Jan's and John's Peripatetic Adventure

Le Wacky Weather

We're in London, continues...

Yesterday we had lunch with one of our favorite peeps, Jayme. She brought along baby-any-minute-now, mostly because she didn't have a choice '-) We went to Wahaca because Jayme hadn't been yet. She loved it, yay. We think it's ironic that the best Mexican food we've ever had is in a restaurant in London. It is very popular so we always go at noon to beat the rush. We have never been able to get into dinner because it's always packed. We're hoping the restaurant is a huge success so they open more of them and then maybe we'll be able to get in for dinner.

The London heat wave appears to have subsided for now. After temperatures in the 80's it is 52 this morning and, as you can see, the forecast is chilly and wet. Frankly, as much as I hate chilly and wet, it's nice to have a change. When I looked at the forecast earlier in the week I saw they were predicting a high of 101 today for the house on the mountain. Ok, here's the thing: one of the reasons we moved to Marin is because Berkeley was too chilly most of the time. But 101 is not what we signed up for. The City of San Rafael web site is really impressive, and includes daily temperatures, etc. so I'll be keeping an eye on it out of curiosity. Teresa went to collect our mail yesterday and confirmed that "it's hot!" Hopefully it's also heating up the pool for when we get back in June because I want to spend the summer in the pool.

The bad news is that it looks like the weather in Cannes is going to suck. Of course, the forecast keeps changing so I've got my fingers crossed that it doesn't actually pour rain the entire time we are there. The Iron Sky/Wreck A Movie guys are already there and are video blogging. They are hilarious, we're really looking forward to hanging out with them. I am finally going to meet Emperor Pirk. Hey, Timo, please start chilling the champagne, we'll be there tomorrow! With our umbrellas.

Let'sh Shave The World

We're in London, continues...

Yes, it's all about the food and when we're in London we eat out every night. I'm sorry! (Not really.)

First of all, yesterday morning while I was building furniture for my new house in Second Life (if anyone wonders how I waste spend my time, that's one clue and it's great fun), I heard a loud roaring sound coming from the sky. But this was no ordinary jet sound, it was very loud and surprisinly close by. I went over to the skylight and saw what is in these photos. Three different jets were circling central London at low altitude. I've seen a few jets flying low over central London recently and it is a little freaky. If this were New York City it would be panic time. In fact, if this were New York City they would have hit something for sure. I don't think they are passenger jets in a holding pattern waiting for clearance to land at Heathrow. What are they doing? We'll never know.

Whatever, it's time for another sumptuous dinner. We are doing less restaurant exploration than last time and are going to our old favorites a lot. Last night was The Red Fort. In keeping with our lite eating plan we chose small dishes, nothing with sauce, no naan (damn!) and no rice. But we did have a bottle of Bollinger. I think the smaller portions and lack of bread and rice made us get more drunk than usual which is kind of odd but not unpleasant. By the end of the meal I couldn't feel my face and was cheerfully planning the salvation of humanity. Yes, drunk Jan wants to save the world. But by the next day I have forgotten all my ingenious plans to convince people be nice to each other, I really must start writing them down. Nah.

While walking home I decided we were way too tipsy and suggested stopping for dessert and coffee at The Covent Garden Hotel. It is such a lovely, casual place to go for a serious or lite meal, or just hang out. It was a little busy but not full and there were many tables available. We have both been very good managing our weight and deserved a little reward. John had the apple crumble and I had the lemon tart and we both had lattes. A perfect yummy ending to a lovely evening.

Spotted at The Ivy

We're in London, continues...

Yesterday, we had lunch at the impossible-to-get-into-for-dinner-but-lunch-is-possible-if-you-book-far-enough-ahead The Ivy. They have made some progress on the exterior refurbishment since we were there the last time. Looks nice. (They need to fix the clock, it was 12:10 not 10:10 '-)

Once again, the interior was lovely, I really enjoy going there. And the food was once again magnificent. We had champagne and I also broke my diet of only one course and had a starter and a main (butternut squash and almond soup with sprinkled blue cheese followed by shepherd's pie). John had an asparagus starter followed by seabream. It was exquisite.

The restaurant was mostly empty when we got there, hence our ability to get a reservation, and started to fill up as the hour progressed. I sat facing the door just on the off chance a celebrity walked in. We didn't see any celebrities the last time so I wasn't optimistic. Then. OMFG! Stephen Fry walked in.

I exclaimed (discretely) to John, "OMG, it's Stephen Fry. Turn around right now or you will miss him." John turned around and got a good glimpse before they ushered him to a table in the corner. Wow!

Ok, here's the thing: Stephen Fry is actually the only celebrity John is interested in. The both of us don't have a clue about most celebrities. John has less of a clue than I do but I only know who a few of them are from reading the wacky celebrity gossip blogs.

So I think it is wonderful and hilarious that the only celebrity we really wanted to see walked into The Ivy. We both adore Stephen Fry. He sat in a far corner so we could not see him from where we were sitting. That's a good thing. Staring would have been a very very bad idea. When we left, we got a good look at him (from across the entire room) and he was talking animatedly with his lunch companions. Very, very cool.

The Gherkin, The Makeover and Dinner

We're in London, continues...

Yesterday John decided to take a long walk to Spitalfields. I declined this time. After two long walks in a row, I've had enough for a while and am taking a break.

Sunday morning is a great time to walk through London because it's empty. He walked down Fleet Street and took some fabulous photos for me of The Gherkin (aka The Rocket Building in janspeak). He also took some photos of the Leadenhall building demolition which is pretty strange looking. The finished building is going to be spectacular.

While John was walking to Spitalfields Mary and Eliza took me shopping for makeup. An historic event! I haven't worn makeup since 1994. Mostly because John hates it but also because I think makeup is bullshit. I think women should spend their money on therapy to fix their bad self-image problems instead of buying astonishingly expensive cosmetics to make themselves look "natural" which they never do. But that's just my opinion, yea, yea, I know. Whatever.

So, I drank some of the koolaid because I'm going to the Cannes Film Festival later this week and decided I didn't want to look like a bean sprout from California and a little makeup would be appropriate. (I've had a lot of therapy but apparently not enough. Koolaid, mmmm, yummy.)

Mary and Eliza (and Kirsty) recommended a shop called Benefit, so Mary and Eliza took me there yesterday. It was very nice. Of course I was completely overwhelmed by the multitude of products but Mary, Eliza and the salesgirl were very helpful. Actually, the salesgirl was terrific and picked some nice colors, not too heavy, and made me look pretty good for my advanced age of 54 nearly 55. I bought a pile of stuff and Mary will have to show me how to put it on because I don't have a clue. Thank you, Mary and Eliza, for my makeup excursion, I really appreciate you two!

In the evening John and I went to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon for dinner. No reservation, on Sunday you can just walk in. We ate downstairs this time because I find it more casual. It was completely spectacular, as always. The champagne was particularly amazing.

We noticed some other people taking photos so I decided I wanted some too. One of the staff noticed us taking photos of ourselves and kindly offered to take a photo of us which came out really well, I'm so pleased to have a photo of us together. Afterward we noticed him in the kitchen and we think he's the chef. Mon Dieux!

Wild Honey Dinner

We're in London, continues...

Last night we had dinner with our friends Claire and Dan at a restaurant none of us have been to before, Wild Honey.

First of all, it is always a delight to spend time with Claire and Dan, they are fabulous. Claire also very kindly keeps my harpsichord tuned while I'm in California and I am incredibly grateful. They are really fun company and we have dinner with them as often as our schedules allow.

The restaurant was wonderful and I am putting it on our list of favorites. Everything about it was perfect. The decor: lovely. The cuisine: exquisite. The service: outstanding. We went through three bottles of pink champagne so that tells you how much we enjoyed the meal and the restaurant '-)

Oops, you caught me. I had dessert. I cannot resist an Isle Flotante and this one was particularly incredible. I gained a pound but I am way less crabby and that's a good thing.

The Ultimate Market

We're in London, continues...

After our long but gorgeous walk in the surprising heat, we arrived at Borough Market. We were parched so John got some water and I got a wine/fruit/sangria drink which was devastatingly yummy. The market is insane and incredible. It is the most amazing market I've ever seen.

We weaved our way through the packed crowd, John had a food destination. OMG. He bought the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich I have ever had in my life. We split one, because we're eating lite, and it was incredible. I could have eaten five of them it was so astonishing. But half a grilled cheese sandwich really hit the spot and I feel less crabby already. However, half a grilled cheese sandwich was not enough for John so we wandered around the market and then he got a chicken pasty. I adore pasties but I refrained. Damn.

Although I have trouble dealing with that kind of crowd, I really enjoyed Borough Market and would definitely go again. I might even get a whole grilled cheese sandwich some time. Maybe two.

Walking To Borough Market

We're in London, continues...

Yesterday John said he was going to walk to Borough Market for lunch. I said I would go with him, partly to see his head spin around on his shoulders again from my offering to go for another very long walk. Also, I have never been to Borough Market and really wanted to see it finally. And I wanted lunch. All very good reasons.

We walked across Waterloo Bridge and then on the South Bank to the market. It was a fantastic walk along the Thames. It was also a very hot day. Naysayers may claim there is no global warming but 85 degrees in early May in London is completely freaky.

Here are the photos from our walk to and from the market. Gorgeous. Our visit to the market is next.

Which Side Are We On?

On our way home across Waterloo Bridge I noticed there were some protesters along the Embankment at Somerset House. It was hard to tell what they were protesting about specifically but I saw the word "war" on a few of the signs they were carrying so I assume they were protesting about the Iraq war. No one was paying any attention to them, they were their own audience. As usual. Then I saw the two spectators standing on the bridge in the photo below. I'm not sure what I think about that but I know what I think about this.

Movie Night

We're in London, continues...

Last night we went to Jayme's and Tyler's house for movie night. We walked.

Yes, walked!

From Covent Garden to Chalk Farm. Whew! I'm exhausted. Why did we walk? Well, first of all John loves to walk everywhere and often does, including walking to Hampstead. Hence, he is way more familiar with the layout of London, where things are, and how to get there, than I am. Second, I hate The Tube. It is amazingly convenient and goes everywhere but is so unpleasant (very hot and crowded) that I don't want to take it anymore. Also, because of all the construction around central London, it's very difficult for taxis to get anywhere in anything close to timely. John's head spun around on his shoulders when I suggested we walk because it is so unlike me. I'm glad to know that I can still surprise him after all these years.

As you can see on the map it is a straight line from Covent Garden to Chalk Farm. The walk was very interesting and I enjoyed seeing parts of London I haven't seen before. I took many photos, as usual. Note the crowd in the first photo of Neal Street. If anyone thought the London smoking ban was going to hurt pubs it looks like they were wrong. That is what it looks like outside every pub in central London. It's completely packed and nuts. And, no, everyone isn't standing outside because they are the smokers (well, most of them are but that's a different problem), it looked like that before the ban. They are standing outside because summer has arrived in London. Seriously, it was 80 today. Gorgeous.

We walked up to Tottenham Court Road and then just kept on walking for 3 and a half miles. It was really fun but I was pretty exhausted by the time we got to Jayme's and Tyler's house, especially because of the heat. It was very interesting to walk past/through the areas that I have been hearing on The Tube for years: "The next station is Mornington Crescent." WTF is Morning Crescent? Well now I know.

I have never been to Camden Town so I was excited to see it at last. It's wild and crazy, with zillions of shops. Many shops have clever large 3D sculptures sticking out the front of them as you can see in the photos and they are so cute. I love the giant chair. We passed the block that had the bad fire a few months ago.

We got to Jayme and Tyler's house a little late but were not the last to arrive so the movie hadn't started yet and everyone was playing Mario Kart Wii. There is the very pregnant Jayme driving the Wii. LOL. The view from their window is really neat, you can clearly see The Gherkin, which I called The Rocket Building when we first moved to London (I was such a newbie).

The movie was Transformers but the purpose of the evening was to watch the film while playing the Rifftrax commentary by the guys who used to do Mystery Science Theatre 3000. It was hilarious. Shhh, it's a secret, but John and I actually enjoyed "Transformers." Yea, I know. But the special effects are amazing and we thought that all the built-in jokes that basically made fun of itself were hilarious. The commentary from Rifftrax was clever and fun and it made for a very enjoyable movie night.

Afterward, we had hoped to find a taxi but none passed us so we just took the Tube. And I'm glad we did because when we emerged from the Leicester Square station the traffic was bumper-to-bumper and nothing was moving for blocks around. Gridlock at midnight. Yikes.

Thank you, Jayme and Tyler, for a super-fun evening!

Digging Redux aka Let's Dig It Up Again!

We're in London, continues...

One of the questions our friends asked us when we got back to London is whether the construction on our street is done. The answer is: yea, but no, but yea, but...

When we arrived, the water mains replacement work on our street was finished and traffic was moving once again. But the next day we noticed that traffic was not moving. The street was blocked off. They had made no progress on the sidewalk widening project while we were away and have apparently decided to start it up again. Now. Of course.

It looks like they are widening the sidewalk on both sides, or on one of the sides they are putting in a bike lane. Yesterday, they started digging up the actual street which looks like they are planning to resurface it. Or not. We won't know until they get around to doing it which will be... in... er... eventually. I really believe they could have done the various projects at the same time, rather than digging it all up multiple times. But they didn't '-)

Yesterday, when we turned the corner we discovered the next street over is also having its sidewalk widened (now that is a great idea, it really really needs it). Lots of other streets are in various stages of being worked on and the chaos is quite impressive. In the taxi on our way home from Paddington last week the driver told us that it is more impossible than ever to drive around London because of all the construction. Everywhere we go the street is being dug up. I think it's mostly the desperately needed Victorian water mains replacement but there is a lot else going on, as well. I miss the mountain '-)

My favorite photo is the one with the two large trowels and a couple of tires. Did they dig up those tires? Did the tires fall off one of their machines? Have they been laying there since 1955? We'll never know.

Eating Lite. Still.

We're in London, continues...

Last night we went out for a casual dinner at one of our favorite London restaurants, Kobe London, which has now changed its name to Hakuba. We're a little confused that they changed their name again, and that there is a job posting for a new chef in the window. Is the restaurant going to stay fabulous? We hope so.

Last night it was very good, although my beef was a bit overdone. It was all still scrumptious. And a bottle of Bollinger made it all the more perfect.

Our plan of eating lite is working, I've lost three pounds since getting to London. Having just one reasonably sized main course, or two small starters, for dinner has done the trick. And no dessert and no bread. I miss the bread but I know it's evil. And no snacking, particularly jelly beans. That's the toughest. I'm very very crabby so John made funny faces while I took photos of him to cheer me up and it worked '-)

They're Back

We're in London, continues...

Yesterday was the release of the teaser for the upcoming film Iron Sky, made by the guys who did the amazing Star Wreck.

John and I had met some of the team when we were in Finland. And then some of them came to visit us in London last year. John is chairman of their new company Wreck a Movie and we are both excited to be involved in their new film, Iron Sky.

The premise is that in 1945 the Nazis left Earth and colonized the dark side of the moon. In 2018 they're coming back. Hilarious! The effects are amazing, I just love the saucers. Here it is:

The Connected Lunch

We're in London, continues...

Yesterday Kirsty was in London after performing the night before (at 1:30 a.m. so I couldn't go unfortunately). It's so great to finally spend time together. We went to lunch at our usual place, the Covent Garden Hotel. We both had the tuna because we're both trying to eat lighter and healthier. It was scrumptious. And pink champagne, of course. We didn't see any famous people this time, dammit. Oh wait, Kirsty was there! '-) Her cleavage was so scary that I told her to be careful not to lose a bread roll down there. LOL.

After lunch we went back to my house and spent the afternoon working on Kirsty's new island "Connected" in Second Life. Yes, Kirsty took the plunge and bought an island and put it right next to mine, so now we're neighbors, yay! Our other Real Life friends, Mark Loverush in London and Mary from the U.S (damn, I don't have a photo of her), live on the island too so it will be great to have all the SL and RL friends together. Oh! And Anji Bee from Lovespirals lives there too. Fabulous.

It was a hilarious afternoon, with me at my computer and Kirsty sitting next to me at John's computer, and both of us in Second Life. Since I've had two islands for over a year now, I showed her the shortcuts on terraforming and how to change the ground textures so she has lush, green grass.

We were afraid Mark's "Loverush UK! Digital" zeppelin might be a bit of an eyesore but I actually enjoy seeing it when I look across from my island. It reminds me of what talented and amazing friends I have in Real Life and Second Life and how much fun it's going to be having them as virtual neighbors. I just know Kirsty's parties are going to be more fun than ever.

The Well-Tempered Afternoon

We're in London, continues...

Yesterday afternoon we went to a concert at The Royal Festival Hall by one of my favorite pianists ever, Angela Hewitt playing J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2. OMFG!

She was amazing. I have all her cd's and have admired her for many years. In fact, of my three favorite pianists currently recording the Beethoven Sonatas (Andras Schiff, Mitsuko Uchida, Angela Hewitt), hers is my favorite. Her J.S. Bach is extraordinary and her Couperin is amazing and, wait, all her recordings are fabulous so go get them.

Our friend Mary invited us to the concert but then had to travel (wah) so Eliza, John and I went. It is so fun going to the Royal Festival Hall which is just a 15 minute walk from our house over Waterloo Bridge.

The concert: Wow! There were many spine-tingling moments. As all my friends know, I am a Bach fanatic (e.g. the wall-o-Bach). To hear the Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2 live is an awesome experience and Angela Hewitt was astonishing. I was amazed that she played it all from memory. Super-wow! The amount of energy it took to perform the whole thing is impressive and her nuanced interpretation was exquisite. I was verklempt many times throughout her performance.

Mary had told me that she would arrange for me to meet Angela Hewitt after the concert. What? Meet her? What do you mean? What?! Indeed, before the concert we hooked up with Frieda and Vern who are friends of Mary's who we've also known for a few years now (they've come to our house concerts) and it turns out they know Angela Hewitt and have worked with her. OMG. So, after the concert Vern, Eliza and I got in line while she signed cd's and when it was our turn she greeted Vern warmly who then introduced me to her. She was charming. I gushed my admiration which I'm sure she's heard a zillion times before and she was gracious and lovely. I hadn't gotten anything for her to sign but Vern surprised me by getting me one of her Souvenir Programmes and had her sign it for me. Eliza took a quick photo, a very quick photo (well done, Eliza!) because the line was very long and I didn't want to hold it up. I think that for her to sit there after such a demanding performance and meet her fans is extraordinary and I admire her even more.

What an amazing afternoon. Thank you Mary, Eliza, Frieda and Vern for giving me such a memorable and incredibly meaningful musical experience!

Eating Lite

We're in London, continues...

Since John and I both gained weight during our dining out extravaganza the last time we were in London, we are eating lighter this time. We are attempting to have just one course and I'm trying to lay off the bread (it's not easy).

Last night we went to our ongoing all-time favorite Indian restaurant ever, Moti Mahal. We each just had one dish. John only had a starter (Crisp Indian pastry, it's amazing). I had the Murgh Makhani and it's gorgeous. They changed it a little bit since we were there last and it's still fabulous.

And instead of a bottle of pink champagne, just one glass each. I feel thinner already. Not. LOL.

Dinner with Our Peeps

We're in London, continues...

Last night we went out with our friends Tyler and Jayme. Yea, it was our first night back in London, it's never too soon to party! At last, I have a photo with Tyler and Jayme and baby-any-minute-now, yay. Jayme always makes faces for the camera which is hilarious. I think John has caught it from her and it cracks me up every time.

We went to Tamarai which again was exquisite. Great food, excellent service and fun atmosphere. We had a terrific evening, it's great to be back in London and hang out with our peeps!

Massage be Gone

We're in London!

It was one of the quickest, easiest and quietest flights ever.

There we are in our traditional photos snacking at the Virgin Atlantic Lounge at SFO. I'm sad, thinking about leaving and John is making funny faces to make me laugh.

Speaking of Virgin Atlantic, a couple days ago I got email from them announcing that they have eliminated in-flight massages. OMFG! YAY! This is amazing good news. The massages were a noisy and annoying disruption and I have complained about them many times. Now that they are gone the whole front section of the plane will be a pleasant place to be. Ok, not pleasant, but definitely more quiet. In theory, as quiet as the upstairs where John and I always sit.

Now if Virgin Atlantic would only eliminate the open bar during flights, there would not be a bad seat in upper class and I wouldn't panic every time I book a flight wondering if I'll get put in the quiet or the noisy section. If all the upper class sections were quiet then Virgin Atlantic would truly be the best airline. Get a clue, Virgin Atlantic!

(P.S I would pay extra for flights that banned infants and toddlers, hint-hint.)

On the plane I watched Jumper and loved it. John didn't watch anything and went to sleep almost immediately after take-off. After the film I slept the remainder of the flight. Amazing. If all flights were this easy I wouldn't dread flying so much.

I must admit it was great riding through the streets of London and arriving home. It's as beautiful as ever.

I took a lot of photos of San Francisco and London from the plane window. I'm surprised I was able to get so many famous London landmarks in the photos, including: Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, The British Museum, Trafalgar Square, Albert Hall, Wembley Stadium, Westminister Abbey, etc. Yea, I am a window seat fanatic and love the views no matter how many times I fly.

An Evening with Figaro

Today we fly to London! Already? Yea. I am going to miss the mountain so much. But I'm excited about seeing our friends in London and all the activities and trips we have planned.

We had a spectacular final evening in California. First we had dinner with Bob at our favorite restaurant, Venus. Sadly Teresa couldn't make it, so it was just the three of us. Wah! But dinner was great and it was nice to be able to say goodbye to Bob for a few weeks.

Then John and I went to Berkeley Repertory Theatre to see "Figaro." It was fabulous. An ingenious production incorporating part of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro. They had live music, with excellent musicians and world-class opera singers. They were amazing. The play itself was also very well done, we particularly enjoyed Dominique Serrand.

My opinion of Berkeley Rep has fluctuated over the years. We have seen a few clunkers but we've also seen some excellent productions, including the recent Carrie Fisher performance. I'm putting it back on our radar and will keep an eye on them for future theatre excursions.

Tomorrow: London!