Kate + Will's First Anniversary

We spent Kate and Will's first anniversary paying a visit to Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace before pints at the pub. It was a soggy weekend, so we tried to stay indoors, which lead us to the Borough Market, The British Museum, The Tate Modern, and Harrods.

The city was gearing up for the Diamond Jubilee with nearly everything kitted out to celebrate the Queen's 60 year reign. Harrods had cakes and cookies with her likeness, teas to commemorate the big day, and there were dishware and decor with the union jack at nearly every store we visited.

At the Borough Market, as always, there was such an array of produce including things that were new to me, "tomberries" which were the tiniest tomatoes I've ever seen, and purple broccoli, too. It's a test of restraint to walk through the variety of food stalls before deciding what to eat. There are so many incredible options and all along the way people are handing out samples, which only make decision time that much more difficult. I loved the Spice Mountain, which had some of the more unique things I've been unable to find in Munich, including beet powder for natural coloring.

Every time I've visited the British Museum there are plenty of school children in their uniforms. I love seeing them sprawled out on the floors drawing what they see and eavesdropping on their thoughts. They are so fortunate to have such a cultural institution at their doorstep. 

The Tate Modern had their usual collection as well as special exhibits from Yayoi Kusama and Damien Hirst.

There was a particularly unsympathetic letter from Georgia O'Keefe to Kusama that still sticks in my mind. I got the feeling O'Keefe thought of Kusama as a bit of an annoyance, although Kusama remains to be very much an eccentric woman (she currently lives in a mental institution on her own free will). I have to admire her tenacity.

The Hirst retrospective was thought provoking, at times disturbing, but generally fascinating. As the wealthiest living artist it's difficult not to step back and think about how art has evolved and it's commentary on modern life. He also challenges the idea of artists actually creating the art work, since he often has his ideas put into production as opposed to doing things traditionally seen as artisan.

Both special exhibits were very interactive, which provided an interesting element that I appreciated. The last two interactive instillation rooms of Kusama's work were my favorite of hers.

Hirst's diamond skull is on exhibit free of charge on the ground floor of the museum for some of the shock, awe, and those who don't want to part with the 14£ entry.

After the rain let up there was that beautiful after the rain glow of the sun when everything just looks radiant and the colors are more vibrant than ever. I love that. 

I stocked up on books, added a few cook books to my wish list, and look forward to the next time we'll be back to this great city. We're thinking about going back for lunch/dinner at The Cube, which is similar to the Electrolux cooking course, lunch, and New Year's, except with a great view over the Thames and London Eye.

`ello, London!

We added another travel spot to our annual line up: London!

It's going to be so nice... people speaking English, endless book stores, awesome restaurants, seeing the Olympic build up, Pierre Hermé, and Indian food!

I think I'm most excited about the instillation by Yayoi Kusama and the Damien Hirst retrospective (his very first solo) at the Tate. One would be reason enough for a visit, but both is a dream!

In the meantime I'm compiling a list of restaurants and places to visit while we're there. Chances are good we're not going to make it to all of these, but it will be nice to have a list for next time.

As always, I'm open to suggestions and recommendations if you have any to share!

London Pop Up restaurants + shops
Pollen Street Social 
Zuma
Ottolenghi (I have his vegetarian cookbook, Plenty, it's great!)
Dock Kitchen
Fernanadez & Wells
Sketch bar

(When I think of London it always brings smile to my face, because I think of my mother-in-law telling me about a family trip when Stefan was child. He heard his Dad speaking English with the hotel reception and said, "Das will ich auch machen!" / "I want to do that, too!")
(old photos from one of my in-laws' trips)

Live the Language

EF - Live The Language - Paris from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

Have you seen these incredible and gorgeous little videos from Gustav Johansson, Niklas Johansson, and Albin Holmqvist?

They warm my heart and make me squeal with delight. These are the simple pleasures of travel... seeing, learning, and doing - and so beautifully presented. Really spectacular!!

So far cities include: Beijing, Barcelona, London and Paris.

Each video brings me back to my time in each of these cities.

I can't wait for the German version. They remind me of my own language school experiences.

Don't they make you want to jump into language school as soon as possible?

London

After taking the exciting for all the wrong reasons chunnel from Paris to London we were happy enough to finally meet up with friends.

It's always great to catch up and hang out at the pub. London reminds me of a great mix of American things with the obvious European influence. Each little borough has its own charm and like all great cities I can always go back again and again to discover something new.

Stefan and I have both been to London a few times, so we didn't stop by too many of the typical tourist hot spots, mainly the ones that were right around our hotel.

There were several elephants from the elephant parade that we also managed to spot around London. It also looks like they are pumping up Malcolm Gladwell, whose books I really enjoy. It's interesting to see them with different covers than the US versions.

As part of Stefan's birthday extravaganza we went to the River Café, where a very young Jamie Oliver got his start at becoming a star chef. The menu was simple enough and the food was very good.

We took Caitlin's recommendation to hit up Islington and all of the great Sunday markets in the area. It's so British and charming. I saw plenty of things that I would have loved to have brought home. Next time I will have to bring a larger bag!

Aren't the store fronts and restaurants so pretty? It's just as much fun to go window shopping and to be tempted by the beautiful restaurants. I'm looking forward to getting back for a long weekend again sometime soon. Perhaps I'll have to start planning a scavenger hunt like the one we did in Paris.

Chipotle in Europe

If you're an American living abroad, or perhaps someone that likes quick and decent Mexican food, you will delight in knowing Chipotle is making it's way over here!

My friend Caitlin tipped me off. Chipotle opened it's first branch outside of North America last week in London, and we were fortunate enough to visit on Sunday (see that double decker red bus in the window reflection?).

I asked the American guy, from Austin, who is helping with the openings, all kinds of questions...

This is what I know:

• 75% of the visitors in the past week are from the US... people still don't quite know what it is.
• Everything on the menu is roughly 7£.
• The food tastes as close as it could to the US Chipotle. The chips even have that lime salt.
• The soft tacos had a wheat looking tortilla. I'm not sure if that's also available in the US or some kind of Euro twist on things.
• The branding and signage was slightly different - a little less corrugated stainless steel and more of that rusty red color.
• The next one will open in Paris by Summer late Autumn 2011. They are currently scouting locations, but the 16th sounds promising.
• I put in the best word I could for Munich. You can always write them, too!

So if you live in Europe you can hop a relatively inexpensive flight to London and sample it yourself.

To get there go to the Tottenham Court Road station on the Central Line and walk up Charing Cross Road.

[september 2001 update]: Another London location is open at 101 Baker Street on the corner of York and Baker.

The Paris location is rumored to open early summer  late Autumn at 20 Boulevard Montmartre in the 9th arrondissement.

Also, be sure to check out Chipotle's newest venture into Asian cuisine: ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen.

Chunnel

Our getaway began early last Wednesday and we got back late last night.

Nearly everything went perfectly.

About that nearly part... well, we got stuck on the Eurostar Chunnel train for over 3 hours. Evidently something was wrong with the CO2 levels and our 1.5 hour trip turned into 6 hours. I over planned and we had to save a few things for our next visit, which we hopefully won't have to wait too long for - especially since we have a free ticket waiting for us due to the hassle.

The good news was that we had booked the earliest train around 7am, so we didn't completely lose out on our short getaway to London.

The bad news was after 6 hours on the train, without a book or magazine, things can get pretty boring, especially after the pastries are gone. It also didn't help that across the aisle was a woman whose mannerisms were annoying me to no end. I've never seen someone so fidgety and abrupt.

Five days away, in 2 of Europe's large metropolitan cities, makes Munich feel very villagey. My feet are still aching from miles and miles of walking. I really should get a pedometer, because I can't imagine how much ground we covered.

I will have plenty to write about in the coming days (as well as tons of photos).

And before I forget, we visited the new Lufthansa biergarten lounge at the Munich airport. The woman checking our tickets asked if we were sure we wanted to go to that lounge, because the other one we have access to is also brand new and more exclusive.

I took photos of two of the three. The biergarten is nice enough, but I'm not convinced it lives up to the hype. In Munich, all of the lounges have beer and pretzels. Not many people were even using the tables and benches. Perhaps that's because it was an early morning on a weekday.

absolutely beautiful

I've been loving Jamie Magazine since I was sent a copy by a friend.

Being a book lover I appreciate the luxurious feeling of the uncoated pukka paper mixed with the photos from David Loftus and the incredible fonts. It certainly makes for an insanely gorgeous magazine.

Unfortunately I haven't found the magazine here in Germany - even at the international booksellers. (I found this magazine here in Munich. You can purchase it at the Hauptbahnhof International Magazine shop for 10.50€)

Stefan enjoyed reading it too, and I'm all for anything that encourages him to cook with me! I may just have to get a subscription from the UK.

You can flip through some of the back issues here.

In case you are interested, here is a list of some fonts that are in the magazine:

Monte Carlo Script NF
woodtype URW D
Fedra Serif B
Quimby Mayoral, which I purchased today!
Soho Gothic
Meta Hairline

We'll be heading back to London in May and have already made reservations at the River Café, where he was a sous chef. I can't wait for a great meal and to pick up his newest magazine!

If you're in the US, you can even check out the Food Revolution and sign his petition for healthier school meals.

While I'm unpacking...

Apologies for being MIA for quite some time... this apartment thing is seriously taking over my life, but the good news is we only have a few last minute things to move (like Stefan's fish tank) and then it's on to the fun of unpacking and decorating.

If that wasn't enough, we're going to be getting a new kitchen, so it looks like I'll have more reason to sample some of the restaurants in our neighborhood over the next couple weeks.

I wanted to leave you with a few beautiful travel inspired works of art made by the über talented Julene Harrison.

She painstakingly cuts her images by hand!

If an original cut work commission is out of your price realm you can purchase some of her laser cut prints on etsy! Some of my favorites are her city series, including: New York, Paris, and London.

(images: Julene Harrison)

elBulli

Here's to hoping you are one of the lucky few to get reservations this year - or next...

elBulli is going to close for 2012 + 2013!

We've submitted for any opening they have this year, so we are crossing our fingers / holding our thumbs (the German equivalent). I could certainly handle another trip to Spain and some amazing food at the #1 restaurant in the world! (Only 8,000 of the 1 million requests are granted reservations).

We also visited Gordon Ramsey's Maze in London whose head chef previously worked at elBulli... another outstanding meal.

I'll try to write soon about yet another molecular restaurant we visited during our travels. I have plenty to write about that!

To read more about molecular cooking check out the course we took here in Munich.

Tower Bridge + Greenwich

After lunch we went to spend the rest of the afternoon with our friends, Katie and Rob, in Greenwich. Stefan decided that we need to make a detour and check out the Tower Bridge as well as the Tower of London.

I was surprised to see how busy the area was, but there were a lot of tourist sights in a small area. I loved the shade of blue on the bridge. It gave it a bit of character.

Seeing this old fortress surrounded by so many modern buildings and a modern skyline was really interesting, but it's great that history has been preserved in the middle of the city.

We got a closer look at the financial area of town while taking the DLR overland rail to Greenwich. Once we arrived we saw the Cutty Sark clipper ship, which is currently being resorted, however the big claim to fame is the Greenwich Royal observatory where they maintain the Greenwich meantime - beginning at 0˚longitude.

I was excited to see the observatory and simply to walk around the area. We made several stops along the way for a leisurely evening at the various pubs. It was really cute and felt more like a village.

Dinner included the quintessential fish and chips. Even after several ciders I quickly recalled why the British aren't really known for their food. At least I tried it again.

Katie was in my sorority in college and joined around the same time that I started dating Stefan. I still remember having him deliver surprises to her on various theme nights and she had no idea who they were from.

It was great to catch up and reminisce about all of the great times we had together, as well as the crazy international lives we're both leading.

Katie and Rob will be getting married this September in Chicago, so we're hoping to make it back for the wedding.

I'm really hoping to see them both again soon - either in London or here in Munich. It really makes me wonder why we haven't met up more often as of yet. London's only about 2 hours from Munich and there are always reasonable flights. It looks like we'll have to change that and see each other more often.

Gordon Ramsey's Maze

I decided to surprise Stefan with an Easter lunch at one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants. I chose Maze because the menu looked very unique and was supposed to be a mix of French and Asian foods. Another contributing factor was that their head chef Jason Atherton had previously worked at ElBulli - the number one ranked restaurant in the world.

Lunch was extremely delicious. The portions are small, because it's more of a tasting menu, but we still left feeling adequately fed.

Here are the dishes that we had:

One of the things that I really appreciate about a tasting menu is that you can try things that you would probably never consider - for me that would include frog legs. I did end up giving mine to Stefan, simply because I have a mental block against it, but the rest of the dish was good.


This was one of my favorite dishes of the day. I love sorbet of any kind and savory sorbets are so interesting. Avocado and crab infused mayonnaise really made this dish decadent.


I loved the idea of elevating such humble foods. I found myself asking what the chefs cook for themselves when they are at home and how they were able to create such a light and flavorful cheese. You really can't even see it, but it was wonderful - the summer truffles on it didn't hurt either.

Although this fish didn't come with the typical British 'chips' it was perfectly prepared. The prawn butter was really a nice compliment.

I opted out of this dish, because I don't eat lamb, but Stefan really enjoyed it. I love the presentation - it was at least appealing for me to look at.

I think I could have eaten several of these. It was so delicately prepared, but the flavors were really intense and delicious.

This dish was a throw back to the 1980's when it was popular. I don't really know what the cake like exterior was made from, because it tasted slightly like marshmallows.

The last course came when the meal was over, which was a nice touch. I was just telling Stefan that we needed some Easter chocolates - and then there they were.

I would highly recommend getting reservations, if you're able to, when you visit London.

Interestingly it was in Grosvenor Square, where Maze is also located, that the tragic nuclear poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko happened at the Millennium Hotel. It's so eerie to think about.

Buckingham Palace

Easter morning we went to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and the Tower of London. I was amazed at the amount of tourists who had come to see the changing of the guards. We were just passing through.

It really made me think about daily life of the Royal family. It's probably a good thing that they don't know any different, because I think I would feel like a real prisoner living like that.

The guards were warming up and playing songs like Cococabana, which was definitely not expected. I guess even the most serious of beefeaters needs to have fun once in a while.

We played tourists and had our photos taken as we admired the flower gardens. It's nice to see that Spring has finally arrived.

Outside Big Ben was a large protest against the genocide of Tamils by the Sri Lankans, which we had also seen the day before at Hyde Park. People are definitely good at planning large gatherings to get attention for their causes. That always strikes me as such a European way to get things done, but it definitely works when done peacefully.

And then it was time for Stefan's Easter surprise...

Waterloo, Thames, + Chinatown

On our way to the Borough Market we decided to walk along the Thames and see a few of the sites along the way. It was another drizzly day, but that didn't keep the locals or tourists from shopping and exploring the city.

We ended up at the Waterloo tube line since many of the lines were undergoing construction, however it happened to be a pleasant detour.

'The Tunnel' as it is called, is a place of authorized graffiti. I like the idea of having an evolving and ever changing canvas that people can gather at and modify.

Nearly every inch of wall is covered - some places have more interesting or sophisticated designs, while other places are simply people leaving their mark.

On the sign at the opening of the tunnel it states:

No Sexism. No racism. No Adverts.
Please take empty cans and litter home.
All painting on grey walls will be removed.
You don't have to be a gangster to paint here, so please don't behave like one.

I would have painted something myself if we had paint. I guess I'll have to buy some next time and think of something creative in the meantime.

The painters must be pretty dedicated - we saw several who brought buckets of paint and many must bring ladders to reach the heights so far up. It's very impressive. I would be intrigued to see how much it changes over the course of time.

Walking along the Thames was a big contrast from the colored area at Waterloo. It was nice to see people relaxing, especially the adorable father and son who built a little bench on the shore for a game of chess. What great memories that little guy will have from such a thoughtful Dad.

After walking through town all day we made our way to Chinatown and our appetites had finally returned from visiting the Borough Market. It was perfect timing because we saw Haozhan, a modern oriental restaurant.

I ordered wasabi prawns, because I have a not so slight wasabi obsession and then we also had the fried ice cream for dessert. The entire dinner was great, as was the day.