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A few weeks ago I bought a new book: 1000 things to do in London. I've been living in England for almost two years now and have worked my way through most of the main tourist attractions (especially once I started to take the train down almost every weekend to see Carl). We thought trying some of the things in this book would be a fun way to make sure we take advantage of all London has to offer and decided to kick things off with a couple local places.

261: Eat ice-cream at Gelateria Danieli

I made the mistake of forgetting to take pictures, but I'm still going to cross this one off the list. Gelateria Danieli is a quaint little shop right beside the Richmond Green. With the recent spate of exceptionally hot weather (by London standards at least), we decided it was the right time to grab some ice cream. Carl was up first and ordered a scoop of coffee in a cone. My years of experience eating gelato on orchestra tours paid off as I wisely asked for the special. I was rewarded with a scoop of tiramisu gelato that tasted like heaven (and oddly enough, an awful lot like the world's best gelato served at a tiny restaurant tucked away somewhere in Venezia). I begrudgingly shared a bit of mine in exchange for some of Carl's coffee as we walked over to the Green to find a place to sit. In the end, we couldn't decide who had won the 'dish-off'. I guess that means we'll have to come back for round two!

774: Drink in a German beer garden

As soon as we walked into the beer garden I felt like I was back in Munich again. It is all open air seating at long wooden tables right by the river with a little stand where you can place your order and collect your beer. I knew we came to the right place when I spotted someone walk by with a pint of Erdinger (a wheat beer from a town just outside Munich that I visited a couple years ago). I decided to make this my treat so I had Carl grab us a couple of seats at the end of one of the tables and ordered two bratwurst plates and two pints of Erdinger. While I was waiting in the queue to collect the beers, Carl frantically tried to get my attention and ended up resorting to calling me. He had seen a man sit down at a nearby table with a giant stein (a full litre of beer!) and was now desperate to have one of his own. Unfortunately it was too late to change the order so we tucked in and vowed to get steins next time.

Erdinger and bratwurst! 

Halfway through our tasty meal one of the employees walked past our table carrying an enormous platter absolutely bursting with assorted meats and potato based sides. We must have practically been salivating at the sight because we walked over to us afterwards to explain that it was meant to be shared by a party of 8 people and that you could even reserve your own table (any takers?)! Of course, we were immediately distracted by the woman at the till removing the giant Black Forest gateau from the glass display case and cutting off a slice. Without saying a word, Carl immediately walked straight to the till and ordered a slice for us. Appetites ruined and sweet teeth (tooths?) satiated, we finally gave in and bought a stein to share.

Before

and after: the stein and me!

Stein's has definitely claimed a spot near the top of the list of my favourite places in London. I can't wait to get enough people together for that platter and polish off a stein all by myself!

Until next time, happy eating! x