A Foggy Day in London Town

Dear Grace,

I hate stairs - but I'll get to that later. We arrived in France at roughly 11:00 pm or so, and after momentarily thinking that we were stranded there, we found the shuttle that would take us an hour south to Paris. Our first morning in Paris, we went to breakfast at a little local bakery, which was awesome, and then walked down to the Gare de Lyon train station to pick up our rental car. The whole time we were walking I kept freaking out going, "Holy crap, this is a totally different city than the one I saw this spring!" The reason for that being that we weren't in the tourist areas of the city, so I was finally seeing the real charms of Paris. After getting the car and parking it, we went to check out Notre Dame and the Love Lock Bridge right behind it.

Next, we went and took a tour of the Paris Opera house known as Palais Garnier (the opera house featured in The Phantom of the Opera). I confess that along with the non-stop "squee!" coming out of me for the entirety of the time we were there, I died a little inside as we wandered around that gorgeous architectural piece of magnificence.

Next, Marne was dying for food, so we went to lunch at an adorable French cafe, where I decided to be gutsy and try escargot. It actually wasn't bad at all. It was kind of like eating a salty seasoned clam with a bread stick.

Afterward, we attempted to go shopping but really just ended up wandering around all the way up to the Gare de l'Est train station where we found a shop where Marne got a super cute hat, and in the train station we found  a shop called "IJo." Needless to say, after taking pictures of myself in front of the sign, I bought a pair of jeans from there.

Our next destination for the night was the Arch de Triumph. I accidentally took us to the wrong metro stop, and we ended up going all the way out to "La Grande Arche," where we unwittingly stumbled upon a Christmas market, and promptly left. We would have liked to stay and check it out, but we were tired and didn't want to miss the Arch de Triumph.

After getting to the correct stop, we climbed the many many MANY stairs up to the top of the arch and got the awesome nighttime view of Paris, as well as the Eiffel Tower nearby.

Next, we wandered down Champs d'Elysses (the major street for shopping in Paris) in search of a power adapter (I forgot to bring my power adapter for Europe, so we had been limping along by charging our electronics by plugging the USB into our hotel TV). We couldn't find one for quite a while, but we did find a Marks & Spencer again and bought food! Then we wandered some more, did some more window shopping, and at last, when I was about to give up all hope, we found an electronics store and a power adapter! After that, my aching feet told me they were done, and we headed back to the hotel for the night.

The next day was Sunday, so, we thought it only fitting that we go to the beautiful cathedral of Sacre Couer to attend catholic mass.

After mass, we wandered around the most gorgeous area of Montmarte, where I bought a ring and a bottle of fresh-squeezed orange juice.

After that, we headed for the Eiffel Tower, but I took us to the wrong metro station again where we once again unwittingly stumbled upon yet another Christmas market on Champs d'Elysses. We lingered and checked things out for a bit, then we headed on the right train to the Eiffel Tower for dinner.

After dinner, we headed out for our next destination: Honfleur!

We got in late that night, and in the morning we went out to explore the little town of Honfleur. The harbor area was very pretty, and I just love the feel of ancient medieval towns.

Being short on time, we ran to the supermarket for food, checked out of our hotel, and took a BEAUTIFUL drive up to Etretat.

The big reveal to that view was just...stunning. Absolutely gorgeous. Marne and I were freaking out over the view, and the sun was shining and the sea was sparkling, and the grass was unbelievably green on the hillside.

We ended up having to skip Omaha Beach for the sake of time, but our disappointment was quickly forgotten as we approached the next item on the list: Mont Saint Michel.

Best. Hotel room. EVER.

We arrived just as the sun was going down, and as we approached the island, the lights went on and set the ancient abbey ablaze with a celestial glow.

I freaked.

We checked into our hotel room (with a terrace larger than the room itself) and then proceeded to totally flip our lids. Save for a handful of after-dark stragglers, we were the only two explorers on the magical mount.

(French dinner of a baguette, jam, cheese, and "wine" (grape juice, haha))

At 7:00, the bells of the abbey and the tower directly across from our terrace began to gong deafeningly.

The following day, we woke to a very wet, grey, damp-cold day. There were fearless birds everywhere, and I admittedly felt WAY too much like a Disney princess. We re-explored everythning in daylight, and then took a nearly private tour of the abbey (seriously, there was NO ONE there!).

Done with that, busloads of Asians started pouring in. We took that as our cue to leave, as we felt we had seen it all, and headed for the town of Saint Malo. We dropped off the car, checked into our hotel in the medieval city center, and explored for a bit, munching on baguette sandwiches and enjoying the cobbled streets and the Christmas lights.

We then retired for the night and got up early to meet our cab to the airport.

A few hours, a plan, a train, and a tube ride later, I finally finally FINALLY set foot at home again in London.

Oh, from the moment we arrived I wondered why I hadn’t just spent the entire week there. I was so happy to be back home at last. Even the gloomy, foggy weather couldn't dampen my spirits.

London is magical...there aren’t words to describe how much I love it.

That first day we saw Buckingham Palace, took a walk through St. James’ park (GORGEOUS in the fall), saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Kensington, and after dinner at the Muffin Man Cafe (my favorite!), we went to the Winter Wonderland festival in Hyde Park.

I was completely enchanted. Best. Welcome home party. EVER!

Day two in London was Thanksgiving Day. We started the day off by visiting my old flat, as well as a cul-de-sac with some beautiful homes in it that I always loved.

That afternoon, we dressed to the nines and went to the Orangery at Kensington Palace for afternoon tea.

Hands-down, most elegant I've ever felt in my life.

After, we went to the Winter Wonderland again for smoked salmon and meat pie, and then went back to our hostel to change into warmer clothes to explore Millennium Bridge, St. Paul's, the Old Bailey building, and St. Bart's Hospital.

Day three, we toured the inside of St. Paul's, then went to the Whitechapel Bell Foundry (the same foundry where Big Ben and the Liberty Bell were forged). I bought a bell while we were there, needless to say :)

Next, we went to see some of my old favorite places, including Leicester Square and the Seven Dials.

We also went to Neal's Yard for tea...

...walked all the way down to the original Twinings shop (the oldest tea shop in the world)...

...had dinner at Cafe Rouge in Kensington (something I'd always wanted to do since my very first day in London)...

...and ended the day at the London Eye.

Our last day in London, we got up and went to Portobello Road to do some antique shopping. I bought a hat pin and a few lockets. Mom wears the locket I gave her now with Brooke's picture and hair in it. I've sent another to Cali, and the third one I gave to your mother, Holly.

We then went to see the rooftop gardens in Kensington - another place I'd always wanted to see. I was not disappointed. Those gardens were beautiful, and the clubhouse was SO elegant!

Afterward we went to a secret place under Westminster Bridge to look at Big Ben and get some pictures, and then we went to a spook alley called the London Dungeon.

When we got out it was dark, so we went back to that spot under the bridge. I sat and looked at Parliament for a long time, shining in the darkness. I wished I could have sat there for hours, but Marne was too cold to stay.

Back at the hostel, we worked out transport from the train station to the airport, showered, napped for an hour, checked out, and headed for the train station.

(Using the "Lip-Service" phone at the hostel)

I already miss it so much. The one thing that keeps me going is knowing I'll be going back again one day. Hopefully I won't have to wait for too long this time. I always feel so at home there...