taste.travel.ENGLAND: Parting Thoughts.

Before I left for England, I got in the habit of telling people who asked about my journey that I was going specifically to London. This seemed to be a benign and logical explanation to me; I was on the last leg of my tri-city trifecta of travel to the three great Western cities of New York, Paris and London. I live in New York, I've left a piece of me in my appart in Paris, and now London was new territory in which I hope to someday live and make my mark. In my mind, this journey in June was in part a trial visit. But mostly, I was embracing the chance to see Naomi, to spend time with my dear friend who had only just moved back her family's home in England the week before.

The truth was, London was not my primary destination, per se. My immigration card to the UK marked my rather elusive destination as: "The Priory, Priory Lane, Little Wymondley near Hitchin, Herfordshire, England." I was not set on making a trip for exclusively romping about the capital of the imperial world; rather I was going to see Naomi and her family, to see England like an Englishwoman would, and to debunk the myth the English food offers little more than beans on toast. But it was easier to tell my fellow New Yorkers that I was going to London, rather than constantly explain the geography of provincial England.

So where did I go? To Hitchin. Where is it? You should know by now... that is, if you read Parts One and Two of this serial travelogue.

I immediately discovered after motoring out to the 'Shires that England is a beautiful country, the exploration of which should not be limited to its capital. If you have the chance, go to England, not just London. You should visit these provincial towns, these villages, the countryside; see the way people live, how they eat, what they value and how they spend their time. See the tourist sites, go to Stonehenge, tour London in a double-decker bus, find your own path that allows you to get a taste of the whole country through the eyes of those who live there.
But Most importantly: go to England to eat. Eat up the stereotypes of pub food, taste the cuisine of Britain's former colonies, sip a coffee at a Starbucks in Notting Hill, have high tea the The Wolseley, ignore the exchange rate in order to understand why a Michelin star is indeed such a regal award. Get married at The Priory, find your London neighborhood, explore a village in the provinces, watch The Vanguard, go punting in Cambridge... go to England with an open eye and an empty stomach.

England is an epicurean country with exceptional cuisine for those who are willing to be discerning and go find it. I have a special place in my heart for all of the England that I was able to see, for the friends I now have there, and for the food that I savoured with such joy.

taste. travel. live.