England 2018: Tate Modern and Picasso 1932 Exhibition

By the time I finished visiting The Old Operating Theatre and Herb Garret, it was late afternoon and I was ready for a refreshment. Near The Clink Prison Museum, I had spotted a cute cafe called Bill’s. I walked back through Borough Market to Bill’s, passing some delightful murals.

I also saw The Globe Theatre, which Dan and I toured many years ago. The current Globe is a recreation of William Shakespeare’s famous Globe Theatre and its mission is to perform both Shakespeare’s works and modern playwrights. I have not seen a play here, but it is on my must-do list. The complex also houses The Swan restaurant, which is where I tried “The Worst Thing I Ever Ate.” Clink on this link to read about my experience at The Globe.

As an adventurous eater, I feel that the Erma Bombeck quote really sums up my attitude towards food, but it was also hilarious that the quote was on a board advertising a restaurant where I experienced one of my biggest food fails!

A huge food success, was my decadent chocolate bomb with caramel sauce and summery cocktail at Bill’s. I cannot recommend Bill’s enough, for atmosphere, friendly service, and great food. I look forward to returning on my next trip to London.

I have to confess that the other reason that I took a break, is that my feet were swollen from all of the walking. It is amazing how many miles I walked in London. I also did it in a pair of strappy gladiator sandals, which was probably not the best choice for arch support, but they did keep my feet cool in the summer heat.

The Tate Modern museum is just down the road from Bill’s. I took a leisurely walk and snapped a few shots of London. London is one of my favorite cities in the world and I hope that one day, we will have the opportunity to live there..

The Tate Modern had long been on my London bucket list. I love art museums, especially modern art and the Tate Modern is one of the most prestigious art institutions in the world.

The Tate Modern is expansive with throughly modern architecture.

The museum, like many in London, has free admission. London isn’t a cheap city, but they do make many of the cultural and historical attractions free, which is awesome. I grew-up in Los Angeles, where we have one day a month of free admission to museums, not every day!

I was overwhelmed by the space. It’s vast. It seemed like there was more open space than art. I used the guide map, but I felt lost.

I ended up paying a nominal fee to tour the special exhibition: Picasso 1932.

I prefer touring a single exhibit, rather than an entire museum. I find that taking a deep-dive into one artist or a specific collection, provides a richer experience. Plus, for all of my love of art, I can only handle about 3-4 hours, before I start to glaze over and lose my focus.

I wasn’t initially planning on viewing the Picasso 1932 exhibition, but the size of the Tate Modern was overwhelming, and I am a fan of Picasso. 1932 was a year of intense productivity and creativity for Picasso. He was in his early 50’s and had just opened his first large scale show in Paris. He was famous and successful, but he had started to feel trapped. Picasso was also influenced by the troubles of the world, including The Great Depression and the looming threat of Hitler’s power. Picasso 1932 was a fascinating look into this specific time in Picasso’s career.

I ended this long day of sight-seeing by the early evening and headed back to my hotel to rest my weary feet. No matter how exhausted, I can’t imagine a city vacation being anything less than an epic cramming of museums and historical landmarks. My in-laws used to call this the “American Style” of vacationing and I accept that 100%. This American is going to see it all!

England 2018: Eating Europe Food Tour (Part Two)

At this point on our tour, we were all getting a little thirsty, so it was time for a pint at a pub called, The Pride of Spitalfields.

We sampled both beer and cider. I’m a huge cider fan, so even though it was still mid-morning, there is always room for cider.

Take a look at the bar! So many beers and ciders to try!

Two of the prime suspects in the infamous “Jack the Ripper” murders, used to drink at this pub, however, the best part of The Pride of Spitalfields, is they have a pub cat named Lenny. Lenny is channeling his best “Grumpy Cat” in this photo, but he was very friendly.

Palates cleansed, we headed to the oldest curry house on Brick Lane, Aladin.

My husband is English and he always praises the curries in England. He claims that we can’t get the same quality in the United States. I’ve not really felt this during my trips to the UK (fighting words, I know), but I have to admit that Aladin was the best curry that I have ever eaten. I was craving it after and I’m desperate to get my husband to try it the next time we are in London. It was delicious! We sampled several curry dishes, but I was only able to snap one photo, because the food was gobbled up so quickly. And yes, it was spicy!

At all of the stops, it is clear that our guides have a personal relationship with the business owners and it is a situation of mutual support for both the businesses and Eating Europe Tours. Our tour guide Emily, gave the owner of Aladin a big hug and had a friendly conversation. I love this aspect of it, as it never felt like we were an annoyance to the establishments that we visited. I was left with a strong impression that Eating Europe has a great working relationships with the businesses that they include on their tour stops.

My absolute favorite stop was next…I’m still craving it. Beigel Bake, which is pronounced “Buy-gul” and not “Bay-guy,” (and apparently they will call you out if you mispronounce it), serves a bagel with salt beef and hot mustard that is amazing. I loved it so much, that I gobbled up a second portion when it was offered. Hands down, this was not only my favorite sample on the tour, but the best thing that I’ve eaten in London.

Our last food stop was for dessert at a trendy Shoreditch restaurant called Pizza East. I was full from samples, but the pizza looked delicious here! We came for a slice of their famous salted caramel tart and a cup of tea. I’m a big fan of salted caramel and highly recommend saving room for this treat, if you dine at Pizza East. On vacation, dessert is mandatory!

Our tour ended after Pizza East, but there is one more aspect of the experience that I want to share. Eating Europe does not simply focus on the food, but they also include the history of the neighborhoods and on this tour, it included a lot of street art! The East End is full of street art, even some by Banksy. Clearly this could be its own tour, but I appreciate the holistic approach of Eating Europe, making it a well-rounded experience.

Take a look at some of the art and neighborhood streets.

And finally, we had a celebrity house sighting. Guess which celebrity this cool door knocker belongs to?

None other than actor Jonathan Price!

No, we didn’t knock.

Eating Europe is an amazing tour company and I highly recommend their tours for your next European vacation! You will not leave hungry or disappointed!

England 2018: Eating Europe Food Tour (Part One)

I’m here to sing the praises of a tour company called Eating Europe Tours. In 2015, I took their Jordaan Food Tour in Amsterdam (click here for that blog post.) It was the best thing that I did on my Amsterdam holiday. The magic of Eating Europe Tours is how they seamlessly blend food and culture with the history of the neighborhoods. Instead of trying to encapsulate an entire country or city, they focus on a region of the city and take a four hour deep dive into a local neighborhood.

Since my last experience with the company, they have expanded, changing their name to Eating Europe Tours, rather than their previous Eating Amsterdam or Eating London. As my husband was busy working, I purchased a single ticket for the morning East End London tour. I also was a solo traveler on the Amsterdam tour and although I was the only person on the tour traveling alone, I easily made friends in the group. My London guide, Emily, was fantastic at making everyone feel included and I know that she took a little extra care to make sure that I was comfortable. It was appreciated.

The tour started at the Old Spitalfields Market, a covered outdoor mall with trendy restaurants and shops.

I am perpetually on-time or early, something that was ingrained into me by my punctual mom. However, I misjudged the distance from my hotel and got lost, sending me into an absolute panic and causing me to arrive about fifteen minutes late. I called the tour office and asked them for help, also asking them to convey to Emily that I would figure out how to catch up with the group. Luckily, they had not traveled far and I had not missed our first stop. I was sheepish though and out of breath as I joined the others. Emily couldn’t have been nicer about it. I was mortified.

Our first stop was St. John Bread and Wine for their famous bacon sandwich.

St. John Bread and Wine is multiple award-winning, including a coveted Michelin Star. The restaurant focuses on “tail to snout” eating, creating dishes that utilize the whole animal.

The sandwich was not oversold. It was a decadent blend of salt and fat, with bread that was crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. It was complete with a hearty slice of thick, quintessentially British, bacon. I love British bacon.

The trick I learned from my food tour in Amsterdam, was not to eat too much. The samples are more than samples, they are mini-meals and it is easy to fill-up. Instead of wolfing down the samples, I savored every bite and often did not finish the entire sample. I wanted to make sure that I had room to enjoy everything.

The second stop was a family owned business called The English Restaurant, where we sampled a British classic, Bread and Butter Pudding.

Bread and Butter pudding was originally a dessert (or as the British call dessert=pudding) for the working class, often made of stale bread.

I got suck-up points for being the only person in the group who had eaten this before. My mother-in-law actually made it for me the previous week! I’m not quite sure what makes it different from “Bread Pudding",” which my American aunt used to make.

The English Restaurant is a picture perfect English pub, something ripped straight out of a Hugh Grant rom-com. Our group was the only one inside, so we had plenty of opportunity to take pictures. A few people even bought pints. It was ten am.

The tours are as much about history and art, as they are about food. As we walked through the streets of the East End, Emily pointed out landmarks, explaining how the neighborhood has changed over the decades.

Our third stop was for cheese samples at The House of Androuet. This cute shop is run by a pair of brothers, who explained several samples of English cheeses. On a previous vacation in England, we actually visited the place where cheddar cheese comes from: The Cheddar Gorge.

The samples were getting increasingly substantial, as we hit our mid-way point: Poppie’s Fish and Chips. Poppies is a chain-restaurant that has been around since the 50’s and it has a retro vibe. The owner, Poppie, can often be found greeting customers. We were served a sample of the fish and chips with a side of mushy peas. Poppies has the best fish and chips that I have ever eaten. My husband, who is English and very familiar with London, had never been and based on this experience, I talked it up, so he tried it on his most recent business trip. He approved and this is high-praise from a connoisseur of the dish.

I’m going to stop here and keep you in suspense for the second half of my Eating Europe Tours: London East End food review! Mouth-watering pictures coming up. Don’t read unless you have a full belly!