Mariage Frères, London

This visit to London was made in December 2018. The post has been sitting around for a while. We hope the store survives the pandemic with enough local customers while the tourists who frequent Covent Garden are gone.

It was a long weekend. On our last day in London, we booked a place for brunch near Covent Garden. We were early and wandered around the area to discover a Mariage Frères shop.

The shop is very comfortably decorated with a cake counter upon entry, followed by a gallery which leads into a very airy salesroom.

This branch looks like the other shops in France, except it has a skylight which brings sunlight into the dark wood tea counter and wall of tea containers.

The shop has a tea house on the second floor but it was closed at that time. The tables at the tea house are lined up along the balcony which offer a view of the sales floor below.

According to Wikipedia, around 1660, Nicolas and Pierre Mariage began voyaging to the East on behalf of the French royal court. Successive generations of the Mariage family were in the tea trade and la maison was founded on 1 June 1854 by brothers Henri and Edouard Mariage.

It is France’s oldest importer of tea and in 1983 the company transformed itself from a wholesale import firm into a retail company.

The last owner descended from the founding family was Marthe Cottin. Born in 1901, she headed Mariage Frères until 1983. The year before, she found a Dutchman Richard Bueno and a Thai man Kitti Cha Sangmanee to carry on the legacy of Mariage Frères.

Competition in a tea-drinking country like the UK must be fierce. We saw but did not visit the huge TWG store near Leicester Square. TWG is established in Singapore just 10 years ago and has 70 branches, mostly in Asia.

Old-fashioned but effective. We did not see anyone using the scale but we suspect it is used for loose tea leaves.

The company has developed some 250+ tea blends based on tea from around the globe.

With so many varieties to try, it was hard to resist .. we managed by reminding ourselves that we have not finished some of their teas back home.

There is no Mariage Frères shop in Lausanne where we live, but we have a Kusmi store, a rival Parisian tea seller originally from Russia.

The tea house offerings look attractive but we already made plans for brunch. Well, next time.

Maison Assouline, London

Another post on bookstores.

Assouline is a publisher of books that serve as luxury lifestyle accessories. They are based in New York but the flagship store is in London, opened in 2014.  We were in London during Christmas 2018.

The store is situated between two other book-lovers destinations – Hatchards and Waterstones – mainstream bookstores. I made a post on Waterstones before – click here.  The Maison announces its presence on Piccadily in a large sans serif font. While the signage is modern, the interiors of the store is not.

The Maison Assouline did not feel like a bookstore at all with its high ceilings and wood-paneled walls. I do not remember seeing any window that looks out to Piccadilly. A passerby will have no idea what is behind the door.

The heavy walls and doors effectively blocked out the traffic noise, transporting the shop to a seemingly less busy locale.

The store felt like a library at first until one sees the nice bar (Swans Bar) which also serves coffee.

The subject matters of the books are fairly homogeneous – images of luxurious travels, designer clothes, jewelry, and various kinds of objects of desire. They created this company to be the first luxury brand on culture. They wanted to supply everything for a contemporary library for the well-healed.

The publisher has a rather small catalog. I see multiple books about Dior and Chanel.  Yawn … .

They don’t waste shelf space to sell books by other publishers – so it seems.

Opened for browsing are copies of “The Impossible Collection of Design” and “The Impossible Collection of Art”.  It is certainly impossibly heavy and beautifully presented. Quintessential coffee table tome.

I wonder what is the average word count per page of the books published by Assouline.

Assouline claims that their boutiques are “where one can discover a world of good taste, excitement and intellect, a place where “culture can be acquired” within a luxurious environment.” They are pretentious and honest about their intention.

We have observed a growing trend in many bookstores around the world – many other lifestyle items are often sold next to books. In Maison Assouline, I think the ratio of books to other items is skewed more towards the soaps, scented candles, furniture, etc.

Given the small number of books and their prices, one has to wonder which is the profit driver – the accoutrements of a good life or the books (they are not mutually exclusive as some books can fill that role).

We did not see the rest of the shop but there are two more floors of luxuries, including not only rare books, but also service –  library interior design with bespoke furniture.

Contrast this store’s concept of exclusivity against the commonality of Amazon Books in Walnut Creek – click here to see that post.

 

 

 

 

Our trips 2018, part 1

Dear Readers, Happy 2019 !

It is a tradition on this blog to take a look back at some of the places we visited last year. We traveled more in 2018 than 2017, at least in terms of distance traveled. Chris had been to Hong Kong and Tokyo twice and went to the Middle East.

Click on links, where provided to read more about the places of interest. There are usually a series of related posts per location, you can discover them easily in the calendar at the bottom of the post.

In reverse chronological order:

London – Regent Street, an early Christmas for us

Covent Garden, London

Hong Kong  – on Star Ferry in October

Taipei, Taiwan

The new Eslite – 誠品行旅

The old Grand – 圓山大飯店

Beitou –  just outside Taipei – 少帥禪園

Los Angeles – wedding at NeueHouse in Hollywood

Col de la Croix de Fer, 2067m in the Alps, France

Albertville, France

Tokyo, in June – Hie Shrine 日枝神社

First half of 2018 in our next post.

 

 

Our trips 2017, part 1

Dear Readers, Happy New Year !

This is our first post of 2018. It is a tradition of this blog to take a look back at some of the places we visited last year. Overall, we traveled less in 2017 than 2016, at least in terms of distance traveled. We did not leave Europe after our Hong Kong trip concluded in January 2017. But we entered the Arctic Circle, visited the capital of Norway, England, France and Portugal.

Click on links, where provided to read more about the places of interest. There are usually a series of related posts per location, you can discover them easily in the calendar at the bottom of the post.

In reverse chronological order:

Oslo, Norway, December-January – Astrup Fearnley Museum

Tromsø, Norway, December – 350 km inside the Arctic Circle

London, December – overnight business trip

Paris, France, December – on the Grande Roue

Lisbon, Portugal – attended a conference at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown

Rotterdam, Netherlands, in November – outside the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

Lucerne, Switzerland, August – with S&J + family

Panorama from Mount Rigi above Lake Lucene

Verbier, Switzerland in September for business

Aix-les-bains, France in July with friends

Travels in first half of 2017 to come in part 2.

 

The Magazine, London

The Magazine is a newish restaurant that is housed in an extension of the classically-proportioned Serpentine Sackler Gallery in Kensington Gardens, central London. I(Chris) was staying in Lancaster Gate. JL came over to meet me and we wandered into the park and stopped there for an iced latte in a sunny afternoon.

The contrast between the gallery and the restaurant is beyond words.

It looked to me like a jelly fish made of space-age material and glass has landed and is hugging the 19th century brown-bricked building.

The restaurant is so named because it is “attached” to the gallery which used to be a weapons storage.

The female Iraqi architect, Zaha Hadid, is responsible for this creation which opened in 2013.

The interior suggested to me the inside of a white tent (I reckon the matt finish of the ceiling has something to do with it).

Five stiletto-shaped columns support the “roof” and channels natural light into the restaurant.

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The only fixed structure is a kitchen island and a long bar.

The bar faces what used to the exterior wall of the gallery.

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The columns are lit from its base, giving it shape and lightness, and act as a diffuser to lit the dining room in the evening. Just don’t sit too close to the spotlights.

The columns looked like chinese-style soup spoons to me.

 

We did not have a chance to eat there.  Reviews of the food have been mixed.

I also liked the polygonal-shaped tables and the logo on their door.

This place may look very dramatic at dusk. Have to come back to see it and taste the food.

 

Waterstones Piccadilly, London

While I (Chris) was visiting JL in London, I wandered into Waterstone on Piccadilly.  As some of you might have noticed on this blog, I like visiting bookstores and have been photographing them. If you want to see the other bookstores, just click on the tag bookstore on your left.

Some of the information I have included here came from their website, click here.

Waterstones Piccadilly is situated in the heart of London’s West End. Now Europe’s largest bookshop, it was once home to the renowned department store Simpson’s; an admired landmark of London’s architecture, and the inspiration for the popular 1970’s British television programme ‘Are You Being Served’. When Simpson’s opened in April 1936 it was the largest menswear store in Britain. The design of the building is distinctly modern in comparison to the regular architectural style of the time.

Waterstones Piccadilly opened its doors in September 1999 and has eight floors open to the public, six of which are dedicated to books.

The glass wall that stretched the height of the building at 90 feet is just visible here. It lit each open-plan floor with natural light. Some of the original features are still in place such as the stairwell’s 90-foot chromium light fitting suspended from the ceiling, and the steel and glass handrails

Harumi Murakami is going to be there to sign his new book – “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage – 色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年”

Waterstones claims to have 150,000 titles in stock and over eight and a half miles of shelving.

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Kids section

“Antiques, Mind, Body and Spirit, Science and Nature, Transport”

Arts department

On the top floor is a quiet cafe/bar/restaurant – the 5th View Bar, open till 10pm!

In years past, I arranged to meet people at the fountain at Piccadilly Circus or the now defunct Swiss Center at Leicester Square. If I live in London now, this could be an ideal alternative for the heart of West End.

 

Every city should have a bookshop like this one.

Gilbert & George @ White Cube, London

While visiting London recently, my (Chris’s) friend JL took me to White Cube at Bermondsey to see the latest exhibition by Gilbert & George. I have seen their works in the past but never so many in a gallery.

White Cube is a contemporary art gallery with two branches in London: Mason’s Yard in central London and Bermondsey in South East London, one in Hong Kong and one in São Paulo. White Cube Bermondsey opened in October 2011 and is the largest of all the gallery’s sites. The building, which dates from the 1970s, includes not just galleries but also private viewing rooms, an auditorium and a bookshop. To me, the openness of the gallery entrance and the generosity of space inside creates a dramatic contrast with the old houses and narrow streets of the Bermondsey area.

White Cube represents some big names – Damien Hirst, Andreas Gursky, Anselm Kiefer, Chuck Close …  See their web site here.

Much of what I say here about the artist came from Wikipedia and White Cube. Gilbert and George worked exclusively from the 70’s as a single artistic unit under their first names. Their trademark format is the large grid, a square or rectangular picture broken into sections that becomes a unified field of signs and images.

They frequently appear in suits in their work and are rarely seen in public without wearing them. It is also unusual for one of the pair to be seen without the other. I cannot help but think of the Pet Shop Boys. The colors (red, black and white)  in this series of pictures and their somewhat robotic poses reminded me also of Kraftwerk’s The Man Machine.

The backdrop and inspiration for much of their work is the East End of London where Gilbert & George have lived and worked for over 40 years. But some of their works are quite controversial, one can find them easily online – just do an image search.

They are openly conservative. They said “Left equals good. Art equals Left. Pop stars and artists are meant to be so original. So how come everyone has the same opinion? … We admire Margaret Thatcher greatly. She did a lot for art. Socialism wants everyone to be equal. We want to be different.”

About the exhibition, White Cube says “The ‘SCAPEGOATING PICTURES’ unflinchingly describe the volatile, tense, accelerated and mysterious reality of our increasingly technological, multi-faith and multi-cultural world. It is a world in which paranoia, fundamentalism, surveillance, religion, accusation and victimhood become moral shades of the city’s temper.”

The work consists of three large panels, each containing 60 smaller square panels.

Frequently featured in the works are images of the sinister bomb shaped canisters used to contain laughing gas (nitrous oxide), used recreationally. Gathered by the artists from the side streets and back alleys that surround their home, the presence of these canisters, mimicking that of ‘bombs’ pervades the mood of the SCAPEGOATING PICTURES to infer terrorism, warfare and a stark industrial brutality.

 

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Overall, I think the setting and the scale of the works, Gilbert & George’s staring faces and the canisters, cloned images of middle-eastern ladies with their faces covered and the accumulation and superposition of words over images really worked to create a claustrophobic, almost-menacing mood.

If you like G&G, this is a treat but it is unlikely to generate new fans.

The exhibition is free and will continue until September.

 

Our 2013 trips – part 2

* H A P P Y  *  N E W  *  Y E A R  *

W i s h i n g  – y o u – a l l – t h e – v e r y –  b e s t – i n – 2 0 1 4  ! !

In 2013, we did a fair bit of traveling. Here are the places we visited in the first half of the year.  Part 1 was posted yesterday. Click here to see the other places we visited in the second half of 2013. Since many of the related posts were uploaded in the same period of time, you can discover them by going forward or backward on the time line or in the calendar.

Frankfurt, Germany in June 2013

Paris with IT and MW in June 2013.

Versailles, in June 2013

London, to see the Champions League final with IT and MW in May 2013. This is taken from the London eye.

New York for R & B’s wedding in May – this is taken near the Time Warners Center.

Montreal, Canada in May 2013.

Emmental, Switzerland in April 2013.

Baden Baden, Germany during Easter.

Freiburg, Germany during Easter.

Ko Samui, Thailand in January 2013.

Bangkok, Thailand in January 2013.

I am now wondering where would our/my first trip in 2014 take us/me ?

High on the Eye over London

While we were in London to watch the UEFA Champions League Final 2013, we had a chance to be on the London eye (as a part of the hospitality package).

The Eye is 443ft/135m high. Each pod holds about 20 people. Because we were catered in a private pod, we had to wait a bit. The line was rather long too for the regular tourists. We went around twice, one more revolutions than normal admittance.  Otherwise, they don’t have enough time to serve us wines and finger sandwiches.

The Eye is located on the south bank of the Thames just downstream of the Westminster bridge. Parliament. Here we are looking upstream of the Thames and the House of Parliament and Big Ben (316 ft/96 m high).  The wheel spins clockwise, so we saw the west side of London on our ascent.

If we look directly across the river, it is the Ministry of Defense (building with four copper roof buildings), behind it the House Guards parade and then St. James Park.

A guide was in the pod with us and pointed the various sights out to us.

Thames downstream, east London. St. Paul’s Cathedral, OXO tower.

On our descent, Charing Cross train station and the Hungerford bridge comes into view.

This is Her Majesty’s Treasury and there is the Foreign Office on its right.

One can almost see Buckingham Palace with a little help from the zoom lens.

Further away, it is possible to see the white arch at the Wembley stadium (where we saw the Champions League Final, see earlier post).

The view South is less interesting than the North, except this building which is under construction. Apparently it is not the Shard (1016 ft/310m) as I initially assumed, because the construction of the Shard was completed last year. Can someone tell us about this building ?  We did not ask our guide in the pod because we could not see it so clearly without the zoom lens in the camera.

Not sure what those buildings are, they are on the south bank near Battersea ?

Another view of the Eye.

Yes, it looks a bit titled towards the Thames – now you know I have a cheap camera.

This is a great way to see a city, we rode other ferris wheels over Vienna and Lyon, click to see our earlier posts.

UEFA Champions League Final 2013, Wembley

This year’s UEFA Champions League Final was played between two German teams in London’s Wembley stadium. The football teams were Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. We were lucky again this year to be able to see the game as guests of a broadcasting partner of UEFA. We flew into London Gatwick super-early on game day on a late May weekend.

Last year, the final game was played in Munich with Bayern Munich being one of the finalist. They lost, however to the visiting team – Chelsea, to much visible disappointment of the whole city. Here are our posts on last year’s pre-game show and the game.

The Wembley stadium was huge. From the hospitality suite, we circled around half the stadium to our seats somewhere near mid-field.

The pre-game show started with both sides marching onto the field in medieval armor in their respective team colors.

Bayern Munich was in red, Borussia Dortmund was in yellow.

The two sides, shooting arrows and waving fake swords and shields, charged at each other on the field fighting a mock battle.

Then the giant flags came out.

The best seats in the house were on the other side where the players faced the spectators.

The Dortmund fans were seated to our right side.

The Munich fans were seated to our left side, a bit more organized in their expression of support.

The red flares lit by the Munich fans were dramatic, dangerous, and sent choking smoke everywhere.

We took pictures of some of the actions on the pitch but they are no match to what can be seen on TV, so we won’t bother to post them. Although Dortmund mounted an early attack, Munich finally won the match clearly by being the better team of the day (Dortmund 1 – Munich 2). This was the scene immediately after the game was over.

The Munich players and the fans celebrating the win below where we sat.

The German team, Kings of Europe, collected the trophy as seen on the giant TV screen. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor could be seen in the background (the only woman in a purple outfit).

The hospitality experience, however, was slightly less than Munich last year, partly due to the smaller space.

We had a wonderful day in London, really enjoyed the game and our company. After the game, we stayed the night in London. On the next day, we took the Eurostar train to Paris where we saw the French Open Tennis games (see earlier posts here and here).

London 2012 Olympics snapshots, Part 3

Here are some pictures of the other venues of the 2012 London Olympics located outside the main venue at Stratford. To recap briefly, we had a chance to see the 2012 summer games up close and here are our earlier posts: snapshots part 1, part 2, International Broadcast Center, badminton, diving, and track cycling.

We were lucky to be able to use the official press bus to shuttle between the venues around London.

We spotted this official BMW for Team GB parked with several others at a Thistle Hotel near Bayswater on the edge of Hyde Park. Someone important was staying there.

 Wembley Arena – where we saw the  badminton games.

North Greenwich Arena – taken from somewhere near the Blackwall Tunnel on the official press bus which was a double decker.  We had a good vantage point.

Near the entrance to the North Greenwich Arena.

ExCel Halls from Connaught Bridge.

The back of the ExCel Halls from near the Emirates Royal Docks.

North end of the ExCel Center.

A hotel located next to the ExCel Center.

Aquatics Center – this building is actually inside the main venue.

This is the athlete’s village condos which are being converted into residential units. The press had no access to the village during the games – notice the flags on the balconies.

A giant tilted mirror that was mounted on a building inviting visitors to snap a picture of themselves in the Olympics games main venue. Can you spot us ?

London 2012 Olympics snapshots, Part 2

Just found a bunch of pictures taken during the 2012 London Olympics that are intended to be posted. In our initial post of Olympics snapshots last year (it’s here), we focused on the events we saw. Here, the focus is on the venues.

What’s the name of this thing ?

It was massive. Noticed the airship ?

We did not bother to get to the top but it must have a very good view of the stadium next to it.

The other (more horizontal) big red object on the main venue was this installation by Coca-Cola.

Other interesting installations:

RUN

Shops just outside the main venue – Prada, etc.

The Megastore inside the main venue.

The athletics stadium.

It can change its color.

More photos of the other venues in part 3 to come.

London Chinatown Restaurants – Four Seasons and Plum Valley

One night while we were in London, we met a few friends for dinner in Chinatown. In my experience, there are several typical kinds of restaurants in the chinatowns of the world. First, there are those that provide a quick and inexpensive soup noodle lunch or single-plate dinner and pay no attention to decor or service. Wong Kei on Wardour Street near Shaftesbury Avenue is the best known in this category. It has been at that location for many many years (since my student days).  The waiters were plain rude but it was cheap. We did not visit Wong Kei this time.

A second type aims to provide local Chinese with authentic quality dinners and sometime even banquets. They are usually more comfortable, provide wrapped chopsticks and table cloth, and very likely have tanks containing live seafood on display. The Four Seasons on 23 Wardour Street is an example of this category. However, they do not have a fish tank, instead roast duck were hanging in the window – a practice more prevalent with the likes of Wong Kei.  Apparently, Four Seasons are famous for it but at the time without knowing it, we ordered a portion. The kitchen deboned it before serving – a rather uncommon practice in Chinese restaurant. It turned out to be one of the best I have tasted for many years – even the soy sauce is so good that I can taste the yellow beans. When in London again, we will definitely return to this restaurant or their branch in Queensway.

Then there are those restaurants that try to modernize the the traditional dishes with matching decor to provide a fine dining experience. Plum Valley at 20 Gerrard Street is an example of this third category. Unlike all the restaurants lining this street in the middle of Chinatown, Plum Valley’s facade is monochromatic with its Chinese name in matt gun metal grey.

The decor is all dark wood and natural stones. The interior is dimly lit. Many Japanese restaurants and spas don this look. Not innovative but definitely better than many others in the area.

It is certainly a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Chinatown just outside the front door. It reminded me of those Chinese restaurants in New York that are situated at the borders with Soho or Nolita.

We sat in a set of banquettes at the back which seated four people (not like these shown in the pictures). And the seating was very comfortable – a rare experience in any chinatown restaurant around the world.

We ordered a variety of dishes from dim sum, noodles, to stir-fry dishes. The dim sum were delicious.

Lobster fried noodles – very tasty but also a bit salty – they should have put more noodles on the plate given the amount of sauce.

Another vertically-oriented dish – stir-fried steak cubes in black bean sauce – perfect with white rice.

All in all, the ambiance was pleasant, service was responsive, but the taste was not quite refined enough to be classified as “fine dining” in my humble opinion.  While the dishes all tasted good, the flavors were a bit too bold. One surprise was that our bill was not unreasonable. Plum Valley is worth exploring.

Roganic, London

Roganic is a restaurant by Simon Rogan in Marylebone, London.  He is known for the innovative food served in his restaurant L’Enclume situated in the faraway Lake District in northwest England.

The restaurant is referred to as “pop-up” in the press and it is accordingly sparsely decorated as it only has a 2-year lease.

The staff was very friendly, the atmosphere informal. There were four of us, two on Olympics-related businesses and we were on vacation to see the Games.

Those who were on business arrived late by almost half an hour, they were excused as their responsibilities were more-or-less round the clock. Three types of rolls were served as soon as all were seated. The flavors of the bread were different but the texture were all the same. Amuse bouche soon followed.

We were hungry by that time and curious about the chef’s creations – so we all went for the 10-course tasting menu. They also offered a 6-course regular as well as a 6-course vegetarian menu. First course was Peas with beef tongue, dill and calamint.  Sue did not want beef tongue so that they substituted it with artichoke – which is the version of this dish on the vegetarian menu.

Grown-up yolk from the golden egg, celeriac and garlic. We forgot the explanation.

Keen’s dumpling, cream of onion, nausturtiums and liquorice powder. The brown spots in the bowl matched the sprinkled on liquorice powder.

This dish is the most visually-striking of the evening. Raw mackeral in coal oil, lovage, and gooseberries. Coal oil and lovage ?

Grilled salad smoked over embers, truffle custard and cobnuts. “I” who was on business spent a good 15 minutes on the phone to deal with an emerging situation, poor girl, so we were eating exceedingly slowly.  The restaurant staff politely told us that we should hurry a bit as the kitchen was “concerned”. They were very nice about it and we were ok with the suggestion, after all, we started late.

Razors with sea herbs, turnips, and pearl barley. A change of background color of the plate was not a bad idea but the plate was very japanese-y.

Chick ‘O’ Hake, beetroots, red orach, sorrel and cockles. If I remember correctly, it was a piece of grilled crispy chicken skin(?) on top of a chunk of fish.

Reg’s duck breast with yellow beans, sweetbreads, sage and corn.

Douglas fir, cherries, goat’s milk, and pennyroyal.

Hazelnuts and sweet cheese, rosehips and anise hyssop.

A total of 41 ingredients were mentioned in the menu. We have not eaten a meal like this before where a English-language dictionary was needed to explain many of the British vegetables that went into the dishes.

Since the four of us had not seen each other for a long time, we were spending more time chatting than tasting. It was a shame that we cannot remember more about the tastes as a lot of efforts must have gone into designing the dishes. If you are an adventurous diner, it is certainly worth a try.

We were the last guests to leave Roganic and it was so late that we completely missed the Olympics beach volley ball evening competitions.

Z Hotel Victoria and the Blakemore in London

For our trip to see the 2012 Olympics Games in London, we left hotel arrangements till the last minute. At the time, there were news that the room prices were dropping because people were scared away from Central London due to the sky-high rates. But, the choicest hotels were all gone and what was left were mediocre hotels charging a slightly elevated high season rate. We used Booking.com which provides for a given hotel, data on when a room was last taken, and how many people are looking at the remaining vacant rooms. After quite a bit of rushed research, we ended up booking two hotels for the 8 days (4+4).

Knowing London, many hotels may still have Victorian to mid-century old plumbing or air-conditioning (this is midsummer), so we were careful in choosing only modern hotels. Our first selection was The Z Hotel Victoria.  It was convenient for us since we were coming from the south coast by coach which terminated at Victoria. We thought at the time the price was not unreasonable. I just checked the room rate just now –  we paid in July almost doubled today’s rate.

The hotel seemed to have just finished renovating so that it could open in time for the Olympics Games. Our room was supposed to measure 14-square meters with a queen-sized bed. Really ? The lack of space was really an issue.  We could not open both our suitcases fully unless we put one of them on the bed.

Our room did not have a window – we did not really care as we were out all hours of the day.  The super-thin 40-inch Samsung TV was appropriately deployed on the wall to give the room some more light, in addition to the upward pointing perimeter white lights. No wardrobe, so jackets, etc. were hanging off the wall.

After four days, we really had enough of it. We were tired after hours of being in crowds but could not relax in the room, and we were getting into each other’s way. Overall, on the plus side, the hotel atmosphere was modern and a bit of wannabe hip – the staff were cheerful and helpful.

Our second hotel is The Blakemore in Bayswater. The hotel is located on a quiet street just a couple of blocks from the bustling Queensway.  While I was a student here many years ago, a group of my friends rented an apartment in this area which has not changed much if any.

After the Z Hotel, the space we had at the Blakemore was palatial in comparison. Plus the window which looked out to the rooftops of west London, it was very much appreciated. Breakfast was included!

The room was on the top floor and the bathroom had a slanted roof. This hotel had apparently gone through a renovation less than six months ago (deduced by Tripadvisor’s warnings of construction noise posted at least 6 months ago).

Debated whether we wanted to show pictures of toilets on the blog. But as a traveler, other than the bed, this is the next most important aspect of a hotel room. There were no bath tub, instead it had a modern roomy rainfall-type shower – relaxing indeed.

Despite our lateness in making arrangements and the crush of tourists in London, we were glad that the accommodation problem was solved.

Rough Trade’s East End Flagship Store

I(Chris) have not visited London for many years, and while visiting during the Olympics, we heard a lot about the Spitalfields markets. So one morning we decided to check it out. This area of East London felt quite different from what I was expecting. The Spitalfields markets contain a new and an old section.

We wandered around the stalls, bought some stuff (including a London Underground shower curtain) and had lunch at Canteen. A pleasant, inexpensive chain serving British food.

Afterwards, I ventured further east and the streetscape changed to that which reminded me of Camden lock market. I did not have a chance to revisit Camden this time and am wondering if it has changed.

By chance, I stumbled into the flagship store of Rough Trade East just off Brick Lane – a record shop with a bit of history.

I bought their album of the month – Solo Piano II by Chilly Gonzales – a special edition containing an additional Rough Trade bonus track featuring some improvisation.

Here is a clip of video featuring a medley of the tunes on the album. Enjoy it while reading the rest of the post.

If you like it, go to his site – www.chillygonzales.com where several more videos are posted. The pieces are relaxing without being New Age-y – but a few are liable to be used as background music in Korean soap opera.

The front of Rough Trade has a cafe – the Broken Arms.

Rough Trade’s store front is disproportionately smaller than the inside. It is quite big inside, I guess the rent was cheap. Hope they signed a long lease.

Huh, Hang the DJ – Dance counter.

They have a photo booth, monochrome shots only – just 3 pounds.

They sell more vinyl than CD here.

They have mixers and keyboard for customer’s use and even a separate room for trying some synthesizers. I don’t think they sell synthesizers so I am not sure of the purpose.

Any one can go in to play assuming one knows how to operate the synthesizers. I have never seen this type of setup before but it is very cool!

There is a test listening area.

They also sell some books organized by the categories of Steidl, Caught by the line, London, Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll, Street art and Musical making and instruments.

They also have a “hobby” section – titled “Prick your finger” which sells knitting supplies for the ladies, and robotics kit “Technology will save us” for the boys.

This kind of stores are slowly becoming extinct but I hope this one can diversify and survive despite itunes, Spotify, … etc.

London 2012: Olympics Diving

This is probably the last post about a specific Olympic sport that we saw in London. We have so far written about badminton, 100m sprint, and track cycling.

The Aquatic Center was designed by Zaha Hadid who described the concept at her site:

A concept inspired by the fluid geometry of water in motion, creating spaces and a surrounding environment in sympathy with the river landscape of the Olympic Park. An undulating roof sweeps up from the ground as a wave, enclosing the pools of the Centre with its unifying gesture.

She has a lot of pictures of the building on her site – look it up.

Warming up for the event. Had I paused for a few seconds, I could have taken a picture with all the divers in the air !

Because of the arrangement of the swimming and diving pools, the spectators’ seats are placed on the longer side of the main hall. And it was steep as we sat quite high up – definitely not for people with vertigo. For those seated high up on the side, the downwardly sweeping roof could block the view directly across although it does not affect the view on the pools.

The event we saw was the 3 meter springboard women’s final.

Diving is one of those sports that happens in a second and it is all over. Because all the twists and turns happen so fast, the only objective way I (Chris) can judge the competitor’s skill is by the splash that is created.

In the end, two Chinese and one Mexican shared the podium. The gold medalist led from the start and won by a comfortable margin.

After the victory ceremony, we had a chance to see the winners. Wu Minxia (吴敏霞) won the gold medal. According to Wikipedia, after this event, it was revealed that her parents withheld information that her grandmother died a year before, and that her mother had cancer. Her father said he misled her to keep her focused on training.

He Zi (何姿) won the silver medal.

He Zi and Wu minxia both won a gold medal as a team in synchronized diving later in the week.

Laura Sánchez won the bronze medal. Apparently, the president of Mexico telephoned her while she was being interviewed by the press.

It was exciting to see the medalists being interviewed. But towards the end of the week, many of the athletes have competed in their events and started showing up as spectators to cheer their countryman/woman, and mingling with the crowds. The US women gymnastics team were seated several rows from us. Gabby Douglas !

London 2012: Usain Bolt’s 100 meters Gold

This is the historic moment of Usain Bolt captured from where we were standing in the stadium.

What was remarkable was the hush just before the start, the whole stadium got really quiet. Playback the clip above and hear it for yourself.

We were standing in an area near the starting line. The world record is 9.58 seconds and the Olympic record was 9.69 seconds (see top left hand corner of the scoreboard).

As soon as the gun went off, the sprinters took off and the crowd started roaring again.

The race must be one of the shortest thrill that was enjoyed by millions of people simultaneously.

Usain and his team mate and rival Yohan Blake just returned after a victory lap with the Jamaican flag. At the right edge of the photo, people were waving green and yellow inflatable arms in the form of Usain’s famous pointing gesture. Those things actually looked rather bizzare.

In this picture, Usain was just getting up from having knelt to kiss the ground – for an entire minute it seemed – and definitely longer than the time he took to win the race.

A new Olympic record was made!  9.63 seconds. That is roughly 37.38 km/h or 23.23 mph.

We were in the stadium the following evening and saw Usain receiving the gold medal. In this picture, he had just received the medal and was jumping – see this feet off the ground and also the blurred image on the big screen.

Showing off the medal in front of the world’s press.

What a moment.

Jamie Oliver and Chris Bianco’s Union Jacks at Covent Garden

After visiting Stanfords the map-seller (see earlier post) on Long Acre in Covent Garden, we wandered into the covered market looking for a brunch place. When I was living in London many years ago, I would not have coming to such a touristy location for a meal.

But somehow, this time as a visitor, we were happy to give this fresh-looking place a try. Part of the reason was that the market had not yet gotten crowded and the whole place was bathed in cheery sunlight. The glass perimeter around the restaurant really worked well.

We know of Jamie Oliver but not Chris Biano (he is apparently a well-regarded Pizza chef from the US, Zagat gave his pizzeria in Phoenix, Arizona a score of 29/30). Also, little did we know that this Union Jacks restaurant – apparently is Jamie’s fourth in a chain – and it started only in July.

We circled the place before it opened. The staff was having their brunch and a briefing. Shortly thereafter, the whole place was buzzing with activity as it was getting ready to open.

What really sold us wasn’t the ambiance of the covered market but the menu which is online here at Jamie Oliver’s web site.

The menu emphasizes “Proud British Flavours”. We ordered a bunch of these so-called British Tapas – “By-catch Fish Fingers & Tartare sauce” above, and “Garlic Mushroom & Mayonaise” below – both very tasty.

“Roasted baby beets, Westcombe curd and smoked seeds” – Sue’s fav.

“Heritage tomatoes, shallot, tarragon & apple balsamic dressing” – rather ordinary tasting.

This is my (Chris) favourite – “Bloody Mary Welsh mussels”

A bit of British humor awaiting the nosy customer – “Stop looking at my bottom” – we do not normally look but I cannot remember what caused us to flip the plate over.

Potatoes with thyme – not on the menu but we saw them making it – so we ordered a plate.

Wood-grilled Pizza “Red Ox” which contains oxtail & brisket, slow braised in Worcestershire sauce, Sparkenhoe Red Leicester, watercress & fresh horseradish – and no tomato sauce ! Sue did not like it but I thought it was a novel and tasty idea.

The place must be really chilly in winter for them to install this heating system – it is definitely much better than heat lamps.

Overall, we thought every thing was flavorful without being salty. Some dishes worked better than others. It was perfect for what we were looking for on that day.

When we left the restaurant, there was a short line of people waiting for a table. A busker got a crowd going nearby – so we stopped for a bit of street entertainment before setting off in search of a cafe.

Stanfords, the London mapseller

Stanfords on Long Acre, Covent Garden is one of my (Chris) favourite shops in London.

The shop has been at that same location when I was a student in London in the 80’s. It seems to have expanded as it now has a coffee shop.

I like this shop because 1) completeness in geographic coverage and 2) the range of travel-related merchandise offered. Apparently, they can sell freshly-printed maps.  Stanford sells also online !

Before Google Earth, I used to ask my globe-trotting friends to bring me a local map from far-flung locations. With this shop, I can just order it.

Maps of African countries from Algeria to Zimbabwe. South Africa has its own section.

Maps of Middle East and Central Asia, from Azerbaijan to Yemen.

Maps of Eastern Europe.

Maps of South Asia featuring detailed maps for exploring the Himalayas, including specialist maps for Annapurna paragliding, the Tibetan monastery circuit trail, and the Karakoram Highway!

Maps of the Americas – from the Andes to Yucatan. Canada and US have their own sections.

Ordnance survey (Britain’s national mapping agency) maps of Britain at various scales.

Sailing maps for the seas around the UK, the Meditterranean and the Carribean – from the Thames estuary to Antigua.

Cycling maps – a must for the Tour de France ?

A to Z is a popular brand of British city street maps – I had the London A to Z from way back – apparently they cover other parts of the UK too. London has its own section.

Of course, they sell globes of all sizes too.

French maps including city plans.

The shop uses several gigantic maps as floor covering.  This map covers the area around Greenwich of London, presumably chosen for its location being at the prime meridian,  zero longitude.

This one on another floor shows the Himalayas but I cannot find Mt. Everest or any landmark that I have heard of.

Not only do they sell maps, they carry a small number of travel-related books, not just guide books but travelogues as well as cookbooks. They also have a large collection of European literature classics.

They also sell flags.

These are old maps but they are sold as gift wrapping paper.

Another one of my favourite shops in London is Waterstone’s flagship academic bookstore at Gower Street near my old school.  It is still there and I managed to stop by; but it is just a book store.