Tag Archives: trips

london getaway 2016 | day 10

12 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by in gastronomy, london, sevilla, travel, trips

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

My last day in London and I’d made plans with Fiona Becket @food_writer to meet her for a last lunch in town at a restaurant she was reviewing. That was before I realised that my flight was at 5.30 (not 6.30 – Spanish time!) which wouldn’t leave enough time. Then I was chatting with Sam at @FoodieHub who said that Vicky @amsterdamfoodie was also in town and we could squeeze in a “quick bite” at Box Park, just around the corner from Liverpool Street Station, where I had to get the train to the airport. Done.
london day 10 (1)

As you can see, it was more than your usual quick bite (though to be honest, they took more than half of it back to the office). But it was quick. In less than an hour I was back at Liverpool Street Station with ten minutes to spare before my train.

london day 10 (2)

Stansted check-in and security was a hot and tiresome hour and a half, so I was in need of a Cold Beer after that, while I waited to board my plane home.

london day 10 (3)

And before I knew it I was flying over Sevilla, almost home. It was an amazing, if exhausting, 10 days. I’m so thankful for all the friends who came together to meet up with me, and also grateful to Jo & Mark who let me stay at their apartment (otherwise 10 days in London would never have been possible). I’ve got so many nice memories, and even more photos. Next stop… Madrid!

london getaway 2016 | day 5

07 Sunday Aug 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, london, travel, trips

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Saturday was amazing. First of all it started off with me discovering that the number 100 bus took me directly to Waitrose and back again! No more 45 minute Death Marches. So I popped over there in the morning to stock up on a few things. Then got ready to meet very old and very dear friends Sara & Steve – can you imagine that I met them online even before Twitter! In fact, they don’t even have Twitter accounts (though Sara was convinced/forced to open an Instagram account during dinner – but I’m getting ahead of myself). The plan was to meet up at Liverpool Street Station, which by now was a piece of cake for me to get to. From there we went over to Spitalfields Market and had a wander around…

london day 5 (1)This Turkish food stall smelled amazing, but we were saving ourselves…

london day 5 (4)

We ended up stopping at Taberna do Mercado for a bottle (okay, two) of lovely crisp and fresh Portuguese white wine. We were there between services and got to witness the staff meal, which looked so cosy and convivial that we wanted to join them. Afterwards we went to Vertigo 42 for cocktails with a SERIOUS VIEW…

london day 5 (3)Outrageously expensive, and not something I’d probably do again, but it was fun and I got to see my Shard from a whole other perspective (yes, I am slightly obsessed with the Shard…)

london day 5 (2)

Then it was off to the main event of the day – dinner at Quality Chop House. I’d been here before (last year during the Foodie Hub awards) but it was the first time for Sara & Steve and we all loved it. Hard to pick a favourite dish but THOSE confit potatoes (a signature dish) are crazy good.

london day 5 (5)

After dinner we waddled back over to Liverpool Street and I caught my bus home, feeling happy and full, and also full of love for these two guys. We’ve been through a lot together, and I hope we’ll keep going through and sharing all our life stuff. Good people, good friends. xx

london getaway 2016 | day 4

06 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, london, restaurants, retail therapy, travel, trips

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , ,

london day 4

Friday was SHOPPING DAY, as I had a few places I wanted to check out in the Regent & Oxford street area. I hopped on my trusty number 15 bus, which took me directly to Trafalgar Square, just around the corner from Regent Street (not the shortest route, but saved me from having to take the Tube). I got off the bus and immediately lost my 4G connection, so Maps stopped working too. Then I started crossing the square and – who knows why? – just after taking this photo I was overcome by one of the worst panic attacks I’d had in years. In fact, since the whole cancer thing I’d pretty much stopped having attacks, but suddenly there I was terrified in the middle of Trafalgar Square. Somehow I got to the other side and saw two women talking in the street, so I went over and asked them for directions to Regent Street. This calmed me down a bit (distraction therapy) and I was able to carry on, but then realised the time (going on 2 pm) and decided to stop somewhere for lunch first. A nearby-ish recommendation from my Twitter pal Robin @HERMANOPRIMERO proved to be the perfect spot for solo dining.

london day 4 1

I got a place at the bar and ordered a couple of tasty dishes, had a couple of glasses of wine, and thus fortified I was suddenly much less “panicked” and able to head out shopping…

london day 4 (1)hot butter devilled shrimps

london day 4 (2)black pork Kari Dosa with chutneys: coriander, tomato, coconut

What followed was a four-hour shopping expedition, mostly fruitful. I got some new clothes – Sevilla has very little “fat lady” clothes that aren’t awful polyester numbers better suited to grandmothers and maiden aunts. But man, it was hell walking in totally packed Oxford street, with many people staring at their phones as they walked, so bumping into everyone else. At some point I heard back from my friend Lizzie @hollowlegs who said she was able to get away from work early after all and would meet me at Noble Rot Wine Bar for their famous slip sole (apparently one of the trendiest dishes in London atm). Yes! But that meant getting there. From Oxford Street it looked a straighforward walk, but once again I got lost and – once again – Peter came to the rescue, directing via WhatsApp messages. And I finally arrived…

london day 4 (7)
london day 4 (4)slip sole with smoked pimentón butter

london day 4 (5)roast saddleback chop, coco de paimpol beans and salsa verde

london day 4 (3)Lizzie chewing on a bone

It was great to catch up with Lizzie and hear all about her new job. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to join the couple of group dinners I’d arranged so I was really happy she made the extra effort to join me here for a quick bite, even though she had to get up at 5.30 the next morning. We called it quits around 9.30 and Lizzie also helped me order my first Uber! I got home exhausted and happy, and wondering how I was going to fit my new stuff into my already over-stuffed suitcase. There was only one solution – I’d have to buy another bag.

london getaway 2016 | day 3

05 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, london, travel, trips

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

london day 3 (1)One issue with my otherwise fabulous apartment in Wapping is that the WIFI is dodgy, to say the least, making it impossible to work. And although not ideal, Mark suggested I pop over to the nearby Yurt Café to take advantage of their WIFI. Turned out to be an unusual and interesting venue, a massive yurt with a small patio basically under the rail lines. So I was able to get some work done and it was a nice place to spend the morning.

Later on that evening came one of the week’s BIG EVENTS. Dinner at Som Saa…

london day 3

london day 3 (2)Mark @marcooth, John @cityjohn, Thane @thaneprince and “look no hands!” Bob

london day 3 (3)whole fried sea bass – spectacular presentation but didn’t quite deliver on taste

london day 3 (4)star dish of the evening – pork neck with “nahm jim” sauce

While the food was mostly good (though nothing spectacular other than that one pork dish imho) it was a terrible shame that a gathering of witty and wonderful people ended up in a shouting match across a rather narrow table because the FUCKING MUSIC WAS TURNED UP TO MAX. Seriously… why? It’s a small venue, and it’s a restaurant (with a small bar area as you come in). Ironically the bar is quieter than the restaurant. So what’s with the fucking ear-splitting music, unless it’s to make clients eat up and leave fast so they can turn more tables? Som Saa started off as a pop up and, after the owners went off to do research in Thailand, they opened this very new restaurant in Commercial Street. I’m told they didn’t actually change their pop-up menu much after their research and to me it all felt a bit contrived. Staff didn’t seem well-trained… overall not an experience I’d repeat.

london day 3 (5)all the Som Saa dishes we tried

london day 3 (6)just to show I wasn’t exaggerating about noise level – we measured it

Afterwards us diehards (John, Mark and me) headed to a wine bar in nearby Spitalfields Market as Thane & Bob headed home (they had an early morning next day). Can’t remember the name of the wine bar but Mark ordered for us and we enjoyed a couple of lovely wines – always a treat for me to try non-Spanish wines. Afterwards I got on one of my trusty 3 buses that seemed to take me almost everywhere and got home to find messages from the boys asking me to check in. Nice. Nice friends, great evening out.

london getaway 2016 | day 1

03 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by in getaways, london, travel, trips

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

Although officially away for ten days, with two of those days basically travel days, that meant I had eight full days in London to look forward to. Not bad! The plan was to arrive in London around 6.30 pm and get to the apartment by about 9.00, in time to pop over to one of the local pubs recommended by Jo & Mark for a quick snack and a drink. But of course I was flying with RyanAir.
london day 1 (1)

I got to the airport in plenty of time, so I just relaxed with a cold beer and did a bit of stuff online while I waited for the boarding announcement. I was one of the last to pass through into the departure lounge and about two minutes later came the announcement… a 2 hour delay!

london day 1 (2)

At which point we were all stuck in the hot and airless departure area and not allowed to go out for a drink or to comfortably sit elsewhere. Finally we were off, with my already late estimated arrival now even later. After all the faff at Stansted – passport control, customs, luggage pick up – I hopped the train to Liverpool Street Station and then got a taxi to the apartment.

london day 1 (3)

Upon arrival I dropped my bags with the porter and said I’d be back in an hour to collect the keys, then hightailed it over to the closest recommended local on my list, The Prospect of Whitby (apparently the oldest riverside pub in London). Got there about 10.40 pm and asked if the kitchen was still open. Um…no way. In fact, I was told they were closing in precisely 20 minutes. So dinner that night was a glass of pub Pinot Grigio and a packet of Kettle Chips. But on the way home I was rewarded with this lovely view…
london day 1 (5)

And once home I felt immediately “at home” once again in Jo & Mark’s beautiful apartment in Wapping (it’s the second time I’ve stayed here). I did the bare minimum unpacking, had a cool refreshing shower to “wash the plane” off me and fell into my comfy bed.
london day 1 (4)

More to come…