Wurstkuche Venice

A month ago I was driving down Lincoln Blvd which is the main vein on the Westside that gets you from North to South.  I saw this huge line of people outside a building that once was called Air Conditioned (Supper Dance Club).  I've seen this place a million times, but never have gone in.  It use to be a pretty seedy place many moons ago.  But this day the building had a new facade.  I quickly took down the name and Googled it on my iPhone.  To my surprise this was the opening day of a hot dog, I mean exotic sausage place that had it's birth in downtown L.A.  I know I'm a bit slow, but I never get downtown much these days.  So I talked a few friends into going one Sunday afternoon.

When you first walk in the center, near the wood striped massive sliding doors, your not sure what to expect.  It's pretty small upfront, a display case of every imaginable sausage and a draft beer counter all stainless steel with brick walls behind.

 

This is what you see when you first walk in.  Exotic sausages of all kinds.  Classics (Bratwurst, Hot Italian, Veggie) Gourmet (Mango & Jalapeno, Apricot & Ginger, Chicken Apple & Spices) and Exotic (Duck & Bacon with Jalapeno Peppers, Rabbit, Veal & Pork with White Wine, Alligator & Pork, Rattlesnake & Rabbit)

Draft beers range from Belgian, German, North America.  Bottle beers include the same with one English Cider.

I had heard the space was cool so before I even ordered I snaked my way around the backside of the front people down a very dark hall into an amazing light room with textured brick walls, long warm wood beer tables, a sleek bar and cool lighting from the windows (it was afternoon) and inventive modern chandelier light bulbs.  

I was in, so were my friends, we ran up front and quickly ordered.  I just wanted a normal bratwurst, double fried Belgium fries and a Chimay beer.  You get to pick two sausage toppings and two dipping sauces for the fries.  I went basic, sauerkraut for the dog and curry ketchup and bacon bleu cheese for the fries.  This place is cool, I can't wait to take SB back, they even have Veggie sausages so with beer, I know he'll be in.  The space is awesome.  I hear party coming to this place soon.

 Bratwurst

 Belgian Fires (Double dipped fries).

Mustards on the table.

Here's the menu  Take a peek at this great place.

Venice location

623 Lincoln Blvd
Venice, CA 90291

Balloon Fiesta - Albuquerque

When I was a little girl living in Albuquerque I use to go to the balloon fiesta with my grandmother.
We would park on the side of the road and run in the dirt to meet the balloonist. Grandma had an autograph book she kept for years. After the balloons took off we would jump in her car and chase them to wherever they would land, which would be in the mesas, driving down dirt roads.

Grandma told me a story once of her running in the mesas to meet the balloonist and tripping over s lava rock, there are lots out there.
As she fell to her knees the balloonist looked down and grandma looked up and said, "will you marry me?" He laughed heartily. Gotta love a granny with a sense of humor.

I came back a few other times when I lived in California. Still there was dirt, and you could still park on the side if the road. However, there aren't as many mesas open with the building boom that happened here in the 90's.

Then back again a few years later and there was a balloon park with a museum. Now 40 years later, no dirt just beautiful grass and balloons of every size and shape. Finally SB gets to see it first hand.

We got up at 430am, drank coffee and made it down to the field before 530. They have it very organized and there were about 15 balloons already blowing up.
Since it was dark still they glowed in the early morning dark blue sky. I had never seen this part up close.
It was exciting. If you followed my tweets that morning you probably saw many of the pictures below, which included a Darth Vadar balloon with Storm Trooper crew, and yes I was humming the dark side theme of Star Wars.

I will have more to share from our real digital camera, SB got some awesome shots. He got really close, he was determined to get in the belly of the balloons, so much that they had to tell him to back away.

On the road again

It's that time of year where we hit the road to New Mexico. Here are a few images from our twelve hour journey.

Areaware iPhone Clock

I HEART my new iPhone clock.  A great anniversary gift from SB.  It's super cool, sleek and a great place to charge my iPhone.  I'm still figuring out all the bells and whistles on this phone, it's a bit bright at night so I do turn it away from me and the alarm is, well, ALARMING. But despite that I love this new clock.  You can buy it here.  And check out all their other cool design ware.

Moving Furniture

For the past few weeks we've been packing our entire apartment that we've lived in for 16 years.
Wow do you accumulate a lot of STUFF.  Seriously I had no idea, well I think I did, but was just in denial, at what a pack rat I've become.  Not a hoarder, a pack rat.  So I have turned off my sentimental meter and really gone to town, tossing, donating, selling, not even looking at stuff, but just getting rid of it.

We're having our carpet torn out and new faux hard wood flooring put in.  Renting a U-Haul to store our stuff and begging good friends to help us move.  In the process we're turning SB's office into an office/guest room.  I'll have some before and after photos to show soon.  Hopefully it will be a nice minimal transformation.  I don't think we've thrown away nearly enough stuff, it's just overwhelming.

I think one should do this every few years to give yourself a reality check.  It will certainly help you to think twice about buying that tchotchke or keeping that old Angelina Jolie Vanity Fair, really who needs it.  On top of that life couldn't be busier for us with all our outside responsibilities and preparing to go to New Mexico to see family.  When it rains it pours. 

Figs & Honey

Figs & Honey who wouldn't like this combo.  My co-worker Julia, not Childs, gave me this recipe from the NY Times so I tried it tonight.  I bought the above figs from Trader Joes.

I put 2 Tbsp of butter in a cast iron skillet and tossed in a few fresh thyme leaves for flavor.

I sliced the figs in half and drizzled them with 3 Tbsp of Clover Honey.

Then I put them cut side down in the butter and thyme to caramelize for about 5 minutes.  I then flipped them and let them simmer for 1 more minute.  Afterwards I set the figs aside and simmered the butter and caramelized honey with a few tablespoons of water. Then for the best part, pour all the delicious honey and butter on the figs and drizzle them with creme fraiche.  I sprinkled a few thyme leaves and then went to town, slurping up all the juices.  I seriously wanted to lick the plate.

And the final product, with my Nikon above and on my couch with my iPhone below.

Wino Wednesday

So I'm a slacker...what can I say.  I've tasted lots of wines lately and have a wonderful array of Wino Wednesday's to share.  This particular wine was from, you guessed it, Trader Joes.  I heard about this wine through a co-worker, who tasted it and said it was a nice Spanish Wine.  When she went back to TJ's and bought another $3.99 bottle, the guy at the register asked her how she know about this wine.  She said she tried it and liked it.  Apparently this is one of those underground goodies and it's a pretty good wine being sold and TJ's for next to nothing. 


Panilonco "Chief of Lions"
Carmenere
D O Colchagua Valley, Chille
2010 Reserve
Tasting Notes:  Blackberries and smokey oak
Color:  Deep purple, like a combination of crush blackberries and blueberries.
What I ate with this:  Cheese, bread first time.  Second time Spaghetti with homemade meatballs, salad and garlic bread.  Was perfect combination.

For $3.99 this is a steal and was noted on an underground wine newsletter.  Go now, while it lasts.

Peanut Butter Bars

So this last week was a whirlwind.  Book swap party, 30th wedding anniversary party and children books party for a baby to come.   Pheww.  For the book swap party, which was given by "My Life At Playtime," I volunteered to make a dessert.  While surfing Pinterest I found a gorgeous peanut butter bar and I was determined to make it for this party.  For the recipe go here.  Only comment on the recipe is that I would put the pan in the refrigerator right after you put the second layer of peanut butter on.  It needs to harden a bit before you smear the last layer of chocolate.  

Since this was a book swapping party I took one of my old college books that I wouldn't will on anyone, Plato's Last Days of Socrates.  I cut up strips, wrapped them around the cold bars and tied them with twine.  This made up for the fact that cutting these bars was a hot mess.  These are decadent, very rich, I saw people cutting them in half, but well they came back for the other half too.

As for the books I chose, well I only wanted one and I took three, sorry SB, I couldn't help myself.  I chose The Help, The Hunger, and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.  That last one has my name written all over it.  I'll tell you how I feel about them once I get them read.  I have SOoooo many books right now.  

One last thing, I have to say I'm liking my iPhone photos better than my expensive camera, go figure.

Gjelina Take Away (GTA)

I haven't been addicted to a new place like this in forever....maybe ever.

It's a local place in Venice called Gjelina Take Away otherwise known as GTA.

It's an offshoot of Gjelina, which is right next door.  Gjelina is the brain child of Travis Lett, to read more about him go here: LA Times article.  Gjelina has gotten very popular, lots of press, Bon Appetit recently wrote it up too.  On any given day, and night, there are a dozen people standing outside waiting up to an hour to get a table, inside or outside, patio is very nice, they do have communal tables as well.  Once you get a seat you'll be super happy, great waiters, helpful staff all around, well except the hostesses.  No fun having the hostess job and let's just say they aren't the friendliest gals.

But skip all that, go to GTA, right next door, 

it opens up at 7am and this past weekend I went back three times.  

 Seriously I'm working my way through the menu, even making SB sample a few vittles.

So far my favorite has been the jamon on toast, aka ham on toast.  They smear a bit of tomato on the toast and delicately lay a few nice layers of the best jamon on a crunchy piece of bread.  Today I ate two of them in between sampling the mixed berry turnover.

Also delish is the salmon on crunchy toast with capers, peppers and a nice hard-boiled egg on top.  Over the weekend we tried the egg breakfast sandwich,  this was good, with Gruyere, bacon, kale, and tomatoes, very messy, the kale was nutritious but hard to bite in and the whole leaf came out at once, but worth a try.

The biscuits and jam make my friend C think of her grandmother's biscuit.  Their smeared with butter and strawberry jam.  No latte's here, but you can get a Cordona or Cortona, what is it with L.A. and our coffee names.  It's basically a very small cup of double espresso with a bit of milk.  I personally LOVE it, strong and just the right amount of cream.  C thinks it needs more milk, so it's really your preference.

Next up, an evening trying out the pizza's.  I love the ones next door and they have a wood-burning oven here too.  A co-worker was a bit disappointed by the pizza's initially as they were undercooked in the middle, but that was a few weeks into their opening, so hopefully they've figured this out.

Drop by and hang out with all the hipster parents and their pets for a quick, Italian style breakfast.  Makes me think of running into a cafe in the other Venice, Italy that is, to get a cappuccino in the early morning.

Gjelina Take Away (GTA)
1429 Abbot Kinney
Venice Beach, CA 90291

Happy 4 Year Blog Anniversary

On June 27th I've been a blogger for 4 years.  Time got away from me to post that day, but I still love using this place as a creative outlet and sharing my travels and food adventures.  I really thought this blog would be more about food, but when I took an edit of the site I realized I post more travel adventures then food.  Which makes sense as travel logs are my favorite types of books to read.

Here's a few I keep going back too and recommend. And yes E I do read my books more then once and thus I do need a bookshelf (more to come on that later).

I follow David's blog and now on twitter....he is hilarious.  

A great view on what it's really like to live in Paris.

 

Another book I re-read just about every summer.  I want to buy a house is Tuscany in another life.

I've read most of Frances Mayes books all are very good: Bella Tuscany,  A Year in the World: Journeys of A Passionate Traveller and recently read Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life.

Recently I discovered Bill Bryson.  I read A Walk in the Woods and laughed out loud so I just picked up the book above, Notes from a Small Island. And again, I lay in bed laughing out loud.

 

And finally Peter Mayle.  I tried to read this book in my early twenties when I was just started my advertising career.  I wasn't into it.  Give myself a number of years later and I reread this book and loved it.  Peter is an old ad guy moved to Provence and writes a witty tale.  I've read just about everything he's wrote Encore Provence: New Adverntures in the South of France, Toujours Provence, French Lessons: Adventures iwth Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew and one of my favorites A Good Year, also love this movie with Russell Crow and Marion Clotilde.

I personally hope to find new fun reads and enjoy yet another year posting away and snapping pictures of interesting things I see and hear.  Thanks to the very few followers for coming by to check up on the adventures.

San Francisco

Everyone knows NOBODY walks in L.A.  But I recently traveled to two great U.S. Cities that everyone walks in.  San Francisco and New York.

I rarely get to travel this much.  What a great exception, London and Paris in March, and San Francisco and New York in June.  Wow, four great cities all in the Spring, my favorite time of year. 

San Francisco and NY were for business, so I didn't take my camera as I took "carry-on" luggage and my multiple electronic devices, oy vey (laptop, iPad and 2 iPhones - Business/Personal).  Ridiculous.

(not me, but Anna, san bangs)

I went to some great restaurants in between walking to and from the office and the meeting facilities.  When your out of town on business you get to try all kinds of interesting places.

So here's a sampling of where I went, all courtesy of my iPhone(s).

The Salt House
545 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
415-543-8900

Reservations are recommended, but we walked in and sat at a communal table with our client. 
Food was fresh and delicious. 

 Asparagus soup.

 Lobster cannelloni.  Rich and amazing.

I dig the skull stamped milk jars maskings as water jugs.

Next day lead us up and down Nob Hill.  Great exercise.  I seriously had to stretch out my calve muscles the next day after this jaunt to the Swam Oyster Depot.  I had a recommendation from a team member that this was the most amazing seafood that he ever ate.  I was expecting white table clothes and candles, great wine and an overall dining experience.  What I got was this....

Swan Oyster Depot
1517 Polk Street
San Francisco, CA  94109

No reservations required.  We were fortunate enough to walk right in and take a seat at the counter.  I believe my co-worker is a foodie thru and thru.  This place had great fresh fish, nothing is cooked.  Everyone came in ordering crab legs, fresh shrimp, mussels and clam chowder (which is cooked).  I order my childhood favorite appetizer.  Jumbo shrimp cocktail.  It was the freshest shrimp I've ever eaten. I have to admit I must have given my Mom many a heart attack growing up.  She'd occasionally treat us to a dinner out and when she'd get up to wash her hands the waitress would come up and ask me what I wanted.  As SB knows I have Champagne taste on a Beer budget.  So I'd order a Shrimp cocktail, Lobster you know the expensive stuff and she'd be left ordering a Salad.  Money was tight, but I seemed to be obviously.  I found out many years later when I traveled with my Dad to Cuba and he order Shrimp Cocktail, that this is where I got this fetish from.

They served this with big crusty bread and I ordered a glass of white wine.  Was well worth the hilly walk.  I've heard most people have to wait in line for up to 30 minutes to get in.  This day we just hit it right.

 Here's their story.  Not fancy place, but you can't beat the friendly service, and it was authentic.

This place is as busy behind the counter as it is in front.

My next stop was a place I'd read about in Bon Appetit.  In fact I tore that page out of the magazine and took it with me to SF.  I found the closest place to where I was working and walk to Sons & Daughters.

Here's what the Bon Appetit review said:

New American Cuisine with a touch of molecular gastronomy is showcased here, with four courses going for a reasonable $54. Just up Nob Hill from Union Square shopping, the cozy room serves a fine squab breast with squab leg confit, squab pâté, pear, and hazelnuts. 

Sons & Daughters

708 Bush Street

415- 391-8311

sonsanddaughterssf.com

Here's the menu.  I did the tasting menu which was 4 course for $58.  Does not include wine.  Wine is an additional $42. Yikes.  Everything I ordered was great except the dessert.  I'm all about trying new stuff, but I should have gone with my gut.  Instead I order the Candy Cap mushroom cake with Black truffle ice cream, porcini, cinnamon and carmel.  It was way to black truffle, over powering.  It needed more sweet and less dirt.  Wasn't the best way to end the meal.  I thought the service was really good here, but I've never had my silverware taken and replaced so many times.  It seriously was crazy, waiters with cigar boxes of silverware sneaking in swiping old with new, even if I hadn't used it. This was for every course and quite disruptive to the conversation flow.

Decor was cool.

 

Interesting little courses that slid in and out between plates were delicate and tasty.

 

We did have a quick drink at a bar in the Tenderloin called Rye.  I liked this place, had lots of character.

Rye
688 Geary St
San Francisco, California 94102
(415) 474-4448

 

Next China Town.

 

I didn't take a picture of the restaurant only the walk to the place. 

Great Chinese food at R&G.  This is the second time I've been here during my San Francisco travels.

 

R & G Lounge

631 Kearny St
San Francisco, CA 94108-1810
(415) 982-7877

Now for all the random fun pictures while experimenting with my iPhone.

 Random murals tucked into all the alleys.

 Love that San Francisco appreciates Bansky enough to put some plexiglass over to protect.

 Another Banksy.

 From my hotel room.

 

Random building, but I was drawn to it.  San Francisco is a great city to explore on foot.  I thoroughly enjoyed the week.  Be prepared though. It's cold up there especially when the sun goes down.  Bring scarf and a rain coat.

Wino Wednesday

I know your saying finally or maybe your saying anything.  But I'm back to my regularly scheduled or not posting.

This week I have a guest blogger.  Dr. Subs straight from England with a nice European wine.  Enjoy his lovely take on this ancient beverage.

Baron de Barbon
Rioja
Seleccion Especial
Cosecha 2009

What the bottle says: Baron de Barbon is made purely from Rioja's noble grape, Tempranillo, harvested by hand to ensure the highest quality. The fruit was traditionally vinified, then twenty percent aged in barrel (sic) for further complexity. It has a deep cherry-red colour, with aromas of ripe blackberries, strawberries, cloves and a hint of vanilla. The palate is smooth and rounded, with concentrated spicy black fruit flavours and a subtle touch of mocha on the finish.
First smell: blackcurrants, vanilla
Second smell: dark summer fruits, nutmeg
First taste: blackberries, cherries

Observations: a wonderfully deep plum coloured with a well constructed, rather forward nose of dark summer fruits, and more subtle notes of chocolate and vanilla. Crisp acidity with medium tannins and a beautifully balanced flavour with notes of strawberries and chocolate and a peppery finish with hints of fennel. A fruity wine, but balanced with a smooth creaminess, making it a lovely daily drinker. But would also benefit from being kept for 2-3 years and developing some more complexity.

After a difficult evening dissecting the aesthetic benefits of glulam columns and aluminium profile sheeting my comrade and I were in urgent need of some sort of refreshingly fermented beverage. After rummaging amongst the dusty bottles in the under stairs cupboard, we communed with Messr. Barbon and allowed his dark potion to deliver us as though on wings of eagles to the clouds of misty paradise high above the plains of sobriety. Banzai!

 

Thanks Dr. Subs, love this and can't wait to find this nector in the States.

Mecca - Theater of Dreams and Pride & Prejudice - Day 14

Ok so I am remiss about this last England post.  And seeing as my favorite soccer team didn't win the Champions League this week I really feel bad about not getting this done and back to my regular schedule of postings, which I will resume next week.

What we did on our last couple of days is a combination of two things I love best, which is too much for a girl to handle. Our day started out with drizzling rain and a commute up north where it always rains. We visited Old Trafford in Manchester, this is the stadium that is home to one of the best teams in the world, Manchester United, and happens to be my favorite team. 

 

This is the entrance to Old Trafford and a vision of the players tunnel leading to the pitch (field for us in North America). We didn't get to see a game, but you can take a most excellent tour of this stadium, which I call "Mecca."  On our tour was the press room, players lounge, locker rooms, a chance to sit in the players seats, and walk through the tunnel to the pitch.

Here is all the hardware that Man Utd has won, including this years Premier League Trophy.  And well the "35 years" was a dig at their city rivals (Manchester City) who hadn't won a trophy in 35 years, that is, until this year.  Manchester City won the FA cup, so a month later this sign was removed.

Picture of me next to my favorite players jersey.  The picture on the right is of the Munich tunnel, which commemorates a terrible time in Man Utd history, when 23 players and journalists died in Munich airplane crach on their way back from a European cup game.

Josh running thru the tunnel about to hit the pitch and make his first goal.  Me and Karl as subs on the bench waiting for our chance to prove to Sir Alex we know what we're doing.

When we got to the pitch we weren't even allowed to touch a blade of grass on the pitch which looked like a fine green plushy carpet. After shopping in the Megastore, and buying a Wayne Rooney jersey for SB we made our way to my second favorite place.

We drove to Lyme Park which is where parts of Pride and Prejudice were filmed.  This is another of the grand manor country estates and the location for Mr. Darcy's home,  Pemberly. 

As much as SB gives me grief about this story, Mr. Darcy and the 6 hour mini-series he was game to run up and down the stairs as Mr. Darcy. 

It was quite cold this day and the house wasn't open.  They only used the outside of this house for the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, so I was fine with not going inside. 

SB enjoyed this place as much as I did, he got lost in the gardens and took most of the pictures including the pond, bridge and garden shack behind the estate.

 

I love the stairway that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy walked to the fishing pond.

I would live in this garden shack, it's so enchanting and slightly bigger than my apartment/flat in L.A.

 

Can you imagine wondering thru this garden maze.

 

Garden urn from the upper lawn.

 Not Mr. Darcy's diving pond, but equally lovely.

 I just love the color and texture of this wall.

Now this is Mr. Darcy's diving pond, where every girl dreams of Colin Firth coming out of in a wet white dress shirt.  SB asked me if I wanted him to dive in the pond.  Seriously he can't fight the Mr. Darcy lure, and I pat myself on the back for subliminally indoctrinating him on this fantastic story.  Job well-done.

After our tour we took a walk pass the lake and grabbed a tea and scone in the cafe.  It was a very cold day and a long drive back to Tamworth where we partook of some great Indian food.  

Our last day in England we did a little shopping and SB and I walked up and down the lane where K&A live.  All together we spent 15 days in England and France.  This was a memorable trip, but only because of the good time we had with all our good friends.  We hope to visit again soon to this lovely country.

Burton on Trent - Day 13

Here's how my morning went:  drank Earl Grey tea, rushed to Burton on Trent, got lost, took a Marston Brewery tour and drank beer all before 12noon.  Nice breakfast right?

After watching a program in the U.S. about Dogfish Head Brewery, SB and I've wanted to brew our own beer. We've got a lot to learn and this tour helped.  This is a massive brewery.  You smell the Malt in the malt room and the yeast permeates the fermenting room, I started craving a hot loaf of bread slathered with butter during this part of the tour.  SB was in heaven.  He called the room above the nursery, it was like looking at all the newborn babies, only now it's barrels of beer.  Go figure.

 Final end product from the bottle-capping machine.

Country full of short people.

In England when they serve beer from the draft, they prime the pump before anything ever comes out, makes for a delicious beer.

 Me and Sheila, she was a lovely tour guide.

After the tour they let us try a few pints of beer and everyone was able to take two bottles of beer home.  I thought SB and Karl looked like the happiest men on the planet when they discovered that.  All for 6£ = nearly $10.  I tried the Oyster Stout and it tasted like it had some chocolate malt in it.  When I went back to the malt room and was able to smell all the malt pellets and indeed it smelled chocolaty.

After the brewery we did get lunch and toured the town center of Tamworth, where K&A live. 

Anne and I got in a little shopping here and there too.

Other than Disneyland in Anaheim, how many times do you see this many swans together.  Again not a bird fan, but they are a graceful creature.

Marston's Brewery,
The Brewery,
Shobnall Road,
Burton Upon Trent,
DE14 2BW
Tel: 01283 507 391

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.