Jaime in Chiemsee and Salzburg (Part 2 of 3)

 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)

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

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.

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

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.