Happy New Year! This year, we ended 2015 by going to Europe, specifically London, Paris, Brussels, and Oslo. Here are the highlights of our trip, and yes, I know that most of the pics are of food. I figured if you really want to see another picture of Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the Louvre, Palace of Versailles, etc., you can just Google it :) Wouldn't you rather see something you can't Google?
London
The English major nerd in me has wanted to visit England since so many dead white writers are either from England or have written about England. Touring Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was really cool in a nerdy way, especially since my ninth graders are starting to read Romeo & Juliet!
Another highlight was Tower Bridge, which is so much more interesting to look at than London Bridge in my opinion.
Another highlight was Tower Bridge, which is so much more interesting to look at than London Bridge in my opinion.
I'm not usually impressed by skylines (more of a nature gal), but this skyline from Tower Bridge was simply stunning.
Paris
Doesn't Christmas in Paris sound magnifique? Well, it was all that and more. It's my new love. My middle school French teacher, Ms. Johnston, wouldn't be so proud of my inability to speak any French, but she'd be proud that I knew enough to spot what I want to order in restaurants.
The best part of waking up is having coffee on a balcony where you can watch the city come to life.
A view from the balcony. Yup, that's Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower.
Le Fous de L'ile is known for being a Michelin star restaurant that doesn't require you to sell off your first born in order to eat there. They offered a prixe fixe menu for Christmas dinner for $55 per person, not bad at all for dining in Paris considering you can easily find pricier options in San Diego.
The appetizer was duck foie gras with apple chutney and a gingerbread muffin. I know it sounds a bit weird, but it was weirdly delicious.
The second course was monkfish with potatoes in a truffle sauce. The fish was so buttery!
You don't have to choose between chicken or fish because you got both! My favorite part of this dish was actually the pumpkin mash. I love all things pumpkin. My favorite season? Pumpkin season--also known as fall to everyone else.
Dessert was my favorite course because...well, does dessert really need a reason? Inside this chocolate dome was a luscious creamy pistachio filling.
It's like this street was made for me. A gelato shop and a bakery next to each other?! My foodie mind is blown.
Ok, I didn't just go to Paris to stuff my face. Yes, we visited the main tourist attractions including the Louvre, Palace of Versailles, Luxumbourg Garden, Tuileries Garden, Notre Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, and Basilica of Sacred Heart, but I'm most proud of walking the stairs up to the Eiffel Tour instead of using the elevator. Hey, those pastries aren't going to walk themselves off...and the stairs were cheaper which means more money for pastries!
A view down below from the stairs of the Eiffel Tower. Avoid at all costs if you're afraid of heights.
You might have noticed that the picture above was taken during daylight while this picture was taken at night. No, it didn't take all night to walk up the Eiffel Tower. If you just want a great night shot of the Eiffel Tower, you can take the metro to Trocadero and look for the hordes of people who are doing the same thing. It's also free, since you have to pay to go up the Eiffel Tower. This awesome shot was taken by my partner in crime. If I had taken it, there would be people's heads all over the picture since I'm vertically challenged :(
Any guesses for what these people are trying to take a picture of in the Louvre?
It's the Mona Lisa. It's just, well, so much smaller in person. I felt bad for all the other neglected paintings, so I quickly moved on to give them some love. There's so much to see in the Louvre. I would recommend looking at the museum guide ahead of time to pick which floors you really want to explore.
After seeing Napoleon's apartment in the Louvre, my recommendation would be to go walk the gardens at the Palace of Versailles, but I could've skipped the tour of the actual palace. I felt a bit like cattle being herded through the palace because of all the people there. The gardens, on the other hand, are sprawling and so picturesque. They're also free (are you noticing a trend here?).
Brussels
I was channeling Anthony Bourdain's 24 Hour Layover since we had 24 hours in Brussels. It ended up being a good thing because you can easily knock out the tourist attractions in a few hours. So what did we do the rest of the day? We basically went restaurant hopping around Brussels.
The day started at Peck 47, which is known for their Eggs Benedict over a waffle. Move over chicken and waffles!
Go to Maison Dandoy. Pay the $4-5 for a waffle, which I know is more than triple the price of a street waffle. There are two kinds of waffles: liege and Belgium. Get the "natural" liege waffle first without any toppings. Just do it. You're welcome.
Here's what a Belgium waffle looks like. All looks, no substance.
Yes, I had to try the $1 street liege waffles to compare them to Maison Dandoy's. And yes, I might have gone back to Maison Dandoy and eaten two more waffles before leaving Brussels.
Yelp and Tripadvisor went wild over Noordzee, specifically the shrimp croquettes. The soup was good, but the shrimp croquettes were just eh.
Oslo
I didn't know anything about Oslo, Norway other than the fact that it happened to be cheaper to fly out of. What do I know now about Norway? It's a cold, rich, and smart country. Apparently, Norway is wealthy because of oil, but they're smart enough to set aside a fund from their oil profits to avoid Dutch disease (just Google it). Norway's political scene is quite fascinating actually, but there wasn't much to do as a tourist specifically in Oslo, so here's to another food tour.
Mussels in a creamy sauce from Fiskeriet. The mussels were so fresh and delicious, but their fries are out of this world. They're the best fries. Ever.
Ok, I had to try their fish and chips because the ones I had in London were disappointing. The fish was so moist inside this one, and yes, I might have also wanted to eat more of their fries.
It was a white Christmas in Oslo!
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