Jan's and John's Peripatetic Adventure

Tea

Last night we saw The Anniversary. It was hysterical. All the actors were great, the nasty mom particularly. We're sad because it's our last theatre visit for this trip.

Instead of dinner we had afternoon tea at The Waldorf Hilton. It was fabulous! Starting with champagne, then they bring a multilayered tray with a variety of little sandwiches: cucumber, ham, and salmon. On top are little scones and in the middle pots of clotted cream and jam. Yummy!

Then you choose your dessert (yes, I was bad again) and they serve it with your tea. It was a very pleasant hour that we will be repeating frequently in future.

Alien Dessert

Last night we dinner at Le Deuxieme, fabulous as always.

I had dessert. For those who know me, I have been struggling with my diet for the last year trying to keep off the 20 pounds I lost. But last night I went nuts and got dessert. I had the fresh fruit with sorbet. It was really wonderful and included a couple things that looked like alien pods. It turns out you don't eat the spikes, just the fruit inside and it was really quite good. The cranberries, strawberries and melon were of course divine. Ok, it wasn't chocolate but I'm not that fond of chocolate and even a few pieces of fruit with some sorbet felt like heaven.

Galactica Redux

Today we were surprised and excited to see that the first season of the new Battlestar Galatica is now out on DVD, but only here in the U.K.

It's one of our favorite shows (it's incredibly well done) and really the only current television we're interested in. So of course we went out and bought it!

Since we don't have television here, we missed the final 7 shows of the season. Now we can watch them on DVD. It seems odd that they are out here on DVD now but not in the U.S. Clueless marketing strikes again '-)

Spring Forward

This morning we woke to the surprise that the time on our computers did not match the time on our clocks. It's Daylight Saving Time in Europe... but not in the U.S. The schedules are different. But of course they are. So, we are now out of sync with California by 9 hours instead of 8 hours. Also, we will get to experience Daylight Saving Time twice; once now and then again when we get back to California on April 2, plus the traditional jet lag. Almost makes me regret giving up Paxil.

In happier news, yesterday we went to the matinee of Festen. The play itself was not as good as others we've seen recently, but the acting and the production were typically outstanding and we enjoyed it very much. Afterward we went to dinner at one of our favorites The Red Fort for yet another amazing meal.

Also in happy news, I got an amazing cd that I highly recommend. Hotel by Moby. I never really paid much attention to Moby before since I tend to avoid overly hyped major label artists. But I was curious and listened to sound samples online and loved it. They are simple, lovely songs, sung in his unobtrusive pleasant voice sometimes overdubbed into a chorus of infectious melodies. I've listened to it several times since yesterday, it's really wonderful. The bonus cd is beautiful ambient electronica in a style that had sadly disappeared, until now. I'm a new Moby fan.

Restaurant Recommendation

This evening we had dinner again at Patara in Soho.

It is officially one of our favorite restaurants, ever. The dining room is exquisitely beautiful and the food is astonishing. And, very important, the dining room is non-smoking. Although they do allow smoking in the lounge/bar in front, which does sometimes infiltrate to the dining room, it is one of the best dining environments we've experienced. Particularly this evening, the front bar was empty and so there was no smoking at all and our meal was delicious with outstanding service and beautiful surroundings. We think Patara should be on everyone's dining itinerary.

Claudius Meets Don Carlos

We just got back from seeing Don Carlos.

It starred Derek Jacobi who is a famously great actor. It was beautifully presented with a stark, minimal set and dramatic lighting. The play was really tragic and the audience was extremely attentive. Another outstanding evening at the theatre.

Really Big Robots

Today we went to the iMax to see Robots.

Even though it was not in 3-D, the iMax was fabulously huge. It is an incredible movie visually. The story was silly and the characters' voices were superstars; just like every other Hollywood blockbuster only this movie was good.

We loved it.

Samantha Meets DS9

This evening we saw "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" starring Kim Cattrall.

Her performance was incredible; no makeup and real tears. She was amazing. And we were particularly shocked and delighted when one of the other actors turned out to be Alexander Siddig who used to play Dr. Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Wow! I nearly jumped out of my seat when he walked on stage. He was also excellent. It is a truly great play and particularly timely.

He's Back to Bach

Yay, yesterday John came back from his ski trip to France. He had a great time. He's bright red and his lips are totally chapped so it must have been great skiing, n'est pas? He didn't take any photos because he said everything looked totally classic ski resort, like this

Today he photographed Daniel-Ben Pienaar for his upcoming release of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier on Magnatune. The recording is gorgeous, we're really excited about it.

Unfrozen

Summer is here!

Seriously, for the last 3 days the weather has been what we're used to in California. Sunny and in the 60's. It's hard to believe just a couple weeks ago it was freezing cold every day and sometimes snowing.

The photos below are from my semi-daily morning walk to Starbucks for my vente skinny wet latte (non-fat, no foam=skinny, wet). It's already warm enough to go without a jacket, the sky is blue and it promises to be a lovely day. It's Saturday, so the streets are particuarly empty at this early hour. In about 2 hours they will be completely packed with people and traffic. However, my favorite day is Sunday because nothing gets started until after 12:00 and the mornings are wonderfully quiet.

Pinch Me Again

Last night I went to dinner and the theatre with Doris Lessing, Margaret Drabble and her husband Michael Holroyd. As with Doris Lessing and Fay Weldon, I've been reading Margaret Drabble's books for over 30 years and enjoy them tremendously. Her latest is "The Red Queen" and is wonderful, I loved it. It was the first time I'd met Margaret and Michael. They are delightful; full of energy, intelligence and wit. I'm really happy to have had the opportunity to meet them.

We ate at one of the theatre restaurants and it was really quite good. The play was "The House of Bernarda Alba" and was extraordinary. The acting was riveting and it was impossible not to feel for the characters on the stage. Another truly memorable evening.

Phantasm Redux

Last night Larry Dreyfus, one of my favorite people and favorite musicians, rescued me again from the ennui of John's being away.

His new Phantasm cd "Four Temperaments" is out now and is truly sublime. It's available in stores everywhere and also available at Magnatune.

We had dinner at Quo Vadis, which is now officially my favorite restaurant in London. Since it was Tuesday it was quieter than usual. Elegant, exquisite, fabulous.

Was there champagne? Bien sur! Forthwith!

Jelly Belly Forthwith

Today I went to Harrod's to buy more of the pretty plastic drinking glasses we'd bought last summer and like so much.

On the left is a photo of The Egyptian Room in the center ground floor of the store, it's quite a spectacle. Actually the whole store is a spectacle and is huge. I had read there was a Jelly Belly section in the food hall so I found it. Yikes, I nearly passed out seeing all those jelly beans. I did somehow control myself and bought only the smallest bag of various flavours. As soon as I talk people always say "are you on holiday?" and I explain I'm not. (I really must work on that posh British accent forthwith.) The salesperson said that Americans complain at the price of the Jelly Bellies in London because they are very expensive. Given that most things are more expensive plus the pathetic value of the dollar, yes they are very expensive by about twice as much, I estimate. They are not exactly inexpensive in the U.S. either.

So I walked through the store munching my Jelly Bellies, looking at all the designer clothes I've never actually seen anyone wear, huge handbags I've never actually seen anyone carry (what's with all the chrome buckles?) and jewelry that would suggest an armored guard when one leaves the house.

BTW, it's important to get there early right when it opens around 10:00. It's quite empty and you can actually walk around easily. It starts filling up as the day goes on and weekends are impossible. I'm really bored while John's away and this was a very pleasant outing. Forthwith.

The 3 Valleys and Pedro

This morning, before the crack of dawn, John left for a week of skiing in France. Since I don't ski I decided to stay here in London, as always.

Today I went to the theatre with Doris and a couple of her friends. The play was Pedro, The Great Pretender. It was hilarious and was ingenious in the way the dialog sometimes rhymed.

Pictured below is Trafalgar Square (with the National Gallery in the background) which was on my way to the theatre. What a beautiful bright day it was today which was a nice change from the grey, rainy, cold it's been for weeks. Right near the theatre is the pedestrian bridge that crosses the Thames River to South Bank. And then a picture of the theatre and the actors just about to start.

Jake and Handel

Today, John started his recording project of Jacob Heringman playing 58 easy lute pieces from the Lute Society book. It's a really exciting project and John says it's sounding fabulous.

While he was doing that, I went to a press conference announcing The International Handel Festival in Gottingen, Germany. It was at Handel's actual house in Mayfair. What an historic and beautiful place it is! Nicholas McGegan of San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque is the artistic director of the festival and spoke at the press conference about it. It's always a pleasure to see him here in London and in Berkeley. Many thanks to Melanne of Avie Records for inviting me.

Dark Materials

Earlier today we had lunch at a restaurant that John had been to last week and wanted me to try. Cigala, in Bloomsbury. It is posh Spanish cuisine and was fabulous. I've added it to our list of favorite restaurants.

This evening we saw His Dark Materials, Part II, which was as incredible as Part I. The amount of detail and complexity from the books is amazing and I think the only way the plays made any sense is if you read the books. From what I heard in the audience around us, everyone had (like us) and enjoyed the plays tremendously. It is certainly the most elaborate production we've ever seen and, spread over two nights, the longest. We loved every minute of it.

Space, The Final Frontier

Today we went to the Imax Theatre which turned out to be only a 20 minute walk from our apartment across Waterloo Bridge.

We saw Space Station 3D which was a 3D film of the building of the international space station. It was absolutely incredible. The scenes of the earth from the space station were particularly astonishing, as were the scenes of the astronauts working on the station exteriors in space. All in 3D. It was one of the most amazing things we've ever seen.

Julian the Orange Dog

Today we did my favorite activity in the world, furniture shopping on Tottenham Court Road. That was sarcasm, btw.

For those of you who recall my story last summer of the difficulty in finding nice furniture; the nightmare is back. We need to furnish the new apartment since it's larger than our current flat. And I really need to get rid of those inflatable mattresses and have a real bed. We actually saw a few possibilities today.

But one possiblity I could not resist was Julian, the Orange Dog. He was in the window of Purves & Purves and he screamed my name as we went past. He really cracks me up.

A Little Dose of Zim

This evening we had dinner at the home of our friends Jane Dorner and Stephen Gottlieb.

As always, they were great fun; they are two of the most delightful people we know. The other couple there were also extremely enjoyable and the conversation lasted hours, with intelligence and lots of laughter.

Jane and Stephen's cat, Zim, is pictured here. He was friendly and let me scratch his chin and head. He sat on the top of the sofa behind us all through dinner and then later crawled into his little basket. Every cat loves their little space. Since I miss Clyde so much it was nice to have a little dose of cat. What a beauty!

Fluffy White Pretty

Ok, I love watching the snow.

Although one of the reasons we moved to California was to get away from snow, it's been nearly 10 years since we've seen any. And since it doesn't accummulate here enough to really be a problem, it is enjoyable. However, it's also much colder than we've dealt with for 10 years so that's the down side.

I think London drivers panic at the sign of one snowflake just like drivers everywhere but since we don't drive, we don't mind. Oooo, pretty!

Fresh Air

Something has changed.

At every single posh restaurant we've been to this time, no one has smoked. This evening we dined for the first time at the lovely Le Cafe Du Jardin. It was beautiful with an exquisite menu and excellent service. And, although it was full, no one smoked.

The smoking ban isn't expected to go into effect for a few years but it appears something has changed in people's attitude. In most of the restaurants in which we've had lunch and dinner no one has been smoking, even though there is not an official no-smoking policy in that particular restaurant. This is an exciting development and has made dining out extremely enjoyable. The difference is clear, it has happened over and over again. London's fresh restaurant air is a delight.

To The Manor Born Again

When I read that Penelope Keith was starring in a play I just had to go, I adore her.

She was in the BBC tv show "To The Manor Born" that was on PBS in the U.S. around 1980. I loved it and Penelope Keith, in particular, really cracked me up. It also starred Peter Bowles who we saw on stage last summer.

The play she's in is a revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit at the Savoy Theatre. It was fabulous. Penelope Keith was completely wonderful as was the play itself. The other actors were also marvelous. It was an old fashioned comedy and we loved it.

Of course John had never heard of Penelope Keith before, so I'm going to rent the DVD of "To The Manor Born" so I can laugh all over again and he can see why I was so excited to see her on stage.

The Golden Compass

Last night we were stunned again at the theater: His Dark Materials, Part I.

Based on Philip Pullman's fabulous trilogy, it is incredibly faithful to the books. And a visual spectacle, we've never seen anything like it. Stages rotating in different directions, towers or entire sets rising up out of nowhere, everyone's "daemon" portrayed by a puppeteer, armoured bears; it was amazing.

And this was only Part I. We're going to Part II next week. If you haven't read the books John and I both highly recommend them.

We were joined by Anthony Baylis, who made the bow for John's gamba. Anthony lives in Cambridge and he and John really hit it off when John met him last summer, as he likes to read philosophy and children's books. He is charming and delightful and made the evening even more fun.

Today we had lunch with our friend Ramsay Wood at a lovely little local cafe called Canela. Then the three of us went to the Turks exhibit at the Royal Academy of Art. It is gorgeous.