Cambridge, Day 4…My Favorite

I wish relationships were as easy as math and physics.—A Cambridge Student

My favorite day on our trip to London was the day spent in Cambridge. If London was a committed relationship, then Cambridge was the fling you couldn’t get out of your mind.

It was one day to just get lost in the history and meander through the narrow stone streets. To imagine the likes of Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Francis Bacon, Niels Bohr, James Clerk Maxwell, William Wordsworth roaming these same streets in their days was pretty cool. My wife and I were looking for the legendary sticky Chelsea Buns at Fitzbillies. I have no idea what the aforementioned brainiacs would be looking for, but I do know the subatomic particles in these pastries were beyond their discovery.

We rode the train from King’s Cross to Cambridge on another rainy day. My son-in-law was scheduled for classes most of the day. It was a very pleasant train ride north to Cambridge that took about 45 minutes.

The rain let up as soon as we left the train station for our walk into the old town. The rest of our time in Cambridge was overcast with only a few periods of light drizzle.

My wife and I split a full English breakfast at Fitzbillies, called the Full Fitzbillies, and topped it off with some Chelsea buns…wow!!!

While my wife and daughter went shopping, I took our granddaughter and meandered through the streets of the town hoping to soak up some left over intelligence that some very smart people didn’t need and may have left behind.

I took a lot of pictures in those two hours while pushing a sleeping child in a stroller.

I was fortunate enough to go to Evensong at the King’s College Chapel. The chapel, a rather minimalist description for such a grand building, was completed in 1515. Evensong has been sung consistently for over 500 years. If you get a chance to witness this service, by all means take that opportunity.

Since it wasn’t the service for an 15-month old girl, my family allowed me to go and they relieved me of babysitting duties.

After Evensong, I met them for Thai food at Mai Thai. It was a very good end to the day. We rode the train back to London.

I don’t seem to be any more intelligent, however my taste buds received a Ph.D.

Chelsea buns in the window of Fitzbillies.

A tower of macaroons in the window of Fitzbillies.

Bicycles seem to be the mode of transportation in Cambridge.

Well, you asked, this is punting.

King’s College Chapel

London, Day 3

The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This quote summed up our day 3 in London.

We woke up to an overcast, grey day with constant drizzle. If you are to experience life in London, it is only fitting that you deal with rainy days. We packed our rain gear and headed out.

We rode the bus to The City in a steady rain, one of those rainy days that I have always read about in describing London weather. Up to this point, we experienced wonderful, sunny days.

We disembarked, trying to dodge the rain and quickly ducked into Joe’s Kitchen. We had a light breakfast of croissants with jelly and coffee and tea. It tasted so good and it got us out of the rain for a bit.

We puttered around The City for the rest of the morning and saw some amazing architecture. We were meeting my son-in law for lunch at the Salvation Army headquarters. This was quite the surprise. The Cafe 101 on the lower ground floor has delicious food, served in cafeteria-style, with many choices…all of it looked very tasty. I think this is a nice little secret in London, the prices are very reasonable also.

We spent most of the afternoon at St. Paul’s, since it was warm and dry. I just love being in magnificent old cathedrals, places where I can drift back hundreds of years in the past, and at the same time, stay in the present. St. Paul’s was no exception.

After a thorough wandering around, we left my wife in the nave with our granddaughter who was sleeping at the time. Since my wife doesn’t like heights or navigating narrow stairwells with numerous tourists, she volunteered to stay below while my daughter and I headed up to the dome for a view of London.

The stoppage of the rain coincided with our exit out onto the perch outside the dome. The view of the city was incredible in spite of the heavy overcast.

We proceeded out of St. Paul’s to the Tower of London but got there a little too late, so we headed down to sit and gaze at the Tower Bridge and wait for the son-in-law to get out of his class for the day. My wife and I took our granddaughter back on the bus to our flat in King’s Cross and called it a day.

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A nice dry table on a rainy day started with croissants and jelly at Joe’s Kitchen.

Oh that British humor.

St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The view from the dome of St. Paul’s is breathtaking even on an overcast day.

Some amazing architecture in The City.

The Tower Bridge

London, Day 2…Chelsea

But for now, it’s just another Chelsea Monday—Marillion

Day two in London just happened to be a Monday. I wrote a blog about the tube ride out to Chelsea. If you want, you can read about it here.

We stumbled out of the tube station and made our way outside to a glorious Chelsea Monday. We found Bluebird on Kings Road. We grabbed a table in the courtyard. I had riggotoni, my wife dined on eggs Florentine, my daughter had fish and chips, and my son-in-law enjoyed his chicken sandwich. All of our dishes were really good.

After our meal, we went on a long walk along the Thames and found the entrance to Ranelagh Gardens. We wanted to let our granddaughter run off some energy so she would take a nap.

We headed back to Chelsea for some gelato at Venchi. This was a really good idea.

While the rest of the party went shopping, I headed out to find The Cross Keys, once a hangout of The Rolling Stones. It’s located in a quaint neighborhood with wonderful architecture. I enjoyed the walk through this part of Chelsea. I had a half pint at the tavern and thought about my love of music that began in those sixties that included the Stones. I snapped myself back to the twenty-first century and headed back to meet my family for supper.

One of the most enigmatic experiences we had in London involved our decision to eat at Pizza Express on Kings Road. We walked past this place three or four times, intrigued by the entrance with statues and courtyard, however we were put off by the name. In the US, an eatery by the above name would not be associated with fine Italian dining. Well let me tell you, the old saying about being all in the name, did not apply here. This was one of the best pizzas I have ever eaten. My wife and I shared a Margherita Pizza.

After our tube ride out to Chelsea, we decided to ride a double-decker bus back to our flat in King’s Cross to prepare for Day 3.

Bluebird courtyard.

Walking along the Thames.

Inside Venchi there are many colorfully wrapped candies.

Me and Mick are going to head to London and jam with The Stones—Jeff Spicoli

Inside The Cross Keys

Red door near The Cross Keys

I walked by these houses looking for The Cross Keys.

Tavern on Kings Road in Chelsea.

I love the name of this women’s athletic wear boutique.

Entrance to Pizza Express.

London, Day 1

The man who can dominate a London dinner table can dominate the world—Oscar Wilde

If the above quote is accurate, then there is a great future in store for my 18-month old granddaughter. Not only did she dominate the dinner tables, she dominated the entire week.

We traveled to London last summer as a little party of five. My daughter, her husband, my wife and I and the aforementioned future president, queen, emperor, or dictator.

After a much later arrival to Heathrow than we anticipated, we found our flat in Kings Cross and headed to Islington for a very-English meal of fish and chips and mushy peas. We dined at The Angel. It was a very good start to the trip. But we were so exhausted. This was it for the night. We went to bed before dark.

Our first full day began with a tube ride to Buckingham Palace to see the queen…well, her quaint residence anyway.

The front gates of Buckingham Palace was as close as we got.

Obligatory photo of granddaughter, begging for an audience.

This became our mantra in London and pretty much for the rest of our living days.

We found The Phoenix Victoria for a traditional Sunday afternoon dinner.

I see why it is traditional. The Phoenix served a great Sunday dinner.

The patio of The Phoenix.

The London Eye, as seen on our walk along the Thames River.

Westminster Abbey.

Trafalgar Square.

This is the smartest tourist tip. It’s not just the accent that makes them seem smart.

My first English tea at the Caffe’ Concerto. Why didn’t that tradition start in America?

Stay tuned for day 2.

Cape Coral Farmer’s Market

Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred—Proverbs 15:17

If you love wandering aimlessly about fresh food vendors, well this is the place to be on a Saturday in Cape Coral, Florida.

My wife and I recently ventured to Cape Coral to see some family and escape the dreary Kentucky winter. We had a week to spend in this part of the greater Ft. Myers area on the southwest coast of Florida. We purposely flew in on Friday and not Saturday so we could go to the farmer’s market. This is the best farmer’s food market I have seen. It is lively, it is friendly, and it is packed. So if your idea of shopping for vegetables is a leisurely stroll through the fresh food section of your local grocery store, you will be out of your element here.

Don’t get me wrong, you can get locked in here also, as I did when I discovered a thing called a star fruit. A lady from Boston was looking at these as I was being inquisitive. She said, “Don’t ask anymore questions, just get them, you’ll love them”. And she was right.

This is the second time my wife and I have been to this market and we will keep going back as long as my in-laws spend the winter in Cape Coral. Heck, they don’t even have to invite us to come down. We will just get a hotel. It would be worth the trip to eat this produce for a week.

Star fruit

Honeybell oranges are the best.

Though not as tasty as our Kentucky fresh tomatoes, these are still a welcome treat in winter.

Plant City strawberries

My only meat purchase, a beef empanada. By the way, this was my first time eating one of these tasty delights. It was a welcome break amidst all of the fruits and veggies.

Here is a link for the market. http://capecoralfarmersmarket.com/

Ligurian Delicacies

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I just don’t like my main entree concealed in a heavy sauce—Barney Fife

This is my all-time favorite food quote. This is a good beginning to my new blog. My goal is to share some of my experiences with searching for good food, some travel, and some pictures.

This will not be a typical travel blog or a food blog. My wife and I are in our middle ages. Of course I am closer to getting out of the middle ages than she. So we do some traveling, spending time with grandchildren and search for good food wherever we are. Neither of us are accomplished chefs and wouldn’t pretend to lead you on. However in the recent years after raising our children and me getting closer to retirement, we plan on doing more traveling and cooking.

This photo is where my taste awakening began. We traveled to Italy in 2010. Part of our trip was to Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast of Italy. These are five villages cut into the rocky coastline that was absolutely stunning and so relaxing.

This dish was served to us in Riomaggiore, the southernmost village of the five. We ate lunch at a small restaurant called The Bar and Vinni A Pie de Ma, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. This is a photo of the dish that aroused my desires for food. On this plate is cipolline onions, olives, salami, fresh anchovies (put aside everything you think anchovies should taste like in America), cheese and bread. This was the best dish I had in Italy.

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