The best way to see London is on foot, however navigating the summer crowds can be frustrating but easily remedied by taking the subway, if you must.
Tuesday we chose walking even after our morning run in Hyde Park. It was a good way to work up our appetite in anticipation of our dinner at Gordon Ramsay's Maze Grill - http://www.gordonramsay.com/mazegrill/ . Somewhat reminiscent of most steak houses they begin the dining experience with displaying the raw cuts at table side. Maze Grill did not disappoint when it came to service - the table hostess, the sommelier, the waiter and busboys all put on a good show.
We ordered from the al carte menu. I began with the soft shell crab appetizer. For the main both of us had a filet of Aberdeen Angus grass fed, aged 28 days. Sides are to be shared and we ordered thick cut fries, Portobello mushrooms and the tomato, basil, feta salad. For dessert Steph had the orange sorbet and I had the sundae.
In short all of Steph's choices were good and on my list only the soft shell crab stood out. The filet was ordered rare and arrived somewhere between blue and rare, under seasoned and much like the kind of meal that would disappoint Chef Ramsay on any one of his reality cooking shows. The sundae was pedestrian.
Steph rated the evening as a B / B+ and I could give it no more than a C / -C. I did not complain about my meal at the restaurant choosing to write off the experience as a bad night for the kitchen or being the lucky fellow to get a cut from the tapered end of the loin. Picture a triangle for the cut I received and it will then be easy to understand how grilling such a piece requires more care than a centre round.
This morning (Wednesday) we were on the train early to watch the Wednesday practice round of the 140th Open Championship.
Back to the train again, this time we took the Southeastern high speed service to and from the course. The non-stop direct service does not start until Thursday. Like our experience on the Eurostar the train was seemless and on time.
This is our second attendance at major golf tournament and The Open did not disappoint. The venue is well organized and staffed. Many grandstands for seating and the weekend weather forecast offers a full menu of challenges.
We did get a caught up in the autograph frenzy and both of us managed to get a few. I am now the proud owner of a hat autographed by Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Bo Van Pelt, J. B. Holmes, Davis Love, Steve Marino, Mark O'Meara, Justin Leonard Jason Dufner and Ryo Ishikawa and others.
Throughout the day we were abe to get a few good pics on the practice putting green and here in no particular order are some player pics
Ross Fisher
Luke Donald
Nick Watney
Lee Westwood
Ernie Els
Rory M
And of course the stimpmeter crew,
We are returning to the course on Friday - cut day! I do hope this guy survives, for all of what he may be faulted he is nevertheless a colourful guy
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