One of the things I was really looking forward to on this
trip was getting a view of Olympic Stadium in London. Unfortunately, I was
having sinus problems and the weather (for a boat ride) was not cooperating. I
instead spent the morning resting up at the
Duke’s Hotel, which left me with more energy for a full afternoon and evening.
When I finally left the hotel, I walked down to St. James
park and then on to Buckingham Palace. My last two trips to London had been
filled with no time for sightseeing so I hadn’t seen the palace since I was a
teenager. It is more regal than I remembered, and the gardens (displaying tulips
when I was there) were immaculate. I walked around the grounds so I could see
it all from all angles.
As I started walking away through St. James Park’s Birdcage
Walk, I noticed that there was a clearing an area of the road. I saw the guards
at attention in front of a crowd at St. James Palace just before a car with
Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, came out. The brief glimpse at the
Duchess of Cornwall was probably the closest I will get to royalty!
I went back to the hotel in time to dress for an evening
filled with activities. Our first stop was at the infamous and elegant
American Bar at the Savoy Hotel. It was quite
an experience as we split up into the small tables and I enjoyed The Royal
Tribute (Beefeater gin, champagne, cherries and Chartreuse) with
Beefeater Master Distiller Desmond
Payne and Guilt Taste Editor Jennifer Pelka.
After drinking cocktails we went on to making them at
HIX Restaurant, where we met with infamous
London mixologist Nick Strangeway. He led us through punch making, specifically
the making of the Diamond Jubilee Punch for Queen Elizabeth II. The punch
contained Beefeater gin, cassis, raspberry liqueur, cherry brandy, bitters, Twining’s
Earl Grey Tea, lemon juice, sparkling wine and a black currant garnish. I also
got to make another Strangeway created punch with British cassis, rhubarb,
champagne and Compari. Both were delicious.
We stayed at HIX for a dinner in our own private room. During
the meal I talked a bit with Beefeater Ambassador Seb Hamilton-Mudge about
surfing and the many areas of England I had yet to explore.
Dinner started with a plate of Senorio Iberico Bellota Ham
with grilled Catalan tomato bread, which was sweet and tasty. We then had a filet
of Hereford beef on the bone (which I topped with a terrific Béarnaise sauce) accompanied
by incredible Jersey Royal potatoes. Dessert was a chocolate mousse made to
perfection, deep in cocoa flavor, but not too sweet. We were also given some
decadent Julian Temperley chocolate truffles.
For after dinner drinks we headed to Novikovs, a very
popular London club. It was noisy and crowded and we were all very happy to see
we had a large table reserved. The staff brought out martinis (Beefeater, of
course) in an absinthe-like pitcher, as well as bottles of the gin and an
assortment of mixers. I played it safe with my usual gin and tonic, but there were
some passing shots of
Avion Tequila before we left at 1:00 am to go back to
Duke's Hotel.
We had a very busy next day ahead of us as we were leaving
early in the morning and heading to Plymouth. There we would see the spot the
Mayflower left from on its journey to the United States, and learn more about
the gin that bears the city’s name.
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