Dahlia

After London, I spent a week in New York and a couple of those days with my close friends, artist/teachers Dahlia & Andy

New Jersey sky study 

Dahlia's newly renovated painting studio

on the wall

they had the greatest toilet - I want to get one of my own

hi Andy!

they recently renovated their whole house - this is the sunny dining room

my guest bed in the painting studio - I loved sleeping there

The Honesty Bar

Amy and I ended almost every evening at The Covent Garden Hotel in their luxurious sitting room / library, with access to The Honesty Bar, a fully stocked bar and snack room in which guests could help themselves to whatever they wanted (cocktails, snacks, or ice cream), and just wrote down on a clipboard what you enjoyed, which they would bill to your room.  Hardly any guests were ever up there, and it was the greatest thing ever

A patron in the bar

no lie!

the bevy selection 

one of the lounge areas

sincere about the Sancerre

funny London

b.beans

Pharrell hat

homo riot homo

more landmarks coming out of my head

so much leg room in those big London black cabs

Stonehenge photobomb

no bargaining

how do you choose?

Borough Market

Borough Market in London is a massive, indoor-outdoor farmer's market and food hub that you could explore for a whole day.  It is intensely crowded and bustling, a feast for eyes and appetites

a cheese vendor sampling Italian hard cheeses

I had recently read a story about the drunken cheeses of Italy, so was thrilled to find this vendor at the market. During WW2, farm people hid wheels of cheese in wine casks during the occupations of their villages, and the resulting cheese was delicious

a close-up of one of the beautiful wheels

the seller cutting slices of cheese

a stall selling dozens of flavors of Turkish delight

 

 Here's to the Market!

K is for Kurta

beautiful seedy loaves

Neal's Yard Dairy

One of the best cheese shops in the whole world is Neal's Yard Dairy in Covent Garden, which was literally across the street from our hotel

A display of British cheddar cheese - my most favorite

I loved the embossing on the rind of this wheel

wheel smooching

they totally had the blues

Enormous wheels of cheddar

breakfast at The Savoy

Amy and I had lunch at the opulent and newly renovated Savoy Hotel in London

the hotel staff uniforms, designed by Alexander McQueen

the mural in the bathroom

the hotel has a small museum with ephemera and historic guest cards - this was Josephine Baker's

a cancelled check from Ava Gardner

They had a great vintage video of Christian Dior's iconic 'New Look' fashion show, which was debuted in London at The Savoy.  I love the woman's expression at :18