Monday, March 15, 2010

Trip List. With Pictures!

I think I was hoping that Julie would blog about the trip because somehow I wouldn't feel obligated to do so, even though I spent about 11 days without her. Oh well. I'm a slacker. What can I say?

When I travel outside the U.S., I like to check out the snacks that other countries provide. I especially like to see if they have same different flavors of Lays potato chips. Well, in England, our first stop, Dub and I got a variety of snack foods:



I'm pretty sure Lays and Walkers are the same thing. They have the same design, so that's my assumption. I didn't really care too much for the Prawn Cocktail, but the Smoky Bacon flavor was alright. In reality, I am a slave to plain potato chips and tolerate flavored kinds, but you've gotta try them when they're Prawn Cocktail-flavored, right?

Turkish Delights: Vile. Even covered in chocolate. Rose water is vile. I had tried them before, but somehow I had forgotten exactly how bad they are.

Dub got the trifle sponges to make trifle. I haven't had any.

The Apple & Blackcurrant Pies were exceedingly good. It wasn't false advertising. Seriously, exceedingly good.

Highlights to England:

-The lamb dish we got at the Paradise Indian Restaurant
-Being mistaken a few times for locals
-Our 2' x 2' shower with the curtain that cut across it
-Kensington Park and Hyde Park




-Visiting the Science Museum & Natural History Museum
-Church at the Spanish/Portugese branch in which they alternated languages for the hymns, talks, and prayers
-Eating Christmas Pudding at the Cafe in the Crypt of St. Martin in the Fields
-Going to a Christmas program at Westminster
-Abraham Lincoln statue
-Windsor Castle and sub-par fish 'n' chips
-Stonehenge




-Cornish pasties and white chocolate at a cafe in Bath
-Getting stuck in traffic for 3 - 4 hours and watching "Casino Royale" on my mp3 player 1 inch screen
-The Tower of London & the Crown Jewels
-Eurostar breaking down, and being "stuck" in London an extra night
-Front row seats to "Wicked" because we were "stuck"

Highlights of Visit with Mom and Dad:

-Meeting up and spending time with Mom and Dad (and Snake, my brother)
-Eating chocolate
-Having time to go to the Christmas markets in Valkenburg and deciding that the best Nativity scene could be purchased at Chievres Air Base and buying it there instead
-Going to the State Archives in Mons and seeing a document dating back to 965 AD that had the biggest seal EVER.
-Also, I really appreciated the glass-work at the archives; I can't even explain how cool it was
-Going to Waterloo and eating frites with curry ketchup




-CHRISTMAS!
-Spending time with family and eating chocolate
-Those popular small Santas hanging from people's windows
-Rubbing the monkey's head for luck at Le Grand Place in Mons
-Buying chocolate and synthetic diamonds in Bruges and seeing the Madonna by Michaelangelo
-Church at the English/French branch
-Even more spending time with family and eating chocolate
-Reading Harry Potter and playing Rook
-Going to Calais and seeing the White Cliffs of Dover from the lighthouse
-Driving to Dunkerque and hearing about the "Miracle at Dunkerque"
-Seeing the windmills at Kinderdijk




-Driving to the temple in Hague



-Het Loo Palais (it was crazy gigantic)
-Buying andalouse sauce to eat in the states with french fries

Highlights in Paris:

-Quickly learning to not smile at guys unless I blah blah blah blah... (that was for you, Sarah)
-Walking to our hotel and having Julie yell to me from the window of her room and finding out that she had exceeded my expectations in finding guys
-The day we went to what seemed like a million museums, including Arc de Triomphe




-Riding the disk with Julie in the yard at Notre Dame
-Dub, Julie and I riding a random carousel with the kids
-Surviving the metro at New Years
-Ringing in the New Year at Trocadero with a great view of the Eiffel Tower and an underwhelming display of no celebration, except the guy setting off fireworks next to us who had one backfire
-Julie kissing my brother Snake at midnight
-Getting split up and Dub and I having all the metros close down just before we got on them
-Realizing that I don't care that much about crepes with Nutella
-Sacre Coeur, the red light district, and Moulin Rouge.
-The general pain in my feet from walking so much

Sorry this was more list-like and less story-like. All-in-all, it was enjoyable. We experienced a lot, and ultimately, I was glad to come home. There's no place like home.

10 comments:

Jill - GlossyVeneer said...

I always wondered why Turkish Delight was the reason for so many problems in Narnia... it truly is nasty!

And I'm impressed you survived the Metro at New Years... I can only imagine that madness. It was crowded enough midday in May when I was there!

Valerie said...

I loved your list! Oh what fun, I love to read about my old roomies-(you practically were one) and all of their travels- :)

Anonymous said...

I can't believe all of the cool stuff that you got to see and experience. I'm glad that you had a great trip!

Flaur

cash said...

Dub's trifle was delicious. Count that snack as a positive.

(Whoops. Sorry for that first one, Cardine.)

Anonymous said...

I thought the list was great - it let our imaginations fill in the blanks.

Thanks also for posting pictures!

julie said...

I'm so glad you posted about your trip. Seriously, who waits this long??? :) Honestly, I have no idea when I'll get a post up again...not to mention one about Paris that I have to add pictures to!

I loved being reminded of all the fun we had in Paris together. That disc by Notre Dame was way too much fun! Good times. Good times.

Indy said...

Sounds fabulous!!!

tearese said...

So, I think Iwould enjoy trying the different foods as well. One of our fav activities in Seattle was going to Uwajimaya and trying all the Asian treats...
I liked all the pictures, and enjoyed the lists. I should have done that when we went on our cruise in '03, because I felt so overwhelmed that I didn't write anything.

Dana Cheryl said...

Oh wow!!

What an amazing trip! I'm saving this post for when I plan my next overseas trip. It reads better than most travel books.

Cardine said...

Jill - Yeah, Edmund's desire for a Turkish Delight has always seemed like the most fictional part of that series to me, and that's including the part with Santa Claus.

Thanks, Valerie! Also, I was reminiscing with Gail the other day about those days. Remember the Christmas/Valentine's/St.Patricks/Easter, etc. tree?

Flaur - Thank you. I'm sorry that the trade-off was that I couldn't see you over Christmas. :(

Cash - Duly noted and counted.

Sarah - You're welcome. Don't imagine too much. Also, did you get the DJS reference?

Julie - Yeah, now that I've posted, I think that you don't have to. Unless you want to. But no pressure. The digital histories have taken note of this one for the ages already.

Wendy - Same with your trip. I enjoyed all of your post updates. I probably didn't comment on any of them, but I should have. Especially the one where you ate squid on a stick.

Tearese - Same here. I didn't really write much from cruise '03. But sometimes I think that photos can help your memory.

Dana - Thanks. I have enjoyed Rick Steves' travel stuff, and I'm trying to study up for my next trip by using his travel guides.