When a set menu is topped and tailed with kir and coffee, you should probably sit down and order it – even when you don’t like kir and you can’t drink coffee after 7pm. Especially when the waiter ushers you and a loved one to a small table on the edge of La Place deContinue reading “Kir and coffee”
Category Archives: Travel
An education in coconut oil: A healthy living and nutrition workshop
I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m very easily influenced. When I was thirteen my mum bought me a t-shirt emblazoned with ‘Easily Led’ and a picture of a sheep. Looking back, it was a wildly inappropriate purchase (but it did match my brown velvet jogging bottoms wonderfully, so I’ll let her off). ThatContinue reading “An education in coconut oil: A healthy living and nutrition workshop”
Venice
“Caffe con panna” “Per voi?” The bartender looks bemused. For me? Obviously, who else would willingly order espresso topped with whipped cream at 9pm on a Sunday? I nod. He still looks bemused. Now a huddle of elderly Venetians are laughing. My montagna di panna is causing an unexpected stir. I finish it quickly andContinue reading “Venice”
Day Twenty One: Seattle.
The rain has re-joined us. There’s nothing like a grey motel on a grey motorway to lift the spirits. By the time we reach Downtown Seattle my shoes are flooded and no amount of lingering in the Klondlike Gold Rush museum is going to help our cause. The trek to Pike Place Market proves thatContinue reading “Day Twenty One: Seattle.”
Day Twenty: The Final City.
This time around Portland greets us with furious rain. Its probably a good thing we’re not staying long. Taunesha bids us farewell and I promise that our next reunion will be on halfway between London and Portland, probably in New York. A sobering thought. Blue skies by the time we reach Seattle. The bus dropsContinue reading “Day Twenty: The Final City.”
Day Nineteen: Timberline Lodge
The day starts with a kitchen full of people and dogs slumped beside the stove. We douse our French toast and bacon with syrup and plan a day of Oregon exploration. A drawn out farewell to the resident dogs, cats and horses. Just like my eight year-old self in the hamster department of Pets AtContinue reading “Day Nineteen: Timberline Lodge”
Day Eighteen: Crossing The Columbia River.
We follow the river, away from the shadowed roads of Glenwood towards the dry hillsides of Southern Washington. The Maryhill museum is a little oasis of Russian iconography and Auguste Rodin sculpture. There’s a short interval for Oregon wine tasting and then we cross the Columbia River. Back on Oregon soil. With a 30% HispanicContinue reading “Day Eighteen: Crossing The Columbia River.”
Day Seventeen: You’ve just gotta get back on the horse.
We saddle up and head into Washington country. The first stop is a barn two miles from the farmhouse to check on the cattle’s salt supply. The land is flanked by tree covered hills, Mt. Adams looms to the North and the horses move noiselessly across the dry ground. Suddenly, the dogs set off, onContinue reading “Day Seventeen: You’ve just gotta get back on the horse.”
Day Sixteen: Towards Mt. Hood
We pass a string of homeless men on Burnside as we trek to Voodoo doughnuts. I’ve never seen quite so many destitute people in one city, but as Hattie reminds me, I’ve never been to San Francisco. We eat the best doughnuts, filled with Bavarian cream and coated in chocolate. There’s a definite smell ofContinue reading “Day Sixteen: Towards Mt. Hood”
Day Fifteen: Hello, Portland.
Six thirty brings the most painful trek to the bus stop since my last DoE expedition through North Norfolk (bronze award, obviously). It seems that bulk buying books and Mardi Gras beads was not the brightest idea. Still, we make it to Dallas by midday. Four hours later and we’re in a grey, cool Portland.Continue reading “Day Fifteen: Hello, Portland.”
To The Table 