Tourist Tuesday: The Rubbish Collection

I recently visited the Science Museum just to walk around. Well, to be truthful, I went to the museum to do recon for a job interview I had the next day. You know, make sure I knew what I was talking about. So I only had my phone and I wasn’t looking for a Tourist Tuesday post, but then I went crazy for the Rubbish Exhibit. Therefore, please excuse the shoddy pictures.

The exhibit was awesome and I have to tell you about it even though it is no longer on display. (Also, fyi, I got the job and as long as all my paperwork and visa and what have you go through, then I start in October! WOOT!)

Tourist Tuesday: Hardy Tree

I greatly enjoy browsing on Pinterest. It gives me all kinds of ideas for cooking, for holiday decorations, for hair styles, and also for Tourist Tuesday activities. When I saw a picture of the Hardy Tree on Pinterest, I knew I had to go check it out with my own eyes.

The Hardy Tree is located in the churchyard of Saint Pancras Old Church. Located  just a short walk from the King’s Cross St. Pancras Tube Station, you can walk over there after you have your visit to Platfrom 9 3/4. The church is a small and charming little building sandwiched between a large road and a medium sized church yard.

Tourist Tuesday: Kensington Palace

Photo from Wikipedia

I went to Kensington Palace awhile ago and I feel bad it has taken me this long to post pictures! Kensington Palace is the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (that’s William and Kate). It also has a number of pretty lovely exhibits. I went with my friend Marylin and it was a very enjoyable day. I loved it because it was a mix of historic, trendy, beautiful, and whimsical. I like that the curators and designers don’t take themselves so seriously. Look at this sign for the bathroom!

Tourist Tuesday: BBC Good Food Festival

This weekend was a lovely long weekend filled with food! Ryan had a half day on Friday and he came home and we made lunch together. I was in the mood for a delicious sandwich so we went to the grocery store to get ingredients for steak sandwiches. Ryan was the executive chef and I was the sous chef. He made all the decisions and did most of the cooking. I did the prep and washed the dishes. Our steak was topped with cheddar cheese, onions, and mushrooms on a baguette and served along side fries. It was so good and I ate so much, I didn’t even eat dinner!

Tourist Tuesday: Street Art

A few weeks go my friend Marylin was in London and she suggested Alternative London‘s street art walking tour. Unfortunately she and I couldn’t go together, but I did get a chance to check it out for myself. The tour goes through London’s East End and shows huge murals, tiny sculptures, and something made from plaster. Let’s get to the pictures.

First, the guide showed us tiny bronze sculptures done by Jonesy. These were hard to spot at first, hidden on top of street signs. Hidden might not be the right word, but not likely something I’d spot.

Tourist Tuesday: Ceramic Poppies at the Tower of London

Some of my family and friends back home have requested more pictures and stories about London. I’ve been torn about doing it too much here because this is supposed to be a cooking blog. But I thought about it and one of the things I love about the blog is connecting to the people I don’t see that often. So, why not? Why not give the people what they want?!

My solution was to start Tourist Tuesday. I’m going to attempt every Tuesday to post about what Ryan and I are doing in London or elsewhere. Sometimes it will also have something food related, sometimes it won’t. Also, the regular recipes posts will likely still have London photos too. Finally, I’ve also changed the layout a little bit. In the menu bar at the top you can sort through posts in the Recipes, London, and Travel sections. Hopefully that will make it easier to find what you’re looking for. Without further ado, here’s the first Tourist Tuesday post. 

Barley Succotash

It’s been hot here, although I think the temperature is finally going to break today. I know I shouldn’t complain about the weather. It’s only been in the high 20’s. Crazy I know what that means right? It’s about high 70’s, low 80’s.

You’re probably reading this thinking, um, Mariel, that’s not hot. I know – I know, I just moved from DC where it’s hotter than hell. In DC low 80’s would feel like a wonderful cold front because summer is usually 100° with about a million percent humidity. But the thing is, high 70’s is hot here because air conditioning isn’t so much a thing here. Our flat doesn’t have air conditioning, the library doesn’t have air conditioning, and when you walk down the street you never pass a store and feel the cold blast of AC. We got a fan and that helps a ton.

Athens! Grecian Holiday Part 1

I’m in Greece! Literally as I write this I’m typing poolside in Crete. Look here’s proof.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Last week I flew back to London, back to our cute little flat, and back to Ryan. It was wonderful to be back. Done with the move and done with long distance. Now, on to be an expat. The only draw back of my arrival was that the airline lost my luggage for just over 24 hours. I was grumpy about it, but at least I eventually got it back.

Sausage Roll

Remember when I said there was new home for cooking is messy? That was a little misleading as I’m going back to Virginia tomorrow for a bit. I’m blue about it. I’ve started to feel comfortable here, the apartment is starting to feel like home, and Ryan and I have been having some wonderful adventures. And I feel heartsick about being away from him for so long. We joked about putting the blog on hiatus because my chief taste taster wouldn’t be trying the food. But I’ll keep posting, though I think there will be more vegetable dinners (what I eat when I’m alone) and rich chocolate desserts (what I like to eat for a pick me up). 

Eggs in a Hole

I had the best weekend. Such a good weekend, that I was too overwhelmed to write yesterday, and so you’ll have to hear about my weekend on a Tuesday.

On Saturday, Ryan planned for us to go to Hampton Court Palace. This was Henry VIII’s home. What you might not know about me is that I’m crazy about Tudor history. I have read so many books, both fiction and non-fiction. I was obsessed with the Tudors TV show. I had TWO mugs that when you put hot water in them, Henry’s wives would disappear. I love Tudor history so I was really excited for this trip. I was buzzing with excitement. I was the kind of excited children get when you take them to Disney. For all I have read about Henry VIII, I never thought about going to see his palaces or anywhere else related to him. So Ryan planning all this, was fulfilling a dream I didn’t even know I had. It was amazing.  He won some major husband points. Anyway, let me nerd out a ton so I can tell you about my greatest day.