Calke Abbey & Staunton Harold - Day 12

On this day we drove through the English countryside like Elizabeth Bennett touring grand estates while the Master is out Sword fighting.  This scenery is what I pictured when you think of England, unless you say London then it's entirely different.  And by all my reference here you can tell that I can't help quoting Jane Austin and the oodles of films I've seen based on her books, with the exception of Clueless, which is so L.A.

Our first stop was at Calke Abbey (pronounce Cork) the grounds are grand, old lyme tree's stand erect on either side of  the road you drive on.  This leads you into the estate and then you see this immense house next to another large house, which incidentally was for the servants.  There are spectacular views of this house from the church on the property, so it's worth the walk.  There is a muchs to say about it's owners, who were quite eccentric.

Rafters of the farm house before you actually get to the servants quarters or house.

 Beautiful grounds with lawns and so much land.

Path down to the house and coming around the entrance.

 Dinner table all set, was elegant and the decorative details on the walls, sans deer heads, are exquisite.

 Servants bells and a look at the library.

I say the family was eccentric because the rooms are rather crowded with all that the family collected.  It doesn't appear they got rid of anything.  They were avid hunters and taxidermy was the rage so the house is full of dead stuffed animals.  Many of the rooms were closed off by the family at some point in time as they were too difficult to sustain, these rooms were used for storage and are quite a tragedy to look at.  Creepy to say the least.  

The libraries were my favorite I would spend so much time looking at these books, it proves true this proverb.."too the making of books, there is no end."  What a true statement that is, as no one had tv's, radios, iPod, iPad or i anything, so they were avid readers on everything under the sun.

 Warm hallways and bathrooms despite some of the cold abandon rooms around the house.

Stairwells and courtyard

 Tree pathways to the church on the property.

While walking around the grounds, why did I not think about dressing in period costume, you can't help and think you will see Mr. Bingley and Jane strolling by. One of the great thing about many of the national trust sites is they provide you with a CD to play in your car as you drive to the main house. It usually has a classical music accompaniment and a nice narrative on the trees and buildings you see along the way, I have a few in my collection now. Seeing that I love history this is an awesome way to get in a few extra tidbits.

Next we drove to Staunton Harold Estate which has a private house, still lived in, and an old church on the property from the 16th century. 

Gate entrance that I assume the residence come through, we parked further away at a nursery and walked in thru the back way.

 View of Staunton Harold to the right, still a residence and their lovely grounds.

Here's the church on the estate.

 We all loved this tree and the stone wall arch that was the entrance to the garden.

Inside the church on the ceiling is God's name in Hebrew, using the Tetragramaton letters (YHWH) from the original Hebrew language.  This was the reason we came here, it's not usual too see this, I've seen it in the Vatican, which they don't let you view anymore for various reason I will not get into on this blog, and I've seen it in the chapel at Chateau Versailles, Paris.  Thankfully the workmen let us in as the church was closed.  Amazing thing to see in person, especially since many don't even know what God's name is...Jehovah in English.

The outside church inscription reads:

In the yeare 1653 when all things sacred were throughout y nation

either demollifht or profaned

Sir Robert Shirley Barronet

founded this church

whole singular praiff it is
to have done the beft thinges in your worft times

and

hope them in the moft callamitous
the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance

 

K&A enjoying the view

The grounds were breathtaking, we sat on a bench and enjoyed the view of the reservoir and weeping willow.

The Estate Office
Staunton Harold Hall
Ashby-de-la-Zouch
Leicestershire
LE65 1RT
01332 862599

Above was our first attempt at food.  At half past 2:00pm they stop serving food.  Not sure I wanted what they had to offer on this menu anyways.  No words.

Then another attempt for food and a dinner pint was at the Cock Inn, however as everything in England is, they were closed just because.  We did come back after our dinner to see the place as it's one of the oldest pubs in England.

Before our venture back to the Inn we had wonderful meal at an Italian restaurant in Warwickshire called San Giovanni, just down the road from Cock Inn.  This is one of K&A's favorite restaurants.  It was great food and a lovely setting.

 Love watching Anne text and Karl has the best picture taking expression.

Karl had the juicy meat, and for some reason it escapes me as to what it was.  SB had Linguine Scampi e Gamberoni (langoustine, king prawns, garlic, chilli, white wine and tomato sauce)

Anne and I started off with Funghi Piemontesi (Sauté mushrooms in garlic and parsley on a bed of rocket).  I had Penne Pollo e Gamberetti for my meal. (Penne pasta, chicken, prawns, cream and white wine sauce)

We drank this lovely bottle of wine.  My tasting notes are a bit fuzzy, but I do remember it tasted like dried cherries, very smooth.  This is on my list for wines to buy in L.A. if I can find it.

The sunset was once again gorgeous and SB ran out and snapped a picture of the giant orange orb setting on the English countryside.

This was a lovely full day, I am so glad to have friends that are willing to take us around their country and share with us all their favorite places.  It's truly a treat.

SAN GIOVANNI
Mill Lane
Sheepy Parva
Warwickshire
CV9 3RL

Day of Rest - Day 11

What did we do this day well in a few words:  sleep in, eat (full English breakfast:  bacon, sausage, mushrooms, two over easy eggs, toast and beans), a meeting, family and friend for dinner and conversation.  Perfect for us, we needed a day with no walking around.

After the meeting we went home, but the day before as Anne was preparing for this meal she went whizzing through the grocery store and realized when she got to the check out she'd forgotten the custard for the berry crumble she was making for dinner.  So she asked Karl to get some for her.  Here's how that dialog went:

Karl:  Are you ready yet?
Anne:  Karl I've forgotten the custard, can you go get us some custard?
Karl:  Ok, will do.
(Karl brings back two small pints of custard)
Anne:  Oh Karl, this is plain custard, I wanted Madagascar Vanilla custard.
Karl:  Oh, how am I suppose to know that?
Anne:  It's what we eat every time, ugh, this will do.

Got to love these marital dialogues, after 30 years, their allowed.  And I must add that despite it not being Madagascar Vanilla custard the apple blackberry crumble with custard was delightful.

Unfortunately, I did not take one picture this day.  I was "gutted" that despite the lovely company of Anne and Karl's parents, brother Steve and dear friends Mick and Wendy, I have NOT one picture of them.

Warwick Castle - Day 10

On this day we drove to Warwick (pronounced war-ick). This castle has a long history, starting in the 11th Century.  Notable Earl's of Warwick include Richard Neville and Edward the last of the Plantagenet's who lived in this castle.  Queen Elizabeth I visited in 1562, King William in 1695, in 1858 Queen Victoria lunched at the castle and in 1978 the Tussuad group buys Warwick castle.  This particular note says everything.  However, in 1986 HRH Princess of Wales attended when the Royal Victorian garden was restored.

View of the grounds from Tower walls.

This is a huge castle with vast garden's and Tussuad's has definitely added all the wax figures possible, bordering on creepy and cheesy.  I enjoy the history part but unsure of how I feel about all the wax figures of the likes of Winston Churchill, the Prince of Wales (not Charles), and Henry VIII and all his wives.  

Plus a few varied costumed characters who parade the grounds.

I realized as SB and I competed shared the camera, that I'm overly fascinated with chandeliers.  I just think there so intricate and varied.  

 These are the crystal chandeliers that you see throughout the castle.

 Three views of the same chandelier.

 

Colorful flowered porcelain chandelier, I've never seen anything like that.

Inside the halls are rooms with little still life's waiting to happen and they have their own hall of mirrors and chandeliers that connect each room.

All my friends know this well...I'm afraid of birds, it started in 1st grade, I'm sure there is a therapy session somewhere about that,  I do however try to conquer this fear.  And yes I can watch the movie "The Birds" and I'm fine.  It's the "live" birds that make me nervous.  In Venice, Italy many years ago I made myself stand in the middle of St. Marks square amongst many pigeons to take a picture and I survived to tell another day, even though I needed a glass of wine to calm my nerves after that.  

At Warwick there are peacocks, eagles and owls everywhere.  I have a fearful respect for these great animals.  But this is the first time I've never been this close to a peacock and they are magnificant creatures from the top of their heads to the tip of their tales.  These pictures do not do them justice and I stood right next to this peacock I was breathless.

We did also visit the Dungeon, which for some reason I forgot to read the last warning on the sign here.  If you take this tour, remember you become part of the show and their are live actors everywhere so be ready for anything, screaming anyone, oh that was me.  And the last warning on the sign about claustrophobia, well I can add that to my list of "issues."   I managed to control my mind and give myself some space throughout the narrow dark winding staircases, but believe me, I should have stayed outside and watched the bird show.  Really pick the lesser of any "issues" you may have (sigh).

Here's the part of the family we visited with and thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks friends for a fantastic day.

Warwick Castle 

Warwick 

Warwickshire 

CV34 4QU

By rail:

Warwick Train Station is approximately one mile from the Castle. A direct service into London Marylebone (1 hour 45 minutes) or Birmingham Snow Hill is available. For information visit http://www.londonmidland.com/ or http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/.

Stratford-Upon-Avon & Broadway, Cotswold - Day 9

 

Today was our first day off and running, well driving.  We started the morning with a nice latte at Marks & Spencer's, I know you only think they have clothing.  But, they have a lovely cafe with pastries, yogurts, hot food and latte's.  After this we had to do a little car switching for K&A, and well I purchased myself a new English car, it's lovely and I think I look fabulous in it, it's made for me and the open road.  Apparently, I think the steering wheel is on the left side of the car.  Oh well, one can dream.  Seriously the car transaction process, not mine, but K&A's, which in the States, is oh so painful, seemed to be really quickly done, not sure if K&A worked this out before we got there, but if purchasing a car is this easy, sign me up.

I just love spring time and the sense of sight and delight in the range of colors.  March was definitely a nice time to come, especially as we only got 2 days of rain while here. I call these images white wonder delight, pink cotton candy and dripping mustard way.

 

Here's a little perspective on where we were on this trip.  See map below. Birmingham is right in the middle of England, Tamworth just above that, Stratford-on-Avon below that and Broadway just above Cheltenham.  I am just now looking the map of everywhere we went, I had no idea how close we were to places. I remember last time I came to England I took the trains everywhere, and while I didn't have to worry about what side of the car or road I drove on, or who gets the right away on a round-about, I did find train hopping exhausting especially as getting to some of these more out of the way places you have to transfer to several trains.  Just ask my friend G about our trip from Edinburgh, Scotland to Lacock, Wiltshire, England (Eight hours on a 3 trains, a walk thru Bath to the bus station, a bus ride to CHIPPENHAM, no # on the bus G, and a wait in the rain for a "challenged" taxi driver to our accommodations, oh boy did we enjoy the pub after that day.)

We made our way to Stratford-on-Avon, birthplace of one William Shakespeare.  The Avon was teaming with Swans, apparently protected by the Queen.  It was so picturesque and such a warm day, with only a sweater needed.  We stopped at a local pub, The Red Lion and had some lunch before walking thru the city center and to Sir William Shakespeare's house.

Every town or village has a few things, a church, a town clock and a pub.  Stratford even had an open air market, we always have time to stop and smell the roses.

 

Here's the poets house from the front and the back.  

  

The next stop for the day was a village in the Cotswold, called Broadway.  I've heard this place can get crowded with tourists and on Bank Holidays, but today it was easy to get to and easy to park.  It's in the county of Worcestershire.  Some refer to it as the "Jewel of the Cotswolds" and the "Show Village of England."  We got there in the late afternoon and the sunlight was perfect for the ancient honey-coloured limestone buildings, many of them date back to the 16th century.   We got up close to a thatched roof here and were fascinated by it.  

Horse traffic in town.

 

We all agreed that if the above house were to come up for sale, we'd have to gather all our funds and purchase it.  The limestone just glows at sunset.

 

We decided to stay and eat locally at The Swan, this pub was so inviting.  We grabbed a pint and a G&T for Anne and myself.  I love the tonic water they serve you in the bottle with the gin.

Food was good, service was "interesting."  SB was on the hunt for some nice pint glasses as I broke his favorite just the week before we left, and we'd had it for 7 years.  It was perfect that we were going to England.  So here he tried to ask the waitress if he could buy the pint glass that he was drinking out of.  Which everyone was sure she'd agree, because why wouldn't she.  The local breweries give them pint glasses for free with the beer labels on them, and after all we were going to pay for them.  Her reply to SB was, "Nooo, if I gave everyone a pint glass I wouldn't have any to serve the beer in."  Seriously.  K&A were shocked and apologized for her, no need, she was, well a bit witchy, but I found it all very intriguing, and her a tad eccentric.  Her comments all night were ridiculous, as we waited for food and she told us that she had "others to attend to."  Hello, aren't we others?  Who knows, I don't let stuff like that spoil my time.  I still liked the food, company and atmosphere, which she was a part of.  Maybe had she had a pint she might be nicer, who knows.

I had mushroom potpie and lemon fluffiness for desert.  I can't remember what it was made of, it was a light lemon mouse.  Lemon flavored clouds maybe.

Gotta love the locals dressed in their finest and everyone brought in there dogs, which made me feel like home, well work, as we're allowed to bring our dogs to the office.  I little dog fight broke out, everyone kept talking, eating and drinking pints, no big deal.

Places visited:
Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire
Broadway, Cotswold

Tamworth - Day 8

After a wonderful week with I&G they were kind enough to drive us over an hour to Karl & Anne's (K&A) up in Tamworth.  It's pure English country living here, green grassy meadows, old charming estates and flats with oodles of history.  I, of course, soak this up.  It was a nice change from the bustling pace of the cities we'd been in.  We stayed with them for a week and loved every minute.  Just the driveway alone to the house was gorgeous, our pictures, SB took many of these, props to him and our competitive nature, it's really made him a better photographer :), don't do it justice.

 Road to K&A's.

Views from this road.

More views, wowwee.  Breathtaking.

I have to say we have great friends.  I&G took such great care of us and K&A continued the wonderful British hospitality. As we drive up to the house I can't help think of Jane Austin, I love her work and all the films, made from her books. This trip afforded me the opportunity to see some of the film locations. K&A's place has history, it's called Amington Hall, it's a manor house built in 1810 .  It's a two story building, K&A live in one of the 3 residence that this house been divided into.  Anne can comment on some of the specific history as she obviously she knows much more about it.

 As I call them, Lord & Lady Withington.

Front of their house.  I seriously wish there was a carriage in front, it's so Pride & Prejudice.  They do have lots of location scouts coming by, so far they haven't been in any of Ms. Austin's many film adaptations.

Back of the house.  They live upstairs and have the pleasure of those lovely windows above.  This particular garden they don't have, it belongs to the man who lives below, but it's lovely.  SB went all over the house taking these pictures.

The front door to the lobby and then....

Oh look, more stairs.  These were cool ones I have to say and leads to their true front door.

 I love tufted anything, and this sofa is outside the entrance of K&A's true front door.

 Wedgewood blue hall way, this is the first room we see, it's lovely.

 From the other end of the hall.

Besides our bedroom, this was my favorite room of the flat.  Anne says everyone walks in and immediately goes to the windows to look out.  We were very fortunate to have such good weather and this room was glowing with the sunshine that warmed up the honey colored walls.

I believe K&A said this Venetian chandelier was part of the house and it's amazing.  So delicate and intricate.

Another garden that's on the side of their house, also not their garden, but it's so English.

 

 Me enjoying the views of the fields.

Badger Hill.  Every night when we would drive back down the lane we'd be on "badger watch."  Unfortunately we never saw one, they are nocturnal animals and this is their hill.  We dare not disturb.

Our first day with them was chill, SB and K went to the local chippy and we had fish and chips and pints for dinner and went to bed early. 

Banksy

This is a bit out of order from my trip, but I wanted to share these with all those Banksy followers that I know.
Didn't expect to see Banksy in England.  

Two in Cheltenham, England, nice treat for those into street art graffiti.

Loved the first one, right around the corner from a butcher shop. 

The other happens to have a chain link fence in front as they are doing
construction around the area, but I think it adds to it.

Cheltenham - Day 6 & 7

Oh the trials of trains and travel, exhauste mundo.  Seriously three trains and two taxi's later we arrived from Paris to Cheltenham with a bag full of tea's and chocolates from London and Paris.  We had one hour and half to rest and share one bathroom and get ready for a local meeting with I&G, this was the only chance for us to meet their friends, so despite our exhaustion we went.

The whole time I felt like I was swaying still on the train. I met some of their really great friends. I never get to spend enough time in this town, but I enjoy it everytime. After the meeting we went to a pub and got some dinner, this was the night I saw the Butcher's Banksy, which I was delighted by.

The Count and Countess outside their humble abode.  This was after a nice night of rest.  Featured in arms is Watson a great kitty.  Incidently Watson is kind of like a dog.  Roams the streets about 4 block radius and has a few friends around.  He sleeps in his own little bed every night.  I got up one morning, greeted Watson and sat down and enjoyed the daffodils and lovely purple door outside their window.  Gwen came down and was surprised that "Monkey" was in "Watson's" bed.  I hadn't even notice it was a different colored kitty.  He's Watson's friend and decided to come in and have a lie down in his bed and enjoyed his food as well.   Monkey isn't even his name, but he's definitely a "cheeky monkey" for coming thru the kitty door, stepping over Gwen, while they slept in the basement, giving us there lovely bed.  Cheeky indeed.  

Gotta love this word.

The next day our friends that we met 7 years ago came to spend the day with us.  They were kind enough to take the day off and book a local hotel in Cheltenham.  Last time we saw them they didn't have a little girl.  Now she's 5 years old.  Lovely family and joy to see them again.  We went out for my first full English breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, mushrooms and toast) more then enough food for four people.

Then we drove our way through the countryside, this was our first time seeing it after two big cities, it is so green and every village completely charming.  We drove through a small village which I snapped a few pictures of. As we drove by these two horse poked their heads out of the stone building and "nayed."  Loved this.

Beautiful creek running thru this village.

We proceeded to Cotswold farm and walked around petting and feeding all the animals.

Piglets chasing mom down for some lunch.

 

One of many feeding times.

 

Layla jumping on the gynormous bouncy pillow.

 

As our custom has been we stop in the afternoon for drinks at the pub.  Can't get much better than a pint, old friends and lovely little girl.  The Royal pub stop, as we will soon find out, many places stop serving hot food after half past two (2:30 for us American's).  So it's a pint and crisps (potato chips for us in the states)

Our pint options, which we enjoyed.

The Royal owner, owning his pink shirt, who I talked into letting me take a picture of himself next to the lime green lamp.  I think he'd had a few pints as well, which is A ok with me.

We returned to Cheltenham and walked our way to the Royal Well Tavern.  Food here changes everyday according to what the chef decides to make and local ingredients.  Some of us chose the three course tasting menu.

 

Starter of frisee with apples.

 

Mushroom fricasee, wow was this ever good.  I will be making it at home.

SB had the seared mackerel, followed by steamed mussels.  He ate lots of seafood on this trip as this was the most likely options for him.

This is a gem of a place to eat, a must if you get to Gloucstershire.

The Royal Well Tavern
5 Royal Well Place.
Cheltenham. Gloucestershire.
GL50 3DN
Tel: 01242 221212
www.theroyalwelltavern.com

Paris - Day 5

So last night when we were walking down our street I saw a chocolate chicken in the window.  I had to do a second look, how does a chocolate chicken not melt in a window?  Is it always shady on that side of the street? I couldn't get this place out of my mind and then I realized that one of my favorite blogs, davidlebovitz featured a video of Patrick Rogers chocolate factory. We went back today and talked to a wonderful man who explained what every chocolate was and that the temperature was controlled in the window which prevented the chocolate chicken from melting.  I bought two lovely boxes of chocolate and received a free sample for the road.

We took a trip on the Metro to one of my favorite food area's, Madeline.  As we were looking for directions to a place we stopped into a lovely flower shop and Ieuan asked for directions in French.  At a rapid fire pace she gave him directions, and then he begged for hand movements in the direction we were to go.  While this was going on Gwen, SB and myself were admiring this flower shop which screamed Paris.  SB was about to take a photo when the other lady quickly shouted "S'il vous plait, no photo" and a loud double clap.  We all quickly left the shop and giggled outside as we just got schooled like some french school kid. Hilarious.

Ten years ago I visited a store called Fauchon, I remember a bright pink awning with black writing. At that time I saw an older man come in and buy a pink box full of macaron's, which I had never had ten years ago.  I foolishly only bought carmels and a little hot pink purse full of dark chocolate almonds.  Now after all these years later I love beautiful tasty macarons.  However, Fauchon has changed a bit, much more commercial looking and less neighborly. 

The look is a bit 80's tacky, but was still full of macarons and chocolates.  I adored them back then, however I decided to skip on the macarons as Laduree had the ones I really wanted. We stopped here next and waited in line for a box of macarons.  Gorgeous inside.

Gwen's cousin had recommended Angelina's, which supposedly has the best hot chocolate in the city and a place that Coco Chanel and Audrey Hepburn have frequented.  We made our way down Rue Rivolo and found the place.

Gwen's iphone shot, not too bad.

Hands down, it is the best, even SB whose usual words are "it's good, it's fine" said "that has to be the best hot chocolate I've ever had."  Wow a reaction and compliment indeed.  Seriously tasted like two dark chocolate bars melted with a dab of cream.  

We strolled down the Jardin Tuillerie and enjoyed the peacefulness.

  

The Louvre was closed, which were weren't going to anyways but we did take some pictures outside, I didn't enjoy the grounds last time and only circled thru the museum.

Another recommendation was macaron's at Pierre Hermes which was in the Latin Quarter.  I stayed in this area last time but no one else had been there before.  This little shop was not easy to find and when we did, there was a line of pushy older ladies outside.  What a scene for macarons.  We finally got ours and made our way to a fountain outside and sat and all ate our macarons.  I had a apricot pistachio one, it's been my favorite so far.  Perfect combination and two of my favorite flavors.  When I get home I'm going to experiment with this combo.

Then one more stroll through the Jardin du Luxembourg.  We took a break again on a bench with our feet up and just relaxed before a stroll through the rest of the garden.  It was packed, literally.  Last time I'd come here it was early in the morning and maybe me and four other people were in the garden.  I ate my croissant and coffee all alone, what a difference.

Unfortunately after this very long day we had no energy to find a place to eat, so we took to our hotel, ran down the block, grabbed wine, cheese and a baguette and retired to our room for another hotel picnic.  

Paris was fabulous and the day and half was a tease.  There are soooooooo many places I'd like to visit here, one day I'll come back.

Paris - Day 4

Wow what to say about this day.  In a word "tired."  We are really super duper tired.  If anyone has ever done the Eurostar from London to Paris, they know what I mean.  G, Steph, Miche and Pat and I did this 10 years ago, and let me tell you it's the same thing.  Exhausting.  They only thing that keeps you going is it's Paris and indeed it is.  We saw so much today even though it was afternoon when we arrived.

First landmark out of the Metro was the Arc de Triumph and then off to the Eiffel Tower,  I finally got to see it from a perspective I often see in fashion shoots by the military museum.  There was also a starting point for a mile long crowd of rollerblader's, oh I wished I had stayed to see the start of that.  It was crowded in the area that has the view of the tower with French protestors, which I've heard is NOT unusual.  But the picture above, NOT retouched was from this area.  Gorgeous view. We also took some very interesting photographs from under the Eiffel Tower, very cool.

Before the boat tour we notice afashion  photoshoot going on, so I snapped a few of my own. 

 Love it.

 This is a glorious rich, gold shiny bridge.  So decadent.

Afterwards we took a cruise on the Seine River, which I've never done before.  This was a great idea as our tired feet needed a rest and this is a perfect way to see all the major sites.  The bridges and buildings were amazing.  I absolutely loved the carousel.  

We did try to go to a recommended place for dinner, but it was closed. So we settled for another place which was not really very appealing so no photos. Actually the food could have been marvelous, but we were so exhausted that putting the fork to our mouth was more than a minor effort, it was the hardest thing to do next to walking back to our hotel.

England - Day 3

Today we got up and dressed in our finest for a special tour at the British Museum.  Last time I visited the museum I was too lazy to dress up so we couldn't take the tour.  But this time we made it happen and met friends from Germany, Netherlands, Australia, Slovkia, Spain and England of course.  It was an international convention.

We got to see the Nabonidus cylinder which is as big as the palm of my hand, which means it's super small but really cool.  Our tour was on Egypt, the guide and artifacts made the pages come alive with understanding of the culture and practices of this world power.

After that we went home and changed into flatter shoes and more comfortable clothes to start our day long trek thru the city.  We ate lunch at a local Italian restaurant, Wildwood, with gigantic pizza's, and great sandwichs, which we all managed to engulf.  Then we were off to the Tower of London.

 Loved the presentation on this board of the sandwich and chips.

 Seriously should have shared my pizza it was big, but the carbs gave me energy to keep on walking.  

At the Tower we literally ran in and rushed to hear the last tour by the Beefeaters, love these guys.  Found out that they are required 22 years military service with fine conduct before they can even apply for the job.  They are essentially the Queen's body guards.  We actually were able to go into the chapel this time, where Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard are buried along with a few other notable people.  They Queen's jewels were outstanding, so much wealth, it's hard to comprehend.  We were able to see the London Tower bridge from the walls of the Tower of London.  Beautiful day compared to yesterday's rain.  Our heads were full of history and facts.  Bible tour and English History, but cup overflowth.  My favorite subject in school was history and still is in the top 5 things I love.

I know your all wondering where are the people pictures.  Well SB won't allow his face to be shown, but here's a nice peek at our dear friends Gwen and Ieuan who have been the most lovely host in their home country.

Have I told you how tired my feet, legs, thighs are?  Seriously we live in L.A. and everyone knows "nobody walks in L.A."  I have never done as many stairs in my life, never ever ever.  Not even at the stairs in SM Canyon.

However, despite the pain, our stomachs call and we all managed to make our way to Fulham Square, where I wanted to go to a Gastropub called Harwood Arms. We got to the area, but were unable to get in as we had no reservation.  So we instead stopped at the local Alehouse and had a pint and asked around for a good restaurant. We decided on the recommendation of My Dining Room, which took us a while to understand as we thought the waitress was inviting us to her dining room.  Not so much.  Short jaunt down the road and we found the place.  Hands down to date, this is the best meal we've had since we started the trip.  French fair which was so well made and delicious.  They menu changes everyday, but I will scan this one in, when I return, so you can see what a delicious meal it was.  SB and I did the 3 course tasting menu which was well worth the deal.  Pictures to come in a few days.

The Dining Room
18 Farm Lane, 
London SW6 
1PP- 0207 381 3331
Nearest Tube station : Fulham Broadway. -  5 minutes walking distance

Firsty Friday - Day 2 London

This day we got up at 8am after our waking up at 4:00am and making ourselves stay in bed.  It rained just about the whole day, I was prepared hat and thick wool coat.  Gwen and I shared an umbrella and we made our way around the whole city this morning in the rain.  Out and about at 9:15am and off to breakfast at Giraffe.  I forget that bacon here isn't like our American version, it's not the streaky bacon we're used to, it's more like Canadian bacon.  Simple meal but perfect, and all I wanted was tea, I usually have coffee in the morning, but I'm in England so I wanted tea and Earl Grey it was.

Then despite the rain, oh my oh my, lots of shopping, Harrod's, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, Top Shop and anywhere else we could find.  After much shopping we headed back to our hotel to drop off our new purchases and head out again for some pints and more shopping to find SB and proper scarf.  After all that walking we decided our tired feet had had enough so we headed home where we decided to have a Firsty Friday instead of a Wino Wednesday.

This week the wine was provided by our friends Ieuan and Gwen, who we are with and actually picnicking in their hotel room, while listening to lounge music courtesy of SB. Wine picture to come as I'm trying to update my blog from a PC and it won't convert my pictures vertically to share with you.  I'll come back and update when I get on a mac.  On with the story, we ran to a posh grocery store, Waitross, for some snacks. Stilton cheese with cranberries, and a sharp creamy bleu cheese, Carr's crackers, grapes, blackberries, kalamata olives, and green olives stuffed with peppers.  SB had beer, of course, called "Old Crafty Hen."

So here's the Wine of the week:
Savigny Les-Beaune 2002 (Domaine Camus-Bruchon).
A nice red burgundy wine.
First Smell:  Black Currants, Plums, Cedar Smell
First Taste:  Plums and Oak.  Dry and delicious.
Observations:  A woodsy wine, it was light but rich in flavor. Perfect with all our treats.

What a great way to spend Wino Wednesday or Firsty Friday with our friends and in a foreign country.  Loving England.

England - Day 1

After a long horrendous ride in coach on AA, 9 + hours we finally arrived to LHR. Truly sucks not to have cash or miles to fly in business class, at the very least, it would make this trip so much more fun. Exhausted and pretzeled up we met our friend Anne for the painting exchange.  Yes we brought a 40x30 painting with us, surprisingly that was the easy part, I thought it would be difficult.  After that SB and I made our way to the Underground and bought our ticket on the Piccadilly line for South Kensington, where we had to ask for directions as I lapsed into planning this part of our trip.  It was a few blocks down on cobblestone streets, which is always fun to navigate with luggage.  When we arrived to yet another set of stairs SB said "I'll bring the luggage up you open the door." Gladly I ran up the stairs to open the door.  As my friend G will remember all those Underground stairs are back breaking after a long flight.  So I was glad to have SB here with me.  First impressions in the hotel lobby was it was lovely. Full of still life photo's everywhere. The inviting host who checked us in, with all the formality you'd expect in England, yes" Mr. and Mrs. P, or yes Mr and Mrs G have arrived.  Would you like a welcome cocktail".  "OH YES WE WOULD."  We settled into the lobby while they fetched our key and our friends Gwen and Ieuan came down. 

It's been 7 years since we've seen each other and Gwen and I've known each other since we were teenagers.  Lovely welcome and nice relaxing time in the lobby with our G&T and good long time friends.  After a nap and a quick wardrobe change we headed out to Covent Garden where I never it made it last time we checked out a few tea shops and then off to our first proper British pub.  Wellington Pub is what it's called.  We drank our pints and then headed to a Japanese food place called Wagamama, it's a chain restaurant but perfect noodles, ramen and curries for our first night.

Old style radio in eggshell blue, perfect.

Gorgeous chandelier.

 Wing back chair, with some serious wings.  This is me in the chair looking around the entrance way of the hotel lobby.  Loved the books and yet another chandelier.

 Landing on the 2nd floor of our 3 stair case walk to our room.  I would like to sit here and read.

 Lovely bathroom

View from our room.  There is a lady sitting in the room at the top left, we have to watch out for her, I wish I knew what she was doing?  Feels so Rear Window.  Night time came and we passed out at 10:30pm and up at 4:00 a.m. ugh....we made ourselves sleep.

Packing

We're off this week to London, Paris, Cheltenham and Tamworth.  I've been trying to pack.
Packing is for the birds.  I want to take one bag plus my carry-on, but let me tell you this is no easy task.
It's the shoes, they are taking most of the room, and we all know how much I love shoes.
So I have a few more days to weed out the non-essentials.

In the meantime, my blog has been driving me crazy so I'm once again attempting a new look.
I have someone that is helping me design a header, logo etc...in the meantime I'm trying this for the next couple of weeks while we travel.  Please bare with me.

Father's Office

No Wino Wednesday this week.  It's Beer Friday instead.  But before I get into my trip to Father's Office I cannot neglect the weird day.

Forgive this long, run on sentence to come.  I need to get it all out at once:
It was a super weird day in fact, our family, well my family, from NM called this morning at the ungodly hour, you know when your in a deep sleep, to tell us there was tsunami coming our way and to evacuate, so we got up and turned on the L.A. News, the trite, non-alarming L.A. news, with it's over fascination with Charlie Sheen, to find out that in fact their was an advisory for Southern California to be hit by a tsunami. Bleary eye'd and all we got it, we found out that their was an earthquake in Japan, and then a devastating tsunami and then the advisory. The waves were suppose to hit Santa Monica at 8:30 a.m., they said 3-4 ft, but none of the experts were sure if it would get bigger as 3 or 4 waves had already hit Hawaii, but weren't as big as they thought.  Our friends who live in the tsunami area at sea-level, in Venice and MDR, left to higher ground or their offices inland. Some went on with their usual days.  However all the piers were closed and helicopters circled the area all day.

So SB and I had one of those silly conversations, or dumb, however you want to look at it. Yes he surfs, yes he wanted to go see the waves at the ocean, yes everyone he called on to check if they were ok asked him NOT to go surfing.  Here's our conversation:

SB:  Let's get dressed and go to the Palisades bluff and look at the waves.
Me:  Uuuh NO.
SB:  Come on we'll be on the bluffs, let's check it out.
Me:  Seriously haven't you and I watched every disaster movie and said "how stupid are those people who go out to the beach and watch the tsunami wave come it."  Yeah duh.
SB:  FINES

So what did we do, we waited till 9:15 and then made our way to the tsunami area, Venice & MDR.  Seriously I'm thinking to myself, we are so NOT smart, but the beach cams all showed less then stellar waves and no need for alarm and the tsunami sirens did not go off.  So we went on with our usual day. I found all this alarming that we are so L.A. you should see us when we get a little trembler, we just sit there and ride it out and then go on with our business.

Finally now that I got this out of the way it brings me to Father's Office.  This week we feature beer in Culver City along with their scrumptious food.  They tout themselves as a Gastropub, which we intend on visiting many of in England.

Now I've been to the original Father's office in Santa Monica, and though they have the same thing as the one in Culver City, CC is definitely without the pretensions of the original.  Santa Monica is small and ridiculous.  I never feel any bar is worth standing in line to get in and then standing in another line to get beer.  Their food is gourmet, they are known for their "office burger" which is a kobe beef burger with bleu cheese, it's rich and juicy.  I personally love their cheese platter and sweet potato fries, served with a bleu cheese dressing.  They do not serve anything with ketchup, and don't ask for it, it's not in the building.  If you want ketchup, bring your own bottle in your coat pocket, like our friend Eric did once.  This evening we said goodbye to a great work-mate, moving to NY.  Very sad to see him leave, he is a SUPER STAR.

The bar has over 36 beers on tap and serves artisan wines and some spirits, only in Culver City.  No vodka in the building.  When my friend asked for a vodka tonic, they told him they didn't have that so they gave him what they thought was an equivalent.  Ginger Ale with a high-end tequila.  He wasn't impressed.

The rest drank Pinot Noir and beer.  They serve a great Alagash and I had a Chateau Blanc beer, well it sounded like that's what the bartender said, Chateau, but he did definitely say Blanc.  It was tasty.  Light with a lemony aftertaste.

Here's the oyster, lovely and delish, at least that was what I was told.  It's a texture thing for me and I need to feel 100% healthy before I'll start eating that.

I love this location, it's easy to park and easy to get in before 8PM.  The crowds start by that time and it's pick-up season all over the place.  For a much more detailed story of this great Gastropub at the Helms Bakery in Culver City go here, a fantastic post at eatdrinknbmerry.

Father's Office - Culver City
3229 Helms Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 815-9820

Saturday Turnovers

What do you do on a Saturday when you don't feel very well and your husband asked if we could go to the store and buy puffed pastry dough for the left-over apples.  Seriously just hearing SB say puffed pastry was exciting enough.  So, though I've posted about this before here, I thought I'd share again these lovely little things.  Super delicious and easy to make. I believe he ate 4 of them in one day.

Oh and you'll love this, ironically since I've been posting about wine, only 3 Wino Wednesday's so far, I get to do some research for a work assignment on....you guessed it Wine.  Seriously how great is that.

Wino Wednesday

I know your all saying the same thing, doesn't she do anything else
other than drink wine?

Yes I do, but lately I haven't had time to blog about it.  I will though.
Two weeks from today I'll be in London and then off to Paris and then back to the countryside of England.
I seriously have waited WAY to long to go, ten years to be exact.
Super excited and in major anticipation.

So here's the wine of the week: 
Vinanza
2008
4 meses en barrica (4 months in oak red wine - Product of Spain)

Provided as gift to one of my co-workers.
She is sharing with the team.
We've been working weekends and late evenings, yes again we deserve this.

First smell: Grapes
Second smell: Raisins
First taste: Smooth, light

Observations: Very light tasting, deep dark cherry color, a young wine, I mean it wasn't heavy and tasted like it could be in the barrel a little longer.

What we ate with it:  Ok I need to be more adventurous in the food area, usually I am.  But today we had, are you ready for this,....bread, cheese....oh and from this little French bakery, in Culver City, called Normandie, some lovely fruit tarts and coconut macaroons.  Must say the cheese had a strong smell and was very nutty.

What the bottle says:  Fruity and fresh wine from Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Aged for 4 months in new American oak barrels.  Deep cherry colour with purplish edge.  Very aromatic that exemplifies blackberries and the bramble patch touches of the land that add complexity and certain notes to the fruit.  Meaty in the mouth, with sweet tannin, certain warm notes and a powerful ripe fruit finish.

Where it was bought, how much it costs: Wine Expo in Santa Monica, CA for $15- $20

Wino Wednesday

This week I treated our whole work team to a Wino Wednesday. (And no they are not toasting, I had them hold the glasses up so I could get this shot)

Why? Because...
1. We need a break
2. I like to give
3. I wanted to hear what they would say about the wine.

The wine this week is the following:
Hamilton-Steven's
2009 Pinot Noir
Russian river valley

First smell:  Dark juicy plums
First taste:  Plumy richness, chocolate, cherries
Here are some group observations from us novices:
"Fruity"
"earthy" (said with pinky up)

"very drinkable...i'll drink to that"
Where I bought this?  Trader Joes, of course, for $8.99

What we ate with this wine?
French bread, cheese (dubliner sharp chedder, triple cream brie with bleu cheese) dried apricots, almonds, grapes and dried salami, way in the back dark chocolate covered pretzels.  Uh YUM!

What the bottle said?
Deep garnet red with spicy sweet aromas of dark plum, cedar, and anise. Rich, complex flavors of cherry pie, spice, and bittersweet and chocolate finish silky smooth.

Cellared and bottled by our cellars in Healdsburg, California

Pinterest

Ok I found this new favorite site that is all about pinning up your interests.
I'm addicted.
The design of this site it is lovely.
I saw one of the art buyers in my office with this open on her desktop. 
I forgot everything I came by to ask her and was fully absorbed in this. 
She signed me up and showed me how it works and well I'm still playing collage,
which I've always loved and now I am making my own digital collages.
Seriously hours of fun pinning up all these lovely idea starters we see everywhere.
It's like organizing my mind, which I haven't been able to shut down this week.
Enjoy!

First Wino Wednesday

Kona - A wine from New Zealand, Marlbourough Sauvignon Blanc

So I'm a seasonal drinker.  I like white wines in hot weather, well I also like a gin and tonic, but this is a wine post. Sorry all you mid-westerners and east coasters, and British, it's sunny and warm in So. Cal.

Here's my observations
First smell:  apples
First taste:  pears and apples
After eating a bit and letting the wine breath then I tasted white peaches
It was crisp with a little tangy taste.

Here's a wine makers official notes: Marlborough's free-draining, alluvial loams over gravelly subsoils provide ideal growing conditions for our KONO Sauvignon Blanc. With the abundant sunshine, cool nights and a long growing season in this region, this wine is vibrant with intense citrus and gooseberry flavours and notes of capsicum and passionfruit.

Seriously who talks like this.  I have no idea what capsicum is, so I looked it up, and apparently it's like a bell pepper or chili pepper.  Honestly I would equate the tangy taste I noted with a mild bell pepper.

I drank this wine while I ate french bread and brie supreme super creamy cheese, followed by baked wild caught salmon and asparagus for dinner.  This also influenced my choice of a white wine.

I bought this wine at, where else, Trader Joe's.  I paid a wapping $7.99.  Not a bad wine for that cheap.

Next week I will address the whole ideas of box wine, screw top, corks, etc...

Superbowl

So what did you all eat while watching the superbowl?

I had two friends over, very casual, and I served Trader Joes concocted dishes.
The first one I had at my friend B's house.  It's not her usual fair, but I call this trailer trash cheesy goodness.  Please do not be offended, I have many lovely friends and family that live in trailers, love it and embrace it.  But this is a sharp cheddar pub cheese in a plastic container.  I heat it up with a vegetarian chili that I swear taste like it has meat in it.  Serve warm with nice sturdy corn chips, chips need to be strong as the cheesy goodness is thick.  

The other concoction is another demo at Trader Joes.  Beef and pork meatballs with bbq sauce.  At the store then were microwaving, I usually only use mine for warming up stuff.  So I baked mine for 30 minutes and warmed up the kansas bbq sauce, mix and serve with toothpicks.  Seriously was the best stuff.   We ate other good things too, this was just the start, but fun stuff to munch on.

And of course I made cosmo's for us girls and the boys drank beer, as usual. 
Cheesy goodness and meatballs, YUM.  BOO that the Steelers lost. 

I know I should talk about the ads, it is Superbowl, and I am in the ad business.  So here's my two cents, loved the car ads.  Chrylser with Eminem, epic, emotional, edgy, awesome.  Longest spot, 2 minutes, was riveted from the beginning.  For moms and anyone with kids, and all of us that grew up in the 70's, loved VW's Darth Vadar ad.  That kid was so expressive, and with a DV mask.  What does it tell me about the car? Well other than you can start the car with your key chain fob, not much else.  Who cares, love Star Wars, loved that the mimic the opening shot of that movie and love that kid.  There you go.