Happy Halloween

Aged or Just Sitting Around Getting Dusty?

The Borough Market has everything you could ever want to eat or drink.

Fresh scallops, pheasants, wreaths made of dark chocolate, delicate meringues, wild mushrooms, Malaysian curry, hand-made pork pies, bottles of sparkling Prosecco, and wheels of cheese, all in one market place.

Assortment of Mushrooms

One booth showcased a rare red-topped mushroom that looked rather poisonous, but the vendor assured me that all his mushrooms were edible although some varietals could only be eaten ‘once’.

Olives,  plump and colorful.

Lots and lots of cheese.

 (Like Yarg, made in Cornwall, from the milk of Friesian cows.

Wrapped in nettle leaves to mature, forms an edible, though moldy, rind).

 Meats are quite popular.

Maybe it’s the presentation, but I moved quickly to the next booth.

Nope, this wasn’t doing it for me either….I want my meat to look, well, not so much like where it came from.

Ok, moving on.

While queuing up to sample the aged prosciutto, 

overhead the following:

Vendor:  “Blah blah blah aged for blah blah blah, would you like a sample?”

Mother nods her head: “Yes.”

Small girl, looking rather concerned, tugs on Mother’s sweater while pointing to the butchered pig: “Mum-mee, has it really been sitting here for a whole month?”

……vegetarianism is starting to look a little appealing!

Landmarks

I have problems with directions. Always have.

Years ago I was driving from the New Hampshire border towards Boston’s Logan Airport and I overshot and ended up in Plymouth before I realized I was lost. If you know the area, that actually takes some skill as Plymouth is approximately 40 miles south.

Once I missed a housewarming party. I brought directions but no telephone number. Those friends later gave me a keychain that says, “I don’t need no stinkin’ maps”.

Living in San Diego, I have the Pacific Ocean as a guide so I have done pretty well.

Saturday we moved to LONDON for a 7-week stint.

Very exciting but what were the chances that I would find my way back to our flat each day?

Well, this is my new Pacific Ocean:

Tower Bridge of London

Couldn’t be more excited to have the Thames River and the Tower Bridge in our backyard.

Not just because its pretty.

I can walk north on our side of the river or I can walk south on our side of the river or I can walk north on the opposite side (well, you get the idea) and still turn around and find my way home.

At first I was a bit concerned that there would be major similarities in all the bridges on the Thames. So I walked the River Path to test my theory.

Hmmm, kinda non-descript.

And this is the bridge that gets all the hype (maybe more exciting when it was ‘falling down’).

Now there are definitely some good-looking bridges.

Millennium Bridge

Blackfriars Bridge

Yep, these are all nice, but I got the best (and tallest) bridge!

And I think I will be able to find my way home.