Crepes and Croissants

Each morning in Paris, we grabbed breakfast at the cutest bakeries with the greatest pastries I have ever tasted.  My absolute favorite treat was the apricot croissant.  I wanted to buy three dozen and take them home with me.  They were to die for.  My other favorite food in Paris were the baguettes.  Every corner we turned, someone was walking around with a two foot baguette, just casually nibbling the bread. These are my kind of people.

Following closely with stereotypes of French cuisine, crepes were all the rage.  We found our favorite creperie in the Latin Quarter of Paris and I had the toughest time deciding which one to get.  Peanut butter?  White chocolate?  Honey and butter??  I decided on banana, butter, and sugar and it was so yummy.  Reminded me of banana pancakes since crepes are basically very thin pancakes with fillings.  I liked it but not as much as my croissant!

Jenny and I with our crepes!!

Gardens of Versailles

Louis XIII had it right when he was building his palace in Versailles.  The bigger the better.  Then again, he had all of the money in France so why not build an entire fairytale land to live in?  Unfortunately, the line to tour the inside of the palace was a four hour wait, so we opted to just tour the gardens.  Essentially, we explored the palace's backyard for seven hours and still did not see everything we could have!  It was the most extravagant garden I had ever seen.

Look how far the gardens stretch!!

 

Me and Jenny outside of the palace

    

Who wouldn't want to live here??

 I loved these flowers!

Later that evening, we went on a dinner cruise down the Seine.  The food was delicious and to top it all off, we saw the Eiffel Tower at night!

xoxo from Paris

French 101

Off to Paris and so happy to be awake at 6AM!

My knowledge of French goes about as far as singing Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast, and let me tell you, that does not suffice in Paris.  Although the areas of Paris that catered to tourists generally spoke English, I noted my personal ethnocentrism as I assumed everyone would understand me.  After learning some greetings and useful terms from Kara and Mac, I was able to order food at a restaurant we visited before heading to see the Eiffel Tower.  There was an egg on top of my steak, which was just the kick-off to my odd food experience in Paris.

Steak Tartare

And this is a large coffee.  The French have a much better grasp of portion control.

The Eiffel Tower was just as beautiful as it is in pictures except so much more massive.  We climbed as far as they allow tourists to go- 670 steps up and 670 steps down.  Needless to say, I will never look at a step class the same again.  The sore calves were absolutely worth the breathtaking view from the three levels of the tower.  Peering over the city really made me realize how small I am and how big the world is.  It was a humbling experience.

Fortresses and feminism

After our packed week of sight seeing through London, we fortunately had the opportunity for two free days to get to know the city better. I decided what I was going to devote my free Saturday to long before even crossing the pond. The plan essentially fell into my lap one day at home when I was reading Zite, a personalized news app that I recommend anyone and everyone to get. Under my feminism tab was an article about controversy surrounding an upcoming feminist conference that was set to take place in London in July. I was immediately fixated on the idea that I could (and would) attend this conference. Listening to and learning from the speakers, attendees, and guests of RadFem 2012 from across the entire world taught me so much about radical feminism and how other women view the world and understand women's oppression. (I apologize Mrs. Boswell for writing such a terrible run-on sentence right there.)  To give you an extremely brief background, radical feminism is a branch of feminist theory that connects women's oppression to our patriarchal society's focus on male supremacy.  RadFem 2012 challenged me to view gendered issues through new lenses and exposed me to global injustices women face everyday.  Although there are extremities of radical feminism I may not agree with, I am very happy that I attended the conference and look forward to sharing my experience with my gender studies pals and professors back at school.  Plus, it was the first time I navigated the tube by myself!

On Sunday, me, Mary Frances, Noel, and Jenny toured the Tower of London and learned the expansive history of the royal palace beginning in the 1080s proceeding the reign of William I.  The Tower is more of a small city exploding with history as each monarch added a new addition during their reign.  We explored on our own after realizing at the first Tower gate that patience for walking with crowds is not a virtue we possess.  During our exploration, some hotspots we visited included the Tower Green- where Anne Boleyn was executed in the palace, the Crown Jewels exhibit- where we drooled over diamonds as big as our fists, and the White Tower- where famous foreign invaders were housed and tortured during their imprisonment.  Since the Tower is of course now exploited as a tourist attraction, we ate lunch at one of the many restaurants and then browsed the gift shops.  I'd say the Tower's feel is a bit different than what it was in medieval times- less torture, more tourists.

Glimpse of the Tower of London

To top off the day, me and the girls attending Evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral.  Although I was trying very hard to be attentive to the sermon, I was so mesmerized by the beautiful interior that my focus probably drifted more than it should have.  But can you blame me??

Here we are, Sunset & Camden

I love books.  I know my library card number like I know my phone number and was averaging two books a week before leaving for London.  I love fiction, nonfiction, science fiction, mysteries, love stories, biographies, autobiographies, and everything in between.  I dream of one day having a library in my future nonexistent home but after our trip to The British Library today, I am starting to think maybe I'll just move in there.  Photographs are not allowed in The British Library, as continual camera flashes may damage the works on display in the long run.  With my mental camera, I took pictures of sacred religious texts and illuminated manuscripts; original notes by da Vinci and handwritten drafts of songs by Mozart; poems by Oscar Wilde and books by Jane Austen.  I was astonished at how beautifully this literature was preserved and felt so overwhelmed that I had the chance to see the original copies of such influential works.  My favorite was The Magna Carta room.  Mary Frances shared her wealth of knowledge with me about King Henry I, the need for The Magna Carta, and the tales of Robin Hood.  I could have listened for hours.  The library was massive, and I definitely plan to go back before the trip ends.

The King's Library

Bookworm

After the library, we visited the Camden Borough, and I could not help but think of Debbie Reynolds in my favorite musical, Singin' in the Rain!  Sure, the scene is unrelated to the Camden area in London but nonetheless, I could not get the tune out of my head all day!

We walked along the Regent's canal to get to the Camden Market where the bulk of our daytime adventures took place.  There were trendy shops and yummy vendors selling all types of food.  We ate lunch by the canal and then browsed the shops before heading back to regroup before our big evening.  We went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey, which is an Anglican choral service held every night at The Abbey.  From there, we picked up a quick dinner on our way to see Henry V at Shakespeare's Globe, a replica of the Globe Theatre that's about 750 feet from the original site.  As much as I appreciate Shakespeare and his artistic brilliance, I must say that it was a challenge to understand the play.  Pictures are not allowed in the theatre but to give you a better feel, here is an image from Google:

Inside London's replica of The Globe Theatre

Shakespeare included standing area in his theatre so that peasants could have the opportunity to see plays too and the standing area also allows for audience-actor interaction during the play.  We got to experience how peasants watched plays and let me tell you, they must have had some good shoes in order to stand for that long!  Next time I think I'll sneak in a lawn chair.

Hokie Stone v. Roman Stone

This is a piece of the original Roman wall that protected the city around AD 50 when it was called Londonian and under Roman rule.  The stone was incredibly beautiful (and incredibly ancient), but I don't know if it holds a candle to Hokie stone!

So I watch the Bachelorette.  It’s a guilty pleasure I don’t like to admit, similar to licking the batter bowl or listening to ABBA.  Nonetheless, I'm a fan.  This season on the Bachelorette, Emily Maynard has traveled to London “in her quest to find true love,” and if you can recall from several weeks ago, she had her notoriously awkward two-on-one date in the Tower of London.  Today, we visited the same monument and rest assured that I had a much more exciting and comfortable experience.  Aside from being a gorgeous castle, the Tower of London has a rich and somewhat morbid history.  The Tower was built during William the Conquorer's rein and was used to protect the royal family during threatening times plus lock away high-status prisoners and preform execution during wars. There is a torture room and even a special entrance for those who won't be coming back out of the castle called Traitor's Gate.  Although we did not have time today, I am extremely interested in touring the Tower to learn the full story that rests in the walls and beneath the moat.

The more recognized monument in this area is of course the Tower Bridge.  There are many bridges that cross the River Thames all through London, and I think the Tower Bridge is one of the most beautiful.  It is particularly very special this summer because the official Olympic rings are hanging from the bridge to gear up for the games!

Fresh, organically grown food is hard to come by in my lifestyle back in the States so today when we had lunch at Borough Market, I felt spoiled.  Borough Market is an open air food market with incredible vendors and the most diverse range of food guaranteed to hit the spot.  I wandered and tasted everything that I could before committing to a pork roast sandwich with an applesauce spread that was signature to a meat shop.  It was so tasty, and I really liked the meat/fruit combo, which seems to be more of a trend here than in the States.  We will undoubtedly be back to Borough Market to find new favorite dishes and delectable desserts.  Until then, I will dream of lemon green tea and Turkish delights!

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.