Lovely London: Part 1

As we sped away from Paris on the Eurostar, through the countryside of France we sipped our last bottle of rosé and nibbled on french bread and cheeses. The train ride to London from Paris is very quick and easy. We definitely prefer it over the hassle of flying and dealing with Heathrow Airport. Once we arrived in London, we had a quick bite of dinner and visited with friends before heading to bed. 

In the morning, we woke up and headed to one of our favorite chain restaurants in the UK, Bill's. This place has a nice rustic feel to it with enamel tea pots that are ever so lightly worn in, antique looking ceiling tiles and candelabra center pieces in the evening. Ivy, not being able to wait another moment before having a cream tea (a pot of tea with scones, jam, and clotted cream) ordered the Queen's Cream Tea Birthday Special. Eve and our friend A (who we were staying with) ordered poached eggs on avocado on toast and berry banana pancakes. Yum!

After breakfast, A left to do some PhD research (she's such a smart cookie) and we headed off to Oxford Street for a bit of shopping. Our guilty shopping pleasures in the UK are Primark, (The Forever 21 of England), Accessorize (an accessories shop) and New Look (clothing shop). We ended up picking out some killer Harry Potter PJ's at Primark and some cute fluffy purse charms at Accessorize. The summer sales were going on and it was hard not to buy up half of every store!

Once we had wondered all the shops on Oxford Street, we were starving so we headed to the Borough Market right across the street from our friends apartment. This market is AMAZING! It is full of fresh produce, local cheeses, craft ciders and beers, oyster bars, meat shops and more. We could definitely live happily ever after if we only ate here for the rest of our lives! We gobbled up tasty prosciutto sandwiches and a few glasses of sparkling rosé. Later Eve tried a fresh pressed green juice from one of the vendors as well. Seriously yum!

After lunch we went back to the apartment to take a nap and rest our feet. Once A returned from her work we met up with A's boyfriend D and had dinner by the river Thames. We walked past the tower of London and the Tower bridge. We stopped for dinner at a tapas bar and watched the sun set over the river. Once we finished dinner we all went out for a drink at a local pub where Eve and A sipped sparkling wine and Ivy drank her favorite cider, Rekorderlig. 

The next day we started with brunch at Spitalfields Market. This is near where Eve lived a few summers ago for a summer university course. We ended up going to breakfast at Blixen. We ordered scrambled eggs with mushrooms and truffle ragu, a double rosti with spinach poached eggs and parmesan cheese, and side of truffle popcorn all washed down with bubbly, naturally. :)

Afterwords, we took the tube to the Regent Street, where we ran, not walked to Fortnum & Maison. This shop is one of the most beautiful stores in London and filled with tins of cookies, jars of jam, picnic baskets, a huge selection of wines, and more. We wondered in awe for some time dreaming of one day filling our home with all its treasures, then we ran downstairs for the ultimate summer treat. Champagne Popsicles! Their packaging is so pretty we almost didn't want to open them, but lets be realistic, we never waste champagne! 

We bought the pops and headed off to sit in Green Park down the street and enjoy the summer sun. 

Once we had sunned and enjoyed our champagne pops we headed back towards the apartment and walk along the river. By the time we got back though (15 minutes later) it was pouring rain so we were forced to dry off in the apartment till A returned from the library. Once she got back, we walked to Borough Market to try out one of the oyster bars we had spotted earlier. Richard Haward's Oysters had a great deal of 4 oysters and a glass of prosecco for only 10 pounds!

After the oysters, we got changed and met up with a group of friends at a small wine bar called Champagne+Fromage (the name says it all) before heading to Roka Aldwych for a fabulous dinner celebrating our fellow American friend R's masters graduation.

After dinner, we all headed home to rest up for the next day and all the magic to come (hint hint!). Stay tuned!

xxx Ivy & Eve

Parisian Adventure: Part 2

A Day in Reims

On our second day in France we visited Reims (pronounced like France but with a R…Rance) which is in the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine region of France. This region is home to many of the world famous champagne houses, known as les grandes marques...some you may know of such as Veuve Clicquot, Domaine Pommery, Taittinger, and Champagne G.H. Mumm. 

Traveling to Reims from Paris is super simple, we don't know why we hadn't taken advantage of its closeness before. The train to Reims is only 45 minutes from Gare de l'Est station and the views of the countryside are lovely. 

When we first arrived in Reims we strolled the streets getting familiarized with the town, which is relatively small. We then visited the Notre-Dame de Reims in the center of town. This cathedral is where the kings of France were crowned! Over the years it has served as a place of worship, a hospital in the First World War, and now as a tourist destination with over 1 million visitors each year. The facade is beautifully carved with the faces of a thousand saints, gargoyles, and architectural elements. It may be one of our new favorite cathedrals! Afterwards we visited the tourist information center to get a map and ask for any suggestions they could give us. We had already booked a tour of Lanson champagne house for the afternoon but Eve had heard that a few champagne houses offered tours without reservations. They suggested heading to Tattinger for one of their tours. They had a tour in about 40 minutes time so we hopped on one of the super convenient busses and zipped over to Taittinger for our first tour of the day!

Pretty arches!

The cathedral was having restoration done to the stain glass windows.

When we arrived at Tattinger, we were immediately struck by the grandness of the buildings. We entered the large white buildings to book our tour and then stepped outside for a few minutes of sunshine before our tour began. Taittinger uses chalk caves, called crayeres, to store their wine. These caves were originally made by the Romans in the 4th century for harvesting chalk for building materials for houses and buildings in the town. Chalk, being porous can exchange air and humidity which keep the caves cool and at a constant temperature of 45 degrees all year round. Once the caves were dug out and there was no more need for the chalk the Roman monks started using them for wine storage. Taittinger is the third oldest champagne house and its caves are on the site of the Abbey of Saint Nicaise which was destroyed during the Revolution. Taittinger also owns 712 acres of vineyards outside the city where they harvest only the best crops to make their champagnes. Once they have made their wine, they let them age up to 10 years before selling them. The tour costs 16 euros (more if you want to taste more champagne) and it includes a glass of their champagne at the end.

Yummy champagne & Ivys THEIT Camera Bag!

The chalk caves storing the champagne.

After our tour of Taittinger we grabbed a few sandwiches from a bakery nearby and ate as we walked across town to Lanson, one of our absolute favorite champagnes! The Lanson winery is different to Taittinger's since it does not use chalk caves to store the wine but old cellars built into the hillside (much like the wine cellars back home in California). The temperature however still stays cool and constant. Lanson also is the first champagne house to have their own estate vineyard right next to their cellars and facilities. We were told that they play music in the vineyard twice a day: once in the morning to help protect the vines and roots from natural damages, and once in the evening to help aid the growth of the plant. Cool! Lanson is also distinguished between the other champagne houses because they do not use malolactic fermentation in their wine making process. This step was added to most champagne houses when it was discovered around 1837. Now it is used in many wines, still and sparkling. The process makes wine less acidic and more of a smooth mouth feel. The other champagne houses in Reims use malolactic fermentation which speeds up the aging process and therefore the wine is ready sooner. However, not using the malolactic fermentation helps Lanson wines keep longer. There are a few levels for the tour and tasting you can choose from 15 euros to 30 euros, we decided to do the most expensive option which includes 3 glasses of champagne after the tour. We got to taste their classic Black Label non-vintage brut, Rose Label rosé (one of the first rosé champagnes ever made), and the Gold Label 2008 brut. Our favorite glass was the 2008 brut which had an added complexity to the fresh citrusy taste of Lanson.

Walking in Lansons Caves...they use special light bulbs that do not create heat and gives an orange glow to photos. 

If only we had hallways full of Lanson champagne... 

Black Label non-vintage brut

Rose Label rosé

Gold Label 2008 brut

After our tour of Lanson we headed back to the train station to head back to Paris. On our way we stopped at Maison Fossier, which is a famous bakery in Reims for its pink biscuits. These biscuits were invented in the 1690’s. Bakers in Reims wanted to make something that could be made to use the heat of their ovens after baking bread. These cute pink cookies are traditionally dipped into champagne or can also be eaten with coffee or tea. We bought a few for ourselves and for gifts. They really do go so well with champagne! Once we were at the station, we had time for one last glass of bubbly before zipping back to Paris. 

Walking around Reims