9.22.15 British Museum and Soho

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was raining hard this morning. We enjoyed a slow start to the day. Took the cab to the British Museum - we take the cab everywhere. It cuts down on the walking I have to do. The walking I'm saving for things like the British Museum and our evening foodie tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emperor Hadrian who reigned the Roman Empire during its most prosperous, peaceful, and expansive time with his partner in love Antinous. They're everywhere.

 

 

The museum is beautiful. I always think of it as all the antiquities the British stole from the rest of the world. Having said that it's a beautiful place and I say that because many of the objects - sculptures in particular - are displayed in big open spaces as opposed to the Vatican or Louvre where they are on top of each other.

Back to our hotel room for some rest and then to Soho. We got there around 3:30 to walk around some and have a cocktail before the start of our Foodie tour. We met up with 6 others all from Souix Falls South Dakota which I'll remind everyone is a very very red state. No mind, our tour guides both who work in theatre were wonderful and informative.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seriously. That man looks like he died and is going through the pearly gates. I like how they serve the gin in snifter glasses with these very large iceberg size ice cubes/chunks and bring the tonic water separate so you can add it to taste. It's presented that way so you can stick your nose into the vapors. No different from wine. Tonic contained quinine to ward off malaria. Since we are not traveling in areas with malaria we wonder what's the immediate purpose. Fact - lime - apparently pairs well with juniper. Who knew.

As it started to get dark Soho changed its complexion and became this bustling night crowd of after work cocktailers and restaurant goers lining up to go to a particular bar or restaurant. They line up because these places are tiny. The good news is that drinks are served and most people in line have cocktails in hand.

 

I don't think London has a cuisine per se unless you want to call pot pies a cuisine but they do have a huge international food scene. So you may ask why do you need a guide. What we've found is that with guides not only do you get ushered directly into the best restaurant but also are shown places of interest - where Karl Marx lived, Trident studio where an impressive list of songs were recorded - Hey Jude for example, where Mozart lived and was composing at the age of 9 (The London Symphony), The Marquee Club - the venue where the Rolling Stones had their first performance in July of 1962. The Who and Jimi Hendricks made their public debuts there as well.

Made a stop at a pintxo place. It comes from northern Spain - the Basque region and again is a cocktail hour finger food. Most cultures have a dish that's similar like tapas. The story goes that it is usually a slice of bread with a salty fish or meat portion on top. The meaning of tapa is "to cover". It's placed on top of your glass to keep out the insects. It's salty to stimulate thirst. Small to focus on conversation rather than eating.




Quick story. We went to a cured ham shop to learn about and sample the various hams from Spain and drink some Tempranillo wine also from Iberia and is a neutral wine used to cleanse the palate. The proprietor was going on about how delicious and best in the world this ham was. I commented that they never had my Grandma Koepkes Iowa raised ham and the Navy bean soup with vinegar that followed.

The best stop was of course dessert. Chocolate at Saids. This place was extraordinary. They literally make their own chocolate short of growing the beans. They've been doing it for centuries. The chocolate is poured into and around the rim of the cup and then the milk, coffee, or whatever else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got back to the hotel and into bed and I had a pain crisis. I've never had that kind of pain. It pounced on me like an angry animal. I didn't panic but came close and after dosing up, following my breath, and whimpering for about 45 minutes it let up and I was able to fall asleep. My leash is getting shorter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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