From surprisingly delicious pub food to even more surprisingly great weather, London delivered many close encounters with artistic masterpieces, memorable music, lavishly green parks, and way too many packs of tourists, all taking selfies and shopping like it was...

Opulence in Sugar!  Fornum & Mason's own housemade marshmallows! In pastel Queen Mum colors and flavors. more reflections on England, to be continued....

Director Lyndsey Turner had her hands full with the historic production of Hamlet that closes next week. Building a production around a high-wattage celebrity must bring a unique set of challenges. Here she was with the reigning theater superstar Benedict Cumberbatch,...

What a pleasure to re-discover a favorite pinot noir. I've never found anything from Muns Vineyard less than interesting, and in the case of the 2009 Santa Cruz Mountains Estate Pinot Noir, both interesting and accessible. Balanced tannins and nuanced fruit, an...

Finally, after months of anticipation, I was there at London's Barbican Theatre watching the much-heralded Benedict Cumberbatch bedazzle the well-worn coinage of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Was the experience worth traveling 5000 miles and 400 years to savor? In a word,...