London Love

Back from my weekend trip to London and although I love Aix, I can't help sitting here wishing I was still in London...

We arrived late into the night on Thursday and met up with my dad at his hotel right in the middle of the city where he so kindly let us stay for two nights as he was there on business. Friday morning we were treated to an awesome breakfast buffet at the hotel and after our stomachs were stuffed we set off to see the sights. Just by walking we were able to see Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Bed, and the London Eye it was so incredible! Everywhere you turn there's some amazing landmark or piece of architecture, my eyes were wide the entire day.
Big Ben hiding behind Parliament.
My Dad and I :)
Allison and I outside of Buckingham Palace.

Don't we look just like the statue?

St. Paul's Cathedral
The London Eye the biggest Ferris Wheel in the world.


People told me Big Ben was over rated but even thought it was a cloudy day I thought it was beautiful.

After a morning of walking, my Dad had to get to work and Allison and I stopped into apparently the oldest pub in London and had delicious fish and chips. Afterward we went to Oxford Street and did a big of shopping including going to an English bookstore where I stocked up on reading material since it's so hard to get good English books in France. It was really nice and relaxing being a foreigner in a city where you speak the same language. Everyone we met was so nice and hospitable and although people in the south of France are nice, the Brits are exceptionally friendly. Before we knew it, it was the evening and we were once again taken to a delicious meal. The professor my Dad was working with at the university is Turkish and took us to this incredible Turkish restaurant. I have never had a real traditional Turkish meal and after eating there I can definitely say it was the best meal I have had in months. Possibly even years...I'm going to attempt to recreate some of the dishes so I'll post a menu on a later blog...

As if the day couldn't get any better, after dinner Allison and I went to see the musical Avenue Q. It was hilarious and I had a smile on my face the entire show.

The next morning I had again an amazing meal of English porridge which is my new favorite breakfast I definitely need to re-create that too. After sadly parting ways with my Dad, Allison and I went to The National Gallery where they have a great collection of Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso and Cezanne among many others. It was neat to see the Cezanne and Van Gogh pieces because several of them were painted in Provence near where we live.

Feeling in the artsy mood we decided it was the perfect time for tea...We took the tube to Harrods and after shopping awhile we had high tea which included a delicious spread of mini sandwiches, scones, coddled cream, tarts and more sweets. It was a highlight of the trip for sure.

At the end of the day, I took the tube 30 minutes out of the city to Stratford where they are building the cite for the 2012 Summer Olympics! Although it was a big construction cite, I love the Olympics and it was thrilling to imagine what it's going to be like in two years. It's in an area of London that's not the nicest but it looks like they're going to make it a really great new neighborhood.

At the end of the day we took the train out to Gatwick where we stayed the night in a bed and breakfast before our early flight the next morning. It was nice to have a slice of small town, countryside charm and we spent the final hours at the local pub indulging in dessert. Whoever said England has terrible food just doesn't know where to look...I ate so well and am yearning to have those meals yet again! All in all it was an amazing trip and I'm already dying to go back. I love love loved London and it's definitely top on my list of favorite cities I've ever been to.

Now that I'm back it's time to start eating better and exercising more. My wrist has gotten to the point where I can do more activity and I can't wait to get into a healthier routine. I've been really into trying new recipes and since I don't have travel planned for the next two weeks, I'll probably be updating with my culinary adventures. Stay tuned!

Cheers!