Category Archives: Europe

I’ve always gladly accepted Francine’s invitations in London because I inevitably see something most visitors don’t. True to form we went to the lovely Garden Museum in an old decommissioned church next to Lambeth Palace.

The museum just purchased a Mortlake Tapestry from the 1630s, believed to be the earliest depiction of a female gardener. Mortlake, where we are staying with our friends, was home to a famous tapestry works. Very cool to see the tapestry, which Francine helped raise money for to pay for conservation of the tapestry.

We walked along the south bank along with a mass of texting, photo- taking international tourists, past my former office (the House of Commons) all the way to the Tate Modern, with a quick look at a cool ghostly installation in the turbine hall and a gift shop visit.

Then we walked across the wobbly bridge to St. Paul’s where we learned that the #11 bus and any other vehicles were not running due to the Lord Mayors parade. We skipped the parade and walked down Fleet Street past my second former London office (the nytimes London bureau’s former shoe lane office.) Tired and hungry, we stumbled into an ancient Dickensian pub, Ye olde Cheshire Cheese (rebuilt 1667, similar era as the mortlake tapestry), where we found a table way at the bottom of the rabbit warren of a pub, in a cellar-like room with a low barreled ceiling. We shared a table with a couple from Sri Lanka and a couple from Halifax, formerly from Toronto. We ended up chatting and sharing food (a ploughmans at last!) for over an hour. So interesting, fun and unexpected! Also near Samuel Johnson’s house.

Next stop Richmond where we walked across the green in the late afternoon to another cool old pub called the White Swan, a perfect place to catch up with my old friend/colleague (from a Connecticut paper during the mid-1980s) Bennett and his wife Kim. Then the four of us met Francine and Russ for excellent “new wave” Indian food at Cinnamon Bazaar, near Richmond Station, specializing in inventive Indian railway food (chaats) prepared and served quickly, plus fusion dishes like Rogan josh shepherds pie. Great day!

On Sunday, we got a little slice of America in general and Iowa in particular with our friend Una at Pickle & Rye, a cafe specializing In breakfast and burgers in Mortlake. We were lucky to catch the co-owner Val there, who is an Iowan. This new location doesn’t have as many Iowa nicknacks as the previous one but there is a photo of the Louis Sullivan “jewel box” bank in Grinnell where Val grew up and a Taylor’s Maid-rite mug from Marshalltown Iowa. The entire cafe went silent for two minutes at 11:11 to mark remembrance sunDay, silently watching the wreath laying ceremony in central London at the cenotaph.

The family sitting at the table with the mug seemed intrigued that I was taking a photo of it so I explained that this was a famous Iowa delicacy, not one I’m particularly fond of but still…a loose meat sandwich. Dinner tonight was at my friend Jemima’s daughter and son-in-law’s flat in clapham junction, a 10 minute train ride from Mortlake. Lovely to see Jemima’s kids, now in their 30s.

Last seen when they were maybe 4 and 5. They were keen to discuss the election results and of course dismayed by the result…and surprisingly well-versed on US politics.

This trip is really about visiting people, not places as much so a better headline would be Marion at Stratton’ Tower in Potter’s bar and MB in a Mortlake. But along the way we visited a few places new and old, starting with Marion’s amazing home in a 18th century brick tower (built 1789) we once called “the folly.” It’s in the rolling green Hertfordshire countryside a short train ride from Kings cross to Potter’s Bar. Marion zipped us around in her little car expertly navigating a winding assortment of very narrow lanes lined with hedges, first to a restaurant in the local garden center, which was very busy, with nary a free table in sight (and the credit card machine was down. who has cash these days.?) So we ended up at a pub-looking restaurant the cock o’ the north, where we lingered for hours talking.

In kings cross, we returned to the “Coal Drop” area, stopping for coffee and hot chocolate at Gail’s Bakery (which we discovered has an outpost close,to us in Mortlake) and visiting the artisans at the Canopy Market. This area continues to grow and is full of life.

Dinner was with MB, my sister’s sister-in-law,who happens to live in the same neighborhood as our friends we are staying with. We met at hare and Hounds pub, which we have been to before. It has a long menu. Ingot bangers (sausages) and mash, an upscale version, which was the closest I could find to traditional pub grub. I am forever searching for a ploughman’s. Which is so 1980’s. Lovely to be here and away from the political drama and fear in the states, although the British are also very upset and worried by the election results.