Walking Tour...take 2, October 20-26, 2014

Josh was out of town, or I should say traveling. I was corrected by a local. This reminds me of a rant I have... The British people love to laugh and make fun of how Americans say things...its really rude if you ask me. I would just like to point out that Americans don't think its posh to say "f" for "th" (ex-they say "firty" for "thirty" because they think it sounds intelligent) but you don't see us laughing at you. As an SLP this articulation choice is like nails on the chalk board!!!
Anyways...Josh was in Luxembourg this week so I filled my diary (calendar) with fun activities to keep me busy!
The day he left, I met him at work for lunch. We went to one of his favorites, Ceena, a Korean Barbecue place. It was not something I would normally pick, but it was pretty tasty. I got the beef and noodles and Josh got the chicken with rice. The next day I got a surprise call from Rachael. She had a double decker bus tour the day before, and the tickets are good for 48 hours so she wanted to know if I wanted to join her for day 2. We had a great time! I had been meaning to take one of these tours, and so glad it finally happened. It lasted about 2.5 hours. You can hop on and off at different tourist sites. We had been to most of them so we stayed on and enjoyed the commentator. I suggest every new to London visitor do this, and ride the yellow line to have a person tell you all kinds of fun London facts.

So many more poppies

Tower of London

Elizabeth Tower, Big Ben is the bell

Trafalgar Square

London Eye and Elizabeth Tower

After the bus tour we decided to get something to eat. It just so happened that we ended in Soho, right by a place we tried to go with a big group but was too crowded. We found our way there and made it just in time for lunch. Its called Pitt Cue, and has great reviews. I got a pulled pork sandwich with green chili slaw as my side with a cream soda. It was delicious but I was super excited about the cream soda...even if it was £2.50.

Pitt Cue

Cream Soda!

I will be going back because Josh really wants to try it too!

Serving canned food only

We passed a popular restaurant with a different kind of concept. The entire menu is canned food. Not sure it's something I want to try but it's very interesting...

The following day Kate, Rachael and I met at a movie theater to see The Judge. It was really interesting! The theater was super fancy but only had about 7 rows! So small! It reminded me if someone had a theater in their house. I liked the movie and felt very American after hearing so much American dialogue. After the movie Rachael and I hung out since her husband is out of town too. We went to my local cute cafe, Pimlico Fresh and then hung out at my flat. Josh got back on Thursday and the pups and I were so excited to see him. He likes Luxembourg, and I hope to some day get to join him on a trip there!

Luxembourg at night

 This weekend we set our clocks back an hour. It's a week before the states so for 1 week I will only be 5 hours ahead of Texas. On Saturday, I dusted off our "Walking London" tour book that we used at the beginning of our trip. We decided to walk the neighborhood of Trafalgar Square and Soho. We started in Trafalgar Square and were in for a big surprise! They were hosting the Atlanta Falcons NFL tailgate getting ready for the London game on Sunday. It was fun to see so many American jerseys!

Trafalgar Square

Some Falcons

The next stop was the National Gallery. Another free museum entry is always nice. We got to see Leonardo da Vinci's cartoon drawing of the Virgin and Child, and lots of Monet's work. We even took our weekly baby bump pick in front of it!

Virgin and Child

On to a famous church, St. Martin-in-the-Fields that has been copied by many New England churches.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Under the church is a crypt you can eat lunch at. It was sooo good! It's called Cafe in the Crypt. I got a made to order steak sandwich and Josh got mushroom soup. We split a yummy apple cobbler with cream.

Cafe in the Crypt

Next we are off to the National Portrait Gallery. We got to see the only known contemporary portrait of William Shakespeare. Also a head made out of frozen blood...oh artists!

Shakespeare

Frozen blood head

Now for Leicester Square. Many movie premiers happen here but we did not see anyone famous on this trip.

Then we headed to Chinatown! Never have I seen so many fried ducks in the windows. I want to come back during Chinese New Year...I bet its lots of fun.

Our last stop on the tour was Soho Square. Such a pretty garden and lots of people were out enjoying the day. We had fun watching some really intense ping pong players. This was once called King's Square and was one of the most fashionable addresses in town.

Sunday we got our extra hour of sleep before we headed out to the markets. It took us forever to get there because some major underground lines were closed due to construction, but we made it as they were opening. We started at Spitalfields and made our way to Old Truman Brewery Markets. These markets were my favorite so far. So many cute things and such a fun area. Josh was only there to try another "21 Street Food in London That Change Your Life" so he was counting down the minutes until they opened. We planned on trying Mother Clucker, a country fried chicken truck. They opened 30 minutes late but the chicken was delicious! The breading was amazing BUT I wouldn't call it country fried chicken. It was probably the spiciest thing I have ever eaten...like super spicy. The fries were great...but very spicy. Josh loved the jalapeno mac and cheese. It was different, but had a good flavor.

Josh waiting for them to open

Spicy Chicken

There was another place their from "The List" that we should have tried but it might have been too much spicy chicken for one day. It's called Orange Buffalo, and its still on our list. They serve NY style buffalo wings. These 2 food trucks were by far the most popular of the bunch. Inside the Brewery Market were some great "street meat" vendors. If we didn't already have a date with Mother Clucker we would have been all over it! Food from all over the World. So cool! I will definitely be back!

Jonathan Ross Show, October 13-18, 2014

Looking back on this week, it was really action packed!

Monday was Columbus day but that is not observed in London. I met with one of the wives, Rachael and we ventured out to Ikea. It's a bit of a journey from my flat so I met in her neighborhood for lunch. We ate at a cute little place called The Elgin in Maida Vale, and both decided to get the pancakes with bananas and bacon. It was pretty yummy! I have always liked pancakes, but have become a huge fan since moving.

After lunch we jumped on another bus to Ikea. I appreciated Ikea so much more than I did in Dallas. So many great inexpensive things, I felt like I needed! Ummm did you know Ikea has the cutest wrapping paper? I told Rachael how I had so much back in Dallas that I had to get rid of so we decided this is was not a necessary purchase. I did get some cute napkins, a napkin holder, a big pan, baggies with zippers, and also tested out some chairs for when Baby K arrives. We both enjoyed a delicious milk shake for only £1 and headed over to a big Tesco (grocery store). We roamed the aisles then headed back home.

On Wednesday I met up with a "small world" connection! We were friends in 9th grade but after that our high school was over crowded and got split so we ended up going to different rival schools. She lives in London and reached out for us to get together. We met at a trendy little bakery called Rose Bakery at the top of the Dover Street Department Store. We had a fun time catching up and chatting about London. She is very hip and works as a stylist and is in graduate school for photography.

Friday, Rachael had tickets to see The Jonathan Ross Show but at the last minute her husband couldn't attend so she asked if I wanted to go with her. I have never heard of the show but I was all excited. It turns out he is a late night talk show host like Jay Leno and has guests come on and a music performance. We met at Waterloo Station and walked to the itv Studios to get in line. Just because you have a "ticket" doesn't guarantee you get in so we wanted to get there early, about 5:30pm to get a good spot in line. There were already lots of people waiting! Turns out we got in...but we still didn't know who the guests were!

They hype up the crowd and we are so excited to be there! Turns out the guest tonight are Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Mel B (Spice Girl) from The X Factor, Sir David Attenborough (who was actually very interesting!), musical guest Paolo Nutini, and wait for it...Steve Carell!!! We were excited to see everyone but over the top for Steve!!! He was promoting his most recent movie, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It was really cool to see them mess up and re shoot different scenes. They actually were interviewed for a long time and we heard some great stories. It ended around 9:15pm and I headed home. The show is recorded on Friday and airs Saturday night.

Rachael and I in the studio

Steve Carell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini (an X Factor judge and formerly in a girl band Girls Aloud), Jonathan Ross (host), Mel B (an X Factor judge and formerly in a girl band Spice Girls), Sir David Attenborough (an English broadcaster), and Paolo Nutini (musical guest)

On Saturday, Josh and I had to search for some birthday gifts for our November birthdays! It's hard to get something small that is easy to ship. I had been to Harrod's but I wanted Josh to get the experience as well. It was crowded as always but I love just walking around and looking at all the stuff. They had their Christmas section set up and I was so overwhelmed with all there was to look at! It was wonderful. For dinner the wives had wanted everyone to get together so we could all meet. Not everyone could come but turned out that 8 of us were available and in town. We met at Whyte and Brown in Soho. This reminded me so much of Whiskey Cake in Dallas. Such a fun area, and the restaurant had a beautiful patio area! I need to go back and walk around some more. I have hung out with the wives a couple of times so it was great to meet the husbands too! After dinner we walked over to Scoops for some gelato, then headed home. Josh and I were sad about Baylor's first loss of the season. 

Sunday was our tour of The Portland Hospital. Only 10 weeks left! The tour was nice and the hospital seems very organized and equipped. After the tour we had lunch at a new to us place right by the hospital called Ask Italian. It was good but the honey cheesecake was amazing! I want to go back soon just for another slice! Oh and it's a Taste Card restaurant so win-win! We watched the Jonathan Ross recording which was so cool! I told Josh all the parts that were edited and stories that were cut. I'm sure he was very interested. Here is the link if you want to watch the episode: https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/the-jonathan-ross-show 

Autumn in the park, October 11-12, 2014

It's much cooler (cold for this Texan) this week. The rain has come, adding to the chill. On Saturday, I had my first Junior League of London meeting. They do it a little different here. In Texas we had a weekday monthly meeting, and depending on your level you had to attend a certain amount. Well here it seems they are doing these all day conferences 3 times a year. It was nice to meet new women and hear all about JLL. I did learn that JLL is the only international League so it's the "I" in Association of Junior Leagues International, AJLI. Pretty cool! Oh we also got Chipotle for lunch so I was a happy camper.

Josh had come across an article "21 London Street Food Trucks That Will Change Your Life". Being as we have not found a place we LOVE, we were intrigued...

He found a mac and cheese place that looked pretty yummy. It just so happened they would be at the Royal Park Half Marathon this weekend, so we thought it would be a great thing to try. There were some people from Josh's work that would be running in the half so we decided to go cheer them on, then have some celebratory mac and cheese! We headed down to Hyde Park with the Stones on Sunday morning. The weather was cool and cloudy so it really felt like a fall day. We got to see the runners and walked around the festival. It was lots of fun! Here's Josh's co-worker Debbie 200M from the finish line, she was quite excited to be almost done.

After the race we got the mac and cheese. I don't know if it was "change your life", but it was yummy, and the best we've had in London.

Anna Mae's mac and cheese...I got the "Don Macaroni": mac and cheese with crispy bacon, and basil pesto. Josh got the "Spicy Juan" (big surprise!): mac and cheese with spicy jalapenos, chipotle pepper, sour cream and coriander (cilantro).

Yum!

We enjoyed the music and festival food. They had some games in the park too...they may have been for the children but Josh and Matt decided to enjoy some Swing Ball. Josh calls this game "tennis go-round". It's like tether-ball but played with rackets and the string goes around a spiral to determine the winner. They had a blast! It was a great weekend enjoying some outside time, and fresh air!

Work friends

Swing Ball

Next on the "Change Your Life List" is a grilled cheese place by Josh's work. I'll have to go meet him for lunch one day.

Paris, October 3-6, 2014

The baby will be here in 2 months (yikes!) and we wanted to have a mini vacation before he arrives. In Texas this is known as a "BabyMoon", but I don't think that is a "thing" here. Josh had some vacation days to take off, so we started our planning to go to Paris, France. We only planned this trip about a week and a half in advance so it was pretty quick. I saw some deals on Groupon, but we missed the deadline so we went with Expedia. We decided to fly (I'm not sure why as I HATE it) but next time I would definitely take the train. We did a package deal with our flight and hotel, and booked our Eiffel Tower tour and Moulin Rouge tickets in advance. Everything else, we decided, we'd figure out once we arrive. We highly recommend downloading the app "Mtrip"- it was very helpful in our navigating and planning!

The Flight:
Early (like 4:30am) Friday morning we headed to the airport...it's quite a journey consisting of a bus ride and then on to the underground. But we made it with plenty of time and didn't have any bags to check so it was a fast process. We were on AirFrance and guess what the announcements on the plane are in...yup French. I didn't even think of that! It was a bit nerve racking for me as a nervous flyer who really depends on the pilots announcements to keep me calm. Yes, they do translate it but ummm lets just say their English is not amazing. I did freak out when they kept saying "security" or the French version but after the first few translations realized it meant "safety" in English. I rubbed my calming YL oils all over me and felt like I did a good job handling the flight. It was only 45 minutes and was very smooth. Oh! We also go a croissant as our snack.

Plane to Paris

We landed and took Uber to our hotel. The traffic in Paris is horrible! Our driver ended up tapping the car in front of us, good thing it was nothing serious. Wow, so many cars in a small space. We arrived at our hotel and we were very pleased. It was in a great location, yet on a quiet street and guess what...it had AIR CONDITIONING!!! What! How exciting. Also, our breakfast was included so that was another plus. We quickly unpacked and walked down the street for some lunch. We found a little cafe called Le Gramont. I am a French Onion Soup lover! I don't know why I never put it together...France, French Onion...ummm hello! So lets just say I had to try it a lot!

Josh- Croque Monsieur

Pamela- French Onion

Tummies were full so we were ready to explore.

Basilique du Sacre-Coeur: (Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris)
This is a Roman Catholic church located at the highest point in the city, the summit of the butte Montmartre. We will get back to the bit about the "highest point in the city" in a second! The construction began in 1875 and was finished in 1914. The construction costs were estimated at 7 million French francs drawn entirely from private donations. The Basilica is made out of travertine stone that remains white even with weathering and pollution. Back to the highest point in the city, So there is an electronic trolly that brings you to the top, but we only discovered it once we were halfway up so decided to hoof it the rest of the way. This 7 month pregnant lady should get an award for walking up the hilly street then to the stairs then all the way back down! I think the fact that it was such a work out made getting there even more enjoyable. When we got inside they were holding mass. It was odd seeing mass going on with all kinds of tourists taking pictures and walking around, but I guess they are used to it. It just so happened to be Communion when we got in so we decided to partake! Baby K even got a blessing from the priest.

Walking up the hill street

Never ending stairs

The view

I made it! 

Beautiful...but more stairs!

Inside

We had a recommendation to eat at Brasserie Balzar, so we went there for dinner. The bread at every meal is amazing! Guess who got French Onion soup...it was the best in France...so far!

Some beautiful sights on the stroll home. We walked about 10 miles today, so it's time for bed.

Louvre at night

Public urinal...very public

Eiffel Tower:
In 1889, Paris wasn't looking so great around the world so they wanted to do something grand for the World's Fair. They didn't know what to do, so they put out a contest and this design was the winner! Some applications that didn't make the cut were the world's largest guillotine, or a lighthouse with a light so bright it would provide enough reading light for everyone in Paris. "Kind of" designed by Gustave Eiffel, he actually bought the design off of some one and made a few changes before he entered it into the contest. His design won and his company helped construct the grand entrance to the fair. Then came the budget issues. Mr.Eifflel had to come up with 80% of the total building and supply costs. Josh thinks this guys was a hustler! He made a 20 year deal to get the profits from the ticket sales and restaurant he wanted at the top. The government only wanted it to remain up for the fair and be taken down within 6 months after the world fair.  But Mr. Eiffel didn't want to build something only for it to be torn down that quickly, he thought it was a money-making opportunity and convinced the city to give him 20 years to "make back his money". He received royalties for 20 years but was actually able to make his money back in just 6 months! The Eiffel family is still very well off in Paris. After the 20 year contract they wanted to take the tower down but Eiffel fought to keep it up. Turns out the radio antennas at the top were picking up enemy signals during the war and this was why it was able to stay standing. Today it has weather stations, radio and tv transmissions as well as a cell tower on top. The tower stands 324 meters tall and was the tallest structure of it's time until the Chrysler Building in NYC was built in 1930. Another funny story during the construction came about when it was time to put in the elevators. They needed to follow a slanted path of the legs of the tower (to be hidden) so had to be specially designed. Eiffel's favorite design came from the Oits brothers from America. Well, the government put a stop to this, as it was supposed to be all about France and show how great of a country they were. So what was Eiffel to do? Don't worry he got the Otis brothers French citizenship so they could create the elevators.

We woke up had our hotel breakfast and headed out to the Eiffel tower. We pre-booked a tour through viator.com before we left for Paris. Everything I looked at said it sells out very quickly, I thought it was just a sales gimmick until I was trying to get a time slot. Many were booked. We took the 10:30am slot and decided to get the small group tour that got to skip the lines. We met our guide at their store front. I was impressed form the get go! It was a very clean front with seats, bathrooms, drinks, and were very organized. Our tour guide was from Chicago so I loved her "accent"! We each got an FM system with ear buds to we could hear everything she was saying. We were off to a great start. Josh was still not convinced about needing to get this tour package. We walk around the corner to the Eiffel Tower as our guide is telling us facts about the area. When we get to the tower...oh my gosh...more people than you can even imagine! The line to buy tickets looked hours long! It was crazy! We were so excited to bypass not only the ticket line but the line to get in. We got through security and headed to the elevators. We reached the second level and let me tell you, it's scary! I don't know what it was, being outside or on something so old but it took us a bit to feel comfortable. It is a beautiful view of the city! Next you went up to the very top of the sommet, as they call it. When our tour ended we headed down to level 1 and hit up the gift shop and glass bottom floor, also super scary! We HIGHLY recommend getting your tickets in advance and doing the small group tour. So worth the £47 we paid. Otherwise this would have taken all day!

Under the tower

Looking up

Champ de Mars

Looking down from level 1

Glass floor

Glass floor

 

Now for lunch...we just strolled around the area and found a very French restaurant, called La Fontaine De Mars. I went WAY out of my comfort zone on this meal and got duck confit, as the waiter told me that I had to try it while I was in France.

The rest of the afternoon we walked around to see some famous landmarks.
 
The locks on bridges...started during the war. Lovers would put locks on a bridge and when the soldier returned if the lock was still there his lady had waited for him, if not she had moved on and so should he. It then turned into throwing the key into the water professing their love forever. Sounds romantic right? Well the bridges are so overcome with these locks they are actually collapsing! They were not built to hold so much weight. The tax payers are having their money go towards removing these locks. So it is recommended to buy a lock, take your picture, then take your lock home as a souvenir.  Josh said to just pretend that one of the locks was yours and take a picture.  So economical he is.

Charles de Gaulle

Grand Palais

Alma Square- Lady Diana's fatal accident memorial

Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Church

 

Arc de Triomphe

Luxor Obelisk

Place de la Concorde

Wow, what a day with so many sights! We had dinner at a random spot we found by the hotel called, Royal Opera. It was yummy! Josh had the Croque Madame, he said it was "an upgrade" from the Croque Monsieur (below).  It really just had an egg on top, but he thought it was much better. I had pasta, but I guess we didn't take a picture. Tomorrow is our last full day in Paris.



Last full day in Paris but we have big plans! Burrr...the weather changed last night and autumn must have officially arrived. We got up early to get breakfast and headed to Notre Dame as soon as it opens at 8am. Mass was going on as it was Sunday, but visitors were welcome to walk around and take pictures. Being Catholic this still feels odd to me but oh well!

Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral:
The Catholic cathedral was built between 1163 and 1345 on the orders of Bishop Maurice de Sully and holds 9,000 people. This was the location of Napoleon's coronation and is known for the 3 great doors, mighty flying buttresses around the choir and the rose windows. During the Revolution the church was on the point of collapse, but Victor Hugo appealed to the public to remedy the situation with his novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". As a result the cathedral was restored. In front of Notre Dame their is a marking from where all distances to other French cities are measured.

Beautiful inside

Lighting a candle

Organ

Mass

Giant doors

Next on our list is to see the Louvre. It opens at 9am so we start our short walk in that direction. Josh read about a "secret entrance" but I am skeptical. Here are some pretty shots on our way to search for the entrance.

eekk! A crypt

Ok...hold on to your hats and pay attention! This is the most important tip we got from our adventure. The Louvre opens at 9am, we arrived about 8:45. The main line (by the pyramid) was over a 3 hour wait! (in the cold!) Ummm...no thanks. Josh and I can't seem to locate this secret entrance so we start walking to the end of the line. We find out that the entry today (Sunday) is free, versus $15 each. No wonder the line is out of control. We get to the end of the 3+hour line and Josh decides no way, we are going to find this secret entrance. After a little online investigation we think we know right where to go. I'm just hoping this is a real thing and we aren't getting out of line for nothing. We find it! Oh my gosh! Not a single person infront of us...we walk right in! Now, Mon-Sat you must already have a ticket to use this entrance but Sunday being free, just walk right in. I don't understand how the museum workers outside organizing the huge line and not spreading the word. Oh well, we are in and there is a bathroom right at the gate. Yay!

Secret entrance...Porte des Lions

Louvre Museum:
The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century under Philip II. The museum opened in 1793 and is now one of the world's largest museums and historic monument. It contains nearly 35,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century over an area of 60,600 square meters. With more than 9.7 million visitors each year, the Louvre is the world's most visited museum. Admission is about $15 a person, but free on Sunday! Here are some of the top attractions...

Beautiful halls

Mona...she's so small!

The consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I

Aphrodite

The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin

Gabrielle d'Estrees and Her Sister

Self-Portrait

We found Remy!

The Lacemaker

Law Code of Hammurabi

Horses of Marly

St. Mary Magdalene

Dancing

Cupid and Psyche

Captive

Selfie

View outside

The big line

The Wedding Feast

In the pyramid

After our Louvre adventure we walked around and got some lunch and souvenirs. Side note...Josh's French is improving, as he now likes to have conversations with the shop owners. I got a beautiful oil painting from a street artist. I can't wait to put it up. We headed back to the hotel for a little rest before our big night out at the Moulin Rouge.


Le Moulin Rouge:
French for "Red Mill", the famous cabaret was founded in 1889. It is best known for the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance review evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and let to the introduction of cabarets across Europe.

They offer 2 shows a night, 7pm is dinner and a show or 11pm with just the show. We decided to get the dinner and show tickets online before we left. This cost about $200, a bit pricy but it was on the top of my Paris list!

I wasn't feeling great (probably all the sneezing/coughing tourists here not covering their mouths!) but I was not going to miss my chance to see the show. As soon as they took our tickets we got moved to the front of the line. I have no clue what was happening as I don't know any French, but Josh thinks we were in the "special needs" group as they kept pointing to the belly. They had a set menu and you selected a starter, main, and a dessert. You also got a half bottle of wine each, so lucky Josh got a bottle all to himself! I didn't eat any of my food as I wasn't feeling awesome, and the smells of all the food were making me nauseous. Josh said the food wasn't his favorite and would recommend just seeing the show at 11pm. The show started around 9pm and was awesome! It had dancing, a ventriloquist, dogs, ponies, swimming naked with snakes, roller skating, hanging from the ceiling, of course the can-can and many more wild acts. Definitely lots of variety!  I was getting hot and couldn't get comfortable in my chair so the bathroom attendant got me a cool rag to put on my neck and rather than returning to my seat we stood at the stairs in the back to watch the show. The waiters came up to us and had set up a table for 2 for us to sit at. It was so sweet, they really went out of their way to make us comfortable! I could move around and stretch my legs out to be comfortable. Many customers walked by saying they were so jealous of our spot. The show ended around 10:45pm and we took a taxi back to the hotel. We get to sleep in late then catch our flight "home" to London.We loved Paris, and I am so excited we got the chance to visit.