I’m writing this from a Barcelona tapas bar, just trying to keep ahead of the reports. Our last day-time meal in London was at Papillon, recommended by the concierge at our hotel. We had wanted to go to brunch at the The Ritz, but it is still under renovation. I was a tad dismayed when I saw the menu as there were no “typical” brunch items that one would expect. My friends had gotten accustomed to my devilish ways of wanting many tastes and we essentially ordered the entire left-hand side of the menu; all of the soups, most of the salads, and all of the appetizers. Nine courses for five people, way too much money, and one of the most memorable meals I have ever had.
I hadn’t been in London in almost a decade and it has long been one of my favorite places in the world (okay, I haven’t traveled that much, but I read an awful lot!) Regardless, I am a died-in-the-Shetland-wool Anglophile and coming to the United Kingdom always feels like I am coming home. This was going to be a short trip, only a few days in London before heading off to Barcelona and Geneva. My first visit to London was as a young adolescent, on a musical excursion with my French Horn instructor and his wife, the late Rudy Tate. That trip has since been categorized in my memory as having visited Elizabethan England with jaunts to Stratford-Upon-Avon, Hanford Court, and similar Renaissance points. My second visit, ten years ago, was a promise I made to myself; that if I ever got a Master’s degree, I would reward myself with a return to my beloved England. That trip was my journey through Roman England; a week in York, a week in Bath and neighboring Wells, and a week in London where much time was spent in the British Museum. Now I get to return to my artistic roots and explore the multiple fabulous museums and eat through the many noted restaurants…