Heaven with Groceries

Traveling is a search of sorts. A search for knowledge, for understanding of different cultures, for experiencing unique places and new people. It is a search within yourself to find what it is you really seek in life, what makes you happy. It is often this search, this unknown, that draws us to travel around spending our hard earned cash all over this grand planet.

With over two months of continuous travel under our belts, in addition to our innate unflappable nature, we are rarely surprised anymore and not often wooed by our findings. This is a bit of a sad conclusion being that we have sacrificed so much to be here, but every feeling and every reaction is both lesson and revelation in itself. And besides, when it's all over and we're back to the 9-5, we'll forget (or laugh about) the dingy hotel rooms, the frustrating conversations with somber Germans, the infuriatingly yet insistently unlabeled roads, and we'll remember the funny, the tasty, and the beautiful moments of our trip, which there have been many.

We have spent the past 5 days in London, re-acquainting ourselves with polite people who speak English. In a city so enormous (7.5 million), it's very difficult to separate the good from the bad and find the Milk Duds* in a sea of Raisinets**, if you will. In a city like London (or LA, or NY, or Sydney, etc) there are undoubtedly and indisputably great restaurants, fun attractions, entertaining clubs, and great hang outs. The difficulty is in finding these gems amongst the white noise that makes up the rest of the metropolis. And that's where I try to get sneaky. I studiously carry a Lonely Planet guidebook to help locate decent restaurants and places to stay. But really, lots of people do that. I scour the internet for leads on the best values around town, the nicest hotels for the cheapest price, the best veggie restaurants. I try hard to find the really good, truly unique things that a city has to offer (that I would enjoy).

But still, we often have to make choices based on nothing at all. We find ourselves in a district not serviced by our loyal, if limited, guidebook. We end up without access to the internet*** for some time. And in these trying times, we have to choose what to do based on studying menus, scrutinizing decor, and interrogating personnel. Under these conditions, we cannot expect any better than hit or miss as we try to make educated decisions. Sometimes, however, a place will jump out at us. We will just be walking down the street and be suddenly bowled over by the sheer magnificence of a restaurant, store, or building. Sometimes we stumble, like blind children, into a place even more awesome than any internet review could have made us believe. This is exactly what happened to Kane and me three days ago in the suburb of London called Kensington.

Passing a Whole Foods store on the way back from lunch, I casually suggested that perhaps I might acquire some dessert-type item from this well-known and loved establishment. Kane concurred and we proceeded to wander into what could possibly have been the best place I have ever been.

The automatic doors under the familiar and comforting Whole Foods logo whoosh open at our approach revealing the bread and bakery section of the store. These people obviously have experience at grocerial warfare – my defenses were down. On the right was a variety of solid, sturdy, light-colored wood tables with stacks of beautifully displayed freshly baked loaves of bread. Mozzarella cheddar, rosemary garlic, pecan raisin, sourdough; all laid out as though you just finished baking them in your own kitchen. On the left was a sort of wooden dresser, its shelves bursting with heavy wicker baskets filled to their brims with freshly baked cookies: chocolate chip, white chocolate macadamia, lemon sugar, oatmeal raisin. Tables flanked the dresser and were adorned with giant muffins, croissants, and rich chocolate brownies. These treats were arranged exactly how they might be at a Christmas pot luck, so accessible and fresh looking that it was very difficult to restrain from simply reaching out and eating one of each. The brownies had a free sample tray: infinite cubes of the deepest brown that convinced me to buy a brownie for myself even though this is a treat I would never normally choose.

As we entered the store further, we were confronted with dozens more rambling displays of the finest foods: the fresh salad bar, the mix-your-own muesli bar, the grind-your-own peanut (or other nut) butter area, the freshest fruit from around the world, vegetables fresh cut on site in nice little baggies ready for your steamer or grill. There was a fresh dipped chocolates case that would make Mrs. See bow her head in shame.

Possibly the best part of the store was a tiny corner blocked off by sliding doors. Inside this small, bright room was a temperature controlled cheesery with heaping blocks and rounds of fresh cheddar, brie, gouda, blue, and probably any other kind of cheese you could possibly imagine. Some chunks were already broken off and wrapped for you to take, but for the rest, customers must ask the designated cheese manager, tending to this area religiously, to slice off a requested amount of their choice.

This was a store for kings and queens and yet I was allowed in. I, in flip flops and $5 earrings was allowed, nay encouraged, to meander around this grocery heaven munching on free samples and throwing whatever I wanted into my hand basket. It was truly amazing. I could find no down side to the existence of this facility except that some of the items are imported rather than local. The products were amazing. The floor was immaculately clean. The displays were awe-inspiring. The check-out line was non-existent due to an efficient, Fry's-like array of 15 or so registers, color coded with a display screen at the front to direct you to the next available cashier. The employees enjoy additional health benefits and stock options (there was a sign saying so).

I take back any complaints that I have previously submitted about capitalism because it has clearly spawned a place far above anything I could have imagined. A place that rights the wrongs of others. A place of peace and prosperity. The most awesome place I've ever bared witness to: Heaven with Groceries.

*Don't actually look at the nutrition information; what do you expect when you eat a Milk Dud?
**What this website neglects to tell you is that Raisinets are gross. You can have all mine, mom.
***I'm still waiting for internet to be available at all times and in all places because being without it is some kind of crime. Especially while traveling.