Road Trip Reality

Spring is here - the crocus are blooming in Cambridge. Soon enough it will be summer, and that means SCOTLAND.
But first, a disclaimer: none of the photos in this post except for the one above belong to us; they are all from Corbis. That being said, let's move on to the important stuff.

Will passed his driving test today! Hurrah!!! After months of driving practice and test prep, it is a relief -and a blessing- to be done. He is now a licensed UK driver, and you know what that means:
ROAD TRIP!

A road trip through the Scottish Highlands to be precise. What began as little more than a dream over a year ago can now become a reality. Ok, so maybe that's being a bit melodramatic, but taking a road trip through the Scottish Highlands has been at the top of our "Places to Visit-Things to Do While Living in the UK" list since before we moved over here. From a practical standpoint, however, implementing the list has proved to be slightly more difficult than devising it. This is mainly due to our limited income as YoungMarriedGradStudentExpats (read: we're poor), but figuring out the details of such a trip also requires significant time and effort. Oh yes, and sometimes a UK driver's license. Now that we've got that figured out, it's time to plan the rest!

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Of Meetings + Markets

Happy Valentine's Day.
I had a meeting in London this morning for my internship. While it was a productive meeting that left me feeling excited about the [voluntary] work to come, I must admit I was slightly distracted at points by the goings-on across the street...

Slow Food London was holding its Valentine's Market in the Southbank Centre plaza directly across from our meeting place. In case you hadn't noticed, I kinda like food. Well, good food. The Slow Food movement is definitely my kind of thing. In fact, I wrote a paper on it for a nutrition class at university. So, naturally, following the conclusion of my meeting, I popped across the street to check out the market.

London Slow Food Market.

Jams, Chutneys, and Sauces.

Artisian bread.

Heart-shaped English cheese for your honey.
It was delicious. Unfortunately, I could only explore for so long, as I needed to get back to Cambridge to work on Top-Secret-Valentine's-Day-Stuff before Will returned home from the office. Nevertheless, I had time to sample a variety of local delights, purchase a few small treats for us to enjoy this weekend, and resist the strong temptation to buy a lamb kofka burger/falafal/bratwurst for lunch (I had tasty + FREE leftovers waiting for me at home).

Mouth-watering.

Veg.

Real ale.
I think, however, that my treat purchases will make up for it. These included:

+2 venezulan rose truffles from the legendary Choc Star

I was so ridiculously excited to see the Choc Star van at the market. I am a huge food nerd.
+2 heart-shaped shortbread biscuits

manna organic cakes
+5-piece selection of baklava

Arabica Food + Spice Company.
...which we consumed this evening and thoroughly enjoyed. So, London Slow Food Markets: I think we'll be back. ;o)

Slow Food London.

Love you all!

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Respite//Rest//Renewal

Snowdrops on a sunny Saturday morning.
It snowed all week. The worst snow Britain had seen in 20 years.

And this week looks to be much of the same.

This past weekend, however, offered a brief respite from the snow, if not the cold. Saturday arrived bright and blue, Sunday as well. Though icy roads and illness forced us to cancel our original plans to attend a weekend away in Suffolk with 20s + 30s group from church, this past weekend also afforded us a much-needed chance to rest.

Blue sky.
And rest we did.

Footprints.
We rested physically and spiritually. We had no schedule, no commitments. We delighted in the opportunity to do nothing. We savored the freedom from the pressures of studying or working out. It was difficult at times to not feel lazy. We men are so susceptible to the lies of busy-ness and its illusion of purpose. Sometimes we just need to slow down.

Frozen flowers.
(Stop and smell the roses perhaps?)

The hope of spring.
Sometimes we just need to rest.

Warming up.
So we did.

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Snow

It's been snowing since Sunday afternoon. Cambridge has received a few inches, nothing we haven't seen before. However, since snow is very rare for England this qualifies as a blizzard. Here are some photos of the snow.

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24 on the 24th

This past Saturday, January 24th, was my 24th birthday. It was a great birthday and perhaps the best in recent memory. That's not to say that other birthdays have been bad. In fact all of my birthdays have been quite nice (even the one where I hyper-extended my left elbow); 24 just felt even more so. :o)

We celebrated rather simply, enjoying a lovely, relaxing day full of my favorite things. We slept in, a rare treat. We ate delicious muffins purchased from our local Caribbean muffin man for breakfast. I was even able to take my time getting pretty before we had to leave to catch our train for London.

We spent the afternoon in the city, for we had three very important birthday errands to attend to. First, my birthday lunch. Will had made reservations at Moro, a Spanish restaurant in north London, for lunch. Having heard good things about the Moorish-inspired cuisine, I had high hopes. We were not disappointed; Moro exceeded my expectations and earned a spot on my List-of-Places-You-Should-Eat-When-Visiting-London. It was a perfect birthday lunch, from the amazing dishes (hearth baked bread, jamon croquettas, grilled lamb, almond chicken tagine...) and cosy atmosphere to the wonderful company and leisurely conversation. We are not only planning to go back at some point, but are also considering buying the cookbook.

The second birthday errand took us from Exmouth Market in Islington across the city to one of our favorite neighborhoods: South Kensington. Here, we stopped by the hummingbird bakery an American-style bakery to pick up a few birthday cupcakes (Carrot and Nutella to share, Red Velvet for Will, and Vanilla with Pink Frosting + Sprinkles for me) to enjoy that evening. It was our first visit to hummingbird despite the fact that we are always in South Kensington and I am almost always wanting something sweet. How we missed this place I have no idea (particularly since it's two shops down from the Lambourghini showroom which we *must* walk past whenever we are in the neighborhood), but I am very happy to have found it. The line might have been out the door and down the sidewalk when we arrived, but we took that as evidence that this place was just that good. And it was.

For the third and final birthday errand, we headed back up the Piccadilly line to the West End. Our destination? 181 Piccadilly. If the story of my 24th birthday had a climax, this would be it: the purchasing of the birthday gift. A couple of months ago I had decided that I wanted to purchase a very special souvenir that would always remind me -for better or worse- of living in the UK. I wanted something entirely unique (an increasingly difficult task in today's flat world) that I would not be able to find anywhere else. I wanted, I decided after much thought, a tea set. Not just any tea set, however. I wanted a tea set from Fortnum + Mason, the most British store there was and is and ever will be. A store over 300 years old, that supplies the Queen with her tea and biscuits, and sells the best products Made in England and throughout the vestiges of her former empire. Hence our visit to 181 Piccadilly, the Fortnum + Mason store. Thanks to the incredible generosity of my parents and grandparents, I was able to purchase my tea set. Made in England, exclusive to Fortnum + Mason, and absolutely beautiful, it satisfied all the requirements for a very special souvenir. Thank you.

High Tea Set for Two.
Includes: teapot, sugar bowl, creamer, bon bon plate, 2 cups, 2 saucers, 2 22cm dessert plates, tea strainer, and two-tier cake stand.
At home that evening, after a simple dinner of more favorite things (butternut squash soup, beet and goat cheese salad), we watched a movie and had a little tea party. A simple ending to a simply lovely birthday.

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