2 July - Happy birthday to me...

After last night's wonderful celebration at Brooklands, it's hard to imagine how I could surpass it. That doesn't mean I wouldn't try, however. The day started with a trip to the V&A Museum for "Fragile Beauty: Photographs from the Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection." This was a very hot ticket, which made it handy to have a V&A membership. Bruce decided to come along as well. It was an exhibition of iconic photos, photo journalism and art photography. The photos were certainly compelling, but I found myself feeling strangely unmoved. I'm not sure why. I just know that painting and sculpture move me far more than this exhibition did. That said, here are some of my favorites. (Apologies that I didn't get the credits on a lot of them.

Duke Ellington:

Miss Piggy by Norman Parkinson (1979)

Magrite with Hat by Duane Michals (1965)

John F. Kennedy, Democratic National Convention (1960)

The Worst Is Yet to Come by Steve Schapiro (1965)

Priceless by Hank Willis Thomas (2004) - see explanation below

I had heard about a wonderful exhibit of paintings by John Singer Sargent at the Tate, so I took the tube to Blackfriars and walked across the bridge to the south bank. There were so many great exhibitions advertised, each of which carried a surcharge, so I went ahead and became a member of the Tate. I walked to the information desk to ask directions to the JSS exhibit and was told that it was at the other Tate. Turns out there are two Tate museums in London. The Tate modern on the south bank and the Tate Britain on the north. My bad for not realizing that. I hopped on the water taxi to the north bank down river.

It occurred to me that if I went to the Tate Britain I would be kind of pressed for time before our dinner reservation so I hopped off the ferry and walked toward Marble Arch to get the tube home. I remembered some wonderful tiles I had seen at the underground passageway, so I stopped there along the way. They tell the story of Marble Arch and various aspects of London History. They don't make terribly compelling photos, though.

We had dinner reservations at Bibendum. Actually, the name of the restaurant is Claude Bosi at Bibendum. (This point plays into the story later.) Bibendum is the name of the Michelin Man. You know, the little guy made of tires.

Bruce had told our lovely friend Elio, the head sommelier, that it was a special birthday, so as soon as we were seated the champagne started to flow. We chose the tasting menu and enjoyed the most amazing dishes and service. I didn't bring a purse, so Bruce was responsible for all the food photos. Because I was without my phone, I couldn't take notes on everything that was served.

Here are a few photos.

The amuse bouche:

The little dish on the upper left that looks like a mini taco was filled with a cream of herbs and decorated with tiny flowers.

Foie gras ice cream:

This egg was a multi-layered herbal delight that tasted like summer in a shell. It was served in a fanciful little egg cup featuring Bibendum.

The butter dish featured Bibendum, too.

The next course was mind-blowing. We had it when we ate here previously; it's so luscious that it's a menu mainstay: Duck Jelly with Onion, Smoked Sturgeon and Special Selection Caviar.

The serving dish and mother-of-pearl spoon were gorgeous.

Orkney Scallop in Estate Dairy Cream

Agnolotti with Foie Gras, Dorset Snails and Dill

French Guinea Fowl with Scottish Girolles and Lindisfarne Mead

All the while, Bibendum watches from the stained glass window.

Lemon and Bronze Fennel

We resisted the temptation to have cheese, although it was very difficult because they always have the most amazing selection. Claude Bosi always has a killer chocolate souffle on the menu, but when we at the Brooklands in January, I tried his mushroom dessert. It was a revelation, so rich and complex, sweet with a hint of umami. so this time I had to opt for the English Pea dessert with Chocolate and Mint.

As though one dessert wasn't enough, they brought out a little birthday mouse cake for me.

We had an extra special surprise because that night Claude Bosi himself was in the kitchen. Elio took us in to meet him. What a thrill to meet such a creative culinary force!

If I had to turn 70, at least I did it in style!