In the bleak mid-winter
It appears that I didn’t miss out on the snow after all.
Look what I woke up to this morning:
A little light snow by decent Canadian standards.
I bundled up in my best winter weather gear and set off to walk to work, because all bus service was cancelled. I passed adults who looked profoundly miserable and children who looked profoundly excited. Thanks to my warm hat and thick-soled boots I was quite cheery and tried to strike a balance somewhere in the middle. But by the time I arrived at work I was shaking my head in perplexity. I expected that maybe people in London wouldn’t be used to driving in the snow (much like Vancouver!), but I really hadn’t expected to see people trying to walk in snow wearing manifestly non-winter tested footwear – like stilettos. Honestly, at a certain point shouldn’t a certain amount of common sense kick in?
There were very few people in the office today…a lot of people simply couldn’t get there. Snowflakes fell in surreal clumps past my window all day and were still falling when I left to return home. The snow is supposed to stop by tomorrow morning but they say freezing rain is still to come….so I look forward to the entertainment of watching more people try to walk to work in stilettos tomorrow. I’ll be sticking to my winter boots.
La Belle Nice
After our lazy Christmas my parents and I went to Nice for a week. One would think that the dead of winter would not be the best time to visit Nice but we had a wonderful time.
The beach was practically empty but the Mediterranean was a ravishing blue that matched the sky. And despite it being the dead of winter, the trees were laden with beautiful ripe oranges.
We couldn’t figure out why they were all on the trees rather than being eaten, but perhaps all that exposure to fresh oranges leaves the Nicois indifferent. We, however, gaped unashamedly.
We spent a lot of time exploring Vieux Nice, including visiting the 17th-century Italianate Palais Lascaris and indulging in gorgeous gloves at gLOVEme. Mine are acid green!
And of course, we sampled as many local specialties as possible – eating real Italian pizza with the locals (we were as close to Italy as any of us had ever been and we had the very best pizza we’ve ever had!), devouring moules frites and beautiful, sweet Mediterranean oysters, trying out real Provencal ratatouille, beignets and farcis at La Tapenade (the ratatouille was a true Ratatouille moment, and we enjoyed La Tapenade so much that we went twice), and, of course:
Socca, a real Nicois dish, from the self-anointed “Queen of Socca” herself, Theresa, at the Cours Saleya market. Socca is basically a chickpea pancake, but words cannot describe how good socca actually is, especially on a cold midwinter’s day. Pim says more about socca, here.
And we must not forget:
Gelato in January may seem counter-intuitive, but trust me, the Crema di Gelato version was so totally worth it. The only reason we didn’t return on multiple occasions was that we were eating so much else!
We visited the morning market on the Cours Saleya, and, on Monday, the famous Nice antiques market. There were wonderful things to see at both. Look at the mouthwatering selection of olives at the food market:
And the equally mouthwatering selection of items at the antiques market (where we spent most of the day and found some beautiful things):
We hadn’t realized beforehand what a big deal New Year’s Eve is in France, so hadn’t thought in advance about what we should do or where we should go. As a result, we had to resort to a street-by-street approach, scanning posted New Year’s Eve menus in restaurant windows. They were on the whole horrendously expensive, but we eventually settled on the somewhat more reasonable La Villa in Vieux Nice. It ended up being a very fun evening, with good food, a boisterous 14-person table to one side of us (who sang “Auld Lang Syne” in French to anyone who got up from any table in the vicinity, for any reason), party hats and pea shooters. There was even a conga line at the end, that one of my parents (I won’t say which one) participated in….right through the kitchen and out the other side.
It being France, of course, on New Year’s Day we even got foie gras on our breakfast buffet!
We went to some fantastic museums as well – the Chagall Museum, the Musee des Beaux-Arts, the Archaeology Museum and my favourite, the Matisse Museum. The Matisse Museum and the Archaeology Museum are next door to one another and the Roman ruins between them were fascinating.
I liked making friends with the local residents at the ruins as well!
A Day at the Seaside
Reaching back into the mists of time (well, October)…
My aunt came to visit and 0ne Saturday we took the train to Brighton for a day trip.
We started out with hot chocolate and almond croissants at a local cafe, and I must say that it was some of the best hot chocolate and croissants I have ever had – and this despite having hot chocolate just about everywhere I go. I am not confident enough to call myself a connoisseur, but avid devotee would cover it.
After that we went to the Brighton Pavilion, much maligned in its time for what was considered to be its upturned-turnip-on-a-box architecture, but actually of a fairytale-like beauty, within and without.
I loved the restored, Regency-era garden too.
It happened to be Jane Austen weekend at the Brighton Pavilion and there were several actors there in Regency character (mother with two marriageable daughters, dashing young lieutenant, older gentleman). At one point while in the Music Room I was waylaid by the dashing young lieutenant and while we conversed we were photographed by the fellow who was taking new photos for what I assume will be new publicity materials. So who knows, if you keep an eye on the Brighton Pavilion website you may see me.
We followed that with a bracing walk to the beach, where we practically got swept away by the wind off the Channel.
We spent a long time combing the beach for particularly spectacular pieces of flint. Surprisingly, we seemed to start a trend because when we had finished we looked up to find lots of people doing the same thing, when we had been the only ones before.
We rounded out the day by visiting the Brighton Lanes, where we oohed and aahed over the gorgeous antique jewellery in the windows and wished we were rich so we could buy some.
We headed back to the train station for the 5:30 train, stopping of course on the way for another treat from the cafe to eat on the train.
All in all, a most successful trip to the seaside.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to all!
My parents are visiting from Canada. Here is our Christmas tree, complete with presents. My parents were very impressed with my 3-for-2 M&S LED Christmas tree lights.
Our stockings are in Victoria so we were afraid Santa wouldn’t find us, but he appeared to adapt well to the pillowcases we left out.
We also weren’t sure how he would get in given that I don’t have a fireplace, but he must have used the patio door.
Here is Christmas dinner. We didn’t cook a turkey as we are going to Nice tomorrow and didn’t want to waste turkey leftovers, so we stuffed poussins instead. They were very yummy. We used a recipe from my Silver Spoon cookbook (highly recommended, by the way).
See the gorgeous winter jasmine in our centrepiece? We stole it from a neighbour. We figured they wouldn’t mind since it is overgrown and coming over the fence anyway. Maybe I should offer to garden for them.
Other than that we had a very lazy Christmas Day and an even lazier Boxing Day today. And as I say, off to Nice tomorrow….
I hope all of you had equally wonderful Christmasses. Best wishes to you all.
Election woes
This is, on the whole, a pretty apolitical blog. I generally try to slide along in my daily life without thinking too much about politics, the economy, or other such weighty matters (except as necessary to fulfill the Fig-on-Thames breadwinning mandate). However, even I, who would much prefer to read the latest restaurant review than the economics section of my local newspaper, must admit to a surfeit of politics in my life recently. First of all there is the all-encompassing US election, which newsmen everywhere appear to feel it is their duty to foist upon us at every opportunity. Secondly, there is the matter of the global economic crisis, which recently has included some fascinating bits of political manoeuvering (even for me), such as the American nationalization State support of several banks. And thirdly, there is the Canadian election, which if you will permit, I will focus on for a moment, breaking my usual no-politics blogging rule.
The Canadian election has been the poor, downtrodden relative of the US election this time around. Granted, everyone has known the US election would be coming for years now (given the fixed schedule and all), and we have had the US primaries to contend with (I can’t believe I even know this terminology), including the small matter of the Democratic leadership race which even from my perspective was interesting (I freely admit I started out in the Clinton camp but Obama won me over). However, I can’t help feeling that the Conservatives pulled a fast one on us in calling the election when they did. Scheduling an election while our attention was focussed elsewhere was really not fair. Expecting us to pay attention while banks were crashing all around us and Sarah Palin’s family affairs were paraded in front of us was just not on. And for those of us who are overseas and therefore unable to access any information other than the bits and pieces we could find on the CBC website (since, unlike the US election, the Canadian election somehow did not capture the interest of the worldwide press), how could we really pay proper attention to what was going on?
On top of all that there is the small matter of the logistics of voting when abroad. Notwithstanding my generally apolitical stance, I do regularly exercise my right to vote, and particularly so when I feel a need to stick it to the party in power (which shall remain nameless). But on this occasion, when the party in power needed sticking even more than usual (or maybe I am just bitter), I was stymied by the inefficiency of Elections Canada. Like a good member of the electorate, I applied for a mail-in ballot as soon as I knew about the election….only to receive said ballot two days before election day. Elections Canada very kindly told me that my ballot must be received by them in Ottawa on election day, or it would not be counted. Now do help me out with that….how on earth is that possible when they do not even send it to me until two days before? Even within Canada the postal system is not that good. I personally think that Elections Canada must be in cahoots with The Party Which Shall Not Be Named. In any event, They Who….were voted back in, without my help. I leave it to you to determine whether my mail-in ballot and those of countless other hapless Canadians abroad would have done anything to change that. But really, there must be a conspiracy there somewhere….
Done with politics for now…
Regent’s Canal, way back when
I was looking through some of my old photos (“old” being a relative term) and came across some from June that I had meant to share with you but never got around to.
It was a pleasant summer’s day, one of the first we had here, and one of the first weekends I had had free in a while. I decided I ought to do something touristy, and something outside in the fresh air. I opened up my book of London walks, and – presto – Regent’s Canal popped out at me. So I hopped on the bus and then the Tube, and before I knew it was at the head of Regent’s Canal, near Paddington Basin.
To be more precise, I was at the famous end of Regent’s Canal, the bit with the houseboats. Which do, it turns out, come off their moorings. Now what a nice way to spend an afternoon that would be!
I passed stately homes, old bridges, Regent’s Park Zoo, fishermen (who apparently really were catching fish and weren’t just hired to provide pastoral scenery) and parts of the walk were just like being in the countryside – it was possible to just about forget I was in London at all. I even saw ducklings being taken out for swimming lessons:
Unfortunately after a while the view became less salubrious,
and I knew I had reached Camden.
Not to say Camden isn’t a nice place. By that point I had been walking for a couple of hours and was in dire need of a pick-me-up, so I stopped at a little tea shop called Yum Cha (not to be confused with a dim sum place!) in Camden Market and had jasmine tea and a very yummy blueberry muffin. I sat outside and had a fantastic view of the goings-on in the market below, not to mention the wonderful smells that wafted up to me from the various food vendors’ carts.
I had just enough time after finishing my tea to wander through the second-hand book shop in the market (where of course I picked up a few things!) before it closed, and I then returned to the canal footpath. By that time, all the young Camdenites had congregated along the canal for tea, aperitifs and a good late-afternoon visit.
But it was time for me to be heading home so I continued east along the industrial part of the canal near King’s Cross (where, strangely, I didn’t take any photos). Did you know, though, that there is a nature sanctuary behind King’s Cross? I saw it across the canal from me and made a mental note to visit it at some point (I haven’t yet).
It was a long walk that took me the best part of 5 hours, including my rest at Camden (and as some of you know, I am not a leisurely walker), but it was a lovely respite from the city and a great way to spend a sunny June afternoon.
Happy Canada Day!
Seen in Trafalgar Square today at lunch:
I also found a Tim Horton’s Chocolate Dip doughnut, Reese’s Pieces AND Lays Dill Pickle Chips. The Canadian content doesn’t get much better than that (well, here in London at least). Unfortunately I couldn’t make the Canada Day concert that came later in the afternoon (which, admittedly, would have taken my Canadian content a little more upscale).
Wishing you loads of ribs, BBQ chicken, and salmon from the Salmon Festival (those of you in Vancouver will know what I mean), and have some Timbits and BC VQA wine for me (though hopefully not together). I hear the weather is lovely today for barbeques, picnics and otherwise lounging about with family and friends.
Happy Canada Day!
WWKIP, French Style
One of the things I really like about London is the Eurostar. Two hours in the train, room to stretch out the legs, hot chocolate to sip along the way, a window for passing scenery, a seat comfortable enough to nod off for a bit – and presto, before you know it you are in the middle of Paris. It takes about the same length of time as it does to travel from Vancouver to Seattle, but Paris has a much better ring to it, doesn’t it?
I’ve taken advantage of the Eurostar twice so far. The first time was in February when I went to meet up with my uncles (who were visiting from Toronto). We had a magnificent weekend that included visiting the stunning Jacquemart-Andre Museum and partaking of elevenses under the Tiepolo ceiling in its cafe.
We also went to Versailles.
I enjoyed Versailles in February but….well, a great deal of Versailles is its gardens, and frankly, February just isn’t the best time for gardens. So I made a promise to myself that I would go back later in the spring to see them in their proper glory, and I fulfilled this promise last weekend.
And boy, did I luck out.
It turns out that the Versailles fountains are only turned on for about 2 hours each day during summer weekends, due to their excessive water consumption. Fortuitously, I just so happened to see them during those two hours.
If they are this breathtaking at the beginning of the 21st century, then just imagine how impressive they must have been in the 17th century when they were first constructed, amidst the grandeur and opulence (and excess) of the French court. And of course the hidden garden rooms and noise of the fountains would offer much-needed privacy for assignations of political and non-political types.
And since it was Worldwide Knit in Public Day, and in honour of the Yarn Harlot, who was celebrating her birthday in Toronto that same day, I even took a gratuitous Versailles travelling sock photo:
(Sorry, no details here as this is a semi-secret project for a little longer yet….)
For Liz
Dear Liz,
Thank you for bullying me into posting again. Well, to be fair it wasn’t bullying, more of what one might call gentle prodding, but it did the trick and here is something to tide you over until I write the next proper post.
Contrary to popular belief, I have not dropped off the face of the earth, nor have I forgotten all about everybody, I’ve just been a lazy and inconsiderate poster. I have done a few things that might interest you between my last post and this one, including a trip to the Temple Festival in January.
The Temple Festival was an open house put on by the Middle and Inner Temples one weekend to celebrate their 400th anniversary. It was a fascinating glimpse into their respective histories and almost made me want to be a barrister. (Note the almost. I am still not so sure about the whole appearing in Court business.)
I even went to a wig presentation:
Who knew wigs were made specifically for each individual head? It makes sense, of course, but imagine the artistry and the amount of work that goes into each one. There apparently is still a thriving wig industry in London. And since then I have actually seen some wigs doing duty in Court, proving that they are still firmly in use (well, in some courtrooms anyway – apparently the judges’ dress codes in Civil and Family courts are changing and the wigs will be phased out). I must admit I kind of like the wigs.
Liz, I will try not to be such a stranger and to post properly from now on. I won’t promise a posting schedule, but here at Fig-on-Thames we will try to implement some sort of reader satisfaction scheme anyway (in other words, actually giving said readers something to read).
Fig-on-Thames 