Introding other Brits to Annapolis' delights

One of the most important things to me when traveling is food. Pretty sure I’m not alone there and often, from the places I’ve lived, it’s the thing I remember and miss the most.

In Thailand I was all about the Som Tam salad, from Australia I miss the best barbeques I’ve ever had and in the USA? It’s all about crabs. I was an East Coast girl, from New York to Maryland to Massachusetts, and the East Coast knows how to do a good crab feast.

I’d been thinking about them already when my friend returned from her holiday to Florida talking all about her new find – Joe’s Stone Crab. Apparently some crab claws to go, eaten on the cliffs by the beach is up there with top meal experiences around. I almost had my flights to Miami booked, but when it comes down to it, I’m still faithful to Boston and Annapolis.

Sorry Mr Crab...

New England knows its seafood, and crabs are no exception. Legal Sea Foods restaurant is nothing but amazing. Enough said. If you’re in Boston, there are no excuses.

But my favourite crab feasting destination of them all? Drum roll… Okay, it’s not that dramatic, but all Annapolitans (that’s people native to Annapolis, Maryland) should know about Cantler’s. Hard to find by car, but easy if you’re on a boat and you know the way… A big wooden bench, some newspaper, a bucket, a hammer and a big pile of Maryland Blue Crabs. Mouth. Watering. Summer is coming, it is JUNE now (terrifying) and I may love a London summer, but nothing defines summer like a good messy crab feast at Cantler’s.

Working on a way to get them shipped over now…

*This post was sponsored by cheapflights.co.uk however they did not influence the writing of the content.

The night kicked off with champagne and canapés to break the ice with the other travel industry guests. I found myself talking to two women as we bonded over our love for the parmesan encrusted loveliness that kept appearing on the trays…

Inish Turk Beg: Image courtesy of www.inishturkbeg.com

I was assigned my seat at the foot of the table which felt strange, but luckily all the talk was happening at the other end where all eyes were on Nadim as he told his story of making his millions, leaving his business and buying a rundown island almost on a whim after deciding that it was important for his children to be more connected to their Irish heritage. Now, Inish Turk Beg is a beautiful piece of Irish wild land where Nadim and the rest of the Inish Turk Beg citizens raise horses, distill their own special brand of whiskey in beautiful handblown glass bottles, create their own style of amazing Irish music and generally live their lives completely.

As I enjoyed my steak & kidney pie and fillet of beef, the whiskey was passed around and enjoyed, perhaps a touch too much.. By the time dinner was over, and Richard Corrigan joined us from the kitchen an unknown number of champagne and wine bottles had already been emptied. By the time the restaurant was shut down, the whiskey bottle was dry too.

A few years ago, I spent a very short weekend in Dublin and otherwise have never been on Irish soil. Next week, I’m headed to Cork for a few days (thank you Bank Holiday) and, while Cork and Inish Turk Beg are not comparable places, the food, the company, the whiskey, the music, and the spirit of Inish Turk Beg and Nadim’s passion have me really excited to at least see a taste of that in the Irish countryside.

Hopefully it won’t be long until I can get myself a ‘lungful of life‘ on Inish Turk Beg itself, but meanwhile I’ll be sure to let you know how my own Irish experience goes next week.

Once upon a time, apparently, the sea was silver with herring. That’s according to the locals we meet on the islands. There was a time when you could dip buckets into the water and they’d come up brimming with the country’s national dish. The fish have come and gone from Sweden’s west coast, but now they’re back (in slightly less legendary amounts) they make for a great dish and another reason to head this way.

My first stop was Pater Noster. Small enough to throw a stone over (almost) I enjoyed a glass of bubbly at the top of an iconic 19th century red iron lighthouse to accompany the amazing 360 degree views. After exploring the island (hunting down the outdoor hot tub) and enjoying some warm fish soup, it was off again to Marstrand Island.

Marstrand is definitely a summer playground for the Swedish. The island was full of picture perfect white houses with red roofs and stunning flower gardens. Along the harbour, people were sitting out in the sun enjoying themselves at the cafés or shopping in the boutiques (I gave in to my retail addiction too…) before walking up to the fort to explore and climb the walls for sunbathing on the grass, or going down to the beaches and harbours around each corner of coast.

Leaving Marstrand, the RIB boat caused quite the stir as it sped between the yachts on our way to Åstol for more amazing seafood (including my first taste of herring) before heading to the lovely Salt & Sill Restaurant and Hotel for yes, more food. I lost count of how many meals I ate in one day. They served us one of their classic meals– three bite sized portions of different herring dishes, paired with three glasses of schnapps – a different flavour to match each different herring.

Then we were singing traditional schnapps songs, drinking our shots and enjoying our fish. A hot coffee on the balcony wrapped up in a blanket was the perfect unwind after all that eating. Salt & Sill is home to Sweden’s first floating sauna too which you can hire for the night. You’ll be out at sea for a night of steaming away, bubbles on the balcony and sleeping to the sound of nothing but the local seals. Pretty great, right? After my coffee I was on my way to my own hotel’s sauna…

At Björholmens Marina hotel, after dropping my bags in my waterfront studio room, I got into my new swimsuit courtesy of a Marstrand boutique, wrapped up in my fluffy robe and headed down the boardwalk along the harbour’s waters to the sauna. But before I steamed away, there was one thing I had to do first. Go swimming. To make the sauna all that more welcome, I first climbed down the ladder, shut my eyes and leaped into the chilly Swedish waters. Refreshing just about covers it. But it’s all relative – the sauna is open year round, and in the heart of winter, the hotel cuts holes in the frozen water for you to jump in – so the water I was paddling in was practically balmy. I still shivered. The sauna was definitely welcome.

Wake up early (between eight and nine, or later if your Aussie is more relaxed…), have a cup of coffee.

Collect your thoughts and throw on some ‘swimmers’ (or bathing suit, swimsuit, bikini, or your own preferred term).

Walk down your back garden to the beach either empty handed, or with a kayak, body board or surf board. At this point you’re fully expected to jump right into the ocean. Australia is famous for surfing for a reason – I haven’t seen many (or any?) beaches in Australia yet that didn’t have waves that tower over my head. Also – Oz is surrounded by very large oceans and isn’t all that far away from a very large and icy continent, so the water? Freezing. On Sunday I was told ‘the water was great’ just before my entire body turned numb during my ten minute dip. So, I suppose all I’m saying is, be sure you’re comfortable with you ability to hold your breath as you kick for the surface before you get further than knee deep. You get used to diving into the icy water as quickly as possible, otherwise you look like a scaredy-cat and nobody wants that.

Walk back from the beach, take an outdoor shower, dress and turn on the barbeque. Bacon, eggs, toast, whatever takes your fancy.

Eat.

Sit around relaxing, preferably with a cold beer in hand.

In a few hours, turn the barbeque back on. Homemade burgers, sausages, some amazing grilled veggies, again the ingredients can be flexible.

Drink cold beer and cheap wine late into the night, perhaps walk back to the beach for a bonfire.

Sleep.

Repeat.

Phew, I think I need to lie down.

At about 11 in the morning, I headed out with a backpack full of good food and cheap wine to meet up with everyone at Thornton Park in Balmain East. It was the perfect spot – not too big, and apparently not too well known, so our group had plenty of room to spread out our blankets, pump up the iPod speakers and get comfortable for our last day of 2009 with a perfect view of Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.

If you read my Christmas post, you know that the weather here hasn’t been exactly cooperative lately. Christmas day was cold and rainy, then the 27th – 30th were gorgeous, sunny and perfect. Dcember 31st, New Years Eve…..overcast with showers. Of course. Just to put the icing on my weather nightmare cake – I STILL managed to get sunburnt and am now sporting some pretty fabulous burn lines.

I can’t even tell you what we did to pass the time all day except eat, drink and take a few naps. The high point of the entertainment was a few of the boys choosing to strip down to their boxers and jump off the ferry port into the harbour water below. Unfortunately they chose a time when a large ferry was on its way. I’ve never seen a ferry reverse so quickly as this one did, but I’m happy it did and there were no casualties. Good job boys.

Nine o’clock rolled around and round one of fireworks exploded over the bridge. Apparently there was some controversy about the timing of the fireworks for fear of them overshadowing the Auckland fireworks, but they certainly saved the big show for midnight. It was really incredible, although it’s hard to describe fireworks in words and make them sound like more than just a few flashes of colour, but the show I saw was definitely more than that. I’m afraid I’ve had trouble uploading photos, but they are all to come soon, so I’ll keep you updated!

The next day, thanks to my promotions job, I had a free VIP pass to the Space Ibiza party in Sydney to dance and party with the likes of Sam Sparro and Pete Tong. Not bad. Good new year indeed.

Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean it can’t be cold, grey and rainy. Apparently.

Christmas Eve we were full of big plans. Collecting our money together for a Christmas feast, packing towels and sun block into our bags and donning our swim suits under our clothes. We celebrated the night before Christmas with a little party and a late night swim in the apartment building’s basement pool, which turned into me racing Christian in Butterfly across the pool (I still have perfect form even if I’m not the fastest thank you very much!) before a sing along of all the cheesiest songs we could think of. After all, what’s Christmas without a sing-song!

Then it arrived! Christmas morning! I woke up to the beautiful….grey, cold, wet and windy Sydney?! Okay, not exactly what I expected. But it’s not every day you’re in Australia for Christmas, so we weren’t going to let a little weather deter us. After all, it was pretty much like every day of my life in the UK. We’re used to this kind of stuff.

I headed to Bondi Beach which was noticeably less packed than predicted thanks to that chilly wind. We gathered under one of the few wooden pavilions and huddled together to enjoy our Christmas feast. At least the weather couldn’t stop us eating good food. Roast chicken, smoked salmon, pasta salads and plenty of wine. Yummm…  I felt like a real flashpacker at that point, even if I was freezing with my towel wrapped around me for warmth.

A few people decided to grab tickets for Sunburnt Christmas – the ‘official’ Bondi Christmas party. I did without, although the shelter of the pavilion did look appealing…  Apparently our food was a lot better than theirs anyway, so I feel pretty good about my decision.

So in general – Christmas was fun, although not exactly what I pictured. This is my second Christmas away from home. Last year I was in Thailand, this year Australia. Next year… who knows! Perhaps I’ll make it back to the family, although there’s no telling what continent they’ll be on come next year either, so you’ll just have to keep reading!

Now it’s that strange time in between Christmas and New Years when not much makes sense. I posted this last year, but it’s still my favourite skit about this strange week from Michael McIntyre. And finally, thanks to everyone who sent Christmas cards from around the world to me here in Sydney. It means a lot to know you guys are still thinking of me, and please know I’m thinking of you too! I promise, postcards are slowly but surely on their way. There’s a very long list of you, so patience please!

I have high hopes for my Sydney New Years Eve and New Years Day, so watch this space for the story of what should be an epic welcome to the new decade!

Last Wednesday, I planned to meet up with four friends: two of my London pals and two girls who came into my life during my travels in Asia: Laura, was only involved for a single night on Koh Pha Ngan, but is one of the few who I’ve managed to stay in touch with, the other is Claudia, who, if you’ve been a regular reader of this blog will be a familiar name to you. But I couldn’t resist when what could have been a small, quiet night began rolling downhill and picking up more and more people as it went. It started with Sophie (one of the London pals) messaging our ‘usual’ Wednesday night drinks group on Facebook:

Sophie 12 October at 18:17 Reply

Hello this wednesday we are headed to cha cha moon just off carnaby street for some gorgeous food! We will meet outside at 6.30pm, then head to the john snow pub for 7.30pm!

Lots of love xx

Then I confirmed plans with my two traveling friends, Laura and Claudia; which grew to be Laura, Claudia, Claire, and eventually Emily.

I’ve had a birthday, which means one year older and plenty to write about but I’ll try to keep it short. Plus this write up is more about my amazing night with STA Travel Buzz (follow them here, or read their blog here).

To start things off, how about a reunion with some other all-star travelers from my days in SE Asia? Yes please. Calvin, our Canadian companion, flew all the way to the UK so what better excuse for a meet up with the rest of the English constituency? It all started on Thursday, September 10 when Calvin, Claudia and myself hit Embargo’s in London for some good old partying on New Kings Road. Then it was onto the train the following day, heading to Bristol to meet up with Patrick, Matt, Andy and Zoe. It was an EPIC evening that started out with what I can comfortably say was the best Thai meal I’ve had since, well, Thailand. We’re talking Pad Thai, Panang Curry, Green Curry, Pad Grapow, everything I love. After eating it in record time we realised that it had cost us about 7,000 Baht, and estimated that back in Bangkok the same meal would be less than 1,000. Depressing? Slightly. Still delicious? Obviously. After that we headed to Matt’s friend’s back garden where an enormous bonfire, a huge marquee and several dozen gallons of local (as in, literally from across the road) cider were ready and waiting. Amazing. Needless to say, the night went well, catching up, reliving the good times abroad and listening to Pat’s sweet sweet voice as he strummed his guitar the way only he can. Then it was a night sleeping in the marquee under blankets before a traditional English pub lunch and the train back to London town for more birthday celebrations with my neighbours.

That Monday I went to a fantastic gig at The Scala to see two of my old high school friends who now go by the name Wye Oak. I left it a bit last minute but luckily Andy and Jen (the rockers) got me and a couple of good friends on the guest list to enjoy their seriously good opening act before they were followed by Okkervil River. High school reunion, good music and a birthday all in one night? Not bad.

So, traveller reunion, good music…what could be next? How about going around the world without leaving London? Oh yes. Tuesday, September 15 I met Camilla, Sam and Michelle from STA Travel Buzz (who have been kind enough to plug my blog along with a few other travelers for an STA 30th anniversary celebration. It all started in ‘India’ on Brick Lane in one of the many many Indian restaurants that line that road. Once the whole gang was assembled, we headed to…the kitchen. I’m not sure how the other paying guests felt about some random kids walking into the back to play with food but hey, on Brick Lane, give a restaurant owner enough money and you can do anything it would seem. So learn how to cook onion bhajis we did, before jumping on to the private Route master bus hired for the evening to head to ‘America’ while enjoying our deep fried Indian cuisine. America turned out to be All Star Bowling Lanes, where a game of retro bowling and classic American cocktails were the order of the night. I tried to ignore the fact that our waitress was Irish. As the only member of the posse to have actually lived in the US, there was a lot of pressure on me, and while the girls did lose, I feel I scored well enough to walk out with my head held high.
Next? Off to ‘England’! Okay, so this one wasn’t so hard, but I wasn’t complaining when the piping hot fish ‘n chips turned up on the bus. After a few glasses of champagne on the Route master and it was out again in front of the London Irish Centre where a lovely Irishman named Aiden O’Neill taught us the fine art of Irish dancing. Okay, so we weren’t so fine, or graceful, or good… But I think Aiden appreciated the effort, and we all appreciated an excuse to skip about holding hands without getting weird looks from anyone else. After an embarrassing attempt at our own Riverdance, we headed to the Irish pub for a pint of Guinness. What else?

It was a great end to a great night before crawling home only to wake up a few hours later, back to the grind of a Wednesday morning. But at least I had a good story to tell this time.

For photos of Bristol, my neighbours and Wye Oak check out this link, for STA Around the World, go here.

Our big publicity trip at the moment is this weekend away in Morocco where participants get to climb the Atlas Mountains with Bear Grylls (of ‘Man vs. Wild’ fame). No big deal. Leave the office on Thursday, come back on Monday…. “So McPhee, what did you do this weekend?” “Oh, I climbed this mountain with Bear, it was fun I suppose.” “Bear who?” “Bear Grylls, I think he has a television show or something… I don’t know.” Unreal. Of course, it costs around £6,000 but you are spending the weekend at a lux hotel called Tigmi and there’s the whole climbing a mountain with a (rather attractive if you ask me…but you didn’t…) celebrity. Check it out here.

I’ve been to Morocco before, just for a few days in Marrakech and it was fantastic. If you are in Marrakech for a short break, there are few things not to be missed.

The Majorelle garden is a colourful, peaceful place to relax. The green plant life and bright blue paint separates this space from the red-walled city outside. The colours are really vibrant; I really felt like I wasn’t in Marrakech anymore. All the hectic bustle outside completely fades away, it was a nice break after a day at the markets.

Inside the city walls is the medina. This ancient town is a labyrinth of alleys. In the souks – the old market, stalls sell goods like handmade leather items and beautiful jewelry, and you can see vibrantly coloured pyramids of spices. Behind corners, family run medicine stores sell natural herbal remedies to cure any ailment. I bought a cream for my mother’s eczema and apparently it worked miracles.

If you are shopping in the souks, don’t be afraid to haggle; sometimes the best way to get a bargain is to walk away and watch the salesmen run after you! I got really into the haggling…my Scottish family has taught me how to get a good deal. I bought these two leather suitcases for my friends who were there with me. I think I paid less than half the original price for one…and got two. I also got an awesome handmade leather belt that I love plus way too much other stuff.

In the evening, after you hear the call to prayer from the Koutoubia Mosque, head to Djemaa el Fna. After sunset, the square fills with the steam of cooking food made by the best chefs in Marrakech, according to themselves… Grab some supper and see the snake charmers, musicians and storytellers; it can all feel like something out of Arabian Nights. Me and the girls were worried about going on our own with no men around; we were a little overwhelmed sometimes with how aggressive the local men could be, but then we met a few young German guys at our hotel so we all went together. It was amazing, and I am so happy I didn’t miss out on it. At the beginning of the year, the NY Times did an article about the food in Marrakech focusing on the Djemaa el Fna. It’s worth a read and is already making me hungry. May be appropriate that I had cous cous for lunch today…

If exploring ancient ruins is your thing, then visit the remains of El-Badi Palace. Once covered in gold and marble, the walls are now bare and crumbling. But you can climb to the top of the walls to get amazing views over the city, or crawl underneath into the labyrinth prison where the king kept his prisoners. Just don’t get lost…

First – regarding my post last week about Glasgow trying to get ‘Protected Designation of Origin’ status for chicken tikka masala. The issue actually got quite heated with different groups of Indians claiming it as their own (click here for the article in The Telegraph). A chef who is a descendent of Indians from the Mughal period claims that the tikka masala dish has been passed through the generations for hundreds of years. A food expert says the dish is about 50 years old and has its roots in Punjab. Who knows! But this is just more reason why MP Sarwar should stop wasting time over something so silly. If there hadn’t been such a big fuss about it, Glaswegians could have happily gone on claiming it as their own invention with little challenge and everyone would be happy. Oh well.

Second – On to the new topic of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. About an hour by train from Glasgow, Edinburgh is a much smaller city. I happen to be partial to Glasgow but I will admit that Edinburgh has a certain old world charm to it. The Royal Mile and the Edinburgh castle are both beautiful sites to see. Unfortunately, if you walk the other way down the Royal Mile you come to the Scottish Parliament building which is perhaps one of the biggest eyesores in Britain. Sorry, but it is.

Every August, Edinburgh puts on the biggest arts festival in the world with singing, dancing, theatre, comedy and much more including some very entertaining street performers. Even if you don’t have tickets to see any of the evening shows, you can walk up and down the Royal Mile enjoying the dozens of street acts then find a place in one of the crowded pubs or restaurants – it’s quite likely that you’ll get a mini-performance here too as acts go around promoting their shows with songs and short versions of their plays.

I’ve attended the festival a couple of times myself. I saw a low budget versian of ‘A Chorus Line’ my first time there, I’ve seen singers, a man juggle basketballs while ride a unicycle and a couple of comedians. I once saw a guy swallow a massive sword…yummy

This piece in The Guardian gives some locals tips on how to go about your festival holiday. I’d say the tips in that link are pretty good. I definitely agree that the more people you talk to the better. The Scots are a very friendly chatty group of people and they’ll be happy to share what they know with you!

While the focus was on my family and the wedding, it was hard to avoid talking about all that great Scottish food. My parents, flying in from the States, are much more deprived of British treats than myself since it is pretty easy to get almost everything in London that you can get in Glasgow.

But let’s take a look at the food Scotland is known for these days. First, the TAW (Travel Article of the Week) talking about a Scottish invention, the Chicken Tikka Masala. Okay, this isn’t a TRAVEL article, but Scottish food has been on my mind lately, and if you’re ever traveling to Scotland, surely you will want to know what the traditional dishes are!

I think most British people are aware these days that this ‘Indian’ dish has never set foot in India or any other Asian country for that matter and was in fact made by Asian immigrants in the UK trying to make their native dishes appealing to western palates.
But now, one MP has gone further and is trying to get Protected Designation of Origin status for the curry. It is suggested that the dish was invented in a West End Indian restaurant in Glasgow. I know that Scotland is very proud of all the things it has invented, but I’m not sure if putting a motion through the House of Commons about Chicken Tikka Masala is the best use of any MPs time.
Just a thought. Here’s the article.

Another MP, Kerry McCarthy mentions it on her blog and there are a few interesting comments, particularly pointing out the cost of things like this. I think that those commenters may feel the same way I do – makes for an interesting news article, but not a great way to spend your time when you are being paid by the public perhaps? McCarthy says, “I think it falls into the category of things that you know perfectly well you’re not going to achieve, but you’re going to have some fun in the meantime.” Read her blog here. True statement I imagine, but is having fun what MPs are supposed to do? Don’t we have other problems that should be more time consuming? Like…unemployment for instance? Okay fine, I happen to be unemployed and rather apathetic to tikka masala’s protection status so my opinion may be biased…

I personally prefer a more spicy curry instead of the mild taste of tikka masala, a preference probably solidified by spending six months eating food covered in red chilli flakes in Southeast Asia. But, I do find it interesting that an Indian inspired dish is one of the most popular meals in all of Britain. I won’t try to prove here that Britain is a place where all cultures mix harmoniously and nobody cares what colour your skin is because I’d be fooling myself and you, but the popularity of this curry must say something about how much eastern cultures have changed and influenced our own ‘western’ ways, right?

This post is supposed to be about Scottish food, so lets move on. My parents and I ate haggis, sausage rolls, Scotch pies and sticky toffee pudding, all of which I associate with Scotland although some may just be British. Sausage rolls are my personal favourite and I buy them for £1.49 for two, at Greggs just down the road from my house in London.

My American friends all think haggis, along with black pudding, is strange and rather disgusting, but I think they just haven’t given them a chance. Haggis has become a sophisticated dish these days apparently. At a lunch in Princes Square my mum and dad both had ‘Haggis Gâteaux’ and then later that night at Mitchells for dinner, my dad and I enjoyed a ‘Haggis Tower.’ My dad believes the Princes Square lunch haggis was better, I enjoyed tasting both; they were more or less the same dish. I didn’t know haggis could be included in such a fancy menu item however, and it just goes to show you how far it has come. If you’re really interested there is a whole list of Scottish food complete with descriptions here.

I think my winner for highest fat and sugar content might have to be the deep fried Mars bar. I always thought this was an urban legend, I had heard about these things, but never once in my life had I seen it appear on a menu. Until Dublin. I was under the impression that this pudding was traditionally Scottish as well, but while visiting a friend in Dublin, Ireland over a year ago, I discovered the deep fried Mars bar on a pub menu. Obviously I ordered it. Just try to imagine a warm Mars bar, soft enough to melt in your mouth, covered in hot, crunchy, sweet, fried dough, accompanied by a cold scoop of ice cream. I’m pretty sure that covered my caloric intake for the entire weekend.

This is getting rather lengthy so I’ll end it here by asking what your favourite British food is? My vote is definitely for the sausage roll, as long as it’s hot and the pastry is flaky. Although I do like a good fish and chips once in awhile. Preferably wrapped in newspaper with tartare sauce for the fish and chips drowning in vinegar. And they wonder why the Brits are getting fatter these days… Is there such a thing as a healthy British meal??

London can be a seriously expensive city, but there are a lot of ways to save money, like the two I have just mentioned. Especially when it comes to eating, I only find out about deals by walking past restaurants and seeing their signs in the windows advertising happy hours and specials. For instance, there’s a pizza/pasta restaurant about 15 minutes walk up the hill from me on Archway Road that I’ve never been to before, but yesterday I noticed the huge signs in the windows telling me that from 9 – 11 p.m I can get pizza or pasta for £3! I’ll let you know how it is, no doubt I’ll go there in the next few days.

I also subscribe to what is sometimes an annoying amount of mailing lists, but they do occasionally help me find things to do for little or no money. Like the Transport for London e-mail that I get weekly about what’s happening this weekend. This Sunday is Opera Holland Park Open Day apparently, which is free. The 1234 Festival in Shoreditch looks like a great deal as well, with ticket prices including access to several after parties too. I may be attending this one myself.

I just found these two websites that may help too: http://www. londonisfree.com, http://www.londonforfree.net

Anyone else know of any good deals on food or evenings out, or any cheap/free events going on in the city?

Since I can’t always be traveling myself and I sometimes need inspiration when trying to think of what to write about next about the place I am living in, I’ve decided to add this weekly posting to my blog.

I’ve just returned to the UK and will be finding things to write about concerning this country, and especially London, so I thought I’d start with a New York Times article on England and the English pub. The article starts by pointing out England’s difficulty in defining its culture, and what better way to define English culture than by its pubs. Old English pubs are a dying breed, but check out this article for some recommendations and a story of one man’s tour through some English establishments including the Hook Norton Brewery in the beautiful Cotswolds villages of England.

Before leaving the States, I spent a day entertaining my friend Naomi in Annapolis and trying to do as many things as possible. When she first arrived, I took her to have a late breakfast at the City Dock Cafe, a great little coffee shop owned by a friend’s mother, located in downtown Annapolis in the Marketplace.

I know that around that same week, the Market House that has been closed and plagued with several problems over the years, re-opened for another try at a successful business model. I did not go to visit the Market House so I don’t know what is inside it, but with such an amazing location I can’t believe it will fail, although I have been wrong about that before of course. There are actually quite a few closed down businesses downtown these days. All around the water and up Main Street there are empty windows, including Riordan’s, an Irish pub/restaurant that yours truly was once a hostess in before the place closed down a few years ago. It is yet to reopen as a new business despite its fantastic location. I am inclined to blame the recession, but Riordan’s and some other businesses closed down long before that word became so commonplace, so what could it be? High rent? Lack of foot traffic? I have a hard time believing that last one because despite a huge new shopping/restaurant complex opening up near West Street, nothing beats the colonial quaintness of downtown Annapolis.

After City Dock we went on a short tour of the Maryland State Capitol House, once the capitol building for the whole country back in 1784 (which is a LONG time ago in American history even if it is a drop in the ocean for other nations). It is apparently the oldest state capitol still in regular use, and the only state house that was once the nation’s capital! Check that link out for more.

To complete her Annapolis day, I took Naomi on a boat tour of the Severn River with Kelly before digging in to a crab feast at Cantler’s where Kelly, my local Annapolitan, taught Naomi the tricks of cracking in to those hard shells. (Here’s a video of another local Marylander with his own instructions. For the record I DON’T eat the guts and crab juice. Just a personal preference).

After saying goodbye to Naomi at the Metro station and having dinner with my parents, Kelly and I headed to McGarvey’s again where Tikki Tuesdays was happening. Once a month during the summer, McGarvey’s run Tikki Tuesday, with decorations, raffle games, cheap drinks and beach themed dress requirements. I couldn’t have asked for anything more typically American to end my holiday here.

The problems started the next day when, after seeing the new Harry Potter movie with my parents (and helping to ensure its fate as the highest grossing film franchise) I arrived at the airport to find that I wasn’t in the Virgin Atlantic system… interesting… After several minutes and various people and computers, the check-in staff finally figured out that my flight was scheduled for July 14. It was July 15. A full 24 hours late for my flight and it cost me $100 and a small part of my pride to grab a seat on the plane that was leaving for London that evening. Not once did I think to double check my booking, not once did I think ‘if I’m supposed to arrive in London on the 15th, surely I can’t be leaving the same day for an overnight flight…’ Not my proudest moment, but I will certainly never leave for the airport without triple checking my confirmation E-mails first and I suggest you do the same.