I have a bad habit. During the work week I don’t have a lot of access to natural light. I stare jealously at the sunshine that’s trying to peak through the cloudy skylights and wish I was outside. I savor my walk to and from the tube just because that’s the majority of the time I get outside. But then, on the weekend I’m tired and lazy and all I want to do is be un-showered in my pajamas at home. It’s a bad habit.

So this weekend, I was doing just that and relaxing when the sun shone through the window and mocked my lethargy. Go outside, said the voice in my head, weekday Mariel will be so mad if you squander this day. Fine, true, yes, let’s go outside, I said to myself. So I Googled “things to do in Islington,” because that’s the area where I live and I found the New River Walk. I put on my flip flops and went to enjoy the walk. Side note: flip flops was a terrible idea! It was the first time I’d worn them for the season and I wore them for a long walk and now my feet are all cut up. Sigh, rookie mistake.

I was drawn to the New River Walk because I’d be able to go near some water while staying close to home. The walk is part of a larger path, and it was originally an aqueduct (from 1613) that brought water from Hertfordshire to North London. If you’re curious, you can read about the whole path here.

What I love about this park, and actually a lot of parks in London, is that it’s a place to go where you feel like you’re outside of the city. London is always full and bustling and sometimes that’s overwhelming. It’s wonderful to find a place where you can see ducks splashing in the water, walk under gorgeous hanging swamp cypress trees, and feel the sun on your face. It was truly lovely. Now I hope you’re enjoying the pictures and wistfully sighing while you’re inside at work (like me).

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This weekend was a lovely long weekend filled with food! Ryan had a half day on Friday and he came home and we made lunch together. I was in the mood for a delicious sandwich so we went to the grocery store to get ingredients for steak sandwiches. Ryan was the executive chef and I was the sous chef. He made all the decisions and did most of the cooking. I did the prep and washed the dishes. Our steak was topped with cheddar cheese, onions, and mushrooms on a baguette and served along side fries. It was so good and I ate so much, I didn’t even eat dinner!

On Saturday we had a relaxing day. It’s practically fall here so we were craving pumpkin spice lattes. Unfortunately it’s too early for that so we got regular coffee, then did some shopping, and then went to the pub for the Arsenal match.

Sunday we went to the BBC Good Food Festival at Hampton Court. I’ve gushed about Hampton Court before. It’s the palace of Henry VIII and it’s gorgeous and wonderful. When I heard about this festival I could not contain my excitement. Lots of food in my favorite place?! YES PLEASE! This past weekend the palace gardens were foodie paradise. There were demonstrations and lectures and cookbooks on sale. And there was so much food to eat. There were tons of vendors selling and giving away samples. I tried sauces, curries, blood orange liqueur, wine, and cheese. I also tested out some fancy knives. One of them was truly impressive. I cut through a turnip like it was butter and the vendor showed me how she could easily peel a tomato. It was a really cool knife.

We were lucky to have a gorgeous sunny day. We sat in the grass, listened to the brass band, and indulged in food. Ryan and I had venison sausage, a steak sandwich (Ryan’s was better), churros, gelato, and a lemon cake. We did share most of that food, but in total we still ate a lot. I especially liked the lemon cake. We were walking along when a boy came up and asked if we’d try his stands’ cakes and biscuits. I said no and he looked so crestfallen. I felt so guilty and I was about to go back to him when I saw the Little Round Cake Co. Everything they had looked so beautiful. Ryan took one beautiful picture of the cake and then some silly pictures of me pretending to eat it. People looked askance at us but I didn’t care, I was eating cake.

Don’t worry too much about my eating, I worked out on Monday to make up for the weekend’s gluttony

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