Finally arrived in London after a nine-hour flight from Delhi. Stopped a few days to rest, eat, visit some favorite markets and tour some notable spots, like the National Gallery and the British Museum with its Indian artifacts. Ah … to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and to have ice cubes and tap water again. Funny how taken-for-granted items are now indispensable since their omission in India. Before theater, a fresh green pea soup with hearty brown bread. After, a late-night dinner at NOPI, the Soho eatery by famed chef Yotam Ottolenghi and head chef Ramael Scully. Since hearing them speak in Chicago, not to be missed. Dinner began with mixed seed lavosh and spicy feta dip paired with orange (!)* wine, followed by tempting buffet starters featuring roast aubergine with almond yogurt and spiced almond flakes and burrata with clementines, coriander seeds and plum wine. *Discovered orange wines are white made like red with “prolonged maceration of crushed skins and seeds”. Glad that Rules, the oldest, traditional London restaurant with classic game cookery, oysters, pies and puddings had a vegetarian menu. I was very content amid all of the animal heads. Among the many dishes I savored, here’s my beet and Stilton salad with candied walnuts and Guinness in a silver tankard. Now I’m off to Panama for another round of jet lag and some hot, hot, hot temperature, food and music. Oh, and did I mention a canal?