
May 11 was a delightful day – I dissed rug unrolling and all that jazz to join the ladies for a special tour of Spencer House (think Lady Di – it was built by her ancestor, the first Earl Spencer).
The house is recognized as “one of the most ambitious aristocratic town houses ever built in London and is, today, the city's only great eighteenth-century private palace to survive intact.”
Spencer House was built in 1756-66 and is located near St James's Palace, Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster, with a lovely view of Green Park (this I can attest to – the views into the park from various rooms are gorgeous – lovely “back yard” with beautiful, huge trees).
House info per the Web:
The first architect of Spencer House was John Vardy (a pupil of William Kent), who used the Palladian style. He was responsible for the external elevations of Spencer House and the design of the ground floor rooms as well assome of the furniture.
James 'Athenian' Stuart, who’d just returned from Greece, superseded Vardy as Lord Spencer's architect in 1758. Thus the House became the first example in London of accurate Greek detail in its interior, making it one of the pioneer examples of neo-classical architecture.
Spencer House was designed to be used for receptions and family gatherings, as the first Earl Spencer and his wife were prominent figures in London society, and during their lifetime Spencer House was often the setting for lavish entertainments. Their descendants, notably the fourth and sixth Earls, both of whom served as Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household, continued this tradition.
Following the death of the first Earl Spencer in 1783 the House was partly remodeled.
The Spencer family lived in the House until 1895 when the building was let to a series of tenants, including the Duke of Marlborough and his wife, the former Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt. Following the death of the fifth Earl Spencer in 1910 the family returned to the House and in 1926 the building was substantially restored. A year later the family moved away and the House was let to the Ladies' Army and Navy Club until 1943.
The contents of the House were removed to Althorp and in 1942, at the height of the Blitz, valuable original fixtures such as chimneypieces, doors and chair rails were removed. During the war the House was occupied by nursing services, and in 1948 a lease was signed with the auctioneers Christies's (their property was bomb-damaged).
The House was then converted into offices for the British Oxygen Company (from the Vanderbilts to the Oxygen company – whoa!). In 1963 the Economist Intelligence Unit moved to Spencer House until 1985, when the lease was assigned to J.Rothschild Holdings and to RIT Capital Partners.
The House has since been restored, complete with carved architectural detail, chimneypieces and copies of original furniture. A wide array of paintings – some provided to the House by the Queen (prior to Diana’s death) are featured.
A select number of functions are held each year at Spencer House, and part of the building is used for offices. The public can schedule tours, like we did, and I think the House is open for a couple of hours on Sundays.
- On Tuesday I had lunch w/ the International Culture Committee’s cuisine club – it was their last event for the year as the ICC breaks for summer. Great finale – we met at a Greek woman’s flat for incredible Greek food. Highlights: fried meatballs, pita and traditional dips, spanikopata (sp?), fresh Feta, of course a lovely Greek salad…it went on and on.
The entertainment, too, was great fun and quite a surprise – a gorgeous woman in fancy red costume belly danced. She pulled members of the club in to dance with her, which was a hoot. I was selected to balance a sword on my head while the rest of me wiggled and jiggled to the music. Let’s just say I was successful at balancing the sword, not sure if any of my flesh actually moved to the beat.
Wednesday marked my first online grocery store delivery – free since I met the 100 pound mark. Worked great, will do that again – it was a “general goods” stock up – no meat, cheese or produce (that stuff, I do believe, needs to be selected by hand…I need to decide if the tomato looks worthy of purchasing.). Plus frankly I like to grocery shop for those things – TP and paper towels, who cares?
Friday my outing was a visit to the Dulwich Picture Gallery with a friend. We went to see Sickert in Venice, which was a great exhibit, in town until early June. A bus ride wound us through town to a great little gallery off the beaten path, featuring Walter Richard Sickert, one of the “the most important British artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”
Known as the father of modern British art; he introduced Impressionism and Post-Impressionism to a younger generation of British painters. Sickert trained under James McNeill Whistler.
Per the name of the exhibit, it featured many of his Venetian works as he’d visited the city many times and painted many scenes of Venetian architecture. Apparently the churches and bridges lost a little of their lustre as Sickert moved onto painting prostitutes…also featured in the exhibit.
And after lunch at a French café we made our way back to SJW.
Joe and I had a date that evening, as he’d returned from a week in the U.S. earlier in the day. We opted for dinner at Gilgamesh, where I’m convinced I’d had the best sea bass of my life a couple weeks earlier.
We had the tasting menu:
Edamame Beans with Sea Salt
Selection of Sushi and Sashimi
Chicken Croquettes
Prawn Spring Roll
Scallop Sui Mai
Asian Spiced Rack of Lamb
Hoba Miso Chilean Seabass
Chicken and Papaya Salad
Stir Fried Asian Greens
Crab Fried Rice
Gilgamesh Dessert Platter
It was delicious. And great ambience – Asian influenced, warm with great lighting, mixed crowd.
On Saturday Claire and I headed off to Windsor for the Royal Windsor horse show, which she was EXTREMELY interested in attending. We went early, took the train from Waterloo. It was a cool, breezy day but rain-free for the most part. The grounds are near the castle, which greeted us as we left the train station. It’s huge and lovely – another day we’ll have a Windsor Castle experience.
After wandering past that landmark we made our way to the grounds, which featured three arenas, booths (plenty of food and drink options, horse related products, cheese, wine, clothes, paintings, jewelry, etc.), sponsor displays (British armed forces were all over the place) and plenty of horses, horsewomen and horsemen.
The Castle arena was the largest venue; we watched jumping competitions for a couple hours, then checked out the practice area and watched the carriage races. (Teams pulled carriages with a driver and one person as a “moving weight” on back through an obstacle course. Near us was a series of turns/bridges the carriages had to move through as quickly as possible before racing to the finish. Teams from around Europe were featured.
For the jumping competitions, most riders were from the UK, several members of the Olympic team and/or offspring of Olympians.
In one area showmanship competitions were taking place with Welsh ponies, gorgeous with their long wavy tails and shiny black coats.
One of the jumping events featured a wall that was raised after each round, riders eliminated after knocking the top piece off. The winner cleared 7+ feet.
Great experience, such a contrast to the western horsemanship style I’ve been exposed to.
And in other news of the week…I got to escort first graders throughout the streets of SJW to practice street safety, wise skills for all in this city. In addition to driving on the other side of the road, cars move at a very rapid pace and the pedestrian ONLY has right of way at zebra crossings and lights. So Look Out!
I leave you with this anecdote, which may not be amusing to you, but I had a chuckle:
Last week a delivery person left a box at my door, then run to his unmarked van. I asked where he came from (meaning which company); he replied without hesitating “Hungary.” DSL, Hungary, fed ex…
Well I'm way behind on blogging, aren't I? Must say I don't have a great excuse other than trying to do too much in too little time, but that's fairly typical for everybody these days, I guess.
Now that we're AWAY from it all (in Aldeburgh, a little coastal town in Suffolk, a couple hours from London), I can actually take a minute to write.
This is a lovely place, 2,500 inhabitants in winter, swelling to 12,000 in summer. Little cottages line the windy streets and go up the hills overlooking the coast, which is full of rocks that in my mind are larger than pebbles. (They call it a pebble beach.)
It's windy, of course, and cool, and I'm sure the water will be cold to our toes (we're planning to dip them in today). Yesterday we sat out on the rocks and enjoyed the view and the kids' energy as they ran back and forth looking for the "right" 4 rocks to bring home. (One must put limits on these things or the luggage will weigh more than we do.)
Fishing boats and fish stands are here there and everywhere along the windy coast, and plenty of people are out and about flying kites and playing along the water. What a contrast from India's beach, where heat meets water.
We left a sunny London, took the train to Saxmundem, then cabbed it a short way to the fine Wentworth Hotel. Our cabbie said it's a traditional English Inn, frequented by people who've been coming for years upon years, some still coming even after they've passed. Food: adequate. He gave us the two minute tour of town (it's a one main streeter).
We checked in and headed out on foot to check the lay of the land, first stop being the North Sea. Very much a breath of fresh air. We headed through town and stopped for ice cream at the most popular shop around: the ice cream place. (Line half way down the block.) (There were also lines around the block for the fresh fish and chips shops.)
Claire ordered her standby: lemon sorbet. I had a chocolate crunch that was missing the chocolate (huh?), Ava had chocolate mint, Joe banana fudge (again light on the chocolate). We checked the rest of Aldeburgh out, then had refreshments at the hotel bar (doesn't that sound so British) and dinner at the hotel restaurant. Our driver was spot on; we were clearly among the younger crowd.
Day two in Aldeburgh was fabulously lazy; Joe and I each headed out, taking turns exploring before the kids got moving, then had breakfast at the hotel. And from there we spent 3 hours on the coast. Kids pored over the pebbles, donned swim suits and checked out the water temp. (Frigid.)
Eventually I was convinced to leave my sunny spot and we wandered through town, had ice cream again, this time before lunch. Why not?!? Then down to the wharf to check out a tower (couldn't go in though). And we landed on a Michelin listed restaurant for a late lunch. Superb fish and asparagus.
Then onto our hotel for a bit of regrouping...the bath tub is the longest I've ever bathed in (love love love baths). We then enjoyed a bit of time in the main part of the hotel (we're in the annex across the street, which is supposed to have family rooms vs. smaller ones at the property itself -- maybe it's code for "let's keep the noisy people off site.)
Anyway, some cards and Ava's purple nail polish later...we ate dinner at the hotel again (why not? It was included in our stay...). Great duck I must say.
Lovely day. Following a good, busy week...and what did we do last week? Bit of a blur but what stands out:
- Lipchitz art exhibit on Tuesday night. A curator from the Tate museum lectured and walked us through drawings and studies at the Ben Uri Gallery in St. Johns Wood. More than 150 of Lipchitz’s works spanning 60 years are featured there. (Lipchitz was a Lithuanian-born sculptor and “pioneer of Cubist sculpture in Paris.”)
Many of the drawings were studies for very well known sculptures in the U.S. and in Israel. The curator discussed how his art changed over the years, how it was influenced by other artists, political events, religion, etc. from when he began in 1910.
Very worthwhile experience, and apparently the gallery expects to move into a larger space near the National Portrait Gallery and other frequented museums/tourist destinations. Their focus will continue to be on immigrant artists, many with a Jewish background like Lipchitz.
- On Wed. I headed off with my Ancient Britain class to Butser Ancient Farm, south of London, for a tour by working archeologist. The bus trip there wound us through London and eventually into the crisp, green countryside. Butser is gorgeous -- farmland area, verdant green hills surrounding a spot with roundhouses recreated from what is perceived to be farm homes from the Iron Age.
Our guide was an impassioned, energetic man with wild salt and pepper hair who moved quickly and spoke eloquently about all the projects he's been working on at the farm. Among them: a number of roundhouses he and others have built, using materials from the areas upon which roundhouse remnants have been found (various areas in England and Wales).
Some have roofs made w/ reeds, others with straw, for example). Mud daub walls, chalk floors (chalk is commonly found in the soil here and in other areas around England.) He showed us where he'd dug holes for grain storage, as would have been done during the Iron Age. Sheep from the time period are raised on the farm, fed with “ancient” grains. (That sounds tasty, doesn’t it?)
Inside the houses are no windows, just a single door, generally facing east, with thatch thick enough for protection yet thin enough to let smoke seep out (holes in the roof would lead to leaks and/or fires). One of the houses was "furnished" as it would have been then -- some spinning tools, grain pounding implements, shelves for pottery, etc.
The last structure we toured was a Roman villa from more recent times, featuring an under-floor heating system.
From Butser we headed off to lunch at the Red Lion pub, which had a warm ambience with plenty of wooden furniture and a big table to seat all of us. I had a fabulous lamb pie with superb potatoes and onions. A warm, satisfying meal after a breezy couple of hours wandering about the farm felt just right.
Friday evening Joe and I met up for theatre -- Sunset Boulevard at the Comedy Theatre. While it wasn’t our favorite, the performance was excellent, the twisted Hollywood plot kept us engaged and we had great seats. We ended our evening with a bite to eat at a nearby Italian cafe.
The prior week...(May 11 onward)
Ai yai yai…I have been booted off the internet again by BT (British Telecom). Boobs. Sometime in the next millennium we’ll have cable and wireless internet. The former I could live without, the latter is a bit of a lifeline these days, especially as we’re going on 7 months out of country.
If and when we get back online you’ll be the first to know.
May 11 was a delightful day – I dissed rug unrolling and all that jazz to join the ladies for a special tour of Spencer House (think Lady Di – it was built by her ancestor, the first Earl Spencer).
The house is recognized as “one of the most ambitious aristocratic town houses ever built in London and is, today, the city's only great eighteenth-century private palace to survive intact.”
Spencer House was built in 1756-66 and is located near St James's Palace, Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster, with a lovely view of Green Park (this I can attest to – the views into the park from various rooms are gorgeous – lovely “back yard” with beautiful, huge trees).
House info per the Web:
The first architect of Spencer House was John Vardy (a pupil of William Kent), who used the Palladian style. He was responsible for the external elevations of Spencer House and the design of the ground floor rooms as well assome of the furniture.
James 'Athenian' Stuart, who’d just returned from Greece, superseded Vardy as Lord Spencer's architect in 1758. Thus the House became the first example in London of accurate Greek detail in its interior, making it one of the pioneer examples of neo-classical architecture.
Spencer House was designed to be used for receptions and family gatherings, as the first Earl Spencer and his wife were prominent figures in London society, and during their lifetime Spencer House was often the setting for lavish entertainments. Their descendants, notably the fourth and sixth Earls, both of whom served as Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Household, continued this tradition.
Following the death of the first Earl Spencer in 1783 the House was partly remodeled.
The Spencer family lived in the House until 1895 when the building was let to a series of tenants, including the Duke of Marlborough and his wife, the former Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt. Following the death of the fifth Earl Spencer in 1910 the family returned to the House and in 1926 the building was substantially restored. A year later the family moved away and the House was let to the Ladies' Army and Navy Club until 1943.
The contents of the House were removed to Althorp and in 1942, at the height of the Blitz, valuable original fixtures such as chimneypieces, doors and chair rails were removed. During the war the House was occupied by nursing services, and in 1948 a lease was signed with the auctioneers Christies's (their property was bomb-damaged).
The House was then converted into offices for the British Oxygen Company (from the Vanderbilts to the Oxygen company – whoa!). In 1963 the Economist Intelligence Unit moved to Spencer House until 1985, when the lease was assigned to J.Rothschild Holdings and to RIT Capital Partners.
The House has since been restored, complete with carved architectural detail, chimneypieces and copies of original furniture. A wide array of paintings – some provided to the House by the Queen (prior to Diana’s death) are featured.
A select number of functions are held each year at Spencer House, and part of the building is used for offices. The public can schedule tours, like we did, and I think the House is open for a couple of hours on Sundays.
- On Tuesday I had lunch w/ the International Culture Committee’s cuisine club – it was their last event for the year as the ICC breaks for summer. Great finale – we met at a Greek woman’s flat for incredible Greek food. Highlights: fried meatballs, pita and traditional dips, spanikopata (sp?), fresh Feta, of course a lovely Greek salad…it went on and on.
The entertainment, too, was great fun and quite a surprise – a gorgeous woman in fancy red costume belly danced. She pulled members of the club in to dance with her, which was a hoot. I was selected to balance a sword on my head while the rest of me wiggled and jiggled to the music. Let’s just say I was successful at balancing the sword, not sure if any of my flesh actually moved to the beat.
Wednesday marked my first online grocery store delivery – free since I met the 100 pound mark. Worked great, will do that again – it was a “general goods” stock up – no meat, cheese or produce (that stuff, I do believe, needs to be selected by hand…I need to decide if the tomato looks worthy of purchasing.). Plus frankly I like to grocery shop for those things – TP and paper towels, who cares?
Friday my outing was a visit to the Dulwich Picture Gallery with a friend. We went to see Sickert in Venice, which was a great exhibit, in town until early June. A bus ride wound us through town to a great little gallery off the beaten path, featuring Walter Richard Sickert, one of the “the most important British artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”
Known as the father of modern British art; he introduced Impressionism and Post-Impressionism to a younger generation of British painters. Sickert trained under James McNeill Whistler.
Per the name of the exhibit, it featured many of his Venetian works as he’d visited the city many times and painted many scenes of Venetian architecture. Apparently the churches and bridges lost a little of their lustre as Sickert moved onto painting prostitutes…also featured in the exhibit.
And after lunch at a French café we made our way back to SJW.
Joe and I had a date that evening, as he’d returned from a week in the U.S. earlier in the day. We opted for dinner at Gilgamesh, where I’m convinced I’d had the best sea bass of my life a couple weeks earlier.
We had the tasting menu:
Edamame Beans with Sea Salt
Selection of Sushi and Sashimi
Chicken Croquettes
Prawn Spring Roll
Scallop Sui Mai
Asian Spiced Rack of Lamb
Hoba Miso Chilean Seabass
Chicken and Papaya Salad
Stir Fried Asian Greens
Crab Fried Rice
Gilgamesh Dessert Platter
It was delicious. And great ambience – Asian influenced, warm with great lighting, mixed crowd.
On Saturday Claire and I headed off to Windsor for the Royal Windsor horse show, which she was EXTREMELY interested in attending. We went early, took the train from Waterloo. It was a cool, breezy day but rain-free for the most part. The grounds are near the castle, which greeted us as we left the train station. It’s huge and lovely – another day we’ll have a Windsor Castle experience.
After wandering past that landmark we made our way to the grounds, which featured three arenas, booths (plenty of food and drink options, horse related products, cheese, wine, clothes, paintings, jewelry, etc.), sponsor displays (British armed forces were all over the place) and plenty of horses, horsewomen and horsemen.
The Castle arena was the largest venue; we watched jumping competitions for a couple hours, then checked out the practice area and watched the carriage races. (Teams pulled carriages with a driver and one person as a “moving weight” on back through an obstacle course. Near us was a series of turns/bridges the carriages had to move through as quickly as possible before racing to the finish. Teams from around Europe were featured.
For the jumping competitions, most riders were from the UK, several members of the Olympic team and/or offspring of Olympians.
In one area showmanship competitions were taking place with Welsh ponies, gorgeous with their long wavy tails and shiny black coats.
One of the jumping events featured a wall that was raised after each round, riders eliminated after knocking the top piece off. The winner cleared 7+ feet.
Great experience, such a contrast to the western horsemanship style I’ve been exposed to.
And in other news of the week…I got to escort first graders throughout the streets of SJW to practice street safety, wise skills for all in this city. In addition to driving on the other side of the road, cars move at a very rapid pace and the pedestrian ONLY has right of way at zebra crossings and lights. So Look Out!
I leave you with this anecdote, which may not be amusing to you, but I had a chuckle:
Last week a delivery person left a box at my door, then run to his unmarked van. I asked where he came from (meaning which company); he replied without hesitating “Hungary.” DSL, Hungary, fed ex…
Sunday, May 10, 2009
May 4 – May 11
It’s been a great short week – Bank Holiday Monday, which was a nice catch up day for us. Tuesday I headed to Camden Town (Stables Market) for lunch at Gilgamesh with the St. Johns Wood Women’s Club. Cool group of ladies who’ve had varied work/living experiences, many with kids at the Amer. School.
We had incredibly good Pan Asian food – I particularly enjoyed the sushi, sea bass and scallops. Say that five times fast. The area around Gilgamesh is cool – lots of funky shops (cyberpunk to vintage clothing, esoteric record stores, unusual furniture, piercing places, you name it, along w/ more mainstream stuff – and what looked like great street food). Many are housed in Stables Market, a converted Victorian horse hospital. I took a quick stroll around the market but will need to go back to absorb the sights and sounds at a more leisurely pace.
Waddesdon Manor
On Wednesday I caught up w/ a group headed to Waddesdon Manor for a tour. The place is spellbindingly beautiful, a French villa built in 1880 by the Rothschilds (specifically Ferdinand). Queen Victoria visited there in 1890.
The house has been passed through the family over the years, bequeathed to the National Trust in 1957 and opened to the public two years later. At one point Waddesdon was used as a refuge for evacuee children during WW2.
Here is a description of the place per Waddesdon’s web page soliciting film crews…
Built in the style of a 16th century, French Renaissance-style château of the Loire, Waddesdon’s wine cellars are modeled on private vaults of Bordelais vineyards. The Dairy is also French in tone but has a Germanic accent to its steeply pitched roofs. There are over 7 miles of quiet roads and lanes only used by estate and farm traffic, unusual estate buildings and stunning views over the Vale of Aylesbury. (Waddesdon has appeared in a few movies, one a Ballywood flick.)
These days Lord Rothschild (Jacob) manages the Manor, which houses collections from four generations of Rothschilds (25,000 items, ranging from manuscripts to porcelain, furniture to contemporary sculpture, from ironwork to musical instruments, from tradecards to gold boxes).
May happens to be open furniture month, which means various pieces (desks, dressers, tables, etc.) had doors and drawers open. Thus offering us the inside view, quite literally. Some have hidden keyholes and secret compartments – fun to see.
Gorgeous pieces, heavily detailed. Forty-five rooms are on view with “exceptional collections of French 17th century decorative arts and English portraits. (French royal furniture, porcelain and Savonnerie carpets, and portraits by Reynolds, Gainsborough and Romney, Dutch Golden Age paintings, 18th century books, drawings, textiles, 16th century limoges, enamel and majolica and a spectacular 18th century silver dinner service commissioned by George III.)”
Outside an immense garden surrounds the house, not sure where it begins and ends – trails, playground, aviary, statues, a huge bird topiary, stunning trees and flowers, fountains…
Our tour guide was fabulous, a lovely older lady with a lilting voice who is obviously impassioned about the house and its treasures. We ran short on time so raced through the 2nd floor. I’d love to go back – so much to absorb.
Gutting Quail, Pub Grub and Zoo-ing It
And on Friday, after a great literacy event hosted by ASL first graders, I treated myself to lunch at a cooking school with some other women who live in the area. We had a great time chopping veggies for our shrimp risotto (our chef instructor did a very quick run down/demo of what we were supposed to do, then turned us loose with knives, garbage bowls, vegetables and shrimp). And quail. With their heads on.
We had to whack them off (the heads), then break the quails’ backs, gut them and cut the birds into four pieces. It was hideous. But at least all 10 of us were in it together.
Suffice it to say in future, should I decide quail is on the menu, I’ll pay the bigger bucks to have it cleaned. Therein I can handle removing the liver or whatever, giving it a rinse and a pat w/ a paper towel.
We then seasoned our little birds, tossed them in a hot skillet (w/ olive oil), added a big dollop of honey and some soy sauce and served them over a bed of seasoned rocket tossed w/ citrus sections, citrus juice and good olive oil. Fabulous.
Our main course was risotto – we ran short on time so our chef friend pinch hit for us, didn’t season it enough though. And dessert, which we did not make but did plate (panna cotta with strawberry sauce) was to die for.
We got to eat all this around a big wooden table, sipping a lovely white wine. I’d do that again in a heartbeat, with or without those little quail waiting for some savagery.
Since Joe headed for the US Friday, the kids and I wandered over to the Clifton Pub for dinner (minors are ok in many pubs for early dinners -- i.e. before 7:00 – there’s even a guide to best pubs for families here).
CP is a few blocks from us and apparently Kate Moss hangs out there occasionally. No doubt she could walk by and I’d be oblivious (I’m not much of a People reader, I guess). When we were there it looked like a pretty non-descript crowd, though. Good food, nice change of pace.
Saturday we headed off to the London Zoo again because now that we’re members, why not?!? (Plus we need to maximize the membership!) This time we shopped (birthday parties and who doesn’t like a gift from the zoo, plus we get a discount), hit the merry-go-round, checked out the butterflies, monkeys, burrowing animals and giraffes and that was enough for one day, as we had a birthday party to hit later. Kids had lots of fun at both. (Apparently at British b-day parties the cake isn’t eaten at the party, it’s toted home and consumed later. This being an American family, kids ate their Madeline cake on site.)
Real Food Festival
And today so totally rocked – we went to the Real Food Festival at Earl’s Court. The place was foodie heaven – tons of stalls with olives, fresh juices, yogurt, cheeses, hams/prosciuttos/salamis/cured meats galore, sausages/lamb/pork/beef (free range, organic, salt marsh…), eggs, pickles, oils and more oils (including rapeseed), pates, honey, PB, cookies, crackers, breads…on and on and on.
I never did eat lunch, just tasted my way through until I no longer wanted anything bitesize!
Kids made off with all kinds of freebies (last day of the festival always helps). Aside from all the food, they enjoyed Petals the water buffalo (yes, in the middle of this thing was a big black water buffalo w/ a ring through her nose – quite pampered, quite a contrast to many of the water buffalo we saw in India). They both brushed and petted her, tried several pieces of buffalo mozzarella, some buffalo ice cream, etc. We watched a demo on stretching mozzarella, too. The guy who did it made different shapes with the cheese (a chicken, a pig, etc.).
Claire got to feed some bum lambs, there were chickens in a cage to admire, a jersey cow and her twins were chewing their cud and a 30 minute sheep show captivated half the crowd (the guy doing that brought 8 or 10 sheep out on stage, one at a time, to music (i.e. “Pretty Woman”).
Each had a name tag and stood or sat eating grain at his/her station as the guy told about the various breeds and what they offer (prolific parenting, for example, bigger lamb steaks, ability to survive in rainy climates, optimum wool for specific uses, etc).
He did a shearing demo (first hair cut for one of these fluffy sheep) and left us with the sheep dancing on stage. Great mix of fun and interesting facts about the wool/sheep industry in the UK. (Sucks to be in the wool biz here now; one fleece is worth 50 pence and it costs 1 pound to shear…and still the farmer carries on…)
After four hours of food, we trekked back, loaded down with oil and salami, the best parmesan I’ve had in ages, a big round of bread, some PB (what can I say; I LOVE peanut butter and nowadays I’m into the natural kind) and various other odds and ends. Next foodie excursion I’ll bring a packhorse. Joe lucked out; 1) he didn’t have to carry anything and 2) he didn’t have to suffer through me traversing every inch of the place – his mode of operandi at these things is to eat and run.
We had incredibly good Pan Asian food – I particularly enjoyed the sushi, sea bass and scallops. Say that five times fast. The area around Gilgamesh is cool – lots of funky shops (cyberpunk to vintage clothing, esoteric record stores, unusual furniture, piercing places, you name it, along w/ more mainstream stuff – and what looked like great street food). Many are housed in Stables Market, a converted Victorian horse hospital. I took a quick stroll around the market but will need to go back to absorb the sights and sounds at a more leisurely pace.
Waddesdon Manor
On Wednesday I caught up w/ a group headed to Waddesdon Manor for a tour. The place is spellbindingly beautiful, a French villa built in 1880 by the Rothschilds (specifically Ferdinand). Queen Victoria visited there in 1890.
The house has been passed through the family over the years, bequeathed to the National Trust in 1957 and opened to the public two years later. At one point Waddesdon was used as a refuge for evacuee children during WW2.
Here is a description of the place per Waddesdon’s web page soliciting film crews…
Built in the style of a 16th century, French Renaissance-style château of the Loire, Waddesdon’s wine cellars are modeled on private vaults of Bordelais vineyards. The Dairy is also French in tone but has a Germanic accent to its steeply pitched roofs. There are over 7 miles of quiet roads and lanes only used by estate and farm traffic, unusual estate buildings and stunning views over the Vale of Aylesbury. (Waddesdon has appeared in a few movies, one a Ballywood flick.)
These days Lord Rothschild (Jacob) manages the Manor, which houses collections from four generations of Rothschilds (25,000 items, ranging from manuscripts to porcelain, furniture to contemporary sculpture, from ironwork to musical instruments, from tradecards to gold boxes).
May happens to be open furniture month, which means various pieces (desks, dressers, tables, etc.) had doors and drawers open. Thus offering us the inside view, quite literally. Some have hidden keyholes and secret compartments – fun to see.
Gorgeous pieces, heavily detailed. Forty-five rooms are on view with “exceptional collections of French 17th century decorative arts and English portraits. (French royal furniture, porcelain and Savonnerie carpets, and portraits by Reynolds, Gainsborough and Romney, Dutch Golden Age paintings, 18th century books, drawings, textiles, 16th century limoges, enamel and majolica and a spectacular 18th century silver dinner service commissioned by George III.)”
Outside an immense garden surrounds the house, not sure where it begins and ends – trails, playground, aviary, statues, a huge bird topiary, stunning trees and flowers, fountains…
Our tour guide was fabulous, a lovely older lady with a lilting voice who is obviously impassioned about the house and its treasures. We ran short on time so raced through the 2nd floor. I’d love to go back – so much to absorb.
Gutting Quail, Pub Grub and Zoo-ing It
And on Friday, after a great literacy event hosted by ASL first graders, I treated myself to lunch at a cooking school with some other women who live in the area. We had a great time chopping veggies for our shrimp risotto (our chef instructor did a very quick run down/demo of what we were supposed to do, then turned us loose with knives, garbage bowls, vegetables and shrimp). And quail. With their heads on.
We had to whack them off (the heads), then break the quails’ backs, gut them and cut the birds into four pieces. It was hideous. But at least all 10 of us were in it together.
Suffice it to say in future, should I decide quail is on the menu, I’ll pay the bigger bucks to have it cleaned. Therein I can handle removing the liver or whatever, giving it a rinse and a pat w/ a paper towel.
We then seasoned our little birds, tossed them in a hot skillet (w/ olive oil), added a big dollop of honey and some soy sauce and served them over a bed of seasoned rocket tossed w/ citrus sections, citrus juice and good olive oil. Fabulous.
Our main course was risotto – we ran short on time so our chef friend pinch hit for us, didn’t season it enough though. And dessert, which we did not make but did plate (panna cotta with strawberry sauce) was to die for.
We got to eat all this around a big wooden table, sipping a lovely white wine. I’d do that again in a heartbeat, with or without those little quail waiting for some savagery.
Since Joe headed for the US Friday, the kids and I wandered over to the Clifton Pub for dinner (minors are ok in many pubs for early dinners -- i.e. before 7:00 – there’s even a guide to best pubs for families here).
CP is a few blocks from us and apparently Kate Moss hangs out there occasionally. No doubt she could walk by and I’d be oblivious (I’m not much of a People reader, I guess). When we were there it looked like a pretty non-descript crowd, though. Good food, nice change of pace.
Saturday we headed off to the London Zoo again because now that we’re members, why not?!? (Plus we need to maximize the membership!) This time we shopped (birthday parties and who doesn’t like a gift from the zoo, plus we get a discount), hit the merry-go-round, checked out the butterflies, monkeys, burrowing animals and giraffes and that was enough for one day, as we had a birthday party to hit later. Kids had lots of fun at both. (Apparently at British b-day parties the cake isn’t eaten at the party, it’s toted home and consumed later. This being an American family, kids ate their Madeline cake on site.)
Real Food Festival
And today so totally rocked – we went to the Real Food Festival at Earl’s Court. The place was foodie heaven – tons of stalls with olives, fresh juices, yogurt, cheeses, hams/prosciuttos/salamis/cured meats galore, sausages/lamb/pork/beef (free range, organic, salt marsh…), eggs, pickles, oils and more oils (including rapeseed), pates, honey, PB, cookies, crackers, breads…on and on and on.
I never did eat lunch, just tasted my way through until I no longer wanted anything bitesize!
Kids made off with all kinds of freebies (last day of the festival always helps). Aside from all the food, they enjoyed Petals the water buffalo (yes, in the middle of this thing was a big black water buffalo w/ a ring through her nose – quite pampered, quite a contrast to many of the water buffalo we saw in India). They both brushed and petted her, tried several pieces of buffalo mozzarella, some buffalo ice cream, etc. We watched a demo on stretching mozzarella, too. The guy who did it made different shapes with the cheese (a chicken, a pig, etc.).
Claire got to feed some bum lambs, there were chickens in a cage to admire, a jersey cow and her twins were chewing their cud and a 30 minute sheep show captivated half the crowd (the guy doing that brought 8 or 10 sheep out on stage, one at a time, to music (i.e. “Pretty Woman”).
Each had a name tag and stood or sat eating grain at his/her station as the guy told about the various breeds and what they offer (prolific parenting, for example, bigger lamb steaks, ability to survive in rainy climates, optimum wool for specific uses, etc).
He did a shearing demo (first hair cut for one of these fluffy sheep) and left us with the sheep dancing on stage. Great mix of fun and interesting facts about the wool/sheep industry in the UK. (Sucks to be in the wool biz here now; one fleece is worth 50 pence and it costs 1 pound to shear…and still the farmer carries on…)
After four hours of food, we trekked back, loaded down with oil and salami, the best parmesan I’ve had in ages, a big round of bread, some PB (what can I say; I LOVE peanut butter and nowadays I’m into the natural kind) and various other odds and ends. Next foodie excursion I’ll bring a packhorse. Joe lucked out; 1) he didn’t have to carry anything and 2) he didn’t have to suffer through me traversing every inch of the place – his mode of operandi at these things is to eat and run.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
What have we been up to lately? With the move, broadband wars, the TV guy who (apparently) doesn’t want to do the job (or at least at 4:15 on Friday he wasn’t up to the challenge) and the day to day stuff it suddenly became May! It’s all been good (British telecom/Skye TV aside) but I haven’t really thought much about blogging. Or else have simply been too tired. Oh the days of hotel living when someone else cleaned the floor…
Last week Claire and I had a delightful day – she had Thurs. free so we went to the Natural History Museum to check out 1) dinosaurs 2) mammals and 3) some human biology. In that order per Claire. (Glad we didn’t get too in depth on the latter; I’m not ready for some of those conversations, and some of the exhibits were pretty clear.)
The museum is IMMENSE and even if we are here for three years I doubt if we’ll see all of it (something like 15 miles worth of exhibits). The dinosaur exhibit is way cool, mammal stuff we enjoyed too – though having recently been to the zoo we weren’t as captivated. And Claire enjoyed the video of baby growing in utero. We finished w/ pasties and shepherd’s pie for lunch (so British, right?).
Friday evening Joe and I wandered Piccadilly Circus; it was a gorgeous day so tons of people were out and about, some pig flu activists (?) looking for an audience, among other things. We landed on an inviting Mediterranean café for dinner – great lamb. I must say that’s my meat of choice here; beef has been a bit of a disappointment. Save that for the good old USA!
Eggs here are great too – big, brown and yolks are golden. The real thing. (Why don’t they refrigerate them, though? I don’t get that. I got it in India…refrigeration is hit and miss for meat, let alone anything that might have a shelf life of its own for awhile.)
Scones of course rock. Kidney pie and other internal organs haven’t grabbed me yet. Don’t hold your breath on any reviews from me on that stuff. Let’s focus though; I’ll eat raw fish (sushi rocks) but a cooked kidney: NO Way. Now does that make any sense?!?
Suffice it to say plenty of great food options in this town…I could go on all day about the cheese and bread alone. Each time I buy cheese I get a different type. I’m most impressed w/ the kids; they’ve found a goat cheese they love.
Over the weekend we headed off to Stonehenge with my Ancient Britain class. Saturday was a gorgeous day, we got an early start and were whisked out of London via ASL school bus into gorgeous green rolling countryside. A stark contrast to busy London and absolutely gorgeous.
Our trip was a family friendly event with kids of a variety of ages – Ava up to teenagers. The girls hit it off with another girl on the trip, and we all spent lots of time outside, so kids had fun running wild around monuments that date to 3000 B.C. (Let’s focus; 3000 B.C. And I think of the medieval ages as long ago.)
Stonehenge itself is roped off so you can’t get as up close and personal as you used to (first time I was there in high school we leaned on the stones and had photos taken). Apparently after bits of the stone were being ratcheted off, some security measures were put in place. No, the class from Dillon, Montana, didn’t make off w/ pieces of Stonehenge, though I wonder what they’d go for on ebay?
However, when we went to Avebury, another ancient monument with big stones carefully positioned, much like Stonehenge in terms of size of stones and deliberate “presentation,” sheep are grazing near the big stones (so we judiciously dodged the doo doo) and we could touch and examine them (the stones, the sheep not so much).
We did the audio tour of Stonehenge, listened to much conjecture about the site, some of the old myths surrounding it and pondered over its meaning, how it came to be and why, and why then did its use fizzle…
Any ideas?
From Stonehenge we headed to the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes, founded in 1853. It is housed in the old Victorian Devizes Grammar School and two Georgian houses on either side, housing artefacts from famous excavations on Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs.
After checking out the Bronze and Iron age exhibits, we checked into The Bear Hotel, just up the street in Devizes, a small market town in the heart of the English county of Wiltshire, southern UK.
Across the street from the Bear Hotel was a market so lots of activity on a Saturday morning.
And with regard to the Bear Hotel, it too has a historical past it's been in business for 3 centuries. Not only have famous patrons such as ourselves stayed there, King George III and Queen Charlotte were guests a while back. (Apparently she noted – in 1817 – that she had an “elegant repast” at the Bear and that the landlord put at her disposal “10 pairs of horses as fine as any were put to harness.”
We had lunch at the hotel (bright green mashed peas, among other things), then headed off to see West Kennet Long Barrow and Silbury Hill. The former is one of the most well-preserved burial chambers in Britain. It extends 10 meters into a mound, consists of five separate chambers and is thought to have been constructed around 3500 B.C. It was used for 1,000 years, then sealed with chalk rubble and huge sarcen boulders (sarcen being a very hard rock).
Excavation revealed that 50 people were buried within the tomb.
Nearby is Silbury Hill, another prehistoric monument: a 130-ft. high man-made chalk mound. Archaeologists calculate that it was built about 4750 years ago and that it took 18 million man-hours, or 500 men working 15 years to deposit and shape 8.75 million feet of earth and fill on top of a natural hill.
Phew. Makes me tired even thinking about it.
From there we crashed at the hotel, wandered the town and had dinner at the George and Dragon, a nearby Gastropub. Good food, good company!
On Saturday after breakfast at The Bear we piled on the bus, this time to Avebury, the largest known stone ring in the world. Like Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments in Britain, Avebury was added to and altered during several periods. It is estimated that Avebury was used for around 2300 years and may have been the most significant sacred site in all of Britain, if not Europe.
We spent some time at two museums in Avebury – the Barn Gallery (great exhibit, very kid friendly) and the Alexander Keiller Museum – then wandered some nearby gardens and had lunch at the National Trust restaurant.
Our last prehistoric chapter was a walk through Avebury with Mike Pitts, editor of British Archeology (and expert in all things Avebury).
He provided great insight which frankly I’m too tired to regurgitate at the moment. Suffice it to say he brought the Ancient Britain class material alive with his expertise and obvious passion for his work. With him we traipsed the hills past ancient stones as they wound their way toward the two circles, where sheep roam and through which a village sits. Again, a lovely setting.
After quick tea we headed back to London with a bit deeper understanding of Britain B.C. (or with more questions about what really did take place around these stones so long ago...).
Last week Claire and I had a delightful day – she had Thurs. free so we went to the Natural History Museum to check out 1) dinosaurs 2) mammals and 3) some human biology. In that order per Claire. (Glad we didn’t get too in depth on the latter; I’m not ready for some of those conversations, and some of the exhibits were pretty clear.)
The museum is IMMENSE and even if we are here for three years I doubt if we’ll see all of it (something like 15 miles worth of exhibits). The dinosaur exhibit is way cool, mammal stuff we enjoyed too – though having recently been to the zoo we weren’t as captivated. And Claire enjoyed the video of baby growing in utero. We finished w/ pasties and shepherd’s pie for lunch (so British, right?).
Friday evening Joe and I wandered Piccadilly Circus; it was a gorgeous day so tons of people were out and about, some pig flu activists (?) looking for an audience, among other things. We landed on an inviting Mediterranean café for dinner – great lamb. I must say that’s my meat of choice here; beef has been a bit of a disappointment. Save that for the good old USA!
Eggs here are great too – big, brown and yolks are golden. The real thing. (Why don’t they refrigerate them, though? I don’t get that. I got it in India…refrigeration is hit and miss for meat, let alone anything that might have a shelf life of its own for awhile.)
Scones of course rock. Kidney pie and other internal organs haven’t grabbed me yet. Don’t hold your breath on any reviews from me on that stuff. Let’s focus though; I’ll eat raw fish (sushi rocks) but a cooked kidney: NO Way. Now does that make any sense?!?
Suffice it to say plenty of great food options in this town…I could go on all day about the cheese and bread alone. Each time I buy cheese I get a different type. I’m most impressed w/ the kids; they’ve found a goat cheese they love.
Over the weekend we headed off to Stonehenge with my Ancient Britain class. Saturday was a gorgeous day, we got an early start and were whisked out of London via ASL school bus into gorgeous green rolling countryside. A stark contrast to busy London and absolutely gorgeous.
Our trip was a family friendly event with kids of a variety of ages – Ava up to teenagers. The girls hit it off with another girl on the trip, and we all spent lots of time outside, so kids had fun running wild around monuments that date to 3000 B.C. (Let’s focus; 3000 B.C. And I think of the medieval ages as long ago.)
Stonehenge itself is roped off so you can’t get as up close and personal as you used to (first time I was there in high school we leaned on the stones and had photos taken). Apparently after bits of the stone were being ratcheted off, some security measures were put in place. No, the class from Dillon, Montana, didn’t make off w/ pieces of Stonehenge, though I wonder what they’d go for on ebay?
However, when we went to Avebury, another ancient monument with big stones carefully positioned, much like Stonehenge in terms of size of stones and deliberate “presentation,” sheep are grazing near the big stones (so we judiciously dodged the doo doo) and we could touch and examine them (the stones, the sheep not so much).
We did the audio tour of Stonehenge, listened to much conjecture about the site, some of the old myths surrounding it and pondered over its meaning, how it came to be and why, and why then did its use fizzle…
Any ideas?
From Stonehenge we headed to the Wiltshire Heritage Museum in Devizes, founded in 1853. It is housed in the old Victorian Devizes Grammar School and two Georgian houses on either side, housing artefacts from famous excavations on Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs.
After checking out the Bronze and Iron age exhibits, we checked into The Bear Hotel, just up the street in Devizes, a small market town in the heart of the English county of Wiltshire, southern UK.
Across the street from the Bear Hotel was a market so lots of activity on a Saturday morning.
And with regard to the Bear Hotel, it too has a historical past it's been in business for 3 centuries. Not only have famous patrons such as ourselves stayed there, King George III and Queen Charlotte were guests a while back. (Apparently she noted – in 1817 – that she had an “elegant repast” at the Bear and that the landlord put at her disposal “10 pairs of horses as fine as any were put to harness.”
We had lunch at the hotel (bright green mashed peas, among other things), then headed off to see West Kennet Long Barrow and Silbury Hill. The former is one of the most well-preserved burial chambers in Britain. It extends 10 meters into a mound, consists of five separate chambers and is thought to have been constructed around 3500 B.C. It was used for 1,000 years, then sealed with chalk rubble and huge sarcen boulders (sarcen being a very hard rock).
Excavation revealed that 50 people were buried within the tomb.
Nearby is Silbury Hill, another prehistoric monument: a 130-ft. high man-made chalk mound. Archaeologists calculate that it was built about 4750 years ago and that it took 18 million man-hours, or 500 men working 15 years to deposit and shape 8.75 million feet of earth and fill on top of a natural hill.
Phew. Makes me tired even thinking about it.
From there we crashed at the hotel, wandered the town and had dinner at the George and Dragon, a nearby Gastropub. Good food, good company!
On Saturday after breakfast at The Bear we piled on the bus, this time to Avebury, the largest known stone ring in the world. Like Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments in Britain, Avebury was added to and altered during several periods. It is estimated that Avebury was used for around 2300 years and may have been the most significant sacred site in all of Britain, if not Europe.
We spent some time at two museums in Avebury – the Barn Gallery (great exhibit, very kid friendly) and the Alexander Keiller Museum – then wandered some nearby gardens and had lunch at the National Trust restaurant.
Our last prehistoric chapter was a walk through Avebury with Mike Pitts, editor of British Archeology (and expert in all things Avebury).
He provided great insight which frankly I’m too tired to regurgitate at the moment. Suffice it to say he brought the Ancient Britain class material alive with his expertise and obvious passion for his work. With him we traipsed the hills past ancient stones as they wound their way toward the two circles, where sheep roam and through which a village sits. Again, a lovely setting.
After quick tea we headed back to London with a bit deeper understanding of Britain B.C. (or with more questions about what really did take place around these stones so long ago...).
Monday, May 4, 2009
Settling into Alma Square
Well I must say I do like our new digs – house is very narrow with plenty of stairs – kitchen/living and dining downstairs, opening out into a community garden. So far that’s a big hit with the kids, especially since they’ve had a couple of impromptu play dates with some neighbor children.
The street seems a mix – some of the brownstones have been turned into apartments so single dwellers/couples mixed with families. No big North Carolina or Texas welcome wagon, though. Not exactly your suburbia “where are you from? We brought you cookies…join us for coffee.” But no unfriendly vibes, either (despite a note we received before moving in said "welcome to the neighborhood. That said, please keep your music down"). I haven't heard since responding with a note that said: Thanks for the welcome. But since we haven't moved in yet, I'm not sure how we can address the loud music..."
We ended last week with a theatre date; Joe and I saw Carousel, which we very much enjoyed, especially from our 3rd row seats. (Any closer and the lead would have been spitting all over us; he was a bit saliva-ish in his delivery.)
Carousel is a poignant story with incredible staging – I am amazed at how sets can be created to replicate movement (i.e. a carousel going around) in a static environment.
On Saturday we slept in and went out for a late breakfast at a French café in St. Johns Wood. The area is filled with cafes; my favorite is a different little French spot – a patisserie with decadent desserts and the best hot chocolate I’ve found yet. Plus the waiters there speak French, newspapers are in French, croissants scream topnotch butter and cream. No doubt the cows that produced them are French too.
Anyway, breakfast was good, ran some errands and relaxed in our new home; what started as a rainy day became lovely, thus the garden was full of people enjoying the sunshine.
Sunday we stopped at Covent Gardens for a couple hours after Mass. Again, sunny day so many people were out and about, enjoying the street performers. They actually have to audition to get spots at Covent Garden and many, thus, are quite good so it’s fun to watch. We perched on high stools and enjoyed baked potatoes and pasties for lunch.
On the way home dozens of marathon supporters were climbing on the tube; the London marathon started at 9 on Sunday. No need for us to join in; sometimes I think we walk half a marathon on a regular basis.
As for the work week, so continues my frustration with BT (British telecom)…will we ever have broadband?!?
The street seems a mix – some of the brownstones have been turned into apartments so single dwellers/couples mixed with families. No big North Carolina or Texas welcome wagon, though. Not exactly your suburbia “where are you from? We brought you cookies…join us for coffee.” But no unfriendly vibes, either (despite a note we received before moving in said "welcome to the neighborhood. That said, please keep your music down"). I haven't heard since responding with a note that said: Thanks for the welcome. But since we haven't moved in yet, I'm not sure how we can address the loud music..."
We ended last week with a theatre date; Joe and I saw Carousel, which we very much enjoyed, especially from our 3rd row seats. (Any closer and the lead would have been spitting all over us; he was a bit saliva-ish in his delivery.)
Carousel is a poignant story with incredible staging – I am amazed at how sets can be created to replicate movement (i.e. a carousel going around) in a static environment.
On Saturday we slept in and went out for a late breakfast at a French café in St. Johns Wood. The area is filled with cafes; my favorite is a different little French spot – a patisserie with decadent desserts and the best hot chocolate I’ve found yet. Plus the waiters there speak French, newspapers are in French, croissants scream topnotch butter and cream. No doubt the cows that produced them are French too.
Anyway, breakfast was good, ran some errands and relaxed in our new home; what started as a rainy day became lovely, thus the garden was full of people enjoying the sunshine.
Sunday we stopped at Covent Gardens for a couple hours after Mass. Again, sunny day so many people were out and about, enjoying the street performers. They actually have to audition to get spots at Covent Garden and many, thus, are quite good so it’s fun to watch. We perched on high stools and enjoyed baked potatoes and pasties for lunch.
On the way home dozens of marathon supporters were climbing on the tube; the London marathon started at 9 on Sunday. No need for us to join in; sometimes I think we walk half a marathon on a regular basis.
As for the work week, so continues my frustration with BT (British telecom)…will we ever have broadband?!?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Thursday
Ok I'm exhausted. As much as I enjoy moving locations, the actual process does suck me dry (could be because I feel a need to get EVERYTHING unpacked and put away in record time).
Actually, most things are finding homes and coming together nicely -- it helps not to move an entire house; the lack of toys alone is fabulous! I do like living "light;" I'm sure my husband will love it when we move home and I get rid of 2/3 of what we've accumulated...
As for being wired in, I'm now thoroughly confused. BT, which canceled my phone order twice, now tells me I don't need an engineer and that my phone line should simply be active. (Since our phones aren't charged I can't begin to tell you if that's accurate or if he's blowing smoke you know where.) Meanwhile I received a text message confirming that a BT engineer will be at my house Friday at 120 pound charge. But guy on phone says no engineer, no charge. Are they really working for the same company?
Internet of course CAN'T come on until Monday; they couldn't give me a good reason for that. Let's just hope it actually does work when the time comes...
And the TV people have given me the typical "appointment" timeframe: just be home between 9 and 6 on Friday, ma'am. I was told yesterday that TV service here is a misnomer. So we'll see what happens on Friday in TV land.
In the midst of all my organizing, unpacking and cleaning, I danced off to a St. Johns Wood Women's Club meeting and my Ancient Britian Class yesterday. Fabulous break!
At the first event there was a speaker who talked about Olympic Park. Apparently the area in which the village is being constructed boasts the worst five boroughs in all of England. So as money and construction pour into the place, efforts are being made to create facilities/infrastructure that can be maintained longer term. Unemployment is part of what is being addressed within the community -- will be interesting to see how much success the effort has in future.
It turns out Olympic Park will be at the end of our tube line, about a 20 minute ride. Olympics, here we come! (Provided we're still here, naturally.) Tours are given of the Park as it comes to life, so I think the SJWWC is looking into one for fall -- would be fun to see it before it's actually up and running.
The women at the meeting seem like a neat group, variety of ages and backgrounds with many different interests...hiking, lunches, teas, book group, stitching, theatre, happy hours, etc. I anticipate fitting some of their activities in to enhance my time in London.
My Ancient Britain class rocked; we'll go to Stonehenge in a couple of weeks to actually see what we've been learning about. Families are welcome so the kids and Joe are coming, too.
After class it was back to reality with house stuff, though such a gorgeous day that we had the doors thrown open and Ava's picked half the community garden to decorate our kitchen table. (Maybe that's why my eyes are swollen? Hello pollen!) Apparently it's one of the warmest Aprils on record here. They must have known I was coming and that I simply can't handle the slightest chill.
Cheers and happy Thursday!
Actually, most things are finding homes and coming together nicely -- it helps not to move an entire house; the lack of toys alone is fabulous! I do like living "light;" I'm sure my husband will love it when we move home and I get rid of 2/3 of what we've accumulated...
As for being wired in, I'm now thoroughly confused. BT, which canceled my phone order twice, now tells me I don't need an engineer and that my phone line should simply be active. (Since our phones aren't charged I can't begin to tell you if that's accurate or if he's blowing smoke you know where.) Meanwhile I received a text message confirming that a BT engineer will be at my house Friday at 120 pound charge. But guy on phone says no engineer, no charge. Are they really working for the same company?
Internet of course CAN'T come on until Monday; they couldn't give me a good reason for that. Let's just hope it actually does work when the time comes...
And the TV people have given me the typical "appointment" timeframe: just be home between 9 and 6 on Friday, ma'am. I was told yesterday that TV service here is a misnomer. So we'll see what happens on Friday in TV land.
In the midst of all my organizing, unpacking and cleaning, I danced off to a St. Johns Wood Women's Club meeting and my Ancient Britian Class yesterday. Fabulous break!
At the first event there was a speaker who talked about Olympic Park. Apparently the area in which the village is being constructed boasts the worst five boroughs in all of England. So as money and construction pour into the place, efforts are being made to create facilities/infrastructure that can be maintained longer term. Unemployment is part of what is being addressed within the community -- will be interesting to see how much success the effort has in future.
It turns out Olympic Park will be at the end of our tube line, about a 20 minute ride. Olympics, here we come! (Provided we're still here, naturally.) Tours are given of the Park as it comes to life, so I think the SJWWC is looking into one for fall -- would be fun to see it before it's actually up and running.
The women at the meeting seem like a neat group, variety of ages and backgrounds with many different interests...hiking, lunches, teas, book group, stitching, theatre, happy hours, etc. I anticipate fitting some of their activities in to enhance my time in London.
My Ancient Britain class rocked; we'll go to Stonehenge in a couple of weeks to actually see what we've been learning about. Families are welcome so the kids and Joe are coming, too.
After class it was back to reality with house stuff, though such a gorgeous day that we had the doors thrown open and Ava's picked half the community garden to decorate our kitchen table. (Maybe that's why my eyes are swollen? Hello pollen!) Apparently it's one of the warmest Aprils on record here. They must have known I was coming and that I simply can't handle the slightest chill.
Cheers and happy Thursday!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Moving!
After a busy Monday on the move end of things, I'm happy to report we have hot water and heat. I now know how to work the system (small things in life, critical).
I got a call from the furniture company yesterday morning at 8:30, saying they were at the house...Ava and I were at the old house waiting on the packing crew. (A in her nightie and I hadn't showered). We mobilized with water and clothes and as we were walking out the door to let the furniture folks into the new house, the doorbell buzzed. Packers.
So we oriented them, then headed out to meet up w/ furniture folks, who'd gone to have tea while they waited.
All went quite smoothly if a bit hectic; at one point there were 15 men in the house.
And w/ regard to TV, phone and internet service, it looks like Friday 2 out of 3 may happen, Monday the 3rd (I'm not holding my breath here).
On tap today: some unpacking and Ava and I will escape the chaos for a bit to enjoy what promises to be gorgeous weather!
I got a call from the furniture company yesterday morning at 8:30, saying they were at the house...Ava and I were at the old house waiting on the packing crew. (A in her nightie and I hadn't showered). We mobilized with water and clothes and as we were walking out the door to let the furniture folks into the new house, the doorbell buzzed. Packers.
So we oriented them, then headed out to meet up w/ furniture folks, who'd gone to have tea while they waited.
All went quite smoothly if a bit hectic; at one point there were 15 men in the house.
And w/ regard to TV, phone and internet service, it looks like Friday 2 out of 3 may happen, Monday the 3rd (I'm not holding my breath here).
On tap today: some unpacking and Ava and I will escape the chaos for a bit to enjoy what promises to be gorgeous weather!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Easter and the rest of spring break
Easter
We started our day with chocolate in bed (it was Easter, afterall), then headed to St. Nicholas Church for Mass (it was one of a few churches w/ masses in English). Droves weren’t lining up for seats – a first. Those C&E Christians must have all been at the Flemish and French masses.
We took our loitering to a sidewalk café and had doughnuts and pastries for breakfast. Nothing like more sugar before 10 a.m.
After a nice mass, officiated by an American priest, we looked for the cannon ball still lodged in the nave from the French invasion in the 1600’s; we can attest that it is still there.
From the church we wandered to an art market near the square – candles in the form of beer, jewelry, clothes, figurines that whistled like birds (novel but after a day the thing would lose its squawk in our house). Nothing we couldn’t live without.
We checked out some of the shopping arcades in lovely old buildings off the square, found a lace souvenir for Claire (small pillow with what she claims has 3 uses: necklace storage, American doll accessory, Xmas tree décor).
Ava, naturally, wasn’t far behind in the need for a souvenir. We found a row of purses for the change she keeps finding on the sidewalk (it pays, quite literally, to be close to the ground, apparently). Ava is now sporting a Bruxelles purse for her change.
Per a recommendation by the lace shop owner, we lunched at a little Italian place – non-touristy. Lovely food, local crowd and a staff that spoke very little English, a whole lot of Italian. Joe asked the kitchen crew what the house specialty was and after blank stares they all said “pasta.” (Isn’t every house specialty in Italy pasta?!?)
After lunch we tracked down dessert – I wanted a waffle with nutella and whipped cream at Patty’s favorite waffle shop. As usual, she was on target – it was superb. Kids wanted ice cream (they’re both really into lemon sorbet these days). Low and behold we came upon an ice cream truck on our way to the Royal Palace, so we sat by a fountain overlooking lovely Brussels while they consumed their sorbet.(When I was a kid it was all about vanilla ice cream; I’m still not a big sorbet fan. Does this mean my ice cream tastes are less grown up than my children's?)
Claire and I hit the ancient art portion of the Musee des Artes, spent much time viewing artwork by the Flemish masters. It was a truly great couple of hours and we eventually left when they kicked us out (closing time).
Meanwhile Joe and Ava made their way back to the hotel, stopping at the The Église Notre Dame du Sablon (Church of Our Lady of Sablon) en route (Claire and I did the same thing on our way through).
Built in the 15th and 16th centuries, Notre Dame du Sablon is "noted for its four-fold gallery with brightly colored stained-glass windows, a striking contrast with the gray-white Gothic arches and walls."
Also inside: two baroque chapels decorated with funeral symbols in white marble and the celebrated statue of St. Hubert -- it was once stolen and taken to Antwerp but was seized and returned to the church in 1348, where it has remained.
While Ava ate free chocolate eggs at the hotel and Joe sampled more Belgian beer, Claire and I stopped for photos and to look over the city by the Place Poelart (where the lovely Palais de Justice sits – the domes weighs 24,000 tons) and the war memorial.
All of us collapsed for a bit, then had dinner at a pub nearby – casual place with good stuempf (sp?) – local sausage/mashed potato/vegetable specialty), great Parmesan croquettes (does it get any better than fried cheese) and live music. Not bad.
Easter Monday
We wandered Brussels this morning, stopping for waffles and ice cream for breakfast, then checking out a couple of churches (feeling quite holy on this trip).
Notre Dame de la Chapelle (Our Lady of the Chapel) is a large Romanesque-Gothic church; construction on it began in 1210 and was completed by the end of the 13th century (thus marking the transition between Romanesque and Gothic styles; the transept and choir are Romanesque-Gothic, most of the remainder is in the Flamboyant Gothic style). Which I guess means there’s a non-flamboyant Gothic style?
Notre Dame de la Chapelle is notable as the burial place of Francois Anneessens (1660-1719), a Brussels hero who lost his head for campaigning for civil rights. It’s also the burial site of Pieter Brueghel the Elder and his wife.
The other church we popped into escapes my memory, other than it is very old and looks that much older sandwiched between modern buildings on the busy, broad and tree lined Avenue Louise (quite the contrast to the more historical Brussels, with its narrow, windy streets that seem to lead easily from site to site but make map orientation confusing. Best to wander and wing it, I guess).
We later ended up in the city park near the Royal Palace, where it was international playtime at its best: Muslim kids, English kids, Italian kids, French and Flemish speaking kids, African kids…and of course American kids.
Then it was onto the train station for our Eurostar trip back to London, lovely day here, trees are in bloom and gorgeous. One near us has already left a carpet of white petals on the pavement.
And the remainder of spring break?
Kids and I hit the London Zoo, a great place – yes, it should be for the amount of money we and every other family in London w/ a spring breaker spent on Tuesday). I must say it’s a startling contrast to the Delhi zoo. I do believe the animals at both zoos are well treated, with clean, natural habitats and all that.
But…for under $2, the Delhi one rocked. Of course we were scared to try the ice cream, which was the only snack available, and the bathroom wasn’t up to the same standards held for the zoo inhabitants. And while the Delhi zoo experience was pretty much only about the animals (and us being stared at, pointed at, talked about and photographed by curious Indians), the London Zoo features all kinds of special events, fundraisers, partnerships, talks and demonstrations, playgrounds, cafes, carnival equipment, on and on and on.
Oh, and HEAVY with the conservation messages. If you find me politely escorting spiders outside rather than whacking them with a shoe, you’ll know it’s due to the London Zoo’s brain washing.)
Anyway, with tix, lunch, ice cream and one ride on the merry go round, we left just under $100 with the fine London Zoo people. They actually asked if I wanted to donate MORE money. I think I covered that pretty well.
Despite all that we’ve decided to become members (really, going twice is more expensive than joining for a year, and since membership will recoup our last week’s ticket expenditure, I’m for it…plus said zoo is only a 10 minute walk from us.
(I’ve seen the giraffes a few times on my morning walks, scratching their necks on their doorway.) I do believe we’ll go there enough to take advantage of joining. (Can’t you just see it: “do you want to go to the zoo? Not today mom. Well too bad. We paid for it so you will go and you will enjoy it, @!X$#!”).
We also hit the National Wildlife Photography exhibit, which is in town for a few more days at the National History Museum – very cool and very worth seeing if you get the chance.
And on Thursday, when it rained, we went to one of those noisy indoor play areas where every child screams at the top of their lungs. It was great fun. (I hope you can hear the sarcasm coming through my keyboard.)
Other highlights:
Ava cut her hair. Must be a rite of passage for the 2-5 year old crowd, right? I caught Claire cutting hers when she was 3 or so…I did not find Ava cutting her hair, I found her hair near shards of paper and blunt, plastic green handled scissors. Thus Ava is now sporting a chic little bob per the 8 pound Great Clips equivalent up the road.
Halfway through the haircut she burst into tears, said something about her stomach. After consolation and quick action by the hairdresser we hit a café for a snack (I thought she was starving; sometimes she becomes cranky or maudlin when in need of food). That’s when it came out: she was sobbing because “I look like a boy; I hate my hair cut. Can’t we just pull it and make it longer again?”
After plenty of comments about her princess looks, she now preens about her new ‘do.
And after voracious Claire/Ava fighting through the grocery store and into the tube the other day, I watched as Ava stuck her tongue out at Claire all the way home on the subway. Unbeknownst to her (or maybe she knew and was loving the audience bit) everyone in our tube car was watching her as she leaned over and stuck her tongue out at Claire as many different ways as one’s tongue can be stuck out. I couldn’t see Claire face from my vantage point but I suspect she had her arms crossed in anger and was giving Ava a look of rage.
Saturday we had a lovely time at the Household Cavalry Museum, where first we watched the changing of the guard in the courtyard adjacent to the museum. Big, black horses with impeccably dressed riders sporting red and white, plumes and armor vests, strode out, later joined by a larger procession coming down the street near Buckingham Palace.
They then stood around for a very long time, as did we and a growing crowd, waiting for something to happen. Eventually it did; they went through a ceremony, then some guards went one way, the other group another – they rode by within a couple of feet of us. Incredibly beautiful animals and such grace and dignity of horsemen.
This whole thing took about an hour, we then headed into the museum and checked it out – learned about the lengthy process involved in grooming, training, preparing costumes daily, the history of the guards and their activities around London and abroad. Through a glassed wall you can actually see the stables, the big black rumps of the horses, some coming and going with guards leading them, other groomsmen watering, feeding and cleaning.
Very cool experience.
More about the Household Cavalry Museum:
The Household Cavalry Museum sits within Horse Guards in Whitehall, central London, which dates from 1750. It is still the headquarters of the Household Division, and the Household Cavalry has continued to perform the Queen’s Life Guard, a daily ceremony which has remained relatively unchanged for over 350 years.
The Household Cavalry was formed in 1661 under the direct order of King Charles II and now consists of the two senior regiments of the British Army – The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals.
They have two roles: as a mounted regiment (on horseback) they guard Her Majesty The Queen on ceremonial occasions in London and across the UK and are a key part of the Royal pageantry; as an operational regiment they serve around the world in armored fighting vehicles. They currently have units deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And in other news…
Naturally w/ the move to our new house, we’ve spent plenty of time and energy getting things set up, only to find we have no hot water, the heat won’t turn on, my phone order has been cancelled twice, my TV hook up once and broadband…who knows?!? And people really thought we were crazy for living in hotel? Hello?
We started our day with chocolate in bed (it was Easter, afterall), then headed to St. Nicholas Church for Mass (it was one of a few churches w/ masses in English). Droves weren’t lining up for seats – a first. Those C&E Christians must have all been at the Flemish and French masses.
We took our loitering to a sidewalk café and had doughnuts and pastries for breakfast. Nothing like more sugar before 10 a.m.
After a nice mass, officiated by an American priest, we looked for the cannon ball still lodged in the nave from the French invasion in the 1600’s; we can attest that it is still there.
From the church we wandered to an art market near the square – candles in the form of beer, jewelry, clothes, figurines that whistled like birds (novel but after a day the thing would lose its squawk in our house). Nothing we couldn’t live without.
We checked out some of the shopping arcades in lovely old buildings off the square, found a lace souvenir for Claire (small pillow with what she claims has 3 uses: necklace storage, American doll accessory, Xmas tree décor).
Ava, naturally, wasn’t far behind in the need for a souvenir. We found a row of purses for the change she keeps finding on the sidewalk (it pays, quite literally, to be close to the ground, apparently). Ava is now sporting a Bruxelles purse for her change.
Per a recommendation by the lace shop owner, we lunched at a little Italian place – non-touristy. Lovely food, local crowd and a staff that spoke very little English, a whole lot of Italian. Joe asked the kitchen crew what the house specialty was and after blank stares they all said “pasta.” (Isn’t every house specialty in Italy pasta?!?)
After lunch we tracked down dessert – I wanted a waffle with nutella and whipped cream at Patty’s favorite waffle shop. As usual, she was on target – it was superb. Kids wanted ice cream (they’re both really into lemon sorbet these days). Low and behold we came upon an ice cream truck on our way to the Royal Palace, so we sat by a fountain overlooking lovely Brussels while they consumed their sorbet.(When I was a kid it was all about vanilla ice cream; I’m still not a big sorbet fan. Does this mean my ice cream tastes are less grown up than my children's?)
Claire and I hit the ancient art portion of the Musee des Artes, spent much time viewing artwork by the Flemish masters. It was a truly great couple of hours and we eventually left when they kicked us out (closing time).
Meanwhile Joe and Ava made their way back to the hotel, stopping at the The Église Notre Dame du Sablon (Church of Our Lady of Sablon) en route (Claire and I did the same thing on our way through).
Built in the 15th and 16th centuries, Notre Dame du Sablon is "noted for its four-fold gallery with brightly colored stained-glass windows, a striking contrast with the gray-white Gothic arches and walls."
Also inside: two baroque chapels decorated with funeral symbols in white marble and the celebrated statue of St. Hubert -- it was once stolen and taken to Antwerp but was seized and returned to the church in 1348, where it has remained.
While Ava ate free chocolate eggs at the hotel and Joe sampled more Belgian beer, Claire and I stopped for photos and to look over the city by the Place Poelart (where the lovely Palais de Justice sits – the domes weighs 24,000 tons) and the war memorial.
All of us collapsed for a bit, then had dinner at a pub nearby – casual place with good stuempf (sp?) – local sausage/mashed potato/vegetable specialty), great Parmesan croquettes (does it get any better than fried cheese) and live music. Not bad.
Easter Monday
We wandered Brussels this morning, stopping for waffles and ice cream for breakfast, then checking out a couple of churches (feeling quite holy on this trip).
Notre Dame de la Chapelle (Our Lady of the Chapel) is a large Romanesque-Gothic church; construction on it began in 1210 and was completed by the end of the 13th century (thus marking the transition between Romanesque and Gothic styles; the transept and choir are Romanesque-Gothic, most of the remainder is in the Flamboyant Gothic style). Which I guess means there’s a non-flamboyant Gothic style?
Notre Dame de la Chapelle is notable as the burial place of Francois Anneessens (1660-1719), a Brussels hero who lost his head for campaigning for civil rights. It’s also the burial site of Pieter Brueghel the Elder and his wife.
The other church we popped into escapes my memory, other than it is very old and looks that much older sandwiched between modern buildings on the busy, broad and tree lined Avenue Louise (quite the contrast to the more historical Brussels, with its narrow, windy streets that seem to lead easily from site to site but make map orientation confusing. Best to wander and wing it, I guess).
We later ended up in the city park near the Royal Palace, where it was international playtime at its best: Muslim kids, English kids, Italian kids, French and Flemish speaking kids, African kids…and of course American kids.
Then it was onto the train station for our Eurostar trip back to London, lovely day here, trees are in bloom and gorgeous. One near us has already left a carpet of white petals on the pavement.
And the remainder of spring break?
Kids and I hit the London Zoo, a great place – yes, it should be for the amount of money we and every other family in London w/ a spring breaker spent on Tuesday). I must say it’s a startling contrast to the Delhi zoo. I do believe the animals at both zoos are well treated, with clean, natural habitats and all that.
But…for under $2, the Delhi one rocked. Of course we were scared to try the ice cream, which was the only snack available, and the bathroom wasn’t up to the same standards held for the zoo inhabitants. And while the Delhi zoo experience was pretty much only about the animals (and us being stared at, pointed at, talked about and photographed by curious Indians), the London Zoo features all kinds of special events, fundraisers, partnerships, talks and demonstrations, playgrounds, cafes, carnival equipment, on and on and on.
Oh, and HEAVY with the conservation messages. If you find me politely escorting spiders outside rather than whacking them with a shoe, you’ll know it’s due to the London Zoo’s brain washing.)
Anyway, with tix, lunch, ice cream and one ride on the merry go round, we left just under $100 with the fine London Zoo people. They actually asked if I wanted to donate MORE money. I think I covered that pretty well.
Despite all that we’ve decided to become members (really, going twice is more expensive than joining for a year, and since membership will recoup our last week’s ticket expenditure, I’m for it…plus said zoo is only a 10 minute walk from us.
(I’ve seen the giraffes a few times on my morning walks, scratching their necks on their doorway.) I do believe we’ll go there enough to take advantage of joining. (Can’t you just see it: “do you want to go to the zoo? Not today mom. Well too bad. We paid for it so you will go and you will enjoy it, @!X$#!”).
We also hit the National Wildlife Photography exhibit, which is in town for a few more days at the National History Museum – very cool and very worth seeing if you get the chance.
And on Thursday, when it rained, we went to one of those noisy indoor play areas where every child screams at the top of their lungs. It was great fun. (I hope you can hear the sarcasm coming through my keyboard.)
Other highlights:
Ava cut her hair. Must be a rite of passage for the 2-5 year old crowd, right? I caught Claire cutting hers when she was 3 or so…I did not find Ava cutting her hair, I found her hair near shards of paper and blunt, plastic green handled scissors. Thus Ava is now sporting a chic little bob per the 8 pound Great Clips equivalent up the road.
Halfway through the haircut she burst into tears, said something about her stomach. After consolation and quick action by the hairdresser we hit a café for a snack (I thought she was starving; sometimes she becomes cranky or maudlin when in need of food). That’s when it came out: she was sobbing because “I look like a boy; I hate my hair cut. Can’t we just pull it and make it longer again?”
After plenty of comments about her princess looks, she now preens about her new ‘do.
And after voracious Claire/Ava fighting through the grocery store and into the tube the other day, I watched as Ava stuck her tongue out at Claire all the way home on the subway. Unbeknownst to her (or maybe she knew and was loving the audience bit) everyone in our tube car was watching her as she leaned over and stuck her tongue out at Claire as many different ways as one’s tongue can be stuck out. I couldn’t see Claire face from my vantage point but I suspect she had her arms crossed in anger and was giving Ava a look of rage.
Saturday we had a lovely time at the Household Cavalry Museum, where first we watched the changing of the guard in the courtyard adjacent to the museum. Big, black horses with impeccably dressed riders sporting red and white, plumes and armor vests, strode out, later joined by a larger procession coming down the street near Buckingham Palace.
They then stood around for a very long time, as did we and a growing crowd, waiting for something to happen. Eventually it did; they went through a ceremony, then some guards went one way, the other group another – they rode by within a couple of feet of us. Incredibly beautiful animals and such grace and dignity of horsemen.
This whole thing took about an hour, we then headed into the museum and checked it out – learned about the lengthy process involved in grooming, training, preparing costumes daily, the history of the guards and their activities around London and abroad. Through a glassed wall you can actually see the stables, the big black rumps of the horses, some coming and going with guards leading them, other groomsmen watering, feeding and cleaning.
Very cool experience.
More about the Household Cavalry Museum:
The Household Cavalry Museum sits within Horse Guards in Whitehall, central London, which dates from 1750. It is still the headquarters of the Household Division, and the Household Cavalry has continued to perform the Queen’s Life Guard, a daily ceremony which has remained relatively unchanged for over 350 years.
The Household Cavalry was formed in 1661 under the direct order of King Charles II and now consists of the two senior regiments of the British Army – The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals.
They have two roles: as a mounted regiment (on horseback) they guard Her Majesty The Queen on ceremonial occasions in London and across the UK and are a key part of the Royal pageantry; as an operational regiment they serve around the world in armored fighting vehicles. They currently have units deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And in other news…
Naturally w/ the move to our new house, we’ve spent plenty of time and energy getting things set up, only to find we have no hot water, the heat won’t turn on, my phone order has been cancelled twice, my TV hook up once and broadband…who knows?!? And people really thought we were crazy for living in hotel? Hello?
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Saturday in Bruges
Today we headed to Bruges via train from Brussels Midi – hopped a cab wherein the driver asked if 10 Euro would be ok rather than the meter…as the meter would be cheaper. Hello?!? And no, it wasn’t far to the station, obviously, but Claire has done an awful lot of walking and no doubt Bruges would be a lot of footwork.
The driver’s excuse for wanting 10 euros from us for a 6 euro ride was because he had to sit at the hotel for an hour waiting for a customer. And we were supposed to compensate for this?
The ride to Bruges was quick, kids enjoyed the train and the deep green farmland, small villages with lovely churches and steeples, brick houses with triangular roofs, a few horses and cows sprinkled in, made for a lovely view.
We were in Bruges by 11, headed for the city center and hit the canal ride first. A nice way to tour the city from the water, our guide gave a spiel in 6 different languages (diverse group of tourists, obviously).
Bruges’ many gorgeous buildings dating back to the 11th century are mainly intact as the city was untouched during both world wars. Thus it’s a lovely place…gorgeous architecture, winding streets, canals, flowers in bloom.
Five km of canals around the city are devoted to tourism. The area used to be at sea level and you can still take canals out to sea (the outer ones, not the ones we sailed). The boat took us under bridges built in the 13th and 15th centuries. We saw many of the city’s key sites – old hospital (now museum), a house that looks like a church, cathedral, many other churches (I think there are 16 or more, and only one of them isn’t Catholic).
Today Bruges has a large Italian population, per our boat driver. People here speak Flemish as it’s in one of Belgium’s Flemish states (I think he said 4 are Flemish speaking, 4 French).
After the boat ride we looked for the Godiva factory but apparently it’s left Bruges so we took refuge at a pub near the fish market for lunch. We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine, beer and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. This was after attempting to eat at an Italian restaurant that looked like it had great pizza (apparently I hadn’t gotten my fill from the previous night).
When we came in (kids and me), the waitress looked at us and said “no.” Not sure if that meant no room, no kids or no stroller -- or all the above -- but we made haste to depart.
Joe waved at the patrons in the window on the way by later.
From lunch we headed to the chocolate museum – a more upscale version than the one in Brussels. We got samples on the way in and wandered through 3 floors of chocolate info – history, marketing, manufacturing, etc. The last stop was the kitchen, where a chef was giving a demo and distributing REALLY good chocolate.
We then wandered the neighborhood around the chocolate museum and found a lovely church, Baroque style.
After a stroll along the canals we jumped into a long line for a horse carriage ride per Claire’s request. Thankfuly it was in the town square area, which makes for great people watching. Plenty of sidewalk cafes, some carnival rides, snack stands, etc.
Eventually Lynn and Bernard (Lynn being the carriage driver, Bernard the big black horse in front) picked us up, charged us an exhorbitant amount of money for a 45 minute ride around the city and off we went.
Claire sat next to Lynn on the buckboard for the first half of the ride, Ava for the second. Bernard rootie toot tooted on Ava’s watch -- Ava rolled her eyes at Lynn, much to the latter's amusement. Kids got to see Bernard get a snack and water break half way through the ride. No doubt the horses have a good gig going in Belgium, in contrast to those poor over used animals in India -- here they work every other day, have food/water breaks in the midst of each ride and only give 8 rides per day. (I actually believe it; the lobby for animal care is probably just as vocal as it is for human health care in Belgium).
After a fun jaunt around town, Lynn gave us a recommendation for dinner – traditional Flemish food at a nearby restaurant. Lovely, warm little place with Flemish tapestries on the walls.
Joe and I got the fillet for two, the kids shared a fried fish and we all dove into the fries – very good meal with a lovely bottle of red wine to accompany it. For dessert Claire opted for lemon sorbet, A for 3 kinds of ice cream (she’s into coffee flavored ice cream these days – I need someone to be a fellow coffee connoisseur in the future), I had a decadent chocolate mousse and Joe had some ice cream concoction.
As we made our way to the train station we stopped in the cathedral – the largest building in town, which also boasts the lengthiest history of any in Bruges. (Holy Savior Cathedral was not originally built to be a cathedral; when it was founded in the 10th century it was a common parish church.) Over time it's grown and changed, becoming a cathedral in the 19th century.
The path to the station took us to another town square and fountain, lots of flowers and plenty of people out and about. We hit the station at 8:29, ran for the 8:31 train to Brussels and voila – arrived an hour later!
The driver’s excuse for wanting 10 euros from us for a 6 euro ride was because he had to sit at the hotel for an hour waiting for a customer. And we were supposed to compensate for this?
The ride to Bruges was quick, kids enjoyed the train and the deep green farmland, small villages with lovely churches and steeples, brick houses with triangular roofs, a few horses and cows sprinkled in, made for a lovely view.
We were in Bruges by 11, headed for the city center and hit the canal ride first. A nice way to tour the city from the water, our guide gave a spiel in 6 different languages (diverse group of tourists, obviously).
Bruges’ many gorgeous buildings dating back to the 11th century are mainly intact as the city was untouched during both world wars. Thus it’s a lovely place…gorgeous architecture, winding streets, canals, flowers in bloom.
Five km of canals around the city are devoted to tourism. The area used to be at sea level and you can still take canals out to sea (the outer ones, not the ones we sailed). The boat took us under bridges built in the 13th and 15th centuries. We saw many of the city’s key sites – old hospital (now museum), a house that looks like a church, cathedral, many other churches (I think there are 16 or more, and only one of them isn’t Catholic).
Today Bruges has a large Italian population, per our boat driver. People here speak Flemish as it’s in one of Belgium’s Flemish states (I think he said 4 are Flemish speaking, 4 French).
After the boat ride we looked for the Godiva factory but apparently it’s left Bruges so we took refuge at a pub near the fish market for lunch. We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine, beer and grilled ham and cheese sandwiches. This was after attempting to eat at an Italian restaurant that looked like it had great pizza (apparently I hadn’t gotten my fill from the previous night).
When we came in (kids and me), the waitress looked at us and said “no.” Not sure if that meant no room, no kids or no stroller -- or all the above -- but we made haste to depart.
Joe waved at the patrons in the window on the way by later.
From lunch we headed to the chocolate museum – a more upscale version than the one in Brussels. We got samples on the way in and wandered through 3 floors of chocolate info – history, marketing, manufacturing, etc. The last stop was the kitchen, where a chef was giving a demo and distributing REALLY good chocolate.
We then wandered the neighborhood around the chocolate museum and found a lovely church, Baroque style.
After a stroll along the canals we jumped into a long line for a horse carriage ride per Claire’s request. Thankfuly it was in the town square area, which makes for great people watching. Plenty of sidewalk cafes, some carnival rides, snack stands, etc.
Eventually Lynn and Bernard (Lynn being the carriage driver, Bernard the big black horse in front) picked us up, charged us an exhorbitant amount of money for a 45 minute ride around the city and off we went.
Claire sat next to Lynn on the buckboard for the first half of the ride, Ava for the second. Bernard rootie toot tooted on Ava’s watch -- Ava rolled her eyes at Lynn, much to the latter's amusement. Kids got to see Bernard get a snack and water break half way through the ride. No doubt the horses have a good gig going in Belgium, in contrast to those poor over used animals in India -- here they work every other day, have food/water breaks in the midst of each ride and only give 8 rides per day. (I actually believe it; the lobby for animal care is probably just as vocal as it is for human health care in Belgium).
After a fun jaunt around town, Lynn gave us a recommendation for dinner – traditional Flemish food at a nearby restaurant. Lovely, warm little place with Flemish tapestries on the walls.
Joe and I got the fillet for two, the kids shared a fried fish and we all dove into the fries – very good meal with a lovely bottle of red wine to accompany it. For dessert Claire opted for lemon sorbet, A for 3 kinds of ice cream (she’s into coffee flavored ice cream these days – I need someone to be a fellow coffee connoisseur in the future), I had a decadent chocolate mousse and Joe had some ice cream concoction.
As we made our way to the train station we stopped in the cathedral – the largest building in town, which also boasts the lengthiest history of any in Bruges. (Holy Savior Cathedral was not originally built to be a cathedral; when it was founded in the 10th century it was a common parish church.) Over time it's grown and changed, becoming a cathedral in the 19th century.
The path to the station took us to another town square and fountain, lots of flowers and plenty of people out and about. We hit the station at 8:29, ran for the 8:31 train to Brussels and voila – arrived an hour later!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Good Friday in Brussels
After sleeping in we headed out in search of waffles for breakfast – alas settling for decadent pastries at a lovely little Belgian café near the hotel. (Seemed quite French to me, maybe that’s an affront to the Belgians – who knows?)
Our hotel was city centre so lots of shops and businesses around us – little side streets lined w/ restaurants. We sat outside; the weather was lovely – blue skies and warm.
After coffee, decadent hot chocolate, chocolate croissants for Joe and Claire, a scrumptious cherry pastry for me and a chocolate brownie for Ava, we were sugared up and ready to start our day. (The brownie was masquerading as a muffin, but it ended up being more like fudge cake. I'll justify by stating that since muffins are generally cakelike, what does it matter if we go straight for the heavy duty dessert?!?)
We took the tram to the Grand Market area and checked out the Cathedral. (It’s actually the St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral, but that’s a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it?)
Named for the patron saints of Belgium, said Cathedras is Belgium’s primary church, completed in 1047, when Saint Gudula’s relics were transferred to it. (Apparently she was the daughter of a 7th-century Carolingian nobleman).
In the 1200’s the cathedral was renovated in the Gothic style; the choir was constructed between 1226 and 1276, the facade was completed in the mid 15th century.
Today the Cathedral of St. Michael and Gudula is the episcopal see of the Archbishop of Mechlin-Brussels and therefore the leading Catholic church in Belgium. It’s also the site of all royal weddings and christenings.
Of note: the stained glass windows, designed by various artists including Bernard van Orley, a 16th-century court painter, whose windows are the most spectacular (per the Cathedral’s web site – they all looked good to me).
When we wandered through a painting exhibit – folds – was sprinkled throughout the place. Beautiful, a bit ethereal, folds of cloth were painted in various hues of cream, symbolizing Christ’s ascension.
The church was also being prepared for Easter, with several laides putting gorgeous bright yellow flower arrangements together behind the altar.
From the Cathedral, set on a hill overlooking the city, we headed down to the cartoon museum. There caricatures and cartoon strips, historical information about the development of cartoon art, freedom of speech and information about Belgian’s renowned cartoonists is displayed. It was a beautifully organized, inviting exhibit, much of it in French and Flemish, but we gleaned a greater understanding of the process through artists’ tools and works in progress and could appreciate the sheer artistry and work that went into making the hundreds of strips housed in the museum. A couple of TV screens also featured cartoons the kids enjoyed.
After the cartoon museum we went in search of the legendary Belgian waffles, were pointed to an outdoor stand by a restauranteur soliciting for business. Success! The kids each got chocolate ones, warm and melty. They ate outside by St. Nicholas church. We then traced our steps back to the restauranteur who’d helped us out and opted to eat at his seafood restaurant, set on one of the narrow streets lined with al fresco dining spots.
Our perch was great for people watching -- outside, tucked into a corner away from the walking path. Tourists, locals, families, Asian tour groups, ladies out shopping, teenagers with loads of piercings, men smoking, plenty of dogs being walked…we saw a little of everything meander by.
For lunch Joe and I tried a couple of leffe beers (light and a little darker – good, but I liked Jupiler better) and some fabulous whole grain rolls, shrimp that was outstanding, fries and chicken. At the table adjacent to us a pampered pooch had its own seat with a group of ladies. The dog was dressed in a snappy little outfit and was being hand fed mussels by its owner. Rough life.
After lunch we wandered to the square; Claire and I peeled off to check out the fashion and lace museum, which is fabulous. It’s tucked away on a side street near tons of lace shops – 3 stories of fashion exhibits very tastefully done.
We were given a guide in English w/ verbiage corresponding to a number on each dress exhibited so we took turns reading about the evolution of fashion in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. Gorgeous day, evening, cocktail and wedding dresses were exhibited, having been produced by couture houses, many worn by models.
The brochure had all kinds of details on fastenings, pleats, types of sleeves, some of the events to which they were worn. Along with the dress displays were some photos of the women who’d worn the gowns, and hats, furs, patterns, lace and other accessories were showcased.
We rejoined Joe and Ava for ice cream, then rubbed our hands over the brass effigy of the mediaeval knight ‘t Serclaes near Town Hall for good luck. (He defended the city in the 14th century, saving it from falling into the clutches of the Count of Flanders).
From there we tried another chocolate shop (why not?!).
No doubt a sugar crash led us back to the hotel for recovery, then we wandered out for dinner, settling on an Italian sidewalk café. Our waiter, an elderly man with round glasses, took our order. He stood at the end of the table and simply shouted everything we wanted to his staff nearby. Food and drinks were delivered by a swarm of young, fast-moving Italians. Not a bad gig that older waiter has (maybe he owns the join?!?).
Anyway, great pizza (just like those mouth watering pizzas we ate a ton of when I roved Italy 18 years ago – am I that old? Was it really that long ago?). Claire’s chocolate mousse was out of this world.
Our hotel was city centre so lots of shops and businesses around us – little side streets lined w/ restaurants. We sat outside; the weather was lovely – blue skies and warm.
After coffee, decadent hot chocolate, chocolate croissants for Joe and Claire, a scrumptious cherry pastry for me and a chocolate brownie for Ava, we were sugared up and ready to start our day. (The brownie was masquerading as a muffin, but it ended up being more like fudge cake. I'll justify by stating that since muffins are generally cakelike, what does it matter if we go straight for the heavy duty dessert?!?)
We took the tram to the Grand Market area and checked out the Cathedral. (It’s actually the St. Michael and Gudula Cathedral, but that’s a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it?)
Named for the patron saints of Belgium, said Cathedras is Belgium’s primary church, completed in 1047, when Saint Gudula’s relics were transferred to it. (Apparently she was the daughter of a 7th-century Carolingian nobleman).
In the 1200’s the cathedral was renovated in the Gothic style; the choir was constructed between 1226 and 1276, the facade was completed in the mid 15th century.
Today the Cathedral of St. Michael and Gudula is the episcopal see of the Archbishop of Mechlin-Brussels and therefore the leading Catholic church in Belgium. It’s also the site of all royal weddings and christenings.
Of note: the stained glass windows, designed by various artists including Bernard van Orley, a 16th-century court painter, whose windows are the most spectacular (per the Cathedral’s web site – they all looked good to me).
When we wandered through a painting exhibit – folds – was sprinkled throughout the place. Beautiful, a bit ethereal, folds of cloth were painted in various hues of cream, symbolizing Christ’s ascension.
The church was also being prepared for Easter, with several laides putting gorgeous bright yellow flower arrangements together behind the altar.
From the Cathedral, set on a hill overlooking the city, we headed down to the cartoon museum. There caricatures and cartoon strips, historical information about the development of cartoon art, freedom of speech and information about Belgian’s renowned cartoonists is displayed. It was a beautifully organized, inviting exhibit, much of it in French and Flemish, but we gleaned a greater understanding of the process through artists’ tools and works in progress and could appreciate the sheer artistry and work that went into making the hundreds of strips housed in the museum. A couple of TV screens also featured cartoons the kids enjoyed.
After the cartoon museum we went in search of the legendary Belgian waffles, were pointed to an outdoor stand by a restauranteur soliciting for business. Success! The kids each got chocolate ones, warm and melty. They ate outside by St. Nicholas church. We then traced our steps back to the restauranteur who’d helped us out and opted to eat at his seafood restaurant, set on one of the narrow streets lined with al fresco dining spots.
Our perch was great for people watching -- outside, tucked into a corner away from the walking path. Tourists, locals, families, Asian tour groups, ladies out shopping, teenagers with loads of piercings, men smoking, plenty of dogs being walked…we saw a little of everything meander by.
For lunch Joe and I tried a couple of leffe beers (light and a little darker – good, but I liked Jupiler better) and some fabulous whole grain rolls, shrimp that was outstanding, fries and chicken. At the table adjacent to us a pampered pooch had its own seat with a group of ladies. The dog was dressed in a snappy little outfit and was being hand fed mussels by its owner. Rough life.
After lunch we wandered to the square; Claire and I peeled off to check out the fashion and lace museum, which is fabulous. It’s tucked away on a side street near tons of lace shops – 3 stories of fashion exhibits very tastefully done.
We were given a guide in English w/ verbiage corresponding to a number on each dress exhibited so we took turns reading about the evolution of fashion in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s. Gorgeous day, evening, cocktail and wedding dresses were exhibited, having been produced by couture houses, many worn by models.
The brochure had all kinds of details on fastenings, pleats, types of sleeves, some of the events to which they were worn. Along with the dress displays were some photos of the women who’d worn the gowns, and hats, furs, patterns, lace and other accessories were showcased.
We rejoined Joe and Ava for ice cream, then rubbed our hands over the brass effigy of the mediaeval knight ‘t Serclaes near Town Hall for good luck. (He defended the city in the 14th century, saving it from falling into the clutches of the Count of Flanders).
From there we tried another chocolate shop (why not?!).
No doubt a sugar crash led us back to the hotel for recovery, then we wandered out for dinner, settling on an Italian sidewalk café. Our waiter, an elderly man with round glasses, took our order. He stood at the end of the table and simply shouted everything we wanted to his staff nearby. Food and drinks were delivered by a swarm of young, fast-moving Italians. Not a bad gig that older waiter has (maybe he owns the join?!?).
Anyway, great pizza (just like those mouth watering pizzas we ate a ton of when I roved Italy 18 years ago – am I that old? Was it really that long ago?). Claire’s chocolate mousse was out of this world.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Off to Brussels on Maundy Thursday
Easter/Spring Break
I’ll work backwards on this one…Happy Belated Easter to all; we spent ours in Belgium, where there certainly seem to be – quite appropriately – plenty of churches. And we wandered through a number of them (lovely but like Hindu temples, they start to blend together in one’s mind, or at least in mine).
Anyway, we had a lovely holiday, left on Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday in our neck of the woods). Apparently in England the term is widely used, though not so in Ireland, and its use varies geographically and from religion to religion. So there you go, I’ve just increased your vocabulary.
Our Maundy Thursday started with us scrambling to get out the door as our mini-cab driver (cab isn’t smaller than a black one, just not the same cool London cab you see in all the ads…but it’s cheaper. And at least in this instance, efficient – maybe too efficient).
We got to Saint Pancras train station in plenty of time, retrieved our Eurostar tickets from the machine, zipped through security and immigration, then hopped on the 8:34 a.m. train to Brussels.
Easy, relaxing, clean train ride and speedy too – we were in Brussels 2 hours and 15 minutes later. (At times the thing goes 180 mph.)
Plenty of tunnels, green green green grass/farmland (now I’m dying to see more of the English countryside, especially this time of year). Upon arrival at the train station we of course had to hit a bathroom; en route we passed a mime, a violinist and a lady in the loo handing out cookies. (Yes, Claire has us all calling it the loo at this point.)
We cabbed it to our hotel, then headed via tram to the Grand Place, Brussels’ “center” spot, if you will. Certainly for tourists. Our first stop was lunch. We found a great restaurant near the square located in an old cellar built in the 1600’s. It was cozy and warm on a gray Belgium day, menu was all Greek to us – well French – waiter helped us out though.
Joe’s burger arrived w/ a fried egg on top, the chicken fillets came with pasta sauce, much to the girls’ consternation and I very much enjoyed Belgium’s traditional dish: mussels and French fries. (The fries here are big, meaty and crispy. Perfect. They make McDonalds look puny and cheap.)
That and Belgium beer and we were set.
From there we hit the chocolate museum, located in an old house near the main square – 3 floors of chocolate information and memorabilia.
First we were given samples – yum – then caught part of a chocolate demonstration (in French). The woman in the apron was pouring rich, delicious smelling chocolate into molds. Looked good to me.
Other aspects of the exhibit dealt with growing cocoa beans, harvest, fermentation, drying, etc. Work intensive. The exhibit referenced how the popularity of chocolate spread, how originally it was just a drink, etc.
Then on to Neuhaus (one of doznes of chocolate shops) to sample more Belgian chocolate. We sat outside amidst the growing crowd in the square – lots of people out and about enjoying the warm day (the sun had decided to join us), then we went to the Brussels City museum, which is in the King's House (a lovely, ornate old building) in the Grand'place of Brussels. (The museum opened its doors as such in 1887.)
The top floor boasts 600+ costumes donated to the city for the statue Manneken Pis (Dutch for little pee man). A famous Brussels landmark, Manneken Pis is a fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin.
On various occasions the statue is costumed, changed according to a schedule managed by the non-profit association The Friends of Manneken-Pis, in ceremonies that are often accompanied by brass band music (per wikipedia).
On occasion, the statue is hooked up to a keg of beer and cups are handed to passers-by.
The Manneken Pis costumes we saw at the museum reflect various countries, areas of Belgium, occupations, military branches, global causes, stars (i.e. Elvis), ways of life, etc. An interactive computer gave more detail on costume donors, when they were donated, etc.
We then checked out the other floors of the museum – different aspects of Brussels’ history and art – city development, fire, paintings, sculptures, etc.
Then we headed off to find the infamous statue, winding through narrow streets and checking out all the chocolate shops and lace shops. Plenty of bars and cafes, too. I suspect people here spend plenty of money on beer, coffee and chocolate. I joined in as much as possible, throwing in a few waffles, too.
Ava soon feel asleep in the stroller – bumpy cobblestones and all. (If the stroller decomposes before our eyes it will be because of Brussels’ streets.)
At our last stop – St. Nicholas Church – they were setting up for the Last Supper. Since we weren’t invited we elected to collapse at the hotel.
About the Church (it has an interesting history so I will bore you w/ the details):
One of the oldest churches in Brussels, Saint Nicholas Church was named after Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of the traders because the market was just around the corner. The church was built in an asymmetrical way because a small brook used to run through the street.
The entrance to Saint Nicholas dates from the second half of the 12th century, the choir was completed in 1381 and the side-chapel, devoted to the Holy Virgin, was constructed in 1486.
During religious troubles in the 16th century, the church was plundered and in 1695, during the bombing of Brussels by the French troops, it burned completely. In one of the pillars of the Holy Virgin chapel a canon ball can still be seen (we saw it).
During the Middle Ages St. Nicholas’ tower served as the city belfry (watchtower), but in 1714 it collapsed, killing 1 man and 1 pig – is that a holy way to go or what?).
In 1929 a plan was proposed to demolish the church because it hindered the traffic in the Boterstraat. This plan was never executed, and the old houses surrounding the church have also been preserved.
For dinner we hit a French restaurant near the hotel. Our waitress walked us through the menu – we had to laugh as she described the poultry dish – “it’s between a chicken and a turkey.” (What might that be? Wasn’t a duck; she described that later.)
Re: the last dish…we didn’t understand her first explanation so she said “balls” quite clearly with a gesture to get the point across.
We didn’t order the tur-chicken or the rocky mountain oysters, instead opting for lamb, beef and pasta. All good, lovely ambience and service.
I’ll work backwards on this one…Happy Belated Easter to all; we spent ours in Belgium, where there certainly seem to be – quite appropriately – plenty of churches. And we wandered through a number of them (lovely but like Hindu temples, they start to blend together in one’s mind, or at least in mine).
Anyway, we had a lovely holiday, left on Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday in our neck of the woods). Apparently in England the term is widely used, though not so in Ireland, and its use varies geographically and from religion to religion. So there you go, I’ve just increased your vocabulary.
Our Maundy Thursday started with us scrambling to get out the door as our mini-cab driver (cab isn’t smaller than a black one, just not the same cool London cab you see in all the ads…but it’s cheaper. And at least in this instance, efficient – maybe too efficient).
We got to Saint Pancras train station in plenty of time, retrieved our Eurostar tickets from the machine, zipped through security and immigration, then hopped on the 8:34 a.m. train to Brussels.
Easy, relaxing, clean train ride and speedy too – we were in Brussels 2 hours and 15 minutes later. (At times the thing goes 180 mph.)
Plenty of tunnels, green green green grass/farmland (now I’m dying to see more of the English countryside, especially this time of year). Upon arrival at the train station we of course had to hit a bathroom; en route we passed a mime, a violinist and a lady in the loo handing out cookies. (Yes, Claire has us all calling it the loo at this point.)
We cabbed it to our hotel, then headed via tram to the Grand Place, Brussels’ “center” spot, if you will. Certainly for tourists. Our first stop was lunch. We found a great restaurant near the square located in an old cellar built in the 1600’s. It was cozy and warm on a gray Belgium day, menu was all Greek to us – well French – waiter helped us out though.
Joe’s burger arrived w/ a fried egg on top, the chicken fillets came with pasta sauce, much to the girls’ consternation and I very much enjoyed Belgium’s traditional dish: mussels and French fries. (The fries here are big, meaty and crispy. Perfect. They make McDonalds look puny and cheap.)
That and Belgium beer and we were set.
From there we hit the chocolate museum, located in an old house near the main square – 3 floors of chocolate information and memorabilia.
First we were given samples – yum – then caught part of a chocolate demonstration (in French). The woman in the apron was pouring rich, delicious smelling chocolate into molds. Looked good to me.
Other aspects of the exhibit dealt with growing cocoa beans, harvest, fermentation, drying, etc. Work intensive. The exhibit referenced how the popularity of chocolate spread, how originally it was just a drink, etc.
Then on to Neuhaus (one of doznes of chocolate shops) to sample more Belgian chocolate. We sat outside amidst the growing crowd in the square – lots of people out and about enjoying the warm day (the sun had decided to join us), then we went to the Brussels City museum, which is in the King's House (a lovely, ornate old building) in the Grand'place of Brussels. (The museum opened its doors as such in 1887.)
The top floor boasts 600+ costumes donated to the city for the statue Manneken Pis (Dutch for little pee man). A famous Brussels landmark, Manneken Pis is a fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin.
On various occasions the statue is costumed, changed according to a schedule managed by the non-profit association The Friends of Manneken-Pis, in ceremonies that are often accompanied by brass band music (per wikipedia).
On occasion, the statue is hooked up to a keg of beer and cups are handed to passers-by.
The Manneken Pis costumes we saw at the museum reflect various countries, areas of Belgium, occupations, military branches, global causes, stars (i.e. Elvis), ways of life, etc. An interactive computer gave more detail on costume donors, when they were donated, etc.
We then checked out the other floors of the museum – different aspects of Brussels’ history and art – city development, fire, paintings, sculptures, etc.
Then we headed off to find the infamous statue, winding through narrow streets and checking out all the chocolate shops and lace shops. Plenty of bars and cafes, too. I suspect people here spend plenty of money on beer, coffee and chocolate. I joined in as much as possible, throwing in a few waffles, too.
Ava soon feel asleep in the stroller – bumpy cobblestones and all. (If the stroller decomposes before our eyes it will be because of Brussels’ streets.)
At our last stop – St. Nicholas Church – they were setting up for the Last Supper. Since we weren’t invited we elected to collapse at the hotel.
About the Church (it has an interesting history so I will bore you w/ the details):
One of the oldest churches in Brussels, Saint Nicholas Church was named after Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of the traders because the market was just around the corner. The church was built in an asymmetrical way because a small brook used to run through the street.
The entrance to Saint Nicholas dates from the second half of the 12th century, the choir was completed in 1381 and the side-chapel, devoted to the Holy Virgin, was constructed in 1486.
During religious troubles in the 16th century, the church was plundered and in 1695, during the bombing of Brussels by the French troops, it burned completely. In one of the pillars of the Holy Virgin chapel a canon ball can still be seen (we saw it).
During the Middle Ages St. Nicholas’ tower served as the city belfry (watchtower), but in 1714 it collapsed, killing 1 man and 1 pig – is that a holy way to go or what?).
In 1929 a plan was proposed to demolish the church because it hindered the traffic in the Boterstraat. This plan was never executed, and the old houses surrounding the church have also been preserved.
For dinner we hit a French restaurant near the hotel. Our waitress walked us through the menu – we had to laugh as she described the poultry dish – “it’s between a chicken and a turkey.” (What might that be? Wasn’t a duck; she described that later.)
Re: the last dish…we didn’t understand her first explanation so she said “balls” quite clearly with a gesture to get the point across.
We didn’t order the tur-chicken or the rocky mountain oysters, instead opting for lamb, beef and pasta. All good, lovely ambience and service.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Shopping, Cabbages and Frocks and a Really Good Beach
My latest greatest adventure these days is furnishing the house, which we should move into mid-month. (I say should because moving does hinge on having beds for sleeping...)
Thursday Ava and I measured rooms and photographed spaces in our house, which is an old Victorian home (no, I don’t know when it was built) in St. Johns Wood. It’s on a lovely street lined with other brownstones; behind us is a private garden shared by us and our future neighbors.
Anyway, since we left all of our forks, hangers, pillows (not to mention couches, TVs and beds) in North Carolina (and no, we really haven’t missed anything, certainly not enough to go get it) it’s SHOPPING TIME!
Ava and Eva hung out (Eva being our Polish babysitter, Ivonne was from Bolivia – international childcare at its best) while I shopped at John Lewis, which I’m told is your all around good service/quality/price provider.
Actually I was helped by Tony from Perth (you might wonder if anyone I interact with on a day to day is from England), who was a great help in figuring out what would work best in our narrow, 4 level place. He’s a John Lewis furniture advisor and seemed to “get” what we’re looking for – furniture w/ clean lines, neutral, casual and comfortable.
Round 2 of shopping will take place later today: rugs and electronics.
I’ve also spent a good deal of time on Amazon, seeking out the deals on house wares. All fun and games but a bit time consuming.
Friday evening Joe and I had a date, this time to a pub called The Engineer in Primrose Hill, not far from us. It’s a neat little gastropub with the best fries I’ve had in I’m not sure how long – really thick and meaty, with just the right crisp salty but not too salty coating, meaty warm potato inside.
The lamb was superb, too; we finished the evening with desserts at a French café in St. Johns Wood.
And Saturday we all slept in, then wandered down to the Cabbages and Frocks market near Baker Street. It didn’t live up to its name, not a single cabbage to be found, and there were a few frocks but nothing to write home about.
However, we did enjoy some farm-fresh sausages a young guy was diligently grilling and serving with freshly grilled onions. The Lincolnshire ones are his most popular, so that’s what Joe and I had; Ava had a curled up beef sausage and Claire went with a big, meaty burger. All served on homemade rolls.
We also loaded up on hot chocolate at the café truck, which apparently pulls into the Cabbages and Frocks market (in a green “circle” near a big Methodist church off Marylebone Street) each week.
Oh, the other thing that rocked were the cupcakes – we hit the cupcake lady’s stand after a little sojourn down Marylebone High Street (not to be confused with the former Marylebone).
The area is packed with cool cafes, and since it was a very nice day, everyone in London was sitting outside, drinking beer, wine or coffee. (Those people who worry about waiting until 5:00 don’t live here, apparently.)
I stopped in a couple of great cheese, meat and bread shops. Claire’s the bread picker these days so we got our loaf and found Joe and Ava in a park. That, too, was cool; London’s green spaces and playgrounds are awesome. (Of course coming from India we’re probably easy to impress in the playground department.)
We ended our outing w/ a few errands and a Stella Artoise at home.
Sunday we made haste to hit Westminster Cathedral for Palm Sunday Mass. We slid in a couple minutes late, but then so did half the congregation. A lovely place for worship, it’s hard to take in the enormity of the place.
Some info…
The Cathedral Church of Westminster -- dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ -- was designed in the Early Christian Byzantine style by Victorian architect John Francis Bentley. The foundation stone was laid in 1895, the fabric of the building completed eight years later.
The interior, though incomplete, contains fine marble-work and mosaics. The fourteen Stations of the Cross by sculptor Eric Gill are world renowned.
The Cathedral site had a varied past – it was originally known as Bulinga Fen and formed part of the marsh around Westminster. Reclaimed by the Benedictine monks (the builders and owners of Westminster Abbey), the space was then used as a market and fairground. After reformation the land was used as a maze, a pleasure garden and as a ring for bull-baiting (I’ve heard of bull fighting, but bull baiting?).
In the 17th century part of the land was sold for the construction of a prison which was demolished and replaced by an enlarged prison complex in 1834. The site was acquired by the Catholic Church in 1884.
I must say Westminster’s 9:00 mass was the shortest Palm Sunday experience I’ve ever had. We were done before 10. (Apparently they had a bigger service with procession (?) later in the morning, so opted for the shorter reading and passed on a homily.)
Afterward we wandered through the cathedral, then went up to the bell tower to check out London from above. Nice, clear day so we saw plenty of buildings, old and new, and a plethora of cranes. We could see St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, Canary Wharf, etc. And a great view of the main part of the cathedral below. (It has a name, I just can’t remember it.)
From there we set off walking to Buckingham Palace, where changing of the guard was not happening (it’s every other day) but a big crowd was gathered anyway. We joined them for a bit, watching the guards occasionally stride, then wandered on to find a pub for lunch. We passed guards on horses at the Household Cavalry Museum, which of course captivated the kids.
And for lunch we landed at a pub near Trafalgar Square, a sleepy breakfast/paper reading kind of place with decent bar food, where we perched at a tall table.
Yesterday (Monday) the kids and I, after a slow start, headed off to the National Portrait Gallery for one of their family events. The place offers workshops for lids over the age of 5 (ok I fudged a little on A’s age); today’s was an hour and a half program on mobile portraits. (The gist: creating from felt a representation of yourself and the things/people you enjoy and making a mobile with them.) First step was drawing the ideas, then the kids had at it with glue and scissors.
They seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves, then we caught lunch at a spaghetti restaurant, shlepped up to the grocery store and collapsed at home.
Ava was talking about various countries yesterday, so I asked which was her favorite – Australia, the US, England, India, Singapore. Her very firm answer was: “A country with a BEACH.”
So there you have it. The secret to choosing the best place to live is not culture, infrastructure, standard of living, weather or lifestyle.
It's simply access to a good beach.
Thursday Ava and I measured rooms and photographed spaces in our house, which is an old Victorian home (no, I don’t know when it was built) in St. Johns Wood. It’s on a lovely street lined with other brownstones; behind us is a private garden shared by us and our future neighbors.
Anyway, since we left all of our forks, hangers, pillows (not to mention couches, TVs and beds) in North Carolina (and no, we really haven’t missed anything, certainly not enough to go get it) it’s SHOPPING TIME!
Ava and Eva hung out (Eva being our Polish babysitter, Ivonne was from Bolivia – international childcare at its best) while I shopped at John Lewis, which I’m told is your all around good service/quality/price provider.
Actually I was helped by Tony from Perth (you might wonder if anyone I interact with on a day to day is from England), who was a great help in figuring out what would work best in our narrow, 4 level place. He’s a John Lewis furniture advisor and seemed to “get” what we’re looking for – furniture w/ clean lines, neutral, casual and comfortable.
Round 2 of shopping will take place later today: rugs and electronics.
I’ve also spent a good deal of time on Amazon, seeking out the deals on house wares. All fun and games but a bit time consuming.
Friday evening Joe and I had a date, this time to a pub called The Engineer in Primrose Hill, not far from us. It’s a neat little gastropub with the best fries I’ve had in I’m not sure how long – really thick and meaty, with just the right crisp salty but not too salty coating, meaty warm potato inside.
The lamb was superb, too; we finished the evening with desserts at a French café in St. Johns Wood.
And Saturday we all slept in, then wandered down to the Cabbages and Frocks market near Baker Street. It didn’t live up to its name, not a single cabbage to be found, and there were a few frocks but nothing to write home about.
However, we did enjoy some farm-fresh sausages a young guy was diligently grilling and serving with freshly grilled onions. The Lincolnshire ones are his most popular, so that’s what Joe and I had; Ava had a curled up beef sausage and Claire went with a big, meaty burger. All served on homemade rolls.
We also loaded up on hot chocolate at the café truck, which apparently pulls into the Cabbages and Frocks market (in a green “circle” near a big Methodist church off Marylebone Street) each week.
Oh, the other thing that rocked were the cupcakes – we hit the cupcake lady’s stand after a little sojourn down Marylebone High Street (not to be confused with the former Marylebone).
The area is packed with cool cafes, and since it was a very nice day, everyone in London was sitting outside, drinking beer, wine or coffee. (Those people who worry about waiting until 5:00 don’t live here, apparently.)
I stopped in a couple of great cheese, meat and bread shops. Claire’s the bread picker these days so we got our loaf and found Joe and Ava in a park. That, too, was cool; London’s green spaces and playgrounds are awesome. (Of course coming from India we’re probably easy to impress in the playground department.)
We ended our outing w/ a few errands and a Stella Artoise at home.
Sunday we made haste to hit Westminster Cathedral for Palm Sunday Mass. We slid in a couple minutes late, but then so did half the congregation. A lovely place for worship, it’s hard to take in the enormity of the place.
Some info…
The Cathedral Church of Westminster -- dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ -- was designed in the Early Christian Byzantine style by Victorian architect John Francis Bentley. The foundation stone was laid in 1895, the fabric of the building completed eight years later.
The interior, though incomplete, contains fine marble-work and mosaics. The fourteen Stations of the Cross by sculptor Eric Gill are world renowned.
The Cathedral site had a varied past – it was originally known as Bulinga Fen and formed part of the marsh around Westminster. Reclaimed by the Benedictine monks (the builders and owners of Westminster Abbey), the space was then used as a market and fairground. After reformation the land was used as a maze, a pleasure garden and as a ring for bull-baiting (I’ve heard of bull fighting, but bull baiting?).
In the 17th century part of the land was sold for the construction of a prison which was demolished and replaced by an enlarged prison complex in 1834. The site was acquired by the Catholic Church in 1884.
I must say Westminster’s 9:00 mass was the shortest Palm Sunday experience I’ve ever had. We were done before 10. (Apparently they had a bigger service with procession (?) later in the morning, so opted for the shorter reading and passed on a homily.)
Afterward we wandered through the cathedral, then went up to the bell tower to check out London from above. Nice, clear day so we saw plenty of buildings, old and new, and a plethora of cranes. We could see St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, Canary Wharf, etc. And a great view of the main part of the cathedral below. (It has a name, I just can’t remember it.)
From there we set off walking to Buckingham Palace, where changing of the guard was not happening (it’s every other day) but a big crowd was gathered anyway. We joined them for a bit, watching the guards occasionally stride, then wandered on to find a pub for lunch. We passed guards on horses at the Household Cavalry Museum, which of course captivated the kids.
And for lunch we landed at a pub near Trafalgar Square, a sleepy breakfast/paper reading kind of place with decent bar food, where we perched at a tall table.
Yesterday (Monday) the kids and I, after a slow start, headed off to the National Portrait Gallery for one of their family events. The place offers workshops for lids over the age of 5 (ok I fudged a little on A’s age); today’s was an hour and a half program on mobile portraits. (The gist: creating from felt a representation of yourself and the things/people you enjoy and making a mobile with them.) First step was drawing the ideas, then the kids had at it with glue and scissors.
They seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves, then we caught lunch at a spaghetti restaurant, shlepped up to the grocery store and collapsed at home.
Ava was talking about various countries yesterday, so I asked which was her favorite – Australia, the US, England, India, Singapore. Her very firm answer was: “A country with a BEACH.”
So there you have it. The secret to choosing the best place to live is not culture, infrastructure, standard of living, weather or lifestyle.
It's simply access to a good beach.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Culture culture and more culture
April 2
Well…the big news here of course is the G20 and protestors. While I do love to check everything out, I passed on the action down in the banking center yesterday. I figure Obama needs as much support as he can get if he’s going to fulfill any of his campaign promises.
You can feel the buzz of excitement here over the whole thing and plenty of news to incite yet larger demonstrations. We’ll see what today brings…
Unfortunately, the American School kids did not get to see the Prez, who apparently mentioned dropping in for a walk-through prior to his evening event there on Tuesday. (A group of ASL kids did get to see Clinton several years ago when he came through; they were bussed down to Hyde Park for meet/greet/photos.)
We saw plenty of snipers setting up on the roof and no doubt we were all being watched like hawks as we left the high school performance of Grease Tuesday afternoon. (Kids did a great job, Claire thoroughly enjoyed it, Ava thought the music was great but that it was 20 minutes too long. At least that’s what I inferred from the “when is it going to be OVER?” stage whispers.)
Tuesday was a big day for me – I spent some time at the National Portrait Gallery, where a Richter exhibit is on display. (That would be Gerhard Richter, one of world’s greatest living artists. Yes, well I found that online.)
Anyway, I very much enjoyed the exhibit – not terribly large, it came with a written guide to each photo – great way to understand the works better. Essentially, per Richter “A portrait must not express anything of the sitter's 'soul', essence or character.” Thus many of his works are deliberately “veiled” or appear to have a veneer over the subject matter, leaving a sense of mystery, of surface that is skimmed over rather than delved into.
Very cool, very good reminder that rarely is anything as it seems.
After wandering through Richter’s exhibition, I tuned into an exhibit of John Constable’s portraits (with a few landscapes thrown in). He is “celebrated as one of England’s greatest landscape artists but he also excelled in capturing likenesses and personalities.”
Paintings of Constable, drawings of friends and family, his wife and children and areas around his home were on display, as were wealthy families, clergymen and landed gentry (great terminology, landed gentry).
From the Portrait Gallery I headed to lunch at an incredible little deli that called to me en route to the paintings: Gaby’s. It was the food in the windows that was bellowing: a whole bunch of delicious looking side dishes, with a big sign for salted beef.
I bypassed the takeout counter and took a table; on the wall were all kinds of newspaper articles applauding the food, a picture of Matt Damon with the chef (that sold me, I’m sure my husband will say). I had the falafel but the owner gave me a slice of salted beef on the way out, told me it was better than America’s corned beef (salted beef/corned beef = same thing). Now I need to go back and tell him my mom makes a mean corned beef and cabbage. Plus I need to go back and have one of those salted beef sandwiches – the falafel was the best I’d ever had and that sample of salted beef was wicked good.
My high culture day – from portraits to Grease – continued with the ballet. I met up w/ a group of ladies from the international club at ASL for Swan Lake Tuesday evening. Great production, great theatre. I know very little about ballet, but Swan Lake was beautiful – a poignant love story with music that alone could carry one away. The ballerinas really did look like swans, so graceful and elegant. Apparently it was first performed in Russia in the 1800’s, circulating regularly today. Endings to the production vary; in this case the two lovers, unable to be together, commit suicide and are shown rising together to heaven in apotheosis.
One of the women in our group takes ballet twice a week, so it was interesting to hear her reactions, plus how cool is that to continue with ballet as a parent and adult. So often it seems we chauffeur our kids to activities and watch; it’s refreshing for them and us to change it up a bit.
Speaking of, yesterday I took my kids to school, then went to school myself. (Up to this point Ava’s been saying “Claire goes to school, I go to school, Dad goes to work, Mom goes home and does nothing.” Either that or she thinks I should grocery shop. Exciting stuff.)
My first day of class, “Ancient Britain,” kicked off yesterday – great group, mostly women, sharp and interesting. We discussed the first half of a very dry book (also called Ancient Britain) which contains very interesting information – descendents of 7 daughters of Eve, Britain as its own culture thousands of years BC, as opposed to a group that learned it all from the Romans, Celts, etc.
We’ll head to Stonehenge and a variety of other archeological sites as we get further into the material.
I did also watch a documentary on said material last night, great pictures of some of the sights where many artifacts and structures have been found. Not terribly exciting primetime viewing, per my husband’s reaction. He vacated the couch.
Today I got my first London hair cut – took a shot in the dark with a 29 pound offer for a 90 pound hair cut. Sounded like a great deal to me. After I’d booked I did think, gee what am I getting myself into flying blind w/ a hairdresser. (Reality is, the hair is already pretty short, what’s the worst he could do?) Plus it’s hair. Grows fast and is quite expendable.
I’m quite pleased with the result, I feel somewhat hip and young again – nothing too spiky or out there (but give me some time here and I may come home w/ it half shaved, complemented by a couple of groovy tattoos and some more piercings).
Well…the big news here of course is the G20 and protestors. While I do love to check everything out, I passed on the action down in the banking center yesterday. I figure Obama needs as much support as he can get if he’s going to fulfill any of his campaign promises.
You can feel the buzz of excitement here over the whole thing and plenty of news to incite yet larger demonstrations. We’ll see what today brings…
Unfortunately, the American School kids did not get to see the Prez, who apparently mentioned dropping in for a walk-through prior to his evening event there on Tuesday. (A group of ASL kids did get to see Clinton several years ago when he came through; they were bussed down to Hyde Park for meet/greet/photos.)
We saw plenty of snipers setting up on the roof and no doubt we were all being watched like hawks as we left the high school performance of Grease Tuesday afternoon. (Kids did a great job, Claire thoroughly enjoyed it, Ava thought the music was great but that it was 20 minutes too long. At least that’s what I inferred from the “when is it going to be OVER?” stage whispers.)
Tuesday was a big day for me – I spent some time at the National Portrait Gallery, where a Richter exhibit is on display. (That would be Gerhard Richter, one of world’s greatest living artists. Yes, well I found that online.)
Anyway, I very much enjoyed the exhibit – not terribly large, it came with a written guide to each photo – great way to understand the works better. Essentially, per Richter “A portrait must not express anything of the sitter's 'soul', essence or character.” Thus many of his works are deliberately “veiled” or appear to have a veneer over the subject matter, leaving a sense of mystery, of surface that is skimmed over rather than delved into.
Very cool, very good reminder that rarely is anything as it seems.
After wandering through Richter’s exhibition, I tuned into an exhibit of John Constable’s portraits (with a few landscapes thrown in). He is “celebrated as one of England’s greatest landscape artists but he also excelled in capturing likenesses and personalities.”
Paintings of Constable, drawings of friends and family, his wife and children and areas around his home were on display, as were wealthy families, clergymen and landed gentry (great terminology, landed gentry).
From the Portrait Gallery I headed to lunch at an incredible little deli that called to me en route to the paintings: Gaby’s. It was the food in the windows that was bellowing: a whole bunch of delicious looking side dishes, with a big sign for salted beef.
I bypassed the takeout counter and took a table; on the wall were all kinds of newspaper articles applauding the food, a picture of Matt Damon with the chef (that sold me, I’m sure my husband will say). I had the falafel but the owner gave me a slice of salted beef on the way out, told me it was better than America’s corned beef (salted beef/corned beef = same thing). Now I need to go back and tell him my mom makes a mean corned beef and cabbage. Plus I need to go back and have one of those salted beef sandwiches – the falafel was the best I’d ever had and that sample of salted beef was wicked good.
My high culture day – from portraits to Grease – continued with the ballet. I met up w/ a group of ladies from the international club at ASL for Swan Lake Tuesday evening. Great production, great theatre. I know very little about ballet, but Swan Lake was beautiful – a poignant love story with music that alone could carry one away. The ballerinas really did look like swans, so graceful and elegant. Apparently it was first performed in Russia in the 1800’s, circulating regularly today. Endings to the production vary; in this case the two lovers, unable to be together, commit suicide and are shown rising together to heaven in apotheosis.
One of the women in our group takes ballet twice a week, so it was interesting to hear her reactions, plus how cool is that to continue with ballet as a parent and adult. So often it seems we chauffeur our kids to activities and watch; it’s refreshing for them and us to change it up a bit.
Speaking of, yesterday I took my kids to school, then went to school myself. (Up to this point Ava’s been saying “Claire goes to school, I go to school, Dad goes to work, Mom goes home and does nothing.” Either that or she thinks I should grocery shop. Exciting stuff.)
My first day of class, “Ancient Britain,” kicked off yesterday – great group, mostly women, sharp and interesting. We discussed the first half of a very dry book (also called Ancient Britain) which contains very interesting information – descendents of 7 daughters of Eve, Britain as its own culture thousands of years BC, as opposed to a group that learned it all from the Romans, Celts, etc.
We’ll head to Stonehenge and a variety of other archeological sites as we get further into the material.
I did also watch a documentary on said material last night, great pictures of some of the sights where many artifacts and structures have been found. Not terribly exciting primetime viewing, per my husband’s reaction. He vacated the couch.
Today I got my first London hair cut – took a shot in the dark with a 29 pound offer for a 90 pound hair cut. Sounded like a great deal to me. After I’d booked I did think, gee what am I getting myself into flying blind w/ a hairdresser. (Reality is, the hair is already pretty short, what’s the worst he could do?) Plus it’s hair. Grows fast and is quite expendable.
I’m quite pleased with the result, I feel somewhat hip and young again – nothing too spiky or out there (but give me some time here and I may come home w/ it half shaved, complemented by a couple of groovy tattoos and some more piercings).
Monday, March 30, 2009
We Will Rock You, Italian Food and Barack Obama -- how's that for a mix?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
How did it become the last day of March already?!?
Joe and I had a nice night out Saturday – caught a quick bite and a beer at a pub in the theatre district prior to attending “We Will Rock You,” a theatre production based on Queen’s music. It totally rocked and I would see it again. And again. I was dancing in my seat!
Leading up to the theatre, though, was a bit of a laugh – I’d gotten hooked up w/ the evening’s babysitter via a mom in Ava’s class. She has twins and has had a nanny (Carmen) from the start. Carmen came highly recommended, responded immediately to my request, etc.
But late last week I got a text message from her saying she’d had to leave town for Bolivia. Bolivia?!?
Not to worry, though, she was going to send her mom.
I talked with her mom, who said her daughter Heidi (who will now be a nanny for the mom of twins in Ava’s class) would babysit.
Low and behold, 5:30 rolled around on Friday and no Carmen, no Carmen’s mom, no Heidi. They’d sent another relative, Ivonne, who was standing in front of the wrong house #30. (She called Heidi, who’d called her mom to notify me.) After working through the phone tree, Ivonne did appear at our door and did take very good care of the kids. I shall keep the contact info on the Bolivian network.
(BTW, Julie – mother of twins –said Carmen gave a day’s notice before leaving to marry her boyfriend. No, she’s not 19 – 31.)
A little tighter for time after getting the babysitting thing coordinated (too tight for proper sit down meal, which really was quite fine as we were in the mood for bar food), we took the underground to our destination, which spilled us out in front of the Dominion Theatre. We then canvassed the nearby blocks for a bar that beckoned, landed at a huge place with two bars, tons of tables upstairs and down. Humming with activity, they were on their last food legs. I convinced the bar tender to hook us up w/ 2 chicken pies and mash.
Sated, we headed off to be rocked, only to find 2 people in our seats! (I’d gotten our tickets at a discount outlet earlier in the day. I did ask the people in line if they’d purchased at said outlet in the past; the answer was yes, good experience, great seats/value….).
Our friendly usher disappeared to address the problem, came back to tell us our money would be refunded to our card no later than Monday, leaving us…with no show to watch?!? Unless of course we wanted to pay full face value.
Thankfully we were in front of the box office and the woman selling tix graciously sold us house seats at half price – better discount than I’d gotten at the ticket outlet earlier in the day. And maybe nine rows back in the center of a fabulous theatre.
At intermission we were provided a letter of proof just in case we need it to ensure our double-booked tickets are refunded.
So great service at the Dominion – very professional – and may I say again, a GREAT show – the music, the costuming, the humor, the farfetched, fun story. Must own CD!
On Sunday we tripped off to an Italian cultural festival. It was more like a trade show, with tons of well organized booths set up inside a big convention center. We ate our way through – fabulous roasted pork, homemade noodles (we watched the woman making them), gelato, and then of course sampled olive oils, breads, salamis and prosciuttos, olives, cheeses…food mecca.
Cooking and wine demos were arranged as well. I caught one on everyday Italian wines, which was good, but best were the little booths with people showing where different wines are produced in Italy’s microclimates.
Naturally we walked away with goodies (I told Joe for the prices next time we should just cut to the chase and buy the villa in the Italian countryside; Lord knows there were plenty of people selling real estate). Our “souvenirs”: wine, salami, buffalo mozzarella (incredibly good w/ crusty bread and prosciutto – that’s what we had for dinner).
Today Barack Obama will be at Claire’s school – hope she’ll be able to see him. He’s scheduled for an event at the school late in the day.
And I’m off to the ballet with the ladies this evening, which I’m quite excited about.
How did it become the last day of March already?!?
Joe and I had a nice night out Saturday – caught a quick bite and a beer at a pub in the theatre district prior to attending “We Will Rock You,” a theatre production based on Queen’s music. It totally rocked and I would see it again. And again. I was dancing in my seat!
Leading up to the theatre, though, was a bit of a laugh – I’d gotten hooked up w/ the evening’s babysitter via a mom in Ava’s class. She has twins and has had a nanny (Carmen) from the start. Carmen came highly recommended, responded immediately to my request, etc.
But late last week I got a text message from her saying she’d had to leave town for Bolivia. Bolivia?!?
Not to worry, though, she was going to send her mom.
I talked with her mom, who said her daughter Heidi (who will now be a nanny for the mom of twins in Ava’s class) would babysit.
Low and behold, 5:30 rolled around on Friday and no Carmen, no Carmen’s mom, no Heidi. They’d sent another relative, Ivonne, who was standing in front of the wrong house #30. (She called Heidi, who’d called her mom to notify me.) After working through the phone tree, Ivonne did appear at our door and did take very good care of the kids. I shall keep the contact info on the Bolivian network.
(BTW, Julie – mother of twins –said Carmen gave a day’s notice before leaving to marry her boyfriend. No, she’s not 19 – 31.)
A little tighter for time after getting the babysitting thing coordinated (too tight for proper sit down meal, which really was quite fine as we were in the mood for bar food), we took the underground to our destination, which spilled us out in front of the Dominion Theatre. We then canvassed the nearby blocks for a bar that beckoned, landed at a huge place with two bars, tons of tables upstairs and down. Humming with activity, they were on their last food legs. I convinced the bar tender to hook us up w/ 2 chicken pies and mash.
Sated, we headed off to be rocked, only to find 2 people in our seats! (I’d gotten our tickets at a discount outlet earlier in the day. I did ask the people in line if they’d purchased at said outlet in the past; the answer was yes, good experience, great seats/value….).
Our friendly usher disappeared to address the problem, came back to tell us our money would be refunded to our card no later than Monday, leaving us…with no show to watch?!? Unless of course we wanted to pay full face value.
Thankfully we were in front of the box office and the woman selling tix graciously sold us house seats at half price – better discount than I’d gotten at the ticket outlet earlier in the day. And maybe nine rows back in the center of a fabulous theatre.
At intermission we were provided a letter of proof just in case we need it to ensure our double-booked tickets are refunded.
So great service at the Dominion – very professional – and may I say again, a GREAT show – the music, the costuming, the humor, the farfetched, fun story. Must own CD!
On Sunday we tripped off to an Italian cultural festival. It was more like a trade show, with tons of well organized booths set up inside a big convention center. We ate our way through – fabulous roasted pork, homemade noodles (we watched the woman making them), gelato, and then of course sampled olive oils, breads, salamis and prosciuttos, olives, cheeses…food mecca.
Cooking and wine demos were arranged as well. I caught one on everyday Italian wines, which was good, but best were the little booths with people showing where different wines are produced in Italy’s microclimates.
Naturally we walked away with goodies (I told Joe for the prices next time we should just cut to the chase and buy the villa in the Italian countryside; Lord knows there were plenty of people selling real estate). Our “souvenirs”: wine, salami, buffalo mozzarella (incredibly good w/ crusty bread and prosciutto – that’s what we had for dinner).
Today Barack Obama will be at Claire’s school – hope she’ll be able to see him. He’s scheduled for an event at the school late in the day.
And I’m off to the ballet with the ladies this evening, which I’m quite excited about.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Tightie Whities (got your attendtion, didn't I?)
Friday, March 27
Temperatures are dipping here in Londontown; yesterday alternated between light rain, voracious wind, sunny, blue skies and threatening gray clouds. At one point Ava, who was home with me (ear pain resulting from congestion/ a cold), asked why the electricity kept going off. Nothing as exciting as power loss, just the sun turning it on and off.
Speaking of power, one of those things you don’t think about until it goes out (or your bill is astronomical), it’s been nice to be someplace where power is consistent. We’d gotten used to finding ourselves (temporary) in the dark regularly in India. (That said, we were lucky to be in facilities where generators kicked in, unlike so many areas throughout the country.)
Despite ear pain, it doesn’t look like A has an ear infection at this point; the nurse at Claire’s school checked her out yesterday – the kid prolifically produces ear wax, though, so we left w/ info on dropping a bit of olive oil in them , which helps clear out the extra gunk. Who knew? And who knew that you would come to this blog and read about exciting topics such as ear wax? Parent-share syndrome.
I caught up with the ladies (moms) at Ava’s school last night over dinner. Very nice group, and a mix – working, stay at home, British, transplants, ex-pats. All with children except Ms. Hill, Ava’s teacher, who will get married in July. She’s a delightful woman who is wonderful with kids and seems to love her job. She and her fiancé are off to Africa for a 3 week honeymoon, which per some of the other ladies is the norm, even a bit short. Obviously we Americans work too much or think we need to work too much. No doubt we bring it on ourselves.
I sat next to a woman whose family is from Pakistan. She grew up in London but has extended family there and visits less now, as she has a baby and four-year-old and navigating the environment and its lack of infrastructure, political issues, etc. are a bit of a deterrent (how’s that for understatement).
She talked about how much more progressive India is with regard to said infrastructure. This I found startling, as so much of what we take for granted -- power, as noted, good roads, clean water, etc. -- are not the norm in India. Pakistan, then, must really be a reality check. She also said it’s so “have and have not,” which we saw in India, though the middle class has clearly been growing in recent years as India’s economy has gained ground. Apparently her grandfather died recently and was in what was Pakistan’s “best” hospital…with cats running freely throughout and care she referred to as “a joke.” She and her husband had brought medicine from the U.S., where they lived for a bit, to help him.
Crazy world we live in.
Today I’ll be looking at furniture – it’s great to travel light, but we do need beds in our new home, which we expect to move into in mid-April. And I have a morning coffee on my calendar with the Abercorn staff and parents. I must say I drink plenty of coffee and hot chocolate here. Keeping the economy going in Brazil.
Saturday
I so enjoyed coffee with some of the Abercorn parents and staff yesterday – again, a nice mix of people – an Italian woman married to someone from India, a lady from New Zealand, a British woman who grew up in New York…
The kids and I had a London “moment” after school, after departing John Lewis (nice department store) on Oxford Street, where we’d gone in search of a birthday gift. As we meandered back to the tube, Ava curled up in a ball in the stroller needing a good snack (she claimed she ate all of her fish cake at school, and waxed poetic about how spinach would make her strong like “Papaya” – I believe that would be Pop-eye – but I do wonder how much she actually eats for lunch. Probably too busy/or choosy to dig in properly, since she eats a full meal as soon as she gets home every day).
Anyway, the stroller was also laden w/ backpacks and I had a bag of goodies from the food section at John Lewis, so I was doing my best to weave in and out of foot traffic, keep track of Claire and not get run over -- while balancing all this crap and not breaking anything (I need a pack mule, perhaps?)-- when I heard some very LOUD, very upbeat music blaring from Debonshams (sp? - another department store).
A crowd was gathering around a stage set directly in front of one of the store entrances, where two muscular men were wearing tightie whities and black boots. And that’s all. Jockey. Dancing. What a hoot.
Uninspired to drop in and buy underwear (or anything else for that matter) we continued on to the Bond Street tube station to get Ava home and pump her with cheese and crackers.
Temperatures are dipping here in Londontown; yesterday alternated between light rain, voracious wind, sunny, blue skies and threatening gray clouds. At one point Ava, who was home with me (ear pain resulting from congestion/ a cold), asked why the electricity kept going off. Nothing as exciting as power loss, just the sun turning it on and off.
Speaking of power, one of those things you don’t think about until it goes out (or your bill is astronomical), it’s been nice to be someplace where power is consistent. We’d gotten used to finding ourselves (temporary) in the dark regularly in India. (That said, we were lucky to be in facilities where generators kicked in, unlike so many areas throughout the country.)
Despite ear pain, it doesn’t look like A has an ear infection at this point; the nurse at Claire’s school checked her out yesterday – the kid prolifically produces ear wax, though, so we left w/ info on dropping a bit of olive oil in them , which helps clear out the extra gunk. Who knew? And who knew that you would come to this blog and read about exciting topics such as ear wax? Parent-share syndrome.
I caught up with the ladies (moms) at Ava’s school last night over dinner. Very nice group, and a mix – working, stay at home, British, transplants, ex-pats. All with children except Ms. Hill, Ava’s teacher, who will get married in July. She’s a delightful woman who is wonderful with kids and seems to love her job. She and her fiancé are off to Africa for a 3 week honeymoon, which per some of the other ladies is the norm, even a bit short. Obviously we Americans work too much or think we need to work too much. No doubt we bring it on ourselves.
I sat next to a woman whose family is from Pakistan. She grew up in London but has extended family there and visits less now, as she has a baby and four-year-old and navigating the environment and its lack of infrastructure, political issues, etc. are a bit of a deterrent (how’s that for understatement).
She talked about how much more progressive India is with regard to said infrastructure. This I found startling, as so much of what we take for granted -- power, as noted, good roads, clean water, etc. -- are not the norm in India. Pakistan, then, must really be a reality check. She also said it’s so “have and have not,” which we saw in India, though the middle class has clearly been growing in recent years as India’s economy has gained ground. Apparently her grandfather died recently and was in what was Pakistan’s “best” hospital…with cats running freely throughout and care she referred to as “a joke.” She and her husband had brought medicine from the U.S., where they lived for a bit, to help him.
Crazy world we live in.
Today I’ll be looking at furniture – it’s great to travel light, but we do need beds in our new home, which we expect to move into in mid-April. And I have a morning coffee on my calendar with the Abercorn staff and parents. I must say I drink plenty of coffee and hot chocolate here. Keeping the economy going in Brazil.
Saturday
I so enjoyed coffee with some of the Abercorn parents and staff yesterday – again, a nice mix of people – an Italian woman married to someone from India, a lady from New Zealand, a British woman who grew up in New York…
The kids and I had a London “moment” after school, after departing John Lewis (nice department store) on Oxford Street, where we’d gone in search of a birthday gift. As we meandered back to the tube, Ava curled up in a ball in the stroller needing a good snack (she claimed she ate all of her fish cake at school, and waxed poetic about how spinach would make her strong like “Papaya” – I believe that would be Pop-eye – but I do wonder how much she actually eats for lunch. Probably too busy/or choosy to dig in properly, since she eats a full meal as soon as she gets home every day).
Anyway, the stroller was also laden w/ backpacks and I had a bag of goodies from the food section at John Lewis, so I was doing my best to weave in and out of foot traffic, keep track of Claire and not get run over -- while balancing all this crap and not breaking anything (I need a pack mule, perhaps?)-- when I heard some very LOUD, very upbeat music blaring from Debonshams (sp? - another department store).
A crowd was gathering around a stage set directly in front of one of the store entrances, where two muscular men were wearing tightie whities and black boots. And that’s all. Jockey. Dancing. What a hoot.
Uninspired to drop in and buy underwear (or anything else for that matter) we continued on to the Bond Street tube station to get Ava home and pump her with cheese and crackers.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
We started the week off right, tripping down to the Marylebone Farmers’ Market (foodie delight), after Mass. (BTW we think we’ve found the church for us – nice feel to it, mix of families and otherwise, religious ed for the kids, etc.) And, currently, at least, no major construction projects! Built in the 1960’s, it isn’t your typical old world European church. It’s circular, brick, very modern stained glass windows on one side. Walking distance from where we’ll most likely reside and Claire will be able to make her First Holy Communion the same year she would in the U.S.
Regarding the market, great place to spend a couple of hours – lots of organic and natural meats. (What, pray tell, is unnaturally raised meat? Something comprised in a beaker with 80 different chemicals?)
Anyway, we snagged some lamb steaks (which were fabulous, had them tonight for dinner), hand made sausages (also delicious), two different kinds of cheeses (half of which Ava polished off before we left), some homemade bread and brownies that Claire picked out and some cheap, incredibly fresh veggies. Word to the wise: do not go to the market hungry.
We also had sandwiches while we wandered. The salt marsh lamb people, who raise sheep on salt marsh areas in the English countryside were grilling and selling their meat on ciabatta rolls with fresh greens and various chutneys. DELICIOUS. (Salt marsh diet -- sounds appetizing, doesn't it? -- gives the lamb a different flavor and makes it more tender, we were told.)
This particular market is a subway stop from us, located in a car park near all kinds of great cafes, a cheese shop to die for and renowned butcher shop. Suffice it to say it’s definitely on my radar.
On Monday I zipped down to the Saatchi Gallery, which opened 20 years ago to “provide an innovative forum for contemporary art, presenting work by largely unseen young artists or by international artists whose work has been rarely or never exhibited in the UK.”
My interest in checking it out stemmed from reading about what’s currently on exhibit there -- Unveiled: New Art From the Middle East. The exhibit, with artists from Cairo, Tehran, Beirut, Jordan, Dubai, etc., was laid out throughout the entire three floors of the building, a lovely, modern facility with an airy feel to it.
The works were thought-provoking, some disturbing, many intense and political in nature. A somber experience, at least for me, it was enlightening and well worth seeing. And an ideal solo trip (not kid friendly material, plus let’s face it, my children are museum-ed out. Unless it’s the chocolate museum, which I mentioned the other day as we discussed our upcoming Easter trip to Belgium).
Re: our spring break plans...originally we were thinking Paris but frankly Brussels sounds like a better short getaway, less costly than gay Paris in springtime and fewer sites so I won’t feel like a rat on crack trying to see everything.
As for school, we're settling into a nice routine, I think. Though I’m still puzzling over Ava’s Abercorn days. For example, today I asked about lunch (she is fed at the cafeteria, where a chef whips out lunch for all the kids daily), wherein I was told the cafeteria is closed and "they bussed us to McDonalds." Previously I was told the menu for today included pasta, hot dogs, apples, peas, bread, potatoes, rice, chicken...
And you wouldn't believe what they pack in each day there: gymnastics, ballet, numbers, letters, library, French, art all day long, PE everywhere, etc. Good thing the kid has a schedule so I do have a sense of what happens there! What an imagination.
Today I had great fun with 24 other women from the International Committee at the American School; we got together to watch a demonstration on Mexican food and eat some incredibly great homemade salsa, queso, tortillas, fajitas, guacamole, tamales. Naturally sampled with margaritas.
From there I marched off to the grocery store and have since decided margaritas before shopping might not be the most prudent move. For example, I’ve yet to figure out where the chicken broth is in that store. I’m sure they devote half an aisle to the stuff…canned, boxed, organic, free range, bullion cubes, low salt bullion cubes, organic bullion cubes, broth mix, you get the picture… it’s no doubt the tequila’s fault that I missed them all.
It’s also responsible for all the heavy stuff that found its way into my cart (it’s all fun and games to purchase a bunch of food but then there is the transportation of said food when one is car-less).
I do exaggerate a bit; I got nearly everything I needed with a few extras (who doesn’t like ben and jerry’s ice cream, esp. when it’s on sale). Next thing you know I’ll be writing about taking a bus to Wendy’s for frosties.
We started the week off right, tripping down to the Marylebone Farmers’ Market (foodie delight), after Mass. (BTW we think we’ve found the church for us – nice feel to it, mix of families and otherwise, religious ed for the kids, etc.) And, currently, at least, no major construction projects! Built in the 1960’s, it isn’t your typical old world European church. It’s circular, brick, very modern stained glass windows on one side. Walking distance from where we’ll most likely reside and Claire will be able to make her First Holy Communion the same year she would in the U.S.
Regarding the market, great place to spend a couple of hours – lots of organic and natural meats. (What, pray tell, is unnaturally raised meat? Something comprised in a beaker with 80 different chemicals?)
Anyway, we snagged some lamb steaks (which were fabulous, had them tonight for dinner), hand made sausages (also delicious), two different kinds of cheeses (half of which Ava polished off before we left), some homemade bread and brownies that Claire picked out and some cheap, incredibly fresh veggies. Word to the wise: do not go to the market hungry.
We also had sandwiches while we wandered. The salt marsh lamb people, who raise sheep on salt marsh areas in the English countryside were grilling and selling their meat on ciabatta rolls with fresh greens and various chutneys. DELICIOUS. (Salt marsh diet -- sounds appetizing, doesn't it? -- gives the lamb a different flavor and makes it more tender, we were told.)
This particular market is a subway stop from us, located in a car park near all kinds of great cafes, a cheese shop to die for and renowned butcher shop. Suffice it to say it’s definitely on my radar.
On Monday I zipped down to the Saatchi Gallery, which opened 20 years ago to “provide an innovative forum for contemporary art, presenting work by largely unseen young artists or by international artists whose work has been rarely or never exhibited in the UK.”
My interest in checking it out stemmed from reading about what’s currently on exhibit there -- Unveiled: New Art From the Middle East. The exhibit, with artists from Cairo, Tehran, Beirut, Jordan, Dubai, etc., was laid out throughout the entire three floors of the building, a lovely, modern facility with an airy feel to it.
The works were thought-provoking, some disturbing, many intense and political in nature. A somber experience, at least for me, it was enlightening and well worth seeing. And an ideal solo trip (not kid friendly material, plus let’s face it, my children are museum-ed out. Unless it’s the chocolate museum, which I mentioned the other day as we discussed our upcoming Easter trip to Belgium).
Re: our spring break plans...originally we were thinking Paris but frankly Brussels sounds like a better short getaway, less costly than gay Paris in springtime and fewer sites so I won’t feel like a rat on crack trying to see everything.
As for school, we're settling into a nice routine, I think. Though I’m still puzzling over Ava’s Abercorn days. For example, today I asked about lunch (she is fed at the cafeteria, where a chef whips out lunch for all the kids daily), wherein I was told the cafeteria is closed and "they bussed us to McDonalds." Previously I was told the menu for today included pasta, hot dogs, apples, peas, bread, potatoes, rice, chicken...
And you wouldn't believe what they pack in each day there: gymnastics, ballet, numbers, letters, library, French, art all day long, PE everywhere, etc. Good thing the kid has a schedule so I do have a sense of what happens there! What an imagination.
Today I had great fun with 24 other women from the International Committee at the American School; we got together to watch a demonstration on Mexican food and eat some incredibly great homemade salsa, queso, tortillas, fajitas, guacamole, tamales. Naturally sampled with margaritas.
From there I marched off to the grocery store and have since decided margaritas before shopping might not be the most prudent move. For example, I’ve yet to figure out where the chicken broth is in that store. I’m sure they devote half an aisle to the stuff…canned, boxed, organic, free range, bullion cubes, low salt bullion cubes, organic bullion cubes, broth mix, you get the picture… it’s no doubt the tequila’s fault that I missed them all.
It’s also responsible for all the heavy stuff that found its way into my cart (it’s all fun and games to purchase a bunch of food but then there is the transportation of said food when one is car-less).
I do exaggerate a bit; I got nearly everything I needed with a few extras (who doesn’t like ben and jerry’s ice cream, esp. when it’s on sale). Next thing you know I’ll be writing about taking a bus to Wendy’s for frosties.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
School Days and Kensington Palace
Sunday, March 22, 2009
The rest of our week culminated with Ava feeling a bit under the weather, directly related, no doubt, to the weather changing as spring seems to be in the air (I’m cautiously optimistic). It’s been lovely and sunny all week; this city is gorgeous when the sun shines.
Despite a bit of a cold, Ava didn’t miss much school at Abercorn and seems thrilled to be a self-proclaimed Abercorn girl. I’m uncertain sometimes exactly what she does at school, given every day seems to be filled with ballet, gymnastics, library, games, etc. (She’s a bit of an embellisher.)
Claire also had a great week; Friday her class spent the day at Canons Park, which the school has access to for playing fields, outdoor projects (i.e. gardening), games etc. We ended the week at ASL (Amer. School London) with a PTO sponsored party/fundraiser (auctions and lottery, most important for kids: cupcakes, games and hair accessories in the gym. Claire is sporting a bright green braid).
I checked out Primrose Hill for a nice lunch/book store break – lovely, quaint little neighborhood adjacent to a big hill (Primrose, naturally). A nearby green space where I’ve enjoyed several morning walks, the Hill offers a superb view of London coming alive, the sun rising amid pink streaks over the Eye of London, church spires, cityscape.
I also had the opportunity to spend some time with a parent whose family will leave London this summer and travel for a year, spending a month in India, the rest of the time RV’ing around the U.S. How cool is that?!? They intend to home school their two sons, thus largely the topic of our conversation.
Claire got to see the King’s horses and riders practicing their form and formations for the upcoming Queen’s birthday celebrations. Sometime in June, I believe, though in April a birthday related event for her is also taking place. (Woman after my own heart: may as well celebrate the birthday as frequently as possible.)
Friday evening Joe and I had a date – this time to a restaurant in Maida Vale, also known as Little Venice for its canals. After a bit of wandering and some help from a friendly cab driver, we ended up at the Boathouse, a lovely little French restaurant set on one of the canals. While it was dark and thus harder to appreciate the canal experience, we enjoyed the food and ambience, stopping at a neighborhood bar on the way home to close the evening.
Yesterday the four of us set off for Kensington Palace, home of Lady Di after her split with Prince Charles.
It was a GORGEOUS day, bright, sunny and warm, and I think all of London was enjoying Kensington Gardens, a huge open green space with the Diana, Princess of Wales' Memorial Playground, pond, cafes, paths and park benches, etc. Joggers, families, walkers, picnickers and plenty of dogs, as the kids like to point out.
About the Gardens:
William III bought what was originally part of Hyde Park in 1689 to create Kensington Gardens. He also had Sir Christopher Wren design the redbrick building that is Kensington Palace. Later Queen Anne enlarged the Palace Gardens by 'transferring' 30 acres from Hyde Park.
At Kensington Palace, which is larger than I would have thought from the outside, we took an audio tour of various rooms and wandered through The Last Debutantes exhibit (learned about “coming out” in London’s high society, etiquette do’s and don’ts, events, expectations, dances, posture, clothing, costs, calendar of events and more).
The Diana, fashion and style exhibition was fun to wander through, as was the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. (Did you know that the famous ink blue silk velvet – designed by Victor Edelstein and worn by Diana when she danced with John Travolta at the White House in 1985 -- went for $225,000 at a charity auction at Christie’s in New York in 1997? It broke Christie’s previous record of $145,000 for a garment.)
A highlight of our visit was the “tour” we caught with “Queen Victoria,” who was born at Kensington Palace and became Queen at 18. A theatrical young woman dressed in period costume acted the part beautifully, sharing her frustration with her mother’s “controlling” personality and posturing.
Her reign, the longest in British history, lasted 63 years. It was she, in 1898, who initiated restoration of the state apartments at Kensington Palace, which had been “sadly neglected” in the 1800’s. They were, obviously, eventually opened up to the public.
Claire interacted with the “Queen” a bit, visiting about dolls (Claire told her she owns an American girl doll, the queen humorously quipped that since Americans like to import everything, it was probably made in England).
To wrap up our visit the kids did some royal crafts and we watched as the Queen had a “photo” taken – her reign predated photography but a machine was used to produce an image of her, which was then traced with tracing paper and could be used for portraiture development, thus letting the Queen off the hook for all those sitting sessions.
The rest of our week culminated with Ava feeling a bit under the weather, directly related, no doubt, to the weather changing as spring seems to be in the air (I’m cautiously optimistic). It’s been lovely and sunny all week; this city is gorgeous when the sun shines.
Despite a bit of a cold, Ava didn’t miss much school at Abercorn and seems thrilled to be a self-proclaimed Abercorn girl. I’m uncertain sometimes exactly what she does at school, given every day seems to be filled with ballet, gymnastics, library, games, etc. (She’s a bit of an embellisher.)
Claire also had a great week; Friday her class spent the day at Canons Park, which the school has access to for playing fields, outdoor projects (i.e. gardening), games etc. We ended the week at ASL (Amer. School London) with a PTO sponsored party/fundraiser (auctions and lottery, most important for kids: cupcakes, games and hair accessories in the gym. Claire is sporting a bright green braid).
I checked out Primrose Hill for a nice lunch/book store break – lovely, quaint little neighborhood adjacent to a big hill (Primrose, naturally). A nearby green space where I’ve enjoyed several morning walks, the Hill offers a superb view of London coming alive, the sun rising amid pink streaks over the Eye of London, church spires, cityscape.
I also had the opportunity to spend some time with a parent whose family will leave London this summer and travel for a year, spending a month in India, the rest of the time RV’ing around the U.S. How cool is that?!? They intend to home school their two sons, thus largely the topic of our conversation.
Claire got to see the King’s horses and riders practicing their form and formations for the upcoming Queen’s birthday celebrations. Sometime in June, I believe, though in April a birthday related event for her is also taking place. (Woman after my own heart: may as well celebrate the birthday as frequently as possible.)
Friday evening Joe and I had a date – this time to a restaurant in Maida Vale, also known as Little Venice for its canals. After a bit of wandering and some help from a friendly cab driver, we ended up at the Boathouse, a lovely little French restaurant set on one of the canals. While it was dark and thus harder to appreciate the canal experience, we enjoyed the food and ambience, stopping at a neighborhood bar on the way home to close the evening.
Yesterday the four of us set off for Kensington Palace, home of Lady Di after her split with Prince Charles.
It was a GORGEOUS day, bright, sunny and warm, and I think all of London was enjoying Kensington Gardens, a huge open green space with the Diana, Princess of Wales' Memorial Playground, pond, cafes, paths and park benches, etc. Joggers, families, walkers, picnickers and plenty of dogs, as the kids like to point out.
About the Gardens:
William III bought what was originally part of Hyde Park in 1689 to create Kensington Gardens. He also had Sir Christopher Wren design the redbrick building that is Kensington Palace. Later Queen Anne enlarged the Palace Gardens by 'transferring' 30 acres from Hyde Park.
At Kensington Palace, which is larger than I would have thought from the outside, we took an audio tour of various rooms and wandered through The Last Debutantes exhibit (learned about “coming out” in London’s high society, etiquette do’s and don’ts, events, expectations, dances, posture, clothing, costs, calendar of events and more).
The Diana, fashion and style exhibition was fun to wander through, as was the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. (Did you know that the famous ink blue silk velvet – designed by Victor Edelstein and worn by Diana when she danced with John Travolta at the White House in 1985 -- went for $225,000 at a charity auction at Christie’s in New York in 1997? It broke Christie’s previous record of $145,000 for a garment.)
A highlight of our visit was the “tour” we caught with “Queen Victoria,” who was born at Kensington Palace and became Queen at 18. A theatrical young woman dressed in period costume acted the part beautifully, sharing her frustration with her mother’s “controlling” personality and posturing.
Her reign, the longest in British history, lasted 63 years. It was she, in 1898, who initiated restoration of the state apartments at Kensington Palace, which had been “sadly neglected” in the 1800’s. They were, obviously, eventually opened up to the public.
Claire interacted with the “Queen” a bit, visiting about dolls (Claire told her she owns an American girl doll, the queen humorously quipped that since Americans like to import everything, it was probably made in England).
To wrap up our visit the kids did some royal crafts and we watched as the Queen had a “photo” taken – her reign predated photography but a machine was used to produce an image of her, which was then traced with tracing paper and could be used for portraiture development, thus letting the Queen off the hook for all those sitting sessions.
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Jama Masjid, Old Delhi
Largest mosque in India
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