Sunday, January 15, 2012
London

For the third time in a row, my stays in London have been disrupted by a bout of illness that comes from left field and brings me to my knees–literally. After spending a sleepless night during which my body temperature waxed and waned, I awoke at dawn with a splitting headache, nausea, weakness–the works. I disregarded two hotel wake-up calls and when it felt as if I simply couldn’t drag myself from my bed, I called my colleague to tell her I had no choice but to opt out of our excursion to Greenwich. Popping a pill into my mouth, I pulled the comforter around me and hoped to get back to sleep feeling even sicker with disappointment.

It was about 10. 45 when I awoke feeling much better. I jumped into the shower in the hope that water’s rejuvenating effects would work their magic–and they did! I nipped down quickly to the restaurant for brekkie, then got out of the hotel and jumped on to the Tube and the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) with the idea of getting to Greenwich and linking up with my students. As it turned out, public transport worked wonders and within 40 minutes I was at in the quaint heart of Greenwich.

Exploring Greenwich:
My students, who had left the hotel at 9 am, had taken the ferry from the Embankment and in the company of Warren, our Blue Badge Guide, had a wonderfully enlightening morning. By the time I arrived in Greenwich at 12 noon, they had climbed the hill to the Royal Observatory at which point they had dispersed. My energy levels were much too low to carry me up the hill. I entered the National Maritime Museum instead (where I hooked up with my colleague Wil and her partner Louis) and made a beeline for Nelson’s blood-stained coat in the dimly-lit gallery where it is proudly displayed. Because I had explored the museum before at length and in detail, I walked briskly to Christopher Wren’s masterpiece–the Royal Naval College–and entered two of my favorite rooms in the entire country: The Chapel (with masterworks on the ceiling by James Stewart and on the altarpiece by Benjamin West) and the magnificent Painted Hall (considered to be the second most beautiful painted room in Europe (after Rome’s Sistine Chapel)–the handiwork of James Thornhill who also painted the interior of the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. I spent an enormous amount of time in these rooms in order to study their decorative details at length. Outside, with the sun pouring down upon Greenwich’s green expansive lawns and statuary, I took dozens of pictures.

I next went to The Museum attached to the Tourist Information Hall to ponder over exhibits that comprise ‘Discover Greenwich’. And indeed I did. What I love most about being a perpetual student of history is that there is always yet another new fact I learn no matter how often I revisit historic haunts. I did not know, for instance, that a royal palace called Placentia had once stood on Wren’s site: Henry VIII loved it, his daughters Mary and Elizabeth were born in it. When Inigo Jones built the Queen’s Palace for Queen Charlotte, he was only adding to a number of buildings that had already seen royal occupation. Overall, I had a great time and was delighted that I had overcome my early joust with illness and had made the decision to save the day.

However, I discovered soon that I was not the only one feeling out-of-sorts. It seems that jetlag and their incessant partying has caught up with my students who were dropping with fatigue on the boat ride. A decision was, therefore, taken to terminate our visit early and instead of taking the 5 pm ferry back to the city, we boarded one at 3 pm. I made the most of my abbreviated cruise and upon disembarking at Tower Gate, we hopped into the Tube to return to Victoria.

Off to F&M for some Foodie Fun:
My next port of call was Fortnum and Mason at Piccadilly: indeed I never leave London without doing the mandatory rounds about its enticing merchandise and feeling deeply tempted to buy it all. I contented myself this time round, however, with jars of goose fat (impossible to find in the USA and perfect for roasting potatoes) and jars of Jubilee Majestic Marmalade: F&M’s unique blend made especially for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and studded with flakes of gold! Sheer decadence in a jam jar! I bought a few more bits and bobs before I decided to seek refreshment in The Parlor on the first floor. Although I was dying for a cuppa, I decided to have a sundae instead. The Parlor is famed for his Knickerbocker Glory–a sundae that comprises raspberry puree, fresh raspberries, vanilla ice-cream and whipped cream. I chose instead to eat a ‘Dusty Road’ Sundae composed of Chocolate, Praline and Coffee ice-cream, amaretti biscuits and caramel sauce. It just hit the spot in that it ended my hunger pangs but did not fill me up to capacity. I had a dinner engagement later in the evening and needed to save some room.
When I had finished surveying F&M’s lovely selection of china, silver and crystal on the top floors and section after section of gastronomic temptation on the lower floor, I hopped several buses to get to Seymour Street near Marble Arch for my next appointment at 7 pm.

Dinner at Locanda Locatelli:
In recent months, chef Giorgio Locatelli’s restaurant Locanda Locatelli, located in the Churchill Hotel on Portman Square, has been very much in the news for the acquisition of the gold standard in the restaurant business–a Michelin star. Locatelli, a Sicilian, has also written a book entitled Tastes of Sicily and is renowned for his use of the best ingredients superbly, if simply, prepared. So when Llew’s former colleague and our family friend Mr. Hassan, suggested that I meet him there for dinner, I did a double take. Indeed I was well in time for our 7 pm seating and was amazed to find out that he is a regular at the place and is greeted personally by the wait staff who know him well.

For the next couple of hours, we had a leisurely ‘catch up’ over some of Locatelli’s specialities: both of us chose Tagliatelli with Lobster, chilli and garlic oil for our Primary source. For my Secondi, I chose medium-rare venison steaks served with radichhio de Treviso and mushrooms while my friend chose the sea bass. Both dishes were very satisfying indeed and we could well see why Locatelli has built up such a sterling reputation. Unfortunately, having snacked on the excellent bread basket while sipping a glass of Prosecco, I had not saved room for dessert and coffee. Sweet somethings in the form of chocolate truffles, marzipan-filled choux puffs and marshmallows were presented with the compliments of the chef and it was with difficulty that I managed to stand up and walk off. My friend dropped me back to the Hotel Grosvenor where I decided to make a very early night of it in view of my very recent recovery.

Our travels are going swimmingly and I can only hope that they will continue to be as fulfilling as the days go by.