London of course has lots to offer – history, museums, art
galleries but what we enjoyed most involved food, pubs, walks and markets with
a few unexpected highlights thrown in, such as:
·
Watching Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) perform The
Wall at the Millennium Dome. An audio visual extravaganza.
·
A delectable high tea at the Soho Hotel to
celebrate Brindi’s birthday – with Paris, Luke and Taissa.
·
A 2 hour spa/sauna at the Therma Spa in Bath www.thermaebathspa.com
·
Being part of a crowd watching England play
Barcelona in the George Orwell pub
·
A day visit to Bristol, exploring their restored
waterfront (this is what Port Adelaide should have done) and the new M Shed
museum http://mshed.org/ as well as markets in the old part of town.
·
Staying in School Cottages B&B in
Farmborough and joining in the quiz night at the Butcher’s Arms pub ( we came
last but still got a prize)
As for Food – we
enjoyed some great meals at
·
The Breakfast Club in Islington – friendly,
quirky and good coffee
·
‘500’ Italian restaurant on Holloway Road – a
delicious introduction to Sardinian food
·
Mangal in Dalston – Turkish BBQ at its best.
Peter’s favourite.
·
Coffee and club sandwiches at De Beauvoir cafe –
near us so there were several visits
·
Ottolenghi – gourmet vegetarian, and very
naughty cakes
·
Delectable cheese from Neale’s Yard (Covent
Garden)
·
Tripe at Arbutus restaurant
·
The Cat Inn a 16th century pub in West
Hoathly – smoked pork hock, salad and deep fried duck’s egg
·
Cuban food at Libre Cuba
·
And for the finale on our last night a
degustation at Marcus Wareing restaurant (Berkeley hotel)- fine dining,
creative food such as Orkney scallop, basil, finger
lime, tapioca, wild strawberry.
And then the Pubs – great to be able to walk to a
pub and there were at lots close by including the Lord Clyde, The Talbot, Scolts,
The George Orwell, the Narrow Boat, all good food and yes we tried a few beers.
Further afield
The Butcher’s Arms, Tiger Inn, The Railway at Kew.
Also the Markets
·
Borough Markets – such a variety of food and organic
produce
·
Columbia Road flower/plant market –colourful,
cheap http://columbiaroad.info
·
Camden Passage retro/antique market
·
Chapel Road markets in Islington for the best
strawberries.
Walks, Gardens
·
Canal Walks – with ducks, canal boats, locks.
·
Kew Gardens – a lovely warm, sunny day exploring
most of it. www.kew.org/
·
Hamstead Heath/Kenwood House/Keats House – after
some culture in the 2 houses we meandered through the winding paths of the
Heath and viewed London from Parliament Hill. www.keatshouse.cityoflondon.gov.uk/
·
Ashdowne Forest – where kings went hunting in
the woods
·
Beachy Head – an eerie experience finding our
way through a coastal fog and a strong wind along the white chalk cliffs to the
lighthouse. www.beachyhead.org.uk
·
Walking up and down Upper Street, Islington
·
Abney Park Cemetery – overgrown with vines and
bushes and angelic headstones www.abney-park.org.uk
·
Walking around the old town (Boadicia’s home
town) of Colchester with cousin Cyril and Marion.
·
And always marvelling at the beautiful roses in
gardens and parks.
Over the 7 weeks we were away we used London as our base –
staying with Joel and Angela at Elizabeth St., Islington – and from there we
went off to NY and Sardinia.
Some extra bits
·
The stream of bicycle riders weaving their way through London streets
·
Using our faithful Oyster card on buses and tube
·
Neale’s Yard Organics - http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/ the best in skin care.
