Month: December 2005

Hamburg and England, December 2005

Click any picture to visit the whole set.

(Sorry Michelle, every picture with you in it turned out blurry!)

Whew, we’re back

Wow, that was a long trip. We flew from Munich to Hamburg, spent three days there, flew from Hamburg to London, spent three days there, and took a train from London to Whitstable, where we … (can you guess?) also spent three days.

We are back safe and sound after a marathon travel day starting around 3am this morning. Pictures are posted here.

All in all, it was a fantastic trip and we managed to squeeze quite a bit of mileage out of our Euros, despite the lousy exchange rate against the Pound. Details on the places we visited and stayed are forthcoming in a new project we’re going to start working on. Stay tuned…

The Oyster Guest House

The Joint

96 Canterbury Rd.
Whitstable
Kent
CT5 4HF

phone: (01227) 276942

http://www.oysterguesthouse.co.uk/

Cliff

We came back to the Oyster in December 2005 after our initial visit in April 2003 — both times to visit Ian; this time also to visit Michelle.

The staff at the Oyster is just as nice as can be, and they were about half the price of some other B&Bs in Whitstable we checked on before booking our reservation.

Sarah

I really like the Oyster. The staff is incredibly sweet, the décor is fussy old-ladyish florals (which really fits) and the rooms have big beds which barely fit in the tiny rooms. It all adds up to a B&B full of charm and personality. And the price (for England) is great.

Easy Hotel Lexham Gardens

The Joint

14 Lexham Gardens
Kensington
London
W8 5JE
United Kingdom

http://www.easyhotel.co.uk/

Cliff

I couldn’t believe the room. I don’t think I read this FAQ before we got there (I bet Sarah did, though — she’s good like that). We were exhausted, so after the marvel of the dimensions wore off, we drifted off quickly. Definitely not for the claustrophobic. Still, it was cheap, and we needed sleep. And we heard not a peep (ok, sorry, couldn’t resist).

EasyHotel Room merely the curtain separates this shower from the john

Sarah

A fun concept, but only good in practice if you’re using the hotel solely as a place to sleep, clean up and lock up your stuff. This was the last night for us in England and we only needed to stay in London to get to Gatwick early in the morning – so it was perfect for us! You can get a room with a window, but it costs a little more. The bathroom was the smallest I’ve seen in Europe, but it’s so well arranged that it doesn’t seem so tiny (despite it saying so on the door). Very clean, pretty darn cheap and centrally located. And for how shockingly expensive London is, that’s high praise.

Azzuro

The Joint

145-146 Sutton Walk, Waterloo,
London, SE1 7ND
phone: +44 08713325332

Cliff

After walking around all day on our last full day in London and checking out the Salvador Dalí museum, Sarah wanted to find yet another Indian restaurant, but I just wanted to eat and we happened upon Azzuro. I was pleased with the carbonara pasta I had. It was a nice way to round out our trip to London.

Sarah

Nice little place. Right in the middle of a museum/business district, so I bet they do huge lunch business. Good pasta, good price. I was most excited to sit down and drink something!

Masala Zone

The Joint

147 Earls Court Rd
London SW5 9RQ
phone: +44 20 7359 3399

Cliff

I had the Lamb Coromandel — coconut milk, fennel, and red chilies provided most of the flavors. It was simply great. It came with mushroom rice and had fresh cilantro in the sauce. I’ve been craving fresh cilantro pretty much ever since we moved away from the U.S. It was labeled as “quite spicy” or similar in the menu, and they weren’t kidding. It was pleasantly hot.

Sarah

I had the Chicken Madras noodle bowl with Udon noodles, tandoori roasted chicken, lettuce of some sort, fried onions, green onions, white onions, red chilies, bean sprouts, red and green peppers and a heavenly sauce.

Invicta Tandoori

The Joint

15 Harbour Street
Whitstable, Kent
United Kingdom
Phone: 01227 264700

Cliff

This is a find; we’re so pleased Ian and Michelle introduced to this place to us back in April 2003. Sadly (for Invicta too!), they’ve moved to another part of the country, and now we’re short on motivation to return to Whitstable — other than for a meal at Invicta Tandoori, of course.

Sarah

This was the first time I had Indian that really knocked my socks off. Way to enable an addiction, Invicta. Teeny-tiny venue – barely enough room to turn around – but absolutely lovely food. The amount is surprising and the menu is extremely varied. The waitstaff is lovely. Altogether, a great joint.

Shalimar Garden

The Joint

42-44 Gloucester Terrace
Paddington, London W2 3DA

http://www.shalimargarden.com

Cliff

I had Goa Chicken and pilau rice, and we split an order Sag Aloo. This little bitty place was not even really visible from the street — you can see the sign for it coming from the Paddington tube station, but you enter the restaurant after descending an external staircase. It was small and seemed almost hastily put together. But maybe that made the food all the more delightful. This was my 2nd favorite Indian restaurant in London.

Sarah

This place was a little treat. Like Cliff said, not impressive looking, but the food was pretty tasty. And it was on the walk from the tube station to our crappy hotel. So points for convenience.

London House, Apartments Apart

The Joint

13 Craven Hill
London W2 3
U.K.

http://www.apartmentsapart.com/Europe/UK/London/Apartments/Detail/495

Cliff

We had a great time wtih Apartments Apart in Berlin in 2004 at a one-bedroom apartment set up for 4 guests. I was a little disappointed with the London House studio apartment – the results were better in Berlin. I was expecting a stove in our kitchenette, and the lack of one made cooking there impossible (we’d been hoping to cook a few meals in the apartment to save on restaurant expenses).

Note to self: get a clear definition of nebulous terms like “kitchenette” and “shower” (tub with a curtain? shower cabin? tub with a hose?) before you book. In this case, we got the shower all squared away before booking, but neglected to consider what might be considered a “kitchenette.” Got a little miffed about that.

Other than that, the room was a great deal and well-situated for our purposes.

Sarah

This company frustrates me. As Cliff stated, our experience with them in Berlin was outstanding – beautiful, in an interesting neighborhood and generously sized and appointed – a great value for four people. This place is something else entirely. Part hostel, part boarding house and part dumpy hotel. The desk staff was nice, but the room itself felt more like a cell. Ugly carpet, threadbare and coming up in one corner, tiny shower cabin with crappy water pressure and a small refrigerator, sink and microwave glorified into a “kitchenette.”

The location is in a very nice, quiet, safe-feeling neighborhood. It’s very close (10 minute walk) to a central tube station. That just made the condition of the accommodation all the more disappointing.

West Cornwall Pasty Company

The Joint

Cove 1
The Market
Covent Garden
WC2E 8RA
London
U.K.

Phone: +44 207 836 8336
http://www.westcornwallpasty.co.uk/

Cliff

The service was friendly enough, even though it was a bit difficult to attract the server’s attention. I had a Bacon & Cheddar pasty. Not sure on what a pasty is? Let wikipedia show and tell you. I hope that the grossly inflated prices we paid here were reflective of the locale (Covent Garden ain’t known for being cheap), and not of the chain on a whole.

Sarah

I had a traditional beef pasty and it was HUGE! The prices were atrocious, but the pasty was pretty good. Better than what I expected from a chain.