Tuesday 11 August 2009

Birthday Bevies...and a heapin' help of San Isidro...

Family,

And a good evening to you from across the Pond. Today was another great day – first off, we sawed through many a “to-do” at work, which always makes me feel good. Secondly, we went for “birthday bevies” for Lisa Placks (aka Money Penny, whom you’ve all met before) at a place called the Young Vic.

This is a neat spot – it’s a theater that’s just down the way from the “Old Vic,” a theater owned by Kevin Spacey (who happens to be the artistic director as well, by the way). There’s a bar and a restaurant, and Lisa booked out the Patio. So we had a Bitburger (very tasty brew) and chatted with her and her fella Dan for a bit. I also got a chance to catch up with Laura, her old roommate whom I met on the night of the famous “Lisa burned a hole in the carpet with a sheesha pipe and then lost her wallet and jacket and walked home in the snow” incident. The fella in the picture? Her boyfriend Dan, whom she'll soon be living with (in 14 days time, actually!) in the British Virgin Islands. Best of luck, guys.

I will say that Laura has quite intrigued me, as she pronounced the cheese spelled “gruyere” as “grur.” And so I ask the masses – is this correct? If not, now in the WORLD do you spell that cheese? I only ask because I order it all the time and would like to say it correctly¸even if my TN accent usually earns me a pass no matter what I say.

After that, we hopped back on the tube and headed home, where we had our second installment of “La Tasca,” the Spanish tapas place. Okay, Okay, I know, I know…I have protested over and over again about how I simply cannot stand Spanish food. But cats, this is NOT Spanish food – this place ROCKS. Add in some tasty (and fresh!) San Miguel and a 50% off coupon (thanks, Money Penny for the discount voucher web site!), and you’ve got a recipe for a good night. We sampled (of course) a plate of Jamon Serrano, some Patatas Bravas (with cheese!), Mushroom croquettes, chorizo, bread with garlic dipping sauces, and a small Paella. It should be noted at this point that Brits pronounce the last dish as “Pi-Ela,” which causes no end of amusement for me and JT.

Other than that, not a whole lot else to report. I’m 35 pages from the end of “Freakonomics,” which I have enjoyed. I will say, however, that this book has shown me I am no longer a man of academic only tastes. Going forward, anytime I read something “intellectual,” I am going to ensure there’s some Fiction along for the ride as well (to keep me balanced).

Okay, that’s all the news that’s fit to print. Chat tomorrow!

Love,

Sam and Jenny

No comments:

Post a Comment