Hedonistic Pursuits

Peter and I went to London over the weekend for some R&R. We stayed with my old friend Chicoy Enerio—and boy was that a good plan!
The road travel was fine—we stopped for lunch at Stonehenge—but we hit traffic on the M3, crawled our way on the M25 and just a bit of bother on the M4. By the time we reached London we were ready to get down to business of R&R.
We concentrated on Leicester Square, near SoHo. The West End was as vibrant as I remembered it to be. We went to a Chinese restaurant (where else?) and proceeded to order food. Everything tasted perfect! I never realised how much I missed oriental food! After dinner we went shopping for oriental condiments in the various shops dotted around the square. We then sat outside a bistro near on the square and watched people go by. It was like watching the United Nations walk by. You have black, white and everyone in between walking past. You wouldn’t think we live in a world of wars and hatred because everything looked so “together”. I always felt that London was the centre of the universe. People all over seem to converge in this place.
The following day we did the rounds with the major Oriental supermarkets. The two men were very good with it. They helped me look around and choose some items. It was great to be able to stock up on condiments and ingredients. I guess Peter will be the main beneficiary of this shopping spree. I will be able to cook up oriental dishes. We ate at a Japanese sushi bar. Yummy to the nth degree. It was absolutely fabulous! We enjoyed it so much we ate at another Japanese restaurant that night and that was even better. I thought I died and went to food heaven.
We also managed to go to Hampton Court that day. What a palace! I bet King Henry VIII (yes the one with many wives) built the place with a mind for posterity so people talk about him after he’s gone and there’s no question about that.
Sunday we spent at Kew Gardens. I love this because it maps the historical evolution of gardening in the British Isles. Fascinating history. We walked for miles and we were so tired in the end. But that didn’t stop us from eating Thai food that night which meant we went back to Central London to test out Chicoy’s regular place and again it was superb!
We had a lot of laughs along the way and Chicoy’s generosity was overwhelming. One thing that really impressed me was his ability to park in the middle of London without parking—and in a reserved parking bay even! It helps to be a diplomat. Peter and I enjoyed every minute of it.
We also took advantage of the steam and sauna facilities in his apartment. I prefer the steam bath and if I was aware of these I could have brought my swimming costume so we could have availed of the Jacuzzi. Hmmm, maybe next time.