London diaries : Covent Garden by name and by nature

Last week, we finished off a long and tiring class trip to London (after a trip to the Natural History Museum and a long walk through Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace, Horse Guards and Trafalgar Square) with some free time and shopping in Covent Garden.

Before we arrived, I'd read online that we'd be visiting during Covent Garden in Bloom (on from 19th May - 24th June), and even before we arrived in the main area, we could see flowers and foliage adorning the shopfronts.

I always love strolling around the quirky shops, browsing the market stalls and watching the street entertainers, but the old fashioned-looking carts festooned with crates of greenery made it extra special.

There are also several flower-bedecked swing seats dotted around for you to rest your weary legs, but they were all taken for the whole time that we visited unfortunately.

This year, Covent Garden has been working closely with Gavin Jones and hosting their very own Chelsea Fringe garden.

This pretty area must surely be one of the most Instagrammable sites in Covent Garden at the moment as there were constantly people waiting their turn to pose in the heart shape !

I love the way the shops and restaurants have got in on the act too and added beautiful, brightly coloured floral displays outside of their premises, such as this one outside of The Ivy Market Grill. 

Miller Harris has another particularly striking display - I love their use of texture with the wispy foliage.

Top marks also go to Monica Vinader and Nars for their eye-catching designs.

Even the chain stores like Skechers had put in an effort so it was lovely to wander around, window shopping and taking in the floral displays before starting the serious retail therapy.

Covent Garden is always an architectural delight, but, along with the flowers, there were also lots and lots of Union Jacks, possibly left over from the royal wedding.

Punch and Judy and Union Jacks - now how's that for the ultimate blend of iconic British symbols ?!

#MySundayphoto #SundaySnap 3/6

Covent Garden

Madhouse diaries : Day trip to London

Last Friday, 2nd June, we took a coachload of pupils on a day trip to London. It came as a total shock the next day to see the terrorist attack taking place just yards from where we'd been walking the day before - I always say that it could happen anywhere so it's pointless avoiding certain areas, but that was certainly a bit too close for comfort. 

As I'd calculated that we'd arrive too early to head straight to the Museum of London, which opens at 10am, I asked the coach driver to drop us off at the Tower of London so that we could do an hour's walking tour to see some sights on the way. We headed into the Tower of London coach park which gives you 15 minutes free parking for drop offs and pick ups - it's convenient, but every single time, everyone who works there seems totally stressed out and stroppy !

Last time I came to the Tower of London, it was to see the Poppies at the Tower but this time, it was a moat of lavender instead.

From here, I pointed out the main sites before setting the kids loose to take their photos - City Hall, the Gherkin, London Bridge, the Shard, and, of course, the Tower of London.

Next, we set off for a 20 minute stroll along the Thames to head towards St Paul's Cathedral. It was 9am so it was still quite peaceful, without too many tourists or people dashing to work.

We usually do a river cruise so it was interesting to see that we could see most of the same sights on foot for free - the Shard was the most impressive for the kids.

We took a few snaps as we headed under London Bridge, which seemed all the more poignant the next day as we watched the news on TV.

I love the way St Paul's Cathedral remains out of sight until you turn inwards from the riverside walk and - bam - it's there before you in all its splendour. We walked right past it and 10 minutes later, we were at The Museum of London.

It's a great little museum that retraces the history of London, from prehistoric times to the modern day. I didn't take many photos because you aren't allowed to use a flash so they all come out rubbish. 

The kids enjoyed looking at the artifacts and learning about, amongst other things, the Plague and the Fire of London. The girls giggled at this dress and said you'd never fit through a door or manage to sit down !

After picnicking in Postman's Park, just next to the museum, we headed back to the bus and asked the driver to drop us off at the Embankment, just opposite the London Eye.

I've done this trip to London so many times now that we have the perfect walking tour that takes in the maximum number of tourist attractions. We head across the pedestrian Jubilee Bridge to pass in front of the London Eye and cut back across Westminster Bridge for the perfect photo of Big Ben.

 From there, we cut across Parliament Square to see the statues, then head up past the Cenotaph and Downing Street until we get to Horse Guards Parade.

We cut through there and, after a stroll through St James's Park, looking out for squirrels, we arrive at Buckingham Palace. 

It was a beautiful sunny day but, looking at the photos now, I can see the clouds assembling, ready for the torrential downpours (a month's rainfall in an hour) that started just after we arrived at Covent Garden.

Usually from here, we head back to Trafalgar Square for a picture with the lions at the bottom of Nelson's Column, but this time, we walked up the side of Green Park which was much more chilled out, before cutting across to Piccadily Circus.

From here, we cut up to Chinatown, then - the bit that the kids had been looking forward to all day - let them loose for an hour's shopping in Covent Garden. As it's pedestrianised and a square, they can't really get lost! 

It was a busy day - I clocked up over 25,000 steps on my FitBit - but we managed to pack a lot in. I thought they might all fall asleep on the bus home but no such luck ! The great thing is, the only thing we had to pay for was transport, as everything else was totally free, so it doesn't even have to be an expensive day out.

What are your favourite places in London? Did I miss anything?!

Globecooking recipe : Cha Siu Bao Pork Buns (Hong Kong) (and a trip to Chinatown)

Just over a month ago (but it seems so much longer !), I accompanied a school trip to London and we tied in a quick visit to Chinatown with their shopping time in Covent Garden.

It was the first time for most of the kids and even the other teachers so they were suitably impressed by the rather bling-bling gates and pagodas.

I have a thing about Chinese lucky cats - although I've just learnt that they're actually beckoning, not waving. I don't care, I'll still be waving every time I walk past one (or at least if I have the kids with me so that I can blame it on them !). Either way, it made me smile to see a big long line of them in the window of a Chinese restaurant.

If we'd had more time (and I didn't have a coachload of schoolkids in tow !), I'd have gone browsing in the little supermarkets packed to the rafters with authentic Chinese products. Instead, I made do with peering through the windows at the displays.

I did grab a quick foodie experience-on-the-go though, popping into a little Chinese bakery to sample one of their delicacies. I decided it must be fairly authentic because there was a line of customers animatedly chatting in Chinese waiting to get through the door. Some of the kids tried a sesame ball, which is made with glutinous rice flour and filled with red bean paste then deep fried. They weren't overly keen because it was very sticky and glued itself to the roof of their mouths !

I had opted for a Pork Bun, which is a bread roll stuffed with Chinese BBQ pork. It was very tasty but quite disconcerting because the bread was sweet.

I couldn't help but giggle as I glanced at the menu of a nearby Chinese restaurant and spotted ... pole dance chicken ! Hilarious but quite off-putting - not sure I'd want to tuck in !

I did decide to try to recreate the pork buns though, maybe with a less sweet bread. I went googling for recipe inspiration and had a go today. They're surprisingly simple to make, tasted fab and the whole family tucked in enthusiastically.

Cha Siu Bao Pork Buns

ingredients :

for the bread :

340g + 25g plain flour

80ml water

120ml + 40ml milk

25g sugar

a pinch of salt

2tsp dried yeast

1 egg

2tbsp melted butter

sesame seeds

milk (to brush)

for the filling :

1 small onion

200g cooked pork

1tbsp sugar

1tsp soy sauce

1tsp fish sauce

1 tsp black rice vinegar

1tbsp sesame oil

190ml chicken stock

2tbsp cornflour

Put 25g flour, 80ml water and 40ml milk in a frying pan. Stir to combine.

Cook over a low heat, stirring, until it forms a thick paste. Turn off the heat.

Put the 340g flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl. Add the egg, the melted butter and the 120ml milk, as well as the flour paste from the frying pan. Mix together and knead for ten minutes to create a ball of dough. (It will be quite sticky, don't panic !) Leave to rise for an hour.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Finely slice the onion and fry in a drizzle of olive oil.

Add the finely chopped meat (I used the meat sliced off some leftover BBQ ribs), the sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, cornflour and black rice vinegar.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cook for about ten minutes until the liquid has reduced to just coat the pork in a lovely thick, luscious sauce. Taste and adjust the balance of flavours by adding more sugar, soy sauce or vinegar, as required.

Get your cornflour ready to coat your hands because it will get sticky (although the fact that we were in the middle of a heatwave probably didn't help !). Split the dough into balls slightly larger than a golfball. I chilled them in the fridge for ten minutes afterwards so they were easier to handle.

Put one dough ball in the palm of your hand and use the fingers of the other hand to flatten it. Add a spoonful of filling (don't overdo it !).

Push the edges towards the middle and crimp and smooth the surface to seal the filling inside.

Repeat with the remaining dough balls. Place them on a greased baking tray.

Brush with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake at 180° for 25 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch. These could also be made in advance and frozen.

*** Don't miss my globecooking country-by-country recipe index ***

Fancy some more Chinese dishes? How about Steamed Goji Berry Cakes, Sweet & Sour Chicken,

Sweet & Sour Pork Spring Rolls, General Tso's Chicken or Kung Pao Chicken?