We returned to Crouch End to look after Freddie, whose medication had been increased. Some days it was a real struggle to ensure he swallowed each and every pill, and some days it was inexplicably easy. Though I dreaded feeding times, he was such a cool cucumber and liked to chill with me on the bed or sofa.
Just down the road from where we were staying, I discovered a magical land called Beanstalk Natural. At first glance it appeared to be like any other health food store, but looks can be deceiving. I got to chatting with the owner and after finding out I was vegan, she plied me with free cups of her vegetable soups and slices of her cakes on multiple occasions. If that wasn't reason enough to come back again and again, she also kept bananas in stock after they had gone spotty, which was amazing! I could not find ripe bananas in any market, super or otherwise, and was sick of having to leave them for a week on the counter until they were sweet enough.
Just down the road from where we were staying, I discovered a magical land called Beanstalk Natural. At first glance it appeared to be like any other health food store, but looks can be deceiving. I got to chatting with the owner and after finding out I was vegan, she plied me with free cups of her vegetable soups and slices of her cakes on multiple occasions. If that wasn't reason enough to come back again and again, she also kept bananas in stock after they had gone spotty, which was amazing! I could not find ripe bananas in any market, super or otherwise, and was sick of having to leave them for a week on the counter until they were sweet enough.
Taking advantage of this banana availability, I made plenty of nice creams (frozen bananas blended up to make soft serve-textured dessert), smoothies, and even simply frozen bananas with fruit sauce. As well as bananas, I upped my dessert game by utilising speculoos biscuits, Choc Shot sauce, cinnamon and a lot of ice cream.
As I enjoyed the surrounding area, I would go on daily walks. Above can be seen Alexandra Palace, which was a hideous building. I didn't even get a good view because on the day I walked up there, the world was shrouded in mist.
Another nice walk I took was through Highgate Wood, which is not terribly wooded. There are trees, sure, but the English have funny ideas about words like "forest" and "wood". They use them to mean something closer to "a park with some trees in". (To their credit, it could have been a wood historically and the name has stuck around.)
One evening I headed from Crouch End to downtown London, and on the way I experienced an exceptionally affluent suburb: Hampstead. The roads were exclusively reserved for mansions with tall gates and fountains out the front. I felt so out of place that I thought someone might call the cops, assuming that a person such as myself, dressed in jeans and getting around on foot, was preparing to rob them. I spotted a wallpapering van parked outside one mansion that advertised services including "metal leaf" and "hand painted Chinese and Japanese silk". The township of Hampstead was beautifully decorated with Christmas lights and trees, and many of the boutique shops had gone all out with the winter ornaments as well (and I'm not talking about snow from a spray can applied to windows).
Another nice walk I took was through Highgate Wood, which is not terribly wooded. There are trees, sure, but the English have funny ideas about words like "forest" and "wood". They use them to mean something closer to "a park with some trees in". (To their credit, it could have been a wood historically and the name has stuck around.)
One evening I headed from Crouch End to downtown London, and on the way I experienced an exceptionally affluent suburb: Hampstead. The roads were exclusively reserved for mansions with tall gates and fountains out the front. I felt so out of place that I thought someone might call the cops, assuming that a person such as myself, dressed in jeans and getting around on foot, was preparing to rob them. I spotted a wallpapering van parked outside one mansion that advertised services including "metal leaf" and "hand painted Chinese and Japanese silk". The township of Hampstead was beautifully decorated with Christmas lights and trees, and many of the boutique shops had gone all out with the winter ornaments as well (and I'm not talking about snow from a spray can applied to windows).
I continued to go for long walks while in Whyteleafe, though many streets I found to be not so pedestrian-friendly. Sometimes I would be walking along to find that the footpath ended and I would have to cross the street, only to discover that ten minutes later the footpath disappeared on that side as well. Walking in the road isn't fun and could be dangerous, so after my first week or so of intrepid exploring, I stuck to routes I knew to have proper footpaths. I also found that on most days, Whyteleafe existed inside a cloud. Whether this was because of the time of year, the fact that we were next to a valley or it was a chance occurrence I'll never know.
Once the stove had been set up, I continued to enjoy macrobiotic meals for their freshness and simplicity. For the first few days I had to make due with microwaving beans, potatoes and frozen vegetables, and I became rather tired of peas. It's funny how much we take things like stoves and ovens for granted (and refrigerators too - I can't imagine living without a fridge).
Once the stove had been set up, I continued to enjoy macrobiotic meals for their freshness and simplicity. For the first few days I had to make due with microwaving beans, potatoes and frozen vegetables, and I became rather tired of peas. It's funny how much we take things like stoves and ovens for granted (and refrigerators too - I can't imagine living without a fridge).
No comments:
Post a Comment