The amazing flat we rented in Berlin

$100 a night - fabulous! Thanks Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.co.uk

http://youtu.be/xcTFMxU1gK8

Amsterdam

London was as good as ever. For our last day there we thought we would go see Marina Abramović do one of her installations. There was quite a queue outside so rather than take a chance we asked a couple who had waited, and visited, their impression. They gave us an earful. Apparently the deal started with a warning that you couldn't take anything into the show with you, and you couldn't leave until your tour was over. Once you got inside they put noise cancelling headphones on everyone and everyone (including the artist) stood there without moving or making any noise until they told you it was over.  That was it.

We didn't wait in line.

From there we Boris biked straight down to Sloan Square and the Chelsea Market. Guess what we saw:

Yup! Chelsea pensioners! My life is complete, the world now makes sense.

We also saw a world I can only dream of. Expensive cars (BD9s everywhere, the odd Ferrari and Lambo making lots of noise), fabulous food and perfectly dressed people. We fit right in.

Magic shoes!

Enough of London, that evening we caught the train out of Liverpool Street for Harwich and our ride to the Hook of Holland. We had booked the overnight ferry (one less room to rent) and the trains. We left London at 1800 and got into Amsterdam at noon the next day, well rested and piqued with curiosity looking for fun.

Our crib in Amsterdam was another great Airbnb find. It was a very modern one bedroom flat in the Science Park, just outside the center of the city. It was a ten minute bus ride into Centraal Station or about 20 minutes by bike. The flat came with two omafiets (grandma bikes), the classic Dutch bicycle. Woohoo!

Just after arriving we rode away from town to get the feel of the bikes, and bike paths, and we had a fabulous time. We discovered an old war ruin that had been turned into an outdoor club and they had a cuban jazz band playing. Of course we stopped and sampled the wine on offer. 

The next day was dedicated to finding, and eating, at our favourite restaurant from our previous visit (boring I know, also a good opportunity for the god of anticipointment to rear his ugly head). The place is called Kantjil, which is Dutch for tiger, and that is all we could remember - "tiger". Nevertheless, we found it and sat down to a traditional Indonesian rijsttafel (rice table). It was deelish! No disappointment there, just fine spicey food. The best part is the wierd combination of peanut butter, sambal and pickled cucumber. Nothing but good! The restaurant was celebrating its 25th anniversary!

Amsterdam, of course there were bikes everywhere. In case you didn't notice, I love bikes. Here are a few interesting ones I saw:

Complete wooden bike.

Van Moof with pink tires. The front and rear light are built into the top tube. They ship to Canada for free!

How not to lock your bike. I'm guessing there was another bike nearby with no front wheel.

Amsterdam was fun!

Dinner out in London

Dining out in London is fraught with risk. There are thousands of places to choose from. Prices can be very high, and even the cheap spots are expensive. Often the food is very mediocre (what do you expect when chips are generally served with everything from fish to curry). The reviews and comments online can be very deceiving; they are often posted by the restaurant owners themselves. The one thing you really need is someone with good taste, a similar budget to your own, and a sense of adventure, in order to point you in the right direction when you get hungry in London. Rob and Jess were just that. These two recent graduates from Goldsmiths' Masters of Fine Arts program were our foodie tour guides for an evening of restaurant adventures.

Our evening started with a tube and "overground" train ride to Peckham Rye far to the southeast of London city centre. When we got off the train we were a bit taken aback by the sights and smells of this corner of London. Rough I would say.

We spent a few minutes wandering around the area near the train station wondering what the dining experience was going to be like. Rob arrived shortly after us and quickly whisked us away (on foot) to Frank's Cafe for drinks and to wait for his partner in gastronom, Jess.

http://frankscafe.org.uk

Frank's Cafe was pretty unique. To get there we walked around the back of an abandoned multi-story car park and entered through a beat up steel emergency exit door. It looked more like the kind of place where a drunk would piss than the entrance to a trendy eatery.

We climbed the stairs to the floor just short of the roof where we were met by a well-dressed security guard who gave us the once over then let us through. We walked through the abandoned parking stalls to the point where cars would be driving up onto the roof and walked up the ramp where we wre again given the once over by security.

Again we breezed through purely on our good looks. When we got to the roof this is what we saw:

It was the most unique spot for a place to drink and eat ever. The views were fabulous, the Shard, the Gherkin, Olympic Park, the Ferris Wheel, St Pauls and all the rest of London was at our feet. Jess joined us shortly after we arrived. We chucked back a couple fine ales and got up to go, but not before a quick visit to the loo:

Yup! That's what they were, outhouses on the top of a parking garage in London. 

The adventure had begun. Our young tour guides were doing a fabulous job.

Dinner was next. Down through the empty parking stalls we went, back through the alleys and back onto the train. We went even farther out of town to the Catford Constitutional Club.

http://catfordconstitutionalclub.com

I'm not sure where we got off the train. I'm not even sure what train we were on! 

A short walk from the station, down a short back alley, took us into the most rundown building I have ever legally entered.

The paper was peeling off the walls, a chunk of the ceiling had collapsed, and the stairs looked like only one person should go up at a time.

But, the joint was full of people enjoying what looked to be great food. Another nice surprise.

Jess and I ordered Broiled Bream and veggies with a side of posh fries (yes, "posh" fries. Fries covered in parmesan cheese and sprinkled with truffle oil - to die for). Nancy ordered papardelle with cabbage, peas and cheese, and Rob went for some kind of chicken dish. It was all fantastic. We swilled a couple bottles of Viognier and finished with shared brownies and peanut butter ice-cream. 

What a night! Our dining out experience, expertly guided by Rob and Jess, was superb. It made one realize what great things can happen in urban wastelands if creative people are given room to work. 

If you ever are in London and want a unique dining experience, don't go to these restaurants. They probably won't be there any more, but Rob and Jess will, and they can take you to the next "special" place to pop up.

Bristol

It was a big change going from a quiet town of 20,000 to a vibrant city with over a million in its Larger Urban Zone (LUZ). 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larger_Urban_Zone

Bristol has been around a long time. According to Wikipedia (a perfectly reliable source) Bristol received its Royal Charter in 1155. The Port of Bristol has almost been here forever, and dispite the many attempts to flatten it, Bristol has survived and it is a wonderful contrast of the old and new. The city centre is a large new car free area (yes, car free again) of several blocks called Cabot Circus. All around the Circus the old Bristol still exists. Buy a take out salad in Tesco Express and eat it in a 500 year old church yard across the street. Just can't be done on the other side of the Atlantic.

Bristol is a very hilly city making walking interesting and sometimes challenging. The Avon river cuts a big gorge through the area. There are several fabulous viewpoints. It is also the spritual home of cider, but we talked about that side of Brizzle in a previous blog posting after our last visit:

http://eurodash2011.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/bristol.html

This time I want to talk about the fabulous street art and festival atmosphere that we experienced. We visited (and scrounged a bed from our friends Jon, Fliss and Will) the weekend of St. Paul's Carnival. This seems to be Brizzle's answer to Mardi Gras.  Like any big festival in a large city, St Paul's has had its problems. This year was no different:

http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/St-Paul-s-Carnival-Man-seriously-injured-separate/story-21335420-detail/story.html

Our hosts (minus Will).

But that was not the Carnival that we saw. The five of us bused downtown (no parking). We arrived before noon and watched the parade assemble and then watched it march off through the St Paul part of Bristol. It was a colourful and fun family event. There were loads of children marching and tens of thousands of people watching.

Young Will, heir apparent to the Hawkins throne, loved all the pomp, music and bluster. I particularily enjoyed the participants at the bitter end of the parade.

The food in the park at the center of the St Paul area was fabulous. You could find everything from jerked chicken to piri-piri. Cider (and beer) was flowing freely. (The city permits people to wander the streets of downtown Bristol with open drinks during this festival, sort of Bourbon Street with a West Country accent.) 

Even beyond the boundaries of St Paul, large groups of people were strolling with bevies in hand. Great during the day, but as you saw, not so good late at night.

We returned downtown the next day and there was almost no sign of the 100,000 people that had partied on the streets the day before. We went wandering around the Stokes Croft district looking at street art and searching for signs of Banksy. We found a few of his pieces, but they were well worn and fading. Such is the nature of graffiti or street art. 

There were lots of signs of Banksy's influence, and it seemed the city was condoning, or even encouraging street art. That was both good and bad.

I think a well done piece of street art is a wonderful way to cheer up concrete. 

Bristol was, once again, a great visit. Thanks to the tips and hospitality of Jon, Fliss and Will, we had a great time exploring this fabulous city.

Stroud and the Cotswolds.

It goes without saying that the Cotswolds are worth a visit. They are a wonderful place relating to London kinda like Muskoka is to Toronto and Gatineau is to Ottawa. That means they are normally a fairly pricey place to stay, but Stroud is a little bit different.

The Stroud School of Art

As Cotswolder.com says, "Some say Stroud is not really a Cotswold town. It is not a perfect "golden" village but is a regular mid-sized town (population around 20,000) with a somewhat ugly High Street filled with regular stores. It is frequently described as "gritty". Others say that Stroud is the only "real" Cotswold town left - not a place of perfectly restored second homes for wealthy Londoners and vacationers, but instead a place where people live and work like they did in all the Cotswold towns a few decades ago." That's what makes Stroud interesting.

High Street

We rented a large two bedroom flat on the third story of a Georgian row house at 24 Lansdown through Airbnb. It was quite modern inside with all the amenities, but most importantly it was very centrally located. We were very comfortable. We could live there. ($800 for the week.)

The High Street was two minutes away. There were several large grocery stores within walking distance and of course pubs and retaurants all over. The local chippie serves enormous portions. We were well fed.

The High street itself is an interesting collection of restaurants, book stores, antique stores, art stores and coffee shops. It does have a "gritty" feel but not true grit.  The Cotswold canal runs right through the center of town and the railway station is right beside it. 

Stroud has a lovely small "Museum in the Park" that is free. We spent a couple hours wandering around what used to be a clothier's mansion (now turned museum) and enjoyed it thoroughly. Among other things we learned that Stroud is where the push lawn mower was invented!

Protoype lawnmower

There were walking trails off in every direction. Footpaths led to all the surrounding towns, and a section of the Cotswold way passes very close by. We walked to Stonehouse, to Nailsworth, and a circular route of the CW. They were great paths that folks have been walking on for centuries. It's easy to earn your ales.

The easy access and the untouristy feel of the place is very nice. That was what we were looking for. We had a very laid back week in our secret hideaway. Great spot! We recommend it.

Morris Dancing

Morris Dancing seems to be very popular. We have seen it in many different villages. Here is a little composite video of dancing in Pershore, Tewkesbury and in Stroud. I like the simple movements, tunes and the basic instruments.

http://youtu.be/xsjO3CZTBiM

Gary eats crow, where Nancy gets it right.

http://youtu.be/srjwtRIT6ys