That awkward moment when...

... you realize you didn't purchase 4 pork chops for supper but rather 4 lbs. of bacon.

A touristy day

We've got this tourist thing down pat. Everything is so easy with the Internet. In daylight or darkness, you can plan your routes down to the bus #, find out every destination's facilities, and buy admission tickets online (way better than standing in line).  You can do all that with paper, too, but our consensus is that our devices make travel planning more convenient. 

So it was with great ease that we hopped the tube (two different lines wonderfully close to our flat) and headed to Ripley's Believe it or Not!  I don't know many kids (or adults, for that matter) who aren't interested in weird things. I love weirdness. I am weirdness. So we had to go. 

We saw animals with extra legs (taxidermied); medieval chastity belts; a life-size model of Robert Wadlow, 

the tallest human on record; a portrait of Princess Diana made out of dryer lint; and my favourite:

Yes, that's right. 

Awesome. 

More about the east end

London's east end has a unique past AND present. Frances' post about street art really highlights a vital part of that neighbourhood. She and Scott are doing a walking tour of east end street art on Friday to learn more. 

During yesterday's food tour, I was struck by the area's personality. 

This picture shows a juxtaposition of old and new. The newer building in the rear is student housing. A STUDIO with shared facilities in there goes for £250/week! Most of the buildings are 18-19th century and are experiencing a realty revival. One space recently sold for £3 million!!!

Once upon a time there was, of all things, a window tax: the more windows you had, the more tax you paid.  To avoid this, people bricked up their windows. 

This was a women's night refuge. Not sure of its dates, except that it only closed in 1999. There was a men's section as well; you can see the gents lined up on the left in the historical photo. 

Here's the men's door today. 

Look at these gorgeous shutters on this 18th century facade. 

And this fabulous door knocker. 

A gorgeous block. I think these are mostly flats. 

More gorgeousness. 

This one is kept looking tatty because it's used in period films and TV shows. 

Then you come to this, a box park.  It's shipping crates/containers all stationed together, side-by-side, into tiny stores. There's even a Gap one. Originally they were designed as temporary 3-month spaces, but some have lasted longer; they were part of a revitalization plan when the economy took a bad turn. 

And purple garbage bins!  Hello!  

And badgers!

And giant bows and arrows!

The Jewish soup kitchen only closed in 1992. Over one hundred thousand Jewish people were living in the east end at one point.  Now there are 56 curry houses!

This little area's streets were Artillery Row, Artillery St., and Gun St. It used to be Henry VIII's shooting range!

And my favourite: park here, and your car will get pooped on. 

And guess what was playing at The Pride of Spitafields pub?

"I Think I Love You" by The Partridge Family.  

I have that in my music library. 

More cosmic providence. 

London Street art

Not everyone thinks street art is cool. Often people mistake it for vandalism (which it sometimes is) or graffiti. What people don't know is that the pictures people make with a spray can or stickers or sculptures or anything like that is a story. It's up to you to understand what the story is; some are obvious and easy:

But others may make you stand there looking at it for a while and wonder, "What is the meaning behind this?" 

I didn't take either of these photos. These are just some examples. 

I found a few that told me a story and others that left me questioning the artist. That is the purpose of what art is. It's to tell the story without having to use words.

Here are some of the pieces I saw while on a food tour in east London today:

A Bangladeshi crane done by a Belgian street artist

This wall is a designated graffiti area where it is legal to do all street art.

This is my personal favourite. It's layered with the mystery and mischief from the child. I wonder why we have to keep quiet....?

**Apologies for the bad quality photos.**

Another triumph

We have just walked another 10,000+ steps, this time on an East End food tour. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DAY. 

London's east end has had a revival after a unique role in London history, much like Gastown. It has been a poor, working class, industrial part of town for centuries. Now it is industrial chic-funky-hip, with some long-term establishments still going strong. 

We met at Spitalfield Market (short for hospital, we learned) and then walked about, visiting 8 distinct establishments:

1) St. John Bread and Wine, owned by famous chef (though new to us) Fergus Henderson. His philosophy is that you use the whole animal, "nose to tail". 

Notice ox heart is on the menu. 

Here's my favourite part--read at the bottom where it says they can't guarantee animals served are free of lead shot!

We were there by 10:15 am and had our first food, bacon sandwiches on toasted buttered white bread. 

Everything's better with bacon. 

2) The English Restaurant, full of reclaimed wood and a wonderful authentic feel. 

Sorry, Jamie Oliver, but their bread and butter pudding surpasses all desserts.

Yes, that's custard on the side. Pass me a straw. 

3) The House of Androuet--CHEESE. What's not to love?

We tried English cheddar and English blue. Try them with dried raisins for a taste sensation. 

4) Poppies fish and chips. So so good. Delicious cod, which accounts for 60% of Britain's seafood intake.  Super fun retro decor, too. Pop has lived and worked in the east end his whole life. 

5) The Pride of Spitalfields, the ultimate pub, and with very decent prices. We sampled good beer and cider (the girls had St.Clements, orange+lemon). But the best part is LENNY THE CAT. 

6) Aladin--many cultures have lived and worked in the east end, and the most recent is the Bangladeshi community. We had some gorgeous authentic curries here. 

7) Beigel Bake--my god, this place is open 24/7/365. 

That's our group outside; we couldn't fit inside because the place is packed with customers. The east end was a popular Jewish settlement at one time; now there are only two bagel places left. We had killer corned beef on fresh bagels. 

8) Pizza East--super hip industrial chic place, where we finished off with tea and chocolate salted caramel tart with chantilly creme fraiche.  I mean, come on. 

Our tastebuds are still tingling, and we are still full. 

Thank you so much to Karen and Jim for this gift. I really loved going off the mainstream London grid to experience this.