A week of Chelsea mornings: Nikki's trip to London
Jun 23rd, 2018, 12:02 PM
#21
Original Poster
On Monday we go to the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace. I have not been to this gallery before, and it is a very pleasant small venue for the current exhibition: a display of gifts given to the Prince of Wales on the occasion of his visit to the Indian subcontinent in 1875. Each local maharajah presented items to the future King Edward VII displaying the best of local craftsmanship.
I feel like I am inside Ali Baba’s cave. This is an astounding collection of objects in gold, emeralds, rubies, and diamonds. There is beautiful, impossibly intricate enamel. These are the jewels of my fantasies of exotic opulence.
I feel like I am inside Ali Baba’s cave. This is an astounding collection of objects in gold, emeralds, rubies, and diamonds. There is beautiful, impossibly intricate enamel. These are the jewels of my fantasies of exotic opulence.
Jun 23rd, 2018, 01:40 PM
#22
Original Poster
From Buckingham Palace, we cross the street and enter St. James’s Park. This park is landscaped around a lake filled with waterfowl. The pelicans are so well trained that they stand in front of a sign that says “Don’t feed the pelicans.” Doesn’t stop people from feeding them. This reminds Alan and me of a story told to us by a waiter in Maine. He says a tourist was complaining to him that they put the moose crossings in very inconvenient spots. Why didn’t they put those signs where there is less traffic?
We enjoy some time in the park on this warm, sunny afternoon before heading to Scully St. James’s, where we have a reservation for a pre-theater supper. Home - Scully Restaurant
This is the most creative menu yet. Do not ask me to explain any of these terms. Many of the ingredients come from a dazzling array of jars of preserves stacked on shelves at the restaurant’s entrance. The menu announces that they will be happy to take patrons on a tour of the pantry. I am just happy to enjoy the results.
The waiter suggests that for two people we should order four or five dishes from the menu to be shared. We start with arepa, eggplant sambal, and bergamot labneh. Each dish seems to come with its own bread pairing, and in this case it is the arepa, some delicious thing that I think is made from corn meal. The combination is fantastic.
Then we have zucchini, tomatillo, belper knolle, and rosemary crispbread. I would call this a salad. A really, really good salad.
The next dish is octopus ragu, mussels, speck, and black garlic. Then there is crispy pork belly, lemon chilli jam, and nettle tabouleh. And for a grand finale, there is beef short-rib pastrami, horseradish, and pistachio. I ask the waiter which item on the plate is the horseradish so I can avoid it (no, it isn’t obvious) and he points it out but tells me I should try it. I do, and it is much less overwhelming than I fear. I even put some on the meat voluntarily.
We are a bit rushed because we are going to the theater, so we don’t even look at the dessert menu. That is just fine. I can not imagine it would have made me any happier about this amazing meal.
The restaurant is located in a corporate office park. While it must have people during the day, it is pretty lifeless in the evening. There is no foot traffic to speak of, so it is somewhat startling to walk a block and be hit with the swirling activity on Haymarket. For a Monday night, it is pretty lively outside. We walk through Leicester Square, where I believe we become the target of a street performer’s joke, but we don’t stop.
We are headed to Wyndham’s Theatre, where we have tickets to see Red. This is a play about the painter Mark Rothko, who is played by Alfred Molina in a tour de force reprising his role from the original production in 2009.
I have decided on this play because we saw a fascinating exhibit of Mark Rothko’s work at Harvard three years ago. There were murals which had faded badly over time to the point that their colors were muddy and indistinct. In an innovative technique, they had been restored by designing light that hit each part of the canvas in such a way that the original colors were revived. We waited until the end of the day when the lights were turned off so that we could see the contrast between the current colors and the restored version that reproduced the original hues.
One of the themes of the play is the concern of the artist for the fate his paintings will meet when he puts them out into the world. I think back on this exhibition during the performance.
After we return to Chelsea, we spend some time outside by the banks of the Thames, where the Albert Bridge is lighted up. It is another beautiful evening. We have been very lucky with the weather. Before we left for London, it looked like it would rain almost every day. But it has mostly been warm and sunny.
We enjoy some time in the park on this warm, sunny afternoon before heading to Scully St. James’s, where we have a reservation for a pre-theater supper. Home - Scully Restaurant
This is the most creative menu yet. Do not ask me to explain any of these terms. Many of the ingredients come from a dazzling array of jars of preserves stacked on shelves at the restaurant’s entrance. The menu announces that they will be happy to take patrons on a tour of the pantry. I am just happy to enjoy the results.
The waiter suggests that for two people we should order four or five dishes from the menu to be shared. We start with arepa, eggplant sambal, and bergamot labneh. Each dish seems to come with its own bread pairing, and in this case it is the arepa, some delicious thing that I think is made from corn meal. The combination is fantastic.
Then we have zucchini, tomatillo, belper knolle, and rosemary crispbread. I would call this a salad. A really, really good salad.
The next dish is octopus ragu, mussels, speck, and black garlic. Then there is crispy pork belly, lemon chilli jam, and nettle tabouleh. And for a grand finale, there is beef short-rib pastrami, horseradish, and pistachio. I ask the waiter which item on the plate is the horseradish so I can avoid it (no, it isn’t obvious) and he points it out but tells me I should try it. I do, and it is much less overwhelming than I fear. I even put some on the meat voluntarily.
We are a bit rushed because we are going to the theater, so we don’t even look at the dessert menu. That is just fine. I can not imagine it would have made me any happier about this amazing meal.
The restaurant is located in a corporate office park. While it must have people during the day, it is pretty lifeless in the evening. There is no foot traffic to speak of, so it is somewhat startling to walk a block and be hit with the swirling activity on Haymarket. For a Monday night, it is pretty lively outside. We walk through Leicester Square, where I believe we become the target of a street performer’s joke, but we don’t stop.
We are headed to Wyndham’s Theatre, where we have tickets to see Red. This is a play about the painter Mark Rothko, who is played by Alfred Molina in a tour de force reprising his role from the original production in 2009.
I have decided on this play because we saw a fascinating exhibit of Mark Rothko’s work at Harvard three years ago. There were murals which had faded badly over time to the point that their colors were muddy and indistinct. In an innovative technique, they had been restored by designing light that hit each part of the canvas in such a way that the original colors were revived. We waited until the end of the day when the lights were turned off so that we could see the contrast between the current colors and the restored version that reproduced the original hues.
One of the themes of the play is the concern of the artist for the fate his paintings will meet when he puts them out into the world. I think back on this exhibition during the performance.
After we return to Chelsea, we spend some time outside by the banks of the Thames, where the Albert Bridge is lighted up. It is another beautiful evening. We have been very lucky with the weather. Before we left for London, it looked like it would rain almost every day. But it has mostly been warm and sunny.
Jun 24th, 2018, 05:52 AM
#23
<<Annhig, you did read that Linnaeus made it to the Chelsea Physic Garden, which was established in 1673. I believe that was before you worked in London. But I could be wrong.>>
Just a little before my time, Nikki. I know it existed but I'm not sure that it was a place that was visited so much. Mind you there are plenty of places that were popular to visit then which I missed so more fool me!!
I think that the cancellation train problems are probably down to your travelling on a Sunday, when they tend to do a lot of maintenance work; they also tend to change platforms at Victoria very frequently. I'm not sure that it looks like a shopping mall to me but as it was the station through which I used to commute I probably don't notice much at all besides which train I'm heading for. Lucky you weren't travelling on a weekday - we commuters are ruthless!
And you have found yet another fab restaurant to add to my list - were these places you already knew about or did you just come across them? However you did it, it clearly paid off.
Just a little before my time, Nikki. I know it existed but I'm not sure that it was a place that was visited so much. Mind you there are plenty of places that were popular to visit then which I missed so more fool me!!
I think that the cancellation train problems are probably down to your travelling on a Sunday, when they tend to do a lot of maintenance work; they also tend to change platforms at Victoria very frequently. I'm not sure that it looks like a shopping mall to me but as it was the station through which I used to commute I probably don't notice much at all besides which train I'm heading for. Lucky you weren't travelling on a weekday - we commuters are ruthless!
And you have found yet another fab restaurant to add to my list - were these places you already knew about or did you just come across them? However you did it, it clearly paid off.
Jun 24th, 2018, 05:53 AM
#24
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Great trip report. I should stop following it now since we will only have one evening to dine out the next time we are in London. Of course I won't so will be spoiled for choices.
What was the apartment?
What was the apartment?
Jun 24th, 2018, 06:22 AM
#25
Original Poster
This is the apartment:
https://www.aplacelikehome.co.uk/pro...partment-7999/
As far as the restaurants are concerned, I learned about Medlar from AGM Cape Cod and had visited it on our last visit three years ago. Merchants Tavern was mentioned by Belinda either on this message board or Facebook as a place she visits on each trip to London. And Scully's was given a rave review here recently by travelgourmet. So all three were gleaned from Fodor's. Thanks to all of you.
https://www.aplacelikehome.co.uk/pro...partment-7999/
As far as the restaurants are concerned, I learned about Medlar from AGM Cape Cod and had visited it on our last visit three years ago. Merchants Tavern was mentioned by Belinda either on this message board or Facebook as a place she visits on each trip to London. And Scully's was given a rave review here recently by travelgourmet. So all three were gleaned from Fodor's. Thanks to all of you.
Jun 24th, 2018, 06:30 AM
#26
Original Poster
On Tuesday we take the train to Oxfordshire to visit with Fodorite Flanneruk and his wife. We leave plenty of time to orient ourselves at the station, but this train leaves from Marylebone Station, which is much smaller and easier to manage than Victoria. We are actually early enough to take the train prior to the one we had planned, but I have bought tickets for a particular time because there were advance tickets available for a much better price than the ticket one could buy at the station for a one day return on any train.
We are somewhat surprised to hear announcements for one of the stations in several languages. I speculate from the way the stop was described in English that this is an outlet mall, and the woman sitting next to me confirms that I am right. She tells us that this collection of outlet stores, known as Bicester Village, is one of the largest tourist attractions in the UK.
Having already established that the only shopping I do on this trip is for chocolate, we do not change our plans to check out any designer labels. In fact, it is difficult to imagine shopping for bargains of any kind in the UK with our US dollars. We had a conversation with a London taxi driver about his yearly trips to New York when he stocks up on bargains for himself and his family, taking advantage of favorable exchange rates. Coming to England for the shopping appears to be something done by Chinese tourists, however, who apparently comprise a large percentage of the outlets’ customers.
A few minutes later we arrive at our stop and greet Flanneruk, who drives us back to his house where we spend a pleasant time in his garden. He insists the garden is a mess. It is not. At least not by our standards, where a garden is part of our unceasing struggle to restrain the encroaching wilderness.
We enjoy an afternoon of pleasant and stimulating conversation and go out for a relaxing dinner in the countryside. On the train back to London, we stop again at Cicester Village, where exhausted looking people board carrying many bags and large new suitcases filled with their purchases.
I have greatly preferred our method of spending a vacation day.
We are somewhat surprised to hear announcements for one of the stations in several languages. I speculate from the way the stop was described in English that this is an outlet mall, and the woman sitting next to me confirms that I am right. She tells us that this collection of outlet stores, known as Bicester Village, is one of the largest tourist attractions in the UK.
Having already established that the only shopping I do on this trip is for chocolate, we do not change our plans to check out any designer labels. In fact, it is difficult to imagine shopping for bargains of any kind in the UK with our US dollars. We had a conversation with a London taxi driver about his yearly trips to New York when he stocks up on bargains for himself and his family, taking advantage of favorable exchange rates. Coming to England for the shopping appears to be something done by Chinese tourists, however, who apparently comprise a large percentage of the outlets’ customers.
A few minutes later we arrive at our stop and greet Flanneruk, who drives us back to his house where we spend a pleasant time in his garden. He insists the garden is a mess. It is not. At least not by our standards, where a garden is part of our unceasing struggle to restrain the encroaching wilderness.
We enjoy an afternoon of pleasant and stimulating conversation and go out for a relaxing dinner in the countryside. On the train back to London, we stop again at Cicester Village, where exhausted looking people board carrying many bags and large new suitcases filled with their purchases.
I have greatly preferred our method of spending a vacation day.
Jun 24th, 2018, 06:51 AM
#27
What a lovely TR! I hope to be in London in October and am noting down your restaurant recommendations - although I also plan to buy the latest "Good Food Guide" (I did that a couple of years back, and was surprised by how it had grown since the early issues). I agree with annhig about railway travel on Sundays - I usually plan to stay put.
I visited the Chelsea Physic Garden a number of years ago, clearly I need to go back. I also visited the Royal Chelsea Hospital on that trip, have you been? Royal Hospital Chelsea |
I visited the Chelsea Physic Garden a number of years ago, clearly I need to go back. I also visited the Royal Chelsea Hospital on that trip, have you been? Royal Hospital Chelsea |
Jun 24th, 2018, 10:54 AM
#28
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Nikki, this is a great trip report. Planning to copy and use parts for our next trip to London. Thanks so much for taking the time to include such excellent recommendations.
Reading this TR makes me want to jump on the next plane to London!
annhig I had to smile when I read your lack of stuff to do when you worked in London.
You guys take all the sites, history, diversity everything for granted. Kinda like us Southern Californians and weather. If it is one degree above or below 73 degrees F we are in constant complaining mode.
Reading this TR makes me want to jump on the next plane to London!
annhig I had to smile when I read your lack of stuff to do when you worked in London.
You guys take all the sites, history, diversity everything for granted. Kinda like us Southern Californians and weather. If it is one degree above or below 73 degrees F we are in constant complaining mode.
Jun 24th, 2018, 12:00 PM
#29
Original Poster
Despite passing it several times a day, we did not visit the Royal Hospital. We did however see the Chelsea pensioners (retired British soldiers in residence at the Royal Hospital) going about their errands on the street dressed in their colorful uniforms.
Jun 24th, 2018, 12:51 PM
#30
Original Poster
Wednesday is our last day in London, and it is devoted to visiting family. First there is a morning call at the London flat of an aunt of Alan’s who has not been able to get together with us before this, and two of his cousins join us here briefly. Then we go to have lunch at the home of Alan’s cousin and her husband in North London.
We came to London for a visit in 1990 at the beginning of the only vacation we took without our children when they were young. We stayed with an aunt and uncle of Alan’s and there were other family members visiting from various countries and continents. A woman who helped Alan’s aunt with her house was an excellent cook and prepared an Indian style banquet for twenty people that we have been talking about ever since. The cousin we are visiting today is the daughter of that aunt and uncle and was living at her parents’ house at the time of our visit. She recently uncovered the menu from that famous dinner.
There are only four of us for lunch on Wednesday, so she hasn’t prepared the entire menu, but she has recreated quite a bit of it, both cooking on her own and acquiring parts of the meal from other local sources. We spend most of the afternoon enjoying the wonderful feast and adjourning to the garden for fruit, tea, and some kind of Indian dessert that I am not brave enough to try.
Alan’s cousin apologizes for the wild condition of her garden. Once again, it is not wild. It is a lovely setting for a relaxing day spent sharing stories and memories with people we see very infrequently.
And we go back a long way. In an odd twist, I have known Alan’s cousin longer than I have known Alan. This is also true of the aunt and uncle we visited in Burgess Hill. I met them all in 1972, while I was spending a summer during college traveling around Europe. One of my housemates was also traveling through Europe that summer, and we met to spend a few days at the chalet rented by her aunt and uncle in Switzerland with other members of her family.
She had a large and interesting assortment of aunts, uncles, and cousins, and my stay there was memorable. We hiked through mountain villages together singing on the trails and danced in a group at a discotheque in Gstaad. Her parents were there too, visiting from New York. I got to know them all. And in 1979, when I married her brother Alan, they became my family too.
We leave in the evening, not knowing how much time will pass before we have another chance to spend a day together, and happy to have been able to make this visit.
Back in Chelsea, we walk to a small park near our apartment and sit in the warm evening air watching the river. Music begins to play, and a parade of people on roller blades whisks past us against the backdrop of the Albert Bridge.
There is a message in here somewhere. Memory, time, river, bridge. Speed.
Please pass the madeleines.
We came to London for a visit in 1990 at the beginning of the only vacation we took without our children when they were young. We stayed with an aunt and uncle of Alan’s and there were other family members visiting from various countries and continents. A woman who helped Alan’s aunt with her house was an excellent cook and prepared an Indian style banquet for twenty people that we have been talking about ever since. The cousin we are visiting today is the daughter of that aunt and uncle and was living at her parents’ house at the time of our visit. She recently uncovered the menu from that famous dinner.
There are only four of us for lunch on Wednesday, so she hasn’t prepared the entire menu, but she has recreated quite a bit of it, both cooking on her own and acquiring parts of the meal from other local sources. We spend most of the afternoon enjoying the wonderful feast and adjourning to the garden for fruit, tea, and some kind of Indian dessert that I am not brave enough to try.
Alan’s cousin apologizes for the wild condition of her garden. Once again, it is not wild. It is a lovely setting for a relaxing day spent sharing stories and memories with people we see very infrequently.
And we go back a long way. In an odd twist, I have known Alan’s cousin longer than I have known Alan. This is also true of the aunt and uncle we visited in Burgess Hill. I met them all in 1972, while I was spending a summer during college traveling around Europe. One of my housemates was also traveling through Europe that summer, and we met to spend a few days at the chalet rented by her aunt and uncle in Switzerland with other members of her family.
She had a large and interesting assortment of aunts, uncles, and cousins, and my stay there was memorable. We hiked through mountain villages together singing on the trails and danced in a group at a discotheque in Gstaad. Her parents were there too, visiting from New York. I got to know them all. And in 1979, when I married her brother Alan, they became my family too.
We leave in the evening, not knowing how much time will pass before we have another chance to spend a day together, and happy to have been able to make this visit.
Back in Chelsea, we walk to a small park near our apartment and sit in the warm evening air watching the river. Music begins to play, and a parade of people on roller blades whisks past us against the backdrop of the Albert Bridge.
There is a message in here somewhere. Memory, time, river, bridge. Speed.
Please pass the madeleines.
Jun 24th, 2018, 01:24 PM
#31
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I don't think that Borough Market is a tourist trap as claimed by your taxi driver. That area has gentrified and is inhabited by a lot of young professional types who don't have much time or desire to cook cabbage, rabbits, and lamb shoulders. The area also now has many more businesses (e.g. creative/digital, loads of high end firms in the Shard, etc) as compared to years ago so the market caters to the lunch and after work crowds. Perhaps (and perhaps ironically) keeping it as a 'quaint' market full of cabbage, rabbits, and lamb shoulders that doesn't well serve the needs of the local consumer in the area would probably make it more appealing to tourists.
Although it's not unknown on the tourist map, I wouldn't blame the tourists for changing it, nor would I blame the price increases on a desire for market traders to overcharge naive tourists. Your typical tourist is much less able to afford high priced prepared meals as compared to the well heeled professionals living and working in the area.
Although it's not unknown on the tourist map, I wouldn't blame the tourists for changing it, nor would I blame the price increases on a desire for market traders to overcharge naive tourists. Your typical tourist is much less able to afford high priced prepared meals as compared to the well heeled professionals living and working in the area.
Jun 24th, 2018, 01:56 PM
#32
Original Poster
Walkinaround! A voice from the past.
Interesting point about the area around Borough Market. The same taxi driver was saying his own kids couldn’t afford to live in the neighborhood where they grew up.
Interesting point about the area around Borough Market. The same taxi driver was saying his own kids couldn’t afford to live in the neighborhood where they grew up.
Jun 24th, 2018, 02:03 PM
#33
<<annhig I had to smile when I read your lack of stuff to do when you worked in London. You guys take all the sites, history, diversity everything for granted. >>
you're right nanabee - but working somewhere is very different from visiting of course. Plus I was commuting 1 ½ hours each way [car - train -tube in the morning and reversed in the evening] and going to court almost every day so I was travelling around London as well. That was good in some ways - I got to know parts of London I wouldn't otherwise have ventured too [anyone want to know where to find a Guyanan cafe in Stratford?] - but it was very tiring so i didn't necessarily want to sight see in my spare time or go out in the evening. We did see quite a lot of theatre though, which in retrospect I'm very glad about.
Nikki - amazing that you got to know Alan's family before you got to know him. Was that instrumental in your meeting? your family visits sound lovely ditto the visit with Flanner. I agree that his garden doesn't look a mess either.
You guys take all the sites, history, diversity everything for granted. >>you're right nanabee - but working somewhere is very different from visiting of course. Plus I was commuting 1 ½ hours each way [car - train -tube in the morning and reversed in the evening] and going to court almost every day so I was travelling around London as well. That was good in some ways - I got to know parts of London I wouldn't otherwise have ventured too [anyone want to know where to find a Guyanan cafe in Stratford?] - but it was very tiring so i didn't necessarily want to sight see in my spare time or go out in the evening. We did see quite a lot of theatre though, which in retrospect I'm very glad about.
Nikki - amazing that you got to know Alan's family before you got to know him. Was that instrumental in your meeting? your family visits sound lovely ditto the visit with Flanner. I agree that his garden doesn't look a mess either.
Jun 24th, 2018, 03:02 PM
#34
Original Poster
“amazing that you got to know Alan's family before you got to know him. Was that instrumental in your meeting?”
Well it wasn’t a coincidence. After graduation, I visited my friend at her parents’ house, and Alan was visiting too. I always wanted a big brother, so I married one.
Well it wasn’t a coincidence. After graduation, I visited my friend at her parents’ house, and Alan was visiting too. I always wanted a big brother, so I married one.
Jun 24th, 2018, 04:39 PM
#35
Nikki,another wonderful trip report as usual.
Regarding changes of areas is happening everywhere. My hood was once a place where I knew my neighbors, now it is filed with condos and the poor were driven out, But back to you, I like your eye of what you see, To many reports on what they ate. Thank you.
Regarding changes of areas is happening everywhere. My hood was once a place where I knew my neighbors, now it is filed with condos and the poor were driven out, But back to you, I like your eye of what you see, To many reports on what they ate. Thank you.
Jun 25th, 2018, 02:14 PM
#39
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Thank you all for the.continuing comments.
Now that I’ve been home a whole four days, I am having a nagging desire to go back. If nothing else, I have to find those pies at Borough Market.
Now that I’ve been home a whole four days, I am having a nagging desire to go back. If nothing else, I have to find those pies at Borough Market.
Jun 26th, 2018, 04:50 AM
#40
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Hi Nikki, Great report! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the starter at Merchants Tavern. We were there at the end of May enroute to Paris. They treated Izzy like a little princess.
Did you ever do a Paris trip report?
Did you ever do a Paris trip report?
