Travel Day (Day 9)

It is a wet and miserable start to the morning. About 8 degrees so chilly as well. Our check out time is 11:00 am. We have lots of time as we are both up pretty early. With the crappy weather this morning it makes us appreciate just how fortunate we have been during our stay with the weather conditions. Only one day of some rain, otherwise, good temperatures and sometime clear skies.  :-)

We have walked by a small café many times on the way to Shepherd's Bush station. An advertisement in the window for an English breakfast at 5 Pounds appears to be a great deal. We need something to tide us over until we reach Heathrow airport. Slight rain and chilly in the wind. The name of the small place is Zarathustra Café located on Richmond Way. It is a good breakfast. Plus, I ordered a pain de chocolate for 75 cents and a large hot chocolate for 3 Pounds. All good. Wooden bench seats, lacquered wooden tables, chalk board menus and very casual and homey. There were other patrons. Simple place for a good and cheap breakfast.

Large English breakfast of 2 bacon, 2 eggs, 2 sausages and beans. Plus, two pieces of toast dressed with a pale yellow butter. 

check out the colour of the butter

Our Air Canada flight is scheduled to depart from Heathrow Terminal 2 at 14:30. Pack both our bags. We have two bottles of wine we purchased plus a free bottle of Champagne courtesy of our Airbnb host (Simon) as we are his firsts guests. We'll take that home with us and enjoy at another time. Lana is keen on buying a nice bottle of Gin at duty free. She loves her occasional gin & tonic drink.

Walking in the wind and rain to Hammersmith station and on arrival we decide to stop for the following purchases:

Cafe de Nata @ Hammersmith Tube Station - yeh! We love Patis de Nata (Portugese egg tarts)! We bought a box of six to take home. 

 

Krispy Kreme donuts at Hammersmith Tube station. Yes, I purchased a classic donut to eat on the plane.

Westward bound for Heathrow Terminal 2. Not too busy at this time of the day. Mostly above ground to the airport area. We stop for a significant time at Terminal 4 then on to Terminal 1/2/3 drop off. I cash in my Oyster card and give the Pounds to Lana. Check in is straight forward and Lana finds De Tax so all is good. Duty Free purchase of a bottle of Gin and two boxes of shortbread cookies and to the lounge. The plane is on time. In the lounge long enough for me to have a Guinness and butter chicken on white rice. 

The logo for all London Tube stations. You look for this on the street.

Map of the London Tube lines/network/stations. Fairly easy to figure out your routes especially using Google Maps. 

Lana is seated much ahead of me in Premium Economy. I luck out with a mother and her two young kids sitting right behind me. The son was good during the flight, but the two year old daughter when she wasn't screaming at the top of her lungs she was kicking or hitting the back of my seat. Oh well, my usual seat karma. Otherwise, an uneventful flight to YVR. We were one bottle of wine over our limit and didn't have to pay so that was awesome. Bags arrived on the carousel pretty quickly and we were in a Yellow Cab. Arrived home around 18:15 so that was excellent.

My Fitbit measurement for today is 8 km. Not bad for a travel day and being on a plane for about 9 1/2 hours. A great trip to London for both of us. Weather was incredible and we spent lots of time with our friends and their son. 

Lana's shoes make a new friend (Day 8)

I am up very early for a second morning in a row. Oh well, that is part of dealing with jet lag. For the second morning I do my thirty minute meditation on the couch. The weather forecast is mostly sunny with some clouds and a high of 11 degrees. Windy as usual. We have a lunch reservation with Adrian and then dinner reservation for 18:00 at a restaurant that Lana loved during one of her visits.

It is always complicated to figure your way around London to the various destinations using the Tube train lines and walking of course. Nothing is on the grid system so any walking directions may require up to ten different streets and turns. I spend time trying to figure out how to get to The British Museum from our flat as that is where the famous antiquity Rosetta Stone will be found. Google Maps gives it 35 minutes from our flat to the Museum based on trains and walking (21 minutes). We will want to get to this free Museum when it opens for 10:00.

One of the excellent aids for tourists and locals is the street map signage they have outside of various Tube stations. A great help to get going in the right direction. One challenge is at many intersections there are no indications of what street it is. The street signs are attached to the side of the buildings at the corner so you have to look around for them. Sometimes there just isn't one to be found. Frustrating...

It is a sunny day with some clouds, but when we leave our flat it is around 5 degrees Celsius so quite chilly. We walk to Shepherd's Bush (Pie!) station for the Central line and then off at Tottenham Court Road station. Not too far of a walk and there are some signs. A huge building and we are about 10 minutes before the opening at 10 am. You have your bags checked and then enter the imposing building. Free admission although donations are welcome. The floor plan/guide is free. The audio guides cost about 5.50 Pounds inclusive of my discount for being over 60. We discover that it is not very easy to figure out how to get to the specific exhibits as the museum is built around many many smaller rooms that connect up. We know we want to leave around 12 Noon so we have a full two hours.

The British Museum 

The Rosetta Stone (picture from online) was found in1799 by a French soldier. The Rosetta Stone was the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs. The top and middle texts are in ancient Egyptian and the lower text is in Ancient Greek. This is the first stop of our self-guided tour. Quite a thrill for me to be so close and see it in person. It is much smaller than I though it would be.

Selfie in front of the Rosetta Stone. It is enclosed in a glass case and surrounded by many other admirers! It is by far the busiest exhibit.


The Rosetta Stone


Egyptian stele


Assyrian artifact. The largest collection of Assyrian artifacts I have ever seen. I have read quite a lot about the Assyrian culture.


Assyrian


Easter Island moai


Carvings on the back of the moai

Front of moai. Pretty imposing. These were buried in the mountains of Easter Island. Scientists continue to be puzzled by their purpose.


Crystal skull in glass case was fascinating.


Egyptian room. The British Museum has a huge Egyptian collection of rare artifacts which we both enjoyed.


Egyptian False Door & Architrave of Ptahshepses


Assyrian


Greek tomb. Very immense collection and displays of Greek artifacts in all shapes and sizes. Lana sitting in the forefront.


Greek


Japanese Samurai armour. The very top fifth floor has a decent collection of Japanese stuff including this impressive armour. These guys were pretty short.


Netsuke


Netsuke display. Lana was fascinated with these displays and the intricate designs.

Before we leave Lana heads to a counter where they sell bathroom rubber duckies. She purchases a Julius Caesar rubber duckie to add to her collection. I have directions to the restaurant written down as we need to switch at a Northern line station and that line is very confusing as it branches off in different directions. We leave ourselves more than enough time. 

Off to Rochelle Canteen (located not too far from the Clove Club restaurant) and inside the Rochelle School at Arnold Circus. This restaurant comes highly recommended by Anthony Bourdain and was profiled on one of his visits to London. It is owned and operated by Fergus Henderson's sister who is an excellent chef herself. I made reservations for 13:15 quite a long time ago. We are above ground at Old Street station with walking directions, but not sure which way to head? We check the street map and off we go. A pretty hip area that looks like it has been gentrified. We arrive about 30 minutes early, but are welcomed and seated. For some reason my iPhone can't send a text to Adrian nor receive his text? Adrian shows up slightly early himself.

Lana here--at the restaurant the table behind us had a little black pug that was very cute. He took a liking to my pompom shoes and wanted to play with them. His name was Otto and he started out sniffing the pompoms, then trying to bite the pompoms then ended up standing on my feet so the pompoms couldn't go anywhere!!!  I think my shoes made a new friend :)

Communal dining although nobody seated beside us. They do not serve any alcohol, but there is a wine store nearby. Fortunately, Adrian brings a nice chilled bottle of Chablis for the three of us to enjoy with our lunch. The servicer disappeared after we sat down but eventually he shows up after we signal him and he takes our orders and provides three wine glasses and a bucket with ice. Definitely not a place you get dressed up for.

Very small place located in a courtyard. 

Inside of the small restaurant.

Today's menu for Rochelle Canteen. For certain the focus is on fresh local and seasonal ingredients. We would describe as modern British food. All our dishes were flavourful with high quality ingredients. Unique dishes with a twist. The Chablis was a great match for all three of us. Total cost of the meal was 77 Pounds not inclusive of a tip. 

Lana's Roast Tamworth Chop, White Beans & Radicchio

Randy's Chicken and Smoked Bacon Pie

Appetizer of Salt Hake, Marinda Tomato & Aioli

Adrian's Hedgehog Mushroom & Duck Egg Tart

Another great lunch!

Small courtyard beside the restaurant and behind the stone wall. Just a beautiful serene area that we wanted to savour with a picture. 

Adrian biking to work after our lunch.

On the walk back to the Old Street Tube station Lana stopped to take pictures of Banksy's art. Lana really wanted to see more of Banksy's works here in London as she thinks he always has great societal commentary, but that will need to wait for another London trip. Now slightly overcast and very cold in the wind. 

Banksy Graffiti Art (we think?)

Banksy Graffiti Art. This is enclosed in glass.

We are back to Shepherd's Bush station and then we are off to Westfield Mall where Lana has a coat she wants to buy. It will be her big purchase of the trip. I read the free newspaper you find at all the Tube stations. Lana tries to get her de-tax at the mall, but she needs her passport so no go. By the time we walk to the flat it is a quick turnaround to get changed and then walk to Hammersmith station.

Lana made reservations for Dinner by Heston Blumenthal  quite some time ago for 18:00. She ate here with Tina and Adrian in the past and loved it. It is a two star Michelin restaurant located in the very posh Mandarin hotel located right beside Hyde Park. Tina is supposed to join us, but she has an 18:30 business call so has to cancel. She was really looking forward to the chips (french fries). Her loss as our meal is superb!

Part of the Cocktail menu. The food menu has each dish listed with the approximate date it was first 'invented'.

Corryvreckan Cocktail (Lana) & Randy's 2014 Riesling Kabinett Graacher Himmelreich, Willi Schaefer, Mosel, Germany. We are started with Irish soda bread. Ironic that the soda bread we had in the gastropub earlier in the week was much better.  ;-)


Our appetizer: Roast Marrowbone (c.1720) with welsh cake, snails, piccalilli, anchovy, mace and pickled vegetables.


Randy: Roast Iberico Pork Chop (c.1820) with spelt, ham hock and Robert sauce


Lana's Hereford Ribeye (c.1830) with Bone Marrow

Triple cooked chips and garden salad. Yes, these chips are brilliant!

Tipsy Cake with spit roast pineapple (c.1810). You have to order this dessert when you make your food order with the server as it takes quite a long time to make. Brioche bun cooked in a custard made from Sauternes wine.

Pot au creme with vanilla caraway seed biscuit (amuse bouche dessert)

Lana took a video of Nitro Ice Cream preparation by a server. 

Everything about the meal was first class! Servers were professional and well dressed. Timing was impeccable. Ambience was muted. Very high ceilings and great views of Hyde Park across the street. Personable service with attention to detail. We loved each of the dishes. My pork chop has to be maybe the best I have ever tasted. The marbled meat was awesome! We were so full that Lana couldn't quite finish her steak (melt in your mouth). Then we had the dessert coming. Yikes! Total cost of meal, inclusive of 12.5% tip, was 175 Pounds. When we finally left both of us were completely stuffed but in a very good way. We really appreciated the long walk from Hammersmith station to our flat as it helped digest the food. I think we arrived around 21:30. 

Fitbit for today 14 kms of walking and 42 floors. We are in bed around 22:30 as I am completely beat. I have been waking up around 5 or 5:30 over the last few mornings so these are long days. The flat is very quiet though. We don't hear much street noise and no noise from our neighbours. Lana is feeling dramatically healthier as she has been ill for about 3 1/2 months before we arrived. She is sleeping better and finally has some energy back. Yeh! 

English you say (Day 7)

+ Observation London Tube:

• when we arrive at the train platform either the train has just arrived or will be arriving within one to two minutes
• "mind the gap" is a constant announcement given there can be quite a distance between the platform and the train car
• you 'tap' your Oyster card entering the turnstiles and tap your card out when exiting the turnstiles
• announcements about "good service" meaning those particular train lines have no problems
• organize the entry and exit paths to make it as efficient as possible for their riders
• mostly riders are pretty courteous and thoughtful

Overcast day today and forecast indicates rain showers. There is some rain during the day which is really the first bit of poor weather during our stay. We are meeting Tina and Maxwell at the Harvey Nichols store in Knightsbridge for 10:00 am. Tina is taking today off work. Pretty easy to find this department store as it is located across the street from the Tube station. We arrive early and drink our Starbucks Chai while we are standing outside in the chilly air. Lana and Tina/Maxwell enjoy shopping at this seven floor department store while I check my emails and do some people watching. Lana buys a Pie cookbook from the Cookbook section!!

Eventually the ladies want to get some lunch. Tina recommends BAO Soho located not too far of a walk from the department store. We arrive before opening at 12 Noon and there is already a queue across the street. We join the end of the line and are some of the first people welcomed. Each unit of the queue is escorted by one of the staff into the restaurant rather than many of us at the same time. The "bao" is the same kind of steamed bun that New York's Momofuku restaurant serves (Chinese steam bun = comfort food). Very clean new place with lots of modern touches and small tables. We really enjoy each dish so it was another good choice by Tina.

Sweet potato chips 

Bao classic pulled pork

Fried chicken pieces with a hot spicy Korean sauce

Bao pork belly (this was Lana's favourite!)

Bao lamb shoulder with cilantro sauce and thinly sliced jalapeño pepper

More shopping after our delicious lunch so off we go for a walk in the rain. First stop is Liberty London department store. This Tudor-revival building is on Regent Street and has been in existence since 1875. They have a plaque of employees who died in WWI. I find a comfy seat while the ladies are off shopping and have a free newspaper. Really old store with wooden beams built around an atrium. Nothing purchased though. 

Liberty London department store

The famous Carnaby Street. This is an icon from the 70s where the hip young people purchased their clothing. Inclusive of the Beatles and other famous musicians and artists. 

Some other shopping opportunities/stores come across our way. Then Tina helps us find Dominique Ansel bakery as we are all keen on having a cronut. Basically, this is one incredible croissant-donut pastry invented by Ansel and made its debut in NYC. Raining pretty hard on our way there, but once we got up to order our three cronuts they were completely sold out! Yikes! We found their covered outdoor patio in the rear (heat lamp) and closed the glass doors so Maxwell could roam a bit. The treats were tasty, but they were not cronuts!  

Cronut picture

Tarte tatin (French apple tart) with clotted cream on top. Very yummy, but not as yummy or desirable as a cronut!

Lana's crispy rice peanut butter mousse 

Our next stop will be St. James Park located beside Buckingham Palace. Decision to jump in a black cab to get to the park. Interesting that the black cab can accommodate four persons as their are two drop down seats that face the rear. Tina tells us that you know the Queen is in Buckingham Palace as the flag is at the top of its mast. Lots of fun with Maxwell in various parts of the park. Chilly day now with the wind. Large pond in the middle of the park with many birds. We walk around the park and back towards the city buildings on the perimeter. Large walking paths and many fellow tourists in this popular area/park. 

St. James Park 

This signage is right beside the pond and confirms the area and the Royal birds that live here

Into the Green Park Tube station and then up top and onto Oxford Street. Lana wants to shop at Selfridge's huge department store. Tina/Maxwell and myself find a pub (Greene King) close by and enjoy a beer and lemonade. Lana is due back by 18:30 so we can then navigate for dinner. Lana does show up right on time, but only after a momentary freak out in the department store as she has challenges finding the correct exit door again.  

Selfridges Department Store Oxford Street

Jacket that interests Lana at Selfridges Department Store

Tina has made reservations at her favourite fish and chips restaurant called Mayfair Chippy. 

Fish (cod) and chips with tartar sauce

Chips with Berkshire cheese and truffle salt.

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Double Creme and Sponge Toffee Bits!!

Fitbit indicates over 15 kms walking today. Lana likely did more with the walking around while shopping. A very English experience today with the cuisine, beer, pub and shopping in the centre of London. To bed a little after 22:30 tonight. Should be another busy day tomorrow. Weather forecast is sunny skies.