A Season of Firsts

It's safe to say, I now know what it must be like to be the parent of a small child...Since our time back in the US, and presuming it isn't permanent, I am keen to chase as many First Time Experiences as possible-for both Simon & I, though mainly for Simon.

To wit:  This year alone, in no particular order, Simon has:

• Filed his first US tax return
• Attended opening night for the Seattle Mariners (a first for me as well)
• Joined a softball league, and played two games.  Which led to...
• Visiting the emergency room-just this week..Simon fractured a bone in his arm after falling at said Softball game on Sunday.  OK. That one we didn't 'chase.'
• Played a game of kickball.  Only one game, unfortunately-due to the aforementioned arm, he will be playing no more.
• Purchased a house
• Observed just *how many* prescription drug commercials are on TV (it's not legal to do so in the UK)
• Started to  just a *little bit*) enjoy drinking an IPA

...and that's just the big stuff.  We do however, still have a few boxes to tick.  Like:

• Learning how to drive
• ..and with that knowledge, getting a drivers license.  Just in case.
• Visiting Alaska and Hawaii (we'll tick these boxes before the end of the year.  woo!)

What else?   What other first time experiences (parents?  Expats?...) should we be chasing for Simon?

Things I Miss About London-Part 2

I can't believe I'm about to say this...

I miss having milk for my tea provided to me in the office.

Yep.  There it is.  I said it.

This Southern American misses having milk for her tea.

Catching Up-Champagne Country Travels

Avenue de Champagne in Epernay

Epernay

Moet et Chandon Cave

I'm a bad, bad blogger.  It's been too long since I've posted anything.  Time to catch up!

We've spent the better part of the first two weeks of April travelling.  Barcelona for a quick weekend (because we can), and FINALLY...Reims & Epernay, France (aka 'Champagne Country'). Check one more off the bucket list.

Oh, so much fun.  Oh, so much champagne.  Oh, it was all sooooo good.

We took the Eurostar to Paris Tuesday night after the 4-day bank holiday. My first vacation since early November. Whew.  In to Paris for one night, and then out the next day for Reims.  We got into the Paris hotel rather late, but after dropping off our bags, headed out again to try to find a place for dinner.  Given the area of town we were in (Gare d'Est/Gare du Nord), I wasn't holding my breath, but we actually managed to find a place just around the corner from the hotel-Chez Papa-that was absolutely incredible.  I had a salad with lettuce, two kinds of cheese, sliced/fried potatoes, and a slice of parma ham.  Heaven.

We spent Wednesday morning walking around Paris for a bit.  Coffee & breakfast at Cotume Cafe for seriously some of the best java ever...and then a quick trip to Rue Cler near the Eiffel Tower.  Rue Cler is one of (I'm sure many...) foodie areas of town, and there's a place there called L'Epicerie Fine Rive Gauche that sells the most incredible tarragon flavored dijon mustard. They sell other incredible things, but we were on a mission for this mustard. :)

Afterwards, we took a stroll up to the St Germain de Pres part of town for lunch and then back to the hotel to get our things & go catch the train to Reims, which is 45 minutes east of Paris.

We stayed in Reims for 4 nights & used it as our base.  From there, we popped down to Epernay for a day (train journey is only 30 minutes).  Reims was much bigger than we expected, so we walked a lot.  For the amount (and type..) of food & booze we consumed on this trip, I should have packed on the pounds-but with all of the walking, I actually lost 1.5 pounds!  Best. holdiay. ever. :)

Over the course of our time in Reims, we had a good wander over most of the town, did cave tours of Tattinger & Pommery, had a tasting (no tour) at Charles de Cazanove, and consumed a fair few more bottles/glasses of champagne with our meals.  We wandered by Ruinart (my absolute  fave), but didn't (ahem.  couldn't...) go in.

Epernay was 1/10th the size of Reims (200k people v 20k people)-and more of what I expected the trip to be like.  Super quaint, picturesque village with all of the champagne houses just lined up one after another on a main strip.  Since we didn't have a car, Reims was challenging at times-and I'm sure we missed a good bit -but, for this reason, Epernay was perfect.

We did a tour at Moet & Chandon, and then also tasted (no tour) at Venoge..

The Dom himself

Foie Gras sushi

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that we had delish sushi twice in Reims at a place called Sushi Shop (a Lenny Kravitz chain-seriously!). They had a foie gras sushi on their menu (only in France) that was incredible.

Knowing we were going to spend a good amount on champers during the trip, we opted to hit the local Carrefour on our first day & buy supplies for our breakfasts.  Croissants, meats, cheese, OJ, yogurt, coffee and cream.  Simple, but delish.  We stocked up a few times while there and probably only spent $40 for both of us for breakfast for 4 days.  We were fortunate that the hotel we stayed in had a micro-fridge & kettle to boil water, so we probably had just as good of a breakfast as if we would have gone out in town (and it was nice to have a lazy breakfast in bed..).

Breakfast of Champions

Ah, it was such a great trip.  Work has been busy the past 5 months-and I was beginning to get a little burnt out.  It was nice to have 5 days not thinking about work-and just thinking about the moment.  Simon & I always travel quite well together (thank you, Jesus), so it was nice to be out & about with him as well.  All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better trip.

My Favorite Things

It's probably no surprise from previous posts that I love good food and drink.  While at Borough Market this morning, I popped into one of my favorite stalls that I hadn't been to in a while-Uto Beer-and bought one of the best English beers I've ever had-Jaipur, from Thornbridge brewery.  After I was done, it got me thinking about other beverages I've discovered while living here here-that I likely wouldn't have come to know had it not been for living in London & travelling.  So, if you're fortunate enough to come across any of the below in a grocery store/liquor store near you, I'd highly encourage getting a bottle or two!

Spirits

Sipsmith Gin and Vodka...London's only distillery...I first came across Sipsmith a few years ago when friends gave me a bottle of Vodka for my birthday (thanks Todd & Dorothy!), and it has now become my vodka brand of choice-and often is the tip-off to the quality of the cocktail bar long before I've had my first sip.  Sipsmith isn't a mass producer, but their quality is high.  So, if a cocktail bar carries their product, it's a good indication of the quality of their cocktails. On a side note...I don't like gin.  It's too 'juniper-y', but Sipsmith's gin is so mild, that even their gin is delish.

Wine

Faustino and Torres...In general, I've come to be a big fan of Spanish wines over the past few years.  Between the close proximity to Spain (and availability of the product), to the frequent trips we've made to Spain, I've come to discover and drink a lot of Spanish wine!  And though it may sound cliche, Rioja has become a go-to for me.  On that, I've discovered Faustino to be an outstanding brand-their red are amazing, their white and rose (yes, red & rose Rioja...) are light and summery. And, at anywhere from 6 GBP to 20 GBP for their Reserva, their prices can be very, very reasonable.
And, a more recent discovery- the Torres Celeste Crianza from the Torres family of Spanish wine.  All I can say is yum.  It's light, but complex, and I've become so obsessed with it, I'm already looking for places in the US that may stock it for when I return to the US in a few months!

Beer
Last, but certainly not least!

Thornbridge, BrewDog, and Meantime breweries.  All three are micro-brews that produce beer with attitude (and high quality standards...)-and outside of the Pac NW, are three of my favorite labels...(Do NOT for even a moment think that Fuller's London Pride is a decent taste of UK beer.)  Thornbridge and Meantime are London-area breweries (Meantime is worth the trip to SE London to Greenwich to check out...their brewery/restaurant serves incredible food in an incredible location) , and BrewDog is Scottish.   Such great varieties to choose from -from simple ales & pilsners to stouts and IPAs.  And all, just worth trying!

Would you Like Fries with that?

Random seen on the way in to work...

Yummy in my Tummy

Pardon the self-indulgent nature of this post...It's less about being an expat in London, and more about me wanting to remember two of my favorite places to eat when travelling! :)

In Barcelona...Xaloc...on Calle de la Paja in the Barri Gotic.  Caramelized baked apple with Goat cheese and 'las bombas'...simply incredible.  Torres Celeste crianza wine for 13 EUR (found down the road for 35 EUR).

Carmelized Baked Apple, Salad, and Walnut Goat Cheese

The other place worth mention..Les Chapeliers in Brussels, just right off Grande Place.  We've been there so often now, that the waiter remembers us and calls me by name (and really: who doesn't love Belgian gay diva waiters?!?).  Incredible frite, moule, and 'steak americaine' (steak tartare).   Their sister restaurant, La Rose Blance is just as good, but the servers just aren't as fun. :)

Man, I'm going to miss these places when we move.

Jonesing for American Food

I've not been back to the US since September, and it will likely be several months more before I go back.  As you can imagine, I'm beginning to miss some of the food that I always enjoy eating when I go back to the US.

So, it got me thinking...when I'm jonesing for some American food in London, where oh where do I go?  The list is short-but in truth, when I crave 'American Food', it usually takes only one of three forms:  burgers, BBQ (I am a Southern girl, after all!), or Mexican (that's technically 'American', right?..):

Burgers.  The most challenging of all.  I think I've mentioned more than once that I struggle with British Beef (my shortcoming, not British Beef's...). Until recently (hello, Byron!), I can count on two hands the number of burgers I've eaten in my four years in the UK.  So if there's one thing I truly crave as a food symbol of 'home', it's burgers.  Luckly, there are a few places in London to satisfy-and they seem to be ever-increasing in numbers (uh-oh):

• Automat.  Truly 'American'-they import and serve USDA beef.  Not the greenest burger in the world, but desperate times call for desperate measures, people!  Rumor has it, this is where Renee Zellweger would come eat when she was packing on the pounds for the first Bridget Jones movie. It's understandable why. Their burgers are incredible, as is everything else I've had on the menu.  They ain't cheap, but sometimes, you have to splurge.
• Byron:  A fairly new arrival on the London scene.  Their first shop opened in 2007-and in truth, I'd never heard of them until last year.  I'd never even set foot into one of their shops until just a few months ago when they opened a shop in the bottom of my office.  Sadly now, I'm averaging a burger there every 10-14 days.  This isn't good-but oh, their burgers SO are!

BBQ:  You can take the girl out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the girl.  And god knows I love a good pork BBQ (pork.  not beef..don't even get me started...;)). This can be difficult enough to find in the US when outside of North Carolina, never mind the UK!  Thank goodness there's Bodean's.   I first discovered Bodean's fairly early in my move to London, as there was one not too far from where I live.  I've spent a lot of time at Bodean's over the years-watching Tarheel basketball, joining friends for a bit of 'cue while watching an NFL game-and even most recently, spending Thanksgiving there.  They've been a great 'home away from home' in terms of food and entertainment, and I for one am a huge fan!

Mexican:  Ok. Ok.  I know this technically isn't 'American Food,' but I think any American Expat at some point in time comes to realize just how freaking difficult it is to find good Mexican food outside of the US (or Mexico.  ahem...).  This one is probably the most contentious in terms of which place is best in London-and goodness knows, I've read enough debates on expat forums on the topic.  But for me, when considering authenticity and location (read:  isn't an hour away from home...), one of my favorites in town is a place called Crazy Homies.  The name alone should be enough to pique the curiosity. :)  Next door and owned by the same chap who owns Lucky 7 Diner (another outstanding American-style eatery), Crazy Homies serves tasty Tex-Mex, and in particular darned good guacamole. 

I'm getting hungry just writing this post-and should scoot out and get some dinner.  But, it's something I've been meaning to post about for some time.

Where else?  Where else?  I'm sure I'm forgetting tons of places/categories (Brunch probably being a big miss...).  So what am I forgetting people? Give me some inspiration of places I need to hit up!

Left versus Right

I've been meaning to post about this for a while, but after two seperate comments from friends when I was back in the US recently, I knew I had to get this up tout de suite!

We Americans eat differently than the Brits.  And, after living here for 3 years, I'm starting to come around to the way the Brits do it more & more often (hence the friends' comments).  What do I mean, you ask?  Simples.

Americans, when faced with needing to use a knife with their meal, will put the knife in their right hand and fork in the left.  We'll cut our food, and then switch hands and use the fork in the right hand to eat with.  Back and forth and back and forth.
Not the Brits.  Once the knife goes in the right hand, it stays there.  And, even more interestingly is that unlike Americans who will use the fork in a scooping motion, the Brits don't flip the fork over; rather, they use the knife to scoot food onto the back of the fork tines and then eat.

To wit:



Brit Eater




American Eater

What really brought this home for me was last night:  Simon & I took a dinner cruise on the Thames-and there appeared to be a fairly even split of Brits & Americans on the boat (based on the accents I heard).  Once we settled in to dinner & I was looking around, it was even more apparent as I observed the different styles of fork/knife usage.
After 3 years of being in London, I'm starting to notice that I'm adopting this style of eating too (hence the friends' comments when I was in the US).  Not all the time, but half the time at least.  It kinda makes sense:  the back & forth kife/fork switching really is unnecessary.

Though, I can't help but wonder how the 'American-style' came to pass..

Roasted Potatoes-My New Favorite Food

Now, I realize that potatoes (in any form) are a go-to food for many, many people: roasted, mashed, boiled, fried...But, oddly enough, until I moved to London, potatoes for me were my 'eh' veg; I don't mind potatoes, but I just felt that there were other, more worthy-and good for you-veg that I'd rather eat.

Well, no more! Admittedly, I do think french fries (chips) here are outstanding-and I have consumed well more of them in the past 3 years in London than likely the past 10 years in the US. And, since Simon & I moved in together two years ago, mashed potatoes have become a go-to veg for me as Simon isn't as in to vegetables as I am.

But, for Christmas this year, I decided to make traditional Roasted Potatoes.  I used the recipe of Simon's best friend, Herbie (I think it's actually his granny's recipe...), as I'd had Herbie's roast potatoes once previously and they were delish.  I was trying to make our Christmas dinner as 'British' as possible, and roasted potatoes seemed the way to go.  Since Christmas, I've made them 3 times more-twice this past week alone.  I can't seem to get enough of these things!  Which, is somewhat a pity-I know the reason they're so yummy is because they're roasted in goose fat.  Not exactly the healthiest thing in the world, but I can't help it!  So, in the spirit of sharing, if any of you have any goose fat just 'hanging about' the house, you may want to put it to some good use-direct from Herbie:

1) make sure you buy the right potatoes - King Edwards are the best  [I honestly don't know if King Edwards are readily available in the US; if not, get a 'waxy' potato...]

2) peel and cut the pots into reasonably large pieces (too small and they will break when you par-boil them), think about the size in-between a squash ball and a tennis ball.

3) par boil the pots in salty water for about 7mins. They should be getting soft but not yet breaking up

4) drain the pots and put them back in the dry pan over the heat to get rid of excess moisture...give them a really good shake in the pan while you do this to fluff up the edges of the pots as this will add crispiness when they are roasted. You can add dusting of flour or semolina at this point for extra crunch [I have added about 2 Tbsp of flour every time I've made them and can say it is well worth it!]

5) pre-heat a large roasting tray with about 1cm/2cm depth of oil. Goose fat is best (adds flavour), or lard. Don't use olive oil as it burns too easily. (set oven at high temperature for this)

6) when the oil is spitting hot carefully add your pots one by one and swill around so they get covered with the oil. you can drain off any excess oil if the pots are swimming in it.

7) put in the oven and leave for anywhere between 45mins and 1hour. Make sure you work out all your other timings to the pots. You should plate up your meat and veg and have gravy ready so you take out the pots last and immediately serve them. Trust me...works best because it stops them from going soggy. Alternatively you can take them out, roll them around a bowl lined with kitchen roll to remove excess fat, then put into a large semi-heated serving bowl and then bring to the table. Don't whatever you do leave the pots in the oven to 'rest' at a lower temp-they will lose their crispiness.
 
I've been cooking the potatoes on 220 C, which is about 425 degrees F, and that seems to be a good temp for our oven.
 
Happy potato roasting!

Christmas in London

For the first time in my almost 38 years on the planet, I'm not home in North Carolina for Christmas.  Given the stress and expense of travel, the fact that we're pinching pennies and pence to save for the wedding, and I was just in the US in October-oh, and Simon asked...-I decided not to go home this year.  Hindsight 20/20, given the travel woes due to weather-London airports shut down for *days* due to a few inches of snow-I may not have made it home-or back to begin with! Best. Decision. Ever.  Yes, I miss my family & friends, but it was nice starting what will be Simon's & my first Christmas tradition for hopefully years to come. aw.

Anyhoo..This post isn't meant to be about that.  Rather, as I've been puttering around town the past few weeks-I've tried to make note of all of the glorious things that seem to happen in London/England at Christmas.  Since I was here for the full experience this year, I wanted to take a moment & mention some of the things I've observed.  I've tried to group them, as otherwise I'd be all over the place:

The Sights....

Having never lived in a super-touristy, large city before, I can't comment if other places do this or not.  But, what I will say is that London decorates for Christmas really well!  All of the major shopping streets get lit up, and even the minor ones too. :)   The scenes below are from Oxford Street & Regent Street this year: 

Oxford Circus

                                                      

Regent Street

I could fill a book with all of the street lights, but these were my two favourites.

Oh, and never mind that until just a few days before Christmas, there was actually snow on the ground (oh, thiiiis close to my first White Christmas)!

The Food...

Oh, where to begin?!?  This year, Simon & I decided not to swap presents (re: penny pinching for the wedding)-and we extended that notion to everyone.  So,we gave nor received any presents this year.  It was nice not to have to deal with the stress & mayhem of buying presents (and are already talking about not doing presents again next year), but in the course of doing so-and perhaps because Simon was so excited about me staying here & us having a proper Xmas meal (I swear, he's been talking about the meal since *August*)-that I find that I've thought non-stop about Christmas food the past few weeks.  That being said, there seem to be non-stop Christmas Cooking shows on day & night as well...

Regardless, along the way I've noticed some similarities & differences in what we'd eat in the US v the UK at Christmas.

The Similarities:  Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Gravy, Stuffing.  The true basics don't change from country to country. 

Differences:  Brussel Sprouts-very, traditional Xmas veg. It's like the ubiquitous British equivalent of the green bean. :); Mince pies are everywhere!  Duck/goose seems to be a bit more common.  And, though snacking is a big part of the day in the US as well, here, the main snack of the day is Cheese.  The planning that goes into selecting your cheese & other bits-crackers, chutneys, side fruits-is considerable.  And, if the 20 minute, 30 person queue I waited in at Neal's Yard Dairy (best cheese in London....) on Christmas Eve is any indication, folks aren't simply going to settle for a wedge of grocery-store-bought cheddar & a cream cheese ball! :)

Entertainment (TV/Music/Sport)...

Three things to note here...For some odd reason, the 'Christmas Number 1' for the music industry seems to be a national obsession. Again, perhaps it's me, but I don't ever remember it being a big deal who had the number 1 song on the charts at Christmas in the US.  Here?  It's discussed & speculated for weeks before-and, as the X Factor (think, American Idol) winner is crowned just ~2 weeks before Christmas, there's a huge push for the current winner's single to reach number 1.  Ah, Simon Cowell.  As much as I hate your music machine, you are a genius.

Second...Though this year wasn't a good example from what I understand, what's on TV on Christmas Day & Boxing Day (Dec 26) is ususally supposed to be really good TV-lots of recent movies in particular-and the networks seem to be quite competitive over showing good programs.  Personally, aside from the annual 24 hours of A Christmas Story on TBS, US TV seems to be fairly poor this time of year, but as England does a better job of shutting down for the day, staying in & watching TV is about the only thing to do, and the networks are happy to oblige!

And last...what kind of expat would I be if I didn't mention Boxing Day Cricket?  Every year, England & Australia play (effectively...) a month's worth of Cricket-almost a game every day.  Christmas is about the halfway point, and the Boxing Day match is always very popular.  As the games are in Australia this year (they alternate locations every other year), the match didn't start until 11.30pm on Christmas (it's the 26th in Oz), and it would go until ~8am.  I called it a night at 1am, but Simon & Scott (our Aussie friend who spent Xmas night with us) stayed up a bit longer.  Though, I guess in truth, the Christmas Day Sporting Event is no different from the US-it's just the choice of sport that's different! :)

 

General Bits...

I love Christmas Crackers.  It's one of the best parts of Christmas in the UK to me-though they were an entirely foreign concept to me until 2008.  Crackers are opened with your Christmas meal by grabbing on one end-and having someone grab the other end.  When you each pull, the cracker (with help from a bit of gunpowder) pops ('cracks') as it tears open.  Crackers usually contain a trinket of some kind, a joke, and a tissue paper hat. You put your hat on & wear it while eating your Christmas meal.  It's my favorite part of Christmas, and I love the irony that a country that is considered to be so 'stiff upper lip' sits around eating their Christmas Meal with paper hats on!
Another great part of Christmas in London is that everyone says 'Merry Christmas.'  Regardless of who they're saying it to (read: someone who isn't Christian).  I think I blogged about this once in 2008 about how surprised I was about this, and though I'm still surprised 3 Christmasses on, the child in me likes that PC-ness simply gets tossed out the window this time of year:  I was in my local grocery store on December 23rd, and overheard a store manager say to an employee who was leaving for the weekend, 'I know you aren't Christian, but Merry Christmas anyway!'  If we would have been in the US, a lawsuit would have ensued, but here, the employee just took it in stride and wished the manager a Merry Christmas in return.  Nice.
The Queens Speech...I can't quite figure this one out.  Tradition as long back as I know, every Christmas Day, the Queen/King of England gives a public speech that's broadcast throughout the UK & even the Commonwealth. No more than 10 minutes long-and the speech this year was barely 5 minutes long-it's usually just a simple 'yea, England' type message from the Queen.  Simon says he hasn't watched the speech since he was a child, and a chat with some of my British friends yielded the same commentary.  Nonetheless, I was glued to the BBC at 3pm when the speech came on.  In truth, I can't remember a thing she said.  Hee.

Oh, Prague...

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways....I love your beautiful architecture, your amazing food, your delicious beer, ridiculously reasonable prices, and most of all, your many and varied (and beautiful) Christmas Markets.

Simon & I went to Prague last weekend (good timing...Prague airports shut down the weekend before; London airports shut down this weekend.  Both due to snow).  It was his second trip, and my first.  All I can say is: oh. my. god. What an absolutely lovely city.  Yes, it was a bit overrun with tourists, but it was still simply amazing-and a stark contrast to my Marrakech experience just a few days before.

We arrived late on Friday-too late to do anything-so our trip really didn't start until Saturday.  But, once we were up, fed, and bundled from what was supposed to be freezing cold (in reality, the weather was mild-mild not only for Prague, but mild even by my standards), we headed out.  Straight to Wenceslas Square for a wander around-and view of the first of several Christmas Markets we'd encounter.  After a bit of a wander, we decided to check out the Communist Museum (a sharp contrast to the Sex Museum-don't judge us-the only other museum we went to on the trip...).  After the Communist Museum, we continued our wander thru town, and on over to the Charles Bridge.  Sooo beautiful-stunning views of both sides of the river-one with the Prague Castle in the background.  We had a nice wander over the bridge, and continued our meandering for another hour or so before deciding to stop for lunch.  Simon had been talking about the 'leg of pork' he had on his last trip, so we decided to find a place that served them.  Not that it was a challenge, it seems to be a very common item on the menu.  I ordered steak, but had serious food envy for Simon's pork, and in truth, it was large enough that we could have both feasted on it!  Absolutely delicious!  Didn't even need a knife to cut the meat-just a fork to scrape it from the bone.  Oh, my.  After stuffing ourselves on meat, it was time to walk off lunch, so we continued on with the meandering.  Prague is one of those cities that you could easilly go from museum to museum or simply have a wander.  And, given our limited time, we opted for the wander (we can do museums the next time we're back!) for the most part.

Our wandering eventually took us to another Christmas Market (super-small, and this one 'felt'' local), and to a stop at a pivo (beer) hall.  After a few beers, some warmth, and a trip to the loo, we were back out for more walking.  We crossed back over the Charles Bridge to our side of town for a bit of touristy souvenir shopping.  After the shopping, we visited the Sex Museum.  Not to sound prudish, but...eh.  I don't know what I expected, but that wasn't it!  Oh well. :)  Shoulda stuck to the wandering around. :)  So, we head over to the Old Town square and stop into one of the outdoor (heated) restaurants for some hot chocolate to warm up. Then, we head over to yet another Christmas Market (by my count, we're up to 5 for the day...), and then decide to start thinking about dinner.

After dinner, it's pushing 9.30pm, and there's one more pivo hall I want to go to-it's close to our hotel, so perfect for our last stop of the evening, and according to what I've read, supposed to be outstanding.  And, it is.  Pivovarsky Dum is the name.  They brew all their own beer-including banana, coffee, nettle, and vanilla beer.  Seriously.  My favorite is a 'champagne beer' (no idea how it's made, but it had the *best* flavor-and you drink it out of a champagne flute) called Samp.   Pivovarsky Dum closes at 11.30p, and we were back in the hotel by 11.45pm-after being gone for over 12 hours.  We were pooped.

Sunday was just a quick trip back into town to the Old Town Square-I wanted to explore in the daylight, as it was very crowded on Saturday night-before heading back to the hotel to shower up, pack, and head to the airport to leave.  Sigh.  I can't wait to go back.  I'm betting Prague in the spring must be simply lovely...Hopefully, I'll get to find out!

 Prague Castle as seen from the Charles Bridge 

Simon's knee of pork with side sauces and a side of cabbage.

Christmas Market 

The "Champagne of Beers"-quite literally.

Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square 

Oh, Marrakech

I've got some blog catching up to do!...

A few weeks ago, I got a last minute hair to book a trip 'somewhere warm', as the weather in London was cold, cold, cold and I was in serious need of even just a few days where I didn't have to wear 4 layers while out & about just to stay moderately warm.  I've wanted to go to Marrakech for a while, and though Simon wouldn't be joining me on this trip due to work, I decided to book a last minute trip anyhow-the flight was only 3 hours, the trip was less than 300 GBP, I'd only be gone for a few days, I've travelled by myself before...how difficult could it be?  Oh, famous last words. There was so much going on on this trip-and especially in my head, that instead of keeping a flow of journal 'posts', I opted instead for bullet points-otherwise, I'd be writing for days!  In somewhat chronological order of thoughts/experiences...

• When leaving my taxi to head into the maze of 'roads' to find my Riad (like a hotel), my taxi driver patted me on the arm.  Big mistake-on his part. The throng of women that were standing nearby talking amongst themselves immediately descended on him and began doing what I can only describe as 'giving him what-for.'  In Muslim countries, it's a bad, bad, bad idea for a man to touch a woman publicly.
• The streets are an endless maze.  I wonder how many times I'll get lost while I'm here (update: only twice!)
• Snakes, monkeys, and kittys-oh my!
• Are the men friend or foe?
• I drank the tap water...
• Best. OJ. Ever!
• I bought my wedding shoes for 80 dirham!  That's roughly £6 or $9!  Whee!
• On a related note...I've noticed on this trip that when I translate prices, my impulse is to translate to GBP first-not USD.  huh.
• Sitting in what is clearly the 'expat cafe' of Djeema el Fna-Les Terraces de l'Alhambra and I'm somewhat relieved to hear even the accented English around me
• I've lost count of the number of sexist (is that even a concept here?...) comments men have made towards me in the past 36 hours
• As I continue to ponder the taxi driver incident of my first few moments on the ground and juxtapose that with what I've seen since, I can't help but wonder...how is it possible to be that repressed but so dominant in society all at the same time?
• I'm surprised/shocked/disappointed at the number of female tourists here who are either oblivious to the culture (wearing shorts/sleeve-less clothes..) or don't give a damn.  I'm also frustrated that as a solo female traveller (the only one I've seen on the trip), I'm annoyed as hell that though I've tried to respect the culture, I'm the one that is singled out and, for lack of a better word, harassed non-stop.
• Relatedly...not that I dislike my body (though I wouldn't complain if I dropped 20 pounds), but on this trip, I'm even more grateful for my size-I can only imagine how much more I'd have to tolorate if I were a petite woman.
• I've noticed a surprising micro-economy in the streets while here; instead of buying a carton or pack of cigarettes, there are men walking around with an assortment of open packs of cigarettes providing the option to buy just *1* cigarette.
• Immense challenges getting out of the airport in Marrakech and back to London.  Initially a wind storm delayed flights for a while, and then the King of Morocco decided to fly out once the storm ended (meaning the airport was closed for a period to all inbound & outbound flights).  Five hours later than originally scheduled, our flight takes off. The only saving grace of this is that I met two lovely American women-Michele and Lindsay who were individually at the airport leaving Marrackech after breaking from their travel groups.  We had a fantastic flight back to London-chattering the entire time, having a sneaky Heineken that I bought in duty free (I swear, the woman behind the counter *really* didn't want to sell them to me....), some Moroccon sweets and comparing life/travel stories.  Ironically, this may have been the hilight of the trip for me! :)

In general, I'd read articles about the 'challenges' that face single, female travellers when in Morocco:  You don't sit in a bar & drink alone as some men may think you're a prostitute, you don't touch a man (and vice versa)-even casually in public if you aren't married, it's best to keep as much of your body covered as possible (I wore long sleeves & trousers the entire trip.  I brought a scarf to cover my head but felt like I would have been acting like a 'poser' had I worn it...), it's best to avoid too much eye contact...etc.  I tried like the dickens to be as inconspicuous as possible, but I guess single, white, female travellers should always proceed with caution.  It's a pity, really.  From what Michele & Lindsay said of their adventures, I think that had I been in Marrakech with someone else-male or female-I would have genuinely loved the trip/city/experience.  But, as a solo traveller, my experiences were almost 180 degrees away from theirs.

What a bummer.

Can I Buy This?..

Gennifer with a G, I thought your question was so good, I decided to move it away from the comments section and blow it up into a post. 

Gennifer just asked about the relative availability/cost of the following food items, a typical grocery list.  I'll admit, I certainly didn't think about something this practical until I arrived-and was then surprised at what I could/couldn't find that I used to buy in the States.  Generally, it's largely the branded, pre-packaged things that are a challenge to find here (and as you'll note from my 'I'm a Hoarder' post....).  The below commentary is simply based on my personal experience-if anyone knows otherwise, give a shout!  Here's Gennifer's list.  My commentary follows:

biscuit dough (like American bread-type biscuits, not "cookies")

1 pkg. Velveeta 16 slices
1 pkg. 12 hamburger buns
1 box Banquet-brand frozen fried chicken, 8 pieces
1 pkg. bacon bits/crumbled bacon (like for salad)
1 quart of heavy whipping cream
1 quart of olive oil
3-pounds/48 ounces ground beef
1 pound-16 ounces ground lamb
1 ounce cinnamon
1 ounce white pepper
1 ounce paprika
2 eggplant/aubergines
1 ounce parsley
1 pkg. pita bread (5 per pk.)
3 ounces of loose orange tea
2 ounces of white loose tea (I have my own bags, brew my own, blah blah)
5 yellow potatoes
2 bags of spinach leaves for salad
6 Bosc pears
1 sweet yellow onion
8 ounces gorgonzola cheese
8 ounces of baker's chocolate
1/2 dozen brown eggs
1 can-diced tomatoes
4 pkgs. toilet paper, 4 rolls each
plastic food storage containers
one 5-pound bag of sugar
2 pounds of coffee
1 gallon of milk, approx. 4 litres
2 oz. pine nuts

The top hilighted items may prove a bit difficult/impossible to find here, but a few comments to clarify...
*'American biscuits'...as a proper souther girl, there are certainly few months in my life that go by when I don't eat a biscuit.  Made, not purchased-and if you ever find them pre-made here, I'd be stunned.  But, I find even making them has provent to be a challenge-yes, I 'import' my own Crisco shortening (ahem..), but the flour here-even self-rising-must be different.  I haven't actually been able to produce a good biscut here, as they simply don't rise properly. :(  On the flip side, you should introduce yourself to Yorkshire Puddings ('yorkie puds').  They're simply lovely, and you can find pre-made/frozen ones.  I hear Aunt Bessie does a good one (ask me again after Xmas, as they've gone on the shopping list! :)).
*Hamburger buns...You won't be able to find them year-round; they're a summer-only product.  And, the ones that I have found aren't completely like in the US-they tend to be much smaller, and for some reason, a bit harder-and never pre-sliced.  The one thing I haven't done is gone the route of 'butty' buns (butty's are simply sandwiches.  as are 'sarnies.'), and though they don't taste like hamburger buns, they are larger-and if you find good ones-would probably be just as good.  Any good bakery would carry them, and likely and larger grocery store would have packs of them year round as well.
*Banquet frozen fried chicken...Banquet doesn't exist here to my knowledge, but the frozen fried chix part won't be a problem.  I can't comment on quality, but a very quick search on the online grocery store I frequently shop at quickly returned a page of results.
*Velveeta...not a chance.  In fact, I've only once seen 'american-style' sliced cheese here, and it was during the summer.  I've never eaten Velveeta, so I can't actually comment on availablity, but at the least, if you google 'american food store' you'll get a  robust list of both brick & mortar and online shops where you may very well be able to buy Velveta.  Price will certanly be an issue (example: most imported, American boxes of cereal in these shops usually run ~$10), but if you've gotta have it, you've gotta have it! :)
*Bacon bits....I haven't seen these, but I don't eat them, so it's possible they're out there.  As a great substitute however, you can easily purchase 'lardons' (think 'bits') of fresh chopped bacon in the meat cases and make your own!

Everything else, you can easily find-or the subsitution would be so close (not sure about 'bosc' pears, but pears for sure..), you'll be fine.

As far as cost is concerned, I think it comes down to a personal preference.  And it's worth noting that some of the things on your list (spices for example..), you'd buy in bulk once at a higher price-but it couldl take months to fully use.
Presuming the above is just for one person, you could very likely go the basic/essential route that many grocery stores are running these days on their private label brands and probably get away with just spending ~£20-25.  However, if you decide to go a bit up-market, perhaps go for a higher level of quality either in the grocery store, or even venture out to a farmer's market, you could go as high as £40-ish.  In general, for Simon & I, I spend~£25 a week at the farmer's market -and that food tends to get consumed in the week-and I then spend another ~£25 a week at the grocery store, and probably half of that is for things with a multi-week span.  Our food shop also involves buying things we can take to work for lunch, so we eat out less for lunch during the week, but do tend to eat dinner out about 3x a week.  However, I almost *always* use a voucher (coupon...), or my taste card (indespensible!), so we rarely pay full price for our meals out!

Great question, Gennifer.  Hope the above helps.

Coffee in London

I have from time to time commented about coffee here in London (yea:  Monmouth and Ginger & White  boo:  Starbucks (sorry...)), but I just happened to stumble across this article on Timeout.com just now titled Coffee in London

Methinks I feel an uber-caffenated, week-long field trip coming up in a few days! :)

It's Bright in Brighton

I spent a day puttering around Brighton last week, and it was a glorious day.  It's surprising at how busy Brighton was in March in the middle of the week; I can only imagine that summer weekends must be insane!

Brighton is easily explored in one day on foot.  And, like Cardiff, small indy boutiques rule the roost-particularly in the North Laine part of the town.  Fun, fun.

I arrived in time to meander thru town and do a swing by Brighton Dome and the Royal Pavillion.  It was so beautful ouside that I opted not to go in either, and instead just walked around-and then sat outside just to enjoy the fresh air. 

But, it was still chilly ouside, so I had to get a moveon, so I headed  down to the shore-front, where I wandered the pier for a bit, then decided to try to find Terre a Terre-a local veg restaurant for lunch.  Found-and OMG.  I had their faux fish and chips.  The 'fish' was battered and fried halloumi, and was accompanied by chips, lovely minted peas-topped with two vodka infused tomatoes, and their own tartar sauce.  Honestly, everything was delicious-and so plentiful that the chips weren't even needed!  Sadly, the picture doesn't even do it justice.

After lunch, I popped next door to Scoop & Crumb, the local ice cream parlor for dessert, and then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering from shop to shop, and just generally enjoying being outside.

A few things were closed, as it is still off season, so I finished playing tourist a few hours earlier than I'd planned, so I simply hopped an earlier train home.  Honestly, I knew  Brighton was close, but a 45 minute train ride goes by in a flash.  That's one place I may have to pop back down to one weekend-just for another another lovely lunch at Terre a Terre!

Croeso i Caerdydd

That's Welsh for 'Welcome to Cardiff.'  It was charming to be in a country in which English is commonly used, but still would show the Welsh version as well-on everything from signs to tour maps. 

Two weeks ago, during my first 'unemployed weekend,' Simon & I went to Cardiff, Wales for the night.  While my passport is off being visa-ed, I'm limited to where I can go, and Cardiff is a simple jaunt from Paddington Station-which is as convenient as it gets-so it seemed like a logical choice.

Cardiff during the day?  Lovely:  pretty, clean, friendly...everything you'd want and more. Cardiff a nite?  A totally different story.  Let me put it like this:  by 9.30pm, we were sitting in the hotel bar having a beer because of the drunken, mad chaos on the streets.  And mind you, this wasn't a rare occasion-this is apparently Cardiff *every* Saturday nite.  Anyhoo, I'm jumping ahead...

We got to Cardiff around 11a on Saturday, and dropped our things off at the hotel.  We were lucky to have a great location-effectively a hotel on the main street (but thankfully, a room on the quiet, back side).  If you're in the mood to shop, Cardiff is definitely the place!  More High Street shops than you can shake a stick at.  And, if mainstream isn't your thing, there are tons of amazing, little boutiques in the labrynthe of arcades in city-center as well.  The Arcades alone make Cardiff worth a quick trip, if for no other reason.  So, this is how Simon & I spent the bulk of our day: just having a nice wander around the town, and popping into one shop after another.  Surprisingly, neither of us bought anything, but the looking was fun enough!  We also spent a few hours at "Castell Caerdydd"-Cardiff Castle, which was lovley-well preserved and beautiful-but a bit expensive on the admissions (tickets are about 10 quid each).

We spent so much time walking around, that both of us were actually ready for an early dinner.  Well that, and the fact that Simon knew the 'tone' of the town would change at night-and he knew neither of us would enjoy being out in the drunken mess. Good call on his part...

We had dinner at Positano -and Italian resto.  Apparently, Cardiff is a bit known for Italian, and Positano looked good from the ouside.  And, it was!  Simple, fresh, authentic dishes.  Amazing prices (starters and mains for both of us, 2 beers, and a delicious tiramisu to share all for under £35), and good service.  score.

After dinner, we were going to go for a wander, but it was pushing 9pm, and the madness outside had already begun (I feel like I'm referencing something from a zombie movie..), so we decided to head back to the hotel for another drink and call it a night.

While having a wander on Saturday, we came across Madame Fromage in one of the arcades.  I'd heard of Madame Fromage before (though I didn't know it was in Cardiff), so we decided to have lunch there on Sunday.  I am so glad we went there!  The food was amazing.  It's a pity we weren't hungrier-meals aside, they had a good number of Welsh cheeses in their cheese case I was itching try.  Pity I didn't get to. :(  But, our mains were still delicious.  I had lasagne, and Simon had a Breton Fougasse (a pastry with cheese, ham, and olives).  Yum on both accounts.

After lunch, we walked down to the bay, where we spent the rest of the day before having to come back up to town and catching our train. The bay was fab-a great weather day, and clearly folks decided to take advantage!

All in all, Cardiff-nightime follies aside-was a good, cheap, easy overnight trip.  If for no other reason but to have anothe wander thru the arcades, and cheese at Madame Fromage, I'd go back!

Cardiff Castle                                                                                      Breton Fougasse                                 

                                                           

Cardiff  Bay

It's the Corn, Silly!

Since moving here, I've noticed that my eating habits have shifted.  Namely, I'm eating less beef-ground (mince, as the Brits say) to be specific...I don't eat as much gound beef because it tastes different than US beef, and it's a taste I haven't been able to adapt to.  It's more 'earthy' for lack of a better way to put it.
Well, two weeks ago, I finally figured out why.  I was taken to a business lunch at Automat, a Mayfair American-style restaurant perhaps most well known as the location of where Renee Zellweger 'plumped up' for her Bridget Jones role.  Well, I have to say, I can certainly understand why!  The food was fantastic, and the burger I had tasted like 'home'.  Read:  AMERICAN Beef.  Why?  Because, it was actually 'USDA Corn-fed Beef'-it proudly said so on the menu.  Corn-fed:  the same stuff that I now know is completely harmful to the food industry (both beef rearing and corn-farming) in the US.  Anyone who has read Omnivores Dilemma will know this.

So, while in Automat it hit me: it's the corn, silly!  This is why UK beef tastes so different-cattle are grass-fed, not corn-fed!  And worst part?  I prefer the no-good-for-me-no-good-for-the-cows, Corn-Fed beef.

Hmph.  I am a horrible, horrible omnivore.

We're In! Hello Fat Duck.

This somewhat takes the sting of T'giving away... ;)

After talking about it for over a year, and actively trying to get a reservation for weeks now, we're booked for a meal at Fat Duck!

This is no easy feat: they only accept reservations 2 months in advance-to the date. And, as they book up usually the first 20 minutes of the day their phones are open at 10am, if you're not on the line at 9.59.59 am, you're usually out of luck.

I've tried for some time to no avail-and finally today, at 10.00.05 am, I got thru-and got a table! Oh, happy day. I wonder if it will be crass to take my camera and take pictures of everything?...

Simon's Birthday is Feb 2, so I've booked a Sunday lunch for January 31. I've decided to make an entire weekend out of the meal, but Simon only knows about Fat Duck (though, as I know he reads my blog from time to time, the secret probably won't last for long...). They're located in this adorable 'village' called Bray-about a 40 minute train ride out of London. I've booked a cute B&B for Saturday and dinner at The Hinds Head (the gastropub owned by the same chef as Fat Duck) for Saturday nite.

The tasting menu at Fat Duck is around £150/person, so it goes without saying that the cost of this weekend will basically be our entire entertainment budget for a good chunk of January! But, I'm so darned excited (chuffed as the Brits would say), I can't wait!

Turkey, schmurkey.

What Happened to Thanksgiving?

To me, Thanksgiving signals the arrival of the proper holiday season (regardless of what retailers in September or October would lead us to believe...), and even though I haven't always made a big meal-production out of it while living in the US-my ex-flatmate, Sarah & I decided to continue with the tradition we started last year and co-host a potluck at my flat this year.
We had 17 people lined up to come over, and I'm sure it would have been a blast-great food, flowing wine, fabulous people-American, Brit, and a few other nationalities I believe.

[Cue sound of the record needle scraping across the record]

That is until Simon came down with Swine Flu last weekend. I'm certainly not going to be one to put my friends in harm's way by still having them come to my virus-infected flat, so Sarah & I quickly tried to come up with a Plan B. Long story short, we ended up having drinks and dinner out (no turkey. no pumpkin pie.) at a local restaurant. And though the food was great, the drinks were flowing, and the people were fabulous, it really wasn't the same.

Especially now that I'm not living in the US, there's something about this day of the year in which I was *really, really* looking forward to a Thanksgiving, potluck meal. Poor me. This is all about me. Never mind the boyfriend who's already been out of work sick for a week. :)

So, I think I will have to rectify the situation this weekend: perhaps a small roasted turkey breast, pumpkin pie, stuffing, and a veg or two. No big production, no 17 people over or wine flowing by the gallon..but I do feel the need to make this meal. I guess there's a part of me that simply missed what the day's events would have meant-and, I don't just mean the caloric intake!

10 Things I Love About the UK

1 Pork. Sausage, bacon, roast pork belly with cracklins.... I don't know why, but the Brits know how to prepare pork better than anywhere I've ever been in the US. Ever.
2. Eurorail. In less than a week, I've trips planned via Eurorail to Paris & Brussels. Why? Because it's that cheap & easy.
3. Pub quiz. Not that I didn't play and enjoy pub quiz in the US, but there's nothing like a crazy, old drunk local woman playing pub quiz on a Tuesday night to add some spice the week!
4. Public transportation. As much as it can be inconvenient (weekend closures of lines and stations...), it doesn't get easier than using public transport in London.
5. Proximity to Europe. See Eurorail commentary above...
6. Marshmallows. They're a wee bit crunchy on the outside, unlike the super-soft ones in the US. There's something about the added texture that actually makes them even better!
7. At lunch today, here is the lists of meats that were on the Mains list: Grouse, Rabbit, Pork, Offal, Mallard, Brill. I think there may have been one or two more. Either way, how many of them have *you* had before in the US?...Maybe pork, and I'll bet that was it...
8. The accent. OK. I know I'm completely stating the obvious, but, well...it it's true!
9. Postal service. I think this needs a clarification, as the actual postal service isn't that great. But, due to the small size of the UK, it's entirely possible that I could put something in the post this afternoon, and the recipient-in Scotland, even-would receive it tomorrow. Awesome.
10. Primark. The home of 'disposable clothing.' It may not be high quality enough to last beyond a season, but where else are you going to find an entirely new-and stylish, outfit for less than £15?...Amazing.