Cheese, Cheese and Juice

I was reading an article about Ina Garten the other day, and in it, she waxed poetic about Borough Market.  I hadn't heard of the market before, but I'm never one to pass up a good food experience.  I went during the week, and it was as busy as ever.

I love the green structure of the market, the detailed ironwork and the decorative ornamentation.  I am finding in London that everyday objects -- such as railings, stairways, window frames -- are not viewed simply for their utility but rather they also are viewed as an opportunity to create beauty. This quality has only further endeared London to me.

This stall was operated by Elsey and Bent, and had so many amazing fresh fruits.  I loved finding the gooseberries, as I've never seen them outside of a pie before.  When I worked for Congressman Ike Skelton, one of his constituents would give Ike two gooseberry pies each year, and so I have had my fair share of gooseberries!

Many stalls were selling cups of cherries!

A couple of stalls sold olives, but I loved Borough Olives' display with the big barrels and ladles.

Tartufaia specializes in truffles, and, in fact, imports them from Italy.  People constantly were coming up to smell the bowl of fresh truffles.  When people took off the lid, you could smell the incredible truffles from several feet away.

Countless stalls were selling freshly pressed juice, and not just the stalls that sold fresh produce.  Everywhere I looked people were carrying and drinking their fresh juices.  Chegworth Valley sold these juices, and they looked so good!

Instead of getting a juice, I hopped over to the Total Organics stall and got a wheatgrass smoothie.  It consisted of orange, lime, apple, banana, and you guessed, it wheatgrass.  Holy Toledo, the smoothie was awesome, and such a good call during this warm London weather!

But if you're not in the mood for juice, why not try a Prosecco Spritzer?  A few places sold these drinks.  I love the color and the little leaf in these cups.

Bread Ahead Bakery's stall had so many amazing looking breads and baked goods, I didn't even know where to begin.  I died for these amaretti cookies.  They were my mom's favorite kind of cookie, and they literally melted in my mouth. 

When I first headed into Borough Market, I expected that I would find mostly fruit and vegetable stands.  Not the case at all.  Without comparison, most of the stalls are selling cheese.  I basically died and went to heaven.

The French Comté sold these cheeses.  I had fun trying the different aged cheeses.  The staff was quite knowledgeable and helpful, and this stall always was buzzing with people.

So many different shapes and sizes of cheeses!  Mons Cheesemongers' stall definitely wins in the presentation department.  I particularly liked the packaging of this Mistralou cheese.

The Bath Soft Cheese Co. offered a great selection of cheese, and the man running the stall was super about answering questions.  But honestly, I just loved their logo because it had a touch of whimsy to it.

I loved this New Forest Cider stall.  It was essentially lunchtime during the week, and loads of people were having a beer.  So many British traditions -- afternoon tea, elevenses, midday beers at pubs -- show the Brits' ability to take a moment during the day to relax.  I might just have to bring this tradition back with me to America.

Embedded in Art

A couple of months ago, I read a blurb about Sou Fujimoto's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Town & Country magazine.  I put the exhibit on my several page long list of "Things to Do in London."  Normally I plan out my sight seeing with military efficiency, but because I seem to spend many of my days wandering through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, I happened upon the Serpentine Gallery by accident yesterday afternoon.

The pavilion is magnificent.  The perfect geometrics repeating themselves over and over again is mesmerizing.  So many people were there -- eating, chatting and playing around.  For an art lover like me, it was neat to see people so engaged with this piece.  People were, quite literally, embedded in the art.

Snippets

"We travel, then, in search of both self and anonymity -- and, of course, in finding the one we apprehend the other. Abroad, we are wonderfully free of caste and job and standing; we are, as Hazlitt puts it, just the 'gentlemen in the parlour,' and people cannot put a name or tag to us. And precisely because we are clarified in this way, and freed of inessential labels, we have the opportunity to come into contact with more essential parts of ourselves (which may begin to explain why we may feel most alive when far from home). Abroad is the place where we stay up late, follow impulse and find ourselves as wide open as when we are in love. We live without a past or future, for a moment at least, and are ourselves up for grabs and open to interpretation. We even may become mysterious -- to others, at first, and sometimes to ourselves -- and, as no less a dignitary than Oliver Cromwell once noted, ‘A man never goes so far as when he doesn’t know where he is going.'"  -- Pico Iyer, essayist

Observations from London

Pedestrians vs. Cars:  Whereas in America, we are used to pedestrians having the right of way as against cars, in London, cars most certainly have the right of way.  I watch pedestrians get almost-hit every single day.  Which is an interesting experience.

Veggie Lovers Paradise:  Vegetarian and vegan eating options abound in London!  Every restaurant at which I have eaten has a good sized vegetarian section, and countless restaurants are exclusively so.  All of these options has made me very thankful for veggie-friendly stalwarts in Kansas City that are in close proximity to my home such as Green Acres Market, Cafe Gratitude and Blue Bird Bistro.

My Own Garden:  Everyday, somehow or another, I walk by or through Kensington Gardens.  I am getting rather spoiled.  I must have my own English country garden someday.

Eat the Cookie Dough:  In London, they don't refrigerate their eggs -- in the grocery store, in restaurants or at home.  Any lingering concerns I had about eating raw cookie dough are now gone.

Off-Leash:  Almost all of the dogs in the Royal Parks are off-leash.  And they are perfectly behaved.  They don't go after other dogs, people or squirrels.  They stay close to their owner; and when they do frolic, they come right away when called.

Vegas Casino:  Harrods is like a Vegas Casino.  Hardly any windows, difficult to find exits, and lots of flashing lights.  I'm headed to Liberty.

Bond & Brook Afternoon Tea

Whenever I'm in London I start getting jittery to have tea.  I've been in London almost two weeks, and so I was due!  My friend Julie and I decided to have tea at Bond & Brook located in the department store, Fenwick.  Quite lovely to finish a long day shopping with some tea and pastries, no?

The restaurant has a modern, sleek feel to it.  The bar in the middle of the restaurant reminds me of the Tiffany bean line!  The back bookcases are full of fashion books, Vogue magazines, and large bottles of Chanel perfume.   I also love the placing of the lights on the ceiling -- has a bit of a starry night look.

We had lots of pots of loose leaf tea.  I always enjoy watching the server pour the tea through the tea strainer.  We enjoyed every last sip.  They also brought out a small bowl of M&M's -- which was a fun addition.

The pastries were quite good.  My favorite actually were the gingerbread cookies decorated as a dress and with a "B&B" for Bond & Brook.  It's been awhile since I've had gingerbread cookies, and these were yummy!

Scones and clotted cream.  Oh, sweet Lord.  Clotted cream is a deceptive little devil.  It tastes so light and fresh, but it's actually horrific for your health.  That small fact did not, of course, stop me from eating it.  

The tea sandwiches were quite tastey.  My favorite was the salmon sandwich -- the bread was a bit sweet, the cheese spread had a hint of herbs and I love smoked salmon.  Apparently Londoners love smoked salmon as well, because I seem to see it on every menu.

The remnants.  

A Day at Wimbledon

I fell in love with tennis in a musty antique furniture store when I was eleven years old.  Like any good country club kid, my summers had been full of tennis lessons and matches since I was four or five years old.  Over those few years, I had loved to serve and to do backhands and to volley at the net, but I was still getting a handle on what remains for me an unwieldy forehand.  Other than that, I didn't have much interest in the larger game.

But there I was in a dark, crowded store; waiting seemingly forever for my mom to pick out some piece of furniture, and then I saw a television in corner.  I walked over, sat down on a red oriental carpet and began watching a Wimbledon semifinal match between Boris Becker and Pete Sampras.  What an introduction to tennis.  A couple of years prior, Sampras had won the U.S. Open, but he was young and inexperienced and, not surprisingly, had not won another Grand Slam.   But now I was getting to watch a mature, fully-formed Pete Sampras, who was about to embark on one of the most dominating streaks in tennis history.

Even then, I recognized the perfection of Sampras's serve, the elegance of his classic strokes.  I admired him more when I read that he looked up to the tennis greats Ken Rosewell and Rod Laver and studied reels of them playing tennis.  To me, tennis is such a refined, beautiful sport; and I appreciated Sampras's quiet and respectful on court demeanor.

After awhile, my mom selected the pieces of furniture and was ready to leave the store before the match was completed.  So we raced home so I could watch the end of the semifinal match.  After Sampras won, I became obsessed with all things tennis.  I subscribed to Tennis magazine, purchased Bud Collins's tennis encyclopedia, and explored the nooks and crannies of ESPN2 to watch matches that were playing in faraway countries.

So here I am now, sitting in the stands at Wimbledon, transported back to that afternoon in the antiques store, looking for the next perfect serve.

We watched the Bryan Brothers play Rohan Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin on Court No. 1.  The Bryan brothers were the number one seed and eventually won the Championships.  As we attended Wimbledon on the Fourth of July, it was especially nice to root for Americans!  We also frequently could hear the roar of cheers coming from Centre Court and Murray Mound.

The Bryan brothers are twins and have uncannily similar habits.  Using towels at the same time, drinking water the same way and at the same time, eating sports bars at the same time -- the list could go on and on.  Also, one brother is right-handed and the other brother is left-handed -- meaning their court coverage is incredible.

We were able to take part in the Debenture facilities which included a bar, a lounge and the Veranda restaurant.  We had a delightful lunch at the Veranda and were able to overlook some of the remaining matches being played on the outer courts.  Quite the experience!

And, of course, there was lots of Pimm's Cups and Strawberries and Cream to be had!  The Pimm's Cup consists of Pimm's (which is a gin-based liqueur), lemonade, mint, strawberries, cucumbers and apples -- and it's carbonated.  The perfect refreshment for a warm Wimbledon afternoon.

The grounds are covered with green, white and purple plants -- as purple and green are the official colors of Wimbledon.  It was quite striking seeing all the beautiful plants in the same colors.