Guy Fawkes Day

On the 5th of November each year, Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated across England to mark the failure of political conspirators to blow up Parliament.  The plot, known as the Gunpowder Plot, was launched in 1605 to displace Protestant rule by killing King James I and other nobility who were in Parliament at the time.

To commemorate the unsuccessful attempt, effigy's of Guy Fawkes, one of the conspirators, are burned and fireworks displays are held across the country.  Our friend Todd joined us in celebrating the  the 404th anniversary of Guy Fawkes at Alexandra Palace, a manor house perched on a hill overlooking London, which provides one of the best fireworks watching locations.

We had intended on watching the fireworks with two more groups of friends, but given the usual weekend closures on the tube and other logistical nightmares, including the crowds, that didn't happen. Afterwards we grabbed a couple pints in a nice pub (BRB at the Gate) near Alexandra Palace Station (overground line from Kings Cross), alternatively, the Piccadilly line at Wood Green is another way to the palace and pub.

We then joined a couple other friends for dinner at a great Greek restaurant in Primrose Hill called Lemonia; an authentic Greek restaurant with great personality. The best way to make your way to Primrose Hill is via the Chalk Farm tube stop (Northern Line), and a 3 minute walk to the Primrose Hill neighborhood.  It was a great place for a group and would be great in the summer as well after a hike up Primrose Hill to take in the views of the city.

Going Local

I find moving to a new place, whether it is an apartment, neighborhood or city, inspiring.  An opportunity to rid yourself of all of the clutter accumulated from life - paper, clothes, toileteries, you name it - and start fresh.

However, with that new sense of organization, comes the desire to find new things to make your place comfortable and feel like home.  Thus, the cycle begins again.  We love our new flat, with its big, bright windows and relaxing views of our neighborhood garden across the street.  Wedged between Holland Park tube stop and Shepherd's Bush tube stations, we have the largest shopping mall in Europe a block away, but still get to enjoy living in an area with all the traditional charm and cosiness that one expects in London.  Holland Park doesn't quite have the same reputation as Notting Hill.  However, it is only a 5 minute walk to Notting Hill and the main street is filled with gourmet food stores, the greatest little travel bookshop we have ever visited, and my favourite Italian delicatessen, Specks.  I love walking into the cramped little shop, loaded to the brim with Italian meats, cheese, noodles and their daily hot, homemade takeaway bar.  I'm looking forward to becoming a regular.

Portobello Road market in Notting Hill is one of the most well-known markets in the world, and a must experience, for anyone visiting London.  In 2005, my sister, who was studying abroad at the time, introduced Lou and I to the mayhem.  Portobello Road is literally a long residential street lined with colourful row houses, antique shops, funky independent clothing stores, cafes and food stalls.  You could easily fill a whole day browsing, eating and people watching.

It is best to go early to avoid the crowds.

The smell of slow-cooked pork, meandered through the market on a recent visit and our American hearts, just couldn't resist.

Cambridge, UK - an improv day trip

Three weeks ago, we went to brunch with Stu, a colleague of mine, his wife Kate, and two of their friends at a cute little spot in Little Venice. As we didn't have many plans afterwards, we joined them on a day trip to Cambridge, only a 45 minute train ride from King's Cross/St. Pancras station in North London.  It took as long to simply get from St. John's Wood to the train station given the standard weekend tube closures. Once we made it to the station we picked up tickets from the counter. Remember if going with 3 or more people, you can get discounted tickets, so don't default to the machines as humans are cheaper in this instance. We got to Cambridge at about 3pm and immediately charged across town to Jesus green and along the river, where we took in the great fall colors and crisp autumn air.

The goal was to punt, so we were discouraged for the first 15 minutes along the river as we saw only crew boats. We eventually found a nice spot to rent a boat to do a little punting on the Cam, only GBP15 for an hour of fun.

Stu is a surprisingly seasoned veteran in punting having taken on rivers all over England with his agile strokes, and looks to lead the US national punting team to next year's world championships of punting in Northumberland. Who would've thought the city boy from Texas would have the punting genes in him. [ok there are no world championships that I know of and I don't even think the US would have a team - the point is Stu basically owns the Cam].

The best way to take in the town is via the punt/boat, where you meander along the river past several of the colleges, all with beautiful campuses. As we punted from 4-5pm, it was when it was getting dark and the lights on the buildings along with sundown were magical. When walking around town, you don't get too much vision of the student life behind the school walls, so I highly recommend punting.

Following punting we were all thirsty and began our mini pub crawl around town, starting at the Pickerel Inn, an old pub dating back several hundred years. It was halloween so they had some decorations but not enough where it took away the charm of the pub. The staff was nice and joked around with us, the typical tourists. The beer on tap was good, with a range of Woodforde's ales and a couple others. The bar also had a fireplace and plenty of seating.

Following the Pickerel Inn, we went to the Castle Inn up the road, which had great food, an even better selection of beer and the pub itself was good too. It looked like they had a nice beer garden in the back for the summer. The pub has an outstanding range of Adnams ale and lager, with several great guest beers. I had one called the Wild Goose. A nice IPA that is more balanced than the US style pale ales due to more maltiness. As I only had my phone camera and it was too dark for good pics, credits for the Castle Inn photo go to Fancy a Pint, a great pubfinder website specializing in UK pubs.

We hit one last bar up and hung out with plenty of dressed-up students, including the great Doctor Proctor before heading back on the 10:45pm train to London to catch the last tube home.

For a last minute late-afternoon excursion it was a great trip; getting out of the city is always a welcome activity.

Hola Holland Park

We moved into our new flat last week in Holland Park and have been busy trying to make it feel more like home.  With a nice little balcony that overlooks a park across the street, our first mission was to find a BBQ.  I found the only cheap one left in the city at Argos, a 'department' store that is a shopping experience unto itself.  Literally, you walk in and browse through what can only be compared to as a JC Penney's catalog.  You select what you want to order, choose it from a list on an electronic vending machine and then when your number is flashed on the screen in the store, you go to the counter and pick up your item.  Thus, there is no viewing, touching, or inspecting products before purchase as they are hidden somewhere in a warehouse behind the counter.  After buying our bbq, we proceeded to haul it onto a public bus to commute it to its new home.

Luckily, we are becoming more savvy at putting things together ourselves.  Two hours later - Tada! Our second mission - to find propane gas in London - was much easier as it was ordered online and delivered right to our door.