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 4

On day 5 of our Parisian adventures we awoke bright and early, grabbed a few pastries at out local bakery, and headed straight to the Eiffel Tower! We hadn't booked tickets ahead so we made sure to get there a little bit before the tower opened to be one of the first groups in line for tickets. We arrived at 8:45 and there were around 50 people in line already. The Eiffel Tower opens to the public at 9:00 but they were already selling tickets so we got through the line and were on our way to the top by 9:05! Not bad at all! (We would definitely recommend coming early because as we left, we saw the line for tickets and it was SO LONG.)

Once we got our tickets, we boarded one of the big glass covered elevators and started the accent! The elevators glide diagonally up the legs of the tower making it a slightly odd ride. It is  interesting seeing all of the metalwork and you really get a sense of what an engineering feat this building was when it was built! To get to the top, you have to stop at the second level and switch elevators. We could see the rain clouds slowly making their way towards us so we decided to head straight to the top to make the most of our tickets before the rain hit! WOW. We had been to the second level of the tower before and the views are amazing but the views at the top are spectacular! We took a few minutes to take in the views before it started sprinkling. Then we scrambled to take some photos before the rain hit before heading down to the second level for more views and a bit of bubbly! The top level of the tower has a small champagne bar which is open daily from around noon. Unfortunately we were there too early so we had to get our glasses from the second level food bar. They had a two glass champagne deal for only 15 euros so naturally we had to take them up on that offer! We took our glasses outside to soak up the views...pun intended ;).

After we walked around the second level we headed, glasses in hand, to the first level for one last view of paris from above and also in search of Eve's favorite yet quirky souvenir, the squished penny! Once we had located the penny machine and Eve got her souvenir we reluctantly descended to the bottom and left the Eiffel Tower behind. If you haven't been to the Eiffel Tower (even if you have) check out the 360 degree photos on the Eiffel Tower Website. We visit this site whenever we are in need of a bit of Paris to brighten our day!

After the Eiffel Tower, we headed to Montmartre, the largest hill in Paris located in the 18th Arrondissement. Montmartre is known for the grand Basilica of Sacré-Cœur, its artistic roots, and of course the famous cabaret Moulin Rouge. By this point the rain had started pouring so we ran to Sacré-Cœur to escape it for a little. This Basilique is one of Paris's iconic monuments. Sitting on top of a hill above Paris the views are astounding. You can even glimpse the Eiffel tower in the distance. Inside the arches and domes seem to reach as high as the clouds. 

After wandering inside Sacré-Cœur and around the streets surrounding it we realized we had quite an apatite. So we wandered down the road to a wine bar that served bubbly, and small plates. It had just what we needed, and it gave us a break from the rain. 

After lunch we headed to Place de la Madeleine in the center of Paris. This area has tons of nice shopping, like Herems, Luis Viton, Channel, and many more. However, we were here for one reason La Maison Maille, a mustard botique. This shop is amazing if you like mustard. They pour the mustard fresh from the taps. They have a large variety of flavors, and sell them in cute jars! It is a mustard lovers dream! 

After P-man and Eve stocked up on Mustard we headed back home to dry off a little before heading off for drinks before dinner. This time we stopped for drinks at Cafe de Flore. This is another famous cafe in Paris right around the corner from Les Deux Magots. Cafe de Flore has been in buisness since 1887.  The name came from a little statue of a god that sat across the boulevard from the cafe. This cafe has seen its share of famous artists, and writers over the years, seeking out the cafe for inspiration. Here we ordered glasses of rosé and nibbled on the complementary chips while we watched people pass by. It was a nice way to unwind after the long day. 

After drinks we walked down the street to Le Petit Zinc. This restaurant had a very fun interior, lots of rich fabrics and ____.  Eve ordered a seafood platter of oysters, clams, and shrimp. 

The next day P-man had to leave, so we woke up early and headed out for a real breakfast in paris. On our way to find breakfast we walked through a market that sold everything from flowers to fish. We then found a place to eat, Cafe Le Pré a sidewalk cafe just down the street from our apartment. They served an assortment of breakfast items, but we all ended up picking pastries. 

Once we had satisfied our hunger we headed off to the Shakespeare & Company, a famous bookstore. This was P-mans last request while in paris since he LOVES books. After shopping around we headed for one last stroll around Notre-Dame. 

P-man then headed off to the airport to fly back to Manchester. We would be meeting with him in London that weekend. We then decided to head off for "lunch" at Ladurée's pop-up location since it was in the direction as home. We selected our teas and pastries and gobbled them up as soon as we took a few pictures ofhow beautiful they were. They were even more tasty then they looked!

After lunch we wandered back to the appartment to clean and pack for leaving the next day. For dinner we decided to go back to our favorite cafe Les Deux Magots. 

The next morning we walked over to the local bakery and picked up a few macaroons, pastries and yogurts for breakfast while we prepared to leave that afternoon.  

After saying our goodbyes to the apartment we wandered down our street to a cafe for a little lunch before our train to London that afternoon. As we boarded the train to London we reflected on the trip and all the things we have to do next time! Paris is such a magical city, there is always new and exciting things to do!

xxx Ivy & Eve