Rudders at Home

Paul and I finally made our way down to the Partridge the other day. We’ve had drinks in there before, but this time we actually decided to have a proper pub lunch. And it was soooo nice. The menu itself is pretty decent, but I really had my eye on trying one
of their pies. So, instead of trying anything else, we had yummy,
stodgy British pies. I had the steak and ale pie, and Paul had the
shephard’s pie. I do have to say that mine was pretty darn good.

The beer selection isn’t bad, and it’s a little older crowd in there than what’s in the Walkabout next door. We didn’t feel out of place and were able to enjoy a drink in peace. I think we’ll heading back for another sometime soon.

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Gray day today, and a long day, but a really good one. We went into town to check out the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, and then we wandered around for a bit before heading off to Quaglino’s for dinner.
It was a good day, all in all. Started early, with me having to cut Paul’s hair off, but we were out of the house by 12. To Charing Cross for 1, and then had a bite to eat in the courtyard of a church in Covent Garden. Then high-tailed it over to Buckingham Palace for the 1:45 entry in to see the State Rooms there. They currently have a special display on of the Queen’s gowns for her 80th birthday. Absolutely amazing things to see. The State Rooms were pretty impressive – lots of gold, of course, and really antiquey stuff, paintings and the like. We saw some beautiful gowns and very impressive jewels. It was especially cool to see how the style has changed over the years.

We then walked along down towards Green Park, past The Ritz, and on to Fortnum and Mason. Fortnum and Mason was fun. I hadn’t been before, and I have no idea why it took so long. They’ve got a ton of cool stuff, and it seems like it would be really good for gifts. Paul and I started from the top and worked our way down. The ground floor is really just specialty foods. Very tempting to buy a box of chocolate or something yummy to take home with us, but we held off and headed to Quaglino’s for dinner.

Quaglino’s is one of the Conran restaurants – very posh. We got a nice deal off of lastminute.com, three course meal and a glass of wine for £20. I stole the idea off of one of my colleague’s. She had done it with her boyfriend and had good things to say, so I thought Paul and I could try it out. Needless to say, it was a good idea. Thanks for that!

For starter’s Paul had a goat’s cheese tart and I had some really fresh, fab oysters. I had a lobster and crab cake and Paul had the beef. The dessert was the killer, though. I had Pavlova with summer fruits and the man had creme caramel. So, so fantastic. The meringue was so pristine white and the berries so dark purple. To see the contrast was really impressive. It’s so good to live in London and have these places to eat.

So we’re now back home watching tv. NCIS to be exact. It’s our new favorite, and we have Mom to thank for that!

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Rubbish weather this weekend, but we’re having a good time out and about anyway. Went to the theater again and had a nice night out.
The weather here! Crazy. It’s August, and I’ve got my jeans back on, with a long sleeve shirt, and it’s raining dreary cold rain. The kind of rain that gets you wet, no matter if you have an umbrella. Yuck. Could do without it. It just means that fall is pretty much here. And summer was so very short.

Oh well, we haven’t let it get to us. We went out today to a matinee show. Got a good deal – two for one on top seats – can’t beat it, really. The Woman in Black and had dinner at Los Locos.

The Woman in Black was pretty cool. Paul got the biggest kick out of some guy in the audience being scared out of his wits. I guess the sounds effects from the audience was the best thing in the performance for him. It was a good show, performed by two people and a spector only, it was kind of spooky – some startling moments. I know Paul and I both jumped at least once each, okay, maybe twice. Anyway, it was pretty good and we both really enjoyed it.

Los Locos was pretty sweet as well. Don’t get much TexMex here, so it was a nice treat for me. Probably the first good margarita I’ve had probably since leaving the states – not counting something I’ve made myself. Definitely better than the Texas Embassy. We’ll be going back again, especially as we got a two for one deal on the meals and it’s a regular deal. Cheapest dinner out we’ve had since going to Wagamama’s my last day working in town!

Tomorrow we get to clean and relax. I also may try to get some photos of the infamous dining room table up on the site as well. I’m sure you’ll all enjoy that!

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We went into London tonight to the theater and a nice dinner. We saw the Blue Man Group and then after had dinner at Sofra’s in Covent Garden. The Blue Man Group was fabulous, Sofra’s, this time round, not so good…
The Blue Man Group was fabulous. Going in you’re not sure what to expect. Only knowing them from the old Intel commercials in 2000 or so, the only thing you really know on the surface is that the show has three guys in it and they’re blue. It’s so much more than that, really. There’s paint, there’s music, there’s humor, there’s audience involvement – tons and tons of things to keep your attention. It was definitely one of the most entertaining shows that we’ve seen yet. It was so cool and a really good show.

Sofra’s was a bit disappointing this time round. Usually it’s so good, food and service-wise, but the service tonight was really bad, and I think it will be a while before we go back to it. Such a shame.

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