Tea Time in Wonderland

Archive for the ‘Marre des guides classiques? / Fed up with your usual travel guides?’ Category

Sherlock Holmes only exists in Conan Doyle’s extraordinary world.

Such a bad idea – such a roar from the public claiming their hero back! The more he resisted, the more letters came through the door. He had not choice but bring the detective back to life, a total of 56 stories.

This success remains unchanged today – just look at the number of visitors at his supposed address where a small museum has been created! Nothing historical here but a nice atmospheric stop. Lovely time travel and ideal with kids.

Gosh, the houses were small in that street. But it’s enough and makes it even cuter somehow. The first floor probably is the best – you really can picture the two friends chatting the night away. You almost expect to see Sherlock’s pipe smoking in a corner. Watson usually is here, welcoming you and proposing a picture in the detective’s chair. Complete with the hat, of course. Alternatively, pose with the bobby outside who keeps a cape and a few hats at hand for souvenir photos too….

Oh, and do get a few quaint souvenirs from the shop. You’ll find everything from Teddy bears to pipes and matches in there.

Sherlock Holmes Museum
221b Baker St
London
NW1 6XE

£6/adult, £4/enfant

Equipped with fun accessories? Why not go and pose in profile in the tube station?

I recently discussed the concept with colleagues. This was completely unknown to them, the idea felt kinf of obscure. They visualised a kind of crypt, dimmed lights, a gothic theme maybe?

This trend is fascinating. Forget formal restaurants. People like you and me, passionate about cooking decide to take it a step further. A restaurant is a big risk, a huge responsability and they’d rather have the fun of it while still having a financial security. Do it wheneever they feel like it, whenever they’re inspired. But also share the experience with the fans rather than being locked in the kitchen all the time, slaving over dishes. They’re breaking away from the cold business side of it, injecting fun back into it.

Curiosity already took me to the Hidden tearoom for the most wonderful afternoon tea. I still can taste the cheddar biscuits… I spent three hours chatting happily with strangers.

I’m taking Celine along with me this time to test the most famous London one: the Underground restaurant. MsMarmite Lover loves to juggle with ideas and recipes so check dates and themes on the website. Be quick! She’s full in not time.

Tonight’s based on the Realm of Senses. I must admit I always feel a bit shy before ringing the bell. An evening with strangers could be boringly long. I have always been proved wrong: the only fact that you’re there proves we all have a sense of curiousity, adventure, a love for London and good food and that is enough for hours of conversation on end. You’ll find a great mix of people. around our table, we chatted over travels, blogs, books, cinema, cookin, we laughed and compared and commented and shared.

What was on the menu? Ceviche to start with with seashore background noises. I am used to the Tahition way of using raw fish – in a sweet coconut milk sauce. This is surprisingly refreshing, vary fragrant with yuzu and ginger. As for the music? I’m afraid we were chatting way too much in our enthusiasms to notice it…

Follows a selection of Indian dishes – coconut dahlt, indian salad with cucumbers and pomegranate (could have eaten bowls of this), creamy curry with aubergines and a delicious but intriguing vegetable that kept us wondering for a while (a tinda, an exotic kind of squash), fragrant rice… We are to eat with our fingers as you would in India. laughs explode – we’re obviously not that gifted… It is true that you savour the food more, think about it more, notice the colours. With a fork, it’s easy to separate easily abit of rice with that sauce or that one. Eating with your fingers forces you to mix more ingredients together, some you would not have mixed usually. It’s a success. we’re hooked. And the greatness of it all? You can have seconds!

Guests now hold their breath – here comes the smell experience. A huge slice of durian, which smell is almost pleasant and lemony but which will be faithful to its reputation. We all happily try, plunginh our fork in the white flesh and are unanimous: vade retro satanas! Interesting though as we all wanted to try, never would have bought the fruit (huge and expensive – £30 for one!) but really were curious about it. another thing to tick on “to do before I die list”. Also comes a huge Stinking Bishop. very mature, actually running and escaping on our table. The smell is strong but any cheese lover woul fall for it. The taste is cremy, a bit nutty and… well, it didn’t last long on our table. Nice touche to have served it with almonds too!

The desert is welcomed enthusiastically. We are blindfolded for this dish. Not easy to find your ramequin, oops, that was the table, the neignour’s hand, ah, here it is! Always easy to find a taste when you’ve seen it written down before. Here you have to think. Rich chocolate for sure… A different layer on top – I’m a creme fraiche addict, and recognise it immediately, creme fraiche ice-cream, elegant and fresh on the heavier chocolate cream. But the base? Ah, a complete mystery. It’s caramel like, and crunchy, and popping? A clever mix of peacn nuts and popping candy… Not knowing how much is left you really make the pleasure last…

This is more than just dinner, it’s an evening, an entertainment, a fun taste adventure. All thanks to the amazing MsMarmiteLover who reminds me of th fairies in Disney’s version of Sleeping Beauty: cheeks pink with pleasure, sparkling with happiness and joie de vivre, almost flying from one table to another, interested in everything and everyone, happy to sit down and chat and share with you. She’s so contagious! Add to this that she has lived 7 years in France and speaks perfect froggie. I can only take pride in that.

An occasion to be renewed as often as possible!

MsMarmiteLover’s blog: http://marmitelover.blogspot.com/
This way for tickets!

You probably know Tracy Chevalier for her first novel, Girl with a pearl earring, a little treasure also adapted on the big screen. Wonderfully depicted and inspired by Vermeer and his paintings, elegant and fascinating.

With Burning Bright, the author focuses on late 18th century London. The intrigue is a bit too easy for me but the painting of this Georgian London really got me through the book. So lively, buzzing, real! The Lambeth of another time, the hundreds of forgotten simple and amazing small jobs, from laundry to making buttons… the atmosphere of pubs at the time, in which kids joined in, exploitation of employees in the industries, the herness of the job, here in a mustard factory, the red neighbourhood of Soho, the poverty of St Giles… Other stories weave themselves through the story: the influence of the French Revolution, modern ideas on the verge of treason, the local association pressurising people into signing their allegeance to the King: of course you weren’t free to choose your political views at the time. But alo the famous William Blake, free thinker and famous poet who did live in Lambeth.

Interesting to learn about the Astley circus, at the foot of Westminster bridge. It started as an equastrian show and quickly evolved to pantomines, juggling, rope-walking, fireworks… Chevalier suceeds to paint both the atmosphere of the shows and the surrounding activities. The wooden building will burn down several times and be quickly rebuilt each time: you are placed in the middle of the repetitions, the carpenters building new decors around them, the children waiting around for any opportunity to earn a penny… or learn a piece of gossip whihc could in turn be moneyed into a favour.

An ideal book if you’re traveling: easy to start, put down, start again. I loved discovering a different facet of London, this era being more rarely covered, authors usually prefering Henry VIII, Elisabethean or Victorian times. Makes walking through the streets a bit more magical superposing two different frames…

Week-ends. Aaaah. I always grab a bol de cafe au lait – so Frenchie! – a few magazines to read through, a  few websites to scan and plan the day ahead.

This morning, I replaced the press with a very new guide on London: 24 hours.

Curiosity is all over me. Amazing since I have read so many guidebooks about the city. Classical ones, historical ones, anecdotical ones.  Riddles and hunts for clues. 1000 things to be done, things to be done under a tenner. Secret London, Unusual London, Victorian London, London by its bridges. Wanting to dig a little deeper, I even tried Underground London, harder to read but so instructive. Still looking for new angles, new secrets, I have switched to books historical or not – a house by the Thames… Salaam Bricklane… Mrs P’s journey…

Can this new one surprise me? Can an introduction byt Boris Johnson be a good guarantee? Mmm. I switch my latte for a ristretto. Let’s talk business, baby.

Its originality is in its organisation. Not by neighbourhood or activity but by time of the day. I light up: how many times have I been stuck with nothing to do? Because shops and museums alke were closing? Or at 23.00 when I had missed a train and the next one was at 01.00?

The again, I know London quite well after 6 years. I read the event press on a daily basis.

But still, with the very first pages, I fill my notebook. Unknown details, forgotten addresses… Some of my favourite places also figure there, which convinces me to trust the author fully. A very clear style, easy to read, to remember with funny titles the way I like them.

Hitchcok mosaics in the tube? Ghost houses? Free ferry ride? Best places for cocktails and jazz at any time of the night? want to swim AND have a martini at 02.00?

Ideal too, the them lists 24 hours on the cheap, 24 hours with Nature...

I’m reading the book inside out. Backwards. Using the index. Putting notes in margin. By hour. Standing in the kitchen a cup of espresso in my other hand. Two hours later, I am rereading it a second time. Hell, by now, I know entire paragraphs by heart.

It had been a while since a guidebook has made me feel like jumping in my shoes. The last one was 1000 things to do in London and those tow complete each other quite well. light, supple, ideal size for a handbag (Gentlemen will obviously smile at that comment). Such a treadure of information for £9.99 (£6.84 if you order it from Amazon)! An ideal stocking filler too…

Even better, Marsha Moore is working on a Parisian version of the book. Eustostar will have to give her a percentage of the extra travels booked thanks to her!

If you’re a London lover, you probably know Southbank by heart. you could trace your way with your eyes closed. Somehow, this path is printed within your every cell.

Of course, you always have a look at the sand sculptors @ Gabriel’s wharf, where the river uncovers a perfect beach.

I like to add a twist to this walk. Rather than the usual tourist way, I take the stair down at that point and walk along the river when the tide is low. Too many tourist, too much noise during the day: try this on a lovely evening! The path alternates between rocks and beaches. You will collect a few pieces of china, smoothed to perfection by the current. These wooden pillars, almost disappearing in the ground now, used to support a pier. The waves sing softly a few meters from you. The City takes a surreal look from down here, colours shine everywhere.

I usually go up to The Founder’s Arms pub, right before the Tate but you will find stairs before that. A lovely walk outside the usual buzz!

In my daily rushed routine, where thoughts are always turned to saving time, I tend to settle for highstreet bookshops on my way. A quick look at the “must read” of the moments, flashy covers, take a few notes, order on Amazon to get a better price. So very practical but the process lacks little gems, tastes too much like the Entertainment section of the Times to be fully satisfying.

An improbable walk suddenly takes me through Holland Park, a few more streets and I am standing in front of Daunt, wooden frame, Edwardian look, one of those independant libraries that make you feel like sitting on the floor, build a castle of books around you and hide there for hours. They give you a taste back for adventure, exploration and losing complete track of time…

The London section is just amazing and I write down pages of references… My heart urges for the City, for its secret life.

In this Ali Baba cavern, I discover the Park Sories colelction -  8 short stories taking place in London royal parks. Amazing isn’t it that this litterary genre tends to disappear when it probably is the most adapted to our way of life, always running, always commuting, never having much time for ourselves? This is the perfect format – can be read on the way to work, can fit easily in your handbag…

Of course, you can’t be a Londoner without have walked, strolled, jogged through our royal parks, circled the Serpentine, met at the Orangerie, sat in our of the deckchairs (and been made to pay for it), saluted St James’ pelicans, climbed up to Greenwich’s observatory, looked Richmond’s deers in the eyes…

I expected the parks to play a bigger role. I wanted historical details, caves, secrets, white pebbles I could follow next time. Quite the contrary – the park is just a background, a thread in the story. Disappointing? No -  a different feeling arises. This infuses the park, your park, the one you knew for a particular buzz and atmosphere with a different personnality somehow – a different angle to look at it. It brings and emotion, an identity to it. Anf you will want to run at te Diana Memorial, fly away at St James, make fun of tourists at Greenwich, believe in ghosts in Green Park.

At £2 the book, is there realy any hesitation to be had? Go ahead. Fall in love with the vison of kensington by a little girl from Koweit (Hanan al-Shaykh, a beauty Parlour for the swans) and the sad magical love story in St James (Clare Wigfall, Along birdcage walk).

Park stories

Available on the Royal Parks website or at Daunt Books (several branches)

Walking through London, you’ll meet countless monuments dedicated to WWI/II, to the soldier’s courage, bravery, strength. They’re sometimes impressive, others dark, proud, full of hope. But always, praise is on those whom left for the real fight.

On Whitehall, this amazing bronze sculpture by John Mills is less known and what a shame! Rounder shapes, a little shyer but so vibrant with peacefulness and determination… It was dedicated in 2005 to the 7 millions women who fought, in their own way, during WWII. Husbands were in the army, of course, and they rolled their sleeves taking over as much as they could: they volunteered for military service, drove ambulances, buses, traijns, helped to build planes and ships, made munitions, dug coal… The title uses the same font as the ration books at the time.

I love, in this work of art, the movement in the uniforms, the very strong presence of this feminine force, ready to jump back into action any time…

Intrigued? Rush to the Imperial War Museum close to Waterloo (ironically, previously and asylum) – I have always been fascinated by the collection of WWII slogans such as Dig for Victory, the wonderful unity of the British nation. You’ll also learn how children were massiveley evacuated from the capital to the countryside during the Blitz, with only a suitcase and a label with their name around their neck…

Alternatively, try this book: Can any mother help me? A group of women, feeling isolated, corresponded and created a magazine. Each would write an article on any subject would add it to the pile and send it to the next person on the list. Each reader would leave annotations. This covers WWII -  an extraordinay insight on how they coped, welcomed evacuees, their political views, their regions at the time, how they struggled to keep their family together. All true – no fiction at all!

The Proud Gallery, a private gallery specialising in rock star photographies, is in nostalgic mode with snaps of the Who at the beginning of their career. On stage, of course, but also their daily life, waking up, shaving, chosing clothes. And oh, the fashion at the time, the tweed suits! Budweiser is sponsoring the event and you can even grab a beer from the fridge near te entrance while remembering long gone years, but weren’t they wild, eh?

The sub-level also proposes other prints on sale, including two wonderful prints of the Rolling Stone (one is an incredible cricket party with a broken paino in the background). Their other branch in Camden, doubled as a bar and regularly playing live music, actually has an exhibition on Woodstock

Proud Gallery
The Who
32 John Adam Street
London WC2N 6BP
Until November 15, 2009
Tube: Embankment or Charing Cross

If you dream in black & white and did not get a chance to see Londoners through a lens @ the Getty Images, you’ll love the book released with these extraordinary pics of a long gone London. A great gift for this coming Xmas (or just to yourself!)
A few below:
- a Doubledecker en route for a trip to Oslo for an exhibition celebrating England
- Covent Garden in 1910
- One of the many celebrations for Georges VI’s coronation: the to be on TV!
- Chain working and producing toy cars…
- A rat catcher – WWII saw a terrible increase in rat population and this was a very well paid job based on the risks on being bitten and infected.

Seduced? The get the book from the previous exhibition too, London through a lens.

Whatever I do, my steps always seem to bring me back to Southbank. From the London Eye to the Golden Hind. From Westminster Bridge to the Garden Museum. From temple to the Millenium Bridge. From London Bridge to Tower Bridge, pausing at the Scoop. A patchwork of mini-strolls, a different kind of puzzles, always finding a new details along the way.

I have my favourite stops, of course. I never tire of the Borough Market. The Tate on a Saturday evening, towards 20.00, when it is deserted by tourists and I have rooms all to myself. A chocolate ale. Gabriel’s wharf beach when the tide is low. The view on St Paul from the Millenium Bridge.

I always pause @ Cardinal Wharf, hidden between the Tate and the Globe Theater. A few precious houses, trying to eb as discreet as possible amidst the Thames buzz. #49 always has intrigued me – an old style bell, a grid hiding a more modern contact system…

…and this plaque adding to the mystey, the prestige… Christopher Wren, who built St Paul on which you have a great view from here, has lived here. Catherine of Arragon, Henry VIII’s first wife (do read Philippa Gregory’s fab novel on her life to learn more. I guarantee you’ll be hooked) is to have stayed here on her arrival from Spain.

But at Foyles, paging through The House by the Thames and the People who Lived There, I discover a different story. Gillian Tindall wves all this away. Christopher Wren lived a few houses away. The owner of #49 got the plaque from another building after the war when most houses were in ruins. Whole neighborhoods had been bombed and were now beiig destroyed to build new. In doubt, the authorities decided to leave these few ones intact thanks to the possible historical heritage…! What about Catherine? Ah, surely Spanish princessed do not stay in such basic lodging , especially when they’re about to become Queen of England.

And so Tindall digs through 300 years of history. Before this house was a pub, the Cardinal Hat, one of the most important along the Thames. These were not rich neighborhoods. They were know for their brothels, called stews at the time. The book then switches to the area through various eras, mentioning the construction of Westminster then Blackfriar bridge, their economical impact, the richness emerging from the new markets it allowed such as coal transport. You forget instantly the icecream vans, the souvenir shops, the herds of tourists and jump into a different world. A great travel in time: give it a try!

Vous pensez bien connaitre Londres? Vous n’avez certes pas tout visite encore mais avez avale tellement de guides…

Ce petit livre, mine de rien, va vous apprendre une foule de details supplementaires, de petites histoires, de citations dont:

- L’existence d’un tunnel secret sous Sloane Square…

- Comment le Brompton Oratory a ete utilisee comme cache pour lettres et microfilms par le KGB…

- que Londres comptait jusqu’en 1920 une douzaine de moulins…

- Que l’Imperial War Museum etait auparavant un hopital, St Mary of Bethlehem mieux connu sous le nom de Bedlam Insane Asylum (mentionne dans le film Sweeney Todd de Tim burton. Pensez aussi au dernier album de James Blunt, Back to Bedlam, doublement ironique pusiqu’il etait militaire avant d’etre chanteur)

- Que Thierry Marx a exprime ses vues au Speakers’ corner…

- Que le Royal London Hospital a abrite Elephant Man… Que vous y trouverez un musee ouvert au oublic (et gratuit) avec collection de materiel chirurgical, des elements de l’enquete sur Jack l’eventreur et le modele utilise pour… le dentier de Georges Washington…

- ou trouver Little Egypt…

- Qu’un tunnel a l’epoque passer sous le London Bridge. Le premier metro, qui pouvait transporter 12 passagers!

Et bien d’autres! Historique, satirique, drole, ce bouquin capture les differentes facettes de la capitale au lieu du cote glossy et glamour toujours presente dans les guides. Des secrets a decouvrir, l’origine de legendes urbaines, l’explication d’expressions cockneys…

Les pages sont tres concentrees en information (pas de photos dans ce livre-la!) et se savoure mieux par petites doses, accompagne d’une petite tasse de cafe, d’un carre de chocolat pour le plaisir…

The London Collection

£9.99 en librairie

£7.49 sur Amazon.co.uk

Recommande plutot pour les lecteurs habitant Londres.

More for readers living in London, you need a little inside knowledge.

So you think you know London? You haven’t visited everything, of course, but you’ve been, like me, through so many guides…

Think again.

This little book is full of surprises, anecdotes, quotes… You’ll get to know…

- the existence of a secret tunnel under Sloane Square…

- how the Brompton Oratory was used as a cache for messages by the KGB….

- that London still had a dozen windmills up to 1920…

- that the Imperial war Museum used to be the St Mary of Bethlehem hospital, best know as… the Bedlam Insane Asylum (mentioned in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd. Think also of James’s Blunt album Back to Bedlam, doubly ironic as the singer used to be in the army)

- that the Royal London Hospital sheltered Elephant Man…. but also offers a (free!) museum open to the public, with a collection of surgical tools, Jack the Ripper and even..Washington’s denture model…

- where to find Little Egypt…

- that there used to be a tunnel going right under Tower Bridge… The first subway system that could carry 12 passengers!

And much much more! The notes can be historical, satirical, funny, intriguing… So many secrets to unveil! Finally, a varied description of London with its dark sides rather than the glossy version of the travel books.

No photos here and a page is filled with much information – better enjoyed a little at time with a real coffee and a truffle or two..