Kent, England

I took all of these photos at Penshurst Place and Garden in Kent, known as 'the Garden of England.'  We ended our trip here, visiting with old friends who have now lived in Sevenoaks for many years and seeing a little more of a part of England that has perhaps an embarassment of riches.  On a previous trip, we visited Chartwell (Churchill's home from 1924 to the end of his life) and Sissinghurst  Castle, whose beautiful garden was created by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson in the 1930s.  Both were absolutely wonderful and memorable.

On this visit, our friends Luc and Lorraine took us to three castles that were equally as wonderful, one of which is practically within walking distance of their house: Knole, referred to as "England's forgotten palace."  Set in a medieval deer park (and yes, there are deer everywhere and they walk up quite close to people), Knole is one of England's most important and complete historic houses.  It was remodeled by the family of Vita Sackville-West, who still live here today and have for the last 400 years.

Penshurst is one of England's oldest family homes, and it has belonged to royalty and nobles -- including Henry VIII -- for more than six centuries.  The castle's Barons Hall, dating from 1341, is magnificent.  Sir John Julius Norwich has described it as "one of the grandest rooms in the world" and it has featured in several films, including 'The Princess Bride.'  But Penshurst's formal gardens really knock your socks off.  An 11 acre series of walled gardens create garden 'rooms,' each one distinct from another, with different foliage and blooms occurring throughout the year.

Hever Castle & Gardens is noteworthy for its double moated, 13th century castle which was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn.  Its gardens are beautiful as well, but the water maze might be the property's most popular feature!

Kent is also home to Leeds Castle, Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery, Spa Valley Railway, Canterbury Cathedral, Dover Castle, and the home of Charles Darwin (an English Heritage property), among many other noteworthy attractions. 

Regrettably, I was not able to visit the Great Dixter House & Gardens, which is in nearby East Sussex.  I'd especially wanted to visit Great Dixter because the manor house there -- with one of the largest surviving timber-framed halls in the country -- was the longtime home of noted British gardener and gardening writer Christopher Lloyd, and the gardens consistently appear on a short list of top gardens in England.  But additionally, readers of my Istanbul book may recall that I included an essay entitled 'The Turkish Rose' by Fergus Garrett, who is the head gardener at Great Dixter.  It's a wonderful piece, and I'd hoped to meet him in person.  Ah well, as the French say, il faut toujours garder une perle pour la prochaine fois (it's necessary to save a pearl for the next time)...

Finally, I have come to the end of this series of posts, and therefore, I'm about to start posting like mad on a number of other topics and destinations: the pile I've amassed for blog posts is a leaning tower of papers, and needs to be reduced!

The photo of the London Eye below, as seen from the Kensington Gardens, is a reminder to either reserve in advance or arrive early to buy your tickets.  My daughter really wanted to go, and we waffled as my husband is afraid of heights and wasn't keen on it, and then we made a last-minute decision to go but when we arrived in the late morning the wait was an hour and a half.  La prochaine fois! 

The Cotswolds

When we checked in at the rental counter to pick up the car we were driving to the Cotswolds, the representative told us he was offering us "the deal of the century": an upgrade to a Mercedes Benz for only 9 euros more per day.   It seemed like a good idea at the time, so we agreed.  But it had been almost 14 years since my husband had last driven in a car with the steering wheel on the opposite side, and though he was very comfortable with it in England and Wales, this time proved different, and he was on the verge of cancelling the whole plan to drive to the Cotswolds.  But he decided to persevere, and we finally arrived in Adlestrop (after a few near mishaps) at The Old Post Office, a lovely bed-and-breakfast that was once an 18th century post office.  It was lunchtime and our hosts sent us to nearby Daylesford, an absolutely fabulous organic farm with a restaurant and shop and tables set up in an indoor courtyard.  We were at one of those tables in the courtyard, enjoying an assortment of delicious breads with a salad of heirloom tomatoes, feta, and mint and another with wild rice, dried apricots, and pistachios; my daughter was drinking an elderflower pressé from Belvoir Fruit Farms and I was drinking a crisp, white wine from Daylesford's sister farm in Provence, Château Léoube; the sun came out, and my husband asked, "what would you say if we didn't drive on to Cornwall tomorrow?"  Without missing a beat I said that was a terrific idea.

The original plan was too ambitious to begin with -- a three to four hour drive -- even under the best of circumstances (being comfortable behind the wheel).  So, happily we were able to stay on at The Old Post Office, and enjoy more visits to Daylesford!  I am completely smitten with this estate, run by Lady Carole Bamford.  Not only is there the cheese room, produce market, bakery, and cafe -- which was honored with a Bib Gourmand award from Michelin two years in a row -- but there's also the farmshop, which is filled with truly wonderful items like jars of strong English mustard, red onion and apple chutney, plum jam, sturdy cotton canvas tote bags, wooden utensils, towels, tabletop items, body and bath items, olive oil from Château Léoube, and an assortment of different sized storage containers made of white ceramic with smooth, wooden lids that I absolutely love.  And, there's also a cookery school and a spa.  (I didn't know until I got home that there is a three-story Farmshop & Cafe in London [44b Pimlico Road, SW1 / Sloane Square tube stop / open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.] plus one in the Selfridges Food Hall [400 Oxford Street, W1] and another in Notting Hill at 208-212 Westbourne Grove, W11.)

The Old Post Office is a truly lovely lodging that is run by a very friendly couple who are enthusiastic about their little corner of the region, and there is a selection of guides and maps for guests to peruse.  There are two large bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms, on two different levels, and the breakfast served is substantial, varied, and delicious.  The hosts do fully expect guests to vacate the premises after breakfast until about 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon, so this isn't the place to stay if you have visions of lolling about all day.  Of course, this is the general pattern of bed-and-breakfasts everywhere; but one day when we came back from a hike at lunchtime, to kick off our muddy boots and take showers, we were surprised to learn that this was unexpected and not really welcome.  I highly recommend staying here, and this somewhat peculiar policy (which should be clearly stated on the website or in the rooms) is not a reason to avoid reserving: simply plan your days so that you are out and about until the late afternoon.

The Old Post Office property is also very pretty, and just to the left of the driveway is a wooden bus shelter with ADLESTROP painted on it in big letters.  The village is tiny -- less than 100 people -- and is in the North Cotswolds in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.  Adlestrop's railway station (no longer around) was immortalised in a poem written by Edward Thomas (1878-1917), who was a poet and essayist killed in action in the Battle of Arras in France.  On 24 June, 1914, Thomas was on an express train that may or may not have made an unscheduled stop at the Adlestrop station -- there seems to some disagreement about this on various Web pages I read.  But to me it doesn't matter whether the train really did or didn't stop -- it's  a beautiful poem, one which gives the impression of someone looking out the window of the train and being struck by the utter peace and quiet of a beautiful village on the eve of the First World War.  A copy of the poem was in our room at The Old Post Office, and appears below:   


Adlestrop

Yes, I remember Adlestrop --
The name because one afternoon
Of heat the express-train drew up there
Unwontedly.  It was late June.

The steam hissed.  Someone cleared his throat.
No one left and no one came
On the bare platform.  What I saw
Was Adlestrop -- only the name

And willows, willow-herb, and grass,
And meadowsweet, and haycocks dry,
No whit less still and lonely fair
Than the high cloudlets in the sky.

And for that minute a blackbird sang
Close by, and round him, mistier,
Farther and farther, all the birds
of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

Adlestrop's other claim to fame is that Jane Austen's uncle was the vicar at  The Old Rectory, and according to The Old Post Office's website, it's believed that Austen used Adlestrop as a model for at least one location in Mansfield Park.  

We spent our three days visiting the Bourton House Garden ('The Cotswolds' best kept secret,' 2 miles west of Moreton-in-Marsh); Chipping Campden (with its beautiful, honey-colored stone Market Hall dating from the 17th century; the word 'chipping' means market); Lower Slaughter ("Voted Most Beautiful Village in the Cotswolds"); Stow-on-the-Wold (very picturesque and home to The Royalist Hotel, said to be the oldest inn in England); and Broadway (a quintessential Cotswold village that is home to the very atmospheric Lygon Arms Hotel). The annual Cotswolds Gardens Guide is a very helpful brochure that can be found at all the area gardens and most inns and shops.

We also enjoyed a terrific dinner in the pub at The Fox Inn (Lower Oddington), which was clearly a favorite locally and made us feel we were truly in the English countryside. There are three rooms available for overnight accommodation.

Note: though the day we arrived it was warm and sunny, the weather turned quite cool, and was downright cold on the day we went to the Bourton House Garden -- cold as in my lips turned blue and my teeth were chattering!  Plus it was raining for part of the day.  Just because it's summer in England doesn't necessarily mean you can get by with cotton shirts and shorts: be sure to bring pants, a warm sweater, a small umbrella or a rain parka, and appropriate footwear if you're interested in walking along the Cotswold Way National Trail.  The Trail is a spectacular, 102-mile, long distance walk between Chipping Campden and Bath.  You can walk it in one continuous journey or in shorter sections, and you pass through grasslands, villages, pastures, valleys, and woodlands and the views are tremendous.  And if you're a map nut like me, you will really appreciate the British Ordnance Survey Maps, one of which (OL45) is devoted to the Cotswolds.

As this post turned out to be longer than I expected, I will post one more, on Kent, before I finally turn to other destinations and topics! 

Spitalfields, London

This final London post is mostly devoted to a singular book and a singular site, with a few short comments at the very end.  It's long, but I think you'll find it rewarding!

If you read an earlier post, you know that I spent a fantastic Sunday in the East End.  When I was in the really neat store, Labour & Wait, I bought a copy of Spitalfields Life, by "The Gentle Author" (Saltyard Books, 2012).  [And as an aside, I can't resist telling you what a wonderful publisher Saltyard Books is! This is what they say about themselves: "Kick off your shoes.  Pour yourself a drink.  The weekend has only just begun.  Here at the Saltyard we believe in doing things right.  We believe that life is full of goodness.  All you need to really enjoy it is a little time...We believe in travel and time away.  What better than waking up somewhere new on a Saturday morning, as the sun creeps slowly across the floor?...At the Saltyard we believe that the weekend can be longer, that food can taste better, and that the sunset on Sunday will take a lifetime to dip below the horizon."]  Anyway, the book just looked irresistible, really unusual, and I had to have it.  It didn't disappoint: this is the kind of book I wish existed for lots of other neighborhoods around the world.  As "Your Loyal Servant, The Gentle Author" notes in the Introduction, "a new life began for me when I came to live here in a corner of London I had visited for many years."  The author (female or male, I don't know) explains that a thousand years after the Romans were in London, a man named Walter Brunus opened St. Mary's Hospital for the poor, and over time St. Mary's Hospital Fields became known as Spitalfields (and still today older folks refer to it as 'the fields').

The East End has historically been the immigrant neighborhood of London.  Beginning in the 12th century, Jews started a market here, and they were followed by Huguenot silk weavers from France and Belgium; migrant workers from Kent and East Anglia; Irish refugees; Sikhs, Pakistanis, and Bengalis; and more recently Afro-Caribbeans, Maltese, Germans, Scandinavians, Italians, Somalis, Thais, Filipinos, Latin Americans, Nigerians, Ghanians, and more.  It's a fact that there has occasionally been conflict in the East End, but, as the author notes, "this has always been counterbalanced by a strong egalitarian spirit, nurtured in a society where, of necessity, people learn to live alongside each other and thereby come to understand each other."

The Gentle Author recognized that a lifetime's interest in this neighborhood meant the subject was too large for any writer to create a definitive account.  So writing one story a day, each about a different person in Spitalfields, was the only way to go, and thus a recording of life in Spitalfields began.  The stories in this book originally appeared on the Author's blog, from the first eighteen months of its existence.  (Just a few comments about the blog are "Spitalfields Life is a barricade against the tide of cultural amnesia"; "A beautiful blog, the gentle author is a joy to read"; "Really loving Spitalfields Life, a blog about life in the heart of London"; and "Every neighborhood in the world should have a chronicler like @thegentleauthor") 

Spitalfields Life introduces you to the site of Shakespeare's first theater in Shoreditch, Alan Hughes the master bell-founder (whose business began in 1570), the Columbia Road Flower Market, Sandra Esqulant (owner of The Golden Heart pub and "uncrowned monarch of Spitalfields"), the curry chefs of Brick Lane, 4th-generation paper bag seller Paul Gardner, street artist Ben Eine, and Rob Ryan, who single handedly reinvented the lost art of paper cutting -- one of his paper cut designs adorns the last page of every story in the book.  Ryan has worked on projects with Paul Smith, Liberty of London, Vogue, and Fortnum & Mason.  His website is really appealing (and some of his work is available on etsy.com), and happily, the shop at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York carries a boxed set of four ceramic plates featuring a different Ryan design (in blue) on each one!  ('Four Trees, Four Seasons' is the official name of the set.)

Many people have told The Gentle Author that "Spitalfields has changed," but she/he has found that "there are plenty of people in the neighborhood who still carry the culture and stories of this place stretching back over centuries."  I would consider it an honor to meet The Gentle Author; perhaps one happy day I will.  But until then, there is this wonderful book and blog. (There is also the great Spitalfields Life map/guide -- produced by Herb Lester Associates -- that I recommended in a previous post.)

*    

My good friend Wendy has been to London many times, and she usually visits friends who have been in the habit of picking one unusual thing to do during her stay.  Not long ago the friends made reservations at the Dennis Severs House.  Wendy told me it was on her short list of most unique places she's ever been, so I was eager to borrow her copy of 18 Folgate Street: The Tale of a House in Spitalfields (Chatto & Windus, 2001; pictured above).  The final lines in the book read: "And, dear visitor, take this as the motto of the house: AUT VISUM AUT NON!  (Oh, for God's sake!)  You either see it or you don't."  So of course after I read that it I was filled with enthusiasm to visit the house, but unfortunately I wasn't going to be in London for the evening, candlelight tour, which I understand is the one you want to do (as opposed to daytime tours).  So I can't tell you about it; but that's not stopping me from recommending it, and in fact I recommended it to my friend Amy, who went to London last month with her husband and two daughters.  Amy reserved for the candlelight tour, and here's what she reports:

Visiting the Dennis Severs House is a magical experience that transports you back to the early 18^thcentury.  The house is the creation of artist Dennis Severs, who lived in the house much the same way as its original occupants might have done.  He did this for his personal enjoyment and for the atmosphere, which he then employed to create an extraordinary experience for visitors.  To enter its door is to pass through the frame of a painting, with a time and life of its own.  Upon entering, it's as if you have interrupted a family of Huguenot silk weavers named Jervis who, though they can still be heard, seem just out of sight.  The journey takes you through 10 rooms, each lit by fire and candlelight (there is no electric light), and in each you are filled with an array of stimulants to the senses. Visitors are encouraged to do what they would if looking at a painting, use what they see and sense to piece together the scene they have just missed, thus this is Mr. Severs’ intention, and what you imagine is his art.

After 30 years the experience ranks as one of the rarest in the world.  British artist David Hockney once rated its effect as standing amongst those of the world’s great opera experiences.  The visit, about 45 minutes, is conducted in silence, and there's smoky light, creaking footsteps, whispers, closing doors, ticking clocks, pleasing aromas and the mysterious presence of a black cat.   When I went the house was particularly lovely decorated for the Christmas holiday.  Four tours are offered -- see the website for more details.

Amy has been among my traveling companions, so I can tell you without hesitation that if she enthuses about something, she is sincere.  She's also a travel consultant, and may be reached via her website -- if you're way too busy to plan a trip, or need some help in putting together a unique itinerary, Amy will create a customized plan for you (including one with kids) at favorable rates.  

*

*A good article to read about the East End is 'London Goes Electric', Kate Maxwell, photographs by Lisa Limer, illustrations by Peter Oumanski, Conde Nast Traveler, May 2012)

*Two other great reads I neglected to mention previously: A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me  About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz (Penguin, 2011).  I loved this book, and it prompted me to begin on an Austen reading fest (sad confession: I'd only read Pride and Prejudice) -- so I read Emma, loved it, and now have Persuasion on my nightstand.  Bloody Confused!: A Clueless American Sportswriter Seeks Solace in English Soccer by Chuck Culpepper (Broadway 2008).  Though this is a personal experience of English soccer, it's also great for a fairly in-depth view of the sport in Britain.  Full disclosure:  Chuck is an old friend, and he's a very good writer and very funny.  But even if I'd never met him, I'd recommend his book to anyone going to England, to any soccer fan, and to any sports fan.

*There is a wonderful etching in the collection of the British Museum called London: 'The Long View' by Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-77).  I bought a postcard of it in the museum bookstore and wish I could scan it for inclusion in my blog but the image is copyrighted and I don't want to violate copyright law.  Hollar was born in Prague and was a draftsman and etcher before coming to London, where he worked on book illustration and cartography.  In 1666 he was named 'Scenographus regius' by the king, but the Great Fire of that same year put an abrupt halt to Hollar's project, which was to capture the entire city (he completed six sheets of drawings before the Fire) -- look for the postcard, and the print suitable for framing, in the museum shop.

*Readers of my previous posts know that I recommended The Golden Hind [73 Marylebone Lane, W1] for fish and chips.  I'd meant to share a little of the background behind this quintessential British specialty, which I gleaned from The Traditional Shops and Restaurants of London by Eugenia Bell (Little Bookroom).  Bell informs us that the fish evolved separately from the chips: fried wedges of potato ("almost certainly a French invention") was a staple in the north of England in the 19th century.  Fried fish came from Jewish kitchens of the East End, and one of the earliest recorded fish-and-chip shops in London was Joseph Malin's in Whitechapel, dating from about 1860.  Bell notes that fish-and-chips as a meal first caught on in England's northern cities and then spread to holiday resort towns along the coasts.  It became so essential that "during the Second World War, the Minister of Food, Lord Woolton, decreed that it would not be rationed.  Today there is even a professional body, the National Federation of Fish Friers, which publishes a magazine, the Fish Friers Review."  In London, different types of fish can be found on a "chippie" menu -- cod, hake, haddock, and plaice are traditional, but most of the fish today comes frozen, sadly, from Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Russia.  The oldest fish-and-chips shop in London is Rock & Sole Plaice [47 Endell Street, WC2]. 

*Finally, kudos to British Airways for great flights and great service (and even, believe it or not, meals that were actually pretty good).  BA also offers one of the few morning flights from New York, which means that you arrive in London in the evening, avoiding the worst effects of jet lag.  My first choice is always to fly the airline of the country I'm visiting, and I'm so happy that my first BA flight has insured it won't be my last.  

Next: The Cotswolds

London

GOOD WISHES TO EVERYONE IN 2013!

Another great day out in London took in three major sites and three forms of transportation (I love to try all the local forms of public transportation wherever I travel). So on this day we took the Underground to the Tower of London (we'd seen the Ceremony of the Keys at nighttime, when the Tower is closed; see earlier post for details about the Ceremony), then we took a Thames Clippers boat to the Tate Modern museum, and then we walked across the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's.  Terrific!

Tate Modern is a truly impressive architectural reclamation project: the building was originally the Bankside power station, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott who also designed the Battersea power station, Waterloo Bridge, and the iconic British red telephone booths. A building with such huge spaces and high ceilings is perfect for showcasing large artworks, and levels 5 and 6 are essentially a two-story glass box referred to as the "lightbeam" as it runs along the entire length of the building (level 6 is also where the main restaurant is located and there are superb views to be had).

Levels 2, 3, and 4 focus on a major art movement and how contemporary artists have responded to these ideas. Some of this space is devoted to temporary exhibitions, and the permanent collection is frequently rehung or moved around, so if you visit more than once in a six month or one year period you may find the galleries quite changed (the museum is meant to be constantly fresh and expanding, after all). But some of the artists whose work you may see here include Matisse, Constantin Brancusi, Roy Lichtenstein, Cy Twombly, Lucio Fontana, Claes Oldenburg, Cindy Sherman, Louise Bourgeois, Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Anish Kapoor, Andre Derain, Max Beckmann, Diego Rivera, Dali, Picasso, Joseph Beuys, and Barnett Newman. Level 0 is where the Turbine Hall and The Tanks are located -- this space is truly massive as this is where huge oil-burning generators and oil tanks were located. The Tanks are the world's first museum galleries permanently dedicated to live art. I admit that some of the conceptual art installations at Tate Modern leave me perplexed, but that would be true no matter where I was. When my husband and I visited the Guggenheim Bilbao, we hired a guide who first took us around the building's exterior and then walked us through the galleries inside. "Wow!" is what I walked away thinking, because it was amazing and I was blown away and I would never have even remotely understood most of the works I saw. I will make sure my next visit to Tate Modern is timed for one of the free guided tours (currently 11:00 and 12 noon daily on Level 2 and 13:00 (1:00) and 14:00 (2:00) daily on Level 4).

There is a cafe on level 1, and a cool espresso bar on level 3, but I vastly prefer the restaurant on level 7 -- if you don't want waiter service at a table, you can select some light fare from the bar and find a seat at the long, shelf-like table against one of the windows.

Not surprisingly, we loved walking across the Millennium Bridge, from this very modern edifice to the classic old one on the London skyline. I was a little surprised, however, that my 14-year-old daughter loved St. Paul's so much -- in fact, she claimed it was practically the highlight of the trip for her. And when we later visited the Cabinet War Rooms, I was particularly pleased when she pointed to the famous photo of St. Paul's during the Blitz with sympathy and a sad look on her face.

Next up: a final post on London and one on the Cotswolds.

A History of the World in 100 Objects

The British Museum is as tremendous as ever, and I was really happy to catch the special exhibit 'Picasso Prints: The Vollard Suite' as it was in its final days. Avant-garde Paris art dealer and print publisher Ambroise Vollard was savvy enough to give Picasso his first exhibition in 1901. Picasso wrote of Vollard that "the most beautiful woman who ever lived never had her portrait painted, drawn, or engraved [more often] than Vollard -- by Cezanne, Renoir, Roualt, Bonnard, Forain, almost everybody...He had the vanity of a woman, that man." The prints that make up the Vollard Suite were commissioned by Vollard when he asked Picasso to produce 100 etchings between 1930 and 1937 in exchange for some pictures. Vollard died in a car crash before the prints were distributed, and the outbreak of World War II delayed their release further still. Dealer Henri Petiet purchased most of the prints from the Vollard estate, and the set acquired by the British Museum comes directly from the heirs of Petiet and has never been shown in public before and is in pristine condition. It was a wonderful show!

Almost just as good as visiting the museum in person is A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor (an edition with a slightly different cover than the one shown above was published by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books, 2011). I bought this book last year, before it started to receive some attention here in the States (the article 'A History of New York in 50 Objects' by Sam Roberts, The New York Times, 2 September, 2012 is one of the most recent examples inspired by the book). Based on a BBC Radio 4 series, HOTW is just the kind of book (or project) I am crazy about -- it's very similar in spirit, after all, to my A to Z Miscellany in each of my books. MacGregor notes in his Preface that telling history through things is what museums are for, "and because the British Museum has for over 250 years been collecting things from all round the globe, it is not a bad place to start if you want to use objects to tell a history of the world." He also wisely notes that if the history you want to tell doesn't unduly favor one part of humanity, you can't use texts alone because "only some of the world has ever had texts, while most of the world, for most of the time, has not. Writing is one of humanity's later achievements, and until fairly recently even many literate societies recorded their concerns and aspirations not only in writing but in things."

While I do think it's optimal to read this book through as is, one can open it up to any page and easily get lost for an hour. Every single object presented is incredibly fascinating, whether it's an Olduvai stone chopping tool, the standard of Ur, a gold coin of Croesus minted in western Turkey, a Hebrew astrolabe probably from Spain, a Mexican codex map, a Russian Revolutionary plate, or a credit card issued in the United Arab Emirates in 2009 (since they were introduced in the 1950s, credit cards have become a major part of modern life). And to think that all of these are in the permanent collection of the BM is a reminder that this is one of the world's most stellar museums. (And in case you're wondering, the Parthenon sculpture of Centaur and Lapith -- better known as the Elgin Marbles -- is included in these 100 objects; MacGregor doesn't share his view on the matter of whether the Marbles should be returned to Greece or remain in London, but as readers of my book on Athens, the Peloponnese, and the Aegean Islands know, I believe the time has come for them to be on display in Athens.)

Neil MacGregor has been Director of the BM since 2002, and he was previously Director of the National Gallery in London. His book is a masterpiece, and it would also make a great holiday gift.

Apsley House, London

I am stunned that so many weeks have gone by since my last post, and there's no point in apologizing: everyone's busy, everyone has life maintenance, and no one is sitting around eating bons bons.  Certainly not here in New York anyway, where we are still coming to terms with Hurricane Sandy (and will be for a long time to come).  If we constantly apologized for being late, no conversations of substance would ever happen.  So, I'm returning to my last few posts about my trip to England without further ado:

"If you want to understand the history of England, there's no better way than to visit the homes of those who wrote it."  -- English Heritage 

Another highlight in London was Apsley House in London.  Known also as 'No. 1 London,' Apsley House [149 Piccadilly, Hyde Park Corner] was the home of the Duke of Wellington.  I admit my main reason for going there was to see a particular painting, 'The Waterseller of Seville,' painted by Diego Velazquez in 1620-22.  My Mom brought this painting to my attention after reading about it in The Wall Street Journal ('The Compassionate Scoundrel' by Mary Tompkins Lewis, 18 June, 2011).  The painting is magnificent, but Lewis's article really gives the work even more depth.  The painting was the last of Velazquez's bodegones, "an early series of genre scenes from Seville of humble figures engaged in the rituals of food and drink."  Lewis notes that a waterseller -- an aguador -- was a familiar and welcome sight on the dusty streets of 17th century Seville, and he was also "a stock character in picaresque Spanish literature, plays and popular imagery, routinely rendered as a scoundrel or pathetic peddler who operated on the fringes of urban society and hawked his often dubious wares to an unsuspecting public."  

This painting alone is worthy of a journey to Apsley House, but as it happens the mansion is filled with several hundred of the finest works in London (including military memorabilia, a statue of Napoleon by Italian sculptor Canova, a grand 'Battle of Waterloo' painted in 1843 by Sir William Allan, the Saxon Service and Prussian Service porcelain sets, an original pair of Wellington boots, and a pair of candelabra and a silver-gilt shield given to Wellington to celebrate the victory at Waterloo).  'The Waterseller of Seville' is from a group of canvases referred to as the Spanish Royal Collection, which were discovered after the Battle of Vitoria in 1813 in the abandoned baggage carriage of Joseph Bonaparte, who was at that time king of Spain.  The works were given to Wellington as rolled-up canvases by King Ferdinand VII of Spain in 1816.  Another stunning painting in the Collection is 'The Agony in the Garden' by Correggio -- according to the official guidebook, Benjamin West, President of the Royal Academy, thought this was "worth fighting a battle for, and that it should be framed in diamonds."

Wellington -- who became known as the Iron Duke -- passed away in 1852 as a national hero.  Some 200,000 people lined up to view his body lying in state, and he was buried at St. Paul's Cathedral.

The Statue of Achilles (raised in honor of Wellington and funded entirely by British women), Wellington Arch, and Wellington Statue are very near Apsley House in the Hyde Park Corner traffic island, making this a veritable Wellington neighborhood.  So I thought it was a little odd when, I was a little turned around after I came out of the Underground, I asked a few passersby where Apsley House was located.  "Come again?" and "What?" were the replies I received.  Even when I said, "Wellington's house" they didn't seem to know which way to direct me.   No matter -- it actually only took walking a few steps toward the giant Arch to find my way; but Aplsey House deserves to be better known, and I encourage visitors bound for London to find a place for it on their itineraries.

London

Wow, Hurricane Sandy.  Not much else to say.  But it is at least partially responsible for the time that has gone by between my last post and this one.  Rather than focus on what happened, I far prefer to focus on what is happening, and I admit I also prefer to continue thinking and writing about London!  So continuing on, I have a few more posts on London, and then I'll move on to the enormous list I have on other subjects.

Here are some great shops I spent time in in London that I really recommend:

*Labour and Wait [85 Redchurch Street, E2 / www.labourandwait.co.uk] is a small shop a short jog from Brick Lane and it waves the British flag for great and well-made hardware and home items as well as clothing.  Everything here is functional and useful but also very attractive, and everything but perhaps two or three items is made in Britain.  Good for gifts, for yourself and others.

*L'Artisan du Chocolat [89 Lower Sloane Street, SW1 / www.artisanduchocolat.com] also waves a British flag, for British chocolate!  Chef Gordon Ramsay has described L'Artisan as "the Bentley of chocolate," and I can confirm that the No. 1 Salted Caramels -- a dark chocolate shell coated in cocoa powder with a liquid filling of salt and caramel -- is one of the ten best culinary items I've ever put in my mouth.  You can buy these in a small container for 13 pounds 50, and in larger sizes: 48 pieces for 25 pounds and 108 pieces for 55 pounds.  Plus there is a liquid salted caramel sauce for 7 pounds 99.  I'm certain the other chocolates are delicious, but I didn't get past the caramels.

*Rococo Chocolates [5 Motcomb Street, / www.rococochocolates.com] is a lovely shop in Chelsea co-founded by Chantal Cody, who I first read about in Mort Rosenblum's fascinating book Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light (North Point Press, 2004).  "Once bitten, truly smitten" is the store's slogan, and it's accurate!  Cody is the author of her own book, Real Chocolate (Rizzoli, 2003), which I also enjoyed, and she started the Campaign for Real Chocolate.  There's a selection of bar chocolates that feature appealing flavors and pretty paper wrappers (I particularly liked the cardamom organic dark chocolate artisan bar) and there are lots of boxed assortments, like the Union Jack and signature Rococo below:

Rococo was honored with the Chocolatier of the Year 2011 award.  The shop also has a little cafe in the back -- good to know about if you need to take a break in the neighborhood.  It's hard to leave here empty-handed.  



*A. Gold [42 Brushfield Street, E1 / www.agold.co.uk] is a charming shop that specializes in British culinary and grocery items.  The owners are Safia and Ian Thomas, but the shop's name comes from its original owner, Amelia Gold, a Hungarian Jewish hatmaker.  You can also get a good cup of coffee here -- no foam! -- and it's great fun to walk around slowly and see some English specialties you may have thought no longer existed.

*Topshop [flagship address at 214 Oxford Street in the West End / www.topshop.com] and Jack Wills [72 Kings Road, SW3 / www.jackwills.com]  I have to mention because my 14-year-old daughter loved these British clothing stores, and if you are visiting London with teenaged girls they might like them, too.  Topshop is much more of a sensory-overload experience, but there is an EAT cafe downstairs so companions who want to escape the frenzy can comfortably wait here.

*Lastly, a word about the Royal Warrant: a number of retailers in England who are official Royal Warrant holders, and you'll know when you pass such a shop because you'll see the royal seals displayed in windows or on storefronts.  In order to be nominated for the honor (by members of the royal family), the supplier must have served the royal family for five consecutive years.  According to Eugenia Bell in her wonderful book The Traditional Shops and Restaurants of London (mentioned in a previous post), the first known example of a royal warrant was in 1155, when Henry II gave the Weavers Company a Royal Charter to provide cloth to the royal household.  Bell notes that it isn't just shops that are warranted: "along with the outfitters, gunmakers, and supermarkets preferred by the royal family, there are suppliers of everything from parasols to Christmas crackers."  Once a supplier has been nominated, the Warrant is signed and approved by the Lord Chamberlain, secretary of the royal household in an act of "loyalty for loyalty."

Apparently Queen Victoria handed out more than 2,000 Warrants in her sixty-four-year reign, and of these many still retain the honor, including Fortnum & Mason and R. Twining.