London Laundry

Before I begin, let me assure you that I'm not whinging.  I'm thrilled to have a washer and dryer. Especially after a year and a half of rack drying.  

Our stackables are in a closet in the master bedroom.

 When we moved in there were lots of little notes all over the flat telling us which power source was for the refrigerator, how to turn on the bathroom light, and here you see they want us to use a water softener when we do laundry.  I'm a note writer too (just ask Bret!) so I was happy to get these little words of wisdom.

 I didn't understand this water tank next to the dryer at first.  And they clearly had concerns that we would forget to empty it.   Then I figured out that the dryer isn't vented because its in the middle of the flat so the water that is sucked out of our clothes needs a place to go.

 You get to the back of the dryer by going into this little mini closet next to my bed.  (for those of you who know me well - yes, I do look in here to make sure no murderers are there….frequently). Note the retired drying rack.

 This is from inside that little closet.  Thats the back of the dryer and the back of that little water tank.  The water goes from the dryer through that hose and into the tank.

 And this is me emptying it in the bathroom sink.  Good times!  After a year and half of stiff, crusty air dried laundry I'm very happy to have tumbled dried towels.  And amazingly that tank gets quite a lot of water in it - it definitely has to be emptied every time. 

As an added bonus, here is our problematic master bathroom fan.  Again, I'm not whinging.  I love it here and just want to share the unique experience with all of you.  

Basically, this fan is a glorified hole in the wall.  There is a steady stream of cold air pouring into our bathroom keeping the temperature rather brisk.   This is why I've got a plastic bag elastic banded over it in an attempt to keep the cold air out.  But this isn't even the worst problem - - on the outside of the building the vent has some metal (?) flaps.  When the wind blows those flaps do what flaps do - - they flap!! Loudly!!  At first we thought there were animals in the walls but then we figured out that it was the flapping fan vent.   I've suffered through several interrupted nights.  From now on windy nights will be spent up stairs in the guest room.

Tea in Little Venice

Another topic I've beaten to death is the narrow boat.  As you know, I love these.  (Which is sort of odd because I actually do not like anything nautical or sailing and I've spent too much of my home owner's life battling water damage to my house.  Imagine that fight in a boat!)  But I'm so happy that we live just a few minutes away from Little Venice behind Paddington Station.  One of the staples of Little Venice is this little cafe.

Who wouldn't want to have tea or lunch in a narrow boat on the water?

 It's a little wider than some of the other boats I've seen but I suppose it would have to be in order to fit enough tables to make a living selling tea and paninis.

As soon as we sat down I started in with my usual ridiculous statements about how we are going to come back EVERY weekend or, failing that level of frequency, at least have lunch there the next time Bill works from home.  (This has yet to happen…)

When we left there was another narrow boat pulled up directly behind the cafe with a dog on it.  We have no idea what was going on - probably nothing much - but we liked seeing the dog on the boat roof and I knew several of our readers would like that as well.

Life is a gamble

If Ladbrokes is using this guy as a store front advertisement, they may want to rethink their strategy.

Ladbrokes, of course, is one of the legal gambling shops here in England.  They are everywhere.

I love the frustrated look of this guy.  

"I'll be right home, Honey.  The lines at the Tesco are very long.  No, dear, I won't forget the sweet potatoes this time..."

Dinner at the Warrington with Caroline and Geraldine

On Friday night we had dinner with Caroline and Geraldine.  They come to London every year in Feb for a week and they happen to always stay at a hotel around the corner from our new flat.  So it was perfect for a few get togethers. 

I chose this pub for its looks  - gorgeous victorian detail, mosaics, stained glass windows, leather chairs and sofas.  And because I saw that they have sticky toffee pudding on the menu and I knew Caroline was on a quest to have as many as possible before leaving England since it's hard to find outside the UK.  

Geraldine was very good about dodging photos - she's almost as good at dodging them as I am at getting in them.  But we needed to post at least one of her from this trip so here she is  pouring a hearty glass of red.

I was surprised how empty the dining room was for a Friday night.  The pub down stairs was fairly busy.  Our waitress told us she came to England from Italy without knowing anyone.  I'm jealous how many European folks can easily come here to live and work.  I wish we could just wake up and say, I think I'll live in France for a year, and go do it.  Of course, I wouldn't choose France because despite 18 years of classes I can barely say croissant.

For the record, I could only eat half of that enormous dish of sausage and mash.  But it was gooood.

Cheers Caroline!  It was great to see you guys!

Drill Sargent Jen had everyone walking to and from the pub - it was only about 30 mins each way and after that sticky toffee pudding we needed the exercise.  

Strolling on a Sunday

A last minute change of plans with one of Bill's colleagues who got his flight info wrong (coming in on   Monday) meant we had a free day with no plans.  So after a leisurely morning with tea and a book, we headed out into the streets.

 I need to work on my Jagger.

 We found our little lunch destination.  I read about this place on one of my blogs.  I loved how unassuming it was.  You could walk by and barely notice it.  But inside is such a cozy little place - perfect for a cloudy day.

I didn't know I had the camera on this twinkly setting - doesn't it look like the light fixture is raining magic on Bill's head?

 He looks so happy but the reality was that after we sat down and committed to eating here we found out they only serve wine.   Poor Bill!!  And Poor Jen because that means I'll probably never get to eat here again and it was delicious.

Across the street was this window display - it's a hair salon with big colored braids coming out of the cassettes.  I ought to go around and just take pictures of shop windows for the blog because there are so many creative ones here.

We spent the end of the afternoon at the National Gallery. Once again, we got scolded for taking pictures.  But here they are.

 I know this view is done to death but it's a stunner at dusk.

 Our parting shot is Bill's salute to the Canadians who beat the US in Olympic hockey.  (Apologies to any Canadians who stumble on this blog.)

Broadway Market

When we have nothing to do on a weekend day, we head to a market.  We know there will be food to eat, food to bring home, music, and lots of people watching.  One of the (many) nice things about living right in the city is that we can buy food and get it home quickly without carrying a bag of groceries around all day and night.

I wonder if more than one bloke has used this as a proposal since it seems to be a permanent fixture on the wall?

We bought a few packages of home made  pasta - duck and wild boar.  We also decided to try these salted caramel whoopie pies.  I'm not sure I would have known they were salted caramel if they hadn't told me.

 Mr. Dibley came along today.  He was happy to get out and about.

 Happier than Bill looks.  I'm not sure why I got him looking so grumpy.

Meanwhile, I look pretty satisfied.

 Meringue is quite popular here.  Is it now big at home?  I like the little meringue kisses in different flavors.  It's pure sugar but it's deceptively light as opposed to the whoopie pie.  I had to buy a few.

 I wanted to buy one of these just to try it but the line was long and the flow of the crowd was pushing us along.  I've always wondered what a Scotch Egg was like and here was a Black Pudding version.  Next to it as a Haggis version.   I guess that gives us a reason to go back.

 Slightly blurry pics of people shopping….

 Our entertainment - they were very good. It was a beautiful day and a even felt a little warm in the sun. 

We even got a little canal walking in.  I didn't notice it until I look at this picture but how (and why) did someone spray paint "PROBAT" on the top of that building??

Fun Friday - Museum of London

I spent my "Fun Friday" morning at the Museum of London this week.

Unfortunately, so did about 50 French high school students along with their wheelie carry on luggage.

They were rude, loud and annoying.  I felt like the queen on a rainy day.  Betty says, "Get out of my country!!"

Since we all entered the museum at the same time I tried to stay two jumps ahead of them by skipping the prehistoric and Roman Londons and going right to the War, Plague and Fire section.

 I collection coronation cups.  The oldest I have is from King George V in 1935.    This is from about 400 years earlier.  It would make a great addition to my collection.  Although, I'm a little grossed out by all that hair.

 The French kids caught up to me because I spent too long reading about the Great Fire - which was the best part of the museum.  So I hustled along to "Victorian Street".  This was similar to a museum that Jana and I went in in York that simulated the Victorian shops.  But in London they included a Victorian urinal.

 Let's face it, London is an amazing city with a fascinating history - half of which we Americans don't even know.  For example - what are the years of The Great Stink??  Anyone??

 1858 was a very odiferous year.  

These are the original elevators from Selfridges from the 1920's.

 The suffragette movement got quite a display.  I love how the men say "Let Them Starve"…as if the men wouldn't be starving right along with them if their wives weren't making their tea.

 What the hell is that hideous face on the "we want the vote" postcard??!!  Do only ugly women want to vote or does voting make you ugly?

 This little alcove shows a map that was made to show the economic standings of the city street by street.  Each street was color coded to delineate class.

 I couldn't resist from zooming in on my own neighborhood - - quite posh even in the old days.

What is more "London" than the red phone box?

 In the 1960's there was an anti-protein activist that became a very famous public fixture in the city.  His name was Stanley Green and this was his sign.

"He believed that too much protein caused uncontrollable sexual passions and unhappiness."

Meanwhile, people were wearing Beatles dresses….

 This museum was very interesting.  It wasn't about the Kings and Queens as much as it was about the everyday people - what they wore, who they cared about, what they did, how much money they had and what they fought for.    It wasn't a museum about beautiful things to look at but about the realities of living in a city that has been built, destroyed an built again.

I have to admit that my very favorite thing in the whole museum was in the shop.  It was this sticker activity book.  "Fun activities that tell the dreadful stories of the Great Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of 1666."  WHAT?? What is the target age for a sticker book - FIVE??  My picture cuts off the upper picture of the plague where a man with a cart is shouting "Bring out your dead!" Monty Python stye.  Meanwhile, the people in the picture below are begging for help as a fire engulfs their homes.  Won't it be fun to put fire stickers over their faces?  Or to put more plague-dead sticker people into the man's cart?

This may be my most favorite London souvenir ever.