You Must See London at Least Twice...

London is great the first time you see it.  There is so much history, great museums, wonderful restaurants, and all sorts of other things to do (many of which you have read about on our blog).  However, coming back the second time may be even better.  All the real tourist attractions are out of the way, and you can spend more time really exploring.  Since Megan and I spent three weeks here in college, that's exactly what we did this time around for her visit over yet another bank holiday weekend.

We started with a visit to Leadenhall Market after work on Friday for a nice cheese plate.  The market is a German-looking series of covered walkways with shops and restaurants.  It is located within "the square mile" - the true City of London - and right down the street from my office.  We sat outside, and watched all the rowdy insurance underwriters and brokers at the nearby pubs, while we enjoyed some wine and cheese.

On Saturday, we started our afternoon with tea at the Ritz, which was pretty much as fabulous as it sounds.  You choose from one of several types of freshly-brewed tea, which is served in a silver teapot alongside finger sandwiches, fresh scones, and mini desserts.  I think I've already made it clear that I love scones, so I'll leave it at that.

Next, we went to the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, called Love Never Dies.  The original is the longest-running show in history.  We were all happy we saw the sequel, but it wasn't as good as the original.  We then had an early dinner at Villandry - The French Kitchen (http://www.french-kitchen.co.uk/).  There is a ton of French food here, as you can imagine, and this was among the best I've had.  Finally, we ended our perfect London Saturday with a stop at a local pub, to catch the end of the Manchester United vs. FC Barcelona football match.  Unfortunately, that ended with a pub full of pouty Brits, so we headed home where we could unabashedly discuss what a nice day we'd had, and to laugh about Megan icing Derek at the pub.  If you don't know that that is, you should search for it on Wikipedia (it's out there - I checked).  People seem to actually drink these here...I keep seeing girls drinking them out of straws.  I won't even start on how many things are wrong with that.  He never saw it coming...

On Sunday, the three of us went to the gym and for a roast (shocking, I know), and then Derek had to leave for Madrid.  Megan and I continued on with a bit of London shopping, a visit to a champagne bar, sushi at Nobu, and a few cocktails overlooking Green Park.  We spent the evening making friends with White House correspondents, a handful of bartenders (all of whom were women or gay, so no need to worry about the trouble I get into when Derek is in another country), and a guy with a murse and a Chelsea Handler book (love it).  I had a fabulous weekend, and it makes me excited to see my friends all the time when I get home!

So that concludes what is, in my estimation, a fabulous girls (plus sometimes Derek) weekend in London.  Cheers!

Front Row at the Royal Wedding

It seems that I wrote the blog post below three weeks ago and forgot to hit "publish".  Sorry about that!

By front row, I mean sitting on a couch in a pub with English breakfast in front of me and a Buck's Fizz (i.e. mimosa) in hand.  We had a great time with our friends Erin and Eric visiting for the weekend.  They went to Westminster Abbey the day before the event, and reported back that our decision to stay across London to watch the festivities was the way to go.  Almost a MILLION people turned out to watch.  Does this ellicit random memories of Where's Waldo books for anyone else?

We, on the other hand, were comfy and cozy, gearing up for our trip for Dublin and being festive in our own crowd-free way.  With Kate and Will, and some British flags, of course...

I think that the even more interesting part for me (other than hanging out with Erin and Eric) was living and working in London the week before and the week after, and hearing what everyone thought.  It seems that some people think it's weird that Americans are so into royalty that's not theirs (to which I think - over half of the TV here is American, so I think it goes both ways).  Overall, they seem pleased with the wife that Prince William has chosen, and liked the dress and all the pomp and circumstance. 

As a side note, I have been eating lunch near St. Paul's Cathedral on two separate occasions as people were walking in for weddings.  Women do, indeed, wear hats to weddings - even those not of the royal variety.  I may start wearing them to all formal occasions.  Be on the lookout.

Tour of Ireland

While a few things have happened since then, we didn't want to forget to write about our recent trip to Ireland!  The day after the Royal Wedding, Erin, Eric, Derek, and I took a (very) early flight to Dublin.  Derek and I were joining Erin and Eric for the first three days of their week-long visit, and we got to see Dublin, Waterford, and Cork. 

We kicked off the weekend with a Guinness Factory tour.  I drink Guinness now.  For those of you who know my beer consumption habits (which are very limited), you know that this is a big deal for me.  A couple of months in the British Isles and I practically skipped into the factory.  Turns out, the beer has that burnt kind of taste because they roast the barley before brewing the beer.  Makes sense.

We continued being tourists by going to the Temple Bar for lunch, Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, and Dublin Castle.  We had a nice Irish dinner at Foley's, and spent the rest of the evening playing cards at McGrattan's, trying prawn-flavored Pringles (ew), and sampling some of Ireland's finest beers and ciders.

Day 2 involved hopping in the Peugeot to head to Waterford, where we were met with drizzly wind and not many people.  The highlights were definitely the Waterford Crystal factory, and a nice lunch served by friendly Irish people.  You have to try brown bread.  Seriously.  It's delicious.  I will be adding it to the list of things to attempt to replicate upon my return to Little Ireland (aka Boston). 

Even the boys were somewhat enthralled by the process of creating Waterford crystal.  The tour was much more up close and personal than many other tours we've been on during our travels, and you could actually talk to the glass blowers and cutters, and touch some of the works in progress.  I have a new found respect for all the crystal baubles that adorn the living rooms and dining rooms of prior generations.  I even felt a slight tinge of desire for elaborately cut water goblets, but I opted instead for one of the decidedly simpler (and cheaper) vases.  Should be a blast to carry back to the US.

Crystal Blowing

Bowl etched with London landmarks

My favorite thing about the drive down to Cork via Waterford (other than Eric's skillful driving and Erin's attentive navigation) was the occasional field of bright yellow flowers.  I had only seen this type of thing from planes, but they have these huge fields that just look like someone took a yellow crayon to the grass.

And finally, we made it to Cork.  Ireland also does some awesome scones.  Seriously, those triangular things at Starbucks are an abomination.  I feel like half of this post has been about food.  Must be because I had a salad for lunch today.  Anyway, to wrap up (as I imagine you're tired of reading), the final thing we did before heading back to London was visit Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone.  So the deal is, if you kiss the Blarney Stone you get the "gift of gab".  This was concerning to me, (1) because I'm a germaphobe and kissing something that other people have been kissing and doing god knows what else to is mildly terrifying, and (2) because you can clearly see by the length of this blog post that I do not require any additional gab.  However, I thought the castle was really cool (despite Rick Steve's grumpy review), and I enjoyed climbing up and looking out over the green surrounding area.  And, to my delight, the guy manning the Blarney Stone pulled out a spray bottle of antibacterial stuff right before it was our turn, and I sucked it up and kissed the stupid thing!  Now I try not to think about what germs I may have contracted.  Plus, we finished our visit with this fabulous picture of the four of us...a little water logged, but continuing to have fun.

Fancy a Tea?

Well, the worst has happened.  I, an avid hater of all black tea my entire life, has switched over to the dark side.  As Derek and I sit in our living room after dinner reading and drinking tea, I see a flash of what my life will be like 50 years from now.  I also think, perhaps if I continue to enjoy tea, I can drink a cup after dinner instead of craving ice cream or a brownie, which is likely a quite positive development in my general health. 

Perhaps the next time someone stops by my desk to ask me if I fancy a tea, I shall respond with a vigorous, "Yes, I DO fancy a tea, please!  God save the Queen!"  Okay...that may be too vigorous.  Maybe I'll start trying other fancy kinds of tea and really get with the program here.  They have electric kettles here to heat their tea water that is unlike anything I have ever seen (which is likely why I had to be taught to use it).  Our flat, which did not even come with a spatula, came with one.

Anyway, my tea-related highlight so far has been during Lizzie's visit, where we enjoyed high tea at Harrod's Georgian Restaurant, complete with mini sandwiches and scones. 

You can confidently add scones to things that they do better on the British Isles.  Those triangular things in Starbucks are absolute rubbish.  Here we rock freshly baked scones with clotted cream (a cross between whipped cream and butter...yeah) and multiple kinds of jam.  Add this to the list of things I will try to recreate at home...right after I master the English Sunday Roast.

Stay tuned for a post, with pictures, about the Royal Wedding!

Easter Weekend in Barcelona

So much to write about, not enough time! 

We've had a few long weekends of late (Easter, the Royal Wedding, and what I have decided is a completely made up holiday called "Early May Bank Holiday"), as a result, we decided to get out of London a bit....

We spent Easter weekend in Barcelona.  The Mediterranean city was at the top of both of our "must go to while in London" lists...and it didn't disappoint.

We stayed at an amazing hotel right on the water next to the Barceloneta neighborhood.  It's odd to travel 1.5 hours south on a plane and feel like you're in a totally different world.  Although the weather didn't completely cooperate (it was actually warmer in London than Barcelona while we were there), the palm trees, engaging culture, and sandy beach made us feel like we were truly on vacation.

The city itself is beautiful.  It's small and manageable while maintaining a vibrant feel.  The architecture is differentiated from anything I've ever seen.  Specifically, the work of Antoni Gaudi; a Catalan architect who designed and built some of Barcelona's most famous structures, was amazing. 

 See below for some pictures of the Sagrada Familia, which actually gave me chills....

 For Easter Mass, we went to Santa Maria's Cathedral (below).....Mass was conducted in Spanish (as well as having stints in Catalan, English, French and Italian)...

We also rented bikes.....trucked it around the entire city and up a mountain to Guadi's garden...



The pictures above don't do the city justice.....5 days in Barcelona was enough to cement it as one of my favorite places in the world....can't wait to go back...

I Know, We've Been Terrible...

It's been a while.  In fact, it's been far too long since Kristen or I have had any time to blog about our recent experiences here in London, and lately, throughout the rest of Europe as well. 

With that in mind, please stay tuned for posts and TONS of pictures on the following topics:

• Our trip to Amsterdam
• Easter in Barcelona
• The Royal Wedding (Kristen will totally be writing this post)
• Erin and Eric's visit to London
• Our weekend road trip from Dublin to Southern Ireland

We'll be playing catch up all week!