Seeking London - 25/02/13 - 03/03/13

If you're like me, this week is all the more better as pay day lands and our bank accounts look a bit fuller for a brief moment. So why not use that 'extra' dosh to treat yourself (after paying your bills of course) before you're back down to eating meals with Nectar/Boots points.

Here are a few different ways to spend your money in London this week.

Monday, 25th February
I've mentioned it before but I've fallen into a very sad pit of takeaways. I can't even tell you the last time I did a proper shop and stocked my fridge. Cue entrance of Dinnr to save the day.

The concept is pretty interesting: decide what recipe you want for dinner that night, get it delivered to your door/place of work, take it home and cook your meal. It's a great way to encourage yourself to get back in the kitchen as the recipes aren't heat up pizzas but rather, Five Spice Duck with Pak Choi and Udon Noodles (£19 and serves 2) or Gorgonzola, Cabbage and Pancetta Polenta Lasagne  (£14 and serves 2).  Order by 4pm for same day delivery Monday - Friday in Central London.

Tuesday, 26th February
OK we're two months in to the new year and most resolutions have gone out the window. Maybe you didn't like the idea of waking up for those aerobics classes or maybe those evening workouts just aren't as important as a 'quick one', which turns into 5, down the pub. If you're hoping all's not lost for your fitness regime just yet, pop over to Pineapple Dance. Entrance is £4 for non-members and then you pay per class (£6 - £8).

On Tuesday there are classes from Street Hip Hop, to Carnival Dancing, to Waacking, to Brazillian Samba - making it one of the most eclectic nights at Pineapple open to all levels of dancers. A much better way to spend your £ on a Tuesday night.




Wednesday, 27th Febfruary
While Science Lates at the Science Museum might be free, getting a few drinks in while you're there isn't.  This month the exhibit takes a look at the inner workings of the human heart to wrap up this month of love.  Bottles of beer and small cups of wine go for about £4 each, but as it's pay week and the event itself is free you can splash out!

Thursday, 28th February
On my quest to learn as much about North London as possible I discovered that the road from Angel to Archway was once lined with theatres/cinemas. Some of those still exist, some were bombed during the war, and The Screen on the Green across from Islington Green gives us a nice view into the past.  Open since 1913, it is one of the oldest operating cinemas in the UK.  Tickets are £12.50 for a standard adult ticket and there's a fully licensed bar.

Now showing: To the Wonder



Friday, 1st March
It may be a bit cold out, but nothing makes you feel better about living in London than a walk down the Thames.  Make the walk down the South Bank and just beyond the excitement, you'll find Gabriel's Wharf - a converted shopping and entertainment area. For those of you following the Lenten rule of 'Fish only Fridays' The Wharf is a nice way to go so that you're not stuck eating another pub fish n' chips or McDonald's fish sandwich.  And for those of you that aren't observing Lent, there are still some options for you.

Saturday, 2nd March
For those that know me IRL, this is the place that I've dubbed as 'The Greatest Pub in All the Land'. The Finsbury is my old faithful as it never lets me down for a good night out and there's always live music. The drinks don't cost much, but you won't want to leave!

Sunday, 3rd March
The sun's potentially meant to show its face so it would be worth to take a Somewhat Sunny Sunday Stroll.  The Regent's Canal or the Parkland Walk are two great places to start. Stock up on sandwiches, mini cakes and warm coffees along the way. 

Have I left something out? Let me know what's happening next week in the Borough of Islington and beyond in the comments.

Seeking Art - Tate Modern

Living in a big city always seems to be a gateway to becoming an 'artsy' type. You know, you become one of those people that frequent the theatre for a night out or you keep your eye out for the latest street art on the scene.  It's not to say it's a bad thing, this part of our culture is a dying, errm, art to say the least but you can't help but feel like you're becoming 'one of those guys' when you join in.

A friend of mine that works in the art industry invited me along to the Tate Modern recently. In the 3 years that I have lived here, I had never stepped foot into this building. Don't judge me.  Stranger still, we went to the museum for the start of our Big Saturday Night Out of celebrating.  Museums on a Saturday night, is not in my usual lineup but I liked a bit of change.

As this isn't normally my scene, I couldn't help but feel like the gang in Ferris Buller's Day Off when they went to visit the museum.



That song was totally playing in my head for most of my visit.

In short, it was very enjoyable to exercise my brain in a way that I haven't in quite some time. I can almost certainly conclude that I am not a fan of sculptures but I do like landscape photography and abstract art.  

One of my favourite pieces, (which I'm not really sure what you would classify this under), was titled 'Air Pollution of Iran 2004-6. Eight Flags' by Mahmoud Bakhshi Moakhar.   It was presented in a room that had 8 different Iranian flags, each from a different year in the Iran-Iraq war.  Each flag had been raised for only one year and each flag had acquired varying levels of soil and damage depending on the year.  It was some powerful stuff that had me reaching for my inhaler just looking at them.

Another good'un was 'Lament of the Images 2002' by Alfredo Jaar. When you approach the room, it may seem like nothing is or will happen.  The best way of seeing this installation is if the room is dark at first.  There's a thin white light that cuts the room in half horizontally and it stays this way for about 2 minutes. Suddenly, the thin white light grows into a large glowing light that fills the room and you realise this light was coming from two steel tables with their tops meeting in the middle - one suspended from the ceiling. I liked Jaar's message of becoming blind to everyday things in life, just as we focused on the thin white light when the room was dark rather than the two tables that were in the centre of the room.

I'm kicking myself because I didn't take any photos. I don't know what it is, but I'm always afraid they're going to tell me off and say no photos allowed - so I don't. Is that a myth?

Also, I always assumed you had to pay to go to the Tate Modern, but I only saw the free galleries. There are different exhibitions that have a fee attached or if you're a paying member you can have unlimited access.  From Wednesday, 14 November for £10 you can see their new exhibition 'A Bigger Splash: Painting After Performance' featuring key paintings by Jackson Pollock and David Hockney.

I'd certainly go on a late night adventure again as the museum stays open until 22.00 on Fridays and Saturdays - if not for a bit of culture before drinking my cares away, at least for the phenomenal view.

The moon above London

St. Paul's Cathedral

Ariel on Google+

Seeking London - What's Cool 19SEP

I never realised how many London event things I read on a weekly, if not daily basis - but it's quite a lot.  So much so, that I plan my weeks around some of the cool things that I see.

Here are a few:

Street Feast London

If you haven't had enough of the pop-up bar, the pop-up restaurant and the pop-up theatre trends that cover London then get your fix with the Street Feast crew.  It's been running since the summer and after being kicked out of a few locations by jealous establishments, they've now found a home in Hackney (where else really).  Meant to have some of the best street food we'll find in these here parts.

Coffeehouse Tour

Image from the Londonist review of this tour

I didn't even know this was a thing!  You can go on tour with actors, musicians and the whole shebang and tour some of London's original coffee spots.The history geek in me thinks this is pretty awesome, and for the coffee lovers out there (I'm not really one of them) you can get your caffeine fix while learning a bit about London.  The tour runs every third Saturday of the month and is £13.50 + bf. 

Hint Hunt

Shutthefrontdoor!! Wait, no, really. Apparently, going out to a bar and getting pissed is just not enough for us Londoners on a Friday night.  Now we want to be purposely locked in a basement room and have to crack codes and find clues on how to break out of the room in 60 minutes. Crap, maybe when I put it that way it doesn't sound nearly as exciting as it should be. I love puzzles, but this is just insane that it even exists. Nonetheless it sounds really interesting if not at least a bit different. Tickets are £16 + bf and must be booked in advance.

What cool things have you seen happening in London lately?

Ariel on Google+

Seeking Routine

Last week I had a disappointing realisation.  My fridge shelf was beginning to look more like someone on You Are What You Eat and I hadn't cooked a decent meal in at least 2 months.

This is not like me at all.  I love being in the kitchen, keeping it clean and fully stocked with things to prepare.  It's my place of serenity and a reminder that I am in control of what I cook if at least nothing else in my life at times.

Living and working in London can put the average Londoner into the eating routine of takeaways and ready meals from the supermarket and very little exercise in between. While it is convenient, I think we all need to take time to make our own dinners. In the end, it's heaps cheaper and to be honest once you get used to doing a certain dish it doesn't take that much time out of your day.

I've made a concious decision (and I'm trying really hard to stick to it) to change my habit of waking up, taking the tube, going to work, eating a ready meal, leaving work, taking the tube, and ordering a takeaway. As well as changing my eating habits, I'm trying to include exercise in that routine.  It's hard, and it's particularly harder when no one around you is making the change to their routine either. But I'm stubborn, and if I want to do something I'll keep trying at it!

I've ordered a massive selection of meats and fish from the shop (online shopping is the way forward in big cities), wrapped them individually and frozen each bit of chicken and fillet of salmon so I can always have food in the house. I've even gone so far as to plan out my meals for each day.

Today was veggie lunch and I was craving courgette (zucchini).  Here's the recipe I found to make my lunch (sans lima beans, I've got childhood nightmares about those).

How have you had to manage your eat/work/exercise routine?

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen lima beans, blanched
• 1/2 cup drained canned chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 romaine leaves, cut into thin strips
• 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, broken into small chunks (1/4 cup)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil, plus small sprigs for garnish
• 4 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Combine lima beans, chickpeas, zucchini, onion, romaine, Parmesan, and chopped basil. Add lemon juice, oil, red-pepper flakes, salt, and pepper, and toss to combine. Garnish with basil sprigs.

Ariel on Google+

Seeking London Life

Three years ago I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. I decided I had had enough of Ohio and America(ns) and I was tired of saying 'I want to live abroad'.  I applied to a few Universities in London, sold my everything and put my United Airline miles that I had racked up over 5 years of travelling the world to good use - a one way ticket to London.

The day I moved to the UK

Since moving here I've done something that many people aren't able to do: pick up and start again in life. I went back to school for my Masters, I gained new circles of friends, I travelled even more, I discovered an undying love for festivals, I started a new career path, and I found love again. Maybe these things could've happened in the States as well, but I don't feel that it would have.  My life may have different priorities than the average 29 year old woman, but I'm feeling pretty accomplished!

London, I love you and you have me under your spell. Here's to another 3 years of magical bliss and opportunities. 

Ariel on Google+

Seeking America - MEATliquor

Sometimes it happens and there's just nothing you can do about it.  A new club, restaurant or venue opens and everyone proclaims it to be the greatest of its kind, ever. It's happened before while I've been here and no matter how much I and others have said the other location is by far more superior and more authentic, the establishment with all the marketing money comes off as being the better venue of its trade.

This, I feel, is the story of MEATliquor.

I went during a weeknight, immediately after work - no problem with the queues that everyone keeps going on about. Don't show up past 7, or don't leave it to be a Friday night meal.  Obviously that's when all the eager trendy people start flocking to what they only heard was the next best thing.  I got there around 6.30 or so and it was fine.  Get in, have a few drinks (and by few I mean 1 - £4 for a small can of beer, £9 for a mason jar of what was effectively a margarita) and browse over the menu.

Don't be upset that you can't see the menu on the website, that's just part of MEATliquor's disappointing charm to get people wanting more.  They have 4 or 5 different burgers and a few other American type sandwiches.  I went for a Philly Cheesesteak, because again, I'm craving all things that I never ate that often at home, and as always the boyfriend went for the thing that I would otherwise get if I wasn't skeptical of the place (a burger).  We also had wings as a starter.

MEATliquor - Hot Wings

MEATliquor - Philly Cheesesteak, burger, fries

The Good: those hot wings were pushing on hot, so that was good.  French fries were pretty tasty.

The Bad: I have never, in my life, seen a Philly Cheesesteak look like that. I didn't realise it was OK to just pass off steak as mince meat (ground beef).  I must have missed that memo. And FFS that's an ungodly amount of green peppers. I pulled about 1/3 of them out but there were still too many to find the actual meat section of this sandwich, making the peppers really over powering.  

With the wings, though it was labelled as bleu cheese dip, I know they just went out and bought some ranch dressing. Don't mess with me and these wings, world!

So I feel the cheesesteak served is one of those 'Expectation/Reality' moments. I was expecting something closer to below

mmmmm I miss steak-umms

Notice the thin slices, not chuck ground beef.

The Interesting: All this being said, it is an interesting venue to look at inside. I'm not really sure why they painted it the way they did. It looks like a cross between a slaughter house, and the house of someone that wants to slaughter people.  Weird scribbles on the wall, red drips of paint everywhere, very odd.

The Worse: Normally if I have a part of my meal that I didn't enjoy, at least I know the bf has enjoyed his. In his words, 'It was alright, but nothing worth queuing for'.

And there you have it. 

As we left the building, a queue that did not exist only 2 hours prior was indeed wrapping around the block on a weeknight and we were half tempted to tell them it wasn't worth it.  But there wouldn't be any point, the media monkey has turned his tricks and enough people are intrigued by the place to keep it in business for a while.  Maybe that'll give them enough time to suss out what American food is, and I'll try the standard any-country burger instead of the American 'delicacy' next time.

MEATliquor can be found at:

74 Welbeck Street

W1G 0BA

Nearest Tube: 

Bond Street

Ariel on Google+

Seeking America - The Breakfast Club

It should be no surprise to most of my readers that I'm getting a bit homesick this year. I've hinted at the fact that I'm in a bit of limbo with being able to go home, and made it a mission to find as many milkshake, burger and breakfast joints I could it seems.  I suppose it's only natural. The end of August marks the last time I saw my family in 3 years, and 09SEP marks the last time I was on American soil in 3 years.  Even I, the least American, American on this side of the pond, crave some of the simpler things from back home.

One sunny Sunday afternoon, I made my way over to Angel in hopes of finding a little slice of home at The Breakfast Club.  Nicely tucked away just behind the high street and on a narrow alley of boutique shops, I found a queue stretching the length of the alley and then some.  I'd finally arrived to one of the most talked about breakfast stops in London.

Wait time was about 30 - 45 minutes, which probably could have been cut down if the waiting staff had a better seating system.  But to expect customer service like that, I would really need to head back to the States as I'm more likely to discover a new element than receive decent customer service here.

Oddly enough, once seated I didn't ask for a plate of pancakes, smothered in maple syrup and at least 6 strips of bacon on the side.  My boyfriend did however, which left me to judge them without being disappointed that the pancakes weren't prepared in a way that any John Hughes character would have expected.

The good news: the pancakes and the bacon were right on target - fluffy pancakes, crispy bacon.
The bad news: it wasn't nearly enough.  At about £8, for 2 things on the plate, it left a lot to be desired. Why this country doesn't understand the beauty of sides, I will never understand.  If there were some eggs, and a small pot(bowl) of summer fruit as well, we'd be in business.

I was hardcore craving some eggs, so I went for Eggs Florentine and a cup of tea. Not very American after all but very nice all the same.

The Breakfast Club - Eggs Florentine

The Breakfast Club - a cuppa

The eggs were more than filling (I couldn't finish them!), which is what I was going for, and cost about the same price as the pancakes - which I would've finished, and would've wanted more to go with it.  I definitely recommend heading to the Breakfast Club, as it makes for a perfect Sunday brunch location.   Just be prepared to shell out a few more ££ if you were looking for a real American breakfast experience.

The Breakfast Club - Angel can be found at:

31 Camden Passage
Angel
N1 8EA
http://www.thebreakfastclubcafes.com

Nearest Tube: Angel

Seeking Music - Converse Represent

You ever have one of those days where something you knew nothing about just keeps popping up everywhere? That's what happened to me on my way home today when all of a sudden everything I saw was telling me about Converse Represent.



It seems that despite the ridiculous amount of Olympic themed things dominating London for the rest of the 'summer', Converse have managed to knock out a mini festivals of sorts in a venue I've been meaning to tick off my gig list, the 100 Club.

Much like the iTunes festival, it's free - so you select which artists you'd like to see, you're put into a drawing and notified if you snapped up a pair of tickets 2 weeks before the event.  I've already put in my entry so fingers crossed, but I doubt I'll be so lucky!  With artists like SBTRKT, Santigold, Django Django, Best Coast, Paul Weller etc etc, I think they'll be hard to win.

See the full lineup and enter here:

Seeking Markets - Angel and Whitechapel

*This post is about 2 months delayed due to some very bad relationship management from a sponsor.  Therefore, this post is not sponsored.* 

What happens to the streets of London that are normally filled with commuters making their way into Central London or The City on the weekend? Markets, that's what.

I finally walked through Chapel Market in Angel in my beautiful borough of Islington (I don't think I will ever live in another borough!!).  Chapel Market has beautiful fruits and veg, various bits and bobs of jewellery, shoes, clothes and...bed mattresses? It's borderline car boot sale mixed with a farmers' market and simply good for a wander. What's even better is that this is a short walk, bus or tube ride away from King's Cross.

Sometimes I get a bit sad when I walk through King's Cross or anywhere else in Central and realise that this is the only London that most tourists get to know. There is SO MUCH outside of Zone 1 to see.  When I came here as a tourist I hated London, it seemed like any other big city.  But after living here, I've discovered that there are so many mini-cities in London - it's not what a tourist sees at all.

I like to play a game when I walk/take the bus through London where I 'unlock' levels on the map (hint at my geeky gamer girl past). There's a fork in the road at King's Cross where Caledonian Road takes you North and Pentonville Road takes you North East and straight to Angel.  Once I connected those points, I realised London was a lot easier to navigate without the restrictions of the Tube map.

I later travelled on to Whitechapel to visit some friends, which required me unlocking the Angel to Old Street and Old Street/Liverpool St/Brick Lane (thanks to many a drunken night) to Whitechapel portions of the map. :)

As I normally only go there at night before heading out, I'd never seen the high street at full force. It's decorated with a massive street market in what appears to not even be London anymore save for the shiny Gherkin poking its head above the street signs.

What about you - how do you like to discover cities you visit? 

For the Londoners - which levels of the map have you unlocked? :) 

Seeking History - The Secret History of Our Streets: Caledonian Road

BBC iPlayer - The Secret History of Our Streets: Caledonian Road:

If you haven't started watching this series, please do start. I was ridiculously excited to see the history of the street that I use to commute into London every.single.day. and never realised that so much has happened on this road over the years.

Some of my favourite bits were learning about the market behind Cally station, discovering Thornhill Square and understanding just how big of an impact the rail station had to this area.

What are your thoughts on Caledonian Road - is it a 'rough' neighbourhood or just rough around the edges?

'via Blog this'

Jubilee Extravaganza Day 2 - BOATS!!

After Day 1 of Jubilee weekend, I'm surprised I even woke up on Sunday.

Watching Telly - Did you know that primetime television is on Saturday and Sunday evenings here? I don't get it, in a country that boozes so much you would think everyone would be down the pub, but this is a serious thing! As I had completely destroyed myself the day before, staying in and watching the flotilla river pageant jubilee thingy indoors was a brilliant idea. 

Yes we had freshly delivered pizza for breakfast, no we didn't change out of our PJs all day, yes many cups of tea were consumed whilst it rained all over the fools that stood outside to get a short glimpse of what we saw on BBC for 5 hours - but this level of lounging seems to be the standard for when big events are happening on your doorstep.

Without further ado, here's the best recap of that day

Oh my days, I've just linked to something from Perez...

The better part of this bit is afterwards when John Oliver flails excitedly talking about the boats and gets rained on/beans'd on/toast'd on.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Queen Who Stares at Boats - Royal Jubilee
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

On a side note, the BBC wasn't much better than CNN as far as coverage.  My favourite bit of flotilla commentary: 'Well, what some people don't realise is that driving a boat isn't like driving a car.'  

FFS.

Jubilee Extravaganza Day 1 - Field Day and Fin Fest

Since 2009, I've been lucky enough to live in London during some fairly exciting and historic events and the first weekend of June 2012 was certainly one of them.  While the world and the media set its eyes on Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee, I celebrated HRM's 60 years in the most British way possible...by doing everything BUT participate in the Jubilee.

Don't get me wrong, the boats, and Tom Jones and the processions are all very lovely, but you have to be crazy to sit through the hours of rain, hunger and anticipation just to see that - and I think most Londoners would agree.

For most of us, the Jubilee was celebrated from our homes, in a nearby pub, or even out of the UK. I however, spent the 4-day holiday weekend doing things that have come to define the British (although arguably more English) way of life for me.

Festivals - before moving to London, I rarely heard of music festivals. In Columbus, we had the free ComFest each year and that was the extent of my knowledge.  I mean I'd never even HEARD of Glastonbury.  Then I moved here and I really think there's no going back, I'm totally addicted to all things including music, in a field/park with lots of cider and at a fee.

With no Glastonbury on this year, I'm trying to find ways to replace this empty musical hole in my heart.  I started it with Camden Crawl in May and carried it on to Field Day in June. Field Day only lasts for one day so no camping required.  As I didn't take any photos, here are some tunes from the bands I did see that you should check out.









Franz Ferdinand apparently don't want us to embed their songs but here's a link.

And of course, the loves of my life, Spector:



I finished off Field Day and carried on with the festivities up North at The Finsbury just after midnight.  This place deserves a post of its own, and I will do eventually but I just want to say it is quickly becoming one of my favourite spots. They regularly have live music and on this weekend they put on their very own festival!

No clue who was playing when I came in, but they were a pretty awesome Turkish rock band.

This girl, DeLooze BLEW MY MIND. She's got a great voice, and I could really hear her + a DJ happening in the future.



Lazytalk reminded me of something circa late 90s - very entertaining bunch!

I'm not sure how it happened, but life lasted until at least 3.30am that day and I fit in two music festivals.  This, is how One celebrates a Jubilee in London.

Olympics Overload

I'm probably a bit numb to all of the Olympic and skirt-around-using-the-word-Olympic advertising who-ha going on in the Capital these days but I thought I'd share this overload.

London 2012 Olympics - Indoor Volleyball

Before the resale every bus seemed to be wrapped in Olympic ads

Olympic Bus, and another one in the background

New uber-hybrid flashy retro style London bus. Tourists will love this.

Are you heading to London for the Olympics? Sick of seeing Olympic-themed-everything? Let me know in the comments!

#NoFilter London

Very rarely do you see what London looks like for most Londoners post-7pm.   So here are a few snaps of London at night, with no instagram filter :)

Camden Crawl 2012 in photos - Saturday

Camden Town crowds

Hawley Lock, Camden Crawl garb, musicians on the High Street,  group dancing to Red Bull DJ

Starting the festival off early at the Red Bull outdoor stage

Camden Market statues

The Milk

Camden Town shops

Swiss Lips

The Futureheads

DJ Set in Camden Rock

Seeking the Southbank Centre - Cheese and Wine Festival

Now that I've been doing a better job of keeping up with my Google Reader I've had the chance to catch some cool things happening in London.

I read that London was hosting a Cheese and Wine festival over the weekend and immediately cleansed my palate so I could savour some delicious cheese and drink amazing wine.  The festival took place just outside of the Southbank Centre and appears to be part of the same festival branding as the Chocolate Festival that my bud Ashley blogged about in Brighton. Being allergic to chocolate and all meant I couldn't enjoy that festival, so I was really excited to have a few samples of cheese. I did the best I could, but unfortunately the weather got the best of us - London rain and outdoor festivals do NOT mix - even though the organiser of the event tried to stay optimistic.

Rainy London Cheese and Wine Festival

I managed to properly visit two stalls that were near and dear to my heart.  If Manchester is my 2nd home in England, then Somerset is my divorced home - you get two homes in a divorce and I've spent a decent amount of time in Wells since moving to England! On a cold and rainy London day, The Somerset Plough Man serving hot cider was a perfect pick-me-up.  We also managed to sample some 'real' cheddar according to Rob.

The Somerset Plough Man - Cider, Cheese and Chutney

Burrow Hill Cider

Just across the way, as recommended to me by fellow London lover and Queen of Underground knowledge Annie Mole, the amazing Flavours of Spain stall was serving plates of cheese to sample for £4.  While Spanish cheese isn't always something to rave about, it should be of no surprise that I spent most of my time hovering near their stall as I love all things Spain and seem to make a yearly pilgrimage to the area.  After enjoying the samples, - 1 of which was a cider cured cheese (!!?!) I went for two types of goat's cheese of varying intensities and some quince.  I have no idea where quince came from, why it exists and how it's so delicious, but man I love that stuff!

Gorgeous cheese and other things from Flavours of Spain

After waiting 30 minutes under the covered area for the rain to stop we finally gave up on trying to see more of the festival. Being cold and wet doesn't make for a happy cheese experience. To dry off, we popped inside the Southbank Centre to find a really weird mix of people enjoying the free space.

In one corner there was a group of teens with one leading the pack and playing songs on his guitar for a mass sing-a-long. In another corner, toddlers without a care in the world were rolling on the slick wooden floor and seeing how far they could slide themselves across the room. And finally, there's me and Rob, lowering the tone with our pints purchased from the bar in the area.  I'm not sure this scene would work so well in the States!