Market color

On a recent Saturday, we headed out to a couple of markets that we enjoy in London. Shown in this photo is the market that is very close to our house. Held only on Saturdays at the Duke of York Square, it primarily features many types of prepared food. It was such a pretty September day, that I grabbed my new camera and away we went. Before this last trip, I finally purchased the new Nikon D3000 that had just come out, got a quick lesson at the store and left town the next day. So far, I'm pretty adept at taking pictures on the "automatic" setting--otherwise known as the default setting for those who know nothing more.

I love the colors of the market, and this Saturday was no exception. Grabbing an almond croissant, we headed out for the day.

Can't go to the market without getting a little bag of nuts. The vendors love to give you samples, and are quite willing to mix a bag of your favorites.

I was surprised to see such beautiful strawberries this late in the season. A bowl of strawberries with cream poured over the top is the English way to indulge.

Fresh vegetables from the farmers nearby.

The color story continues at the Borough Market that I wrote about earlier in this post.

Shades of purple and white--I'm just getting the hang of this new gadget.

And this plant with pink, white and red berries. I'm dying to know what it is. Does anyone know?

And to welcome autumn which knocks at our door, a wagon full of pumpkins.

Happy fall!

Now if I could just find that instruction book for the camera, that I never even opened, I might could try something more advanced. At the present time, it is AWOL, and I have a sinking feeling it might be on a Continental airplane flying all around the country deep in one of those seat pouches, never to be seen again. Oh well.....

Penshurst Place

These last two weeks in England have been busy ones, first with my sister's stay the first week, and then a visit from my husband's company's board of directors and their wives, and then finally a mini-trip the last few days to the Cotswolds. I have so many things to share with you, and if you'll allow me a little time over these next couple of weeks while I'm back in the States, I hope to share many interesting and beautiful things I've seen. A week ago now, I went to visit Penshurst Place, an historic home in Kent which is the ancestral home of the Sidney family.

This visit was another one of the fun activities that was offered through the American Women's Club here in the city. We sat out by coach (bus) for our day trip. Upon arrival we were amazed at the size and beauty of this incredible stately home. It has passed through the hands of royalty and nobility for over 600 years.

First built in 1341, it was later enlarged in 1552 when King Edward gave the house to Sir William Sidney, who had been a courtier to King Henry VIII. It has passed through this family through time, and is now one of the best preserved examples of a defended manor house in England. We were not allowed to take photos of the furnishings inside, but I can tell you that the interiors were fascinating. An interesting tidbit, the huge Baron's Hall, completed in 1341, has recently been used in the filming of The Other Boleyn Girl, as well as The Princess Bride. Of course, now I'm eager to see these two movies again, to spy the hall we visited.

Visiting the gardens was delightful. Eleven acres of Elizabethan garden design charm you at every turn.

Still blooming in September were the roses-white and pink.

Surprises awaited us as we strolled: apple trees,

fountains with rainbows,

garden rooms cut from hedges,

and at the end of our visit, a group picture of the London gals. Another page to add to our memory books.

Thames River Festival

Saturday was such a beautiful day here in London that no one wanted to stay indoors. We headed out to the Thames River that divides London in half for the annual celebration of the Thames Festival. Up and down the river, there were all sorts of festivities, including entertainment, food, boat rides, a night parade, and a fabulous fireworks show that we saw from the terrace on top of our home later that night. We headed to the Southwark Bridge which spans the river at one of its more narrow points. The bridge was closed to motorists so that the Feast on the Bridge could be set up. Spanning the length of the bridge were two long tables, draped with cloths and decorated with flowers.

Food from local area restaurants was featured. You could choose from paella,

meatball sandwiches, grilled burgers,

sausage and onions on baps (buns) or a whole host of a variety of ethnic foods.

Those with a sweet tooth might have been tempted by the bowls of strawberries and cream,

the many flavors of brownies,

or little cakes with a London flair.

There was quite a party atmosphere, with the opportunity to tread grapes for wine,

bob for apples,

or watch apples being pressed into fresh juice.

One of the big hits was the Beast on the Bridge, an iced cake which was 6 meters long.

The children were encouraged to decorate the cupcakes to finish him out.

And if you were lucky enough to stay until 5 PM, you could participate in the slaying of the beast and then help yourself to a taste.

One of my favorite exhibits was the Flower Pot People who had created hats from flower pots.

Caught this photo of my husband trying one on. This doesn't make him a "pot-head" does it?

What a fun way to celebrate the final days of summer, as autumn has been teasing us since then with rain, wind and chillier weather. We're headed away for a couple of days to the beautiful villages in the Cotswolds. Hope we can find a little bit of good weather along the way. I'll post some photos soon.

Sister Act

As I post this blog, my sister is flying home to Houston after spending a week with us in our home here in London. I miss her already. We couldn't have packed any more into these past 7 days, because we have been on the go from breakfast to bedtime snack. I imagine when she goes back to work tomorrow, her feet will appreciate being under a desk all day, because we have walked miles this week in our attempt to leave no stones unturned.

Of course, we hit all the hot spots--the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace,

and since the queen is on holiday this month, she let us (and a few thousand others) go into her home for a peek. Shown above is the back of the palace from her gardens, a view most tourists don't get to see. Unfortunately, photos are not allowed in the palace, so you'll just have to take our word for it, that it was sumptuous.

On what was a very warm fall day, we headed to the Tower of London and had this picture taken in front of the Tower Bridge.

You can't come to London and not have your picture taken in front of Big Ben

and Parliament.

Thursday, she joined my American Women's Club friends and me for a bus trip to Penshurst Place in Kent. It is a fascinating six-centuries old manor house full of history with lovely gardens. More about this special place in a future blog.

An extra bonus of that day was being able to introduce Holly to some of my London friends, one of whom is named Holly as well. Here we are lunching at Royal Tunbridge Wells, a popular spa town of Georgian times.

And Holly made friends with one of the Chelsea pensioners in our neighborhood on one of our strolls.

A week of gorgeous weather was topped off with a beautiful day on Saturday when we enjoyed a celebration of the Thames River that was held this weekend. Here we were part of the many who dined on the Southwark Bridge spanning the river. St. Paul's Cathedral is in the distance.

Of course, two sisters can't get together without shopping, so we hit Harrod's a couple of times, and several other of my favorite shopping areas. Can you believe it did not rain a drop all week? How will she ever believe me from now on when I complain about the weather here?

To top it off, since we both love music so much, we made it to two musicals--Mamma Mia and the newly opened Sister Act. We loved them both. I think we make a pretty good "sister act" ourselves! Thanks for the memories, Holly!

Flight to London

We flew rather uneventfully from Houston to London today, or was it yesterday? Not sure how you classify that when you leave on a Saturday, travel through 6 time zones and land in London on Sunday morning. All I know is that fatigue has really set in as I write this, now that it is close to bedtime, but I have a couple of quick thoughts to share before retiring. First our arrival into Heathrow was not a pleasant Welcome to London-Glad You are Here greeting, to say the least. Typically, Mike and I sail through passport control, thanks to a rather clever system the Brits have designed. Named IRIS, the entry point into the UK goes like this. A year ago, our eyes were photographed and documented, so that when we enter the country now, we step into a booth, focus on two dots, the camera registers our irises, and then the door to the booth opens out to the other side allowing free access into the country--no hassle, no questions, no contacts with humans, and best of all, no lines.

Well, today of all days, the system was down, and so, we made our way to the end of the most atrocious line I have ever observed in the Heathrow Airport. Six planes arrived virtually at the same time, and approximately 1000 people were in line. (I didn't count them, you understand-I could barely keep my eyelids open, but the gentleman behind me did an approximation.) To add insult to injury, there were only 4 agents working, instead of the usual 8 0r 9. That meant we had to stand in line, captives in the Passport Control hall, for one hour and 40 minutes. Thank goodness we did not have any specific plans upon arrival or connections to make, because we would have been sadly disappointed.

The one bright spot in our travel, however, was my choice of movie with my dinner. Called Millions, and released in 2004, this film produced by Danny Boyle, of Slumdog Millionaire fame, captured me. I had never heard of it, but I was hooked from the first scene. Two young British boys are caught in a quandary of conscience and ethics when a quarter of a million pounds literally falls from the sky. The challenges they face in trying to decide how to spend it will delight you and warm your heart. I am a sucker for any movie with a little boy speaking in a British accent--I just want to take him home with me. If you want to see a heart-warming, feel-good story, go now to your Net Flex and Blockbuster lists and add this name-Millions. If you give the title a click, you'll get a preview and see a hint of what I'm talking about. Let me know if you've seen it and what you think!

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4086890777/

Robes of Glory

When Summer gathers up her robes of glory,

And, like a dream glides away.

Sarah Helen Whitman

Hope you enjoy my first attempt at a photo mosaic of some of this summer's flowers. With Autumn knocking at the door, I thought one more glimpse of the "robes of glory" was fitting. I'm headed to London once again, and so excited to take my sister with me this time. Hope we find time amongst all the touring to keep you updated with our travel journal.

Stay tuned....