We are just going back for a couple of months and then will be returning to London for more adventures. I will probably not be posting to the blog from Calfornia (life there is peaceful and very dull compared to London) but will resume once we return to London in November. After all, I have to document all that amazing theatre and those fabulous restaurants for posterity. '-)
I am experiencing an emotion that I don't have a name for. I'm very homesick for Berkeley and really want to go back. But I love it here in London and feel really sad that we're leaving. Knowing that we're coming back, and have a place to live, does make it easier.
Thanks to everyone who read the blog and to those who sent me such nice messages. I didn't expect to hear from complete strangers when I started the blog and it was an enjoyable bonus.
But it was no ordinary production, it takes place in contemporary India. It was an incredible performance, we loved it. We went with Doris Lessing, Lisa Alther and Martin, a long-time friend of Doris'.
The five of us had a fabulous dinner before the play at a wonderful restaurant right next to the theatre, J. Sheekey.
A truly memorable evening.
Tonight, we are going to dinner at Lisa Alther's house. The whole new-found-friends group will be there and we're going to miss them terribly when we leave tomorrow to go back to Berkeley, California. Next week Lisa is going back to Tennessee and we're hoping to keep in touch.
Meeting such interesting and nice people on our first live-in-London excursion was a lucky and amazing experience.
Last night we had a lovely farewell dinner with our friends Melanne and Simon from Avie Records.
We ate at Hardy's, a restaurant in Marylebone. It was fabulous! It's small and cozy and the food was exquisite; better than many of the restaurants we've been to in Covent Garden. Definitely a destination.
There were many dinosaurs which were fantastic. We went through the whole museum and saw fossils, skeletons of lots of extinct species, whales, minerals, info about volcanoes; it was an excellent museum.
Except for the screaming children. Remind me not to be in London in August, ever. It's one of the reasons everything is packed. The children are off from school (I believe school should be year-round) and Europeans are on vacation. Hopefully things will be quieter and more accessible in the autumn.
Here are photos of the escalator in the Earth Galleries, a really nice additional space attached to the museum. It goes up into this stylised Earth sculpture with music and lights; it's quite a spectacle. There is a QuickTime panorama if you click on the Earth Galleries link. Everything is incredibly nicely done.
It was fabulous. The songs, the singing, the dancing, the set; it was wonderful. The orchestra was cleverly hidden inside the upper level of the boat and you didn't see them until it rotated during the show. Both the top and bottom of the boat rotated to create different sets, it was de-lovely.
Yes, it's my 51st birthday. No one is more shocked than I am.
We had lunch with Ramsay Wood, who I met at Doris Lessing's party and enjoyed very much. He brought along his friend, Peter Davies and we had a great time. We met at the Poetry Cafe, right near us in Covent Garden and then went to lunch at Goodfellas Delicatessen in Bloomsbury, a fabulous sandwich shop. Bloomsbury is amazingly quiet compared with Covent Garden and I see us perhaps living there in the future. Still near to the theatre but not completely insane.
Speaking of theatre, tonight we're going to see Anything Goes, a jolly musical filled with famous songs. It's a birthday treat!
Later in the afternoon there was a brief rainstorm, heavier than usual. At the time, I took a look at my webcam in California and got the view below. Hmmm. I'm sad about leaving London on Friday but seeing California on my webcam does make me homesick. Of course, once we're back in Berkeley I know I'll be homesick then for London, but without the rain. '-)
It is an amazingly great collection. It's one of the largest secular collections I've seen with more portraits and renaissance landscapes and fewer loonie christian extravaganzas (although there are plenty for those). And the store is fabulous; you can get a print-on-demand of any painting in the gallery.
This was not our first visit, we've both been here before. It's one of those museums that is worth visiting many times, it's that fabuous. We liked the several paintings which included musical instruments, many with lutes. Apparently, even angels played the lute.
Yes, the sky is cloudy. It was sunny when we went into the gallery and looked like this when we came out. Welcome to London weather which changes from one minute to the next. Like politics.
Today's fabulous dinner: Zizzi - a chain but with a lovely decor and delicious food. Not every meal needs to be an extravaganza; simple is also fabulous.
We really didn't do anything today. We stayed in and read our books and watched Farscape on dvd. Dinner was the event of the day. We went to Quo Vadis in Soho. High class indeed. Not only was the decor and service exquisite but it is some of the best food we've had in London, if not the best.
And we had a bottle of Bolly, the favorite of Ab Fab's Eddy and Patsy. It was fabulous!
This morning we went to the Tate Modern gallery. To get there you walk over The Millenium Bridge, the pedestrian bridge that swayed so much when they opened it that they had to close it. John assured me it's been fixed so I made it across in spite of my fear of water and high spaces.
The museum is astonishing architecturally; an amazing use of space. However, the art. Well, you know, modern art. There were some really great works, particularly the sculpture, and many famous artists. And then there were things like a piece of string hanging in a glass case titled "A Piece of String". A work of genius, I'm sure.
The acting was extraordinary. We were in the second row and seeing Jeremy Northam, Helen McCrory and Gina McKee in such an intimate theatre setting was an amazing experience.
Days like today remind me of why we decided to live in London.
I uploaded the photos John took of his trip to Mont Blanc, click here.
They are not color corrected because I don't have Photoshop here. But the Sony Clie takes surprisingly good low-resolution pictures and it's so easy to use.
It's great having him back. He took some spectacular photographs which I will put up on my web site asap. He had a fabulous time and it looks amazing.
As always, he brought me a fabulous present. Edouard can join my London toy collection with Petal the Sprite, Bang-on-the-Door Cat, Harrod's Bear and Willie the Mouse. It's getting crowded in here.
Yesterday I finally got hold of the right kind of Robitussen and it actually helped my cough. Unfortunately, the bottle is so small I have to go get more today. And the sun is shining, yay!
This morning it's raining even harder than yesterday. I may have to venture out at some point to get a different Robitussin since the one I got yesterday isn't doing anything. I need a cough suppresant, not a chesty-make-your-cough-more-productive syrup. Or I'll just lay on the sofa and cough all day, who knows.
I need to stop coughing by Thursday because we're going to the theatre and I don't want to be that audience member who coughs the whole time and pisses everyone off. If I'm not better I'll have to miss it but John can go anyway. And I'll go to lunch, I can still eat and cough at the same time.
I wanted to see how wet is it elsewhere so I found these great webcams. The 24 hour time-lapse is particuarly fun.
John is coming back tonight! I can't wait. Then we can both have cabin fever.
It's so dark I had to turn the lights on in the apartment. But I did make it out for my daily Starbucks. I missed yesterday's Starbucks because I'm sick again. I can't stop coughing and it's beyond annoying. Cough...
One of my rants about the U.K. is the lack of choices in pharmaceuticals. There was only one kind of cough syrup at Boots, the drugstore monopoly. Not only was it revolting but it didn't work. Finally, I found out if you ask at the counter they have Robitussin, so we'll see if that works. Cough, cough...
So, I'm staying in today, typing the cd's we've bought into our database and listening to the ongoing contruction at the Diesel store across the street. I really can't figure out what all the fuss is about. These clothing stores are full of ugly crap and the street is packed with people shopping. Shopping for ugly crap? Now that I think about it, I don't see them carrying shopping bags, just wandering around. Cough, cough.
Most importantly, I'm listening to the most sublime recording ever created. Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610 is one of my favorite works of music ever and this recording is incredible. Also included is Francesco Cavalli's Vespers, which is also astonishing. It has done wonders to chear me up. It's an incredibly beautiful, inexpensive, box set (4 cd's). Go get it. Cough.
In other news: an unnamed source tells me that Patrick Stewart is attending the play at the Donmar Theatre tonight, where we will be going on Thursday. OMG! I suppose hanging around the front door coughing hoping to throw myself at him isn't really a good idea. And besides, even though Star Trek: The Next Generation is my favorite tv show ever, Nemesis stunk. Cough, cough, cough, cough...
So, how was the party? Great. And I actually found some pinot noir on my way there while walking from the tube station to Doris' house, at a store called Odd Bins. They had a zillion kinds of wine and some of it was really good quality.
At the party was American author Lisa Alther, who wrote the famous 1976 book Kinflicks which I actually read in 1976. It was an amazing opportunity to meet her. She is extremely nice, highly intelligent and a fun person! The other guests at the party were all variations of charming and intelligent. Doris is an energetic and delightful hostess. It was a wonderful evening; one to remember most definitely.
In other news:
For those who have been asking how did the Ikea furniture turn out, here it is. John did a great job! Normally I would help but it was when I was really sick so he did it alone.
I coughed out a few assembly suggestions when the diagrams didn't really match the parts available. It still took him 2 days, yikes. But the wardrobes, his and hers, are really nice and actually hold all our clothes with room to spare! You can also see the small blue chest of drawers there in the bedroom. Adorable.
What to take? I decided I would take red wine, preferably Pinot Noir, my favorite. Nope. No such thing in London. If there is, none of the stores I've ever been in have it. So I got some red Zinfandel which claims to be from California but I have my doubts.
The biggest problem with living in Central London (besides the noise, crowds and bizarre lack of extension cords) is grocery shopping. There are huge supermarkets in various distant areas but none in WC2 or there about. The first chain that does open a supermarket here is going to make a fortune.
The store we go to most often is the Tesco Metro, pictured here. It is a pathetic little store, with few choices and even those are not particularly appealing. The only other choice is Sainsbury's, another maniacal chain, which is further away and also pathetic but at least they have Diet Coke Vanilla. Marks & Spencer nearby is good for toilet paper and milk and stuff like that but not much else. They only carry their own name brand of things so they don't even have Coke.
How do people living in Central London buy their groceries? Delivered is the advice from one friend of ours so we'll have to give that a try even though every deliveryman complains when he finds out he has to deliver in Covent Garden.
One secret I discovered is: shop early. I was home by 10:15 this morning and it was a breeze. Things don't really get started here until 11:30, after which it becomes more chaotic as the day goes on. So for shopping I do as much as I can before 11:00 and it makes a big difference. Even the it's-so-insane-I-hate-going-there Oxford Street is almost ok in the mornings.
In other news: I won't be hearing from John tonight because they are going from Italy to Switzerland, an 11.5 mile hike, and he expects to be exhausted when they get in. Duh. Now I'm really glad I didn't go. Also, take a look at the Hotel du Glacier in Campex-Lac, Switzerland, where they are staying. Not exactly posh. Now I'm really really glad I didn't go.
Life without John isn't as pathetic as I'd imagined.
This morning I went out for my Pret-A-Manger food excursion and wanted to take a photo for the blog. I discovered my Sony Clie had run out of power which seemed odd because I've left it turned off.
Anyway, I decided "hey, I've seen John shop for technology, how hard can it be?" so I went up the insane Tottenham Court Road to the electronics stores and kept asking until I found one that had the cable I needed.
And it worked! So, later today I will take some photos of Starbucks and Pret-A-Manger for the blog, to immortalise my ability to find food and acquire technology. John will be so proud.
Update:
Here are the photos I took a few minutes ago (around 3 pm), within 3 blocks of the apartment on Long Acre.
On the left is the pub at the corner near our apartment, which spills out into the courtyard most evenings and, apparently, at 3 in the afternoon as well. Don't these people have to go to work? On the right is the Covent Garden Tube station which is always very busy.
Here is Starbucks (where I go every morning) and Pret-A-Manger which is next to Le Deuxieme, one of our favorite fabulous restaurants.
It's really a beautiful day for taking photos. The sky is actually blue. Cheers!
So, I waited here for 2 days and Sky never showed up.
Today at 5:15 I called them and cancelled. So, can I live without television? Sure. All I really wanted was the Sci Fi Channel but it turns out that Sci Fi UK shows completely different stuff than the one in the U.S. Stuff I'm not interested in. Old stuff, not new stuff. No Farscape?! Now that's just wrong.
And I can get BBC Radio over the internet. Jolly good.
In other news: John called and is having a fabulous time. He's currently in Courmayeur, Italy for 2 days and then to Switzerland for more... (shreek) hiking.
Last night, I was rescued from ennui by Larry Dreyfus of Phantasm, a Magnatune artist. He called since he would be going to France on Friday and wanted to get together before he left. Excellent idea.
We went to Dial Bar at Seven Dials, a couple blocks away. It's a very nice place to drink and have a conversation. They were particularly nice when we complained that our champagne was room temperature and replaced it with nicely chilled bubbly.
Larry is so much fun, it's great knowing him. While here at the flat he played John's new viola da gamba and gave it his stamp of approval. He is an extraordinary musician and John and I are so pleased with the reviews of Phantasm's new cd which we executive produced. It's also available at Magnatune so go buy it.
I don't really watch much television beyond the Sci-Fi Channel, but I still like to have it around just in case. I'm particularly excited about having the BBC, especially BBC radio. It seems like it's awesome with things like Dufay being the composer of the week. Wow.
While John is away I bought the 10-disc set of all the Star Trek movies on DVD. They are fabulous. Even the bad ones are good when you haven't seen them in a couple years.
And I discovered I can use my Sony Clie to take photos. I just can't recharge it until John gets back. Now my cellphone really is completely useless.
Update:
After I waited all day, Sky called to say they couldn't make it and rescheduled for tomorrow. Yikes. How much Star Trek can I watch? Thankfully, a lot!
Wives worry and, as those of you who know me are aware, I worry more than most people about mostly everything. So, last night he called from the hotel in Chamonix. The reason he hadn't called yet was because his new super-duper, futuristic, video, cellphone doesn't work in France! Of course it doesn't; welcome to the future.
First of all, you have to "activate roaming" before you leave so that your phone will work in Europe. How we were supposed to know that I have no idea. I should have been suspicious when the bottom-of-the-darwin-ladder guy at the cellphone store answered yes to all our questions about it working in Europe. He could have told us we needed to activate it but, then again, he is at the bottom of the darwin ladder.
Secondly, video is only available on this network. In the U.K. Not on other roaming networks in Europe. So even if his cellphone did work, video would not. What's that you say? It was the reason we got these particular phones in the first place? You are a correct. Welcome to the future, it's been cancelled.
At first I was really upset about all this but now I'm just laughing at the absurdity of it all. John has to call the cellphone company from France to get his roaming activated so he can make non-video calls to me. Actually, it's so expensive that he probably should just use the hotel phone.
Oh! And how is John doing? He loves it. There are only 9 people in the group and one of the leaders is Philip, who we had as a leader on our trip to Switzerland last year. A wonderful coincidence. He is an incredibly nice guy and an excellent guide, so John is really happy. John said that this is one of Backroads most difficult hikes, so we're both glad I didn't go. It sounds incredibly beautiful and an awful lot of hiking. He's going to have the time of his life and, even though I miss him, I couldn't be more happy for him. Worrying cancelled!
Today I figured out how to mail a letter, or rather, how to post a letter.
The Royal Mail has Post Offices that are very much like stores, rather than the run-down government holes like they are in the U.S.
The queue is nicely organised: a voice from the ceiling calls out the customer service window number that is now available. Much nicer than taking a number and waiting for the U.S. postal worker to shout it out. And much less discouraging than taking number 397 and they've only just called out number 356.
I chose the one near Trafalgar since it seems nicer than the one on High Holborn. The line was certainly shorter. In the photo on the right, that is the National Portrait Gallery at the end of the street. You can't really tell because of the crappy photo quality my phone takes.
I can't use my Sony Clie to take photos because John took the sync base with him to keep his Clie charged so he can take photos in Switzerland. So I'm using my cellphone to take photos. It does video on phone calls but takes terrible still pictures. Of course it does; welcome to the future.
So, now I can do things like mail the rent check, pay for John's viola da gamba bow and send a letter to the only person I know in the U.S. who doesn't have internet access.
Then I went to Rymans for office supplies, and Foyles to look for a book on Logic music software, which they didn't have. That's one to get back in Berkeley so I can devote all my time to learning the software and start making new music using it. So far it plays the demos fine but not anything I do. Of course it does; welcome to the future.
Today's self-acquired fabulous lunch: tuna nicoise wrap from Pret-A-Manger.
Dinner: Hmmm... strawberry & almond crunch cereal - just like the old days
John just emailed me this photo from the train station and since Disneyland is also on the schedule I thought he might have trouble making up his mind. He's taking the train to Paris and then to Annecy for his 10 day trip in Switzerland. I'm going to miss him terribly but I'm not for "epic walking" in the alps a second time; once last year was enough for me. But not for John; he's very excited and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful trip.
Meanwhile, life without John is always difficult. Most of all it's boring. But, also, food is a problem. John provides all my food. Yes, I used to be single and fed myself once-upon-a-time but after 10 years of being fed by John I'm not much good at it anymore.
Since I've gotten myself down to a record-breaking but shocking 128 lbs. (I was 148 lbs in April) I think it would be best if I eat more rather than less. There are a plethora of nice eating choices and I plan to use them all. Places like EAT., Pret-a-Manger and Marks & Spencer all provide "already made for you" food that I can just bring home. Also, John gets many of our dinners from Carluccio's. Even I can do that.
Jan Hanford Buckman
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ABOUT We're Americans living in California and London, just for the hell of it.
London, London blog, Jan Hanford, John Buckman, Jan Buckman, London restaurants, London theatre, living in London, Americans living in London, Americans in London, Expats living in London, Covent Garden, San Francisco, Marin, California, Magnatune, BookMooch
Sadly, today we leave London to go back to Berkeley, California.
Today, we had lunch with 
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