St. Paul's & Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream

If I ever come across a magic lamp housing a generous genie, preferably one with a Robin Williams accent, I would like to make one wish a top priority- get married in St. Paul's Cathedral.  Consequently the other two wishes would have to involve conjuring a husband and becoming royalty but that doesn't sound so bad either.  Visiting St. Paul's today was like a dream, easily the most miraculous place of worship I have every seen.  The never-ending walls decorated in life-like statues and stain glass murals were a little piece of heaven on Earth.  You are not allowed to take pictures inside of St. Paul's, so I only have those memories in my heart.  For those of you who have never been there, here is an image of the outside that Jenny took and an image from Google of the inside that only serves half justice to the cathedral.

Me, Jenny, Mary Frances, and Noel in front of St. Paul's Cathedral.

After St. Paul set the bar high, we ventured to my favorite Royal Park (so far), Hyde Park.  I splurged on creamy vanilla cherry ice cream and wandered down the Serpentine, a lake that winds through Hyde Park.  It was pure bliss.  I wanted to take the moment and put it in my pocket to relive on a cloudy day.  It was a simple moment but one I will remember forever.

Venturing to the opposite extreme, we explored the Hyde Park shopping scene.  As we perused children's clothes in Burberry and engagement rings at Harrod's, I felt like a kid in a candy store- but drooling over Cartier diamonds instead of chocolate truffles.  I was just waiting for the omniscient voice from the Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous to start narrating how many millions of dollars each tiara cost.  All hustle and bustle, no browsing.  Even though we knew essentially everything was far out of our price range, it was fun to play the diva Sex in the City roles as me, Mary Frances, Jenny, and Noel "shopped" in Harrod's and then sipped on raspberry martini spirits at dinner.

The food and drinks here are marvelous, and I am on a quest to expand my pallet more.  To achieve my modest goal, I have decided to only order food that includes (at least) one ingredient that I have never heard of.  Today- red pepper tapenade.  My meal was called Formaggio di Capra and was basically a spinach salad topped with giant ciabatta croutons covered in melted goat cheese, rocket green beans, caramelized onions (to temporarily satisfied my onion addiction), and fresh basil all sprinkled with a light zesty lemon dressing.  The meal was delectable, and I'm excited to enjoy all the new dishes and ingredients that await me in Madrid, Rome, Prague, Paris, and Munich in the very near future.  Studying how European food evolved is, to me, equally important as studying how European history evolved, and I intent to take full advantage of experiential learning to gain a solid grasp of food as a "study area."  Translated- I plan to indulge too much and care too little while abroad.  Taste means everything.