The Hardest Habit to Break

Our daily lives are so hectic, so programmed, that it can be a challenge to let go of the need to hurry.  When we travel, it's easy to keep going, filling the calendar, needing to rush about.  Standing in lines is the worst for me.  I suppose it depends whether you're on 'vacation' or 'traveling'.  But if you're in a town like London, it's doubly hard, as you feel you need to optimize your time, not miss important landmarks or activities.  Gotta squeeze it all in!

The essential objective of travel, however, is to open your mind, not stress you out.  So I would suspect that travel experts advise you to 'schedule' some empty spots in your day.  I heartily endorse that concept, and find that late afternoon is the perfect time for me to sit down with a cup of tea or perhaps a beer and relax - to just let the mind wander. 

My other favorite trick is to head out in a direction with cab fare in my pocket.  I try to limit my map checks to one or two, and stay focused on where I am.  To stop now and then and marvel, "Hey, I'm in London - wow!"  And if I get hopelessly lost, I know I can hail a cab.

Yesterday I had an hour to kill before the final event of the conference, a riverboat lunch tour.  I chose to kill it in Westminster Abbey.  Talk about Wow!  I was blown away and moved to tears, recalling when I stayed up to watch Princess Diana's funeral take place there.  And contemplating that 31 monarchs have been crowned - and most of them are buried - there.  But the space is incredible - un-planned minutes well worth the 15 quid.

After the riverboat tour, I took my wandering self through the Covent Garden area. I only needed to check my map once and happened upon the original Neal's Yard cheese shop.  I first learned of this shop through a Jamie Oliver tv show about ten years ago, and of course, their cheese is now widely available in the states.  Neal's Yard opened on July 4th, 1979.

But I met a lovely man, who goes by the handle "Curd Nerd," and shared a conversation on raw milk products and how they're handled in the UK. [His real name is Colum Hodgson.]  I had to tell myself to slow down, just engage in the conversation - that little microwave dinner back at the flat can wait.  He sold me some cheese he personally made three days ago.  In the process of our transaction, we got to talking, and I learned a lot about how this country handles the situation of a very valuable food product. 

Raw milk - from cows, goats and buffaloes - is available at any farmers market, pretty much in the whole country.  You don't have to go to the farm, in fact, it's not allowed that you get it at the farm.  Back home, now that Whole Foods has pulled it, you pretty much have to go to the source to get it.  Finding a true food pioneer was an unanticipated and welcome way to pass half an hour, and I'm pleased to have made a new friend.  Here's to you, Curd Nerd - best of luck in your enterprise to educate consumers. 

post-script:  I just love the internet - turns out there's a Randolph Hodgson who took over the dairy in the 80s and I'm betting it's this young man's father.  Which makes Curd Nerd eminently qualified to evangelize about cheese.