Paris, the City for Lovers. Day 1.

Bonjour!! We arrived in Paris on Sunday evening. Our hotel is called Hotel Gabriel. It is what one would call a "detox" hotel. It is based on detoxing from the stresses of the world. In other words, all of the snacks in the mini bar are healthy. Like sesame seed bars and fruit and stuff. Ho Hum. The hotel room itself is beautiful and the people who work here are very kind.

Sunday evening, we wandered off to see Champs Elysees. As we happened to be wandering around, it began to pour. So, we stood underneath a tree and I ate my first crepe in Paris. It was quite good! Lots of Nutella; however, the crepe was a pre-made one that just has to be heated up. Little did I know, that I would eat the best crepes of my life tomorrow.

We retired to bed early so we could get up early Monday morning. For breakfast, I had a banoffee muffin: banana and toffee. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. The bread was so soft and the toffee was soooooo gooey. I want to try to make them at home. :) Then, we went to see the Avenue Des Champs where the most giant Louis Vutton store is on the face of the planet. Boy, are the people that work there S-N-O-B-B-Y. We were going to eat on the Avenue but the food was 9 million Euros each so we went on to Sacre Coeur. This is a giant church and we paid to go to the top. It offers a 360 degree view of Paris and the view is amazing! We climbed 300 steps each way to go up and down. :) We ate spaghetti and pizza for lunch... that's what most of the restaurants serve over here and it is not as good as Italy. Here, is where I had my second crepe... fresh off of the crepe maker and FANTASTIC. Pancakey and soft and gooey. As we got ready to leave, we saw this street performer doing tricks with a soccer ball. He ended up climbing the light post while balancing the soccer ball on random places of his body. It was such an amazing show! I couldn't believe half of what we were seeing. Below is a picture from the view of the church and the guy doing tricks. :)

After a little rest at the hotel, we went out and took cheesy photos (see above) before going to a restaurant called Bugsy's. It is a British pub that Peter eats at every time he is in Paris. Lord and Taylor, their food is phenomenal. I had a giant chicken club... fresh white meat chicken, cheddar cheese, bacon, and mayo on toasted wheat bread. Oh Baby. This was my favorite meal by far and now I know why Peter comes here each time. Now, I am happy that I can imagine him here when he is travelling this year.

When we got back to the room, we watched a lot of the coverage of the London riots. BBC has broadcast it constantly  and it is horrid. I feel so terrible for these people who are losing their self-made businesses while heathens destroy their city. I can't imagine participating in such an awful scenario as this. People surely are disturbed.

Next, I will tell you about Paris, Day 2. The day I saw the Eiffel Tower up close. :)

Love,
KT

A quick stop in Glasgow.

So let's talk about Glasgow. Petey says Glasgow is like the second largest city in the United Kingdom. It does not feel that way at all but it is a big financial district with not very many people on the weekends. It looks like you are walking down one of the streets in D.C. I liked how quiet this city was and it rained Saturday and Sunday while we were there. Have I mentioned how much I loveeeeeeeeeee rainy days? Our hotel here was called Citizen M and it has the coolest concept for a hotel that I have ever seen. The rooms are so tiny but so efficient. There is a giant California King bed in them and not much else. The shower and restroom are in a little vestibule that you can ADD GLOW LIGHTS TOO just like in my Escape. We spent a lot of time in our room playing with the glow lights... I selected blue while Petey switched the room color back to green. The entire room was controlled by a remote. Neat. Below is the glow light shower in green.

There was a delicious candy store here where they sold milk chocolate filled with coffee cream. I ate the whole bag in like 5 minutes. :) Guess what they have here, Mom? A TK Maxx... yes.... you have guessed correctly... their version of a TJ Maxx. OMG. I took photos. See below.

We had dinner at a restaurant called Filling Station which is the UK version of a Ruby Tuesday. Then we wandered back to the hotel in the rain. Then we got up early, took a bus to the airport, and waited to fly to Paris. There is a very cool boutique here called Accessorize which is like our version of Claire's. You know what I bought there in the airport? A giant, gaudy heart shaped, cheetah print ring... and I just so happened to be wearing my cheetah pants and cheetah shirt this day. I looked mad Jerseylicious.

Next, I will tell you about Paris. Huh huh huh.

Love,
Kate

Photos of the Edinburgh Experience.

Here is a hat that looks like my Highland Cow earmuffs. Impressive right?

Cupcakes from Cuckoo's... not cuckoo for their taste.

Singing "Yeah" by Usher in a kebab house in Edinburgh. Never thought this would happen... Take that and rewind it back...

The caption speaks for itself. 

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaa GYPSIES!

Edinburgh... home of the kilts and birthplace of Harry Potter... OMG.

So upon arriving in Edinburgh, Scotland, I was a little scared. The people here are more than eclectic. Right now, it is Festival Month so there are a bunch of REALLY OVERLY DRAMATIC 20-somethings running around trying to convince you to attend their performances. They wear outlandish, mismatched clothing and have hair in all colors: purple, pink, blue, orange, and red. We said fairwell to our rental car... a blue Ford Fiesta. BTW Lisa Lou: the Honda Fit is all the rage over here, I saw Snowflake on the drive and thought of you... except here it is called the HONDA JAZZ... WOOT WOOT.

We went exploring on Grassmarket Street where our hotel is. We dined at a little restaurant called Made in Italy... the wait for restaurants here in the U.K. is no less than 30 minutes to be seated and order. The people here move so much slower than we do... it's awesome but really unusual for a fastpaced crazy person like me. The spaghetti and pizza were good but bland... Brits and Scots DO NOT like spicy food. Perhaps I will open a Chipotle chain over here....? While dining, we met a lovely couple from Denmark who had never visited the U.S. We exchanged "holiday" ideas... holiday is the word for vacation here. Vacation is the whole month of August for most people because schools are only out for 1 month instead of 2 like at home.

I tried a little crepe stand last night too... and you know what Jones? THEY RAN OUT OF NUTELLA. I tried a chocolate and marshmallow crepe and it was not the same. Sigh. This morning, we got up to visit the Edinburgh Castle, the view that inspired J.K. Rowling to write Harry Potter. Do you know how much it costs to get in? 15 pounds... aka about 23 bucks a person. Again, we were satisfied admiring the Castle and taking a photo.

After the castle visit, we read about a little Cupcakery called Cuckoo's. So, we walked the entire mile down the hill to find it. Let me tell you, I am not cuckoo for these cupcakes. We ordered 4 varieties to sample... chocolate chocolate, chocolate vanilla, strawberry cheesecake, and black bottom. I tried the strawberry cheesecake... it had real strawberry jam in the middle with a fake sugary icing on top. But the ingredients were not good ol' fattening buttery ingredients, these were like HEALTHY cupcakes. Oh the horror. So, if you are health conscious and visiting Scotland, please do stop by. All others disregard. :)

For dinner, we had a pizza from a kebab house. I loved this kebab house upon entering because they played Usher and Beyonce songs. :) Then we wanted to wander to the Elephant House... the cafe of J.K. Rowling when she wrote the Harry Potter series. OMG. Now, as many of you may know... I am a Harry Potter fan myself if it gets children and young adults reading. I do not believe grown adults should read these books and shout from the hilltops about their literary genius. Harry's audience is meant for children and maybe teachers. Anywho, I was less than energetic to go skipping in but I was so ridiculously pleased that the Elephant House remains untouched to this Harry Potter craze. Here, I had the best latte I have had in my life and Peter had the best hot chocolate he has had in his life. My latte had just enough bitterness without being burned and the frothy milk mixed in completely with the Espresso below. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Peter's hot chocolate was made with Italian chocolates, fresh whipped cream, and marshmallows. Delish. We sat at the table where J.K. sat and saw the Edinburgh Castle when writing the books. If you are a Harry fan, refrain from salivating on your laptops.

Yesterday morning, we did a little souviner shopping... aka... I bought Highland Cow earmuffs to wear at school. You all will be so impressed. I almost purchased Petey a kilt but he said he would pass. Oh well. In front of our hotel, there was a YARD SALE. How exciting, it felt like a Saturday at home. I wandered through all kinds of booths only to end up in front of a GYPSY CARAVAN. Of course, I know all about gypsies from watching TLC's My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. I stood with my mouth wide open, chin almost to the ground, so excited at what my eyes were taking in. She was a gypsy who did TAROT CARD READINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was too afraid to go near her but I took lots of pictures. :)

Then, we wandered back to the hotel to pack up and catch our train to Glasgow, Scotland. More on that later. The laptop is not working so well to upload pictures so my next blog post will be photos for this entry. Then, I will tell you about Glasgow.

Cheers,
Kate

Country to City to Country again.

Hello friends. We are now in the Lake District. Home of PETER RABBIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But first, let me catch you up on our travels.

Tuesday morning, we got up early and went to see the Iron Bridge. Peter took a bazillion photos of this giant bridge while I searched for the cupcake shop. And believe me… Queenie’s Cupcakery more than delivered. Below, you will see photos of three different kinds: chocolate and chocolate (Peter sticks with the same flavor), Strawberry cheesecake, and Snickerlicious. Strawberry cheesecake was phenomenal. The cake was vanilla with real strawberry pieces baked in throughout. The icing was a fantastic feast of cream cheese with a strawberry on top. Snickerlicious was the richest cupcake I have tasted thus far: chocolate cake with a nutty peanut butter AND caramel center followed by chocolate icing on top. The peanut butter here is AMAZING!

After our 45 minute detour in Iron Bridge, we drove onward to Liverpool. On our drive through Liverpool, it rained for the first time. The Brits here think they are in a heat wave and the news is advertising it that way. It is a scorching 75 degrees here. We have literally seen kids running through waterfalls at different shopping centers and people going shirtless because they are so hot. The sheep lay down and breathe in and out so heavily from the “heat.” I want to share with the Brits all about Maryland summers. Maybe they will faint when I tell them?

We arrived in Liverpool around 2 pm or so. You want to know what it’s like? A big, dirty, giant Baltimore Inner Harbor! I felt like I was home. J  Liverpool is home to a bar called Cavern Club where the Beatles played their first show. Needless to say, the city is overrun with the BEATLES SOUVINERS AND TOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We went shopping around Albert’s Dock and found a giant shopping center called Liverpool One. We dined on Pizza Hut (not at all like our version… trust me when I tell you our version is 100 times better. Did you know NO ONE serves ranch dressing here? A major issue when you dip your pizza in ranch dressing).  The waiter told me I had an “amazing accent” when he took our order. I laughed. I failed to tell him that Petey and I have been practicing our British accents all week. I haven’t yet been brave enough to try it out on anyone. What if they call me out and know I am a phony? Hmm. After Pizza Hut, I visited the Cath Kidston store… THE BRITISH VERSION OF VERA BRADLEY OF COURSE! It is going to be all the “bloody rage” over in the States here shortly. The bags are just lovely. *Are you impressed with all of the British language I am using?* Please refer to the website below so you can jump on the fashion bandwagon.

www.cathkidston.com

After a quick nap, we ventured out to take our photo at the front of Cavern Club. There were tons of “starving musicians” on the street corner and people singing Beatles songs for karaoke at the pubs. But apparently, Brits like to go to bed early or go to the pub. All restaurants and shops but pubs close down in Liverpool around 8 pm. So… McDonald’s for dinner again. It is the cheapest option really… England is the most expensive place on Earth.

This morning, we helped ourselves to brekkie… toast and jam with a spot of tea. Then, off to the Lake District. Upon arriving, I ran to the Beatrix Potter attraction. I made Peter pose with EVERY SINGLE PETER RABBIT picture and display there was. The Beatrix Potter Tearoom had the best food I have had so far on the trip: a scone with jam and butter, a “tuna mayo” sandwich on white bread, and “root vegetable soup” with a pot of tea. Tuna mayo is just tuna, mayo, lemon juice, and pepper. So fresh and similar to Gypsy’s Tearoom in Westminster. The tearoom is decorated with scenes from the Beatrix Potter stories. When I have babies, their rooms will be decorated with Peter Rabbit stuff… and cupcake stuff. A Peter Rabbit bakery theme if you will…

 Then, we drove up to Kirkstone Pass. The road to get there is ½ the size of roads in the U.S. and they are two lanes. The Brits don’t slow down either. We stopped at all of these random places so I could speak with the sheep. Here is where we also began to use the camera timer to stage cheesy photos with the English mountains and countryside in the background. I will post one below.

Tonight, we journeyed into Keswick for pizza and ice cream. Now, we relax at the hotel playing Angry Birds. Tomorrow it is on to Scotland!

Cheers to my homies,

Kate

London, Bath, and the Iron Bridge, oh my!

Wow. So last night I drafted this delightful post about all of the cupcakes I ate and guess what? The internet deleted it. Stupid international internet. Bah humbug. Let me try again...

We finished London like a 200 meter sprint to the finish line... in the following order:
-visiting Harrod's (the UK version of Macy's complete with a sushi bar and cupcakery in the middle. I had a red velvet mini and a carrot cake mini cupcake. Bread=dry, cream cheese icing=licked off the box they came in)
-a run to Buckingham Palace: No Kate sighting. No Will sighting. No Queen sighting. No Harry sighting. Sigh.
-a run to the British Museum. Peter was determined to see the Rosetta Stone. So we did.
-eating a Nutella and Cream Crepe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-visiting Hummingbird Cupcakery: home of the black bottom cupcake. A chocolate cupcake with cream cheese and chocolate chips plopped in the center followed by cream cheese icing and chocolate chip shavings. This is a cupcake designed by God Himself... to share with humans like us as a little piece of Heaven. I am going to be writing to Georgetown Cupcakes upon returning home to tell them to whip some up. :) Please note the Health Center photo in the background. Bah ha ha ha.

-eating at a London McDonald's. They serve mozzerella sticks there with a spicy salsa dip. Who would have "thunk" it?
-strolling through Notting Hill looking for my best, dear chum Jude Law. He was not there Saturday evening. Sigh.
-walking rapidly across the Tower Bridge.
-visiting the Sherlock Holmes house Sunday morning. 221b Baker Street. Insert cheesy photos of myself with a Holmes wax figure.

We then hopped a train at Paddington Station (home of Paddington Bear OF COURSE, WHO ELSE?) and rode to Bath, home of the Roman Baths. This is a delightful shopping district, full of tearooms and Burger King (who serves cheese bites with chilli peppers in them), and people watching in between. We dined at a place called Garfunkel's late Sunday night, where the girl sitting next to me was wearing a cheetah dress, cheetah heels, cheetah purse, and cheetah hair bow. I was jealous and appalled at the same time. Bath was the first place in which I participated in afternoon tea. I also ate another cupcake: banana bread with a caramel filling and cream cheese icing with chocolate shavings. Oddly tasty.

This morning, we hit the ground running and did not stop. Breakfast at the hotel included a pot of tea, pancakes, and bananas. People here sure do love their bananas. And yes, Jonesy, I did not eat the crust of the pancakes. I left a nice little ring on my plate. Bah ha ha ha. We picked up our rental car... as Peter began driving on the left side of the road with a wheel on the right side, I cried. A lot. It is so scary when the cars come the other way. He handled it like a pro while I got myself so flustered I covered my ears. Don't ask me why covering my ears helps in a situation like a potential car accident, but it gives me comfort. Bah ha ha ha that sounds dumb.

We did Stone Henge in 15 minutes... we literally ran around the stones. Back in the car to Highclere Castle. Home of the guy who found King Tut's tomb. These people have money. Lots of money. Can you imagine? "Oh yeah, by the way that's my 29 bazillion dollar castle in the English countryside right here. I let people take tours through it and admire how rich I am." It was unbelievable. Who has castles like that in the U.S.? So cool. Here is where I ate my first English scone in the wildflower garden of the castle. With clotted cream and raspberry jam. There are no words to describe the joy I felt as I took that first bite. Slightly crunchy on the outside and deliciously moist on the inside. The English have it right. I say we take tea time every day.

On to Oxford College, where Peter's dad took a summer class at Trinity College. We ran through, taking photos and visiting the bar where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis wrote their famous stories. Back in the car, stopping at a rest stop to try the UK version of KFC. It is the same, except for the fries. Here, they do Burger King-like fries. Peter was sorely disappointed.

We arrived in Iron Bridge around 8 pm tonight and collapsed at the hotel. Here I sit. Tomorrow, Peter wants to see the first cast iron bridge ever made. To appease me, we have also located a cupcakery called Queenie's, where all cupcakes are named after royalty. I am appeased.

One final thought... I forgot my "wellies" at home and it may rain in Scotland. Wellies are rainboots. This shall be my new favorite word. :)

Cheers,
Katie and Petey

Day 1 in London

Holy Moly what a day! Peter and I are exhausted. We arrived early to London at 6 am in the morning, their time (that's 12 am for us). We got on the "tube" or London's metro with all of our bags. We went halfway through the city, got off at our stop, and wandered around until we found our hotel. Of course, we couldn't check in until 2 pm so we checked our big bags and sat off again... on no sleep. I found a Starbuck's for my first London meal. After a grande coffee frappucino and a chocolate chunk flatbread (kind of like a breakfast cookie/scone) we decided to go speed sight-seeing. We saw Big Ben, the London Eye, the London Bridge, the Tower of London, the Thames River, the Parliament building... and WESTMINSTER ABBY WHERE WILLS AND KATES GOT MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Insert cheesy photos of me flashing my fake ring and asking random people to take my photo while telling them I have a fake Kate Middleton ring. People on the tube noticed my ring and nudged their friends. I told Peter they must just be impressed with me.... bah ha ha ha ha. So, Westminster Abby costs a whopping 15 pounds a person just to go inside. That's like a bazillion dollars a person in U.S. dollars. I think I will suffice with seeing the front of the building. Instead, I beelined for the gift shop and bought out every Will and Kate wedding postcard I could find. Peter stopped me at the Will and Kate commemerative Christmas ornament, 2012 calendar, and coffee mug. Might have to pick those up somewhere else...

For lunch, we got to meet a long lost friend of mine from elementary school for lunch here in London because she lives here now. :) We dined on Italian out on a patio. It was so random to know someone in the U.K. and be able to talk about Frederick with someone who actually knows what you are talking about... so cool.

This evening was a life-changing experience in more than one way. I had London fish and chips... my my. Their fish and chips are no Long John Silver's with a bucket o' hush puppies. The bartender brought me out a whole fish that was fried. IT HAD A TAIL AND SILVERY SKIN UNDER THE DEEP FRIED COVER. I braved it... but I don't know about doin' that all over again. Better to stick with fish sticks.

Most important news of all: PETER TOOK ME TO THRILLER LIVE, THE MICHAEL JACKSON MUSICAL! Let's put it this way... tears may have streamed down my face during their version of Man in the Mirror. I danced away in the balcony with a bunch of other crazy fans. Best 3 hours of my life.

On to sleep and more adventures tomorrow... Cheerio. :)
Kate

The Airport Experience

So... we are sitting in the airport waiting to board the plane. Peter has special status because he flies so much so we got to wait in the business lounge. He convinced me to go in there because he said there would be free snacks. You know what these businessy people eat for snacks? Carrots and ranch dip, apples, and trail mix. Are they for real? We had two seats saved and Peter got up to go to the restroom. In the 2 minutes he was gone, a wealthy old man came and put his stuff all over Peter's chair. I was dumbfounded.

When Peter returned, I told him we were surrounded by a bunch of rich puppets and I wanted to be with the real people. So, we left the business lounge in search of real food... aka an Auntie Anne's pretzel with a lemonade. That's more like it... better people watching too!

The next post will be in London... I have my fake Kate Middleton ring on as I write.

Cheerio,

Katie Wileyington

Vacation 2011: The U.K.F. Food Frenzy

And so it begins... Peter and I are heading to England, Scotland, and France for the road trip of a century. :) God Bless Peter for planning this entire vacation down to every minute detail. I have not been the slightest bit of help to him with planning the details because I can't sit still long enough to preview hotels or places to visit. When he asked me what I most wanted to see in the U.K. or France I replied, "Crepes, fish and chips, scones, afternoon tea, cupcakes... and Kate Middleton." So, Peter google earthed the closest pubs, tearooms, and cupcakeries across our journey. Woo hoo! Kate Middleton is the last detail we haven't worked out yet- I sure hope I see her from afar on our trip so I can wave. After all, I did purchase a fake sapphire engagement ring to wear while I am there as well as numerous giant headbands. My first souvenir stop is for a giant hat. Sweet.

Fingers crossed and prayers for a safe flight. First stop is London!

Love,
The "Wileyingtons"
(We need to sound more like British Royalty while we are over there...)