September in London

I am back in London, after spending most of the summer flying Honolulu. The change is nice, especially the cool weather.  I am glad to be wearing sweaters and gloves, while it is still in the 90's in Dallas.  I am flying with my friend, Rebecca, on this trip, and we have decided to take a quick nap then head out to dinner and  to an art festival on the southbank of the Thames.

We took the Tube to Oxford Circus,

and walked through the Saturday

crowds toward Regent Street.  We

avoided temptation by walking past

Liberty of London without stopping. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_%26_Co.

We did make a stop at H&M, my favorite clothing store in London, and made a few purchases.  This store is very young and hip (of which I am neither) but I can always get ideas, and find a few great pieces to update my wardrobe.
http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Alexa/HM/337b/b











We ate an early dinner at Piccolino,
http://www.piccolinorestaurants.co.uk/heddonstreet.html
where anyone who reads my blog knows that I had to have some of my favorite chicken livers.










We walked through Trafalgar Square





to Villiers Street and enjoyed a glass of "old wood tawny port" at Gordon's Wine Bar,

 where Rebecca was almost too tall for the old cellar's ceiling.  http://www.gordonswinebar.com/


We decided to walk through Victoria Embankment Gardens,
just before they locked the gates for the night.  The gardens
are really peaceful in the evening, without the daytime crowds.

We stopped for a moment to pay homage to Sir Arthur Sullivan
at his lovely memorial statue.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Sullivan

We walked toward
St. Paul's Cathedral,













and crossed the

Waterloo Bridge,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Bridge








while the sky changed
colors,

and the lights came on around the

Hungerford Bridge.

The art festival was on the southbank beneath the
Royal Festival Hall, on both sides of Festival Pier.

We browsed in some of the kiosks, but by now we were beginning to feel the lack of sleep,

so we posed for
photos on the
Hungerford Bridge,
and headed back
to our hotel.






























http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungerford_Bridge_and_Golden_Jubilee_Bridges

The Hungerford Bridge has at times been called the Charing

Cross Bridge, and I have seen Claude Monet's impression of

 it at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. 

Although I love the painting (who can argue with Monet), I find the
view is even more beautiful when seen in real life,  from the

Waterloo Bridge, on a fall evening.

                               

Paddle Boating

I'm back in Honolulu and flying with a great crew, including my friend Ron.  He writes a wonderful blog about his travels at 

http://ronno1976.blogspot.com. 

He is famous among his friends for his photos of his feet around the world.  You never know where Ron's feet might show up.

Here they are on Waikiki Beach.  

We met some of our crew at the Top of Waikiki for $4.00 Happy Hour,

appetizers and, of course,

my favorite steak on a rock.

http://www.topofwaikiki.com/

I got back to my room just in time to watch the fireworks display from my balcony.

The next morning, Ron and I set out to go paddle boating at Fort DeRussy Beach, posing along the way with Diamond Head behind us.

We rented our paddleboat and got the hang of manuevering it.  Compared to kayaking, you do a lot more work, for a lot less result.  We were also restricted to a certain area, and couldn't go out as far you can in your own kayak.

But it was fun to be out amid all the activity,

looking back at the beach.

















I had purchased a waterproof camera, and the photos aren't that great, but it recorded the memory for us.  And I got a shot of Ron's feet with Diamond Head.

After our paddle, we went to the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Tropics Bar and Grill for some lunch.

http://www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com/dining/tropics_bar_grill.cfm

Seems like we had worked up an appetite.






We walked through the Rainbow Bazaar, 

window shopping and enjoying the artwork.

The Rainbow Tower rises above the Hilton Hawaiian Village,

and over the Lagoon on the opposite side.

I think this lagoon is an excellent spot to try my hand at paddle boarding on a future trip. I'll be flying London next month, so for now I am saying "Aloha" to Honolulu.    

I had been wanting to got back to the "Top of Waikiki", to see if they had their wonderful tenderloin on a rock on the menu. 

http://www.topofwaikiki.co

The last time I had been there, they weren't serving it, and I couldn't understand why.  It is one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.

Several of my fellow crewmembers and I headed out for their happy hour, me with my fingers crossed!  I was thrilled to find that they did have the tenderloin, and I promptly ordered it.  

The tenderloin is charred rare, and served on a smoking hot rock. You can see the smoke more clearly if you click on the photo above and enlarge it.  You slice the steak and cook each piece as much as you like on the hot rock.  The sauce is a merlot-miso sauce.  It is sooo melt in your mouth delicious.  I had ordered immediately and I rudely ate it up before my friends' orders even arrived.  Sorry, guys!

The restaurant takes one hour to revolve, for a 360 degree view of the city and it's surroundings,

with spectacular views of Diamond Head,

the Royal Hawaiian

and the Manu Kai as it left for it's sunset sail.

As we enjoyed the views from the top, I saw a green area near the marina that I had never explored.  I decided the next morning to walk up the beach and check it out.

Looking back at Diamond Head as I walked toward the Waikik Yacht Club.

I reached Fort DeRussy Beach Park, the green area that I had seen from the Top of Waikiki.  This

beautiful park has picnic tables and grills, lots of shade and fun activities.

I wasn't tempted to try climbing this "tree", even though the kids mad it look easy.
               

DeRussy Beach has sand volleyball courts and lots water sport equiptment for rent.  I want to rent a
paddleboat on my trip next week.

The Ferry, docking below, takes you out to the submarine Atlantis for an underwater tour.
I haven't done this yet, but I will in the future (when I get over the claustrophbia thing).

http://www.hawaiiactivities.com/us/hawaii/oahu/sg/2/ag/6594/

Just past the park you come upon the Hilton HawaiianVillage.  I hadn't been here before, but I was really enchanted by it.  I'm not usually about large resorts, but I think this would be a great place to experience  a Waikiki vacation with a family.   For a commercial setting, they have given it a really lovely feel.

http://gohawaii.about.com/od/oahulodging/ss/hilton_hawaiian_village.htm

The wedding chapel in the center almost made me think about getting married!

They have several Koi ponds,

flamingos,

turtles,

 South African penguins,

and some strange ducks.
















There is a beautiful Rainbow Bazaar, with interesting Asian art,  many Asian shops, and a wonderful noodle shop.  I will tell you more in my next blog, because I am coming back here next week.