2nd Europe 2011 post

While in Brighton, Matthew and I discovered that all of the youngsters of Southern England were descending upon Brighton for a Zombie parade/festival/event. We mostly stayed out of the way but just going out and about we discovered the entire town was full of the gruesome creatures. We were quite impressed with some of the creative costuming that they came up with and did enjoy the humor of seeing random zombie attacks in a beautiful, usually quiet coastal town. It seemed straight out of a horror movie. Matthew was actually attacked once but managed to escape the entangling arms of two very silly, giggling zombies.


I found this blood pouch at Selfridges in London and suspect that the only kind of blood the zombies in Brighton were feeding off of would be very similar to this: candy blood. It sounds like it might be delicious on Pancakes. hmmm...I can see why they would want to be Zombies, if that's the sort of thing they are eating!


Also at Selfridges, I found so many darling Christmas goodies. I knew I wouldn't be able to get them home safe and sound so I took a few photos. Also, the price for one tiny cookie was 5 pounds or more and I'm really not that big a fan of cookies!


Tiny veggies made of marzipan. It's fortunate that I hate Marzipan, otherwise these may have had to come home with me, despite the crazily expensive price tag.


After spending most of a day at the British Museum, Matthew and I were fuzzy headed and cold so we popped into a darling little shop selling mini open faced sandwiches. They were all very unusual flavor combinations and all extremely tasty! Also, their coffee and hot chocolate was perfect and, most importantly, warming.



One of the things that Matthew and I really wanted to see was Borough Market in London. We partially planned our trip to make sure that we would be in London on the days that the Market would be in session and so on our last full day of the trip we spent our time wandering the Market and the Streets of London. It was the only truly sunny, perfect day we had in London and it really reminded us of why we'd wanted to go back for a visit that was longer than 24 hours.


My Full Brunch Butty (Please excuse Matthew's hand in the background! I was too lazy to try to crop or photoshop it out.)

Breakfast at Joe's Kitchen and Coffee House around the corner from Borough Market. We were lucky to see good reviews for a place that was so close to were we wanted to be that morning and also that such a place serves up amazing English Breakfasts among other things. I actually had the Full Brunch Butty which is essentially most of an English Breakfast in sandwich form. It was delicious and lots of fun to eat.


Matthew's Full English Breakfast


Just across the street from the Market, is an outpost of Neal's Yard Dairy which is attached to their Monmouth coffee shop. Both shops serve up the very best versions of whatever it is they sell. Neal's Yard Dairy sells amazing cheeses and Monmouth Coffee shop sells really well brewed coffee and espresso drinks. The Cheese shop is calm and cool inside while the coffee shop is packed with customers and dizzyingly busy with a long line trailing out the front door. Both places are fantastic and totally worth a visit, if only to experience their idea of perfectly selected and prepared cheese and coffee.


As with most places in Europe, and London in particular, history is around every corner!! We were just leaving the Market to find our way to The Tower when we passed by a beautiful and very old church.


We didn't think much of it until we walked by this sign and realized just how old it is; once we noticed that, then we just had to take a few photos.


This wall was directly behind us as we were peering down at the church's gardens. Everything is built so close together; no space is wasted!

I am sure that people who grown up with that sort of history just outside the back door or around the corner don't think much of something like that, but for Matthew and I it is still such a surprise to see the truly ancient mixed in with the modern and new in such a nonchalant way.

This trip to Europe was a wonderful experience! I would say that because it was our second time to visit both England and a large, french speaking city(Paris this time, Brussels last time), we didn't approach every single thing we saw and did with the eyes of children. We didn't spend every moment of our time in London simply in awe that the things we'd read and heard about actually existed, but instead we enjoyed feeling that sense of delight at being back in London. This time around, I think we were confident enough in our traveling abilities to know that we could indeed venture forth to see what we wanted to see without being dazzled by the simple concept of traveling.

1st Europe 2011 post

I'm finally getting around to posting some of the very few photos I took while on vacation in England (with a two day side trip to Paris). For whatever reason, I took far fewer photos than I should have on this trip, 206 in total, and of the photos I took few of them show anything other than to prove that I am silly - silly as a goose! Most of the photos are not of landmarks or even of the amazing dinners we had. Honestly, I'm not really sure why I took my camera with me. I'm such a lazy tourist! I'm glad I took Matthew and his big camera along with me, otherwise, I'd have no way to prove I ever even went on a trip abroad.

So, I have selected only from the photos that I took to post on this blog. Maybe if I ever clear up enough space on my hard drive to transfer the photos that Matthew took, I'll be able to post some of those lovely photos! All this to say, the photos are a really weird and strange mish mash of photos and none of them really seem to go together. They are bound only by the fact that they seem to represent, fairly strongly, the most compelling images and events from our trip(judging by the fact that I actually bothered to pull out my camera for them), at least they are the things I felt were significant to me.


Okay...you can laugh a little, but no out-right mocking me! Matthew and I ate Ramen in Paris. Yes, I know, what were we thinking??? Well, I wasn't thinking, my head was stuffed so full of head-cold fuzziness and the freezing cold and rain had driven anything from my head other than the need for comfort food. I can't think of anything more comforting than a really hot bowl of Ramen. This was particularly gingery and Matthew says it is a version of Ramen that is served in Japan although we didn't have the super gingery style when we were in Tokyo. I will say, absolutely Nothing would have made for a better meal at that moment for me, with my recently acquired cold. Anyway, despite being slightly blurry in the brain, I managed to notice that Parisian Japanese Restaurants are rather different than American Japanese Restaurants, naturally, but it was still very interesting to see the striking difference and just how much the French way of doing things really shaped the Japanese Ramen restaurant that we visited.


Beautiful Canterbury, I really felt that this scene looks quintessentially English and just had to snap a photo of it.


Along our walk through Canterbury, we saw this funny little house with a window frame on top of the roof. I am still wondering exactly what purpose it serves, other than to amuse the tourists! =) (By the way, I'd love to have a window frame siting atop my roof, if ever I have a house.)


So, other than the delicious food, the main reason I visit Europe, is for the tiny doors. I love, love, love tiny doorways. I think they must make me feel very tall and imposing in a way that nothing else can, since I am actually rather short compared to anything except these tiny, cute doors!


Speaking of good food, England also has very good drink. And this cider, The Blushing Old Wife, is the strangest and most mind blowing beverage I've ever consumed. I loved it at the same time that it made me wonder why I was drinking something that made my entire body sort of pucker up. Amazing but delicious!


These lovely beers were very good, British Ales with an American slant. Matthew and I loved The Foundry and all of their beers brewed on premise.


The Canterbury Canal tour. This was probably one of my favorite activities on the trip. It was a beautiful, short ride through the town with just enough interesting information to make it seem educational.


Our boatman/tour guide who was not only well-spoken and informative, but handsome besides(a big plus in my opinion).


Canterbury clearly is a very old town in a country of very old towns, but it has a real charm and quaintness that made it a place I would love to return to again!

Yay for lots of color!

I unpacked my souvenirs today, upon returning from England and found that most of the things I purchased are very colorful and fun. This just makes me happy!

Matthew and I didn't buy quite as many souvenirs on this trip to England, which is a good thing considering the size of our apartment, but I also figured that I'd just pick out a few things to post instead of posting a barrage of souvenir photos like I did a couple of years ago. It was kind of terrible and annoying =)



Macarons from Pierre Herme. I tried these in Japan and they were very good. So, when I saw them at Selfridges, I had to buy a few. And, they miraculously survived the trip back in one of the Dr. Who mugs. Yes, more mugs. arg!


Okay, well this isn't very colorful but I'm really, really excited to try it out. I love! chestnuts. What to do with it? I am taking any suggestions since squeezing it directly into my mouth might seem a bit boorish.


The craziest and brightest shoes I've ever owned. How will I ever manage to match these to an outfit? I can barely put together a decent outfit when I'm working with all black and grey. This might be a screaming disaster!


Since there was no way I'd be able to afford an actual dress from Fair, I bought this darling bag with a dress on it. It's just so pretty and fun!

Baird Beer Taproom

So while shopping on one of the main Harajuku streets, Matthew and I went searching for our pre lunch crepes. The long line of of girls waiting to order at Angel Crepes forced us to pop down a side street looking for a little distraction until the line died down. We found a quiet, comfortable little pub with amazing food and Baird Beers, which Matthew and I have had a couple times before and really enjoyed. All the food dishes were extremely high quality and prepared with care.


This beer roasted pork was amazing, some of the best pork I've eaten


We ordered these little crunchy snacks to go with the pork as an appetizer. They were delicious, filled with roasted chicken and gorgonzola cheese. A bit underwhelming after the incredible pork but still perfectly prepared and balanced.


The little green pickles were house made(as was everything) and tasted delicious. They came with the meal as an extra treat. I always adore any pickle, but these were exceptionally good.


This Beer Curry with chicken was our main dish and despite eating a large quantity of curry on this trip, I enjoyed the unusually spicy(for japanese curry), bitter beer flavors in this curry sauce more than any other curry I've eaten before.


We washed down all of these tasty treats with delicious beer. This beer from the tap was, naturally, better than the couple bottles we'd come across before.

Honestly, the entire experience was delightful and surprising because it was all so unexpected. The entire staff was amazing. Our waitress was so sweet and thoughtful about everything, even speaking a little bit of English to make ordering easier. The most incredible surprise in the whole experience was finding out that the gentleman who ran the pub had just come back from Portland, Oregon where he'd spent days drinking his way around the city. He was really excited to find out that Matthew and I are from Oregon. We enjoyed talking beer with him and finding out about his trip to our home state.


The simple decor gave the entire pub a comfortable atmosphere.

Even the bathroom decor was amazingly simple but attractive. It made me smile.

Truly a great place, good food and friendly people.

Crazy Tokyo Fashion

On one of our many walks through Harajuku(yes, we've been through quite a few times just because it's so fun) I just had to snap a few photos of some of my favorite crazy bits of fashion. Stuff that is just so insanely fun but that I could never pull off, even if I was a little fashionista.


With a name like Candy Strippers you would think that the shop would have some more unusual outfits. In reality, they just have lots of really expensive and silly clothes. These extremely puffy, polka dot boots are a fine example of Candy Stripper's wares.


This is the rather unassuming, very old fashioned Harajuku train station which is directly across from a series of jumping, bright streets filled with clothing shops and big displays. Kind of a fun contrast.


Love! these! boots! Could never wear them but I adore them.


And a hat to go with the boots. Once again, I probably would have a little trouble pulling this off =)


A very odd and slightly disturbing display outside Sevens, a shop which, primarily, sells items for 700 yen.


Really silly pocket in this pair of pants.


My favorite photo. Such sad little cuties at their cannibalistic meal.

our recent nibbles around tokyo

Over the course of the last week Matthew and I have, for meals, randomly popped into places around Tokyo that look promising. We didn't purchase a meal guide before coming here and I have to admit that the thought of doing a lot of research for our meals sounded like work, along with the fact that most recommended places are expensive. Matthew and I tend to like the very down home, cheap establishments both back home and abroad. To say we've been eating very, very well here in Tokyo (without really trying to) would be an understatement. Finding meals can be frustrating at times because we get rather hungry while wandering the street looking for just the right thing, but it's been a series of wonderful discoveries. I'll post some of the meals in this post and then do a longer post on one of our favorite places separately. Of course, we still have five more days to happily eat our way around the city.


Looks like a plain old salad, doesn't it? But it was amazing and yummy, with very ripe, flavorful tomatoes and a perfect dressing. Very fresh! This was my half salad which I got in The Ladies Lunch Special because I got Strawberry Cake with it. Strawberry Cake!!!


This was Matthew's entree, a Bolognese sandwich. Really strange concept but Matthew said it was actually quite good, if a bit odd. I didn't try it because I kept raving about my salad.


These were the shining star in an already impressive lunch. We loved, loved, loved these fries. They were super skinny and crispy just the way I love fries.


Does this look familiar? can you tell I am slightly obsessed? Just another example of the attention to detail at The Zip Zap cafe on a side street in Harajuku.


This was the beautiful presentation of my strawberry and cream cake. I really loved this cake and, if you know me, you know that half the appeal was the darling little strawberry with his excited, happy face. I think it matched the excitement in my face when I ate the yummery little thing. It was delicious.


Just an example of how presentation and customer service are so impeccable in Tokyo.


I've always adored crepes. Imagine my delight when I found crepe stands all over the city. And these are really good! This was an autumn special of Chesnut creme with whole chestnuts and mille feuille topped with ice cream wrapped in a crepe. Just over the top but so perfect. Not too sweet and so yummy.


On the way to visit a temple and a shrine the other day we stopped for taiyaki. I got the chestnut and Matthew got the sweet potato. I love Japan's fall flavors!



Amazing Ramen from a tiny shop in Akihabara. I Loved this. This was the first time I have had Ramen with really thin noodles and I really did like them. Of course, the real tipping point for me was the fact that I got 1 1/2 eggies in my ramen so it's an automatic win.


Matthew got the same as me but with some extra pork and roasted garlic oil all over the top of the broth. The garlic oil changed the entire ramen but was an really good addition. Matthew couldn't get over how amazing this ramen was and has declared it the best ramen so far.