Columbia Road Flower Market - Sunday, March 29, 2009

Lara met us at the Liverpool Street Tube stop, conveniently located on the Circle and Metropolitan lines which were a breeze for us to access from the Jubilee line.  Upon passing through the exit we arrived in the very luminous hall, which Cleber cleverly reminded me was the same location for the T-Mobile video on Facebook which indeed had been filmed in this very location - he's so smart my Cleber.  

We eventually found Lara walking our directiopn sipping a drink from a local purveyor of snacks and after a bathroom break we headed out to the fresh air and partially sunny skies.  The Columbia Market is located in an area called Hackney.  We'll call it hipster central, and it was a wonderful mix of flower sellers both in pots and by stem, art galleries, baby shops, food shops, gardening shops, antique shops, small food stands, and even a live music.  It was a chilly day but teh sky remained for the most part free of too many clouds so it added to the ambiance and importance of a cup of warm liquid in hand. After wandering about, we eventually made it into a lovely corner pub where we acquired 3 stools at the bar and continued our path towards English culinary enlightement.  Cleber ordered the roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding, Lara ordered the vegetable dish and I decided on the salmon fish cake, accompanied by my favorite greens.

Lara had us try the Ginger beer while we waited which is a non-alcoholic beverage in a spiffy bottle and apparently incredible for your digestive tract.  It was a hit and we drank up all the ginger goodness.

We finished our meal and prepared to leave.  With Cleber and Lara in toilet land I was approached by a Bulgarian father and dughter pair eager to take over their seats.  one thing led to another, and she used to live in California and they as a family lived in Nigeria, as he was an architect and built the NBA building in the capital city.  

We continued down Columbia Road and circled around in order to head back to the tube, Lara led us down Brick Lane where we grabbed a cup and Chai and proceeded to enjoy the sites and sounds of east London.  Cleber and I left Lara at the tube stop, where we parted ways and we headed to Westminister.  Needless to say it was time to play serious tourist.  We arrived at Westminister and proceeded to walk along the bridge for a better vantage point to see Big Ben and the Eye.  We, and when I say we, I mean Cleber, took a ton of pictures capturing the seagulls flying across the Eye, capturing nature and industry at it's most poetic moment.

We managed to make our way from Westminister to Primrose Hill, passing through Buckinghame Palace ("It's smaller than I imagined it" Cleber Bonato), Green Park ("The daffdils are amazing" - Cleber and Lucie-Anne), Hyde Park (Met a lovely man who resembled Santa Claus and his little dog named Pickle), Regents' Park and then up to Primrose where we, and I mean Cleber, captured the sunset in a most romantic way.

Although we arrived 5 minutes early, Reshma let us in to her lovely new home, as the call for the toilet was stronger than both Cleber and I could manage and thus we arrived hoping that our early arrival would not cause panic in the kitchen where Reshma was busily creating an Indian feast for us, and Lara and her boyfriend Edward, who would arrive just in time for dinner.

The evening was splendid, we had the pleasure of meeting Edward and enjoying each other's company.  I do believe that Cleber and I are very blessed with our circle of friends and I thank you all for your love and support.  We arrived home thanks to Edward's kind offer to return us to our homestead and proceeded yet again to fall asleep with big smiles on our faces.

London Take 1 - Saturday, March 28, 2009

This was to be Cleber's first voyage into the United Kingdom, the home of cricket and mash.   The very city where members of the G20 were gathering to debate the world's problems 4 days later and ground zero for the financial crisis we find ourselves in today.  

The adventure began at 1:30 pm in Paris' Gare du Nord terminal, 45 miniutes in advance of our departure - keeping in line with the recommended advance in the Eurostar rule book.  We were taking no chances  The entire check-in process went smoothly,  along the way we ran into Cleber's web site designer and a policeman who apparently sopke Portugese after questionning Cleber where he was from and realizing he was Brazilian, addindg a touch of that French welcoming manner a little bom dia to set him on his way.  Upon arriving at the customs desk we were stared and at and measured from head to toe.  There was a definite air of "high security" tension, as both Cleber and I were questioned regarding various pieces of our passport puzzle that could be considered security risks at best.  Between the double line which was drawn on the corner of the stamp which we received in Barcelona over our romantic Valentine's weekend and my passport photo which was apparently coming unglued, we managed to convince the border control that we were not security risks and we lugged our bags across the finish line and stood in line waiting for the 2:13 train to St. Pacras. 

Cleber and I arrived on time and in one piece in London's St. Pancras' terminal and proceeded through the waiting arms of various police, family members and friends waiting for various passengers on our train.  We couldn't help but mark this occasion with a photo of Cleber in mid terminal with British police just at his side, and the glorious clock in the distance announcing are on time arrival and the extra hour we had just been granted, only to be taken away a few hours later.

Hoped on the Central District Line, and away we went to West Hampstead, where we were staying at my friend Sanjeev's beautiful bachelor pad.  We arrived, were let into the house by his lovely neighbors and proceed to make ourselves at home.  I had one goal in mind, however, and that was to get my feet prettied up and ready for action.  My friend, Reshma, kindly made an appointment at a local nail salon and so I was off with my Todd's and a umbrella (just in case) while Cleber attended to dipping our clothes in anti-mosquito repelant.  Needless to say the minute I stepped out the door, it was pouring rain and hail and I wondered who truly had the better deal, me or Cleber.  

I made my way down Finchley Road as quickly as my soaking moccasin's could take me...Upon arriving at the nail salon a sense of halleluiah came over me as I envisioned my being taken care of by a small asian woman who would attend to my foots every need and I could just sit back and relax.  As I opened the door a wave of warmth came over me and with it a toxic wave of intense chemical smell that overwhelmed me to such a degree that I rushed in cancelled my appointment and stood outside sheepishly waiting for Reshma to arrive so I could let her know that there was no way that I would not last in this chemical closet.  And so I returned to my Cleber.

That night Reshma and Phillip organized an evening out at a traditional pub in Hampstead, called the Holly Bush.  I wanted to make sure that Cleber had a pub experience.  And sure enough it was all that and more.  After parking the car and walking amongst some of the most gorgeous pieces of real estate - owned by many rich and some of the more famous in London, including Scary Spice's pad, we arrived at this very traditional and quaint pub where sounds of merry beer drinkers and pub employees scurrying about greeted us upon our arrival.  Without hesitation we made our way directly to the bar and ordered our first round.  Cleber began with a dark ale recommended by Phillip, and Reshma and I stuck with lemonade.   The entire building, encased in wood,  had ceilings which were rather low giving you a feeling of cozy tout de suite.  We were lucky enough to get a table, in the back, where we sat down to prepare for the second portion of our evening which involved the tasting of local specialties including a steak, kidney and oyster pie, and a lentil cake complete with greens and a light drizzle of tomato sauce.  My friends Cheryl and Ryan joined us in this feast and we all enjoyed the evening together before I asked to call it a night as I was exhausted.

We made it home, got ready for bed and off to dream land we went. The next day was approaching fast and we wanted to be ready for our next adventure to the Columbia Road Flower Market.