Blog Archives
Edith’s House N8
If you need cake; and let’s face it, at some time in life, even if you are savoury, you need cake, then look no further. Well if you are in North London look no further. Specifically Crouch End. White chocolate Scones and condiments like black pepper and raspberry? Whaaaaaat? Yes they do have more foodie stuff because a place can’t survive on flour alone, but if you crave the sweet Edith’s House is a treat.
Castellammare Del Golfo – Sicily part one
The port at sunset
We landed in Palermo and were driven to Castellammare Del Golfo, a place we had randomly picked at the last-minute, from a Sicily promoting website that said it had a great beach and was just simply brilliant. Well it does have a beach, the size of someone’s living room. And even though it was tempting to put a towel down it was like the idea of sunbathing topless in a London park. Just not done. It’s a very pretty port, with literally a handful of restaurants and a town behind it, that looked quite cool even though no one was present in any of the towns we drove through. Everyone for the summer seems to be working on the beach so if you want to drive through little towns at this time of year to discover a hidden world, Don’t.
A port with a view
We thought that we had made a terrible mistake but I have to say that the people in the Hotel Cala Marina that we stayed in could not have been nicer to us if they tried. All of them were genuinely warm and helpful. It’s worth mentioning that if you don’t have a car than book taxi’s ahead, as you will need them, unless you like to cycle. We are glad we didn’t do air b n b on this occasion as we would have been stuck. If you are driving the roads are really good and though mountainous they do have rails on the sides.
When they attempted to sell us the discount voucher for the restaurant next door but onem that had excellent seafood, I met their eyes with the usual traveller’s suspicion. But we were tired so we walked all of the one minute to the restaurant and sat outside staring at the parked boats. We ate and I have to say it was the best meal we had in the four days, amazing seafood and pistachio prawn pasta (which we had three more times in different restaurants in a bit of an obsessive way.)
Sunbathing in the storm.
When everyone goes on holiday they expect it to be sunny but it wasn’t. So we went to the beach and sat in the café praying that the sand storm going into our beer and tapas wasn’t actually happening. When the huge plant fell over for the third time even though they had tied it to the barrier, we did what anyone else on holiday would do. We walked to the shore, sat protected from the rain under the umbrella and carried on.
Reims – Champagne Weekend in France
Cathedral in Reims
Everyone has a different version of how to say it and the one we went with sounded like ‘Rance’ as if choked from the back of the throat. I went on a coach ride, with a bunch of people I didn’t know and lets just say alcohol does wonderful things to bond strangers.
The ferry took just over an hour to get to France. I had it in my head that it was three hours, so this was bonus number one . Getting to Reims only takes another few hours. Bonus number two.
There’s a lot to be fermenting and drinking in these.
I went to visit Pomeroy which had auspicious cellars but that was about it. But then over a couple of days we saw three other independent and smaller champagne producers and that’s much more fun. They talk away about how they make it and everyone nods politely, whilst downing the first glass quickly to get the six more. No one was pausing to comment on any aromas of pear. Within the hour I and my motley crew were smashed and buying enough champagne to fill our imaginary cellars at home.
I don’t know why this is in a champagne house but maybe it represents how you feel after one too many bubbles.
You get drunk, buy champagne, store it in the coach and take it home. Some champagne did not make the coach journey back. Some places put on a lunch. Reims is also a great place to stay in. There’s not a lot to do there bar see the cathedral and drink, but apparently there’s a great Xmas Market too. This champagne weekend is the ultimate hen do waiting to happen.
Here’s a couple of places
http://www.champagne-lacourte-godbillon.com/content.asp?IDR=114273
http://www.champagne-dauby.fr/welcome_172.htm
Here’s some info.
Click to access Group-tours-in-the-Champagne,-the-Marne-BD2.pdf
Miami
After Vegas I headed to Miami to visit my friend. We headed out looking for a strong coffee called Cortadito, which I would say is like an espresso but called something else. We found a great little place in the middle of pretty much nowhere and got our fix. This is of course after having to order in Spanish something that should be so simple and yet both of us floundered with our arms helplessly flapping as we tried to ask for coffee.
I learnt Spanish for a year when I was sixteen, mainly because my boyfriend at the time was Spanish and I wanted to know what his mum was saying about me. All these years later and the simple task of ordering a coffee and all I could think of was how to order a beer and say where is the station? Useless. But they smiled politely and got us what we wanted after what seemed an eternity of lost in translation. I had let myself down, my family down and anyone else I could think of down.
We decided not to do South Beach but drive around looking for Street Art and we found plenty. I have nothing sarcastic to say about any of it. It just reminded me of how I got a B- for effort in art but D for the actual execution. I never quite worked out how to get what was inside my head into art but these people certainly had. I wonder if they draw it first as a sketch or can just do?
We had an amazing lunch at a place called Michael’s Food and Drink; it’s worth mentioning because apart from the tables being too close together, so much so we actually joined in the conversation with the people next to us, I think I had the best Chilli I had ever had. It was a food haven.
Miami behind me I flew for a rest to my family in Florida, on a jet plane. The propeller kind where there is only 20 seats. Now I know why it only cost sixty bucks. How the pilot and attendants do it constantly I don’t know. I felt like I was in the movie Knight and Day when Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are the only people on the plane bar the bad guys. If only Tom Cruise had made an appearance perhaps all would have been well, but he wasn’t so I shit myself for the hour.
Philadelphia and New York – Days 42 to 48
After recovering for a few days from Road Trip a friend and I took a long hot drive to Philadelphia because my favourite sandwich is a Philly Cheese Steak and why not have it in Philly? So he very kindly drove us the three hours – I had in my head it took an hour and a half. We stopped along the way where I was introduced to Cinnabon which has massive cakes that look like deep filled chicken pie. I couldn’t do it, I had to choose the cheese steak there was too much riding on it.
Two rivals opposite each other Pats and Genos. We went to the one with the bigger queue which was Pats. The pressure was on to make sure the order was correct. It seems there is an etiquette as to how to order and how to get it right. The sandwich did not disappoint and was demolished probably a bit too quickly. The kind of quick where you sit wondering just how loud your stomach can get digesting. Within half hour we were back on the road. Five hours of driving for a sandwich, crazy I know. But there wasn’t anything else to see in Philly on that baking hot day bar a wall with some street art so we left.
My favourite restaurant in Manhattan is Stanton Social on the lower East side. It’s a place that does Tapas style food and Beauty and Essex is the sister restaurant around the corner. They are a little bit up themselves in there unlike Stanton and so are the clientele. I don’t like it really if the person asking you if you would like a drink is looking at you like a bored soon to be ex.
I don’t know if it’s a one-off or standard but in the ladies bathroom separated in a changing area they give away free champagne. I delighted in taking this offering (tipping of course) and watching the look of amusement on my friends faces as they waited to get served and I swanned upstairs with a glass of bubbly. Why we didn’t just traipse up and down all night I do not know. The waitress wouldn’t have noticed.
Later in the week, I walked the Highline which apparently on, online dating is the equivalent of going to Borough Market in London, as in everyone does it. It’s alright; kind of cool to see the city from a height, but not that mind-blowing however to walk on some concrete at a height. If I had gone on a date there I would have been pissed right off.
But New York had to have a quick goodbye for a couple of weeks after that as I made the next journey to Vegas, Miami and Tampa Bay once more.
Day 40 -41 – Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Home
Best ribs in town.
Leaving Savannah was a sad moment. I had been caught up in the magic of it all. But road trip means just that, and we all have to make our way back to somewhere of significance at some point. As we checked out the hotel my roadster friend asked the lady at reception with the grey hair and glasses who looked like the grandma out of the Tom and Jerry cartoon.
‘I want ribs. I want a shack. I don’t want tourist. You know what I’m saying?’
‘Mmmmm Hmmm?’ Was her Southern accented answer. ‘You sure?’
‘Sure.’
And so we were given directions to Randy’s Bar B que. I had no idea what to expect even though he did and was even more surprised when we pulled up at a shack on the road that had two choices. Ribs or Chicken.
‘What’s good?’
‘Well we outta the chicken so it will have to be the ribs. And we outta the sides too.’ Said the screech behind the window.
So we went for medium ribs; medium for a giant maybe. And as we put them on the bonnet of the car in 90 degree heat and feasted, I thought – my lord these are the best ribs I have ever had in my life. Completely worth any food poisoning that may happen.
We drove on to Charlston, but I’ve got to admit the town did not raise my pulse. It looks beautiful but it feels soulless. We wondered around for a couple of hours and felt like we had been there for days. We trundled through a big market selling the usual crafts as over the top prices. I can’t stand markets. Seen a few, seen them all. We had a drink and walked back to the car. On the way, we came across a fountain with some children playing and stopped to read the rules. I’ve posted them below. I think it’s a sign of litigation going a bit too far in the States. It’s not like it was a deep swimming pool. But it pretty much summed up the town of beige cargo pant wearing men.
And so on to Myrtle beach to the Sheraton. I looked on Orbitz and got a price of 70 bucks. I rung the Sheraton and they wanted 140. Make sense of that if you can? I’m glad we only paid the seventy as when we turned up, not only did they charge extra for us to park the car in their car park but the place looked like it hadn’t been touched in a long time. I actually said as I went in, ‘ Hello 1982’ Talk about a plaster over things to cover up the falling apart. The staff smiled thinly but each looked like they had lost the will to live.
But we were tired and had a twelve hour journey back the next day. So went to the beach to play with the night sky app on the iphone. It tells you what the stars are in the sky. Well it could be making it up but it seems impressive. The beach is nice but it looks like a beach that could be anywhere in the world with rows of condominiums. The time was cut short by some morons with a laser light in one of the condos thinking it was hilarious to point it at us on the beach for at least half hour. And from the laughter I don’t think they were younger than eighteen, which I think we can all agree is a shame for them.
The drive back the next day was brutal but broken up with the delight of an $8 all you can eat buffet which did not suck in the slightest. It had fresh catfish any way you wanted it. I completely pigged out and on we drove back to New York, making it past the delirium and home safe. I salute my partner for doing the entire drive and not moaning once, probably more likely because he didn’t trust my driving. It was a journey where we really wanted to keep on driving but work called and so the chapter closed but it will stay dear in my heart as first and best proper road trip ever.
Savannah, Georgia – Day 37-38
Savannah, the place I have been desperate to go to for at least three years since I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Although different to what I expected, it did not let me down. Day 37 was spent trekking around South Carolina and going to dinner at my road tripster’s sister’s house where one of the highlights of the evening was being called ‘Miss’ . But there was no time to be wasted on the night of day two, especially since I’d had such poor drinking performance on day one. So I settled for Amy Schumer on the comedy network and waited in anticipation for the next day.
But who would have known that such a delight as South of the Border would suddenly appear like an Oasis in the crosslines. A kitsch place that glows neon in the night and sells nothing but the utmost crap that you could buy anywhere in the world in a gift store. It was amazing. Built on the borders of North and South Carolina for no reason other than there is literally nothing else there and people needed a job, Genius. My one regret was that I didn’t stay the night in the motel there. We really screwed up on that one.
South of the Border
As we approached Savannah and River Street, I was a bit nervous. It looked nothing like I had thought and there were a lot of tourists in the way. How dare they have the same idea as us for a Memorial Day Weekend? But the fear and concern melted away when we reached the River Street Inn. One of the loveliest hotels I have ever had the pleasure to stay in. It was unlike a corporate W or Hilton and had its own Southern Charm. The place felt like a huge house with a courtyard in the middle and guest wings to the side. It wasn’t that expensive and I felt like I was in a palatial home. The rooms were spacious with antique furnishings, seating areas and even an honesty bar of snacks and drinks which I had never come across. I honestly ate a Snickers for breakfast.
So my roadster friend was nearly falling out of his skin with excitement that he could drink on the street so this became the main mission for the evening. I hadn’t even realized no one did drink on the streets anywhere, which makes me think that I must usually do it. So off we set. I have no sense of direction and get lost turning around, so always need someone around who does. Even on a grid system I have a problem so my friend led the way round the similar squares of Savannah.
But there’s something about the place; something in the air. I still can’t quite put my finger on it. It almost looks a bit Disney in places but you can tell that chances are behind closed mansion doors there has been debauchery and deliciousness to boot. A hidden way of life behind a white iron fence. Doors closed to you but know that if you are in you will probably sin. I had a feeling Savannah knew how to party.
Street Busker Echo
We ended up where most travellers do at the start, in an Irish pub. When the local busker came along and sat down with his steel stringed guitar I was pleasantly surprised until he said his name was Echo and then all hearts sank including his. We did make him repeat it a few times – but the joke failed. After my Margarita of nuclear strength we marched on to find we had spent too long dilly dallying and food was needed. In a drunk state I am highly impressed I ended up with an amazing three course meal but I’m afraid I can’t tell you where as I was in a drunk state until five am. On the street mostly and a whiskey bar. A messy day one in Savannah.
Washington D.C – Day 36
On our way to Washington D.C
Day 36 of the trip but Day 1 of road trip. My trusty friend and I went away for a five day extravaganza on the road with the ultimate goal being to reach Savannah, Gerogia; a place I had become obsessed about since reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It was Memorial Day weekend and getting out of New York past New Jersey took about three hours. It wasn’t the best start but luckily we were very excited and hadn’t annoyed the hell out of each other at that point. First point of call was Dunkin Donuts for coffee, where I learnt this was the best place to get your fast fix. Luckily for me I was with an experienced American road tripper.
By the time we reached the first point of call which was Washington D.C it was night. We were starving so we drove past the White House and all the buildings, said – yeah that’s cool and went to eat some Ethiopian food which I found much more interesting. I’m not one for staring at buildings even if they are important.
After dinner we checked into a local hotel in Arlington which was nice enough but my memory of it is already faint and went to the local dive sports bar. Which isn’t somewhere I would have chosen, but it was the only bar and I like drinking. What I did fail to notice was that my vodka and cranberry’s were being served in pint glasses. So the latter memory of this night is sketchy. I do know I cried for no reason and then wanted to be sick in the night; Classy. At least I didn’t fall off my stool which I have been known to do.
worldwideattitude 