Category: Travel

Travel writings from around the world

Queen Elisabeth Olympic Park London

Queen Elisabeth Olympic Park. From left, the Aquatics center, The ArchelorMittal Orbit metal sculpture and the London Stadium.
Queen Elisabeth Olympic Park. From left, the Aquatics center, The ArchelorMittal Orbit metal sculpture and the London Stadium.

The Queen Elisabeth Olympic Park and the arenas were built in East London for the 2012 Summer Olympics that were held in the city. The London arena is now home to the football (US-‘soccer’) team West Ham United.  The towering sculpture ArchelorMittal Orbit is a lookout tower with a slide, a free fall abseil, it is also labelled the tallest sculpture in the UK.

The ArchelorMittal Orb up close.
The ArchelorMittal Orb up close.
The City viewed from the Orb.
The City viewed from the Orb.
London Stadium, formerly known as the Olympic Stadium, is now home to the football team West Bromwich.
London Stadium, formerly known as the Olympic Stadium, is now home to the football team West Bromwich.
The Aquatic centre
The Aquatic centre.

The Aquatic centre was originally designed by Zaha Hadid in 2004. This was before the Olympic bid was complete and the original design did not have room for as many spectators as was needed for the Olympics, so two spectator wings were added for the Olympics. The added sections have since been removed, they were only present during the Olympic games in 2012.

The Aquatics Center seen from atop the ArchelorMittal Orb.
The Aquatics Center seen from atop the ArchelorMittal Orb.
Lea River running through the Olympic Park.
Lee River running through the Olympic Park.

Lee River (also referred to as Lea River) that runs through the Olympic Park in East London, was long a forgotten river that ran through mountains of old refrigerators and other scrap mountains in the scrapyards that used to surround the river. It was essentially a tic wasteland. When London was awarded the 2012 summer Olympics that all changed and the river today is a beautifully restored piece of nature that enhances the environment considerably in this part of East London.

Lea River in the Lea River Vally.
Lee River in the Lee River Vally.
Wildlife like this bird loves the Lea River.
Wildlife like this bird loves the Lee River.
Lee Valley Velodrome
Lee Valley Velodrome

Lee Valley Velodrome was the home of track cycling events during the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. The building was designed by Hopkins Architects together with landscape Architectural firm Grant Associates.

The park is full of nice plants, here is one: Red Hot Poker or Kniphofia as it is named is a flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family.
The park is full of nice plants, here is one: Red Hot Poker or Kniphofia as it is named is a flowering plant in the Asphodelaceae family.

Soul of a Nation at Tate modern

Soul of a Nation poster at Tate modern with Barkley L. Hendricks, Icon For My Man Superman (Superman Never Saved Any Black People--Bobby Seale), 1969. Collection of Liz and Eric Lefofsky.
Soul of a Nation poster at Tate modern with Barkley L. Hendricks, Icon For My Man Superman (Superman Never Saved Any Black People–Bobby Seale), 1969. Collection of Liz and Eric Lefofsky.

Soul of a nation at Tate modern in London is a trip through African American art through the times of the civil rights movement and beyond. There are powerful art pieces that clearly shows the struggles of people in a society full of of prejudice and even hatred towards people based on the color of their skin. The exhibit has numerous great and thought provoking works of art and it also has posters, magazines and other materials from the Black Panther Party in then 60’s and onward. The original name of the  party was Black Panther Party for Self Defense and it was founded in 1966 in Oakland California. The aim of the party was initially to monitor Police activity in order to try and prevent Police brutality against African Americans. The history of the party and it’s contributions to the civil rights movement is controversial and there are many different perspectives on the value of the contributions the party made to history and the movement. It is however clear that the party did have a substantial impact on American society whichever way you chose to look at it.

My Man Superman (Superman Never Saved any Black People – Bobby Seale), 1969 by Barkley Hendricks. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
My Man Superman (Superman Never Saved any Black People – Bobby Seale), 1969 by Barkley Hendricks. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.

There are some very powerful pieces of art and you can look at the art and appreciate it, but one should also reflect on the struggles that produced the art and what lessons can be learned from the messages that it sends to the world.

Barkley L. Hendricks, What's Going On (1974) Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery.
Barkley L. Hendricks, What’s Going On (1974) Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery.

What’s Going On was a nod to Marvin Gaye’s song with the same name and it signifies when Black protest music became a hip thing and was popular among different groups of people.

SOUL OF A NATION: ART IN THE AGE OF BLACK POWER
Tate modern
Until 22 Oct 2017

Soul of a Nation shines a bright light on the vital contribution of Black artists to a dramatic period in …

Tate modern restaurant

The new Switch House at Tate Modern in London designed by Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron.
The new Switch House at Tate Modern in London designed by Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron.

The restaurant at The modern is in the Switch house, or as it is now called “Blavatnik Building”. It is on Level 9 of the building. The old restaurant in the boiler house was of course superior as far as the views go. That restaurant still has the best views, but for some unknown reason the higher quality food is now served in the new restaurant. They have made an effort in working with what they have by raising the floor level up slightly, so as long as you chose your seating wisely and stay away from sitting by the windows, you will have some views if you face the windows.

Restaurant interior, entrance is at the far end of the picture.
Restaurant interior, entrance is at the far end of the picture.
View towards the windows, as you can see they are placed fairly high on the wall.
View towards the windows, as you can see they are placed fairly high on the wall.
An Aperol Spritz is a good way to start your meal off right...
An Aperol Spritz is a good way to start your meal off right…

We were happy to see that the kitchen has revamped the offerings for the the ones of us that are Vegan/Vegetarian eaters. The current chef goes beyond the previous usual Risotto, and the dishes are excellent, truly Vegan/Vegetarian fine dining. We started with the ‘Red Radicchio Ravioli, Amaretto Sage, Burnt butter’ paired with a Sercial 10 Yo, Henriques & Henriques, Madeira, Portugal.

Red Radicchio Ravioli, Amaretto Sage, Burnt butter
Red Radicchio Ravioli, Amaretto Sage, Burnt butter

This was followed by the ‘Herbed Gnocchi, Creamed wild Mushrooms, Spinach, Burrata’ and this was a real nice appetizer with superb flavors. The main dish wine pairing was a white ‘Fiano de Avelino, Ciro Picariello, Campania, Italy. We also had the excellent bread and butter to accompany our meal, super good bread!

Main dish
Main dish
Dessert
Dessert

Dessert consisted of ‘Chocolate mousse, Honeycomb, Salted caramel’ we did not do the wine pairing with the dessert but opted instead for a cup of single shot espresso and a glass of 30 Yo Armagnac which was superb and a very good value as compared to a similarly aged Cognac.

30 Year old Armagnac with a nice amber color and a superb nose.
30 Year old Armagnac with a nice amber color and a superb nose.
After your meal you can go up to the viewing deck on the 10th floor, just above the Restaurant floor.
After your meal you can go up to the viewing deck on the 10th floor, just above the Restaurant floor.

 

Jamie’s Italian

Jamie Oliver's Italian, Piccadilly Circus London
Jamie Oliver’s Italian, Piccadilly Circus London

Jamie Oliver is a ‘celebrity chef’ most known for his efforts to revamp school food around the world and in England in particular. His cooking could be described as no frills everyman food, and the prices are affordable. The atmosphere in the Soho/Piccadilly Circus location is more old school English pub than Italian restaurant as far as the decor goes. It could be labelled cozy with the low ceiling height and dark wood furniture, the place is on the dark side with small windows that don’t let in too much light.

Jamie's Italian interior view.
Jamie’s Italian interior view.
An Aperol Spritz starts of the meal in a good way.
An Aperol Spritz starts of the meal in a good way.
Veggie Tagliatelle Bolognese
Veggie Tagliatelle Bolognese

Jamie’s Italian does serve a good Aperol Spritz and that is a good way to start up your Italian dinner, just like the Italians do. The main dish we had was a Vegan/Vegetarian – Veggie Tagliatelle Bolognese. It was not the flavor explosion that one could have expected from a chef of Jamie Oliver’s stature. Perhaps he is too focused on the meat dishes which I must assume is better than the veggie dishes at his places, I can’t see why people would keep coming back if they weren’t.

Epic Chocolate Brownie
Epic Chocolate Brownie

The most redeeming dish of this place is the dessert, in this case – Epic Chocolate Brownie – From menu ‘Rich chocolate sauce, salted caramel gelato & caramelised popcorn’ it is very good.

Prices are moderate and here is a link to the web site with locations, hours, menu etc.