Winter in London

So I'm sitting here on Christmas Eve, waiting for Santa Clause to turn up, so I guess I can give you an idea of what London is like in Winter.

Well it's sunrise around 8am and is dark by 4pm. Now, when I say sunrise, this is the official timing. Whether there is light or not depends on how much cloud/fog/pollution is around on that particular day. We have had a cold snap recently and London has had a dusting of snow on the ground. Some of the outer areas of Greater London have had up to 3 or 4 inches of snow. We've had minimums of a couple of degrees below zero, and maximums of a couple of degrees above. The weather changes quickly from cloud to sun many times a day, but the coldness has remained.

Still, there are moments of pleasure. We took the opportunity one sunny weekend to have a wander around Hampton Court, which is an old palace dating back to Henry VIII. He used it when there was a particularly bad outbreak of the plague that he wanted to avoid. It of course includes a large portion of obligatory hunting grounds (below). These a just a great green space to escape the greyness of London's urban landscape.The sun strength still takes a little getting use to. Below is about midday with the sun at full strength. Note the length of the shadows.But, it does have it's benefits. It has been a good warm up to Christmas. Plenty of festive cheer (mulled wine) and they do put on a good show. This is Bella under some lights while wandering around Regent Street. It is also a time for firsts. Despite living in Canada for nearly 12 months, we never got around to ice-skating. London has a number of temporary rinks set up around the city. Before (we get on the ice).And after (we get on the ice).Now for some shots for the family. Firstly our London apartment Christmas Tree. And secondly, us.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Winter in London

Two Big Ticks

The weather has turned here in London and Winter (and Christmas) is nearly here. But before Jack Frost takes hold, we squeezed in a few more trips to Europe. With so many different lcoations for travel in Europe, it is sometimes hard to decide where to go. But these two places were always at the top of our lists.

Italy
Italy was always high on my list of places to visit. While the sights and history of Rome would be amazing, what Italy is most famous for, in my opinion, is its food. And this was what I wanted to taste for myself. So we found some cheap flights and headed to the city of Bologna for a quick weekend trip. Located in central northern Italy, a university city from the 11th century and a city reknowned for good food. Perfect!

These weekend breaks are great, but they are a little rushed. We left home at 3:30am to catch our flight. But this meant we did arrive in central Bologna at 10:30am. Perfect timing for a coffee and a pastry. Cafes in Italy can be intense places. Lots of people bustling in and out, people standing and drinking coffee at the counter, not knowing where a line begins and ends, lots of noise from the espresso machine and people chatting away in Italian. A vibrant and energetic setting. So, an espresso and a pastry, both 1 euro each, in a busy cafe was a great introduction to Italy. Needless to say the coffee was great.
So we filled in the day, wandering around, soaking up all that is Italy. Great public spaces with obligatory fountains, cathedrals, churches and markets. Fruit and vegetables never looked so good.The house of meat. All cured meats.Seafood.Or the highlight, pasta. Bologna is the home of tortellini and tortelloni (small and big). Oh, and that place Parma that invented parmesan cheese. It's just down the road. Here's a wheel as big as a 4x4 tyre with a few chunks of cured meat on top.So yes, we ate our way through Bologna. Pasta has never tasted so good. Vino by the litre. About 4 coffees in 24 hours and 2 servings of gelato, which was also amazing.

The coffee was great (have i mentioned that yet) and we tried it in a variety of forms. Espresso, cappuccino, machiatto and latte. The coffee oozes out of the people. Anyone on the street could make you a great cup. The cleaning lady in our hotel, also doubled as a maid to serve breakfast. She whipped up a tasty and memorable cappuccino. Good shot, perfect quantities, great milk texture. However, I think my favourite was the macchiatto.
We quickly caught on that it was a lot cheaper to have your coffees at the bar. People don't stop to have a coffee in Italy. It's a mad rush to place your order, wait at the bar, and pick it up and drink it as soon as the barista places it before you. And then fly out the door like you are a busy person. Of course, you can take your time if you like. There are some cafes with people, who sit and wait and are there to be seen, but that's more in the sunny plazas.

So Italy, I hope to see you again soon.

Paris, FRANCE
It's kind of like London. It is referred to so often, that you really need to experience it for yourself. Some people don't like Paris, some do. We would make up our own mind. So once again we jumped on the Eurostar and took the train to Paris. It really is a great way to travel.
With only just over 24 hours in Paris, we were on a tight time frame and knew we couldn't do everything that we wanted to. So we started with the big ones.
Arc de Triumph. Napolean's symbol of victory for the conquering French, however it is now a war memorial for all of those that died. Is that irony or just confusing?
Eiffel tower from the bottom and from the top. I can tell you that it takes 669 steps to get to the second viewing platform and i saw all of them twice. The view was quite good too.
And Notre Dame from the back. Quite spine tingling when the pipe organ starts up when we were wandering around inside on a Sunday morning.
And some more gargoyles on one of the other monuments. I forget the name but I liked it.Add in a few croissants and that was about all we had time for. We also climbed the steps up Montmatre, to take in the night lights up Paris. We then had a great dinner somewhere up there. Some fois gras and sauces on meat that only the French could create.

We enjoyed Paris and can't wait to get back there again.

Click below for more photo-y goodness.

Two Big Ticks

The food tour continues

EDINBURGH

We wanted to squeeze in a quick trip to Edinburgh before the Winter took hold. And look what welcomed us.
So what else to do with sunny weather but to explore. My first impression was that one again, everything moves a lot slower when compared to London and there is more greenery. Admittedly it was a great time of year, with plenty of green grass and an amazing array of colours in the trees.One of the nearby hills. Another novelty when compared to London. The ability to get just a little bit of altitude to survey your surroundings. Below is a rare shot that gives evidence that we do actually travel together. Thanks Jen (our host, a friend from college).Rest assured it wasn't too long before I heard and spied a piper, red hair and all. Huffing and puffing and squeezing away.
They are actually quite common on the Royal Mile. Below is part of the Royal Mile. It stretches from the castle on top of the hill. The Royal Mile stretches to the city wall that surrounds the castle. This use to be the safe place to live. Given all the raiding and violent history it may have been to keep the English out or to keep the Scots out. The royal mile became so built in that they actually started digging 5 levels below ground. These were terribly cramped, dark and damp places that were used to house the poor and sick.
A view of the castle from the hills next to Edinburgh.And a view out the other direction. Over the other palace and the Firth of Forth (North Sea). Apparently Elizabeth still spends 1 month a year up here.And of course, what tour would be complete without some haggis (with Neeps and Tatties (Turnips and Potato)). They also do a vegetarian option, which I find a little weird considering it is still cooked in a sheep's stomach.Overall, Edinburgh was great and we are keen to go back. But we are also keen to get to the highlands and see the heart of Scotland.


BRUSSELS

With back to back weekends and burning the candle at both ends, the next weekend we were off to Belgium. We booked this trip ages ago (Aug/Sept), because this is how far in advance you had to book to get cheap Eurostar tickets. This is the train that takes you under the sea and over to Europe. We heard that it was the only way to travel and it sure did live up to its reputation. No airport way out of town, you just head to King's Cross station in the city. Only need to arrive 30 minutes before hand. A much more streamlined customs and security check. And only 1hr and 55min from London to Brussels, and you bring on your own food and drinks.

People have mixed feelings about Brussels. It doesn't really have any European icons, no major cities and not even it's own language. But there was only one thing I was there for. Food. Beer, waffles and chocolate.
The beers were great. So tasty and so much variety. Some have been brewing for nearly 1,000 years. A few bad choices which were a little too fruity. Just beware the 9 and 11% ones on an empty stomach.
Waffles. What can I say. They are great. Hot and sugary. One can never have too many. Although the waffle with Haagen Daas ice-cream and Dulce de Leche did leave me satisfied for a little while.
Of course, there was the obligatory walking. Primarily to get to the next eatery but to also work up the appetite.
And the standard church and plaza.

I won't be rushing back to Brussels, but I will be back to Belgium to indulge once again.

Here are some more photos to keep you clicking.

Edinburgh and Brussels

Exploring England

So much to see and do. Here's a couple of spots we've explored recently.

BRIGHTON
The Gold Coast of England. About an hour south of London, a favourite weekend getaway. We were going to stay the night but we picked the weekend when the National Labour Party conference was on, along with a food festival and bike festival. Plus normal weekend tourists means there wasn't a room to spare. So, we caught a train home at 10.30pm and were sleeping in our own bed by midnight.
It was still great to see and smell the ocean again. It's just good for the soul.
RICHMOND PARK
One of the royal parks in London. It was established in the 12th century. The king of the time put a fence around the 2500 acres and put some deer in it so he could enjoy some hunting (altough I question the use of this term when in a fenced off park). It is now a fantastic green space in London (well, kind of brown at this time of year). Lots of big trees and wide open grass spaces. They let there parks run a bit wild over here, as opposed to running over everything with a mower every 2 weeks.The rut. It is rutting season. So this male let us know about it.
OXFORD
The university town. More history here than you can shake a stick at. We wandered around town and sampled the local pubs (where most of the history was written).
The whole town is owned the university. There are numerous colleges that sit under the university. Some of these were established in 1400 and something. All just interspersed within the town.A great green getaway from London.Some of the Queen's swans. She owns every swan in England and it is illegal to harm them.Thanks to our local guide Pete, we went to a Jamie Oliver restaurant here. Amazing pastas and topped off with this Tiramisu.
As usual. More photos here.

BRO

First Taste of France

This was our first weekend trip to Europe and highlights a major plus for living in London. We scored some cheap flights with Ryanair. 5 pound each, each way inc taxes, but then they slug a fee of 5 pound for paying with a debit card (or credit card or any other form of payment). Regardless, we flew return to France for 40 quid.

Our destination was Marseille. On the Mediterranean, about in the middle. Obviously French, but also with influences of the sea and Northern Africa. The Greeks arrived in 600BC and kind of took over from the Celts currently living there.
Our first view of Marseille from the Metro Station of Friday afternoon.

I left work at 1pm on Friday and Bella had a flexi day. We had touched down in a foreign country by 5:30pm. Our first taste of France. We jumped on a bus, a Metro and then another bus, and we were out in the suburbs where our accomodation was. We sheltered under a bus shelter, while a torrential thunderstorm poured rain down for 5 minutes. We found our 'hostel' and were a little unenthused to find it was more of a one bedroom flat that they head crammed three double beds into. We had the main bed, that was right next to the kitchen and bathroom. We are unsure if this was better or worse then the other beds, which were crammed between the ceiling of the garage and apartment ceiling, in a kind of loft style, but with not much room. Both of them had about 30cms height above the mattress to ensure no sitting up in bed. Well, I guess what do you expect for 30 Euro in the suburbs. Unperturbed and hungry, we dumped a bag and headed out for dinner. Again, we were a little worried when everything seemed to be closed at 8pm on a Friday night, except for pizza places. As tempting as it was, this was France, not Italy and we resolved to find something a little more authentic. We stumbled upon a middle-aged couple heading into some doors, with lace curtains that looked about 20 years old. We followed them in with the hope of finding an alternative to pizza. It was perfect. Again, another apartment, but this one converted into a restaurant. They had about 6 tables in the living room and it was about half full. An elderly gentlemen was our host and put up with our bad French. He looked a little frail but this may have been extenuated by some thick framed glasses and fish bowl lenses. We ordered up some local wine and pointed at things that looked good on the menu. It was a Couscousierre (A shop/seller of couscous) and the meals were served in Tagines. I had a set menu with a soup, couscous with vegatables and lamb, and some other spiced lamb meatballs and little sausages. Bella had a whole chicken (smallish) with citrus and olives. Topped off by a plate of pastries at the end, which we nearly didn't get because the man was tapping his watch saying it's too late at 10pm, but the pastries didn't take too long to disappear. I think we spent more on dinner than the room, but it was a great first taste of France.

We awoke and headed out for some coffee and croissants. We followed the trail of people walking away from us with baguettes. We ordered up some croissants and coffee and got another bargain for under 5 euro. The coffee was an espresso in a plastic cup but it was kind of cool. And the chocolate croissant more than made up for it. Not that there was anything to make up for.
And then began our walking and eating tour of Marseille. The city centre is built around the port, which was especially busy because there was some regatta on. Lots of people wandering around in their team shirts and jackets.
The view from the Notre Dame de la Garde. The church on the hill in the first photo. The inside was impressive too. Have a look at the album below for more photos.
Moules Frites for lunch. Mussels and Fries. The mussels were marinated in a typical creamy herby way that the French do so well. With a couple of beers.Chocolate Fondant with cream is perfectly acceptable as afternoon tea. And it was delicious.
And one more coffee.
We stayed closer to the city on the Saturday night. We flew out on Sunday lunchtime, so we stocked up on a few biscuits and pieces of nougat and headed back to airport.

It was short but was great. Lots of good food. Learnt to be careful when ordering a steak, had a pretty red piece of meat, but it was still amazing. Bella grew in confidence with her French. And had a good dose of sunshine. Bring on Paris in 2 months time.

Click below for some more photos.

Marseille