Endlan/France Trip 2012: Day 7 and 8

July 4, Day 7
Today was basically just a travel day. Nothing too exciting happened, besides arriving in Paris, but that wasn’t exciting, it was traumatic. I took the Chunnel from England aaaaaall the way to Paris, France, which was a good ride. Again, I slept for maybe half the train ride, but it was a fairly easy ride. The metro/underground/subway (whichever you prefer to call it) was a nightmare. I practically clung to my mom’s side the entire time. There were so many people and we didn’t know where we were going and we couldn’t read the signs. I think my mom took it far better than I did because I was a mess. When we finally got above ground I begged my mom to never go back down there again.

Paris is filled with statues like this.

Anyways, we got to Paris pretty late in the day, so we didn’t do much except check into the hotel and walk around some. Our hotel was in walking distance to the Notre Dame, so we did go there. The Notre Dame is massive! I loved the architecture on the outside, but since I’m not religious, the inside didn’t really interest me too much, although the stain glass windows were really pretty.

Notre Dame

So that was basically it for the day. And since this post is so short, I’ll combine it with the next day as well.

July 5, Day 8

Today my mom and I were much more adventurous. Since we were in Paris, we thought we might as well have croissants for breakfast, which was definitely the right move. We walked down to a little café down the street from our hotel. I took a look through the glass to see the array of pastry. I would have loved nothing more than to sit and eat everything that café had to offer, but I knew that wouldn’t be possible. Instead, a sugar-dusted almond triangle pastry caught my eye. This croissant was perfectly sweet and almondy. I absolutely loved it. I was really tempted to order another, but I restrained myself.

Perfectly sweetened, flaky, tender triangle almond croissant.

Arch de Triumph

The Thinker's backside.... The bus only allowed us this view unfortunately.

By now, being this far into the trip, my mom and I are pretty exhausted (Don’t give me that look, you would be too if you were on a 7/8 hour time difference and walked miles almost every day.) so instead of walking everywhere we walked to go, we got tickets for the Paris bus tour. This way, we were able to hop on an off wherever our hearts desired, but we would still be able to see all the major sites of the city.

Eiffel Tower!

Up close

View from the first level of the Eiffel Tower (I walked up both flights of stairs. which is like 500-600 stairs at least!)

View from the second level. After this, if you wanted all the way to the top you would have to buy another ticket for the lift.

Around noon we finally arrive near the Louver. But, to get to the Louver we had to pass under an archway, and this archway was scarcely wider than the bus itself. It scared the crap out of me; I thought the for sure the bus wouldn’t make it through, but alas it did. When the bus stopped, my mom and I got off and walked towards the glass building. I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect to go underground to see the biggest museum of all time! It was incredible to go down a flight of stairs and see all of this space! And that was just the lobby. My mom and I stayed on the first floor, for if we ventured out anymore I’m sure it would take an entire day to get through everything.

The Louver

La Victorire de Samothrace

The Mona Lisa

I wasn't able to figure out the name of these portraits, but they look very familiar! I just can't put my finger on it.

Les Noces de Cana

 Seeing all the paintings and portraits were amazing! There were some really giant paintings that must have been fifty feet (just a slight exaggeration) high! I could never imagine painting something like that. Let alone have the patience to wait for it to dry. I would probably walk all over it trying to paint each corner and the middle. Then there were the very tiny paintings that were like 6x6 inches. I couldn’t imagine painting anything that small! I’d probably go blind. I was just so amazing at all the art work. Anyone that has any sort of artistic ability has my respect.

Laduree's window display! <3

Sorry about the lighting, but I didn't want to draw too much attnetion to myself and the camerea while I was in the store.

After seeing the Louver we came out and it looked like the clouds were threatening to upon up and rain on us, but they stayed intact, or a while at least. Since it wasn’t raining yet, we walked up to the fashion district. My goodness there were so many stores and all the window displays were so pretty and sparkly! My mom saw a dress in a Ralph Lauren window priced at 4,600 euros (which she then later explained was about $8,000!) Then we come across Laduree. OMG I nearly died looking in the window. The window display was so amazing and so sophisticated! When we went in I got really excited. Rows upon rows of French macarons lined the display boxes, as well as other French pastries with glistening glazes and rich dark chocolate cakes with mousse fillings. Oh man it was a dream. I had such a hard time choosing which macaron I would order, and sadly I think the Frenchman behind the counter was a little annoyed at me as well, but these would be my first macarons. I went with a classic, vanilla bean, just to get a sense of what a real macaron was, as well as strawberry candy, which was so pretty and pink with sugar crystals on top.

Vanilla on top and Strawberry Candy on bottom.

When I took my first bite of the vanilla, I was just a tad disappointed. It didn’t really taste much like anything. But with each bite, my taste buds started to adjust and I could definitely taste the lovely hint of vanilla. And because I am me and I like to dissect things, I split open the half that I had not eaten to try the filling by itself. My god that was the best filling I had ever tasted. It was creamy, soft, and sort of fluffy. And there were vanilla bean specks. Oh it was so good. Next up: the strawberry candy. This pink gem is part of the “Incroyables” collection. The collection is part of their 150^th anniversary and “pay[s] tribute to Ladurée first macaron and to the delicious flavour of almonds.” I’m so glad I got this one because it was sweet and just a tad bit tart (I don’t like heavily tarted things – and yes I’m sure every grammar teacher, including my former teacher Mrs. B is cringing at that line). I’ve never had an actual strawberry before, but it tasted just like how I would imagine a strawberry would taste like. Too bad I hate eating fruit. Anyways, unlike the vanilla macaron, the filling in this one was like a flat and circular marshmallow. It was absolutely delicious! And now I can'’ wait to try and make my own macarons. I’m actually excited to try all sorts of British and French treats!

A fantastic (and apparently famous) bookstore. So many books to go through. I found a book I really liked that I must go on Amazon and order. It's called A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

G.W. stood for George Whitman. Born December 12, 1913; Died December 14, 2011. Whitman was the owner of the bookstore and has now passed it onto his daughter.

When we came out of Laduree the rain had begun, so my mom and I hopped on the bus tour one more time to drop us off near the hotel where we could get some dinner. Did you know that the French eat dinner really late? And I’m not talking late like 7:30 late; I’m talking about they don’t get to the restaurant until at least 9 pm. Yeah, I don’t know how they do it because I need dinner by like 6:30 pm at the latest. Anyways, while we were halfway through our dinner, this Dutch couple who can’t speak a lick of French and the tiniest amount of English come in. They were so adorable, but I felt so bad. They were lost what to order and came over to us for advice. We told them what we were eating, and they ended up ordering the exact same thing we did. When we were done, we passed by their table and they seemed to enjoy their food. I sure hope they’re doing ok.

So this is it. This was my amazing/exhilarating/terrifying/fantastic graduation trip. Well, technically there was one more day, but there are no pictures because it was just my mom and I going back to England and staying in a hotel by the airport so we could catch our 7:45am flight. Anyways, I'm thankful to my dad for suggesting England and France. But I'm also eternally grateful to my mom for going with me, and experiencing all of these things with me. I will always remember this. Thank you guys! (Boy I hope I don't sound cheesy)

Tomorrow I'll post the recipe of a little something I made before the trip.

Mama. :)

England/France Trip 2012: Day 6

July 3, Day 6

This day was the worst day, weather wise. The day started off with some blue sky peeking out of massive white clouds. Those white clouds turned grey very quickly and then the rain started. You know how there can be different type of rain, like the small, fast drops that sting your skins, or the really fat drops that go “plunk!”. Well this was the kind of rain that was just really wet and heavy. Not fun. Even though the weather was bad, my mom and I persevered.

Cute little pathway sign.

Little me :)

This was the day we traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon so see Anne Hathaway’s cottage. Instead of just getting tickets to see Anne Hathaway’s cottage, we also got tickets to see Shakespeare’s birthplace, each being equally entertaining and interesting to look at.  

Anne Hathaway's cottage

It's so quaint and cute and pretty!

And just look at those flowers! Flowers like that doesn't exist in Colorado, period.

First we went to Anne Hathaway’s cottage. The entire place was covered in lush green trees and bushes, and beautifully bloomed flowers. It was amazing to look at everything growing around the cottage. Pictures weren’t allowed inside the house, but we could take as many outside as we wanted. The inside of the cottage was amazing. The cottage had originally been only two rooms. I can’t remember how big the tour guide said they were, but they were both pretty small. And the most amazing part was that seven people were living together in those two rooms, and there was no bathroom! I know I’m getting all dramatic because I live in the 21^st century, but still. Imagine living with six other people in such a small house with no bathroom. I give the Hathaways props. Anne’s father was apparently very rich and when he died he gave each of his children a little over £10 each. Something that was equivalent to about $300,000 today (I think that’s right, but I’m only about 33% sure). Pretty soon the house grew and grew. There are several bedrooms upstairs and there is a common room and a kitchen. And most of the original foundation is still intact.

Shakespeare's birthplace

Again, look at how green everything is! (sorry, I'm just mesmerized)

Just a few miles up the road is Shakespeare’s birthplace. His birthplace was also interesting. It wasn’t as beautifully lush as the cottage, but it was still nice to look at. (By the way, did you know that Anne married Shakespeare when she was 26 and he was 18?) The Shakespeare’s own two beds (one bed cost about 2 years pay is what the instructor said), so the Shakespeare’s were definitely well off. And their home was quite large too. Mr. Shakespeare was a glove maker and had his workshop right in his own home. And since gloves were very expensive and high-class back then, not many people had them. And when someone did buy a pair of gloves, they wouldn’t wear them! Strange, I know. Instead of wearing the expensive gloves, they would show it off by pinning it to their clothes. It’s fun to learn how people lived way back when.

At one point two actors came out and preformed the balcony scene from Romeo & Juliet.

After spending some time in Shakespeare’s birthplace my mom and I were on the move again. This time we drove up to Warwick Castle. The castle part was very interesting, but I couldn’t help but feel the place had turned into one of the worst tourist attractions; it just kind of felt like an amusement park, but without the rides. I dunno. I hope I’m not confusing you, but it was just a feeling I got. The inside was beautiful. And there was a little party going on too. Wax figures were scattered throughout the rooms and there were little facts about each person attending the party. That was really fun and clever I thought. One thing I will always remember is that everyone had affairs with everyone in that household, my goodness. But it was still very fun. I even saw one of the prisons that were kept underground. Jeeze those were scary and I wouldn’t want to be locked down there and forgotten (as most prisoners were).

Warwick Castle

Diorama of the entire castle

*note: I would show pictures of the inside, but most of them are just way too dark to really get a sense of the place.

Not far away from Warwick Castle is a beautiful garden that my mom and I visited (I know I’ve said every garden is beautiful, but they really are. When you’re not used to seeing so much green and life, you really notice how pretty everything is.) The garden was donated by Princess Diana. I feel like there was nothing she didn’t do. But it really was so pretty. And there was even a little mini waterfall flowing into a pond.

Just part of the garden. I don't know why I didn't take as many pictures of this garden.

England/France Trip 2012: Day 5

July 2, Day 5
To me, this was the best day of the trip. I’ll give you the two main reasons why: castles and treacle sponge cake. Intrigued? Well those come later in on in the day.

On the way to Bath

The day started off sort of early because we had to get the rental car in order to do what we had planned for the day. Once we got the rental car, we were off. I don’t remember much of the car ride to the country-side because I tend to fall asleep on long car rides. My mom says I didn’t miss much, just lots of rain (which it dad every single day while we were in England).

Roman Bath entrance

Our first destination was Bath. Bath, if you didn’t know, was established by the Romans as a spa. They built baths around hot springs. The interesting thing about this is that some of the architecture still exists as well as the hot springs! The water still flows and you can still see the steam rising up. My mom and I took a little walk through all the exhibits of Bath and at the end you could taste the water from the bath. I didn’t try it, but my mom, who is much more adventurous than I am, did.

Part of the bath, you can't see it, but there is steam rising

The Temple Pediment: This was at the front of the Temple of Sulis Minerva and was supported by four massive columns. It looked down on visitors in the Temple Courtyard from a height of 15 meters. Its powerful imagery dominated the scene.

The little town surrounding the hot springs is quite cute. My mom and I had lunch in a little pub with some really delicious food. I had this jerk chicken that was the most flavorful jerk chicken I have ever come across. And after lunch we went to a little fudge shop where I got chocolate covered marshmallows. I know it’s a simple little thing, but I haven’t had a marshmallow in ages!

A building in Bath

Sally Lunn made big buns.

They were at least 6 inches in diameter (at the very least) and about 4-5 inches tall.

Once the marshmallows had been eaten, we were off again, this time to Thornbury! This is where the trip gets really exciting, well at least for me anyways. Again, I slept most of the way there, but I was awake for the last 30 minutes to see the gorgeous green country-side. Seeing the rolling hills of green is such a stark contrast to the barren desert that is Colorado.

The reason why going to Thornbury is so exciting is because for one night, my mom and I got to stay in a real live castle! It was pure magic. On the outside, the castle is so pretty and tall with beautiful stone walls. Yes, that’s right, I called a stone beautiful. And inside the grounds were something else! Everything was so green and perfect. Guests are allowed to explore every inch of the castle, which is pretty much what my mom and I did. We went up many mysterious spiral stair cases and looked in all the public rooms. Everything put me in awe!

Driving up to Thornbury Castle.

The entrance.

One of the many spiral stair cases (apparently I'm so pathetic that I can get motion sickness from going up these kinds of stairs)

On the castle grounds. See how green everything is? ( find the greenness of some places truly fascinating)

We got to stay in the Anne Boleyn room, a room where Anne Boleyn supposedly stayed. When we opened the door (the key was no ordinary key either, it was one of those old fashioned keys, like the ones in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – I found that so awesome!) my jaw literally dropped. The room was so fantastic. There was a huge window overlooking the main square of the grounds and another castle tower. The beds were soft and comfy with giant fluffy comforters. There was even a fireplace! A real fireplace with a real fire roaring away in it. I welcomed that fireplace like an old friend. I was even able to stand upright in it (and I’m 5’2”). It was just so wonderful!

The beautiful Anne Boleyn room.

The fireplace. (we kept it roaring the entire night- it was wonderful)

The courtyard outside our room.

Isn't this magnificent?

When we were done exploring the castle my mom and I drove up to a nearby town for some dinner. All of the shops were sadly closed, so we didn’t do much exploring in that town, but we did manage to find some pubs that were open. We ended up going to a place called the Swan Inn, and let me tell you, this is where the trip gets beyond fantastic. So we sit down and order our food. I wasn’t too terrible hungry so I just ordered a ham sandwich and my mom got some kind of deconstructed shepherd’s pie. My goodness was that thing huge. My mom described it as a meal fit for a 500 pound man. Anyways, while I was eating my dinner, the dessert menu caught my eye. I took one look and saw this golden cake with some kind of syrup drizzled on top. I asked my mom if we could order it for dessert, and I’m just going to say that this dessert changed my life entirely. This has now become my new favorite dessert of all time (it was so good I don’t even remember what my favorite dessert was before this!) When the dessert reached the table, my eyes went bug-eyed. It looked so good. I let my mom have the first bite. Man, do I wish she had gotten her own, because as soon as I took my first bite, my eyes rolled in the back of my head. It was so moist, and hot, and soft, and syrupy and just… pure deliciousness! I kept secretly wanting my mom to stop taking little nibbles of it because I wanted it all to myself. Needless to say, I all but licked the plate clean, and trust me, if I were in a private setting, I would have!

The reason for my existence: Treacle Sponge Pudding

It is now my goal to find the perfect recipe for Treacle Sponge Pudding. I will not rest until I have found it. Sadly, most of the recipes I have found so far ask for golden syrup, something I can’t find anywhere!!!! Ok tantrum over. Sorry.

Like I said before, going to Thornbury was definitely the highlight of the entire trip.

And once more because I'm in love!

England/France Trip 2012: Day 4

July 1, Day 4

View from top of the double decker bus

Today was another lazyish day, but not as lazy as the day before. My mom and I decided to take the Open Bus Tour (you know those double decker buses that take you around to see all the sites?) and see what there was too see. The main goal was to get to Harrods. But that is later in the day.

After traveling on the double decker bus for about an hour, we got off around South Kingston for lunch. I had told my mom that I wanted to go down that street because there was a little place I wanted to eat lunch. Little did she know that I just wanted a cupcake from Hummingbird Bakery for lunch, so she complied. When my mom figured it out, she was kind of... I don’t know, not mad, but probably not happy with me either, but she let me have my cupcake.

Beautifully frosted cupcakes at Hummingbird Bakery

I’m not sure if you’ve heard of Hummingbird Bakery, and I’m not sure how I came across the name, but I think it’s supposed to be a well-known bakery in England. Anyways, I wanted to try it out. The bakery in South Kingston is so cute and there is a little pink hummingbird painted on a wooden sign just outside the door. The inside of the bakery is marvelous! There are rows upon rows of colorful frostings on top of little cute cupcakes. And then there are brownies and cookies lining the shelves. I was almost tempted to try one of their brownies, but I had come for cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcake

Unwrapped

After taking a few minutes to ponder over the delicious looking flavors I chose the Red Velvet, seeing as I don’t remember ever tasting red velvet anything! After paying for my cupcake (my mom wanted an actual lunch) –side note- here’s something non-Englanders probably don’t know: If you chose to eat in someplace, like a bakery or café, the price of what you order is higher than the price you would pay if you took your order to go? Ok side note over; like I was saying once the cupcake way paid for, my mom and I sat down at one of the little tables. First I tried the frosting, which was really creamy and soft. It wasn’t the best cream cheese frosting I’ve ever had, but it certainly was tasty. Next came the most exciting part, the cake! To be honest, I wasn’t too thrilled about the cake part. It didn’t really taste like anything. It just tasted like, well, cake. There was nothing really special about it, sadly.

Even though the cake was a little bland, that didn't stop me from eating it

A Diplodocus greets you at the entrance

After the cupcake had been consumed and my mom got some “real” lunch at a little French café just down the street, we walked over to the Natural History Museum. Have I told you I love museums? Well I do! They are so much fun, especially the dino exhibits! And this dino exhibit has got to be my favorite of all time! It had so many facts I didn’t know like how crocodiles and birds both see in color! If you’re ever in London, definitely see this exhibit in the Natural History Museum.  I also so the stuffed mammals exhibit, which was also really nice (I found Pumba!) and I saw some skulls and skeletons of mammoths. Those things were ginormous!

Camarasaurus (Kam-are-ah-sore-us): This stocky and powerfully built plant-eater is a relative of the much slimmer Diplodocus in the Central Hall of the museum. Camarasaurus had pillar-like legs and a huge backbone to support its 25 ton body

Warthog: Warthogs are widely distributed in open country in Africa, south of the Sahara. Food: grasses, roots, fruit, bulbs; Social Grouping: family groups called sounders. Old males may be solitary; Natural Predators: lions, leopards, hunting dogs, hyenas; Conservation Status: declining, but kept in game reserves and National Parks

Dorcas Gazelle: This is a male. Females have much smaller horns. They live in deserts from Morocco and Pakistan Food: shoots, leaves, grasses, roots; Social Grouping: alone or in small groups; Natural Predators: lions, jackals, hyenas, cheetahs; Conservation Status: endangered in some areas of its range

Mammoth Skull: no info, sorry

When we were done wandering around the exhibits, my mom and I caught the Open Bus Tour one more time so we could finally go to Harrods. When I was in New York City for New Years I went to Bloomingdale's, and I kind of expected Harrods to be kind of like that. Well, Harrods is nothing like Bloomingdale's; it’s so much… MORE! The main reason we went to Harrods was to see the food part of the mall. The food section (on the first floor) was incredible! You walk in and you’re immediately greeted with sweet little cupcakes on the left, and a Japanese restaurant on your right and the food just goes on forever! I ended up buying a chocolate-hazelnut scone (Perfect butter taste with a little sweetness from the giant chunks of chocolate; this one was really nice.) and a plain scone (Also buttery and very pleasant. Each scone had perfect crust and soft and delicious insides). The basement floor is dedicated to Princess Diana and Doti.

The chocolate-hazelnut scone are the ones in the middle; the plain scones or to the left

Princess Diana and Doti

As we left Harrods (which felt like being in an amusement park; it was so crowded and there were so many shiny things to pay attention to, it was crazy!) I noticed a sign for a Jack the Ripper tour. Now I love the history of Jack the Ripper. In the AP Lang. class junior year we were supposed to compare and contrast two things. I compared Jack the Ripper to Ted Bundy. I’m pretty sure my teacher thought I was morbid, because the year before I had written an essay for my advanced world lit. class I wrote an essay on the Salem witch trials. My two teachers are best friends and I’m pretty sure they compared notes on me *snicker*. Anyways, I saw that the tour started at 15:30 and since I’m not used to military time, I assumed that meant 5:30. Turns out we had missed the tour by 2 hours. It was sort of disappointing, but it wasn’t such a big deal. Instead we took a walk through a fair that was going on. It turns out that July 1st is Canada Day! It was fun just walking among the throngs of proud Canadians. I even saw some invisible people!

Happy Canada Day

Canadian Flags

Invisible People!