ART & ARCHITECTURE

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I am composing this entry as we have some wine in the room and rest for dinner. Today, being our first day was to be a light day, and while we went to one museum we did walk at least three to five miles. The weather was overcast but not really cold and while it tried to rain, it managed to hold off all day.

The day started with the alarm going off at 6, which lead to about an hour of hitting the snooze button. To save time we had breakfast in the room, just a light continental breakfast. We managed to get out of the hotel pretty much on time the walk to the Tube (London’s subway) finished the job of waking us up. The first task of the day was buying travel cards for the Tube. We normally have these pre-paid as they come with our museum pass. This trip it was not cost effective to buy the London Pass, so we needed to buy travel cards independently. Even though it was in English it did take a few minutes to figure out exactly what we wanted and for how many days. That task accomplished we were ready for our first day. We took the Tube one stop and then walked a crossed the Thames and along the riverfront until we arrived at the Tate Modern.

Tate Modern

There are two Tate museums in London, the Tate Modern is devoted primarily to art post 1900. This means there is a bit too much Dali and Picasso for my taste. After Madrid last May I really didn’t care to see any more surrealism for the rest of my life. Most of the exhibits in the museum are free to the public, there is a place to make a contribution should you so choose. There were a couple of special exhibits which did have an entry fee but we passed on those, one because it would have added up pretty quickly, but mainly because we pretty much have a 2-hour attention span in most museums. The Tate was pretty easy to get through and not overwhelming in the since of the Louvre or Prado.

The museum had a bit of something for everyone. For me of course it was the French impressionist, Matisse, Monet, Degas and the like. There was a bit of Warhol as well. Most of the art was not to my taste and much far to abstract for me. Jerry enjoyed much more of it than I did, but then he also likes Picasso and Dali, which I do not.

There was one interesting experience why we were there and that was there was one piece of art in the Museum that was done by an Artist I have actually met and had a conversation with. Really can’t say the name since it is a client of the firm I work for, but Christina you should be able to figure out who it is.

Borough Market

After the Tate we headed to Borough Market. This is a combination of a great farmers market and food stalls. This was the highlight of the day for me. The market is at the foot of the London Bridge and steps from the Globe Theater. We spent at least an hour just walking around looking at the cheese, butcher’s and all of the wonderful smelling food being prepared. There was every flavor imaginable from British to Turkish and everything in between. It all looked and smelled so good. The poultry stand was especially fascinating, they had pheasant with some of the tail feather remaining for a wonderful presentation. I bought a canvas shopping bag with pictures of the market, so now when I shop in New York I can fondly remember London. I could have spent several hours there and would have love to been able to buy food to have made dinner, but since we don’t have a kitchen this trip that wasn’t possible. The lines for the bakers and butchers were long as everyone was picking up their ingredients for Christmas dinner.

We had previously decided that this is where we would have lunch today, but picking a place was fairly difficult. Do we have classic fish and chips or something even more British, beef. We finally decided upon a place called Roast. This was upstairs overlooking the market. The place was packed with people celebrating the season and having long lunches. There were no tables available, but we were happy to eat at the bar. We started with some wine, Austrian wine that we had learned about on our trip to Austria in 2013. Our waitress was a very nice woman from Italy. It did not take us long to decide upon what we would be eating. Jerry, very out of character order Roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding and what they called roasties. Roasties are potatoes roasted to perfection in the drippings from the roast. They are crisp on the outside and almost like mashed potatoes on the inside. Jerry’s lunch was very British, with the exception of the béarnaise sauce he had on the side. I also had a very British meal, Braised Ox Cheeks with an onion cream sauce and roast garlic form the Isle of Wright (must be my island I didn’t know I owned). I also had an order of Chips truffle, the best truffle French fries I have ever had.

Lunch was very filling, but we were sure we would walk it off over the course of the rest of the day. Walk it off we did. After lunch, we headed towards the Tower Bridge. Friends that we were in Paris with in May had gone to London, among other places, after Paris. They had purchased two tickets for the Tower Bridge tour and were unable to use them so they gave them to us. Thank you very much Christina and Jourdan. As we walked to the bridge we went past the Shard (the tallest building in Europe), London City Hall (a very modern building) and on the other side of the river the Tower of London and what is known as the Gherkin. Quite a contrast in architecturally style and centuries a part.

When we finally made our way to Tower Bridge and the entrance to the exhibit (which is on the second tier of the bridge) we were very relieved to find that there was an elevator to take us up to the top. Not that we couldn’t have made it up, but if there is an easier way to get to the top of something, we are more than willing to take that route. We didn’t spend much time here, mainly we went for the view and to look through the glass floor looking down to the river below. Jerry had possession of the camera so there are no pictures. He didn’t really enjoy looking down at oncoming traffic and the river going by, not that we were going to fall through the glass floor.

We were then on to Trafalgar Square and the famed Norwegian Christmas tree. I am not really sure of the history of this tree, but according to our cabby who drove us from the airport last night, it is a tradition that Norway sends London a Christmas tree each year as a thank you for assistance during one of the wars, All I have to say is that it was the sadist excuse of a tree I have ever seen for a tree, skinny and the lighting just made it look more like a rocket than a Christmas tree.

Our last stop before heading back to the hotel was a bit of shopping. I had forgotten a very important wardrobe item, my suspenders. We first went to Marks and Spencer (kind of like a Macy’s but not quite the quality level) ok it’s probably more like a really good target. I was unable to find anything I liked so we went to a men’s store on Strand Street and found exactly what I wanted for twice the price. That was the end of the sightseeing portion of the day.

The Gay Hussar.

After a bit of rest and some blogging we headed for dinner. It is now after dinner as I am finishing up today’s blog entry. Unlike almost every other trip we have ever been on, we have reserved every place we are having dinner on this trip with the exception of one. Tonight, was the Gay Hussar, London’s only Hungarian restaurant. We took the Tube with no problem, however, once out of the Tube we were very turned around and what should have taken us 5 minutes to get to the restaurant, took as 30. Even Jerry’s since of direction is altered here. Not sure if it is the left side of the road thing, or just that every time we come up out of the Tube we seem to be going the wrong direction. We finally found the restaurant, with a bit of help, Jerry actually asked for directions, almost never happens.

The place itself was very quaint and cozy, a bit warm but still an inviting atmosphere. The food on the other hand while not horrible, was not quite (by miles) as good as anything we experienced in Budapest. This was one of the few times we have been disappointed by a meal while on vacation. Yes, there have been some wonderful disasters, but by and large we typically luck out. I am glad we went, as it was an experience and it was full of mostly locals, but I would not recommend it as there are far better places to eat while in London. However, if you are on a budget the food is pretty good for the price and the wine is very affordable.

We started with our traditional glass of sparkling, in this case a Hungarian Extra Dry. We also had a bottle of Hungarian red with dinner. Again, for the price it was pretty good wine. I know you have been waiting for the food part so here it is.

Jerry: Starter, Fish Dumplings (salmon and god balls over rice in a cream dill sauce with a hint of paprika. Entrée, Pork Medallions with roasted paprika potatoes, onions and peppers. The pork was over cooked but the potatoes and peppers were pretty good; dessert, Sweet Cheese Pancakes (crepes with mascarpone) pretty tasty.

Chris: Starter Asparagus & Bacon Salad (how could it be bad); Entrée, Wiener Schnitzel, the breading was crisp and tasting but the veal was slightly over cooked and the potatoes were over crispy; dessert, Poppy seed Strudel, warm and tasty served with vanilla ice cream.

After dinner, it was straight back to the hotel to get ready for the next day, a nightcap and to finish the blog post. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and involves a musical, Dickens and dinner. Stay tuned for the Christmas Eve extravaganza.

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Photos

Cushions on the seats, Not a New York subway

Monet
Water Lilies Post 1916

Porchetta
Mine never looks like this