A couple of confusing things about London
Crooked streets
I was walking down Regent Street on Friday night, looking for the nearest Asian grocery store. Ok it's not Chinatown but I was looking for some specific things. So everything was good until I reached Picadilly Circus, which by the way, would have been faster if I hadn't gotten caught up in the crazy lines outside the Apple store. There were ropes and security guards - I assume it was for the iPad 2 or something else that I similarly don't understand. But I digress - the confusion...
At Picadilly Circus Regent Street abruptly came to an end. I knew it had to continue because it said so, right there on the map. On the other hand, I haven't figured out why it continues at a right angle from where it ended...the street that I thought should be Regent Street was something else (Shaftsbury Road?) and then there was another street next to that - also not the rest of Regent Street. I eventually walked into a souvenir store and asked for directions, reasoning that since I wasn't trying to find a rival store, they would be happy to give directions. They were very helpful and I eventually found my way.
Tipping
And another thing - the 12% discretionary charge - does that mean we can elect not to pay it? I always ask now if service is included. A great tip I got (pun not intended) from KP - if the service was really good, have them take the charge off the bill and give the tip in cash. I didn't know you could do that - but apparently it's code although I've unfortunately forgotten the exact wording for it.
Bad coffee
Why? You can find good coffee - really good coffee even - but you have to look for it. There are some really good coffee places but generally it's been reliably bad. No wonder Starbucks is doing so well. I have considered going there out of sheer desperation because the place down the street doesn't do takeaway coffee and the next closest one I know of is about 15 minutes' walk away. Fine if you're out for a stroll on a lazy morning but not good if you're in a rush and needing the morning cup.
Please sir, can I have some more?
Cupboard staples in hand (30 minutes, 60 pounds and a dinner later) I took the tube. The thing with dinner however, was that it was (supposedly) healthy and now I was craving something sweet. And there is this place just downstairs and a few doors down which had some interesting looking desserts. So I called Langan's Bistro and asked them if they did take away. The man said, "yes, we do. Do you have a plate?" I said I did and he told me to bring it with me. It occurred to me, as I went downstairs, plate in hand, that it might appear to the casual observer that perhaps I looked like I was going to get fed. Which I was, but this somehow seemed a bit...I don't know.
The point is, it obviously occurred to someone else. I walked into the Bistro and the first thing I heard from a patron was "Please sir, can I have some more?" His wife thought it was hilarious. Of course it was a good talking point as we debated whether I should get the sticky toffee pudding or Mrs Langan's chocolate cake. It turned out that they didn't have the toffee pudding so I got the cake. The man was happy to discover that the Bistro does takeaway (they don't really, I don't think). We also had the discussion about crooked Regent Street - he asked how I eventually found my way and I told him I had stopped and asked for directions. He looked confused. I was very tempted to tell him that it was a concept with which most men of my acquaintance are not familiar, but managed to throttle the urge.
So - the cake...it was perfect - fluffy but not dry and not too sweet. So many times a dessert gets ruined by all the sugar they put in it, but this was just that little bit less sweet which meant I could eat the whole thing.
But it was missing something...and then I got to the middle.
I am ashamed to admit that I actually licked the sauce that got onto the foil which the restaurant wrapped over the plate for the 30 feet between there and my place. I wasn't going to write that down, but I did say that you would get the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm not sure where on that scale licking the cover goes...
Other things I did in the last week (the ones I remember anyway)
- Went to several ballet classes;
- Went to the bookstore where I know I spent way too much - punctuated by the fact that they didn't give me a plastic or paper bag - they gave me a fabric tote with their name on it. Apparently the book addiction was only in hiding...appropriately enough, I also picked up a book called "I remember nothing" by Nora Ephron (she wrote quite a few movies - you know, When Harry Met Sally, You got Mail, etc. etc.) and am almost finished with 2 of the however many books I bought; intend to donate the books to Oxfam to sell discounted at the end of the year (parting is such sweet sorrow...);
- Went to the Sunday Market behind Waitrose where I came to the conclusion that I have a whole year where I can organise a really good Sunday dinner and I don't have to cook because I can buy stuff there...like the home made pasta (ok, you have to boil water, but still), or the beef ragout (same) - and also the usual suspects in a farmers market (several different cheese stalls, bakery stalls, free range butchers, flowers, herbs, organic juices, a fresh fish guy - that's not a usual suspect);
- Bought more cleaning products and did all the floors in my apartment; and lots of cleaning;
- Cooked my first dinner at home (all ingredients courtesy of the market) - although, see above re Sunday Market;
- Found good coffee at last;
- Walked around the Marylebone Road, West End, Fitzrovia parts of town (and decided that Marylebone Road was too crowded);
- Made plans to catch up with various people;
- Remembered to set the clocks forward for daylight savings, although trying to remember what time it is where takes a little extra thought these days, especially since I don't know when Australia and the US switch...
In a couple of hours I am meeting NT and TN at Oxford Circus for dinner. We had to specify this time to avoid a repeat of the last time NT and I met. Hopefully this time it will be a little less of the blind leading the blinder - there are quite a few places in the area so I am hoping we can just stumble into somewhere good. Wish us luck!
By the by, MS - haven't made it to the British Museum on this trip yet. Last year when I went, people kept touching exhibits and I wanted to tell them not to. Isn't that the security guard's job? Or are they just there to keep people from carrying off the enormous sarcophagi and stone statues? I may give it a try on Wednesday morning after coffee with a cousin who lives here...and it's near quite a few good coffee places (so I've heard) for later in the day...
Oh and MR - thanks for the link to Young and Foodish. I've spent a couple of hours trawling the site (coffee to begin with, but I've been hooked by other things as well...)
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