Returning to London

I spent the first semester of my junior year in London. It was a very different place back then. Just like every urban city has grown particularly in areas that were once not that safe are now happening. The two biggest changes are the toilet paper and the food. I am quite sure I survived on pub lunches, shrimp chips, and for the toilet paper it was small squares with a slight waxy cover.

Late post this today. I got the new IPhone 11 and had to figure out how to convert HEIC to Jpeg to upload the photos to the blog. Irritating to say the least.

We are only here for a few days before heading off to Poland, Budapest and Prague with one day in Geneva. We started the day at the Tate Modern. Hyundai commissioned Kara Walker to create Fons Americanus, a 43 foot working water fountain. It is made out of environmentally conscious materials. The piece explores the interconnections between America, Europe and Africa zeroing in on the slave trade. It is an incredible.

There is also an Olafur Eliasson show up. This was my favorite piece. A huge case containing 450 pieces of various sizes that record his work with his studio team from 1996 -2014 where he collaborated with Einar Thornsteinn, a mathematician, architect and artist.

We walked over to Borough Hall which has become overwhelming with food stalls inside and restaurant surrounding the area. When we first went there it was quite civilized now you can’t barely stand particularly on the weekends.

Instead we went over to the Barbary for lunch. All the seats surround the kitchen. Everything is being made on this small grill. Delicious spot. The explosion of Mediterranean food is incredible. My favorite. Simple and full of flavor.

The Jerusalem bagel with a little bit of zatar on the side is always a hit.

For dinner we went to Scully. The chef comes from so many places and his parents were also from different parts of the globe. His food and spices reign from Australia, Ireland and India. The space is serene painted in dark grey with low light against a bright open kitchen. Our favorite was the Arepa with eggplant and a Bergamont labneh. I truly applaud his unique combination of dishes but a tad heavy handed. Although all beautifully plated, there needs to be a lighter touch which would give the plates more of an air of sophistication.

Day two we missed the breakfast by 5 minutes at Dishoom so ended up with lunch. I love love love this place. There are a few of them in the city paying homage to the Iranian cafes that were of a different era. We had Black Daal, a dark rich lentil dish, Chicken Ruby, a sweet spicy curry, a bowl of greens and Lamb Biryani. Everything was so delicious that I bought the cookbook. So so good!

I had purchased some ceramics from Thrown, a gallery that represents many ceramic artists in England so I was curious. We went there to have a look and then began to walk back. Quite a walk but it was fun to walk through so many neighborhoods and parks.

We walked through Waterlow Park. There is a cemetery next to it where Karl Marx is buried. Definitely an old feeling to the place.

Then continued through Hampstead Heath.

And through Primrose Hill where you can see London on the horizon.

Had dinner with friends and off we go to our next journey. What’s so nice about being back in London is we always come back so we can enjoy the city without feeling rushed.

Comments (Archived):

  1. awaldstein

    Enjoy and thanks for taking me along through the posts.Good to see you venturing east. Just bought a week in Tblisi in the Spring and am honestly excited by the thought of it alone.Safe and fun travels.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Nice!!!

      1. awaldstein

        Since you are traveling around Alpine regions in Europe, this might be interesting to you mapping some general impacts of climate change on the wine world.https://www.nytimes.com/int

  2. Justin Fyles

    I lived in Primrose Hill when I first moved here. I definitely prefer my life in East London, but I’ll always miss an autumn stroll up to the top for a view of the whole city before hopping onto the tube into the center of the hustle and bustle.

  3. scottythebody

    So happy that you hit Dishoom. I sometimes go to London “for business”, but it’s really just to eat at Dishoom (or Clove Club). But really Dishoom.

    1. Gotham Gal

      So good!!!