Traveling in December-post 2

Outside the London Museum

Embroidery on the napkins

On our second day, we went to the fish market only to learn that it is always closed the day after a bank holiday. Upon consideration, this fact makes sense because the fishermen wouldn't have fished on the holiday so the market would be closed because there was no product to sell!

Dinner at Tetto's

Instead, we napped and then we took a walk to the Museum of London. This museum is about the history of London. . .from its inception to current day. A piece of a Roman wall is available to view. The exhibits are arranged chronologically to give you an idea of how London has evolved over time. There are a lot of interactive exhibits too so a visit can easily last several hours! I enjoyed the exhibits that were in the floor the most just as I did when I visited there a couple years earlier.

Some of the available fish for sale

For dinner, we went to Tetto's which is an Italian restaurant and steak house. We ordered the special mixed steak platter which we shared and we had leftovers! (We had two steaks to bring home!) I was surprised at the napkins, which were black linen with the restaurant logo embroidered into each one. The machine embroidery part of me saw a lot of lettering!

At this meal, no green beans were involved! Surprisingly, Bob ate and liked tzatkiki on his calamari appetizer which shocked us all. . .because he does not like yogurt!

Shoppers in the market

On our third morning, we made it to the fish market at Billingsgate. This is the market while open to the public, it is the place where the resterauteers go to purchase the fish they will serve later that day. The market opens at 4AM. We arrived at 5AM and were home by 6:30AM with our purchases. We purchased Scottish salmon, prawns and American scallops. I was surprised with all of the variety and how many people were there! To give you an idea of how large and well attended this market is, think about Costco right before a holiday with fish and seafood as the only products for sale!

Again, we rested. I indulged in another three hour nap! Late morning, we rode the train to Winchfield which is in the Hampshire area.

Hamshire is also near the area where the author of "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand" set the novel. It was fun to view the countryside and consider where the characters might have walked, had tea, etc!

The church in Odiham

At the train station, a couple met us. Allie knew Nicole as they had worked on a project together.  Her husband, Mark shared some interesting stories of the area history as they drove us to Odiham to visit the Old Church and The Bell pub.

The Bell has been an active pub since the 1500s. I was shocked at little the bar area was. Literally, it was about 48 inches wide and low! People were shorter in those days. I did enjoy a half pint of Guiness!

The Bell pub

From Mark, I learned that the pubs back in that time were named for what they were near because most of the population was illiterate. In this case, the pub was located across the street from the church! Hence, the name The Bell pub made sense!

Then, we drove to The Chequers at Well for a late lunch. We met another couple, Mel and Richard. Mel also worked on several projects with Nicole over the years. Richard is a well known chef in that area. I had heard her talk of them often. It was so nice to get to know these two couples and to be able to put faces to their names!

The gang at Chequers

The food was wonderful and the conversation was fun. After dinner, we went to A and M's home to see the result of their recent renovation. Their home was lovely. A's mom had made a number of quilts which were displayed about their home. I loved their yellow SMEG refrigerator.