Jaime in London

Easter in Somerset

2011-05-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

Mom and Dad were also in England over Easter Weekend, so we took a trip to Somerset to see Bob and Wendy again. The pictures are in a strange order, so I will just write about each one.

In the back, you can see the Wells Cathedral. This is just a park that we walked around.

Here is Eric checking out the fish? This mote is around the Bishop's quarters.

Mini door by the Bishop's. People definitely used to be a lot shorter.

Beautiful day, brick walls, lots of green. It has been raining all day today back in Boulder :( sad face.

Mom and Dad outside Bob and Wendy's.

Jaime and Mom enjoying the sunshine.

We had a BBQ - a rare thing for the Brits.

Easter Egg hunt. (I was excited, could you tell?)

Moss dog was on a stick hunt.

Bob and Moss...aww.

I think I may be pointing at some candy?

Oh, yep. What a nice Easter Bunny.

Millennium Field (where the Easter Bunny left treats).

Wendy, Bob, Moss.

Eric and Jaime.

Eric, Jaime, Mom, Dad.

We had sooo much fun with you guys! Thanks for such an excellent few weeks!

Mom and Dad in England

2011-05-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

A month after the fact...

My parents came to visit around the middle through the end of April. I left a day after they did, and so I have procrastinated blogging and instead have been getting settled back home. We just had a blast together. I took them to see all the sights, went to tons of markets, and ate some good food.

Jaime and Mom on Ironmonger's Row (Church History Site)

A memorial to The William Wallace - and I don't mean Mel Gibson. This (Smithfield Meat Market) is where he was killed and quartered.

a church/courtyard in Smithfield Market

That speck down there in the blue coat and hat is Eric walking back to work. The archway is actually where the meat market part is, and Eric's office is right on the other side.

This is the store Liberty of London near all the big shopping on Oxford Street and Regent Street. I can't believe how old the buildings are. We (meaning the girls, not so much dad) loved the shopping.

This hidden gem "Panache" is the best candy store in all of London. It's right around the corner from Harrods.

Candid Photo! I love the Macaroons there. I went there the day I was leaving and got a whole bunch to take home.

London's version of the Arc d'Triumph, on the SW corner of Hyde Park.

Like the Changing of the Guard but with no band and about 75 less guards.

Jaime and Dad looking at Buckingham Palace

Mom and Dad in front of The Palace...awww.

Good photo Dad! My Mom and I just laughed the whole time we were together.

Look at the perfectly manicured grass. We were thinking about running across it.

Buckingham Palace and the nice grass.

St. James' Park.

Mom and Jaime at the Park

What a garden!

Black Swan at St. James' Park

Back shot.

We walked everywhere that day and HAD to sit down. This was our view right outside Inn The Park.

Also our view - the London Eye.

He looks so angry and uncomfortable.

I do not even know what the building is.

Big Ben

This pretty much sums up London: A double decker bus, Big Ben, Parliament, The London Eye, and Westminster behind us.

We made dad pose for a picture.

Mom and Dad in from of Westminster Abby.

Back Shot!

A side note to Mom and Dad: Just because it took me a month to post this, it doesn't mean I love you less.

Jaime in Germany (Part 1 of 3)

2011-04-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Here begins the 3 part "Visitors Guide to the Coolest Parts of Southern Germany and Austria Worth Visiting if You Only Have Three Days."

Last weekend, Eric took Friday off, and we took off to Germany and Austria. I am going to have to break this weekend up into a few posts. Eric took so many good pictures, and he is going to have to label some of these since he is the one who speaks German.

Landed in Munich. Lucked out with a free rental car upgrade (more on that later), and hit the Autobahn into the city.

Here is the home of Ludwig van Forsyth. Okay, not really. But his first name was Ludwig and I was hoping that we were in some way related so that I could come stay there whenever I wanted.

Ludwig's back yard...niiice.

"Hey, Eric, can I take your picture? I'm taking it...."

"Surprise!" Ha ha ha.

Jaime and Eric in Sepia.

The real name of this place is called Schloss Nymphenburg.


Our view of Frauenkirche from lunch.

Marienplatz and the famous (still running and very old) Glockenspiel.

Marienplatz

Marianplatz and Frauenkirche.

Marienplatz is right next to where we ate lunch.

Lunch. There was pretzels just sitting on the table waiting for us to eat. we had amazing potato salad and I ate these little meat patties that were so tasty. but definitely not good for me.

After Munich, it was on to Salzburg to stay the night.

Jaime in Chiemsee and Salzburg (Part 2 of 3)

2011-04-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

After leaving Munich, we headed out to Salzburg, taking a pit stop at Chiemsee.


This is Chiemsee. It's the lake, not the town.

Though there is a town/island called Chiemsee in the middle of the lake.

He's so handsome.

Here I am, at the end of the pier.

Here I am standing in the water.

I'm not really standing in the water, just seeing if you're paying attention.

Lovely, lovely sunset.

This is the B&B (Haus Reichl) we stayed in while in Salzburg.

And here is the view..Love it! It was a really nice place, I would highly recommend it.

These next few are pictures of the Salt Fortress/castle in Salzburg that I will let Eric name later on.


Salzburg

"The Sound of Music starring Jaime as Maria the Marionette."

Inside the walls of the fortress.

From inside.

The castle courtyard.

Untersberg from the top of Festung Hohensalzburg.

It was a bit windy all the way up there.

Eating a pretzel and watching a giant game of chess. So nice.

Where's Jaime?

This was right before we realized that our car got towed.

Festung Hohensalzburg in the morning before it turned into a beautiful amazing day.

After Salzburg, it was off to Hallstatt.

Jaime in Hallstatt, Austria (part 3 of 3)

2011-04-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

We spent our last day in a little, one road town called Hallstatt. Not only was it cheaper and less crowded because of the "off peak" time we were there, but we had absolutely amazing weather.

Our entire drive from Salzburg to Hallstatt, Eric kept saying, "You can't make this stuff up," referring to the scenery. I had to correct him by pointing out that, "Actually, you can make this stuff up, and someone did." Hallstatt itself is an old (as in BC) salt mining community that is in the mountains but is also set on a lake. Think of a small, remote, Austrian Alps Lake Tahoe.

The view from our room at the Pension Sarstein

This stream ran from the top of the mountain all the way through town and into the lake.

Our place had these diving boards right outside. Unfortunately, we didn't think to bring our swimsuits.

Morning view.

The town across the lake.

Again.

Just to the right is the South end of Hallstatt.

The constant waterfall from snow melt - made me miss home.

Our hike up the mountain consisted mostly of stairs. My legs were on fire.

I would like to thank erosion for this picture.

The hills are alive with the sound of music ♪

Finally at the top of our hike!

There was a "guided tour" with these mirrors representing the past and future of Hallstatt.

Interesting ditties about Hallstatt's ancient salt mining inhabitants were on each mirror.

Waterfall.

Old salt mine entrance.

OoOooooo. Creepy.

No entrance to the salt mines.

One of Eric's favorite parts of the trip. Our rental car was a VW Scirocco TDI. It came in handy on the Autobahn where we reached the top speed of 200km/hr (124 mph).

Overall, it was a five star, two thumbs up, amazing wunderschön vacation - I would totally do it again.

Liz and Ian in London

2011-04-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

So so busy busy.

All the way back in last week, Eric's mom and brother came to visit. We did everything: hit most all of my favorite spots, and quite a few new things I hadn't experienced before. We went to Borough Market, Leadenhall Market, the Tate Modern, stopped by St. Paul's, Hyde Park, The Orangery, Harrods Food Court, Abbey Road, Liberty of London, The British Museum, and this is all before our bus tour on Monday.

New to me in London: The Orangery.
I had heard about this from my lovely cousin Macy (thank you). This place is right by the Kensington Palace on the West side of Hyde Park. Probably the best place in London if you want to have the "High Tea" experience. Super tasty.

Harrod's Food Court.
A few weeks ago, I went into Harrods. It's probably 4 times the size of the Macy's in San Francisco. Once I was on the bottom floor, it literally took me 5 minutes to find a door out. I didn't see the food court last time I went in, but I did this time, and it was amazing.

Liberty of London.
This store was right off Regent's street, around the Oxford street fancy shopping district. They have everything from clothes to furniture, housewares to fabrics. I guess Target carried some of their clothes last year. Everything there was pretty expensive, but if I won money that had to be used towards shopping for myself, I would outfit myself and my house with things from here.

Abbey Road.
Abbey Road Studios, Ian signed the wall, pretty area of town, we walked across "The Crosswalk".

The highlight of Liz and Ian's visit was our bus tour on Monday. We went to Oxford, Stratford on Avon, and Warwick Castle.

I believe this was taken in Stratford, home of William Shakespeare. It was a great little old town. Liz did some quick shopping and got a beautiful jacket. I went into this milkshake place called Moo Moo's. They had probably more than 100 flavors, but I didn't really get a chance to look at all of them (we had about 5 minutes until we had to be back on the bus), so I got an Oreo shake - so smooth and creamy.

Warwick Castlle. This place was really great. There was tons of history, through it was very amusement park-esque.

This is a view from the back of the castle. I can see why someone would want to build their castle here.


Aww.

And here is Ian as a gargoyle.

The whole weekend was awesome. I am so glad that we got to show Liz and Ian such a fun time, but now we just miss them.

A Lady of P Leisure.

2011-03-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, I haven't blogged for a while. This is because I have taken to becoming a Lady of Leisure. Ironically enough, the English actually pronounce "leisure" like "pleasure" but without the "p," when in fact, being a Lady of Leisure is no pleasure at all.

Back home in Colorado I was very involved with my church, work, dog, friends, gardening, book club, the list goes on. I was always busy; I was always happy (with the exception of crazy hormonal outbursts).

Here I am in London, not a part of anything - and it's tough. Earlier in my stay here, I tried to volunteer, but I had to be a UK citizen, etc. I can't get a job. I have one friend, Amy, but we can't hang out every day. I am not a part of any clubs, I'm not involved in church, so what is a girl to do? Well, I'll tell you what I do:

1. Sleep in (I feel like a bum).
2. Watch Gilmore Girls and Smallville almost every morning.
3. Do laundry on Mondays (it takes over 2 hours to WASH one small load, and the drier doesn't really work so I have to hang up everything to dry).
4. Go clothes shopping (amazing story about new jeans Abelow).
5. Grocery Shopping
6. Marthastewart.com and I have become very close friends.
6a. Plan my friend Emily's baby shower for when I get home.
6b. Plan for things I am going to do to my house when I get home.
6c. Find awesome recipes.
7. Read other people's blogs.
8. Exercise.
9. Clean - except on Wednesdays because the house cleaner comes that day. Really.
10. I have taken a few classes at the Apple store, which have been fun.
11. Walk to new parks.
12. Read - a lot. The sunny days where I am able to read outside in the sun, or even on my bed in the sun, have been delightful.
13. Skype with Mom.
14. Plan for visitors.
15. Cook (see new recipe below)

This all sounds fun, but like I said earlier, it's rather tough not being a part of something significant. I am going home a month from today, but Eric is not :(sad face. But the good news is that April will be full of things to do! This Thursday, Liz and Ian (eric's mom and brother) are coming for a few days! Then Eric and I are going to Germany that next weekend! And then, My parents are coming to visit and we are going to Somerset with them after they see London! Wow. Or as the French say "Extra!" So. Much. Fun.

Picture and recipe time:

I found this gem (yes, the cupcake is sparkly, though you can't really tell) after one of my classes at the Apple Store in Covent Garden at a palce called Ella's Cupcakes. Not extremely tasty (I do have high standards for cupcakes), but really pretty.

I got these at Waitrose on clearance for £3.49 about a week ago, and they are just now starting to wilt.

About my new jeans: A miracle happened. I've been thinking about looking for some new jeans for a while now. Last week, I went to go get my face waxed at a place in a shopping center, but I was about 15 minutes early. Not expecting to find anything, I went to this store called Mango that was right next to the waxing place. I walked around, picked up these jeans, tried them on, and they fit!!! They are a bit long, so I will have to hem them when I get home, but can you believe that? If anyone has ever been jean shopping, they will know that you don't just fit into the first pair of jeans you try on. But the best part is...they were only £24.90. Miracle.

British Fish and Cheese Quesadilla

You will need:
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Cheddar Cheese (or the like)
Cod, Talapia, or another kind of white fish fillet
Spinach
Lemon Juice
Cream (optional)
Garlic Powder
Fresh Black Pepper

1. Heat up the fish in your favorite way, no need to season though. I get the frozen fillets and just nuke them. If it's a fresh fish, put it in the microwave in a bowl with olive oil, cover it with a few layers of plastic wrap and cook it for 3-5 minutes.
2. Shred fish with fork.
3. Put it all together like a quesadilla. If you have never made a quesadilla, google it.

Things I like in London: Meat Pies

2011-03-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

I have heard about meat pies. I watched Sweeney Todd and did not think that meat pies were a good idea, but since being in London I have tried my fair share, and I love them.

I got this chicken pie from a place right around the corner from us called "Food Hall." It always has really good food for pretty cheap. I also like to get my fresh bread and cheese there.

I concur.

The best pies are from a place in Borough Market at a stand called Pieminister.

So Yummy looking. I really like them from this place because the pies aren't just filled with meat; they are more like chicken pot pies.

This one is called Mr. Porkey. It's filled with pork, bacon, and vegetables. I really love the creamy sauce they mix it all together with.

Typically, pie is my least favorite dessert. I feel like pie crust is not sweet, nor does it belong with fruit. But after having so many delicious meat pies in England, I have some great motivation for learning to make pie crust.

Jaime in Edinburgh

2011-03-15T10:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend Eric and I went to Edinburgh for a mini vacation. I absolutely loved it! The architecture was magnificent, the people were very friendly, and the mountains and hills reminded me a lot of home. The weather wasn't very pleasant, but everything else was.

Taken from the Edinburgh Castle - rainy day.

Eric from (almost) the top of The Scott Monument.

287 narrow steps to the top.

Me from (almost) the top of The Scott Monument.

Edinburgh Castle.

NE Edinburgh.

Holyrood Park in the background, or as Eric and I named it "The Great Wall." Don't you love the buildings?

Edinburgh Castle.

Edinburgh Castle, again.

Edinburgh to the South.

Another picture of "The Great Wall"

John Knox was buried under that yellow box. Back in the 16th century, Knox was considered the founder of the Presbyterian denomination in Scotland. His wish to be buried near the church (just behind where the picture was taken), was kept. He also wasn't very well liked, which is why he remained there after the area was not longer a burial ground.

The oldest building in Scotland.

On top of the building are the two symbols for Scotland and France, symbolizing an ancient treaty to help each other when Britain attacked either one.

Edinburgh Castle from the back.

Bobby dog.

Bobby was the dog of a night guard for the Grayfriars graveyard. After His owner had him only 2 years, the man died of TB, and was buried there. The dog came back to the man's grave every day for the next 10 years until Bobby died. He is now the most loved and photographed dog in Europe.

Forsyth - like our last name. I actually ordered an ancient Forsyth tartan scarf that I will be getting in a few weeks. I'm excited.

Charming Victoria Street in the middle of Edinburgh.

We ate at this delicious place called Monster Mash. I had a sausage and about a pound+ of mashed potatoes and gravy. Eric had haggis, tatties & neeps (haggis, turnips, mash). For those of you who don't know how to make haggis, you take a sheep's stomach, grind up its liver, heart, and lungs, oats, and herbs, and stick them in the stomach. Boil it. Eat it. I tried it, and it was okay. I don't need to ever have it again. But I will need to go back to Edinburgh again.

Jaime in Paris - Day 2

2011-03-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

Day 2 of our adventures in Paris:

Eric in front of the Arc de Triomphe and La Concorede

Jaime in front of the Arc de Triomphe and La Concorede

Le Louvre

More of Le Louvre

Notre-Dame

Eric and the doors to the Notre-Dame. We saw a few sets of Mormon missionaries from Utah here and chatted with them for a while. One said he wanted to go to school at CU in Boulder. Small world.

Loved all the beautiful stained glass in here.

Flying Buttresses in the back of the Notre-Dame

Here I am behind Notre-Dame.

And again in front of the Pompidou Museum.

Here I am again - my feet were really tired. We walked all day.

Paris was beautiful and I loved it. Tomorrow we head out for Edinburgh for more adventures.

Jaime in Paris - Day 1

2011-03-10T05:52:00.000-08:00

Eric had some business in Paris on Tuesday. We figured that since his ticket was paid for, we would just get a ticket for me and make a mini vacation out of it.

We stayed in a hotel right off the Champs-Elysees - we were surrounded by good food and good shopping. We were just down the street from this:

The Arc de Triomphe.

A lovely view as I was crossing the Pont do la Concorde Bridge.

The Musee d'Orsay. I absolutely loved it here! It was a beautiful art museum. My favorites were paintings by Matisse and Henri Edmond Cross that looked like mosaics. My very favorite was a paining by Georges Lemmen called Beach at Heist (Sunset on the beach). Unfortunately no pictures were allowed to be taken inside.

It was such a nice day. This picture reminded my of a park near where we live in Colorado (there was some serious frisbee playing going on). It was sunny all day Tuesday - I actually think my face got a little sunburnt.

View from a bridge.

Tour Eiffel

Every hour at night, the Eiffel Tower looks like it has twinkle lights all over it, but it is difficult to capture that in a picture since not all the lights twinkle at once.

"The City of Love"

It was wonderful. I ate more delicious bread than I should probably eat in two weeks. I had my first experience with macaroons - yumm-o! We ate lots of crepes and pizza from restaurants on side streets (which in my opinion is the way to eat cheap and delicious in any city).

Stay tuned for Jaime in Paris - Day 2.

Seeing the Sights

2011-03-06T12:32:00.000-08:00

This weekend was nice - we did everything. We took off walking on Saturday afternoon with the end target being a German restaurant called Zeitgeist, and we took lots of stops at typical London sights along the way.

Our first stop was at Trafalgar Square. Eric loved that there was a pirate ship in a bottle that was probably 20 feet long. There was also some kind of feminist benefit show (?) going on, so we didn't stay long.

As we left Trafalgar Square and headed towards St. James' Park, the sun came out. This was the first time, since we have been in London, that Eric had taken a walk in a sunny park. We took our time in the sun. We stopped at Inn the Park (a really tasty restaurant) and got some ginger beer and a crispy apple cinnamon muffin. we strolled along in the sunshine until we got to Buckingham Palace.

Eric and I decided that we would not want the job of a palace guard. They just stood there with their hat strap pressing between their lip and chin, and every few minutes, they got to - very rigidly - walk about 20m, switch the hand their gun was in, then stand back in the exact same position for another 15 minutes or so.

The sunshine didn't last all day.

We walked by Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey; took pictures; and went to the German restaurant, or pub, rather. The St. Pauli vs. Nuremberg game was playing on a German TV channel. We had some delicious schnitzel and went on our way.

Eric is so good at taking pictures, even if it is with his phone.

To get home, we caught a ferry at the London Eye. As we walked under a bridge towards the London eye, it was like we were walking into a carnival. That was the most touristy part of London I had ever seen - there were even bumper cars. The river was nice, we got off at London Bridge, then the second best part of the weekend (besides walking in the sunny park with Eric) happened - I got Burnt Sugar honeycomb candy...for free.

At about 5 o'clock, when Borough Market was closing up, we stopped by the Burnt Sugar stand and asked if we could get some honeycomb candy (even though it was mostly already packed up). After I quickly put some in my bag, and I tried to pay, the guy said, "Na, don't worry about it."

When we got home, I made Eric some Spezi (a German drink consisting of Diet Coke and Orange Fanta), then Eric and I spent the rest of the night bumming around watching The West Wing. Best. Day. (in London) Ever.

Somerset: Glastonbury and Wells

2011-03-04T07:16:00.000-08:00

Now for the rest of last weekend:

Bob and Wendy's home. Soo lovely.

Somerset fields.

Lambs on the road.

How adorable is this lamb? It liked Eric.

Glastonbury Tor - it has been a holy site for a long time, and is the site of past churches.

That is a compass pointing which way and how far different towns are.

Jaime and Eric by the Tor.

We went to the Glastonbury Abbey which is traditionally the earliest Christian sanctuary in Britain. Legend says Joseph of Arimathea brought Jesus to this site and built an old wattle and daub church. Then this large stone church was built it it's location around 600AD and burnt down in 1184. Hundreds of years of cilivilation lived on and around it until it was escavated later and presereved as historical ruins you can explore today.

Glastonbury Abbey ruins.

The Abbey from the high altar - Both of these sections were part of the Abbey. If this same photo were taken in 1183, you'd see pews and a roof and windows, etc. etc.

Jaime and Bob in front of the high altar in King Edgar's Chapel.

Supposedly the burial place of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere.

This is the Wells Cathedral. It was huge, absolutely beautiful, and I couldn't believe the amazing detail that must have gone into the planning and creating the architecture.

Wells Cathedral built around 705 A.D.

Vicars' Close - the only completely medieval street in England - has a bridge that connects to the Cathedral.

The outside clock opposite Vicars’ Hall, placed there just over seventy years after is connected with the inside mechanism (below).

The original works were made about 1390 and the clock face is the oldest surviving original of its kind anywhere.When the clock strikes every quarter, jousting knights rush round above the clock.

Beautiful end to a beautiful weekend.

Spitalfield Market

2011-03-04T03:24:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is already Friday! I have been keeping pretty bust this week and it has been great. I went to Spitalfield market, which is fairly close to my house. I absolutely loved the shops there - much like Anthropologie. Yeah, except yesterday was "antique show day," and I mostly just saw people selling junk and it smelled like old people. But aside from the antique show part, it was awesome.

This Monday marked the end of Eric's Vegetarian February, so we went to Nando's. Super tasty chicken with super tasting sides and the best part - FREE REFILLS! Just a warning for those who are planning on visiting England, there is no such thing as free refills on sodas. Needless to say, when I saw "Bottomless Diet Coke" on the menu, I hit that up.

Eric gave me this article to read from Backpacker magazine. It was all about "Fatpacking" - basically how hiking is the exact right balance of exertion to exercise that will help you burn optimal calories. It has inspired me to walk faster, longer, and harder than I have been, to quit taking the tube or the bus so often.

It's good that the weeks are going by quickly, it means that I'll be back in Boulder soon where I can take real hikes. But next week, we're going to Paris then Edinburgh, Scotland. So for now, I'm really glad I'm here.

Bath

2011-03-01T05:26:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was the best, and most relaxing weekend we have had in England thus far. I have some family friends that live near Bath in Somerset. We had a weekend full of adventures and Eric took about 100 pictures, so I will let the pictures do the talking.

Bath Abbey

Abbey from the back.

The city right before the torrential downpour.

Me and Wendy at the Royal Crescent.

Roam Baths c. 70 AD

The main bath

The water comes from a natural hot spring under ground.

Julius Caesar and Friends.

Overflow water from the baths. This is the original Roman stonework.

Look what this weather does to my hair!

Hot! The water was pretty warm, too.

A real Roman was there. That sign means "Hello!"

Steaming.

The River Avon and the Weir.

Pulteney Bridge - One of the only bridges in the world with shops on both sides.

Back of the Abbey - taken near the Weir.

Bob, Wendy, and Jaime on the River Avon. Bob is trying to hide.

National Portrait Gallery

2011-02-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

Some days I enjoy being lazy. This is the first time I haven't had a job since I was 16. I don't really have friends do to activities with. The only responsibilities I have are to make myself and Eric happy, and make sure everything is going okay back home.

I see myself having two options: go into a slump of sitting at home all day every day and continue to be lazy, or just go out and explore (perhaps occasionally indulging in retail therapy). I choose the latter.

Eric took off on a business trip yesterday and so I took off to the that National Portrait Gallery. You can't take pictures inside, so I got a picture of the outside. It was huge and full of paintings of the landscape from all around Europe, lots of pictures of stories from the Bible, and even more pictures of royalty.

After being to many history museums, I have discovered that if I lived more than 250 years ago, I would like to be royalty. I would have pictures of myself, I would get to bath more often, and I wouldn't be a poor peasant.

The front of the National Portrait Gallery from Trafalgar Square

Last night I made a delicious dinner of roasted zucchini, broccoli, asparagus, and garlic over a bed of brown rice with lemon and cheese. All this was topped with chicken satay (ordered from Busabas down the street) and coconut milk. I am definitely making this again when Eric is not a vegetarian anymore.

Today was sunny, so I put on my flip flops, (got strange looks,) went in the sunshine to read a book, and got waxed - so much better than getting threaded.

Greenwich

2011-02-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Despite the rain, Eric and I went to Greenwich (where the Prime Meridian line is, as in the center of the world, 0° longitude). It was surprisingly lovely. We stumbled upon Greenwich Market, which featured a few absolutely delicious food stands and high quality goods. I had one of the best cupcakes I have ever had from the Real Baking Company. I saw these skirts that I am in love with - they were £45, so I will have to do some saving up, but I will get one and I will blog about it.

We took a thorough walk through the National Maritime Museum, which informs about anything and everything having to do with the ocean: development of boats, sea explorers and migrations from all kinds of places and history, and exploration of the under the surface. Neptune was even there - seriously. Some guy dressed all in aqua with an aqua beard and long aqua colored hair was going around the museum and teaching children about life under and above the sea.

hardcore scuba gear.

Exploratory submarine.

Behind the Museum, was the Royal Observatory of Greenwich. From the picture, you will note the acres of Greenwich Park surrounding the observatory on the top of the hill. It is always so nice to walk in a park with Eric. He is completely in his element when he is out in nature. He and Annie (my dog) are so much alike. The walk was nice and the observatory was good.

In front of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich

Due North on the Prime Meridian

Eric is in two hemispheres at once.

Royal Observatory - I love the architecture in London.

Valentine's Day or a long post about lovely food

2011-02-16T02:45:00.000-08:00

As previously mentioned, I thought the restaurants would be too crowded on Valentine's Day, so I decided to make something delicious. I get e-mails from delish.com (which I am pretty sure is put out by Martha Stewart), and there was a recipe for a Pumpkin-Sage Cream Sauce that looked perfect for the special day. I also made some Lemon Roasted Broccoli, cucumber salad, and I tried to make rice pudding. Unfortunately, we did not get any pictures, but this meal tasted so much better than it looked anyway.

Here in London, they don't have the "heavy cream" or "half and half" that we are used to in The States. I wouldn't say "instead of the American creams," but I will just say that here, they have "single cream" and "double cream." These creams, that I am sure are actually good for you (not), seem to be the equivalent of heavy cream and heavy cream+.

Knowing that information, for my pumpkin-sage sauce, I used some single cream; a half can of pumpkin; 6 fresh sage leaves, confettied; and 1/3 cup finely graded Pecorino cheese (which is like a cross between Parmesan and Manchego). Just so you know, I have only once successfully made Alfredo sauce - it takes too long to simmer down, has to be at the exact right temperature, and always turns out watery for me. But this sauce from Monday night, magnifico. The pumpkin does the thickening for you, so all you have to do is add everything to a sauce pot, along with some cracked pepper, and heat it up. When it's heated, add a dollop of butter, stir, and serve over some nice linguine.

Mmm Mmmm. In the words of Eric, "This broccoli is like candy." Yeah, except there was no sugar added. Broccoli florets, thinly sliced garlic, walnut oil, olive oil, sea salt, pepper - roast at 425°F for ~20 minutes, stirring after 8 minutes, adding sliced almonds in the last 3. Take it out. Put it all in a serving bowl. Squirt with lemon juice. Top with cheese (I used the pecorino). Yet another party in my mouth.

Eric brought home "tulips. Because you have two lips that I like to kiss." I also scored several kinds of chocolate. Love him!

Thanks for the Kisses mom. Obviously, they were delicious - that's all we have left.

Last night we went to a restaurant called Tom's Kitchen at Somerset House (Check out that link...fancy). It is located right on the river, and we sat in a big fancy booth and ordered too much good food that we get to have for leftovers today. Also today, I also get to walk off all that good food we had last night that was drenched in cheese and butter.

Harry Potter Walk

2011-02-15T04:19:00.000-08:00

Friday night I had the opportunity to go on a guided walk around London and got to see some of the places that Harry Potter was filmed. I was kind of bummed that it was at night because none of my pictures turned out except this one that was very well lit.

Platform 9 3/4 was originally filmed between Platforms 3 and 4 at King's Cross station. The sign had been kept in that spot, but since it was actually near a platform with people constantly walking by and crowds of people gathering to see it, the station found it prudent to move it. Unfortunately, there is also tons of construction going on, so the sign wasn't even on a real brick wall. Still a nice picture.

We also saw the place where the Death Eaters went though the streets of London (near Trafalgar Square), the alley that Diagon Alley was based off of, the visitor's entrance to the Ministry of Magic, and two locations that were used for the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron (one near Borough Market and the other was a strange phone store or something). My favorite part was the boat ride we took on the River Thames right under the Millennium Bridge (which was destroyed by the death eaters in HP 6). Like I said before, it was dark so I didn't get many pictures, but as I go by these locations again, I will take more pictures.

In other news, I think I am finally getting comfortable here in London. I know my way around pretty well with the tube, the buses, and on foot. I've found that I like the grocery store called Waitrose, and all the others are more expensive and/or worse quality. I found my favorite fruit and veggie stand on Twyford Place. It's about a 40 minute walk, but it's near good shopping in Covent Garden and Leicester Square.

Eric and I moved up to the top floor in our apartment building. We have a bigger bedroom and a really nice balcony in the back that catches the morning sun - that is when it is sunny. Today is laundry day again and it still takes 2 1/2 hours to WASH one load.

Yesterday, we celebrated Valentine's Day at home, and tonight we are going out to celebrate. Eric booked us reservations somewhere romantic. I told him that we would celebrate V Day on the 15th since the flowers and chocolates would be cheaper, and the restaurants less crowded. Pictures to come.

Things I like: London - Episode 1. Also Something Sick!

2011-02-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

There are plenty of things to complain about here in London: I miss my dog, it's mostly cloudy every day, the people don't really speak English here (or is it the other way around?), I've been constantly sick since I got here (see picture below for latest sickness), I miss my friends, I miss open space and my dog.

Awww. How do I not miss that?

But who I am to complain - I have a 4 month, accommodations paid, holiday in London. As I am bound to have some days where I go about doing nothing that is worth blogging about, I will be starting a segment I choose to call "Things I like: London."

Thing I like #1 - Honeycomb candies from Burnt Sugar
I have talked about these before - the Burnt Sugar candy from Borough Market. These babies are delicious candy honeycomb covered in chocolate. I've gone back quite a few times just for these. Luckily the candy from the Burnt Sugar stand is priced by weight and their heavy fudge is not good. The honeycomb candies are sweet airy pieces of heaven that snap off when you bite into them like a two month old Peep (right, Deb?). Since they are so light, it doesn't cost a lot for a delicious piece of chocolaty heaven in your mouth.

I believe the smaller ones are better because they have more chocolate on them.

Borough Market is open tomorrow, actually...

Here is the canker sore picture I promised:

I made this small just in case you didn't want to see - click to make it bigger. Sick, right?

A Happy Tuesday

2011-02-08T08:25:00.000-08:00

Today was a very nice day. This morning, after sleeping in, had some delicious honey yogurt for breakfast, and I did a fantastic ab workout. This was followed by watching Glee and then eating a small but nutritious lunch before grabbing a book and heading out to the River Thames to catch some serious rays.

On my way there, I stopped by Ben's Cookies and got a dark chocolate ginger cookie - aka Party in my Mouth*. I picked up some sparkling lemonade at Boots, and went to find a nice area to sit. I found a place just east of the London Bridge with some chairs, benches and even a spot of grass. Being able to read in a nice area flooded by the sun kind of makes up for all the gloomy days. Perhaps I will go back there again soon, she said as she hoped and prayed for more sunny days to come this week.

*Note: I often find myself grabbing a cookie, doughnut or crossant and really don't feel any guilt. Why you ask? Today I walked 3 miles, yesterday I walked 6 or so. A very light and lazy day is walking only about mile to the grocery store. Hello skinny jeans!

Tate Modern

2011-02-05T12:50:00.000-08:00

Eric and I went to the Tate Modern Museum today followed by a quick shop through Borough Market. There a few unique pieces there that I did not fully appreciate, but these are some of the displays I felt were worth noting.

Monet's "Water Lilies". Eric knew what this was called before even looking at the cheat sheet.

This is too good - Whoever can come up with the best caption for this one wins!

All this stuff is actually not what it appears to be. That's not a VHS, it's made of something completely different. No, those cookies are not edible. And no, those boots are not flexible and you cannot wear them. There was a whole room like this.

Eric looks good, but what are those things behind him?

Oh, it's 100 MILLION hand painted porcelain sunflower seeds - we wondered where the artist stored these before this exhibit was brought to the museum.

Someone stuck a mirror on a canvas and called it art...we made our own art.

Eric said I was the most beautiful piece of art there...Awwwwww! This is his modern art photo.

Band of Horses Show

2011-02-04T09:17:00.000-08:00

Luckily Band of Horses was playing in London while we were here. The band was great. I really liked their music to begin with, but at the show they totally rocked out all their songs and were crazy. But not as crazy as the girl jumping next to me. It would have been awkward to take video of her, but she was totally jumping up and down and doing funky interpretive dance moves the whole night. I just had to laugh though. I found out that she and her husband had traveled here from Estonia and BOH is her favorite band, ever!

Each song had a different photo or quick slide show of awesome photography.

Most of the photography was from US National Parks or other amazing scenery.

St. James's Park

2011-02-03T02:47:00.000-08:00

St. James's Park was absolutely beautiful. It is great for a few reasons. 1) For the same reason all parks in London are lovely: year round greenery, 2) It is surrounded by the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace, 3) Many ceremonial parades and royal activities happen here.

Palace through the Park

Buckingham Palace

Me in front of the Palace

Royal Guard. I felt really bad for the horse - he didn't want to stand there. Note the sign.

Apparently the bird keeper of the park. My friend Amy and I walked up and this guy was feeding fish to the Pelicans. That's the Bird keeper's house built in the early 1800's.

My friend the Pelican standing next to the pond.

We also walked past Big Ben, Westminster Abby, and lots of other things that I wasn't sure what they were. Mostly I didn't know what they were because I went through another wormhole. I really need a compass. I just mapped it out, and I walked about 10 miles yesterday. Needless to say, my leg hurts today.

Camden Market

2011-02-01T02:34:00.000-08:00

This weekend was one of those cold weekends that we've heard people talk about when referring to the weather in London. After walking around Camden Market for about an hour, I couldn't feel my toes anymore. It may be for this reason that I am not going to go back to Camden Market - ever. Or maybe it's becasue I found nothing that interested me, and I found the people quite creepy.

We didn't get any pictures - I didn't want pictures of Tattoo and piercing parlors.

I can see how people would like it there if...

You like free samples of Chinese chicken; you like cheap t-shirts; you want a piercing anywhere on your body; you want to do funky shopping, you want to see some punk, gothic British teens; or if you really enjoy crowds.

It wasn't all bad though - I had my first crepe in London that was very tasty. It was cheese, fish, and spinach, and the lady added cream. I also had some organic, homemade hot chocolate - it was orange and cardamom flavored.

I like hot chocolate. The amount of hot chocolate I have had in London is one of my favorite parts about being here. Just to gauge that, I like hot chocolate and dinosaurs about the same - a lot.

Prince Charles Cinema

2011-01-31T03:01:00.000-08:00

It's not that movies here are so expensive, but after the pound to dollar exchange, it comes out to about $17 to see a "new release" movie that has been out in the states for at least 3 weeks. Eric and I found this gem a few weekends ago while walking around Leicester Square.

The movies are a pretty good deal if you are willing to pay the £10/year membership fee. The theatre shows new movies upstairs for £10, which is a regular movie price anywhere, but only £6 for members. They also show older movies downstairs at £6.50/£4 for members. We think it's a pretty good deal.

On Friday night, with our new membership cards, we went to see The Social Network for £4. The seats were really nice, and it was really clean. The theatre was pretty small, but we really liked it.

Tonight we are seeing the double bill of Rain Man and Ferris Bueller's Day Off - Oh yeah we are.

Outside St. Paul's Cathedral

2011-01-27T10:08:00.000-08:00

On this lovely rainy Thursday, I took a walk to St. Paul's Cathedral. I had absolutely no idea how huge it was! I was just walking along, following my directions and BAM - there is is.

A view of the back of the Cathedral from the East.


Closer view

A really awesome side door. I love the detail.


West entrance.

The cathedral was originally built back in the 7th century, but was burned down and pillaged a few times until 1666 when a huge fire went through London. Christopher Wren rebuilt it beginning in 1675, and finally completed it in 1703 making it the great St. John's Cathedral as we know it today.

This is a lesser known fact, but somewhere around St. Paul's, there is a wormhole. I'll tell you how I know. As I was walking around the enormous building, I tried to keep track of the direction I was going because I wanted to head down to the Thames (South) after I was done seeing the cathedral. I head South and pass this weird bronze, blocky statue of a person; this is next to a map that I check to make sure I am going the right way.

So I am traveling South when after about 15 minutes of walking, I hit the street that Eric works on (which is definitely North). So, I walk down there for a minute and turn left again and, after a minute, pass by the same weird statue. Long story short, I obviously went through a wormhole that switched me North; did way more walking that I was expecting to do today; went to Borough Market, got a meat pie and some Burnt Sugar snacks; and took the Tube home.

Columbia Road Flower Market

2011-01-26T02:49:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit unwell (sick means you're throwing up), this week and there's not much to blog about unless you care about what's on TV in London. If you do care - Friends, Scrubs, Gilmore Girls, Life Unexpected, Smallville, Friends, Fresh Prince of Bel Aire, Come Dine with Me, Tool Academy, and Friends (maybe you will get a post about this later).

On Sundays in Shoreditch, there is a flower market called The Columbia Road Flower Market. Though Columbia Road would be a lovely place to visit even when the market is not on. The Market smells absolutely wonderful, as you could imagine. But what is really great about the place is the vendors. As you walk down the crowded street, there are vendors yelling what sounds like, "Free for Tenner," meaning 3 bunches of flowers for £10. They will pretty much yell what they can to get you to come look at their flowers.

The best deals come right before 2pm though. Since the market closes at 2, the vendors are trying to get rid of as much product as they can, so that is when to get the prime prices. In my opinion, the best part about shopping at the markets here is the price haggling.

Eric got this potted lily for me for only £5 when I was unwell - they've just bloomed.

They're lovely. I have the best husband.

Portobello Road

2011-01-23T14:33:00.000-08:00

This weekend, Eric and I took the tube to the Notting Hill Garden station and went to Portobello Market. Now, there is a song from a Disney movie about Portobello Road; however, I didn’t know that the place actually existed until I got here. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to go.

Eric is so good at taking pictures.

The place was packed. There were so many different food vendors, antique shops, music stands, anything and everything a chap can unload. We didn’t want to spend too much, but I got these beautiful earrings and a great ring.

Originally £10 each, I haggled them down to £17.

At the end of the road was The Sonic Manipulator. We did not get any pictures, but we did get some video which ~~will be posted sometime tomorrow (slow internet connection)~~ is posted below. The video speaks for itself, but this was the best street performer I have ever seen. I put a pound in his money pot and he sang in his space voice, “Nice boots.” I laughed and went to go get the video camera. The funniest part was that a little boy was dressed in an astronaut outfit and was absolutely amazed by The Sonic Manipulator.

We ate some German bratwurst for lunch, and had some cupcakes for dessert from Hummingbird Bakery. Not the best cupcakes I have ever had, but decent. Next time I am going to try one of the fantastic looking waffles with nutella and strawberries. Eric says we are going back soon because he saw this paella just as we were leaving.

This is Why I Walk

2011-01-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

Today I met a friend and we went to the house Benjamin Franklin stayed in while he lived in London. It was really neat. I think the tour made more sense to an American, since it talked a lot about American history, but there was tons of information about his correspondence with his family and political comrades back in the States. Interestingly enough, towards the end of Benjamin Franklin's time there, the house became an Anatomy School, and when they began the restoration of the house in 1996, about 1200 bones were found under the house. So that's a bit creepy.

After the house tour, I went to the Square in front of the National Portrait Gallery. It was a beautiful sunny day, so it was nice to soak up my daily intake of Vitamin D.

This is a monument put up by Parliament to commemorate those who have fought in wars for England.


Lovely fountain in the square.

The reason I am so glad that I walked home from this (besides the exercise), is because I found this random fruit and vegetable stand just south of the Holborn tube station. I got 1+ pounds of cherries (it was more than shown in the picture, but ate some before the picture was taken) for £3, the avocados were £1 for four, and the asparagus for another £1. It was so tasty and so inexpensive. I loved it.

How yummy do these look?

Recipe time. For those of you who don't like asparagus, try snapping off the ends, boiling them in water for 3-5 minutes, making sure they are still mostly firm, or stick them under the broiler for a few minutes. Then, take some mayo - preferably made with olive oil, and add some lemon juice, dill, and pepper to use for dipping. Muy Delicioso.

Unexpected Bagpipes

2011-01-21T02:39:00.000-08:00

I went to Borough Market again yesterday, just to see what it was like when it wasn't Saturday morning. It was not as crazy; however, there weren't as many vendors there either. Still really great stuff though. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera because it's huge and heavy.

So, right as I was walking in to the market, I hear bagpipes. "Huh, that's neat," I thought. But then the bagpipes start to get louder and as I am standing behind a huge pole, one bagpipe player, two bagpipe players, a snare drummer, and another bagpipe player walk around the pole (and me) and continue walking through the market.

Then later when I went to a different part of the market, the same group was still playing, but this time, there were 6 Scottish dancers doing a jig! Whoa! It was pretty awesome, but I asked around and that's not a usual occurrence - lucky me. I watched it for about five minutes then went to find lunch.

Last night Eric asked me what my favorite food is (he's thinking of going vegetarian for February and wants me to join him...psh, no); after thinking about it, I decided it was a tie between pasta and burgers. That being said, after the bagpipe players I went to find lunch. I found The Fresh Pasta Company. They were having a Thursday lunch special were they made you 8 or 9 Butternut Squash and Sage Ravioli sauteed in herb butter and topped with fresh grated Parmesan and a bison (?) bolognese sauce. Yeah, amazing, and all for only £3.

After all that fun, I took Eric's guitar to his office for an open mic night with the Lantern Society that was going on later. I was going to take the bus because I didn't want to lug his heavy guitar a mile up the street. I found the bus number I needed to take and went outside to catch the bus. I could have sworn that the bus stop was closer; but the bus passed me up and I ran to try to catch it at the next stop but barely missed it again, and so then I finally caught it at the third stop (which was about 1/2 way there anyway). I'll get this public transport thing down eventually.

London Weather

2011-01-18T13:56:00.000-08:00

Today, I just walked around enjoying the sunshine on my face. I found a German bakery called Berlin Delicious that looked delicious, but I couldn't quite understand what they were saying (I'll have to go back with Eric, he speaks German) and I wish my sandwich were toasted. It was a delightful day, nevertheless.

These pictures are proof that today was a sunny day in London.

Blue skies smiling at me, nothing but blue skies.

Sunset from my window.

Now, more about this weather: I don't necessarily think that people lied to me when they told me how "cold" it is in London, that I "need to wear layers and layers of clothes to keep warm." Perhaps they just don't understand what cold means. Perhaps they have never lived in Ohio or Idaho or Colorado, like me. Perhaps they've never had their nose hairs freeze when they stepped outside. Perhaps it's like when I lived in Miami and when it got down to 60°F the natives thought it was cold enough to wear scarves, gloves, hats, and leather jackets. Perhaps I shouldn't have packed 3 really warm coats.

London is not cold. Unless you consider Colorado in April to be cold.

Natural History Museum and Leicester Square

2011-01-17T06:09:00.000-08:00

For this weekend's adventure, Eric and I wanted to go to the Natural History Museum. Like most of the museums in London, it was free (awesome), unless we wanted to see any of the temporary exhibits there, which we did want to. The special exhibit was Wildlife Photography, which would have been amazing to see, but since it was £9 each to get in, we just looked at the photos in a coffee table book that was for sale in the adjacent gift shop.

The museum explores all aspects of natural history including the ecosystem, birds, insects, and DINOSAURS! For those of you who don't know, I am a huge fan of dinosaurs. I don't know why, but I love them. I have dinosaur books and stuffed animals - they are adorable when they're tiny, furry, and don't have real teeth. Anyway, this was an awesome museum that I would recommend going to, but maybe not on a weekend - it was a bit busy.

West entrance.

Harpy Eagle from the bird room.

RAWRRRR!

This guy looks more friendly, probably because he doesn't have teeth.

This one is not so friendly.

Pilosaur. His swimming fingers are longer than my arm.

After the museum Eric and I were going to go to the movies but then after doing the math, it would have cost about $15.75 each to see a movie, and that was a bit much. We ended up going to Leicester (pronounced more like "Lester") Square and found a cheaper theater, but with nothing we wanted to see, but made a note to go back on Jan 31 for a double feature of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Rain Man. (Seeing Ferris on the big screen will be a major milestone for Eric). Luckily it was right in the middle of Chinatown, London.

Eric eating a pork bun. He was really truly happy. He said China Town smelled like his Dad, we laughed.


Ok, I found this place near the tube station called Patisserie Valerie, let me just say that it was amazing. You could sit down and eat there, but they also had these amazing cakes and pastries and ice cream. I got a piece of this Black Forest Cake, and if I didn't get sick Saturday night, it would have been gone before Sunday.

Well, today is another rainy Monday, so I will probably go do some laundry. Don't use the ultra-hot driers in London for more than 5 minutes, your clothes will shrink.

Angry Face Waxing...I mean Threading

2011-01-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

This post is for any previous roommates I've had, including my sister.

WARNING: Do not ever get your eyebrows threaded. Per my last post, I was in need of an eyebrow and Mr. Musty waxing. Just down the street from me, there is a salon called 3Thirty and they wax for not too pricey (by London standards).

Back home in Colorado, there is a threading kiosk in the mall and I always see people getting their eyebrows done. It never looked too painful, people actually looked sort of peaceful - complete deception! It's just like getting tweezed except they pull out 3 hairs at a time. Not cool.

Needless to say, when it was Mr. Musty's turn, I opted in for waxing. For those of you who miss it (or just don't know what it is) here is the freshly waxed angry face.

Angry Face

Pirate Angry Face, but nice eyebrows, huh?

Winter Walk in Hyde Park

2011-01-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

All day yesterday I was thinking about how long this week had seemed; of course I was also convinced that it was Wednesday all day. While looking for a nice "Thursday" activity, (which would have actually been Friday) I found that Hyde park offered a Winter Walk on the 14th, (which I thought was actually Thursday, still with me?) so I booked it. This wouldn't have been a problem except that I had a desperately needed face waxing appointment scheduled for Friday. After all was said and done, I ended up being able to do both! (Waxing post is next).

The Walk was lovely, and would have been much more lovely, and included better pictures had it not been raining and windy cold.

This is the place the group met called the Serpentine Bar and Kitchen, right on the Serpentine Pond. I got some pastries and a smoothie there, not gunna lie, super delicious. Check out the Weeping Willow that looks like it's going to eat the restaurant.

This is the dam that was built to create the pond. Those rectangles on the ground are periodically taken out and all the crap (footballs, umbrellas, handbags) are cleaned out.

I am actually very proud of this picture because I took it with one hand while walking. I guess a lot of people paddle boat out here during the summer. But you are only allowed to swim in there if you are a member of the Serpentine Swim Club. Unless, of course, you're participating in the triathlon in the summer Olympics of 2012.

This area is a memorial/bird sanctuary built with low hedges, lots of vines in trees and bird feeders to help protect the natural wildlife in Hyde Park. Luckily we saw a wonderful green parakeet eating a snack.

And for my favorite, this lovely sign was posted all over the pond. I wonder how often this incidence had to occur until they found it necessary to put up at least 10 of these signs. (Editor's note: After posting this, I learned that bathing is just recreational swimming, as in "Bathing Suit." Duh.)

I am positive I will have many more opportunities to visit Hyde Park, hopefully opportunities that don't include rain and cold.

Geffrye Museum

2011-01-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

I wasn't feeling too chipper today, so I went online and found a museum that was very close. I went to the Geffrye Museum which shows the changes in interior design since the early 17th century.

The front of the museum.

1630 Hall

1745 Parlour

1830 Drawing Room

1870 Drawing Room Desk

1900 Living Room

1990 Kitchen/Bedroom

Garden Reading Room

Garden Reading Room Window

There will be more historical information to come, but for now, I must go eat dinner. Check back later.

British Museum Part 1

2011-01-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

My trip today took me a block away from where I was yesterday, but I still had to walk all the way there, again. After an hour of walking to the British Museum, three hours walking around (and not even seeing everything there is to see), then another hour walking home, I'm beat. Luckily pictures are worth 1,000 words and I took a lot.

Outside the British Museum

A giant foot, originally part of a bigger (much bigger) statue.

Aztec mask made from a human skull and turquoise.

African tree sculpture.

Close up. This whole sculpture was made of recycled guns. In an effort to lower crime, there was (and perhaps still is) a program were people in Africa can turn in their guns in exchange for useful tools.

This was a piece of a bigger mosaic that was found buried in a field in Dorset - thought to be the earliest known image of Christ.

Front of the Lycian Temple dated around the 4th century BC.

From a building in Assyria around 870 BC.

Forgot where this was from but they found him buried like this with his possessions.

17 foot tall totem pole.

The whole day was free, so I'm sure Eric and I will go back sometime.

Lovely London Bookstores

2011-01-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

Today was a book store day. My mum sent me an article about cooking and cookery books in London. I wrote down a few of the ones that were close to me and took off. But not before I baked and delivered banana bread to Eric's office.

The first place I went to was on a charming street with some very interesting shops. Persephone Books is a book store that publishes all their own books. There were about 5 ladies working in the tiny shop. Each one was printing, wrapping, sorting and of course gossiping.

Each book that was printed at the shop looks the same on the cover (besides the title), but on the inside of each, is a unique design.

Cover.

Unique design inside cover.

Matching Bookmark

Check out these recipes. This is my totally British cookery book (another funny new English word) called "Good Things in England" by Florance White. This book was originally published in 1932.

Another noteworthy book shop was The London Review Bookshop. This place was probably no bigger than 800 sq. ft. but the books were crammed in wherever they would fit. There were shelves and tables full of books all lined up and stacked upon each other. There was also a lovely but very tiny coffee shop attached.

Somewhere I did not go today, but I heard was a delicious little place (to try with Eric) located in Hyde Park: The Cookbook Cafe. No, it's not a book shop, but there are recipes in the table - date night, love?

Saturday Night in Shoreditch

2011-01-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

After walking all day yesterday, Eric and I crashed on our couch and watched some West Wing on my computer. We had a couple of interruptions that caused us to go to our window and see what was going on.

During the first interruption, we heard a girl screaming like a chimpanzee, and when we got to the window we saw two drunk men who were rolling around on the ground after "taking it outside" Trafik, a bar across the street.

A few minutes later we looked out and saw a very loud chubby girl in front of another pub, yelling at whom I believe was her friend's boyfriend. She was making a complete idiot of herself, and I really felt sorry for her.

I guess something better than reality TV is just another benefit of living in the heart of London.

Borough Market, Tower Bridge, H&M

2011-01-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

Dear Eric, Happy first day off work to explore London.

After a long morning in bed, Eric and I took a long walk across the London Bridge to Borough Market. Since this market is only open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (not to mention within walking distance) we started off our weekend here with an excellent lunch. I had some proper Fish and Chips and Eric got a toasted cheese sandwich with leeks, garlic, and onions. The £2.50 apple cider is not worth it. However, the chocolate covered honeycomb from Burnt Sugar definitely was worth it (fudge, not so much).

From Fish!Kitchen - it came in a box. So good.

Kappacasein Sandwiches - Eric looks happy.

The queue (line) for this place was super long, but who wouldn't want to wait in line for this...

£5 for delicious messy cheese goodness, anyone?

I discovered this next place while I was walking earlier this week, and definitely wanted to take Eric back here. This is the Tower Bridge and I love it for two reasons: The architecture is absolutely astounding, and the color they pained on the bridge is my favorite teal/blue color in the world.

We considered going to The Tower (which I believe used to be the Queen's residence, but not to be confused with the adjacent Tower Bridge) but when Eric and I got to the ticket counter, it was £18.50 (about $35) for each person to go tour it. I will find discount tickets and get back to you on how awesome The Tower is.

After hanging out by the River Thames, I wanted to go to H&M (Down the stret from tCoveent Garden tube station), so we walked the 2 miles (I'm so healthy) to the West End of London and found an excellent shopping center. However, on our way there we passed by the bridge that was in the beginning of HP6 (Harry Potter for those not in the know). Pretty much, we saw death eaters.....later, in the Tube (subway). But that's a story for another post.

The Flat

2011-01-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

Here I am. My third day in London and I have decided to make a blog for anyone wishing to know what there is to do for an American in London with a lot of free time and an oyster card.

Courtesy of Eric's company, we are living in a sweet (albeit noisy) flat in Shoreditch. Here is the tour: First, we walk through the secure entrance (don't worry grandmothers) up the stairs or up the elevator where we come out here:

When you walk in, to the left, there is the living room with the exciting view of the city our our windows.

The couch

The kitchen and breakfast bar where we eat most of our meals. (I will be blogging everything from that seat on the left.) Right under the counter, is the freezer. On the other side of the counter is the fridge, which is obviously tiny. The kitchen is fairly nice, but I am going to have to learn what 350 degrees Fahrenheit is in Celsius.

Down that hall is the guest bedroom...

With the bathroom connected.

Our bedroom.

And finally, our night time view from the window (more pictures in the light to come).

Eric and I are going out to eat tonight, and heading out to Borough Market (not open all week, but supposedly awesome) tomorrow. More on how to cope without the American conveniences later.