First - Bath
On Saturday morning LM and I went up to Bath. She said she hadn't been there in years (not since a trip during an exchange in high school) and I had never been there. I didn't get my coffee from the place I like when I have time (Sensory Lab, 75 Wigmore Street, W1 - http://www.sensory-lab.co.uk/) because - oh, the horror! - they don't open until 10am on weekends.
I suppose that's a civilized hour but I had a train to catch. The cafe doesn't open early because most normal people have been out the night before and only start to venture into the streets a bit later. I suppose there's no point in opening early for a lone early bird. So feeling quite sorry for myself (but not too sorry) I had a Gingerbread Latte from Starbucks instead. It bore testament to my oft repeated phrase "put enough milk, sugar and other crap in it and it won't taste anything". Anyway, there was the usual quick walking to the trains once we arrived at Paddington Station, then waiting for our platform to flash up on the screen. No, it wasn't Platform 9 3/4. I guess they rounded up, it was Platform 10.
The train ride passed quickly, then it was a meander around town. LM already had a couple of places in mind so by the time we hit all of the things on the list and the things that caught our eyes as we passed, it was dark. There was the Pump Room and all the Bath Spa things (Temple of Sulis Minerva), then what were the Assembly Rooms (think Jane Austen times) which is now the Fashion Museum. One of the things I love about the old buildings is that they have these really high ceilings. There's something about the height which gives such a light feeling. Even if there isn't much space horizontally, the vertical space always makes it feel like you're in less of a shoe box (or tomb or whatever). The age of the stones here reminded me a little of Castel Sant' Angelo in Rome. There was even a similar wet stone smell in some of the rooms as we went through.
High ceilings were also a big part of the upstairs rooms at the Fashion Museum. The ceilings to the rooms where the exhibits were were a bit lower, unlike upstairs which I assume used to be the public gathering rooms upstairs - I associate with them with older (but not old) buildings.I think I must be even more fashion challenged than I ever thought - there was a wedding dress display (yech), then fashions up to the 19th century (ooh, fun - think period dramas). Then there was the more recent fashion stuff (20th century and on) - most of which I didn't understand and most of which I couldn't picture anyone wearing.
We had lunch at a little cafe called Cafe Rouge (a chain, but not a bad one - I love their fries!), then a certain amount of time at a store called Kitchens. Given that LM has finished Patisserie and I am (hopefully) finishing it, there were a lot of things we wanted in the store. Somehow having managed to curb ourselves (we would have been pretty happy to have most of everything in the store - I told her I would need to have a house with a very large kitchen one day) we then ended up at another kitchenwares shop (Lakelands?). It was a bit more pricey than Kitchens. Having exercised a bit more self control, we had a look at some shoes (I bought comfy boots - on sale), then more Starbucks. It really is insidious...
We were exhausted after such a long day so the chatter was a bit more subdued on our way back to London. However, we did get to enjoy some of the fireworks for Guy Fawkes Day.
Actually studying...
Sunday required some work. I met up with one of the girls who is taking a little break before finishing Superior Cuisine next term. Then it was study time with AM in South Kensington. It was kind of a drizzly and cold day so pretty good for studying if you couldn't curl up in front of an open fire with a cup of hot chocolate (yes, corrupted by Patisserie!) a good book and a warm, fuzzy blanket. Instead, we were ensconced with our laptops in front of us and discussing (having a difference of opinion) over some of the methods / procedures. Got the braised lettuce sorted out today but it was cause for a little discussion yesterday.
Then LM and I had dinner at this funky little sushi bar / club in Knightsbridge. It was so funky that we couldn't find it. We approached from different directions as she was coming from work and I from studying. The result: wandering up and down the street. I happened to be passing when a couple in front of me happened to stop in front of a couple of bouncers and I heard the name of the restaurant. I followed them in and down these stairs - it was dark and dimly lit with a mirror facing the stairs as you came down from the street level. Enough to make you check your step a bit. We forgot it was supposed to be kind of clubby - until the music turned up all of a sudden near the end of the meal and we could no longer hear each other talk. The people over by the bar loved it though - they were having a little boogie as we were leaving.
Avoiding the Labrynth known as Harrods
There had been discussion of doing the tourist-y things we hadn't done yet (or hadn't done in a while). The result: a stop for photos by Harrods's windows. Luckily Harrods was closed but the windows are still very pretty. A lot of the stores have put up their lights - although I find the different songs at each window at Selfridges off-putting because you can hear the song from the next window when you are standing at a different window and since they are all audible, more often than not you are hit with a cacophony of sound.
I say "lucky" about Harrods being closed because last April, a girlfriend and I had gone to do a little bit of shopping and to do a lot of gawking. Shopping accomplished, no gawking took place because we kept getting lost when we were looking for the exit. There were a couple of stair cases and doors which became awfully familiar and I think we passed the Diana and Dodi memorial at least 7 times. It was an almost inescapable loop - perhaps Harry Potter's moving stair cases were inspired by an inability to find one's way out of a shop. In any event, I am now afraid to set foot into Harrods if it involves leaving the sight of the street for fear that I will spend the rest of my life returning to Diana & Dodi's memorial.Tea Party (Minus the Mad Hatter)
Tomorrow is our Tea Party. We spent today making the majority of the desserts and the decorations for them. It was one of those days - I kept spilling things and ended up wearing a great deal of chocolate. I must have been splashed more after the break at the 3-hour mark (when we took this photo). The second 3-hour session found me wearing quite a lot of raspberry (from making the jam) and looking a bit "disheveled". Not surprising, given that I got a recipe where I had to make an anglaise with just egg yolks and raspberry puree. Not having done one like that before, I went on autopilot and ended up with sugar in my egg yolks. Only thing is, there was no sugar in that component of the dessert, so I had to start again. FYI, 480g of egg yolk is about 24 eggs. Now imagine separating 48 eggs (because you messed up the first 24) and knowing the mousse has to be spread on a cake, then freeze for a while. First big screwup in a while...but it got fixed and all seems well.Some of the desserts will require some last minute tweaking (i.e. filling the eclairs, glazing some of the cakes, etc. etc.) We finished on time and the decorations don't look terrible. Photos tomorrow (or possibly the next day) - in the meantime, it's time to go to bed. Laundry is making noise as I wash off the dirt from the dirtiest practical ever. Must remember - clumsy and neat don't always go together. Am falling asleep so...
Until next time, may you also have a nice tea time. And good night.
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