London, Baby!

As expected, the trip to London was AMAZING and I have lots to discuss so I’m gonna jump right in . . .

The trip across the pond was pretty much a breeze. Check-in at JFK moved right along and the security lines were minimal. Our carrier was Virgin and for the most part, I still really love them and was very happy with the flight. However, note to Richard Branson – it is QUITE noticeable that many of the special touches that Virgin was known for are no longer. Gone are the days of the warm towels, menus, individual wine bottles, footie socks and the after dinner Baileys. However, the “on-demand” video service was a HUGE upgrade from the last time I flew them. I ended up watching The Squid & The Whale, which was quite good albeit dark and depressing.

After clearing the long wait at customs, we made our way to our hotel, The Zetter in Clerkenwell. Thankfully, our room was ready when we arrived. I can’t say enough about how much we loved this hotel! First off, they gave us a room upgrade for Mark’s "birthday”. The rooms were simply decorated with a modern flair. The bed was comfy with down pillows and comforter, the “raindance” shower was a treat and the A.C. ran full-tilt boogie.

Other ammenities included a flat-screen tv, wi-fi, Elemis bath products, a hot water bottle, cd/dvd player and copies of Time Out and Wallpaper*. In the room is a dry mini-bar with the usual items like Ketel Chips, Cadbury’s etc. On each floor in an alcove is a vending machine that holds the bevies and booze (the beer on hand was Peroni) – a quick swipe of your room card and you were good to go. There was also a complementary easy-to-use coffee/espresso machine in the alcove that provided a freshly ground jump-start to the mornings. My favorite special added touch was the 2 large bottles of water (one still, one bubbly – bottled by the Zetter straight from the natural spring located below the hotel) that were delivered to the room daily. All of the staff were very friendly and helpful with no attitude. I HIGHLY recommend this place – especially if you can work out their European Saver package which is a STEAL!

After a short nap we headed over to the West End for dinner at the newly opened The Club Bar And Dining. Formerly The Sugar Club (an old fav of mine), the space has been redesign as a brasserie and bar on the main floor and a very cool cocktail lounge in the basement. Decent food and a very hip vibe. The crab cakes and jerk chicken were done well.

After dinner we headed over to see Sondheim’s musical “Sunday in the Park with George”. The production was spectacular, combining the live actors with video images. Even though I don’t love the show itself, the staging and the actors were all top notch which made it worth seeing. I did find it hard to concentrate on the show though, since Natalie Portman was sitting next to Mark! She was COMPLETELY GORGEOUS and was with some guy (I have no idea who – probably just a friend). She played on her blackberry during intermission while he was in the loo. Luckily no one bothered her at all (including me).

Saturday morning we headed over to Spitalfields for brunch at Canteen, a new trendy restaurant featured in this month’s Food & Wine “Where To Eat Next”. I went for the fried egg and bacon on top of bubble and squeak and washed it down with an organic hard cidar. Me so happy!

In the afternoon we walked off brunch on Oxford Street with stops at The Virgin Megastore, Next and of course Top Shop. Later that afternoon, I made a quick trip over to Exmouth Market to pick up a little snack of some homemade meat pies & mash from Clarke’s Pie & Mash Shop. Very authentic and a throwback to old London!

Saturday night we went to see the revival of Evita. Upon entering the theatre, we were sad to hear that Elena Roger, the current lead actress who hails from Argentina, was out sick and that the alternate would be playing the part. From what we heard Elena had been out all week so that at least made us feel a little better. The show was fun – very Andrew Lloyd Webber loud West End musical with spectacular sets. The men really stole the show for production – especially the ones who played Che, Peron and Magaldi. Overall I definitely enjoyed it (except for when a mouse ran under the seats down the row from me!).

After the show we headed over to The Wolseley for dinner. I have to say the crew in the front of the house at this restaurant ROCK! From the time I made my reservations over the phone to the time we were seated, the staff was nothing but attentive, friendly and helpful. Mark made friends with the head hostess and she ended up seating us in a prime table, right next to the featured cast of Guys & Dolls sans Patrick Swayze, although his wife was there, along with Michael Ball. The food was great (especially the endive & roquefort salad) and the place was just BUZZING! This place is definitely THE SPOT for post-theatre dining!

Sunday morning we headed over to Camdentown and browsed the stalls alongside all of the middle-aged punks left over from the 80’s. I got a fabulous ring from a great lady at a little stall called Suay Design. As the crowds started to build we headed down to the King’s Road for more shopping. I was blown away by how much the Sloane Square end has changed – where the armory was there is now a little cobblestone mall with stores like Ted Baker. Note to self: On the next trip avoid Oxford Street at all costs and spend the day on the King’s Road.

Sunday night dinner was at The Ivy (which has no affiliation with The Ivy in L.A. but is just as hot) . It’s a gorgeous wood & stained glass room with a menu featuring traditional British fare. The sausages and champ were savory and the the haddock & chips golden brown. Sadly, though, I had no sightings to report (then again, I wouldn’t know any of the real-life footballer’s wives if I fell over them).

Monday morning we went for our final meal at Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen. Even though Jamie was away on holiday with Jules and the kids (as I was told – yes, of course, I had to ask if he was there), this was still by far my favorite stop on the trip. The space was brilliant - a rustic trattoria infused with modern design. And the fry up – well, I think this picture says it all:

Even though Fifteen is owned by Jamie, it is not a glitzy celebrity chef showcase. Each year Jamie recruits a small group of about 35 disadvantaged young people and educates them on the restaurant business. Fifteen is then the outlet in which they can ply their trade. All of the staff was EXCELENT – you could tell they all really WANTED to be there and showed a great deal of professionalism camaraderie. Plus the food was really well done!

Finally, it was time to make our way back to Heathrow for the flight home. This was the only bad (scratch that, NIGHTMARISH) part of the trip. We got there 3 ½ hrs early which was almost not enough time. It took 1 ½ hrs to check in. Then there was the security line. The line stretched back for SERIOUSLY about a half a mile! We were in line for 2 hours and were only about ½ way to the front when luckily we got pulled out and got to queue jump. Thankfully Virgin delayed the flight because there were so many people who were still in the security line. We jumped on board just as the doors were closing and I settled in and watched American Dreamz (great cast, TERRIBLE movie – avoid at all costs) and Thank You For Smoking (quite an interesting black comedy).

In the end, I would recommend all of the places mentioned above. Each one met or exceeded my expectations, especially Fifteen. I’ll close with a word to the wise though – if you are traveling through Heathrow anytime soon, arrive there AT LEAST 4 hours early if you want to make your flight! SERIOUSLY!