London – Kensington Palace

During our last visit to London we stayed near Kensington Palace. Since we were so close I decided to add it to our itinerary.

The palace has housed royals since the 1600’s and now contains residences for current royals. Unfortunately they keep the tourist areas far from the royal apartments so no royal sightings for us.
The palace has a lovely garden that I am sure is even more beautiful in the spring and summer (we were there in the winter).

As part of the exhibit one gets to see many rooms of the palace but what I found more interesting was the dresses and royal items that they had for display.

The walls were filled with beautiful paintings as well.

Also great about this museum is the history of Queen Victoria’s reign on display here. She spent her whole life in the palace. A good amount of the exhibits were about her and her life in the palace.

These interesting dolls were on display as well.

Rooms were dedicated to childhood fantasies of the royals. This particular display was interesting.

Around the entrance there is a touch of modern art as well.

Gold is abundant in the decor and artwork throughout.

There was much more to see throughout so it is definitely worth a visit. I thoroughly enjoyed the house and the lessons in history that it contained. I hope to visit again to view the gardens in their glory.

A Wedding Tasting

Two good friends of mine are getting married in less than two weeks. I am very excited about the wedding. The wedding is local but we are choosing to do a stay-cation at a local resort and spend the weekend hanging out. Many of these friends I have known for many many years. It should prove to be a fun weekend. As part of the wedding preparation my friend had a wedding menu tasting at the resort and she invited me along for the fun.

For the tasting we met with the coordinator and she took us back to a tasting room in the kitchen to meet the kitchen manager, the sous chef, and all the other chefs responsible for the different dishes.
They carefully explained each part of the menu. We learned how the dishes were prepared. For this wedding they have to cater to vegetarians/vegans, provide choices for those with gluten intolerance, and accommodate many food allergies. The menu was customized to accommodate these needs as well as provide dishes for discriminating tastes. It is a very well thought out menu.

Prior to the food tasting we were provided with some bubbly and bread and butter.

The bread was good but the butter was where it was at. The butter had a story!! The chef met a lady in Maine who made her own butter from the cows on her farm. The grass is irrigated with the salty air from the ocean. The cows graze on the grass and the end result is this salty tasty butter. The chef liked it so much that now she provides butter for all the hotels. Her farm has grown considerably as a result. I love food with a story.

We started by tasting the hors d’oeuvres that will be passed around during cocktail hour. We got to try all in the list but were tasked to narrow it down to our four favorites.

On our first pass we tried the Edamame Hummus on a plantain crisp, the grilled vegetable bruschetta, and the chicken salad Gougere.

All of the preceding group was good but the hummus was the standout. Such simple ingredients but so much flavor. I would love to steal this hummus recipe.

For the second group of appetizers we sampled the braised beef over polenta, bacon wrapped date, corn fritter, and a chicken arepa.

Of the second group I loved the bacon wrapped date and the braised beef over polenta. Blue cheese was used in both those appetizers. While I am not a blue cheese fan I found it palatable in these flavorful appetizers. The huckleberry jam that accompanied the bacon date is made in house. (I was pleased to find out later that they sent us home with samples of both the butter and the jam!!!)
The corn fritter was good but I couldn’t see myself eating more than one of them and I always find the “arepa” breads to be too filling as well. I did enjoy the chicken on the arepa.

Next we got small samples of all four salads on the menu. I love salads, especially when they are made of lettuces other than iceberg and romaine. I can tell I will be chowing down on these salads at the wedding.

Finally we move on to the main dishes. I am so full already but I muster up the space for these risottos…

and pad thai ….

and this chicken taco and rice ….

Finally we move on to the finale. We got to sample 4 different cakes.
The first two were gluten free. I am not a cake person but I might be a fan of gluten free cakes. I prefer my cakes more dense than spongy so these were perfect. My favorite was the yellow cake with lemon curd, limoncello, and raspberries. I might be able to eat a couple pieces of that wedding night!! I am glad my friend chose it as one of her two choices.

During the tasting they spoke to us about the farm on site and how it is used to provide ingredients for many of the dishes in the hotel. I really get excited about farm to table so this was up my alley.
Finally they talked about the new brewery and restaurant that was being constructed currently. Not only is beer brewed on site but the hops are grown on the farm!! I am excited about checking that out soon.

The wedding will be at the JW Marriot Grande Lakes in Orlando. If you are looking for a venue for your upcoming wedding, the JW Marriot would be a great choice. The food is magnificent and they will take care of you.

Asheville Hiking

We were determined to get a hike in while we were in Asheville last June. Our friend suggested that we would like the hike to see the waterfalls at Dupont State Forest.
We lost phone service on the way so were very confused with directions. It made me think that there should always be a paper map as a backup plan. We finally found it and parked the car in a designated free lot.
It started raining just as we arrived. It was nothing hard but a sprinkle. We decided to pack our ponchos and do the hike anyway. It proved to be a good choice. Sure we got soaked but rain kept many hikers away. The falls that were normally packed were not very crowded at all.

We started our hike with a stop at a disgusting porta potty. We had a chance to go to either hooker falls or triple falls. 3 is better than 1 right? We started toward the triple falls.

Trails were nice and mostly quiet.

We came across our first set of falls. They looked kind of small and we weren’t sure how to get closer to them.

We reached the big falls. Above them lies a bridge to get across the water.

We finally found a path to get closer to the one set of falls. It was wet and slippery. It was a bit of an obstacle course to get to them. When we got there we discovered we had them all to ourselves. We decided against getting in the water. Perhaps it seemed like too much trouble at the time.

When we arrived at the next set of falls we noticed people climbing the rocks. When it is a dry day climbing the rocks is probably a much safer activity. The day we were there it was raining and the rocks were very wet. My husband decided to brave climbing them anyway.
Notice me below with my superhero cape ready to save him (hint its actually a poncho).

While he climbs I take in the view off in the distance.

He finally gets to the top.

But then has trouble getting back down. Don’t worry, he eventually made it down.

After the day of hiking we returned to my friends house to clean up for the night. Thanks to her awesome husband she was able to come to dinner with us and have a grown up night out. We decided on dinner at Bouchon in downtown Asheville. While waiting for our table we shared a bottle of wine.

We enjoyed a lovely dinner with great conversation in the courtyard. I miss being around my friend. We were thrown together in a dorm in college and become close. We have kept in touch throughout the years through all our changes and moves. I definitely don’t call her as much as I should. It was nice to spend some quality time with her again. As a special surprise we found out that Jude Law was dining out at the same restaurant the same night. Too bad we missed or didn’t notice him!

Afterwards my friend took us to listen some local music at 5 Walnut Wine Bar. It was a small cozy bar that fit just right on a weeknight. My friend told me on the weekends people line up on the sidewalk to listen and get in. We got lucky and got stools at the bar. A lovely band was playing soft tunes. They did a cover that I knew all the words to but I could remember the band. After some deep thought I remembered it was the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
It was a great night.

Sevilla : More Churches!!!

We spent one more day in Sevilla exploring around town. While we were there, they were preparing for the Holy Week. Most churches around town staged a float for the holy week. Much preparation goes into this parade. It is an honor to carry the float and it can take twenty-four and fifty-four men to carry one float from their church to the Sevilla Cathedral.

These figurines look intimidating but the hoods have a different meaning in Spain. The capirote or pointed hats are used in religious practice and not meant for what we might think they are used for in the united states.

Sevilla Cathedral (Catedral de Santa María de la Sede de Sevilla)

Sevilla cathedral is the largest Gothic church in existence.

The floats during used holy week will all arrive at this cathedral on good Friday. It is a magnificent church but also contains some great works by the artist Murillo.

An organ of 7,000 pipes. That’s some pipe power!

La Visión de San Antonio by Murillo

Some beautiful stained glass windows.

Tomb of Columbus

It is highly disputed where the remains of the famous explorer Christopher Columbus lie. Finally DNA tests prove that at least part of Columbus rest in this tomb (he may also be in Cuba where he traveled posthumously).

St. Justina and St. Rufina, 1817

There was a real interesting back story about these saints.

We got a chance to climb to the top of the accompanied tower. We got a nice view of the bells while we were up there.

Giralda Tower

Interesting drainage solutions outside the church in the orange courtyard.

After exploring the church we did some window shopping. I wish I had a need for a flamenco dress!

The day soon came to an end and we had to leave the next day. We probably could have spent another day or two here not even mentioning all the other cities in the region that we missed. Oh welll! I guess we can always come back! Adios!

Beyond BBQ – Midtown Memphis

Upon my last visit to Memphis I stayed a bit closer to mid town. This opened me up to many more dining out possibilities. I spent two nights exploring this area a bit.

The first night I settled on eating at Chiwawa upon recommendation of a friend. Chiwawa specializes in American and Mexican street food.

The evening was nice so I settled on a table on the outdoor patio.

I decided to start with a local beer.

They had a 3 taco special that night. I settled on the delicious taco del sol, flavorful carne asada, and the not so exciting aftershroom delight. The shroom taco could have used something more…not sure what.

A couple of nights later I decided to head back down to another part of midtown. On the way I came across this used records store. It caught my eye because it shares a name with one of my favorite terrible movies (and also mentioned in a great Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem).

I found parking spot in the Cooper-Young neighborhood and walked around.
The first thing that greeted me was this cool decor of an overpass.

This area has nice bike lanes and racks.

On the way to dinner I passed by the interesting House of Mews. The House of Mews is a sanctuary that houses cats until they can find a permanent home. There are mucho kitties in this place.

Upon recommendation from a friend I decided to eat dinner at Sweet Grass. Sweet Grass is a southern bistro with a farm to table flare. There were many local ingredients on the menu. Next door is their sister restaurant called Next Door that provides a more casual dining experience. I chose to eat at the more formal restaurant.

I was dining alone and given a table in the front of the restaurant looking outside to the street. I thought that was nice of them to give me something to look at while dining.

The restaurant itself is tastefully decorated with nice wooden tables.

Starting off they brought some warm corn bread and butter. I am not normally a cornbread fan but this cornbread was amazing. It was soft and flavorful and heaven with the butter. I couldn’t stop eating it (It made me too full to try a dessert later).

I started off by ordering their special drink Green Fork ($1 of each goes to charity). It was good but not my cup of tea. I am not a huge midori fan.

For the main dish I settled on the medium plate chuck roast over the mushroom barley risotto. The meat easily fell apart and was full of great flavor. I really like what the risotto added to the dish. There was just the right amount of savory gravy.

As a side dish I was intrigued by the butternut squash goat cheese flan. It arrived on its own plate with a look of a lumpy yellowish flan. It was a good choice, The flavors were amazing.

I wish I would have saved room for a dessert but I was full. I walked around the area a bit more after dinner and noticed many more places to dine and drink at. If I end up in Memphis again I will definitely return.