Southwark Chocolate Festival

Tony and I took the tube down to Waterloo Station to go to the Chocolate Festival in Southwark. It is just south of the Thames River with a view of the London Eye and Big Ben.







Chocolatiers from London and Europe had booths where they were presenting their best chocolates.









One booth had the actual chocolate plant pods to see. We tasted a piece of the raw pod. It had a somewhat starchy/nutty flavor to it, which hinted at the more pronounced flavor that would be brought out in the roasting process.






There were chocolate bars and candies of all shapes and sizes. Some were even what they called "raw chocolate bars", which meant they had no preservatives in them. They would need to be eaten within 3 days. I bought one from a vendor called Roar. It was very intense dark chocolate. Ummm.





We decided to make a lunch out of it and had a bowl of Chocolate Chili.





We were very excited to find a booth selling Mole Tamales. They were from a restaurant off Portabello Road called La Taqueria. We plan to visit them sometime soon.

I had one of the greatest Chocolate brownies I've ever had, and we had authentic Spanish Churros served with Dipping Chocolate. It was a splendidly chocolate afternoon, though cold and a little rainy.

The Ongoing Quest for Good Mexican Food

One of the biggest cravings I get over here is for good Mexican food. It isn't too hard to find burritos and tacos, but Tamales and Chile Rellenos are pretty scarce.





This has led to our small family of resident ex-pats to seek out the latest places offering mexican food as they appear.




Most recently, our quest led us to El Camino in Soho. It wasn't bad, and was actually quite good as a Burrito/Taco "Hot Sauce Head" hangout.








Our expectations were peaked when we saw their entire walls were covered with Hot Sauces.







This made me think of my friend, JD, back in LA who makes his own hot sauce and sells it at Whole Foods. Go pick up a bottle and support him!







Though they don't serve the more unusual Mexican Foods that I look for, they did have a good Carnitas Burrito, and some good looking mini Tacos. We got a good laugh out of how small they were. We also had a lot of fun with the different Hot Sauces including one that is called "Pure Cap".




Though lacking in the Margarita Department (I'm still on a quest to find a really good one in London), the chips, salsa, and guacamole were quite satisfying.

Tulips!

The daffodils are starting to die off, but no sooner are they fading, but then the Tulips begin to pop up all over the place. And they are beautiful.


I believe that the reason the English Garden is so important to the British is that after such a damp cold winter, the bursting forth of flowers holds the promise of spring and summer.





It is lovely as the days grow warmer and longer to take the dogs out for a stroll in the park and appreciate the bright colors of the flowers. They contrast greatly with the often gray skies and buildings.

A delicate matter. . .

So as a Dog Guardian, I understand the delicate matter of collecting my dog's poop. It's just part of the job. I've never watched another animal poop as much as I have my two dogs. I've seen them do it in all manner and fashion. It's been runny and solid, and in small and large quantities. It's not pleasant, but I always pick up the steaming little piles of puppy poop and deposit in the rubbish bins.

Granted, they are often overflowing my neighborhood. . .


In England, Dog Guardians frequently do not pick up their animal's waste. But when they do, they collect it in small plastic bags and then leave the little packages of excrement on the curb.






I'm not sure the street cleaners appreciate these little canine presents no matter how colorfully wrapped they are. . .

Roadtrip to Bath - Part 8 - Cheddar Gorge

The last stop on our roadtrip was to the small town of Cheddar Gorge. It reminds me a cross between a mountain town in the Sierras, and a funky motorcycle stop somewhere on Mulholland.












It is most known as the original birthplace of Cheddar Cheese. They make every type of cheddar there, and it is often aged in the caves in that area.






I tried several, and ended up buying a small cake of Extremely Strong Cheddar. Absolutely delicious.








The area is also known for Cider and Clotted Cream Fudge. Of course we ended up trying both.






The town was full of people out enjoying the sun and good weather. There were hikers and bikers and people of all ages and shapes. This added to the fun summer mountain town vibe.







I'd love to come back to Cheddar Gorge for a weekend getaway with Tony and the Dogs. There are cave tours, and lots of fun hiking. I'm not a rock climber, but Cheddar Gorge posesses the highest granite cliffs in England.

Roadtrip to Bath - Part 7 - Glastonbury

My mother had recommended going to Glastonbury before I'd left for London. It is a small town not too far from Bath that is most famous for the ruins of its ancient Abbey than for its modern one.


The original Abbey stood for hundreds of years until the reformation when Henry VIII raided the catholic churches for their relics and moneys. At that time, the Abbey fell into disrepair, and ultimately became the beautiful ruins that can be seen today.






It is a green and pastoral park, and we were allowed to bring the dogs inside and walk around. It had warmed up a bunch, so it made for a lovely time to play with the dogs and see what is left of what was an amazing complex.



Glastonbury Abbey is reputed to have been the location of King Arthur's tomb. In the 15th century, the Monks at the abbey were needing money, and conveniently, King Arthur's remains were found in its cemetary. They were moved inside the church, and became a holy site for many pilgrims. This also brought a lot of money to the Abbey. Coincidence. . . Truth. . . The answer has been lost to history and legend.


























To this day, Glastonbury is a powerful site attracting many spiritual and magical people. . . as well as a major music festival in the summer!















As some described it, Glastonbury is a "hippie" town. It does have a bit of that San Francisco Haight Asbury vibe. There are a lot of magic and crystal shops along its main street.



















I think the highlight of Glastonbury for Pepper were ducks in a small lake by the Abbey. I think she was hoping for a "nice duck dinner."

Road trip to Bath - Part 6 - Tony goes to Stonehenge

For our third day on the roadtrip, we decided to drive around the Western England countryside and take in a few of the sites not easily accessible without a car. It is stunning. I drove an hour from Bath to Stonehenge, which, though right off the road is out in the middle of nowhere.





It was a clear and beautiful day, but very, very cold and windy out there. They dogs had to wait in the car while we walked around the site. I continue to find it to be enigmatic and impressive. Even more so when I reflect that the stones were transported some 200 miles to this location.

Roadtrip to Bath - Part 5 - Sally Lunn's Buns.

One of the culinary highlights of Bath are the well renowned Sally Lunn's Buns. These should not be mistaken for the other Bath Buns, which Rick Steves calls "forgettable".

We went to Sally Lunn's Bakery, which is just around the corner from the Roman Baths, for dinner. I had a steak, which comes served on top of a Bun, and Tony ordered soup, which came with a Bun covered with a delicious Garlic Butter Spread.

The buns are light and fluffy and awesome!

On our way out of the restaurant, I saw that the British Science Fiction hero, Dr Who, was a fan of Sally Lunn's buns.

Roadtrip to Bath - Part 4 - The Roman Baths

It was raining again when we went to see the Roman baths in Bath.





As is was darkish, they'd turned on the torches which gave the baths a really neat ambiance.






The baths in Bath are the finest examples of Roman ruins in the UK, and they are well worth the visit. The facility was very large in its original incarnation, and it is impressive just how large it was in comparison to the relatively small size of the city at that time.


The original hot spring that fed the hot water to the baths is still flowing, and in a dark chamber below the Pump Room, you can see where the overflow tunnel is still flowing with the hot water. It looks much like the heart of the Roman Baths still beating out its hot life blood.

A gold head of the Roman Goddess Sulis-Minerva still sits in the baths. The name is actually a combination of Roman and Celtic names. In an amazing move of PR, the Romans merged some of the differing cultural ideals to create a hybrid society.






One interesting piece of sculpture comes from the capital that once stood over the baths. It again shows this merging of Roman and Celtic cultures and artistic styles. For this reason, it is often sighted as one of the most important pieces of art at the baths.

Unfortunately, by the time we'd finished exploring the baths, the Pump Room upstairs was closed for a private function, and we were unable to get our free glass of mineral water from the well, so I can't tell you what it tasted like.