And Then There Was the Food

                 

From London to Paris...we ate.  Not that we planned our whole day around meals...we just made certain we ate them!  So here is a look at some of the meals and snacks we enjoyed!

                                                 Can you say fish and chips!!

Shepherd's Pie at the Sherlock Holmes Pub

For Dessert...Magnum Ice Cream Bars...or Walker's Short Bread Cookies

A picnic at Buckingham Palace included our English "go-to" sandwich

Turkey, Cranberry, and Arugula

Hot Tea...all the time!

There were sweet possibilities everywhere in both countries!

Harrods Food Hall

Awesome Ice Cream Treats at Harrods Ice Cream Parlor

In Paris we went to Angelina's for lunch and Chaud Chocolat and the Mont Blanc Macaroon

Crepes in Paris...okay, french fries too!

Fabulous Laduree Macaroons...enjoyed on that 10 hour flight home!

I didn't take a picture of the fabulous Beef Bourguignon that I had at our London hotel restaurant TWICE!  Also, we went to Wagamama's Noodle Bar the night we went to see Les Mis and had some incredible...noodles!  One night in London we decided we needed some comfort food...so we found a cute Italian Restaurant and ate pasta and planned our next day.  Our last night in Paris was reserved for Le Tour Eiffel.  We tried to get a reservation at the restaurant in the Tower but they were booked.  We ate at a quaint place in Trocadero Square with a view of Le Tour Eiffel.  We had a lovely 2 hour meal complete with huge desserts and coffee too strong to be drinking at 10:00 pm before heading out in the cold rainy night to get a last picture of the grand beauty at night!

 Oh and I can't forget this fun place in Le Quartier Latin...

We had cheese dip and chips and margaritas and burritos! It was the perfect way to spend a couple hours after fighting the rainy afternoon going to Notre Dame and St. Chapelle!  It was also highly recommended by Kaitlynn Moody (just in case you are thinking WHY)!!

I think everyone had their own favorite...mine was the beef bourguignon...but I loved our little picnic with sandwiches and chips and fruit enjoyed while checking out the ladies in their hats going to see the Queen!  Bottom line...we all came home and headed to the gym!!

                                   

Of Castles and Colleges and Hogwarts...

While in England we visited Windsor Castle, the Queen's official residence.  Windsor is the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world...built over 900 years ago.  We toured the state apartments and saw the changing of the guard while we were there. Exploring the beautiful St. George's Chapel and the quaint town of Windsor will have to wait for the next visit!

Back in London, the Queen lives not in a castle but Buckingham Palace.  The day we visited we picnicked on the green across from the palace and watched as invited guests decked out in war medals (the men) and hats (the women:) arrived for an afternoon reception with the Queen.

 Speaking of castles...this is a model of the medieval Castle Louvre built by King Phillip Augustus in 1190.  Today the Louvre is a museum and home of the Mona Lisa

While in England we also visited Oxford. The University is comprised of 38 colleges (Exeter, Christ Church, St. Anne's, The Queen's College, Trinity, etc). Each college is responsible for curriculum, lectures, libraries, dormitories, dining halls, etc.  When a student graduates the degree states the college's name and "of Oxford University." 

There are lots of fascinating stories associated with Oxford but with the opening of the final Harry Potter movie the guide showed us the ties between Harry Potter and Oxford...

Stone masons back in the day marked their work as on this stone...this was the inspiration for the scar on Harry's forehead

The talking heads at Hogwarts came from these at Oxford...unfortunately we couldn't get these to talk;) 

These are actual pictures of the fictitious Hogwarts...could be Oxford!

Our day spent out of London exploring Windsor and Oxford was one of our favorites of this trip...and now we were really excited to go see Harry Potter at the Odeon Theatre!

Mothers and Daughters

It was such a blessing to be able to go to Europe with my three girls.  They are all grown up now, with lives of their own, and opportunities like this will rarely happen again I know.  While this was Katelyn's graduation trip, she turned it into the Dodd Girls' last hurrah when she invited her sisters!

This trip was Nicole's first time away from Claire and that is a big deal in the life of a mom!  She handled it well and thanks to technology was able to face-time with David and Claire daily.  At times she could be seen gazing at pictures of Claire on her phone and in the gold locket she wore.

It is interesting how our children (and grandchildren) are the great stabilizers in our worlds.  I can be caught up in the everyday or, as in this case, caught up in a fabulous trip in Europe when the words of a child will stop me in my tracks...On our last night in Paris I was packing while Nicole face-timed with David and Claire.  Periodically I would holler out "where's Claire?  where's Gigi?" and then I would pop in front of the ipod so Claire could see me...and she would laugh.  Nicole was telling David something about the day when I heard Claire hollering (cause that's what we southerners do...we holler) "Gigi...Gigi...Gigi..." 

Oh yes, that was a first!  And I will always remember I was in Paris on July 20, 2011 when she first said my name!! 

So as I move into this next phase in my life...you know that one in which my girls won't daily run into a room with something momentous to share (not that they do that on a DAILY basis now by any means), I realize there are things to look forward to...:)

 

Les Miserables

We went to see the beautiful Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre while in London.  In a nutshell this play takes place in France in the turbulent years between 1815 and the mid 1830's. It is a story of a country's growing pains and one man's redemption.  Victor Hugo finished the novel Les Miserables in 1861.  It is said (by the tour guide at the Louvre...so...maybe don't quote me) that his inspiration for the young boy in the story (Gavroche) came from this painting by Delacroix...

Little did we know that we would be seeing the legendary Alfie Boe in the
role of Jean Valjean...

  

 Check out this video from YouTube of his showstopping  Bring Him Home 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKIRY6caqgY

And while I was looking about YouTube I found this beautiful rendition of I Dream a Dream done by another of my favorites..Idina Menzel from Wicked (along with Lea Michele from Glee).

http://youtu.be/Xp7ARm2Lwdo

Enough of the videos...this evening was so surprisingly wonderful in so many ways.  The girls loved the show, I now have a new favorite (Phantom of the Opera and Wicked being 2nd and 3rd). AND...a very unexpected aspect to our evening at the theatre has given me the inspiration for a children's book (or maybe two)!  Nicole has sworn me to secrecy at this point...so no more information than that ;)

I think that this was my favorite from our trip...although I might change my mind in a later post! 

I am now thinking that I should read this novel...