Saturday was a wintery day in London, the clouds were low, a cold arctic breeze was blowing and the rain slapped against the apartment window. Paul, myself and Mark (who has now returned from Hong Kong) ventured out to get some breakfast at Borough Market . We headed straight to the Roast to go for some sausage and bacon baps to eat whilst we meandered around the busy market. We had coffee at Brindisa and then Paul and I did some shopping in the market for lunch time. Without the sun it felt much closer to winter than it had all week. The market's stalls were full of freshly caught winter game - venison, rabbits, pheasants, duck, quail and grouse lined the market. As always Saturday at Borough Market is a busy place. In ... read more

After our visit to Sir John Soane Museum, we had lunch at Cote Restaurant in the middle of Soho. The restaurants clean lines and its highly professional and friendly staff was a great introduction to the restaurant'. Its food which could be best described as French bistro was fresh, tasty and provided good value for money by London standards. Their menu includes classic dishes such as steak frites, salad niçoise, free-range chicken from the Les Landes area of France alongside lighter dishes such as roast sea bass with olive oil mash with a garlic and tomato dressing or salmon hollandaise. We started with a selection of olives and bread to get the taste buds going and after what seemed a very short wait our orders were taken. Paul ordered the pissaladiére which we shared. Pissaladiére is ... read more

Another cold clear day in London as my brother and I undertook our latest adventure in London. The destination was Hampstead and its adjoining Heath. We caught the tube from Borough Station directly to Hampstead. Hampstead is located about 6km north-west of Charing Cross. It is part of the London Borough of Camden. It is also home to some of the most expensive housing in the London area with large houses regularly listed for sale at over twenty million pounds sterling (about AUS$50 million ). Apparently the village of Hampstead has more millionaires within its boundaries than any other area of Britain. It is also the hub of intellectual, artistic, musical and literary life. Using Paul's London City Walks card we followed the directions of its map from Hampstead High Street to the Heath. We passed ... read more

I arrived back in England yesterday (Saturday 25th October) to a sunny and cold London. The flight across from Milan was easy enough though an early start (4am) was a bit of a challenge. Saturday was a relaxing day, arriving back at Maidstone with friends Sally and Mick we went for a coffee and some cake before returning to their home. Mick had to work in the afternoon and later on Sally and I took their dogs Basil and Daisy for a walk through the town and into Mote Park. The Borough of Maidstone is in Kent (did I mention this is in earlier blog entry? Hmm I may have to re-check) and about an hour by train from Victoria or London Bridge Stations. In any case we walked the dogs around the town (dropping off ... read more

I jumped on the early train to lake Como this morning. With my camera packed and my iPod charged I was very much looking forward to the trip to the town that many of you would know as George Clooney’s home away from home. The mayor of Como recently said of George Clooney “To mister Clooney we gave the honorary citizenship. We all are proud of his choice to live here on Lake Como." Clooney’s arrival might be popular with some however I get the impression that many don’t like what he brings - the paparazzi and the additional tourists. (See picture below!) Inspired by the night at the opera I select the Best of Verdi on the iPod. Verdi’s music was inspirational even if the views outside of suburban Milano were not. A slow start ... read more