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Friday, September 30, 2016

Euro Trip - Part 2

We left off on my first night in London and how terribly sick I was.

Monday morning, I met my co-worker for a latte and almond croissant. We opted for this breakfast daily as England doesn't have the best breakfast. Think cured bacon (ie not cooked), overcooked sausage, blood sausage, beans on toast, cottage cheese style eggs or barely cooked eggs.

Breakfast settled ok, but my stomach still wasn't feeling all too great.

We worked all day (sorry, I can't go into what we did for work daily....privacy issues), went back to our hotel, changed and then went sightseeing. Both of us had been to London before, so we didn't NEED to go to all the sights. We did go to Hamley's (amazingly big toy store), Harrods (classic), Selfridges (another classic), all the shops in between and Buckingham Palace.
guard at buckingham palace
Buckingham Palace
 Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace

I was sad that we didn't get to see Prince William or his family. Didn't he know we would be there?

I got this drawing magnetic laptop at Hamley's since the girls are really into drawing. They love it and have been playing with it daily. Even fighting over it. Maybe I should have gotten two.

After dropping our stuff off at the hotel, we ventured out to Burger and Lobster for dinner. My co-worker got the burger and I got the lobster roll.
Burger and Lobster
Chips, lobster roll and a salad

The food tasted incredible, but my stomach was still off from the food poisoning on Saturday.

Tuesday, we headed up to Harrow, England for the day on the subway. England doesn't have air conditioning on their trains because it doesn't get too hot there. Except when the first time in about 50 years, the temperature is 88 degrees in September. So hot. Being in a suit is no fun on a hot subway.

We worked all day, took the hot sweaty train back to London where I worked out, got ready and headed back on the train out to High Barnet. It was the last stop on our subway train (about 30 minutes away). We were meeting a mutual friend who now lives in England. And bonus, she is a twin too! 

We had the best time hanging out with my friend Kettie. She was due with her second child a week after we got back. We met her husband, had drinks and then went to a local brasserie for drinks and dinner. I opted for the fish and chips since it was the first time since our trip started that my stomach felt ok. The food was really good, the beer was exceptional, but the company was what made this trip the BEST. We took the train back to the city and made it back to the hotel around 10:30.

Side note: Kettie had her baby girl on Friday September 23rd!

Wednesday, we got up bright and early to take the train (actual train) out to Birmingham for work. The train ride was beautiful and only took an hour and a half. We worked there, had the BEST indian food for lunch, did a bit of shopping in the train station (seriously the best shopping there. It was a mall inside the train station.) and headed back to London. This is where I got the girls their backpacks that they absolutely love and refuse to take off. We have had to bring them in the car on the ride to daycare because they don't want to leave them.

Wednesday night, we did our own thing since we had such a late lunch. I went walking around the city again, searched for some souvenirs that my co-worker back home requested and settled on an Italian tapas place (San Carlo Cicchetti) for dinner. I wasn't too hungry, but knew I needed something for dinner. I had the best pasta with lobster. This place was ran by Italians and it was so much fun listening to them yell at each other in Italian. But the bartender who served me was awesome and taught me how to make a couple drinks and let me try a bunch of different wines. I settled on a glass of the rose to compliment my meal.
lobster pasta

After dinner, I walked through Covent Garden again and had to make my stop at Laduree for macarons. I was just going to get two and have them that evening, but I knew I would regret it since I wasn't going to Paris for another set. So I opted for 6 and they were heavenly. Don't worry, I controlled myself and ate two per night for three days in a row. They were just as soft and amazing on the third night.
Laduree Covent Garden
Laduree macarons
Strawberry and vanilla

I was able to facetime the girls that evening and it totally made my day.

The next morning, we were flying to Edinburgh, Scotland, but not until 1 pm. That meant I was able to do more walking which was good because I found out that my husbands grandfather was going into hospice care. I needed to clear my head and a morning walk around London was perfect to do so.

Stayed tuned for Part 3 - Scotland.

10 comments :

  1. I'm so glad you started to feel better. Being sick while traveling is the worst. Love what you grabbed for the girls. If you need another one they have them at Target. I've almost about it so many times. Ha ha! Those macaroons still make my mouth water.

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  2. It sounds like it was a fun trip, after the food poisoning went away (yikes!) Your trip sounds a lot like my husband's when he's there! :)

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  3. Sorry to hear about your husband's grandfather. Love hearing all of these updates, though! I have NEVER tried a macaron-I need to see what all the fuss is about!

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    1. You need to try them asap. They are expensive for one "cookie" but so worth it. And thank you so much.

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  4. OH gosh - what hard news to get when you're away from home.
    I cant imagine all the food to try when in a different country.

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  5. I am so glad that you started feeling better so you could do all of the fun touristy things! I loved seeing all of your pictures! I have never been to Europe and I'm just dying to go! I can't wait for Scotland!

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  6. I am glad you got over the tummy issues and got some sightseeing and yummy food in when work wasn't calling. So sorry about your husband's grandfather, y'all are in my thoughts. Can't wait to see the Scotland recap!

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  7. How awesome that you got to meet up with your friend there! And all that food sounds amazing. I looove me some macarons!

    So sorry to hear about Rory's grandpa. :(

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  8. Such cool places to see! What an experience!

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  9. Wow, so glad you started to feel better. Somehow I missed this post earlier. We went to London for our honeymoon and it was absolutely amazing. Such a romantic and beautiful spot. The train rides sounded so lovely too! Glad you got the macaroons! I would have had no self control...

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