London weekend

What a great long weekend in London with Mark!!! He had to be there for work so he left on Oct 14 & I flew in to meet him on the 17th. We stayed @ a Hilton in Islington ( a suburb of London- Angel tube stop) & it was a nice little area- busy as is most of London. I arrived @ about 2 & he had to be in the office until 6 so it gave me an opportunity to wander the streets of Islington. Asked the concierge whats to see & he looked @ me & said "What 'round here?? I suppose you can have a walk 'round the canal- thats nice". So he pointed me in the direction & I was off. He was also right- not too much going in in Islington- pretty working class area, kebab shops & pubs, real estate offices & of course Starbucks- noting too endearing. Made it over to the canal system & it was quite pretty- there were a number of the canal boats like ones in the jubilee water parade down the Thames- not as large as the ones in Amsterdam- but similar in design- I still cant think they are very dry in there- none of them never look new to me..... Anyway- snapped a few photos & that was that- the path ended up being closed a little ways down so it was back to the streets & alleys to explore. Some great shops on the High Street- found a Penhaligons, our most favorite products- I couldn't NOT go in!!!! Very helpful gal popped up from behind the register with a HELLOOOO- scared the hell out of me- but she was trying to fix the internet. I went through all the scents on the table- some I liked, some I REALLY liked & some I hated. One of them smelled like church incense- a bad memory from catholic upbringing- they should have named it either Penance, Hair Shirt of GUILT because if I wore that it would be a constant reminder & vision of Sister Lucy, Sister Mary Josephine, Sister Karen & Father Fox......... UGH........ Checked out a few of their new scents- put on my FAVORITE Blenheim Bouquet- their signature scent from 1902 :) ALSO the what Hotel 41 stocks as their bath products!!!! YUM!!!! So I was on my way- wanted to go back with Mark to see what he wanted but would probably go to their larger store over in Covent Garden on Thurs or Friday. Anyway- a new favorite was Opus 1870 SOOO fabulous- nice and Cedar"y"- how I like it :)

We checked into our most favorite hotel- Hotel 41 that is just across the street from the Royal Mews (the royal stables & carriage house) & the Palace is a 5 min walk from there. The address is 41 Buckingham Palace Road- its posh for sure!!! We stayed there a few years ago when we were on our way to Spain (when British Airways lost our luggage for the entire vacation) & loved it so much we had to return. This time we got a suite though- had a separate living room & 2 bathrooms. Beautiful rooms & everything still up to snuff in this 5 Star hotel. No complaints. Check out my Tripadvisor review with photos & make sure to mark it as "helpful"  :) Hotel 41 Tripadvisor review I meant every word- this place is fabulous :)

Did some great exploring- headed to the Tate Modern Museum- what an incredible building- its the worlds largest museum- housed in a old power company facility- HUGE!!!!! Now, I am all for modern art- but seriously- some of the works housed here left me scratching my head- a pile of bricks, a twisted ball of wire, white paint in the shape of a hexagon painted over the white wall, a chain link fence gate with a crayon tied to a piece of string hanging of it??? No wonder there are starving artist out there. Granted- some of the art was great & thought provoking, they do have some great Kandinsky's, Picasso's & a few Giacometti sculptures that are always fabulous to see & most of the modern masters- but this place is SO IMMENSE- I have a feeling we just scratched the surface- must go again on the return trip next year with Mark's parents. We'll see their take on it- although- I kinda already know- but it will be good for them to expand their horizons & it will certainly make for some fun conversations with them with the help of wine :)

Alberto Giacometti

Had some great meals Thai, Indian, Pub Grub & food on the go- ended up going to 2 of the most highly rated Indian restaurants in London. One was Quilon which is evidently the first Indian restaurant in London to get a Michelin star. AND- it was right around the corner from our hotel. Highly recommended! And our waiter was the hottest Indian guy I think I have ever seen- so it made the experience all that much better. He had these tribal tattoos that were sticking out of his cuffs- would have liked to have seen the work as I'm sure they were some nice Indian designs. seeing him with out a shirt probably wouldnt have been that bad either....... Yes- Im a troll...... But I have good taste! 

Hanging lights @ Veeraswamy

Veeraswamy was the other fantastic Indian restaurant we went to- its the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK- still in the same location & still in the same family- Since 1926- so still a part of the Empire. I loved their decor- the different colored lamps hanging from the ceiling, the old Indian military helmets that covered on of the walls, the rich colors of silk- the purples, oranges & reds- just beautiful- Fantastic food & in a great area for night life. 

Fresh Game Birds @ The Borough Market

Another fantastic discovery was the Borough Market, its seriously like Pike Market in Seattle on steroids!!!! Talk about gourmet & fabulous!!! This is a REAL working market that dates back to the 13th century (Closed in 1755 only to reopen later) Its not a tourist trap like Pike Place in Seattle. Granted- there are tourists here but there are also many people shopping for their fruit & veg. Fantastic selection of meats, beautiful game birds, cheeses, breads, herbs- I can go on & on- if we were staying longer & had a kitchen- I would have had to fill a bag. There was 1 stand that had all these cheeses from the Haute-Savoie region of France (the region that is just south & borders Geneve) Looks like they have a guy that flies the cheese in every week. Not sure I'd want to sit next to him on a plane though- some of those French cheeses are P-U!!!!!  There is also a fabulous area to get food to eat there- giant pans of paella, Indian & Thai curries bubbling away- intoxicating smells. There was even a stand doing authentic Swiss Raclette & you could tell is was real as it smells like Switzerland!!!! That cheese!!!! We also came upon this one stand that had what had to be a 5' stack of brownies..... Had to buy a few for a snack & yeah- they made my teeth hurt- but OH so delicious. Another place to return to when back in London- LOVED this market

We just love London, its so easy to get around, no language barrier to hurdle over, the city is clean & there is something for everybody of every ethnicity. I think I could live there- although they say the weather is worse than Seattle- so perhaps not as that drives me nuts.

Mark enjoying a double handled cup of English tea @ Costa & wishing I would STOP taking his photo :)