Glasgow!!!

We took a relaxing 4hr train ride to a rainy Glasgow this afternoon. 

(View of english countryside from train)

Our street name is fun to say, especially efficient when one has an excess of flem to expel. 

Our flat is in an old tenement building and its rather spacious.  I celebrated our arrival with a complimentary Tunnock's , milk chocolate mallow. I recall my favorite Glaswegian, Dawn Gavin, always gushing about them. 

 

Verdict=damn good. (Tunnock's is actually dawns home town)

This statue in George square is of Queen Victoria before the inevitable tragedy of  riding off the pedestal. (She mostly recovered).  

We walked around a bit to get a bit of our bearings. The architecture in Glasgow is impressive and in some instances more magnificent than what I've seen in London - and that's saying s lot.   My heart was warmed to find such a pretty building housing an American culinary treasure; TGI fridays. (Above). 

Dinner was excellent, at Cafe Gandolfi, which sadly wasn't owned by a wizard but you'd have thought so by the food. 

Eileen & Barb are just weird. Also in this photo, 3 house made pâté (eggplant aka obergine, smoked mackerel & goat cheese/pumpkin) and my Cullen  Skink which was the most incredible creamy soup with smoked haddock, a Scottish traditional dish. I loved it. 

Barb ordered "haggis, neeps & tatties" neeps are turnips and tatties are mashed potatoes - so get your mind out of the gutter. I tried the haggis and it was really good; much better than my first try of it, years ago. They're very rich though, and something I'd prefer on a cold winter night. 

Here's Eileen's "white pudding" made of oatmeal, onions, fat and seasoning - with baked apple. It was good but if Eileen ever gives you a taste as she rambles on about of white pudding, trust me and say its amazing. You'll thank me. ;)

Farewell Shoreditch.

The neighborhood we stayed in is one that I'd be happy to live in. It's similar to where I currently live, actually. It's full of young artist types, bicycle shops, coffee shops and a ton of great curries. 

The Banksy effect is clear with all the street art that was way above the average graffiti. 

Panoramic view of our favourite hedgehog mural. 

(RIP Whitney) 

There's even a cafe dedicated to Wes Anderson : 

Now we head to Glasgow by train...

Portraits, Maple Leafs & saatchi

Today was the last full day in London for all three of us. We saw lots of great art, ate rather well (of course) and even (briefly) celebrated Canada day!  Woo hooo!

We started out the day at the National Portrait Gallery to see this years portrait award exhibit. I was especially thrilled to have the chance to see my friend's portrait of her nephew that was included in the show. This is a major honor, as she (Jennifer Renshaw) is one of five Americans in this international competition. 

I wasn't allowed to photograph in the exhibit so I have the photo of the post card they sold of her painting. (Above)

After thoroughly enjoying the portrait exhibit, we headed out to nearby Trafalger Square where they were celebrating Canada Day!

We were brief and mostly just cutting through but there were Mounties, flags, maple syrup, a hockey rink and a stage with a bunch of big Canadian bands on the bill. However we had an itinerary that came first so onward to other equally important things - LUNCH!

(No photo available. Please imagine something elegant, healthy and slightly overpriced enough so we could eavesdrop a nearby table gossiping about the Venice Biennale). 

The Saatchi Gallery was another good art find for us. We all enjoyed the current show : paper.  Various works made of or with paper. 

A beautiful bust... 

A paper cut piece made from a shopping bag.  It's extra credit in the art world when you can have an environmental message.  

I loved this room full of cute portraits of dictators when they were innocent boys. 

Then while Eileen finished up with the exhibit, Barb and I headed across town to stop in at Neal's Yard Dairy, where they sell some of the best cheeses of the world. 

Barb and I sampled our weight in cheese ;)  My goal was to buy a nice feast of the best cheeses to bring to the wedding pot-luck on Friday.

Neal's Yard has a shower running at all times to keep the humidity levels up and the cheese happy. 

 Barb, bless her heart, chose to treat Eileen and I to a night time cheese plate for later after our early light dinner which was really great Indian. 

Montgomery's cheddar, Colston Bassett Stilton, Sleightlets (soft, stinky ), St James (goat), spicy chili chocolate , meercat. 

Yeah, I'm more than a lil jealous of Barb's flea market buy of a stunning statue of a dignified meercat. 

Street Market, Palace & Bars

Today was fun and tasty. Eileen's cousin John, who just moved to London, came to the area we are staying to experience one of the most popular street markets in the city.  Eileen met up with him to catch up while Barb and I explored the market on our own. It was really fun and full of street food from around the world. 

Giant meringue

Paella guy

This guy was often playing 4 people st once. 

I skipped the fruit and went for the meat. 

Barb and I chose the most delicious Moroccan for lunch( technically a late breakfast). We followed it with som corn cake with coconut custard found at a Brazilian stand. I could live off of that alone. 

 John & Eileen. 

We all met up at a bar for some afternoon beer and deeply thoughtful discussion on geology and academia. Eileen's cousin, John, is super brainy post doc researcher. 

We headed to the Piccadilly Circus area for a great cheese lunch!

Isle of Mull cheddar, Buffalo blue, driftwood goat cheese with goose salami, smoked duck breast, air dried mutton -shaved thin, Wild boar charizo ...SO GOOD. 

Then, we walked off a bit of our 2nd lunch and strolled over to see Buckingham Palace. 

The queen was spotted hanging out a window waving at us and appearing to flash us.  I shit you not. 

Every palace visit deserves a cocktail on a boat docked along the Thames. The weather in London continued being like paradise and at one point Eileen was shocked that there was a woman in a bikini sunbathing.  

We ended our day with john with dinner at a touristy place called the princess of wales. The food wasn't quite as spectacular as the sign but we enjoyed the company, for sure. 

Markets, Museums & Meals!

We had a great day full of food, art and meandering through various parts of London. 

It started and ended with incredible ethnic food adventures walking about one of the most lively, hot  neighborhoods we're staying in, on Brick Lane.   

Out of curiosity we ducked our heads into an indoor market filled with various ethnic food choices that runs only on weekends. 

Barb and I had a hard time choosing but both couldn't pass up the Venezuelan offerings.  The flavors were wonderful and the price was reasonably priced at 5£. Eileen had an incredibly colorful vegan Ethiopian feast.  We left full and super happy. 

Vegan Ethiopian 

Sri Lankan 

Then we saw some good art by Giuseppe Penone at white Chapel art center(above).   They didn't want me to take photos, but oops I took a few. 

 

Barb in reflection. 

Then we stumbled onto Spittalfield Market. (View from above)

We walked through Hyde Park towards Serpentine Gallery in the most extraordinary sunny weather. Apparently not everyone was jonesin' for some vitamin D:

...but, ya know, whatever. 

Barb & Eileen checking the map by the audience interactive pavilion installation. 

After the park we stopped in at Harrods to ogle over expensive delicious goods for the well dressed and super rich of the world. 

Mmmm, meat and cheese pies that made me salivate and forget the dessert counters. 

Finally after some happy hr drinks, back near our flat, we ended the night with a great dinner at a nearby Syrian restaurant. (Photo completely forgotten - it was that good).  We were not planning to add yet another culture to our meal diversity marathon but restaurants & bars seem to close their kitchens by 10 pm in London. We easily forget how late it is when it's still light out after 9:30 pm this time of year.