Let's Make a Deal

Shopping in Marrakech is an experience....and is a negotiator's dream! Within the souks, everything and anything is up for bargaining, if you can sway the local salesman, who can be quite persistent. 

Ask the price of an item and you will be given a figure about 3 times the final amount you should hope to pay. We had great fun navigating the souks of Marrakech and enjoyed "window" or stall shopping to see the vibrant colors of the berber rugs, the leather goods, scarves, tea sets, lanterns, and more. The continuous hassling from the local salesmen started to wear on us a bit during our trip, but it was all part of the experience and the fun of shopping in the souks. 

Walking through the souks - people and items everywhere. No street signs or arrows in there so I was thankful to have my navigation system with me (aka Scott - he always seems to know where we are without a map!). 

Watch out! A biker might just run you over....they do sometimes sound a horn, but you best move quickly to step out of their way. Better yet, if you are not quick on your feet, a donkey might just run over your foot as they trot through the winding souk streets. 

Navigating our way through the souks - stalls are every which way surrounding you...

All of the items for sale throughout the souks make the stalls vibrant and colorful. It was great fun to shop and bargain for the local treasures we purchased while there! 

Local Berber quality made carpets are for sale.

Spices....

More spices....

Scott tries to buy some Amber.....little did he know he was being charged about double the amount we should have paid! 

Lanterns....

Pottery....

Straw bags....

Handwoven scarves and blankets...

Leather goods...

Traditional tea sets and painted glasses...

More lanterns (my favorite item we saw during this trip)...

Shopping for Spring

Shopping for clothes here in the UK is expensive. I often find the prices of clothing are the same in GBP as they are in dollars, thus making them (at the moment) 1.5 times as much more expensive than US items would be. Furthermore the quality is not always the best for middle of the road brands (comparable to Ann Taylor and AT Loft, J. Crew, Banana Republic, etc - my "regular" US stores). And then to add more personal woes to this subject, I find it near impossible to find TALL pants over here, which I need due to my height. 

While I do moan a bit about the lack of clothing shopping I do here, I have found one UK based brand that I have fallen in love with......BODEN. They offer TALL dresses, LONG Pants (Trousers here), size 42 shoes (11 US size women's), and overall offer a preppy but classic look that I just adore. I am hooked! Boden does actually have a US arm now as well so I am very pleased to know that when we return to the US, I can continue my shopping habit with them. 

Last week I was invited to a Boden "shopping party" locally and so of course I attended, ready to make purchases from their new spring line, and ready to scoop up the savings offered at the event. The box of my purchases (3 out of the 4) arrived the other day and I am quite pleased. Boden is one UK clothing company that has made a repeat customer out of me! 

My most recent purchases - a fun print tunic top, long white trousers, and pewter colored sandals. These items are being packed for our Moroccan trip so I am sure they will surface in photos soon! 

These new sandals arrived in a box with this adorable green & pink shoe bag. I love such practical extra touches...it makes me a happy customer! 

Our Love of London

There's no secret that Scott & I both LOVE London.....it is one of the most fabulous cities in the world. We try to take advantage of going into London as often as we can (without of course over-doing it because it is VERY expensive!) While we would love to be living in London proper, our bank account is much better off since we are not! At least we are able to visit for a weekend or even just the day, as we did on Saturday. We trained it into the city in the morning to poke around, and then met our friends Beth & BJ for a long lunch, followed by a few afternoon drinks....it was another lovely Saturday in London...

Scott riding the TUBE as we head to Oxford Street for a little shopping before lunch.

We walked from the Oxford Street shops, through Soho and China town on our way to the Covent Garden area for lunch. The China town streets were colorful and beautifully decorated in honor of the Chinese New Year. 

Lunch for this Saturday was Mexican! Cafe Pacifico is located in Covent Garden, right near the Tube Stop and it was a good find. 

While the margaritas were not quite as good as they are back in the US, they were some of the best we've had on this side of the pond. I can fully endorse the food at Cafe Pacifico......I would say it was even a step up from the Texas Embassy (another mexican restaurant in London). Mexican food is so abundant in the US that I never even thought I would miss it as much as I do over here. Luckily we are close enough to London to get our Mexican food "fix" when we can! 

More on Sandwich Filings....

Last night I was talking to my friend Amy in Chicago about sandwich fillings over here. Amy is currently enrolled in culinary school and just happens to be finishing her sanitation course at the moment. She made the comment that she has learned a lot (more than she probably wanted to know) about food borne illnesses that arise when sandwiches - and their fixings (i.e. mayo, deli meat, etc.) are out in the open for too long. 

Our discussion prompted me to tell her she probably would never want to eat at a sandwich shop over here since so many of their sandwich "fillings" are mayo based. Personally, I do not like mayo. I eat it sparingly - in maybe some chicken salad or dips, and occasionally on a turkey tom sandwich at Jimmy John's. I would much rather have mustard instead. Something about the consistency and processed nature of mayo does not appeal to me. So, these "fillers" over here have little appeal to me since almost all of them are bound with mayonnaise and more mayonnaise.

This morning I went for a shop (as they say here) at my local Sainsbury's. I took this photo of the deli fillers section of the aisle to showcase another angle of this sandwich "filling" normality here. 

Choices of the "deli fillers" section include: Free Range Egg Mayonnaise Sandwich Filler, Deli Melt Tuna & Red Onion Filler, Deli-Fillers Seafood Cocktail, Prawn Mayonnaise Sandwich Filler, Tuna & Sweetcorn Sandwich Filler, Egg & Bacon Sandwich Filler, Cheese & Onion Sandwich Filler, Chicken Tikka Deli Filler, and more....

When I looked up Deli Fillers online, I saw that Sainsbury's is offering over 24 kinds of deli fillers on their website; Morrison's boasts over 20 varieties on their online site; and Waitrose has at least 10 varieties of fillers in their "essential" line alone. 

I suspect there is an ease of preparation for lunch sandwiches when using these fillers. No need to spend a lot of time fixing a sandwich - just slice open the baguette and dump in some deli filling.

This is one part of local living over here that will not become habit for me....I will stick to my club sandwiches and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! 

Sandwich Fillings

One of the small things I miss over here is a good deli sandwich. Some may argue that they exist, however I seem to constantly encounter sandwich "fillings" as the more common lunch sandwich offering in our area of the UK. 

While I do miss a good reuben or turkey club sandwich, I have grown fond of a few of these sandwich "fillings." My favorite is the smoked salmon sandwich on brown bread. In fairness I used to eat smoked salmon on bagels with cream cheese (or lox on bagels) in the US, but I did not find it served as a lunch/deli sandwich as often back there. 

A sandwich with smoked salmon filling on brown bread, as served to me at a little cafe in Stratford. It was tasty! Note, rarely are sandwiches served with crisps (aka chips) in cafes. They always seem to include a side salad or garnish if you may - or more likely you will have a side order of chips (aka fries). 

The smoked salmon filling is usually widely available and has become my preferred choice lately. The other fillings do seem a bit strange compared to my old favorite of a Jimmy John's turkey tom sandwich. I finally took a photo of some of these "fillings" on a menu of an English eatery. And often the "fillings" are available either on sandwiches or on top of a jacket potato (a baked potato - they LOVE potatoes here). 
It also seems they LOVE mayo here. The Prawn Mayo filling is bizarre to me. I am sure if I grew up eating it, I would love it. Same with the cheese & beans. Furthermore, when I see Cheese & Beans on a menu, I would think - "melted cheese with beans...." - thinking along the lines of baked beans and velveeta type cheese. 

It is not. 

Often times when the "fillings" include cheese, it is shredded, and VERY rarely is it ever melted. In fact, it seems the English love cheese sandwiches. Just cheese and maybe some chutney. I enjoy a grilled cheese.....but a non-melted shredded cheese sandwich? I think I'll take a pass. 

Another note on the menu items above here - the bacon is of course what Americans know as ham. Not a deli ham, but more along the lines of a Canadian bacon type of ham. 

And not to miss - the "Tuna & Sweetcorn Mayo" filling is slightly cut off at the bottom of the photo. Very bizarre.

I am positive my stance on the sandwich fillings is purely a reflection of my preferences from where I was raised. I am sure that if Scott & I had both grown up eating beans on toast - or - cheese & beans on a baguette, we probably would find Ham & Swiss on rye a bit strange as well. 

The sandwich I do miss most is a good corned beef sandwich on rye.....but I will leave that topic for another blog post as corned beef has an entirely different meaning over here.....

Hotel Searching

In order to prevent us from developing a case of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) from the lack of sunshine here this winter in the UK, Scott & I will be heading to Morocco in a few weeks for a short holiday. We are looking forward to experiencing the vibrant city of Marrakech and are also looking forward to a few days of no winter coats, sunshine, and (hopefully) no rain! 

We decided to book a small Riad as our hotel for this upcoming trip. There are so many unique Riads in Marrakech from which to choose, and although we did not end up booking this particular one - Riad Zolah - www.riadzolah.com, I was very impressed with their unique offerings as part of their daily room rate: 

Our rates are quoted per room per night, and are inclusive of our full range of generous extras which most other riads either fail to provide, or for which they make additional charges. Your price includes:

·       Round Trip airport transfers. 
·       Breakfast. 
·       Free loan of local mobile phone (roaming rates in Morocco are very steep!). 
·       Mineral water on demand (help yourself from our guest fridge). 
·       Tea, Coffee, Fresh orange juice on demand. 
·       Complimentary Moroccan leather slippers for use in the riad and then to take home. 
·       Bose iPod docks in all rooms (and even the loan of our pre-loaded iPod!) 

·       Riad-wide WiFi Internet access, in addition to a dedicated PC for our guests' use. 
·       Local taxes.

This Hotel was the first one I have ever seen allow for a temporary mobile phone. Very cool touch I think!

We decided on another Riad since Riad Zolah was fully booked on one night we wanted to stay there. Instead, we are staying at this riad - another small Riad in the centre of town with just 6 rooms. I hope the stay will be as lovely as the photos look.....

X

X signs off....or X as a British signature seems to be a popular thing....what exactly does it mean??? I am a bit confused on the meaning behind it because I thought it was meant to be a signature for close friends....a "kiss" so to speak.....

It is somewhat common in the US to use the "xoxo" - meaning hugs & kisses - as an ending or a signature. However, the " X " seems to be the British version of that. I never see the "O" in there.

So, given that this X tends to be used when corresponding with close friends, imagine my surprise when I received an email from a work client/colleague/acquaintance and HE ended his email with 

X

There was no name, no "bye", no "regards", etc. 

I was surprised and still am a bit perplexed....

I am wondering if I have the meaning of this signature incorrect??? Would you use such a signature or ending in a business setting? 

Hide and see if I can find....

Ever since we were robbed over here in our last house, I am always a bit paranoid that we will be broken into again when we are away on vacation. "Touch wood" (as they say over here), we have not had a repeat incident or any problems in our new house, but I still worry when we prepare to go away. 

As a result, I have been hiding important things before we leave (i.e. jewellery, documents, etc.) so if we were to get robbed, it would be difficult for a robber to locate these valuable items. While hiding these items makes me feel better about the probability of a robber finding them inside our house, I am now faced with the problem that I cannot find these things myself! I have now (temporarily) lost a stack of Euro bills that I had hidden somewhere over the summer, and now since our recent trip to Italy, I have forgotten where I hid my nice jewellery..... I guess I will pray to St. Anthony tonight and then embark on another round of seek and hope I find in the house tomorrow....

Cuisine d'Italia

The food we ate while in Italy was fantastic and is worthy of its own post. We ate pizza, gelato and pasta at least once a day, if not more. Our trip was a carbohydrate-lover's heaven! I have noted some restaurant names in this post because they are worth seeking out if you are headed to these parts of Italy.....Hope you are reading this post on a full stomach, otherwise, it might make you hungry.

Pizza. After a few days of the straight margarita version, we tried the prosciutto and pineapple version. YUM.

I was worried about finding a good restaurant for Christmas dinner, without going overboard on cost. We lucked out with our choice - http://www.lalocandadelpellegrino.it/en/cuisine/ - Lalocanda del Pellegrino was delicious and very reasonable. The anti pasta assortment included perfect fried zucchini sticks and their bolognese sauce melted in my mouth. The pasta was light, hand rolled and near perfect with the sauce. It was a great find, especially for a holiday meal. 

Spaghetti carbonara, a simple green salad (insalata mista), and pasta with a simple tomato sauce. We returned to http://www.lafraschettadimastrogiorgio.com/ - La Fraschetta Di Mastro Giorgio after having been there last April, when we stayed in the Aventine neighborhood. 

The restaurant has a meat bar, with a meat tender (as we have coined it) who slices and dishes out the aged prosciutto, chorizo, jambon italiano, and fine cheeses. The house wine was great there too. 

Another restaurant we stumbled upon near our home base was IL CHIANTI near the Trevi Fountain. This place was so good, reasonable, and close to our flat, that we went twice for dinner. It both a wine bar and a restaurant, with over 200 kinds of Chianti alone from which to choose for vino. Ironically, the house wine here was not recommended but our waiter was good about recommending a nice Chianti wine to enjoy with our meal. http://www.vineriailchianti.com/

The front of the restaurant was nicely lit for the holidays. There is a courtyard in front which would be lovely in warmer weather.

Inside, the restaurant is filled with tables and mismatched chairs. The walls are lined with wine bottles.

Cacio e Pepe. The pasta dish Scott fell in love with during our last Italian holiday. It is a simple (in this case, homemade) rolled pasta with pepper and cheese. Simple goodness.

Il Chianti featured a tasty rosemary and salt wood-fire cooked flat bread as part of their pre-dinner breads on the table. I could have made a meal out of the bread by itself. 

Carrie and Mom enjoy their meal at IL CHIANTI too. 

While the meals were filling, we settled our stomachs with dessert or just a daily afternoon snack of gelato. Our favorite find was the most "famous" gelato shop in Rome, located just steps from our apartment - San Crispino. Their chocolate gelato was intense and well worth a visit!

As we headed further south in Italy towards the Almalfi coast, the cuisine did become more influenced by the coastal area, namely with the larger selection of seafood on the menus. 

I enjoyed this fried fish assortment one day for the lunch. It was lightly fried and simple. 

Scott found himself ordering the seafood salad at almost every restaurant in southern Italy. He really enjoyed it for lunch AND for dinner, a few days in a row!

More home made pasta....

Pizza in southern Italy - it was more delicious than the pizza we had in Rome. All ingredients are just so fresh, and the tomato sauce is so good....

And to end on a sweet note, a photo of the bakery case at a lovely little bakery in Sorrento. I am not sure of the name of this place, but it warranted multiple visits while we were there. There are these apricot/butter type cookies that are sold in many cafes and bakeries throughout Italy and they were a hit with my family. My mom stocked up on them at this bakery and I can still taste them....mmmm...

Chock-a-block

I had never heard this phrase, "chock-a-block" until we moved over to the UK and every once in a while it creeps up on me.....as it did today.

The first time I heard it, I received an email from a Brit with whom Scott & I were trying to schedule a couple's dinner. The email read:

Hi guys,
OK we are back in one piece and Chocka Block we are at Ascot this weekend so cant make it Friday. Can we set a date for when you return from France?

I remember reading the email and I thought there were words missing or words mis-spelled in here.....I showed it to Scott and he thought it looked like foreign writing as well. So, we googled "Chocka Block" and found the meaning:  (according to http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Chockablock)

chock-a-block or chock·a·block  (chk-blk)

adj.

1. Squeezed together; jammed: The cheering fans were chock-a-block in the stands.

2. Completely filled; stuffed: "I recommend the north shore chowder, chockablock with pieces of seasonal fish" (Charles Monaghan).

3. Nautical Drawn so close as to have the blocks touching. Used of a ship's hoisting tackle.

adv.

Chock: a hall that was chock-a-block full.

Chock-A-Block is a phrase used in English language to emphasise an excessive amount of something in one place.

Through more online reading (wikipedia this time), I also discovered this past bit about the phrase in the UK life:

Chock-A-Block was a BBC children's television programme, first shown in 1981 and repeated through to 1989 and shown as part of the children's programme cycle See-Saw (the "new" name for the cycle originally known as Watch with Mother). "Chock-A-Block" was an extremely large yellow computer, modelled to resemble a mainframe of the time; it filled the entire studio and provided the entire backdrop for the show. The presenter of the show supposedly played the part of a technician maintaining the computer; there were two presenters, Fred Harris ("Chock-A-Bloke") and Carol Leader ("Chock-A-Girl"), but only one appeared in each episode. At the start of the show, they would drive around the studio towards the machine in a small yellow electric car(with the catchphrase "Chock-A-Bloke (or Girl), checking in!").

Today the phrase crept up on me again during multiple traffic reports. After hearing the word mentioned during the 20 traffic updates during my TWO AND A HALF HOUR drive to work this morning, in the blizzard conditions, I can attest that the reports were correct. My traffic was too, chockablock the entire route to work! Or, as it is said in the US, it was gridlock the entire way....

Just another word for you to add to your vocabulary if it's not there already....

Winter Wonderland

We are living in a snowy winter wonderland in our part of the UK right now....a few scenes from this morning: 

It is very picturesque here right with the snow so new and white but BRRR....it's COLD outside! The news reports say this cold bout has been the worst the country has seen in decades.....so glad to be a participant in such history (not quite!). And this country does not handle their snow very well. Our rubbish bins (aka trash cans) are still on our street waiting to be removed. Many other services, schools, trains/planes, businesses and more were just cancelled today. If such behavior would occur in Chicago, we would never have to work or be able to get anything done in the winter months!