The Cherry on Top!

We only had a few hours on Monday morning of our last day in London before we would be picked up by our taxi and swooped to Heathrow Airport. We had noticed this restaurant upon exiting the Notting Hill tube station one night and I knew I wouldn’t be happy with myself if I didn’t make it back there when it was open to enjoy a meal.

It was so worth the walk there and back again for our breakfast. Quite a delight. I’ve followed and enjoyed Jamie Oliver from his debut on U.S. food channels. When Dear and I were in London in 2003 we ventured out to Fifteen his restaurant in North/East London that trained young unemployed people to work in the restaurant industry. That restaurant started in 2002.

The hostess sat us at a nice table in the back end of the 2nd floor of Recipease. We ordered off the great breakfast menu and as we waited for our food Josh said “So, do you think Jamie will be here soon?” Just as he said that I looked behind Josh and said “well there he is coming up the stairs right now!!!” We remained cool and collected as he passed our table and sat at a table right behind us for a breakfast meeting.

When the waiter brought us our drinks we asked him if he thought it would be okay for us to ask Jamie to take a photo with us. The waiter assured us that it would be cool. He said to let him get further in to his breakfast meeting and then to ask him.

The food was delicious and the presentation was top notch. I didn’t expect anything less. After we were done with our food, Jamie got up from his meeting and walked past our table. At this point Josh asked if he would be so kind as to take a photo with us. Jamie said of course and one of the waitresses offered to take the shot and Jamie even gave her suggestions as to the best angle to shoot the photo from. I only had my little camera with me.

Our waiter photo bombed the picture! We were cracking up when we saw that. We were wondering why he asked us “so, how did that photo turn out?”

Jamie Oliver is a very genuine person and it was fun to meet him and to talk to him. He stood at our table for a long time asking us questions and answering our questions about his restaurants. On the way back to our flat we kept pinching ourselves amazed at the fun “coincidence” of this meeting.

This little out of the blue experience was a wonderful wonderful ending to our England experience! It was the “Cherry on Top” for me.

Recipease is a food and kitchen shop where you can learn to cook right on the premises. There are take away options as well as a cafe on the upper level.

So farewell London and Piccadilly Circus where all the “humanity” seems to gather. And farewell to beautiful England with all your history and beautiful countryside and hedgerows and churches and graveyards and cobblestones. I could go on and on but until next time...”Parting is such sweet sorrow”.

So I am now officially done with my posts about our trip to England this past September.

This Friday I’m recuperating from a wonderful Christmas party we had here last night with our small group. We had a build your own soft taco/burrito meal with so many wonderful toppings to add to the Carnitas (pulled pork) that I had cooking in the slow cooker all day long. I’ll share the recipe later in December on Mennonite Girls Can Cook. I’m sorry I didn’t take one photo of the toppings all in a row. Oye!

Besides being done with my England posts, I am done done done with my Christmas decorations. Now I’ll just sit back and enjoy the twinkle here and there. I love all the twinkle (to shine with a flickering gleam of light, as a star or distant light) that this time of year brings for us to enjoy. Are you twinkling?

Fortnum & Mason

I enjoy walking through this department store in London. It’s been on Piccadilly since 1707! The Queen and Duchesses made a special visit here.

There are 6 floors of merchandise in the store.

I suffer a lot from sticker shock in London so needless to say I wasn’t filling any shopping baskets!

Before I got my hand slapped by a sales lady in the hat section of the store, I managed to get a photo of Laura in one of the hats! The sales lady said no photos but we could try on any hat we wished to…

When we were done at Fortnum and Mason we walked over to Selfridge & Co. to meet Josh who had gone to an Arsenal Soccer game at Emirates Stadium. It was interesting to see the store after watching some of Mr. Selfridge but…this store was not my cup of tea. And to quote my dear daughter in law…”oh the humanity!”

We walked through one other shop that the younger duchess is said to enjoy and then headed to the underground dragging our tired feet. We picked up a take away pizza for dinner and enjoyed eating with our feet up in our flat. The next day we would spend our last few hours in London and we had a special destination for breakfast that will be my last post about our trip to England. Here are some views on our way back to the underground…

I’m happy to report that our Christmas tree is decorated to the point that it is going to be decorated. Translation: I didn’t put all the ornaments on the tree cuz I just wasn’t up to it and it is what it is…

Thursday night is our Small Group Christmas dinner and White Elephant Exchange here at this old house so I’ll be busy doing a little clean up before our company arrives.

How are things progressing at your house?

Buckingham Palace

The walk from the underground to Buckingham Palace was lovely. I thought of Ents from the Lord of the Rings.

Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain’s sovereigns since 1837 and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch.

The Queen Victoria Memorial

Standing 25 meter (82 feet) high and made of 2,300 tons of gleaming white marble, the Victoria Memorial pays homage to Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 until her death in 1901.

Victoria, of course, was the reason for the monument, but there’s much more to see than just the queen, who faces eastward away from Buckingham Palace with the words “Victoria, Regina Imperatrix” (Victoria, Queen and Emperor) placed below her.
On the north side of the monument you’ll find the Angel of Justice and on the opposite side, the Angel of Truth. On the western side, looking towards Buckingham Palace, is a statue of Charity. All of that is topped off with a gilded statue of Victory, sitting atop the pinnacle with a seated figure on either side, said to represent Courage and Constancy.

Four massive lions, each with a monumental figure, stand to the four sides of the monument, the gift of New Zealand. I missed getting a photo of one of the four of the bronzes. Agriculture and Manufacture are naturalistic, turn of the century figures. Manufacture is a tough workman, muscular, bearded and heavily muscled, wearing an apron and holding a mallet and some rolled up scroll. Peace and Progress bring us back to the classical ideal, Greek rather than Roman again. Peace recalls the summit Victory, with her light garment outlining her form, and a heavier cloak with a bold sweep over the arm and across the legs as she strides forward. In her hand, a sprig of olive leaves. Progress, a young Greek athlete, strides forward holding a torch aloft. All four figures are excellent, appearing monumental even beyond their size, and the lions, carefully modeled after live ones at London Zoo, are suitably fierce.

HT: Bob Speel’s Website

The gates around the palace were very spectacular.

When we were done at the palace we headed out to the British Library where there is a treasures room filled with manuscripts and books and music from Shakespeare, Chaucer, the Beatles, The Magna Carta, Gutenberg Bible and so many more amazing things to see all in one large room in this library. Of course photos were not allowed. If they caught you they might just chain you to this bench!

Back to the Seattle area…

We are sitting in a freeze pattern here. Brrr…

We had to let our Christmas tree thaw out after we brought it home today. We continued the tradition of buying a “Mystery Tree”. We don’t take the string off the tree until we bring it home and then the tree is revealed with all it’s good sides and bad sides! Kind of like us! The lights and decorations will have to wait until tomorrow. Thankfully we have a Christmas party here for our Small Group on Thursday night so I won’t put this last task off for too long. How are things coming at your place?

Tower Bridge…

and the Tower of London.

Along with Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, the Tower Bridge tops Great Britain’s list of architectural icons that make up London’s distinctive skyline. While not the first bridge to span the Thames, Tower Bridge is the most recognizable and is often mistakenly referred to as “London Bridge.” While Tower Bridge is one of the world’s most famous bridges, few know its rich history.

During its original construction, Tower Bridge was considered the most impressive and advanced of bascule bridges. At the time, the hydraulics used to open the bridge were powered by steam yet still able to complete the feat within one minute. In 1976, the steam-powered pumping engines were replaced by ones powered by electricity and oil.

Tower Bridge is the only bridge on the Thames that can be raised and lowered to allow ships to pass. Supposedly, witnessing the Tower Bridge opening brings good luck because it’s such a rare occurrence. Visitors can ensure their luck by checking the Bridge Lift Times on the official Tower Bridge website.

For many, the famous nursery rhyme “London Bridge is Falling Down” conjures up images of the Tower Bridge. These individuals assume the rhyme refers to the raising and lowering of the bridge, but they are mistaken. The real London Bridge was located approximately a mile to the west of where Tower Bridge was constructed.
Throughout the centuries, a number of bridges have been constructed on the site of the actual London Bridge, some of which did fall into disrepair before being replaced. One of these bridges was sold to an American entrepreneur by the name of Robert P. McCulloch in 1968. McCulloch reconstructed the bridge as a tourist attraction in the desert city of Lake Havasu, Arizona.

The Tower of London has a rich and brutal history. You can read all about it on links at this page and others.

The Crown Jewels are housed at the Tower of London. You can read about the history and meaning behind many of the jewels here.

Today Katie and I are on the road to that foreign country to our North! We love to use our passports. We’re having quite a cold snap here and I hope our trip will be without snow. We are looking forward to being at Lepp Farm Market in Abbotsford ringing in the season with our Old Fashioned Cookie class. I guess we’ll need to choose a couple of our favorite Christmas Cd’s to enjoy on the road.

It’s a Christmas miracle at this old house. I mailed all my Christmas cards yesterday and now I feel I can relax for the rest of this week until we pick up our tree on Sunday! What do you like to see behind you during this busy time of year?

Big Ben

The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster – officially named Saint Stephen’s Tower – is commonly known as the Big Ben. The tower is one of London’s most famous landmarks.

The clock inside the tower was the world’s largest when it was installed in the middle of the nineteenth century. The name Big Ben actually refers to the clock’s hour bell, the largest of the clock’s five bells. The other four are used as quarter bells.

The hour bell was probably named after Benjamin Hall, the First Commissioner of Works. Some sources however claim the bell was named after Benjamin Caunt, a British heavyweight boxing champion.

The clock was the largest in the world and is still the largest in Great-Britain. The clock faces have a diameter of almost 25ft (7.5m). The hour hand is 9ft or 2.7m long and the minute hand measures 14ft (4.25m) long.

The clock is known for its reliability, it has rarely failed during its long life span. Even after the nearby House of Commons was destroyed by bombing during World War II, the clock kept on chiming. The clock’s mechanism, designed by Edmund Beckett Denison, has a remarkable accuracy. The clock’s rate is adjusted by simply adding small pennies on the shoulder of the pendulum.

The tower was constructed between 1843 and 1858 as the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster. The palace is now better known as the Houses of Parliament.
The clock tower rises 316ft high (96m) and consists of a 200ft (61m) high brick shaft topped by a cast iron framed spire. The clock faces are 180ft / 55m above ground level.

HT: A View on Cities

I just have a few more England Trip posts left and good thing because the Christmas/Advent season is here and so many wonderful things happen this time of year. I hope that joy and peace will fill your hearts during your busy days. And in the spirit of this post I hope to fill my “time” with good things. We celebrated our Daughter in Laws birthday today and I’ll share about it on her actual birthday which is December 3rd. I’ve pulled the cards out and have to get busy on our annual letter (I could write a book about 2013). All the Christmas bins are down from the attic. Fun events planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I wonder if I can get those cards done by Wednesday morning?? If not there’s always next week…

I’m so excited that it’s snowing on my blog. It happens this time of year without me doing anything. Thanks WordPress!

What is going to fill your time this week?

The Original Tour of London…

On Saturday the 21st of September we headed into London early to take advantage of touring London from a bus top. It was cold but we braved the upper deck to see what we could see. We had a plan in place in which we’d hop off the bus if our tour guide was lousy and hop on the next one. Our guide was fabulous with an amazing store of knowledge and he could recite quotes and passages and entries from famous historical documents including the Bible. We stayed on the bus!

Fountains and statues and fabulous architecture, oh my.

The ballerina on top of the Victoria Palace Theater is Anna Pavlova this statue is not the original but a replica made in 2006. Here’s the story of the original…

From 1911, the year after its rebuilding to its present design by Frank Matcham, the Victoria Palace had a gilded statue of prima ballerina Anna Pavlova poised above it. This was owner Alfred Butt’s homage to the dancer he had spectacularly introduced to London.

The tribute was not appreciated by the superstitious ballerina, who would never look at her image as she passed the theatre, drawing the blinds in her car. The original statue was taken down for safety reasons in 1939 before the blitz and has completely disappeared. It is not known whether it is in someone’s garden or was turned to wartime military use, such as bullets.

Standing on Old Park Lane since June 14th 1971, this is the one that started it all. The brainchild of Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton, the cafe attracted customers from day one with first-rate, but moderately priced, casual American fare (available no-where else in London or the UK at the time), warm service and ubiquitous Rock ‘n’ Roll music and sensibility – Hard Rock Cafe London became an instant classic.

The reason I’m including this in my Saturday London post is because Dear and I ate here with the members of our singing group and band in the summer of 1973. We were so ready for a good ole American meal after having so many salads and other interesting food touring England. We savored each bite of our hamburgers and cokes with ice in them!

This masterpiece by Adrian Jones (born 1848 – died 1935) named “Quadriga”, was commissioned by King Edward VII, and stands on the top of the Wellingtons Arch, Hyde Park Corner. Quadriga (from the Latin Quadri-, four, and jungere, to yoke) is a four-horse chariot, raced in the original Olympic Games and other sacred sports. The Statue was built in a garden in Old Church Street Chelsea by Adrian Jones. This iron work weighs 40 tons, and dates from 1912.

It was fun to read the different names of all the pubs you see around London.

There is so much to see and share from London. You could have ten posts just on statues on top of buildings. I haven’t even gotten to the very familiar landmarks yet. Only two more days that we were in London so the end is in sight. Glad you have hung in there. Next time we’ll hit some of the well known images of London…

Back to the good ole U.S.A. On Monday I had my hair looked after by my very efficient hairdresser and I let her know that I have come to peace with my “new do” and she could continue that cut for the time being. When I got home from that appointment I totally ruined my fresh cut and color by mowing the lawn for the last time this year. I’m happy to report that all the leaves have been swooped up and delivered to the yard waste bin. Can I hear some applause? You should have seen my drippy hair do after that task was completed! Now I’ll sit back and enjoy the cleaned up look around here.

How was your Monday? If you live in the U.S. are you hosting Thanksgiving or are you going somewhere else for a meal?

To London We Go…

On Friday September 20th we left the coast of Cornwall for the long trip to London. We were dropping our car off at Heathrow and then booking a taxi to take us to the apartment we were renting through the weekend. Soon we would be depending on the London Tube for our transportation. “Mind the Gap”!

This is the street and building where our flat was located. It was a short walk to Portabello Road but a long walk to the nearest tube station that got you into London easily. We were close to a station that required connecting to a London central line.

The living space was roomy and comfortable.

We each had our own king room and bathroom.

After we settled into the flat we decided to head into London and see what we could see but first we had a nice long walk along Portobello Road to the Notting Hill Gate Tube Station.

We walked up the steps from the underground and landed right in Trafalgar Square. Soon we would be quoting Laura every time we tried to get from A to B in London proper… “Oh the Humanity”. After being in the countryside it was quite unnerving to be thrust into such a sea of people.

Now we were very hungry and Dear remembered a pub we ate in back in 2003 just down the road from here so we walked with “the humanity” and headed that way. The pub was packed to the gills but we found a nice spot in the back and settled in.

Our food was good and we were revived and decided to try to take in as much of the National Gallery before it closed. It was getting dark outside.

We saw some wonderful works of art but no photos were allowed in the National Gallery. We were all well spent from our long day and found our way back to the flat for a good nights rest before our Saturday in London.

Back here in the Northwest we’ve had a relaxing weekend and we’ve been cooking meat. I cooked a chuck roast in the slow cooker and we had roast beef sandwiches for dinner on Saturday. Today we had ribs slow cooking in the oven and will have them with some coleslaw and baked beans. Good thing we don’t have any vegetarians in our house. Our Katie is a huge Dr. Who fan so Saturday’s 50th Anniversary special airing in Britain and B.B.C.- U.S.A. was on the agenda. Judging from her squeals of delight it was all she had hoped for.

I had a fun experience today after church. We host a Toy Shop at our church for needy families from public school districts in our area. Church members donate toys for different age groups (new, unwrapped toys). Parents can then come to the toy shop and choose 2 gifts for each of their children. They take them to the wrapping table and we wrap the gifts for them to take home and give to their children on Christmas. So after church I headed to Fred Meyer to do some toy shopping. I was in the Lego aisle and a grandmother with her two grandsons came into the aisle. The grandmother told the boys to choose a toy that they would like but the toy was not for them. The toy was for someone who had less then them. She was trying to teach them about giving. She looked at my cart and the list in my hand and asked me who I was shopping for. I told her all about our Toy Shop at church. She then said, “Ok, boys pick a gift and put it in this ladies cart, I’ll give her the money for the toy and it will go to the toy shop and a little boy your age will get it and enjoy it” Ha! After they selected the gift and gave it to me (and $15.00 cash) I told the boys that a boy their age would be really happy to get that toy. Then I said Thank you very much and Merry Christmas. The grandmother explained to me that she wasn’t sure where to donate a gift so she was happy to bump into me at the store…

How was your weekend?

More of St. Michael’s Mount

At low tide, follow the footsteps of pilgrims and giants as you cross the historic causeway to St Michael’s Mount. Starting from the beachfront in the town of Marazion, it takes just minutes to walk across the bay from the mainland to the island.

I mentioned before that the morning through early afternoon that we were able to visit St. Michael’s Mount was rainy, drizzly, overcast and finally sunny. Being from Seattle this did not deter our visit.

The St. Michael rose window dates back to the 15th Century.After our tour of the castle we visited the sub tropical gardens.
We were intrigued with the pill boxes we saw and investigated inside them taking in all the views from the small windows of defence.

When we were done with the castle and gardens we asked for a recommendation for lunch. We were ready to be inside and out of the misty weather. We followed the recommendation and landed at Ben’s Cornish Kitchen.
The food was very good and high end. We were happy to pay the lunch time lower prices!After we ate and warmed up the weather warmed up, too. We headed out to the little town of Marazion and enjoyed checking out the shops. On the way home from St. Michael’s Mount we stopped at Marks and Spencer and then we picked up Cornish Pasties for dinner from Portreath Bakery. We relaxed and packed up for our next days trip into London. Our countryside adventures were over. Here’s one last view of now sunny Marazion Beach.

Back here in the states life moves on. Katie and I did put in some hours in some stores today looking for a top to complete her Thanksgiving outfit and doing some early Christmas shopping. I tweaked my back yesterday so it was hard getting in and out of the car but once I was up and walking things went well. Happy to say we were able to click some things off our lists. Soon the crowds in the stores will be unbearable for me so I’m happy to get things done now…Have you started?

November Note Cards

It’s time for Vee’s November Note Card Party.

I love Vee’s post for this party…so nice and perfect for this Thanksgiving month. Mine is not so much on that vein but I am thankful nevertheless.

We had a party in November to honor a special English friend who offered up his parents home in Cornwall to Josh, Laura, Dear and me during our trip to England in September of this year. For my note party I’m sharing some of my favorites from our time in Porthtowan, Cornwall, England. First a collage from our Pub Night to say thank you to Gabriel.

And now four images from the beautiful land we were fortunate to experience just a short time ago.

Looking forward to seeing more posts inspired by Vee’s Note Card Party this month. Thank you for visiting here and leaving a comment. I’ll be by soon!

St. Michael’s Mount

Over the years I thought it so magical that there were places in the world where you could walk to during low tide and then when the tide rolled in you’d be stranded on an island. During our September trip to England and because we were in the southern part of Cornwall we made it a point to visit St. Michael’s Mount to fulfill a bucket list desire. It was a very grey misty day but we put on some waterproof gear and headed out. That Thursday would be our last full day in Cornwall.

The weather and lighting made it hard for this amateur photographer to get brilliant photos from afar but the experience was fun nevertheless. I’ll share more from the “Mount” on another day. We made the walk back and forth on the causeway and did not get stranded on the Mount. If you miss the safe walking window there are little passenger ferries to bring you back but we heard that they make for a very sea sick inducing ride…

I’ll be stuck on an island of sorts for the next few days but I’ll be back in full swing again next week. We are having our family Thanksgiving Meal this Saturday. All the kids will be here but Andrew. This is the weekend that our son Dan will be able to come across the mountains. He works on Thanksgiving day. He’s bringing a guest with him that we are looking forward to meeting. My sister and brother in law will join us, too. They will be fresh back from a short mission trip to the Dominican Republic so it will be fun to hear all about it. It seems 9 is the number around our table for November celebrations. It’s not easy finding a fresh turkey this early in the month of November but a local meat market pulled through for me. I did not want to deal with defrosting a solid as a rock turkey! Turkey, Yams, Stuffing, Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Rolls and nothing green…that’s how we roll. Pumpkin and Berry pies for dessert.

How many do you have around your table when the family gathers? Are you able to make room on your plate for something green on Thanksgiving?

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Travel