Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from December, 2014

A year in review

Well this is the time I usually go over my travel  year complete with photos however my photos from 2014 are on my computer at home, on the original memory card, on a flash drive in my bank safety deposit box and on an external hard drive.  (Paranoid much Laurie?)  Not with me here in London... so here's my year WITHOUT photos. Okay one I borrowed from my Facebook page...  While 2014 wasn't the epic year it was the previous year it was a good year....it started in late January when I got to walk another state capital in Jackson, Mississippi and stay at a lovely hotel.  Not particularly expensive but a charming old southern hotel.  I then moved over to Biloxi on the Gulf Coast (I have been there before and enjoyed it)  just in time for a winter storm to come through.  I did manage to get in one walk and that was it - otherwise it was walking around the deserted streets slipping and sliding on some ice.  Roads and bridges were impassable which made traveling impossible until I

A frosty morning walk on One Tree Hill recreation ground in Alperton North London

My petsit here in Alperton, North London is just around the corner from a huge park called One Tree Hill.  I'll let you in on a secret - there's more than one tree. :)  Its official name is One Tree Hill Recreation Ground and the view from  the hill on a clear day is stunning.  You can see Wembley Stadium on one side and the Shard in the far distance on another.  Sadly the locals don't seem to appreciate it and it is full of beer bottles and cans as well as food.  Need I add Emma the dog loves visiting this place?  It is a struggle to keep her away from all the food and let's face it she usually leaves the park with something in her tummy that I hadn't planned on her having. This morning around 10 a.m. when I walked Emma there was still frost on the grass and it was particularly stunning. Especially so as the local council had just finished cleaning it up.  I wonder how long it will stay clean - I am sure when I walk Emma tomorrow morning the beer bottles will b

The Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir

Alperton, where I am staying in London has a very large East Indian population.  To my surprise just a five minute walk from where I am staying (on my way to the tube station) is a beautiful Hindu temple.  This temple was opened in May of 2010 and is one of two Hindu temples in London.  It took fourteen years to complete and covers 2.4 acres of land. We were lucky enough to be able to tour the temple and a very kind gentleman told us the history of it. No photography allowed inside but we were given a beautiful guide book to remember it  by. Intricate forms of carving and moulds from various types of stones are inside and out.  The floor is made from marble imported from India.  The temple was built using ancient techniques based in Hindu scriptures.  Many of the component pieces were hand carved in India and flown over to the UK. Each morning and evening there are prayers at the temple in line with the Hindu tradition - it also welcomes those of other faiths for repose. While

Merry Christmas from London

Christmas in London is special...London knows how to do it right.  Maybe I'm biased...but of all the places I've visited during the Christmas season London stands out.  Yes I loved the Christmas Markets in Germany and the lit up Champs Elysees in Paris but London does it for me each and every time.  Mulled wine (okay Europe has that too..), mince pies, Christmas pudding, roasted chestnuts being sold on the street... So here's a taste of what you can expect if you ever come to London during the Christmas season...I still have to hit Harrod's window display (I hear there are mice...my little favourites!) and there is so much more.  In betweeen stalking Paddington...  Happy Holidays from Restless Prairie Girl!   Cafe in the Crypt St Martins in the Fields church, Trafalgar Square  St Pauls Cathedral Carnaby Street  John Lewis Department store,Oxford St.  One of the ""models"from a penguin display in John Lewis window

Food glorious Food at Borough Market

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my food...I love it a little TOO much...so it's no surprise that one of my favourite "newer"finds in London is Borough Market beside London Bridge.  Borough Market marked it's 1,000th birthday in September..yes, really!!!  Of course it wasn't as it is now but there has been a market on that site for a thousand years...it started off as a street market and evolved from there. For me a visit there every trip is a must and of course this time around there will be SEVERAL trips...I can actually buy food to take home and cook/heat up.  Yippee!! Another photos essay follows on my trip last week to the festive version of Borough Market. Enjoy!!! (and I'm sure there will be more posts of this market..) All kinds of mushrooms... Love the cheese here!   Haven't tried roast yet...on the list...and Bridget Jones fans...the bldg next to it is where she lived...and the fight with Colin Firth and Hugh G