The Oyster Shed opened a few weeks ago and invited me and a guest to dinner on Monday. We arrived to find ourselves in a spacious bar and restaurant that was set over two stories with floor-to-ceiling windows offering what would have been sweeping views over the Thames had it not been dark outside.

Our table was upstairs on the mezzanine, and it overlooked the main bar area. The ambiance was intimate, with low light and candles. As we settled in, we each enjoyed an apple and elderflower martini from the bar. It was cool and refreshing, and just the right degree of sweet.

The martinis were followed by a bottle of Macon-Lugny “Les Genievres” 2010, Louis Latour from Burgundy. As I sipped, I looked over the menu and was startled to see that there were no oysters on it. What kind of restaurant calls itself The Oyster Shed and doesn’t serve oysters?

But then I saw them. Tucked away in a not-so-prominent position on the menu, there was one oyster option. I wished there had been more, but I didn’t hesitate to order a dozen of the Jersey rock oysters. I’m glad I did, too. They were simply served with a side of shallot vinegar, and they were fresh, clean, and delicious.

The oysters were followed by the special of the evening, which was sea bass on a bed of spinach and potatoes. The fish was fresh, and the accompanying vegetables were rich and hearty. There was a lot butter throughout the dish, but given my affinity for saturated fat, I wasn’t going to complain.

Speaking of all things healthy, dinner was followed by sticky toffee pudding. The large fluffy square of cake was served with a small pitcher of sauce. The combination tasted delicious. I wished the sauce-to-pudding ratio had been a bit more generous, but overall the dessert was great.

I left The Oyster Shed restaurant wanting to return in the summer, when I could sit outside at one of the tables on the terrace, enjoy the views across the Thames, and indulge in more oysters by the water. Until then, I will make do with oysters in February. And March. And probably June…

To be honest, I didn’t realize that there had been any French colonies in India. I knew about the British ones and the Portuguese, but the French colonial history in India evaded me. When I arrived, I was shown a map, and learned that cuisine from Kerala to Pondicherry had been influenced by French cooking. I was excited to experience the unique fusion.

I did so in the restaurant’s spacious dining room. Spread over two floors, the place was full of palm trees, and the white wooden furniture made La Porte des Indes look like it was right in the heart of colonial India. The downstairs bar had jungle scenes painted on the walls, and the private dining rooms were decorated with arches resembling those in Indian architecture.

My friend and I were seated at a table in one of the areas of the busy dining room. We started with cocktails, which came in the form of a Champagne du Gouverneur for me and a Black Pearl for her.

From there we were offered amuse bouches before La Porte des Indes’ kitchen prepared a large number of small plates for us to share. The menu itself offered both a la carte and set menus, and we were happy to go with the latter.

The starters included lemon sole in a mint and cilantro chutney wrapped in banana leaves and steamed; king scallops with garlic in a saffron sauce; chicken tikka marinated with cream cheese and pepper; and vegetable pakoras. All of the flavors were intense without being too spicy for my weak taste buds, and we enjoyed each dish as we tried it.

The mains took a very long time to arrive at the table, which we were informed was due to a problem with the ordering system in the restaurant’s kitchen. I’m glad they told us the reason for the delay, because otherwise I would have wondered why there was such a large gap before our second courses came.

When they did, they included lamb chops with caramelized onions and garam masala served with mint chutney; grilled poulet rouge marinated in yogurt and spices and served in a creamy sauce; a French-influenced dish of prawns simmered in coconut curry; saag paneer; and smoked crushed eggplant, chilli, ginger, and lime. It was served with sides of Basmati rice, fried lotus root, and cheese naan. The mix of French-inspired dishes and Indian ones added a nice diversity to the selection.

After all of the food at dinner, we were intimidated by the prospect of eating dessert. Still, we found room for a sharing platter of bread and butter pudding, chocolate mousse, and cardamom yogurt with fresh fruit.

By the end of the meal we were full of good food and glad to have been transported to new parts of India via the cuisine and ambiance of La Porte des Indes restaurant. If I didn’t enjoy traveling and discovering new areas of countries I have already visited, I might be tempted to stay in England to get my India fix forever.

I was going to find out. I arrived at the restaurant—which was split over two levels in a large space on Haymarket—and met my group. We went downstairs and settled into a long table at the back of the room. Before we were given our chef’s whites, we were treated to a guided Prosecco tasting. I needed it to take the edge off my fear of cooking.

We first sampled a Quartese Ruggeri Valdobbiadene, a brut Prosecco that was floral and fruity. From there we moved on to a Santos Stefano, and extra dry Prosecco that was sweet due to having more residual sugar than the brut.

The third one was my favorite of the night. It was a vintage Prosecco from Ruggeri called Giustino B. 2009, and was named after the grandfather of the winemaker. The wine was minerally, and had much more complexity than the others we tasted. It was also the only Prosecco to be awarded three “glasses” by Gambero Rosso last year.

We finished the Prosecco tasting at Assaggetti with a bottle of bubbly called Et Tu. It was a Franciacorta wine, which is essentially Italian Champagne. Made only with Chardonnay grapes, it was similar to a Blanc de Blancs, but smoother.

Buzzing with bubbly, we stormed the restaurant’s kitchen to make our pizzas. One of the chefs showed us the process, and we took turns taking a ball of dough, spreading it thinly on the table, covering it with tomato sauce, toppings, and cheese, and putting it into the oven.

It was simple to do, and the pizzas only took 3 minutes to cook. Having made my own pizza once before, I knew that we were lucky that all of the prep work had been done for us, but I didn’t mind. It was my kind of cooking.

After making our own food, we sat down at another table in the dining room and enjoyed a feast of other flavors from Assaggetti’s kitchen. Out came fresh, creamy Burrata, charcuterie plates with ham and salami, and of course, more pizza.

After the event I was full of Italian food and glad to have survived in the kitchen without accidentally burning the place down. Still, I think that if I ever go back to Assaggetti restaurant in London, I will leave the cooking to the real chefs and the Prosecco tasting and food sampling to me.

I had been to those places before, and had enough time to spend a full day in each. Seeing them all in 11 hours sounded intense, but I was curious to discover how much I could actually do in each location in one day. GetYourGuide offered me a ticket on their tour, and off I went.

I boarded a sparkling new bus at Victoria Coach Station at 8:30am with 28 other passengers. The tour guide, David, entertained us on the way to Kent by pointing out sites of interest and telling stories about the places we were going to see.

Soon we arrived at Leeds Castle. The beautiful building was surrounded by a moat where black and white swans swam peacefully. The scene looked like something straight out of a fairytale.

Upon entering, we were taken on a private tour by one of the castle’s guides. From her we learned that the fortress, which was originally built in Norman times, was called The Ladies’ Castle due to the fact that six medieval queens resided there.

During the tour we saw several of those queens’ state apartments, as well as the more modern rooms of the last private owner of the castle, an American named Lady Baillie. Overall the tour was a good one, although the guide put a little too much emphasis on how each room in Leeds Castle could be used if we rented it out for a wedding. I would have liked a bit more historical detail and a bit less commentary on how to plan my future.

After the tour we had exactly 25 minutes of free time to explore the rest of the castle grounds. I sprinted up to the aviary and then to the maze and the vineyard. Near them were the cages where the birds of prey resided during my falconry day at Leeds Castle three years ago. I didn’t have nearly enough time to see everything I wanted to see, but it was still nice to get a quick visit.

Back on the bus, we drove deeper into Kent while David once again told us stories and answered every question from “is the Queen married?” to “why are private schools called public schools in England?”. His enthusiasm and humor made the time pass quickly, and before we knew it, we had arrived at the coast.

When we got to Dover, most of the group went to lunch at a seafront restaurant. In the beginning of the tour, a clipboard had been passed around for us to check off which meal option we wanted. All meals, including the Greek salad, were 11 pounds, which seemed pretty steep for Dover. From my last day trip with the company, I knew that the meal was optional. It would have been nice if it been made clear to us that we were free to eat elsewhere if we wanted to.

When we got off the bus, I broke off from the group and found a cafe to have lunch. Afterwards I walked around the waterfront to watch the ferries ply the route from Dover to Calais. In the distance was the coast of France, and closer in were memorial plaques from World War II.

Atop the famous white cliffs was Dover castle, where I went once on another day trip from London. We didn’t have time to see it that day, which was somewhat strange since it meant that we drove all the way to Dover just to eat lunch. In any case, it was nice to be by the sea for an hour.

Back on the bus, the day trip to Leeds Castle, Dover, Canterbury, and Greenwich continued with a stop at the famous Canterbury Cathedral. The house of worship is the seat of one of the two archbishops of the Church of England (the other being in York). We arrived and went directly to the candle that marked the spot of the famous shrine of St Thomas Becket, who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170 after a dispute with King Henry II.

Continuing our self-guided tour of Canterbury Cathedral, we walked through the 12th century Trinity Chapel and Quire, down to the 11th century crypt, and through the 14th century Nave with its beautiful Gothic architecture.

Outside we saw the Cloister and Chapter House before walking around the bustling retail area by the cathedral. I had ample time, so I popped into a great little coffee shop called Chambers Cafe for a cup of tea. It seemed a bit strange to have so much time in Canterbury and so little elsewhere, but it was nice to sit and relax for a bit. When my cup was empty, I met my group to get back on the bus for our final stop of the day: Greenwich.

Greenwich is located in southeast London, and has been given royal borough status this year in honor of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Its royal connections and maritime history date back centuries, as does its fame for being the location from which Greenwich Mean Time is measured.

The bus dropped us off in front of the Queen’s House, which was the first classical Renaissance building built in England. Dating back to the early 17th century, it was designed in the Palladian style by Inigo Jones. Next to it sat the National Maritime Museum, and in front of it were the two halves of Sir Christopher Wren’s Greenwich Royal Naval College, which were built across a courtyard from one another so as not to ruin the view from the Queen’s House.

Up the hill was the Greenwich Royal Observatory, and on the Thames sat the Cutty Sark, which is set to reopen soon after a fire destroyed much of it a few years ago.

I had been to Greenwich before and explored all of these places, but on this trip we didn’t have time to see anything but their facades. The description online listed a “walking tour of Greenwich” as part of the day trip, but the 10-minute walk from where the bus dropped us off to where we picked up the Thames Clipper didn’t seem sufficient.

The same went for the “afternoon tea” on a “Thames River cruise”. A muffin and drink on board public transportation wasn’t exactly the same thing as trays of sandwiches and sweets on a table in an official cruising vessel. I ate my muffin as I balanced a glass of Cava between my knees. It was a far cry from the afternoon teas in London that I have enjoyed previously, but the calories were welcome after a long day trip.

As the Thames Clipper pulled into Embankment Pier, I left the tour having had a good experience overall. While the itinerary felt rushed in some ways and a few things weren’t quite as they were advertised, it was still great to go on a day trip to Leeds Castle, Dover, Canterbury, and Greenwich. I have had the luxury of doing each as its own trip, but if I didn’t live in London and was pressed for time, it would be a nice way to see everything in one day.

The UK capital has some of the largest Chinese New Year celebrations outside of China. Parades, performances, and speeches take place every year in Chinatown and Soho. This year I was invited by Cathay Pacific to join them in watching some of the live entertainment.

The day started with a Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown. The streets were full of people, dragons, and money gods on stilts, and everywhere there were colorful paper lanterns hanging from buildings and vendors selling egg custard tarts and sweet buns.

From Chinatown the center of activity moved to Trafalgar Square, where there were welcome speeches by everyone from the Chinese ambassador to Britain to Mayor of London Boris Johnson. Many of them also took part in the Eye Dotting ceremony, a symbolic act to bring the dragons on stage to life.

The ceremony was followed by a lion dance done by two men in a bright yellow-and-green costume. They jumped up onto small raised platforms and performed impressive acrobatics to the beat of live drums.

After the lion dance came a group of people dancing with a dragon. They swirled and leaped through the square, bringing the mythical beast to life for thousands of Londoners in the audience.

The dragon was followed by dances by children, performances by opera singers, and everything in between. The entertainment lasted all throughout the afternoon and culminated with a fireworks show in the evening.

After watching the performances for several hours, my group continued the Chinese New Year celebrations with a dim sum feast at Imperial China. The restaurant, which is on Lisle Street in the heart of Chinatown, was packed with people celebrating the occasion.

We were seated on the top floor in a private dining room, and spent two hours feasting on everything from Xiao Long Bao to spring rolls. The food was great, and we left the restaurant and the Chinese New Year festivities in London having started the Year of the Dragon full, happy, and prosperous.

My time in Brighton didn’t start off on the best note. My train from London was delayed, then Google Maps gave me bad directions to my hotel and I ended up wandering in the pouring rain for far longer than I needed to. My accommodation, the Umi Hotel in Brighton, was in a great location but unfortunately everything that could have gone wrong with the room went wrong. By the time I dried off and set out to meet the rest of my group, I was an hour-and-a-half late for our tour of the city.

But as soon as I joined my fellow travel bloggers, the rain stopped and things started to look up. Our tour guide, who was one of VisitBrighton’s official greeters, showed us some off-the-beaten-path parts of Brighton that I hadn’t seen on my first visit.

We started out at North Laine, an area full of colorful murals and funky shops. Everything from alternative clothing racks to organic grocery stores lined the shopping streets, and the residential areas around them were full of pastel colored houses set along impossibly narrow lanes.

North of there we saw St Bartholomew’s Church, which is the tallest church in England. Built in the 19th century, the imposing brick building looked more like a factory warehouse than a house of worship. The interior was equally stark, but the tall patterned brick walls were pretty in spite of their austerity.

From the church we moved on to some of the more classic Brighton spots. These included The Lanes—narrow shopping streets full of jewelry stores and sweet shops—and the waterfront with its famous Brighton Pier. The Royal Pavilion, which is one of the city’s most famous landmarks, was closed for maintenance works, but we were still able to admire the exotic Romantic exterior.

Away from the tour, we also visited a local shop called the Big Bead Boutique, which sold all kinds of beads, bridal headpieces, and accessories. The owner, Jo, also told us about the classes she holds and the children’s birthday parties that take place in the room below the shop.

All of the walking around and shopping made us work up an appetite. It was a good thing, too, because we ate more in two days than I’ve ever eaten in my life. We started at The Cricketers, the oldest pub in Brighton. Delicious pies and pints by the fire were perfect on a cold winter afternoon.

Across the street from the pub was Food for Friends, a famous vegetarian restaurant in Brighton where we had dinner on our first night in the city. Not far from there was a Thai restaurant called Sukhothai Palace, where we ate a good two-course lunch for just five pounds.

Further afield, we spent an afternoon at Stanmer House, a Palladian-style country house near the University of Sussex that used to belong to the Earls of Chichester. The house is now a (dog friendly!) restaurant and bar that also serves as a wedding venue and event space.

We traveled by bus to get there from Brighton and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon tea by the fire with more savories and cakes than I’ve ever seen. The pastries were large and deliciously sweet, and the sandwiches hearty enough for a full meal.

Back in Brighton, we had dinner at the restaurant adjacent to our hotel. The interior of Little Bay looked more like a burlesque theater than a dining room, which I suppose was appropriate given that it featured live opera singing. The menu featured starters for 1.98 GBP and mains for 4.48 GBP, which worried me a bit, but the food was fine and the performer was entertaining.

Each night after dinner we went out to discover some of the famous nightlife in Brighton. On the first evening we went to The Latest bar to hear live music from local bands. The next night we started out at the bar at Lucky Voice, where some of us had candy-flavored shots. From there we moved on to a pub called The Mesmerist. A group called The Swing Ninjas were playing, and a room full of people were dancing impressively well.

After two days in Brighton, I had seen and done enough to discover what the city was like in the winter. The beach and the pier were uninviting, and the Pavilion was closed, but there was still a lot to entertain us on our travels. Not having to contend with large crowds was nice, too. I could have used some warmer weather during our time outdoors, but overall the experience was a positive one for a second visit. Hopefully my third, fourth, and tenth will be equally good.

I arrived at The Grill at 1pm and met the restaurant’s PR for what turned out to be not just a good meal, but a divine dining experience that surpassed even my high expectations.

We settled into a comfortable table in the dining room, which was decorated in tartan theme with just the right amount of contemporary touches. The Champagne trolley arrived shortly thereafter, and we didn’t hesitate to indulge in a glass of Paul Berthelot Premier Cru Cuvee Rose NV.

As we sipped the bubbly, we looked over the menu. There was everything from chef Brian Hughson’s set menu to daily specials and classic items from the grill. It was difficult to decide, but eventually I chose to start with the wild Scottish smoked salmon and gravadlax.

It was a good choice. The salmon was one of The Grill at the Dorchester’s signature starters, and when the server brought a trolley to the table to carve it for me, I knew I was going to enjoy it. I did. The thinly sliced fish was light and fresh, with none of the fishy flavor that can plague smoked salmon. It was a winner, as was the glass of 2010 St. Clair, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand that the sommelier paired it with.

My lunch companion went with what looked like an equally good appetizer. The Isle of Mull scallops were topped with mussels and served with garlic broth, celeriac, and ginger in a presentation that looked as good as I heard it tasted. With it came a glass of Domaine Fourrey 2008 Premier Cru Chablis.

Our main courses were just as pretty to look at as the starters had been. I had the native lobster, which was roasted in vanilla butter and served with braised red onions, lobster mayonnaise, and bitter leaves. It looked like a work of art, and tasted like it, too. The lobster meat was rich and buttery with just the right amount of firmness. The accompanying flavors complimented it nicely. As an added bonus, the sommelier paired the dish with a glass of Gabriel Pagin & Fils Carte d’Or Blanc de Noirs made from 100% Pinot Meunier.

Across the table, a grilled Shropshire veal chop with braised red cabbage and veal breast ravioli was served and enjoyed with the same enthusiasm as my lobster. A side of buttered Chantenay carrots and a glass of 2008 Cambria Pinot Noir from Kendall Jackson in California rounded out the dish nicely.

For dessert I went with the peanut parfait with cherry jam and a dollop of sour cherry sorbet. To be honest, I wanted to try the dish because it seemed like a haute cuisine version of my favorite childhood lunch, the classic American peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

When I tasted the dish, I found that it was so much superior to PB&J that the two could only be compared in the sense that they contained the same combination of flavors. The peanut parfait was chilled and not too salty, and the cherry elements added a nice sweet, tart element that balanced the dish nicely. It beat my sandwiches without even trying.

I enjoyed my dessert while my lunch companion had a ginger and pumpkin coulant with stem ginger ice cream. The coulant resembled a cross between a small souffle and very light muffin, and looked like the perfect winter comfort food.

After eating at The Grill at The Dorchester, I knew that I had started my week with what was much more than just a good meal. I floated home to north London, wondering if a lunch of lobster and Champagne set the bar too high for the rest of the week. Or the year. Or my life.

The Capital, which is celebrating its 40th birthday this year, is a five-star townhouse hotel located right around the corner from Harrods on quiet Basil Street. When I arrived, I was greeted by the staff and shown to my room on the 6th floor.

The junior suite was made up of what used to be a single room and a double room. It had a bedroom with an ensuite bathroom as well as a sitting room and a washroom. The bathroom had unique amenities, with a range of both Kiehl’s and Bvlgari toiletries, which was a nice touch. The only thing I would have changed was the shower curtain, which didn’t extend far enough in either direction to prevent water from getting on the floor.

The decor of the room was classic, with lots of antique furnishings and dark woods. Modern throw pillows added a splash of vibrant color, as did an array of books and magazines.

After I settled into my room, I got a tour of the hotel with Jenny, one of the managers. She showed me a few more of the 49 rooms, the award-winning restaurant, the bar, the afternoon tea area, and two meeting rooms. The hotel had an intimate feel that was fitting for a family-run establishment.

Outside of The Capital Hotel, I spent some time walking around Knightsbridge. I have always loved the neighborhood’s beautiful buildings, their bright brick facades lighting up in the sunshine. While most people stick to the shopping areas around Sloane Street and Brompton Road, I prefer exploring the quiet squares and gardens away from the retail bustle.

But even I enjoy shopping in Knightsbridge sometimes. It’s hard not to when you’re surrounded by stores like Harrods and Harvey Nichols. I couldn’t resist a trip to the Harrods’ food halls during my stay at The Capital Hotel, and I was tempted by some amazing culinary treats during the last day of their big winter sale.

The real foodie event of my staycation in London was at the hotel itself, though. I was invited to have dinner with a friend at The Capital Restaurant, which was voted one of the top 5 hotel restaurants in London by Zagat Buzz in August. I was excited to try Chef Jerome Ponchelle’s cuisine in the intimate dining room on the ground floor.

Our meal started with amuse bouches of polenta, tomato marmalade, and chevre, which were delicious previews of the goodness that was to come. They were followed by starters of duck foie gras ravioli with leeks and black truffle, as well as hand-dived scallops with black pudding, celeriac puree, frisee, and bacon crisps. I had the latter, which was a richly divine blend of flavors.

Our mains consisted of venison medallions with red wine poached pears, glazed baby carrots, and parsnip puree for my friend, and Dover sole fillet with girolles, lardons, button onions, Jerusalem artichokes, and red wine sauce for me. I was a bit nervous to order the sole, as I have only ever had the fish served simply with butter. But The Capital Restaurant’s preparation was excellent. The flavors blended well, harmoniously complimenting one another throughout each bite.

The mains were followed by an interlude that brought small glasses filled with yuzu cream and mandarin jelly to the table. They were refreshing and light, and just what we needed after our mains.

We were nearing the end of our bottle of Gamay Levin, VDP du Jardin de la France 2009 by the time we looked at the dessert menus. I solved that problem by ordering the frozen Tainori chocolate parfait with a praline biscuit and caramelized walnut, which was served with a glass of Constantia wine. It was decadent and smooth, and my only complaint was that the dish was too big to finish.

My friend’s caramelized pineapple with vanilla cream and hibiscus sorbet was equally large and just as good. Then the petit fours arrived, and the two of us finished dinner feeling like we needed a walk. My postprandial stroll consisted of the few steps from the restaurant to the elevator, and then from the hallway to my room, where I fell asleep dreaming of scallops, truffles, and chocolate.

The next morning I was up early to try more of the restaurant’s cuisine, this time in the form of a big breakfast. There was a healthy buffet set up in the room, but I couldn’t resist ordering poached eggs with bacon to go along with the basket of fluffy croissants and pastry rolls on my table.

After eating so much good food, I felt like I needed to walk a million miles to burn off all of the calories. As I left hotel, I considered heading home on foot. Tomorrow I head to Brighton for two days, and I should probably walk there too. And with my travel schedule picking up next month, there is no shortage of trips that I could use to work up an appetite for another great meal. Or I could just stay in London and staycation at The Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge again.

I met several other bloggers, journalists, and PRs at Waterloo station yesterday morning and boarded a train to travel to the New Forest. The hour-and-a-half journey was filled with picturesque scenery as low fog painted the landscape with a touch of mystery.

When we arrived at Brockenhurst station in southeast England, we hopped in a taxi to travel the rest of the way to our destination. Five minutes later, we alighted in front of The Pig restaurant in the New Forest.

The restaurant was set in a 17th century building with white columns in front and ivy growing up the facade. It was situated on a large estate that made it feel like it was a million miles away from the urbanity of London.

Walking through the door, we found ourselves in an inviting bar and lounge area. The decor was contemporary and comfortable without trying too hard to be trendy. I later found out that the owners had done all of the interior decor themselves, which was impressive given the tasteful result.

After being welcomed by David, one of the owners, we enjoyed a glass of local English sparkling wine from Ridgeview, a winery near Brockenhurst. Each of us was given a different glass, from funky flutes to etched coupes. It was something that could have been tacky had it been done wrong, but The Pig pulled it off.

The sparkling wine was surprisingly good, and it was nice to drink something produced locally. It wasn’t the only thing on the menu that was produced in the New Forest, either. When we sat down for lunch in the dining room, we were told that all of the menu items had been sourced from within 25 miles of The Pig, and that in the summer the distance is reduced to a mere 15 miles.

The “25 Mile” menu was replete with everything from shellfish to pork, sea bass to steak. Much of the produce was grown right outside in the garden, and the restaurant had an in-house forager that was tasked with finding wild food from the forest. The back of the menu featured descriptions of each of the restaurant’s outside suppliers, letting guests know a bit about where their food came from.

Excited to eat local produce, I was happy when a number of “Piggy Bits” arrived at the table. I sampled everything from ‘Karma’ ham to delicious grilled and smoked sausages and The Pig’s own version of Scotch Eggs. The last of these were made with quail eggs from the restaurant’s own birds.

For my starter I opted for the Dressed Portland Crab with celeriac, caper mayonnaise, and granary toast. Served in its shell, the presentation was so pretty that it was almost sad to touch it. But as soon as I tasted the fresh, light meat I was glad I did. The sommelier paired the dish with a Chateau des Eyssards Sauvignon Semillon 2011. The wine was dry, but I would have preferred something a bit more crisp to accompany the crab.

My main course was deep fried baby squid and The Pig’s chorizo with herb butter, foraged wild garlic sprouts, and sea beet. The calamari was fresh and not overly fried, which was great. The chorizo was excellent, and the thin slices added a great complimentary flavor to the squid. It was served in a large bowl, which made it a bit difficult to cut, and I could have done without so much oil in the bottom of the dish, but overall it was a winner. It was paired with a Chilean Oveja Negra Winemakers Selection Cabernet Franc – Carmenere 2010, which went well with all of the elements in the dish.

For dessert I couldn’t resist trying the fresh mint mousse with chocolate ice cream. The mousse was delicate and refreshing, and the richness of the ice cream rounded out the dish nicely. It was paired with an excellent Hungarian Patricius Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos 2002. The dessert was a great way to finish off the meal.

As I ate, I looked around the dining room to admire the rustic wooden tables and light, airy greenhouse ceiling. I had never been to Petersham Nurseries Cafe in London before, but for some reason The Pig’s dining room reminded me of it. When David told me that they had been inspired by that restaurant, I couldn’t help but agree.

After lunch we were taken for a quick tour of the rest of The Pig. The owners call the place a “restaurant with rooms” due to the 26 guest rooms on the property. 16 of of them were located in the same building as the restaurant, while 10 others were a short walk away in the stable yard.

We took a quick peek at a couple of rooms, both of which had large four-poster beds with deliciously white linens and great views of the New Forest. Outside were vegetable gardens and greenhouses, a smoke house, and three resident pigs. A small pond was spanned by a bridge, at the end of which was a great little hut where guests could get massages and other beauty treatments.

Back at the main building, we passed by a welcoming outdoor fireplace before moving into the library to have coffee and tea in advance of traveling back to London. The space was as cozy as the rest of The Pig, and I couldn’t help but wish I could stay the night. The comfy sofas looked like the prefect place to curl up for an afternoon, and the long line of wellies by the door begged my feet to hop in for a long walk in the forest.

But alas, my time at The Pig restaurant in the New Forest had come to an end. For now. I’m already looking forward to going back again soon, and to visiting its sister property, the nearby Lime Wood Hotel & Spa. If it is anywhere near as good as its sibling, I might just have to stay indefinitely.

This is how London’s increasingly popular Secret Cinema describes itself. Offering Londoners the opportunity to dress up according to a theme, participate in several hours of pre-cinema entertainment, and watch a classic film, the company has revolutionized the movie-going experience in the capital. And with such an alluring, mysterious tag line, it’s no wonder the phenomenon has become a sensation in the city.

“The time is now to change how we watch films” is Secret Cinema’s mantra. But how exactly does it do that? I had experienced their films on two previous occasions, so I knew roughly what to expect when they invited me to return for a third time. However, I went with several friends that were new to it, and found myself in the difficult position of having to describe something that is ever-changing.

First, every film is shown in a different location. From Lawrence of Arabia at the Alexandra Palace to The Battle of Algiers in the tunnels beneath Waterloo Station, Secret Cinema mixes up its venues to keep guests guessing.

When my friends asked me what kind of venue to expect, I couldn’t give them specifics. All I knew was that we were supposed to meet at a predetermined rendezvous point in London from which we would embark on our cinematic journey.

Second, the pre-film entertainment varies from film to film. While every Secret Cinema experience is similar in that full theatrical sets are built to resemble locations from the movies, no two films have the same theme. However, generally people spend time walking through the various rooms and spaces to get a glimpse of the world the characters live in. They can even participate in thematic games and activities.

In addition to the existence of sets, there are actors that play different characters from the film. Sometimes they perform scenes from the movie, and sometimes they encourage audience participation in clandestine activities or large-scale dramatizations related to the its theme. People can also walk into rooms and talk with a character about his or her role in the goings on, immersing themselves in the film before watching it.

Third, the food, drinks, and music at Secret Cinema differ each time. The cuisine usually follows the theme of the film, and sometimes Secret Cinema partners with famous London restaurants to provide the food. Drinks vary seasonally, and music generally follows the genre of the movie. In the past I have seen live bands play and actors teach people how to do various dances.

Fourth, the screenings themselves differ from venue to venue. Depending on the size of the space, films are either shown in one large room with a big screen or in multiple smaller rooms that serve as intimate theaters. The theme of the film generally lends itself to one or the other so that the viewing experience fits in with it.

There are so many variations from movie to movie that it was no easy task to explain how Secret Cinema works to my friends. But no matter how general my explanations had to be, I could assure them of one thing: they would be immersed in the movie from the moment they arrived until the moment they left. I knew that they would enjoy the experience, and they did. So did I. I would tell you all about it but it’s a secret.

Four years later, I had only made it out to West Hampstead once. For some reason I never felt the pull to go west even though I spent time exploring Highgate to the east, Belsize Park to the south, and Hampstead Garden Suburb to the north.

But recently I’ve started to discover West Hampstead, and I am beginning to understand why it is such a popular place. Its high street, West End Lane, is packed with good restaurants, funky shops, popular pubs, and buzzing bars that are lively from morning till night.

There is also no shortage of green spaces and attractive architecture. From the pretty park at West End Green to the larger Fortune Green to the north, the roads are lined with colorful mansion blocks and bright red brick buildings.

In the past few months I have had a chance to explore some of West Hampstead’s restaurant and shopping offerings. First there was a dinner at Banana Tree, a restaurant that serves pan-Indochina cuisine.

Then came Lovefood, where I had a big breakfast in the cafe above the basement boutique. There was also a great meal at Sarracino, which a friend of mine from Pompeii insists is the best Italian restaurant in London.

And there are more places to explore. I’ve passed by the inviting Wet Fish Cafe and the sleek Vietnamese restaurant, La Du Du, both of which I’ve been meaning to try for quite some time. Similarly, the Social Industries shop, which sells clothing that makes even a shopping shy person like me want to buy a new wardrobe, has been on my mind. That’s to say nothing of the allure of West End Lane Books.

Then there’s La Brocca, a bar and restaurant that is always packed at night, and pubs like The Lion, lounges like The Gallery, and vintage-inspired cocktail bars like The Alice House. All of them are on my list.

Over time I hope to discover more of West Hampstead’s restaurants, shopping, bars, and pubs, and to get better acquainted with the London neighborhood everyone loves. In fact, the locals love it so much that they organize a regular meetup for community bonding. Tonight I’m going to their first one of the year, and I can’t wait to meet the people that live in such a popular part of London.

bmiBaby brought me out to Belfast on Friday afternoon on a short 50-minute flight from Stansted. I arrived at Belfast City Airport in the early evening, and a 10 quick minutes later I found myself in the heart of town. The airport bus dropped me off right in front of Belfast City Hall, a beautiful neo-Renaissance building in Donegall Square.

From there it was a short walk to my hotel, the Malmaison Belfast. The hotel and its brasserie recently underwent a £250,000 refurbishment, and I was invited to spend two nights exploring the renovated spaces in the beautiful 1850′s building.

My room was large and had a color scheme that mixed dark woods and purple pillows with bright white linens and striped walls. The bed was large and comfortable and I also had a desk, wardrobe, chair, and spacious ensuite bathroom. Later I saw the hotel’s two suites, one of which had a huge pool table in the middle of the room.

On my first night in Belfast I had dinner at the newly refurbished brasserie. The room was reminiscent of a New England beach town, complete with metal pails and nautical designs. At the beginning of the meal, I enjoyed a special amuse bouche of sea bass on a bed of noodles with teriyaki sauce and pickled cucumber and ginger. It was excellent.

After that I ordered a starter of winter vegetable and barley soup and a main course of Donald Russell aged entrecote, which was naturally reared and grass fed, then dry aged on the bone. For dessert I had a slice of white chocolate cheesecake. Needless to say, I left the restaurant pleasantly full.

The following morning I went on a day trip from Belfast to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. That evening I returned to the city and took a walk to see some of the sights. I passed by the stately Grand Opera House, which dates back to 1895, and a historic watering hole called The Crown that had one of the most beautiful pub interiors I had ever seen.

After my stroll I settled in for dinner at the Mourne Oyster Bar, a new addition to a famous Belfast establishment called Mourne Seafood. The oyster bar was hidden up a dark stairway, but once I got to the top I found myself in a cozy space with a small bar and tables lining the walls. I ordered a bowl of the seafood chowder and learned why Mourne was so famous for its shellfish. It was delicious.

The next morning I was up early for a Belfast Titanic tour. The city is famous for being the location where the ill-fated ship was built, and the tourism board had set me up with a guide to show me the maritime and Titanic sites in Belfast. She wasn’t just any guide, though. Susie Millar was the great-granddaughter of one of the passengers on the Titanic.

Seeing Belfast’s Titanic highlights with Susie was a very unique experience. Her knowledge of the ship, its history, and its building site was both deep and passionate, and her personal connection to the maiden voyage made the tour extra special.

We started our Titanic tour at The Belfast Barge, a museum housed in a boat on the River Lagan. There I was given a personal tour by the historian, Lee, who showed me everything from models of the SS Canberra to footage of personal interviews with people that had worked in the shipbuilding industry in Belfast.

After the tour, Susie took me to the place where the Titanic was designed. Now abandoned, the building once housed the offices of Harland & Wolff, the firm that built the ship. We walked through its eerily empty halls, passing by rooms that looked like their occupiers had left them on a moment’s notice.

The highlight of the building was the drawing room where the Titanic was designed. Susie showed me a photo of the room back in the early 20th century, when drafting tables filled its floors. Today the room is badly in need of a face lift and several coats of paint, but the eerie emptiness and dilapidation add a romantic, mysterious quality that fits with the tragic tale of the Titanic.

There are plans to renovate the room before the neighboring Titanic Belfast museum opens on March 31st, but I almost thought it would be better to leave it as it is. In either case, it stood in stark contrast to the soon-to-open museum’s contemporary design.

The Titanic Belfast has been one of the most hotly anticipated new museums in the world for the past year. Opening in time for the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s maiden voyage and tragic sinking on April 15, 1912, the museum will showcase the ship’s story from its birth in Belfast to its discovery on the ocean floor.

Visitors will be able to take a ride to the top of the building, where they will overlook the location where the Titanic was built. They will also take part in an immersive theater experience during which Robert Ballard, who found the ship in the Atlantic Ocean in 1985, will talk about his experience. I was jealous that I was two months too early to see it myself, but excited to get a sneak preview.

From the Titanic Belfast museum we walked next door to see the SS Nomadic, one of the Titanic’s tenders. The ship ferried passengers from the land in Cherbourg, France to the larger ship off the coast, and was a replica of the Titanic itself. In the years since the sinking, the SS Nomadic has been everything from a Japanese restaurant in Paris to a wedding venue. Thankfully it was returned to Belfast as part of the Titanic’s heritage, and is now being refurbished in a dry dock next to the new museum.

After a quick visit to the Titanic’s own dry dock, which was a massive chasm by the water, we continued our Titanic tour of Belfast with a visit to the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum in nearby Holywood. There I saw a permanent exhibition called Titanica, which showcased 500 artifacts related to the ship, some of them originals that were recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic.

From first, second, and third class tableware to colorful posters and postcards, it was all there. The most memorable part of the exhibition was a model of the ship with tiny figures showing the number of passengers saved and the number lost at sea from each cabin class. With around 1,500 deaths out of 2,200 people on board, it was a sad reminder of the tragedy of the Titanic.

But despite the tragedy, the Belfast Titanic tour was a positive experience. It was amazing to see all of the history in the city, and to have a guide with such a unique connection to the ship. As I left Belfast that afternoon to travel back to London, I couldn’t help but want to return to Northern Ireland in March to see the new Titanic Belfast museum and continue learning about the ship in the city where it was built.

Over the weekend I set out to change that. With Belfast as my base, I explored the coast of Northern Ireland on a tour that took me along the stunning Causeway Coastal Route. From castles and caves to rock formations and rope bridges, the day trip from Belfast was packed with adventure.

I met my tour, which was offered to me by McComb’s Travel, in the Belfast city center at 9:45am on Saturday. As the bus drove us to County Antrim for our first destination on the tour, our guide and driver, Mark, pointed out places of interest along the way.

Soon we arrived at Carrickfergus Castle, which dates back to 1177. The formidable fortress rested right on the water, and was fronted by a statue of William of Orange. He came to Carrickfergus in 1690 to fight King James II at the famous Battle of the Boyne.

The castle was beautiful in the changing light of morning, and sat stately in front of a harbor full of colorful boats. Lamposts along the pier extinguished their lights in the grey dawn as the sun rose across the water to throw light on the historic ramparts.

Back on the bus, we drove deeper into County Antrim. The Causeway Coastal Route showed off its beauty in the sparkling sunshine, and the water glistened along rocky banks. Mark likened the route to Highway 1 in California, and I couldn’t help but agree.

Along the way we passed through towns like Ballycastle, where Guglielmo Marconi made his first successful radio transmission from a nearby island. We also saw the cottage where American president Andrew Jackson’s parents lived before they emigrated to the USA, learned that the Queen’s salmon came from fisheries off the coast, and drove past the quarry where HBO’s Game of Thrones is filmed.

The second stop on our Northern Ireland tour was the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. Formerly used by salmon fishermen to get to a small island off the coast, the bridge is now a famous sightseeing attraction. We walked out to it along a beautiful coastal path as the wind whipped foam from the water all the way up to the top of the cliffs.

When we reached the bridge, we saw that it was suspended across two volcanic cliffs, swinging precariously as the sea surged beneath it. It was closed that day due to high winds, but I’m not sure I would have been brave enough to cross it even if it had been open.

Back on the bus, the tour continued with a drive to Bushmills, the first licensed whisky distillery in the world. Dating back to 1608, the complex was a mix of old buildings and new ones, and the smell of both malt and history pervaded the premises.

Unfortunately we didn’t have time to do a whisky tour at Bushmills. Instead we had a quick lunch in the cafe before boarding the bus for the next destination on our Northern Ireland tour: Giant’s Causeway.

I don’t think I was alone in booking the tour primarily to see the famous geological phenomenon on the coast. It was the main attraction for most people on the tour, and we couldn’t wait to get a glimpse.

We arrived at the Causeway Hotel, from where it was a short walk to the Giant’s Causeway on the Antrim Coast. The name of the place comes from a legend that Irish giant Finn McCool built a causeway to Scotland so that he could fight his rival, Benandonner.

The wind was fierce, but we battled through it to see the causeway, which was comprised of 60-million-year-old basalt columns that had formed as a result of a volcanic eruption. The 40,000 hexagonal columns came in various heights and shades of beige, all of them impervious to the the furious sea lashing white waves at their base.

Somehow I had imagined the Giant’s Causeway to be bigger, taller, and more spread out than it was. Still, the interlocking columns were impressive and I was glad to have seen the famous UNESCO World Heritage Site on Northern Ireland’s coast.

Daylight was receding by the time we left for the final stop on our tour. Thankfully it was only a short drive to Dunluce Castle, where we stopped for about a minute to take photos from a vista point overlooking the fortress. In the summer months when the days are longer, there is more time to visit the castle and see it in the daytime, but in early January we weren’t so lucky.

Still, as we drove back to Belfast I was amazed at how much we had seen in an eight-hour Northern Ireland tour. Castles, villages, a famous rope bridge, the world’s first licensed whisky distillery, and a causeway built by a giant were not things I see every day in London. It may have taken me four years and 500 posts to get there, but Northern Ireland was well worth the visit.

Last night I was invited to dine at the award-winning Nahm restaurant in London’s Belgravia neighborhood. Australian chef David Thompson’s Thai food has impressed locals and visitors alike since the opening in 2001, and I couldn’t wait to try it.

I met a friend at The Halkin hotel in Belgravia, the beautifully understated luxury hotel where Nahm restaurant is located. Before our meal, we met in the The Halkin Bar, where I recently enjoyed my first chocolate afternoon tea in London. This time around we were there for drinks, and the barman made me a great Classic Champagne Cocktail and mixed my friend The Cult, a refreshing drink made with with cognac, orange, and lavender jam.

From there we were escorted to the dining room, an intimate space with smooth wooden tables and a calm ambiance. After looking over the menu, which had a mouth-watering selection of everything from salad to curry, we decided to go with the “Nahm Arharn” traditional Thai meal. We selected our own starters, then one plate from each section of the menu to share. These included a soup, salad, relish, curry, and grilled meat or seafood.

Our choices made, amuse bouches materialized in the form of tiny mandarin orange slices topped with minced prawns and chicken simmered in palm sugar with deep fried shallots, garlic, and peanuts. The textures and flavors blended together so well that it was hard to tell where one element ended and the next began. If they were any indication of the quality of the food to come, we were in for a great meal.

As we finished our cocktails, Nahm’s sommelier came by to talk with us about our wine choice. He recommended that we go with a white wine from Alsace, citing that its fragrance would allow it to stand up to the spice of the food. We agreed, and out came a bottle of Domaine Weinbach Sylvaner Reserve 2007 from Kaysersberg.

The wine went well with our starters, which included crispy noodles with prawns, pickled garlic, bean sprouts, and cilantro, and chicken and crab egg nets with caramelized coconut and lemongrass. Rounding out the selection were salted chicken wafers with longans and Thai basil. Like the amuse bouches, they had a great blend and balance of flavors. From the cilantro to the prawns, we couldn’t stop marveling at how fresh everything tasted.

Soon thereafter the main dishes started to arrive. Our server had asked us if we wanted them to be brought in stages, or if we preferred the traditional Thai experience of eating everything together to balance the flavors and textures. We opted for the latter, and found ourselves in front of a feast.

It was hard to decide where to start. Soup was the obvious choice since it was hot, and we didn’t hesitate to try both a clear soup of roasted duck and crab with young coconut, Thai basil, and tapioca pearls, and a vegetable broth with bean curd, corn, and Asian greens. I had the former, which presented a nice blend of flavors. However, given the choice, I would have saved the tapioca pearls for bubble tea.

Soup finished, our server furnished our plates with rice and we added the rest. First we enjoyed a langoustine salad with rambutans, lemongrass and toasted coconut. It was my favorite dish of the meal, not least because the flavors were clean and intense without being overwhelming. After all of the rich food I ate over the holidays, it was refreshing.

Alongside the salad, we ate a sour orange curry of prawns with spring onions. It was one of the spicier dishes of the meal, which isn’t saying much given our weak American taste buds. The prawns once again were fresh and tender, without any of the rubbery character that prawns often have. They were eaten in tandem with our spicy-sweet relish dish and the evening’s special, a whole deep fried royal bream with three flavoured sauce.

The relish, which consisted of minced prawns and pork simmered in coconut cream served with fish cakes and cucumbers, was completely new to me. The relish itself had a very nice balance in its composition. I wasn’t in love with the fish cakes that went with it, as they were a bit too fried for my taste. The fish was excellent, though, and after our server de-boned it at the table, we enjoyed the juxtaposition of the light white meat with the spice of the chilis in the sauce.

At the end of the meal I thought I might explode from all of the food we had eaten. But when we were told that the special dessert of the night was mango sticky rice, I couldn’t resist. It is my favorite Thai dessert, what with the blissful simplicity of fresh mango and sweet rice. Nahm’s delicious take on it was no exception, and I ate until my dessert stomach was full. My friend’s black ash pudding and sticky rice with longan and young coconut was equally good.

The idea of leaving Nahm was such a sad prospect that we stayed well after our meal was over, hoping that they wouldn’t notice if we sat at our table until dinner the following night. But my spirits were revived by the thought of my upcoming trip to Asia, where I plan to spend a night or two in Thailand. Given that chef David Thompson recently opened a second Nahm restaurant in The Metropolitan hotel in Bangkok, I might just have to get another taste of his Thai food in its home country.

I had been to Pret a Portea once before, and I couldn’t wait to see how one season compared to another. The menu changes every six months, and this time around I was eating from the Fall / Winter 2011 collection. It featured designers from Lanvin to Burberry, Miu Miu to Valentino.

I met a friend in the oh-so-Christmassy lobby of the hotel, from where we proceeded to the Caramel Room for our afternoon tea. She ordered a delicious pear caramel infusion, and I a fresh mint one, and soon the classic Paul Smith teapots and cups materialized.

They were followed shortly thereafter by the savory sandwiches, which ranged from cardamom chicken on tomato bread to cucumber and cream cheese. Each one was unique and delicious, and set the stage for the famous fashionista afternoon tea cakes and pastries.

Those came on a classic tiered tray that featured a plate of unique taster spoons in lieu of traditional scones, a layer of beautiful cakes, and a small dish with two cookies and glasses filled with brightly colored concoctions. Our server set down the tray and pulled out pictures of the season’s catwalk shows to point out which cake went with which designer.

We saw a Valentino orange and ginger clutch cake, a Bottega Veneta pink-and-gold pear mousse and clementine cremeux coat, a Dolce & Gabana gold starred chocolate eclair, a Stella McCartney polka dot sponge cake dress, a Burberry double breasted chocolate biscuit coat, a Miu Miu high heeled shoe cookie, a Jil Sander pomegranate-and-grenadine mousse dress, a Lanvin cassis bavarois dress with creme de mure jelly, and a Sonia Rykiel striped chestnut cream and almond sponge cake dress with metallic sparkles.

Then we settled in for our Pret a Portea afternoon tea. Two full trays were brought to the table so that each of us could try everything on offer. We worked our way from the coriander-and-fennel crusted tuna with plum jam and the spiced duck with chili fig compote to the cakes and cookies. Our favorites were the Valentino clutch and the Sonia Rykiel sponge cake dress.

The overall experience was similar to my last trip to Pret a Portea, with the format being the same and the ratio of cakes to cookies stable. But the fashions had changed, as had the recipes. It was nice to return to the same place for afternoon tea, but to have a different variation of it.

The only thing we didn’t like was that our spoons were too big to get to the bottom of the glass pots with the Lanvin cassis bavarois and the Bottega Veneta pear mousse. It might have been for the best, though, as we had more than our fill of sugar and sweets that afternoon with the rest of the cakes.

And if we hadn’t, there were two boxes of cakes waiting for us at the end. Each of us was sent home with a Burberry trench coat cookie and orange-and-ginger clutch to remind us of our Pret a Portea afternoon tea at The Berkeley. Hopefully they will also inspire our wardrobes in the new year. If not, we might have to go back for a second look.

I also hope your new year is off to a good start. Whether you celebrated in your own city or somewhere else in the world, may 2012 bring you another great year and many travel adventures!

27: Number of countries visited in 2011
Sri Lanka, Spain, Chile, USA, Canada, Germany, Czech Republic, Jordan, Norway, Malta, France, Cyprus, Iceland, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Andorra, Brazil, Austria

16: Number of new countries visited in 2011
Sri Lanka, Chile, Malta, Cyprus, Iceland, Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Brazil

82: Number of countries I have been to in my lifetime
Lots

5: Number of continents visited
Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America

3: Number of trips to cities in which I used to live
Paris, Prague, San Francisco

14: Number of places visited in the UK
Bristol, Eden Valley, Llandudno, Liverpool, Manchester, Isle of Wight, Cornwall, Edinburgh, Oxford, Cambridge, Surrey, Stoke Park, Sussex, Ascot

8: Number of new places visited in the UK
Eden Valley, Bristol, Llandudno, Manchester, Liverpool, Isle of Wight, Surrey, Stoke Park

3: Number of Christmas markets visited in Europe
Cologne, Salzburg, Innsbruck

1: Number of new U.S. states visited
Texas

I already have some big travel plans in the works for 2012, and I look forward to visiting new places and discovering more of the world. If I achieve my goal of visiting 90 countries before my 30th birthday, I look forward to setting some new travel goals in the new year as well. Until then, I have eight more countries to get to in the next four months.

In September I traveled to the Balkans, where I visited Bosnia, Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Bulgaria, and Serbia. All of them were new countries for me, and brought the total up to 79.

In October I visited little Liechtenstein, and in November I spent a weekend of adventures in Andorra. Those two countries took the count to 81.

This month I spent a week in Brazil, which is how I got to 82.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing (or flying, rather). In the past four months I have discovered that one place I assumed was a country was actually a British overseas territory. How Bermuda can issue its own passports and currency but not be a sovereign state is beyond me. Thankfully one of my readers reminded me that the Holy See is a country. I had forgotten to count it, so my total remained stable.

To finish off the remaining countries, my original plan was to take four more trips: one to Asia, one to Central America, and two to the Middle East. While that general plan remains in place, I got some great recommendations from my readers, who gave me a few new ideas for countries to visit.

As such, I still plan to visit Asia, but want to add either Brunei or Bhutan to the mix. The Central America trip has morphed into a South America trip, with Peru and Bolivia (and possibly Ecuador) on the itinerary. The Middle East trips remain the same. I refuse to let people scare me into canceling my Israel travel plans, and Lebanon is at the top of my list. The one additional trip I have added is a birthday trip to San Marino, a country that a reader reminded me was a sovereign state. All of these plans are still in the works, and I welcome helpful feedback if anyone else has other great recommendations.

The funniest thing about the 90 under 30 Travel Project is that instead of feeling like 90 countries is a lot, I feel like there are still so many sovereign states that I haven’t been to. Given that the number of countries in the world is somewhere around 207, 90 doesn’t even cover half of them. Even if I go with my planned itineraries, I will still start my new decade wanting to visit countries like Mozambique, Botswana, and Zambia, and areas like Mendoza, the Yorkshire Dales, and the south island of New Zealand. Then there are all of the places I’ve already been to that I would love to go back to.

But I guess that is the biggest lesson of the 90 under 30 Travel Project. The more I travel, the more I realize how little of the world I have actually seen. I don’t mind, though. If I ever feel like I have visited every part of every continent, I wouldn’t have anything more to write about.

The festive season got off to a strong start, with lights up all over London and festivals in neighborhoods like Hampstead and Marylebone. But I had seen all of that in previous years. What I wanted was a real British Christmas dinner on the 25th of December.

Thanks to a friend of mine, my Christmas wish came true. He invited me to spend Christmas day with his family in London, and I couldn’t wait.

I arrived in the early afternoon and was greeted by my friend’s family. There were around 10 of us in total, including a very friendly Bouvier named Zola. Soon the Bucks Fizz was flowing, and we spent a fun afternoon catching up and exchanging gifts as the house slowly filled with the comforting aromas of Christmas food.

My friend told me that the traditional British Christmas dinner usually involved a turkey. However, this year his family decided to add a number of other birds to the feast, which I didn’t mind. After all the turkey I ate during Thanksgiving in California last month, I welcomed the variety.

In fact, the variety didn’t end at poultry. The entire meal featured a good mix of food, from a starter of salmon mousse with crayfish to sides of red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and potatoes. There was a great mix of dishes to choose from, and naturally, I chose them all.

That included the desserts, one of which came in the form of traditional Christmas pudding. My Glaswegian grandmother used to make it for us every year when I was a child, and I always remember her when I eat it. That said, my strongest memory of pudding is the year that my mother singed her eyebrows after trying to pour the brandy over it while simultaneously lighting it on fire. Thankfully that was an isolated incident, and I have been able to enjoy it ever since. This year was no exception.

Another Christmas tradition that I recognized from back home was that of crackers. There was one slight difference, though. I recently discovered that my family’s tradition of cracking our own crackers was absolutely hilarious to my British friends. Apparently the proper British Christmas tradition is to take hold of one end and give someone else the other. Whichever person ends up with the middle of the cracker gets the prize inside. I felt pretty embarrassed that I had been doing it wrong all these years, but I was glad that everyone got such a good laugh out of it.

At the end of the evening, we indulged in a few other traditions, including a game of charades. I never knew that the game was a festive staple in the UK, but I was excited to play. Unfortunately for my competitive nature, my foreignness served as a slight handicap. This was not least when I accidentally used a word that was benign in American English but not-so-family-friendly in British English. Or when I failed to pronounce the “h” in “herbs”. Despite my cultural ignorance, I had a great time playing.

Christmas festivities went late that night, and I didn’t get to bed until 2:30am. I wasn’t exactly in top form the next morning, but my minor aches were well worth the great time I had the day before. If I ever make it back to the USA for Christmas, I might just have to bring some British Christmas traditions with me.

When I was a child, my favorite part of the Christmas season was eating the 24 tangy chocolates with blurry imprints and an odd, lingering aftertaste. One year I even got in trouble for raiding my brother’s calendar when (I thought) nobody was looking. I got coal in my stocking that year, but it was worth every second of cheap chocolaty exhilaration.

Now that I’m (kind of) grown up, I still get excited when I see Advent calendars in shops around the world. One year I surprised my mother with a giant marzipan advent calendar that I found in San Francisco. This year she surprised me with a big red one with random pictures of fish bowls, playing cards, and top hats on it. I have no idea what any of those things have to do with Christmas, but that is what makes Advent calendars so great. Half the time they have nothing to do with the season. They’re just an elaborate excuse to add some extra fun and calories to the day.

Speaking of which, this year I had a special Advent calendar treat in London. The Andaz Hotel was hosting a salon for its guests this week, and the theme was Advent. For the festivities, an artist named Eyal Burstein designed a special table that was a creative take on the Advent calendar. Thankfully Burstein had more taste than most Advent calendar designers, and his sunken tea sets from local markets made for a sweet surprise.

The other sweet surprise came in the form of a Cognac and chocolate tasting at the Advent table. Hennessy teamed up with the hotel’s pastry chef to offer a pairing of fine Cognac and chocolate. The XO and 80% pairing was a far cry from the plasticky, probably-cancer-causing chocolate of my Advent calendar at home, and mingling with the others at the salon was a great way to spend an evening (just don’t tell the top hat).

Back at my flat, I am growing ever more sad at the prospect of Advent season ending on Saturday. The only silver lining is that due to my travels in Brazil and Austria, I missed a few days and have several extra Advent calendar chocolates to enjoy after the season is over (yes, the typewriter, the hot air balloon, and the rocking chair have yet to reveal what is behind their bafflingly un-Christmassy exteriors). After that, I will revert to my unexciting online calendar to count down the days until I can purchase my next Advent one.