Monday 27 July 2009

Peripatetic

peripatetic \pair-uh-puh-TET-ik\, adjective:

1. Of or pertaining to walking about or traveling from place to place; itinerant.
2. Of or pertaining to the philosophy taught by Aristotle (who gave his instructions while walking in the Lyceum at Athens), or to his followers.
3. One who walks about; a pedestrian; an itinerant.
4. A follower of Aristotle; an Aristotelian.

Nevertheless, the attachment which in later life he developed towards Charleston suggests that his peripatetic childhood had left unsatisfied his need for a permanent home.-- Frances Spalding, Duncan Grant: A Biography

I was born in Italy, my sister on the west coast of Canada, because my father was pursuing a peripatetic career as an artist.-- Anna Shapiro, USA Today, July 13, 2000

He would have a long way to go before he would match his peripatetic father. Nick had now moved five times and lived in four states from Kentucky to California.-- Allen Barra, Inventing Wyatt Earp

Peripatetic derives from Greek peripatetikos, from peripatein, "to walk about," from peri-, "around, about" + patein, "to walk."

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for peripatetic

Sunday 26 July 2009

The best coffee in Soho

If it’s an Americano you want then it has to be Cafe Boheme in Old Compton Street. This French style bistro has live jazz at the weekend but is best visited first thing in the morning. The perfect way to start your day.

The place was formerly Wheelers fish restaurant and one of the favourite haunts of Francis Bacon.
The perfect end to the day is with an Espresso in Bar Italia. Opened in 1923 this is a traditional 24 hour Italian cafe. The coffee is expensive and the place will be packed when Italian football is shown live on the huge TV screen but the atmosphere is authentic Soho.

The Blue Plaque is to commemorate the transmission of the world’s first television pictures by John Logie Baird in October 1925 in the attic above Bar Italia.
For a cappuccino and a slice of cake it has to be Patisserie Valerie. I realise this is now a chain but this place has a genuine feel to it and is well worth a visit.
No trip to Soho is complete without a visit to the French House, possibly the greatest bar in the world (and they also serve coffee). No music, no fruit machines, no TV, no pint glasses and no mobiles. Only serious drinkers need enter.
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