A Hop, Skip, & Jump "Over" the Pond!

L-O-N-D-O-N

To say that I had "good" time over the week while Lake & I were in London would probably be the understatement of the YEAR!  And that's saying a lot because it's the 3rd day of the year!  London is amazing, bustling, metropolitan, fantastic, beautiful, I could go on & on, but I won't bore anyone with adjectives....let's dive right into the week & you can see for yourself!  ;)

Day 1

Our adventure started on the afternoon of Sunday, December 18th at San Antonio International airport.  We boarded our very tiny plane to fly over to Dulles in DC.  We had a 2 hour layover in DC & ate some dinner & grabbed a beverage which I was hoping would put me right to sleep, unfortunately it didn't!  I added a glass of free champagne to my plate, but yep, nothing, not a wink of sleep!  I kept trying, but with no such luck, I think I was just super excited to just get there.  After some point I did doze off for maybe 90 minutes, 2 hours at the most, but the flight was only a little over 6 hours, so it didn't give me much to work with! 

Oh well, we survived & landed safely in London on Monday, December 19th.  We make the long trek to customs, waited in the fun line, got our passports stamped, grabbed our bags & a taxi & away we went!  The drive into the city was long, it's about 20 minutes away with no traffic, but of course, it was Monday morning, so everyone was trying to make their way into the city.  I dozed off for a bit, but woke up just in time to get my glimpse of Harrods.  I was ready to take on the city & the shopping & get to the hotel already. 

our view from our hotel:  Marriot County Hall

We had originally planned on just leaving our bags & going, since it was so early in the morning.  But they had a room ready for us & we got lucky, a room with a view!  We were on the 2nd floor which faced.....wait for it.....The Thames Rivers, which BTW is pronounced "Tims" not T-ae-mes....ya learn something new everyday!  Our window also faced Parliament, Westminster Abbey & of course Big Ben, it was amazing! 

We decided our best plan of action would be to take a quick nap & wake up at 11:00am & get going, remember...that was the plan.  At about 10:30 an alarm starts going off, at first I thought it was Lake's phone, but then I realized that it wasn't, it was the HOTEL fire alarm....awesome!  We rushed to get our coats on & then got kinda lost trying to find the emergency exit in the maze of their stairwell, sheesh, glad there wasn't an actual fire.  We still aren't sure what happened, we just know that we go outside, walked the perimeter of the building & by the time we got back around the front the alarm was off & we could go back in.  We changed & were ready to take on the city! 

Our first stop was at our underground station which was Westminster to get our tube tickets (Oyster Card) for the week.  We hopped on & went to see The Tower of London & Tower Bridge.  We toured around the Tower & got a tour from a real beefeater!  :) 

Side Note:  Did you know, beefeater's are retired members of the British military & they have to serve a certain amount a years & they live on the tower grounds with their families AND their children are allowed to be married in the small church that is on the Tower grounds AND if you are married on the grounds, your children can be baptized in the church & if you're baptized in the church, you can then be married in the church!  SUPER COOL!  I learned so much. 
After we walked around we hopped back on the tube & made our way to The British Museum, we made a wrong turn & walked a bit & realized we didn't know where the museum was.  We asked a lovely young lady if she could help us out, she politely busted out her iPhone & wa-laa, we were routed in the right direction. 
Lake had researched the museum & knew which highlights to see, so we found them & after about 90 minutes both of us felt we'd seen what was needed to be seen & left for Picadilly Circus. 

great restaurant!!!

When seeing pictures of this I had always envisioned Times Square in NYC & while it was cool, it wasn't as big as I'd imagined.  We looked & walked down one of the side streets & found our way to a really great restaurant called The Fish Shop.  We walked in & were seated right away.  The food was sooooo good.  I had Prawns in Chili sauce that were amazing!  Lake had good 'ol Fish & Chips, which I tried & I really don't like white fish & I thought it was really good.  Really buttery & delicate.  It was made with halibut & not cod like it's normally made with. 
After dinner we were wiped, got back to the hotel, had a drink the hotel bar & went to bed


 Day 2
Our second day started with a quick breakfast & a walk down to 10 Downing Street.  OK, so I'll admit it, I didn't know that this was the address for the British Prime Minister.  Lake was shocked, but sorry, I didn't.  We actually walked one street over too far, but we found it, it's really gated & so you couldn't even get remotely close to take a decent picture, but the house is black...that's pretty much all I gathered.  It's pretty though & has a nice view of the London Eye. 

the view from 10 Downing Street

We then walked a couple of blocks down to Trafalgar Square, which was really pretty!  Fountains everywhere, and the official Summer Olympics countdown-er thing was there. 

We then made our way towards the Thames to find Cleopatra's Needle which is an Egyptian obelisk.  There are 3 total, one in London, one in Paris in Place de la Concorde & one in New York City, I believe somewhere in Central Park....I may be wrong though.  On our way over to the obelisk we just happened upon the "official" Sherlock Holmes pub, it was so adorable!  It wasn't open yet, but we took pictures outside of it.  I really wanted to go back & grab a drink, but we never made it back that way. 
We then started the very long journey to Buckingham Palace.  I'm really bad at gaging distance, but it took us about 25-30 minutes to get there by foot.  It was a pretty walk though & we did stop to take some pictures.  Lake & I got to Buckingham & were ready for the changing of the guard.  While we were waiting we met 2 college aged girls (probably seniors) who were Aggies!  :)  They noticed us because of Lake's aggie ring & one of them was from Houston.....crazy small world!  As we stared, waiting for the "change" one of the guards comes out & places a sign that says...."The next Changing of the Guard will occur Wednesday, Dec. 21st"......so we were apparently a day off, *sigh* oh well.....

Westminster Abbey, my favorite abbey

We didn't let that get us down!  Lake & I walked through Green Park to go & see Westminster Abbey.  We took an audio tour & got to see everything.  That place was awesome, I wish I could've taken pictures!  I was amazed by all the sculputures & funeral monuments & just people who are buried all over that place.  Seeing where Will & Kate were married was pretty cool too!
After the tour we found a pub that was about a block away from the abbey & had lunch.  I opted for a burger & Lake opted for fish n' chips...again!  We enjoyed a beer & were off to Shakespeare's Globe Theater!
The theater is located right on the Thames, you can see St. Paul's Cathedral which is on the other side of the river crossing the Millenium Bridge.  We got to tour the actual theater, it was all very interesting.  I would have loved to have seen an actual play performed there, but it's their off season right now & they don't have anything live until April, so oh well!
That evening we found ourselves back around Buckingham Palace.  We had dinner reservations at Bank Westminster.  It's a restaurant that I found on OpenTable.com, so we tried it out.  We got to our reservation a bit early because well, we were in the area & plus, we had to be up super early the next morning to catch our train to Paris, so we wanted to get back to the hotel at a good time & get to bed!  The food was OK, my prosecco was yummy if that counts for anything.  I had a pumpkin bisque as my appetizer & chicken as my entree.  Lake had a salad of some sort & a steak for his dinner.  I wouldn't recommend or go back there, it wasn't awful by any means, it just wasn't great & there are so many GREAT places to eat, that I'd say skip it!  After dinner we found our tube station & went back to the hotel to get ready for Paris early the next morning!!!

Day 3
PARIS!
"Paris is always a good idea"~Audrey Hepburn
This day started off so early!  Our train left the St. Pancras station at 5:40am, so the concierge at our hotel recommended that we get a taxi from our hotel at around 4:40am.  We were up around 4:00, got a snack at the hotel, & left! 
We got to the train station with time to spare, but not too much, went through security, which was very similar to airport security.  We made it through customs & had about 30 minutes to spare.  There was a small cafe in the lobby area so we grabbed some breakfast & waited for our train to start boarding.  I discovered that this train station had free WiFi, I was ecstatic!!  My poor phone needed some exercise!  haha, at 5:20 we were able to board the train.  It was still dark outside so the actual train ride wasn't picturesque at all!  Lake & I both slept the majority of the train ride.  We got to Paris at around 9:00am (Paris time) & found the Metro ticket kiosk, figured out what kind of ticket we needed & where we wanted to go first & we were ready to take on the city of light!!

Basilique Saint-Denis

Our first scheduled stop was to Basilique Saint-Denis.  This was a recommendation that I had gotten from a friend of mine in Junior League.  She knows lots & lots about the city, so I went to her for advice on the must sees for a 1 day visit.  This basilica is actually where the French royals are all buried, including Marie Antionette & Louis XVI.  The church was gorgeous, the area of town that it was in was definitely not touristy & we did have a bit of trouble finding it.  I think both of us had taken for granted that everyone in London speaks in english....we were now in Paris, they speak French, yes most know english, but since we were in an area that probably doesn't see a lot of tourists, finding someone who spoke clear english was a bit challenging.  We finally found a map & a nice old woman saw us looking at it with a confused look on our faces & asked us if we were looking for the "basilique?".....to which we said "yes, um, oui".....she told us exactly where we needed to go & we found it!  It's a very old church, it was originally founded in the 7th century. 

there's St. Denis holding his head...

Here's it's back story:  Apparently, Saint Denis was beheaded in Montmarte.....where Sacre-Couer is.  Not sure why though....anyway, after his head was chopped off, he picked it up, walked a few kilometers & died.  Where he fell, is where they built the church to honor him.  Kinda silly, but hey, good story!  He supposedly buried under the church, along with a whole lot of other important French people.  If you are in the entryway of Notre Dame, you'll see a man holding his head in his hands....THAT'S SAINT DENIS!! 
We got to entryway right when it opened at 10:00am & there wasn't anyone inside.  We managed to find a ticket window & got an audio guide.  All the monuments & burial areas were gorgeous & so elaborate.  I could tell that renovations were taking place all around the building.  I think if we would have gone a bit later in the day, there probably would have been more people around.  We toured the church & then made our way to the metro station located in the area.
Our next stop was Montmarte, which is the home of the Sacre-Couer, this gorgeous basilica is at the very highest point in Paris.  When we went for our honeymoon almost 4 years ago this was by far one of my favorite sites in all of the city!  We made 2 metro stops in Montmarte, the first was to see the Moulin Rouge, which I didn't get to see last time.  This was literally just up the metro steps.  I got my pictures, headed back down to the metro.  Then our 2nd stop was to see the basilica.  The walk to the actual church is a long one with lots & lots & lots of stairs!  My thighs & calves burn just thinking about it right now.  It's well worth the climb though.  The view from the top is gorgeous & the church itself is amazing!  There was a cute little Christmas market just outside of the church so Lake & I walked around there first, then went inside the church. 

Place de la Concorde

We were now ready to visit the main area of Paris!  Our next stop was at Place de la Concorde.  We rode on the Ferris wheel here & although it was cold & super foggy, it was still fun & a good way to see the city.  We found a place to eat lunch off the main area of the square, then walked down the Champs-Élysées, which had another super cute Christmas market.  I found some great smelling soap there!!  We walked around a bit & hopped on the metro to go to Trocadero which, in my opinion, has one of the best views of the Eiffel Tower.  There was ANOTHER Christmas market at Trocadero & we walked towards the tower & went up to the top.  There wasn't much of a crowd at that point, so we didn't have to wait in line for too long.  Once we were up at the top is was SOOOOOO cold & windy & drizzly.  They had a little champagne stand up at the top, but I was just too cold to even think about that!  When we got back down to the bottom the line was insane to go up the tower.  I think it was because people want to be up there once it gets dark to see the tower sparkle.  I was good ;) 

BEST CREPE IN PARIS!

With only about 3 hours left before we had to be back at the train station to head back to London, we still had some things to see.  We stopped at, I'd have to say THE BEST crepe stand in Paris.  It's located right across the street from the Eiffel Tower.  I had my nutella & banana crepe that I'd been craving since March of 2008!  I'm not joking!  In life, there are certain smells that a person never forgets & associates with a certain moment in their life, the smell of a fresh nutella crepe is one of those smells for me!  We then got ready to take our Seine River cruise.
The cruise lasts about an hour & goes from the Eiffel Tower down the river & then back, I'm not sure where the turn around is, but I know it's passed Notre Dame.  The tour was nice, took lots of pictures & tried to stay warm.  After the river tour was over we made our way to "our" metro stop, which is the stop that was a block away from the hotel that we stayed during our honeymoon.  The metro stop was on the Ave. de Suffren & I believe it's the Champs de Mars stop. 

Notre Dame at night

We caught the metro there & hopped off at St. Michel/Notre Dame.  Lake LOVES Notre Dame, so I'm really happy that we made it just in time to walk around inside & get some pictures outside.  We found a nice souvenir shop just around the corner from the cathedral & did some last minute shopping.  Across the street from Notre Dame was another market, we walked around & decided it was time to head back to the train station to make sure we had plenty of time to settle in & maybe eat dinner. 
At the train station we had to go through customs, go through security & the whole works, so it was a good thing we got there with time to spare.  After a quick dinner it was almost time to board the train back to London, it was then that I realized just how incredibly exhausted I was & also that our trip was half way over, which made me so sad!  The train ride back was quick & painless & I'd say that we both slept the majority of the ride. 
We got back to London around 10:00pm & tried to find "Platform 9 3/4" the train platform from the Harry Potter movies.  OK, so if you find yourself looking for this, READ THIS:
The platform is located at Kings Cross Station, just outside the MAIN entrance on Euston Road.  It's just on the outside & behind doors.  They keep them open during the day & I'm not sure what time they close them at, but I know it's definitely closed after 10:00pm, because that's when we were there & we walked right passed the doors because they were locked & we didn't know any better!!  Anyway, just word to the wise.
We got back to the hotel utterly exhausted & went to bed, only to have another FULL day of adventures ahead of us!  :)

Day 4

Right before we left for our trip Lake & I decided to take a day trip to Windsor, Stonehenge, & the city of Bath.  The tour included a tour guide, a pub lunch, & our admission prices at Windsor Castle, as well as at Stonhenge.  I'm really glad that we did this because it was a great way to see all of these places & honestly, I don't know how else we would have seen them all! 

on our way to Windsor Castle

Our bus tour started at the Victoria Coach Station & we were on the road in our double decker charter bus by about 8:40am.  Our first stop was at Windsor Castle where the royals live when they aren't at Buckingham Palace.  The drive was outside the city & only took about 25 minutes, it was great!  We arrived at the castle right as they were opening the gates for the public to go in. 

We had a little over 2 hours to tour the facility.  The main area that you are allowed to see is the State Apartments & St. George's Cathedral.  The day that we were there Queen Elizabeth was not on the grounds, as she & the family were already at their country home where they traditionally spend Christmas.  No pictures were allowed in the State Apartments, so oh well to that!  The inside was just as gorgeous as you'd imagine a palace to be, it wasn't quite as ornate & detailed as Versailles, but still gorgeous!  Lake & I walked around & I'm pretty sure towards the end of the audio tour we found ourselves in THE room where Prince William & Kate Middleton had announced their engagement in November of 2010!  so excited!  ;) 

We walked over to see St. George's cathedral where the most recently deceased king & queen mother are buried & lots of other royals.  I wish we'd had a little more time because the actual city of Windsor is adorable!  This was Queen Victoria's favorite place & I wanted to walk around to take in all the quaint shops & places to eat, but alas, we ran out of time & head back to the bus. 

Stonehenge

We left Windsor at 11:45am & had a 90 minute drive ahead of us to Stonehenge.  The drive was broken up with our lunch break at the Bell Inn, an authentic pub in Wiltshire.  We ate lunch & had a pint of ale & were then back on the bus ready to see Stonehenge.  About 20 minutes away from our destination our tour guide began telling us the tales of Stonehenge & the area of England we were in.  There was burial mounds all over the place where the Druids would bury their loved ones, they still stand!!!  The history in this area was so cool!  We got to Stonehenge & had 45 minutes to tour on our own.  Can I just say, I'm glad we went & it's neat to say that I've been to Stonehenge, but it was just a bunch of gigantic rocks, I mean super cool because how in the world did they get there & who actually built it, but once you saw them....that was kinda it.  So yeah......

cute flower market in the city of Bath

Back on the bus we go to Bath.  Bath was founded by the Romans when they discovered there was a natural hot spring that ran through the city.  The water that runs through the hot springs is supposedly "medicinal" & can cure people.  I didn't actually try it because I was told it smelt of sulfur & tasted like liquid penny.  Thanks, but no thanks.  We arrived in the city at about 3:45pm, so it was already beginning to get dark.  The rolling hills that are around the city are gorgeous & allow for a cool fog to roll in, which make the city look magical!  The roman baths actually closed at 4:00pm so we didn't have enough time to see those, so we just decided to take a walk around the city.  Our first stop was at the Bath Abbey, which was really pretty & allowed us to take pictures, we walked around inside the abbey for a bit & then went out to explore the city.  There were stores & shops & everything, everywhere!  I found the most adorable store called "Instantly Vintage" which reminded me so much of Anthropologie, it was love at first sight!  We walked around, ate some food & by the time we knew it, it was 5:15 & we had to be back on the bus by 5:30.  I could have spent an entire day in that city, it was so cute!!  The drive back to London was about 2 1/2 hours, so we pulled in just before 8:00pm.  Lake & I decided to just hop off at the first stop & we'd find our closest undergound station & make our way back to our stop. 

We had hoped to go to the Christmas market that was just outside of our hotel, but alas, it closed at 8:00, booooo!  There were some restaurants just around the area just outsdie the Waterloo train station, so we decided we'd have dinner there instead.  We found a tapas restuarant called the Blue Iguana that I highly recommend!!  The food was great, the drinks were yummy & the service was good!  Lake & I were both very pleased.  We headed back to the hotel, had one last drink & went to bed.  Only 2 more days left in jolly old England!


Day 5
I had jokingly named this day our "Hollywood" Day.  This was the day we were going to devote to seeing things that were touristy, but not for historical reasons.  Most of these places were either made famous by a movie, a band, a song...well you get the picture......

Platform 9 3/4

This is the place where Harry Potter & his wizardly friends would make their way from the "muggle" world into the magical world & catch the train to Hogwarts.  As I said before (see Day 3), we'd already tried to find this place & had no such luck....it wasn't until we actually saw the platform sign that we realized why....it's behind closed doors that get locked every night!  Oh well, I got in the line with the other kids & snapped my pictures & we were off to the next stop.....

Abbey Road

"all you need is love...."
I'm a HUGE HUGE HUGE Beatles fans, I love them, I always have.  It's weird though because neither one of my parents are huge fans, I mean they like them & I did listen to them growing up, but it was nothing fanatical.  I've actually made it a tradition now that every time I go to Las Vegas, I have to go to the Love store at Mirage & get a t-shirt AND also, every time we go to Disneyworld, I have to go to Epcot World Showcase & get a t-shirt at the UK Pavilion.  It's silly, but I do it now everytime!  :) 
To walk across Abbey Road is definitely on my non-existent "bucket list" & I was so excited to find the road & Abbey Road Studios.  We road the tube pretty far north, still in the city, but definitely not as populated.  When we got out of the station, the area was quiet, it was really nice.  We followed the directions that Lake had found & there it was, the infamous Abbey Road, with it's zebra striped white road lines & the cross walk that the ACTUAL Beatles had walked across for their Abbey Road album cover.  Now, I wasn't so hard core as to take my shoes off like Paul McCartney, which there are theories as to why he has his shoes off & no one else does....but that's a whole other blog entry & maybe I shouldn't share, I wouldn't want the British secret police on me.  ;), but I definitely walked across a ton of times trying to get the perfect picture, it was so fun & scary, I kept thinking I was going to get hit by a car!  The studios were just off behind the cross walk & we took pictures there.  I got my Beatles nostalgia in for the trip & I was happy, back to the tube we went & more "Hollywood" to see......

Notting Hill

"After all... I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."~Julia Roberts as Anna Scott in Notting Hill (1999)
This was quite the tube ride for us.  We discovered that some of the lines were having "technical" difficulties, so our original route got a little screwed up.  After about 40 minutes on the tube, we found the Notting Hill Gate stop & went to find Portobello Road Market.  I'd have to say that this adventure was by far one of my favorite of the entire trip & I kinda think that's saying a whole lot!  :)
The market is so cute!  It's one long road but it ends up being divided into different areas depending on what block you're on.  You can look at antiques & these range from jewelry, to albums, books, clothing, the list goes on & on....then there is food, fruit, veggies, bread, cheese, meats, UGH, I'm hungry just remembering it all!  It was so vibrant & lively & cheerful, I could have stayed there ALL day, but alas, we could not.  I did however find a really pretty antique garnet ring in my Portobello Market Road search.  I was disappointed that I never found "William Thacker's" flat or his map shop, but oh well, the buiding's were super cute anyway.  All in all, it was a great way to spend a late morning.

Chicago

"You know, some guys just can't hold their arsenic."--Cell Block Tango
Moving on with our day, we went to the Garrick Theater to pick up our tickets for our evening show of Chicago which was starring Miss America Ferrera as Roxie Hart!  The show was so good!  We were about 15 rows back, the theater was small & I'd forgotten what an intimate show Chicago is, love it!!  Before the show we had a really good italian dinner at Piccolino's which was in the Picadilly Circus area of town, another opentable.com find, thank you!.  I had the absolutely BEST salad I'd ever had in my entire life!  Their avocado was A-MAZING!  We were finished with dinner a bit early & had a brew at the Garrick Arms Pub which was 1/2 a block from the theater. 

Harrods

Between picking up our tickets & having dinner we stopped in at Harrods.  This is the largest department store, like ever!  It was waaaaaay overwhelming, I don't even know where to start.  We just wandered & I felt like I had no idea what was going on around me.  With the holiday bustle all around us it was absolutely insane!  We ended up grabbing some coffee & dessert at one of  their millions of cafes & it was so yummy!  We bought some souvenirs & we were outie, it was fun, but I'd need an entire day there....no joke!

All in all I'd say "Hollywood" Day was a HUGE success!  :)  The only thing that made me sad was the fact that at the end of this day we only had 1 more full day left in London.

Day 6

AKA our "last" full day in the best city EVER!

St. Paul's Cathedral
Christmas Eve morning

We woke up bright & early and caught the tube over to St. Paul's Cathedral to take a tour of the church.  We were having a hard time finding the actual front entrance of the church & for a few minutes we actually thought it was closed, which wouldn't have been completely shocking considering that it was Christmas Eve.  Lake & I were finally able to find the entrance....big doors at the front, go figure & we toured the church.  We did the audio guide in the downstairs area & then made our way up to the "Whispering Wall" which is pretty cool. 

So this is the base of St. Paul's dome & you can stand on one end & whisper into the wall & it will travel around the opposite end!  pretty cool!  I trucked my way over to the other side & I could hear what Lake was saying, the only thing was that it was a little creepy just because there were like 6 other people doing the same thing & the whispers come over very creepily.....

After the wall we decided we'd make our way up to the top of dome......more than 500 scary spiraling steps later, we made it all the way to the top.  The view was absolutely fabulous & that morning happened to be nice, crisp & clear so you could see till forever!  I hope that I never forget that view for as long as I live!  The climb down the stairs was quite the challenge as well, after all those steps up & just plain fatigue from a week of walking my legs felt like absolute JELLO!  It was hard to not just zoom down the steps not because I really could, but more because I had little control over what my leg muscles were doing!  Lake & I both made it safely down the steps & our tour of the magnificent cathedral was over, what an amazing place!

Ellis Street!!!

Our next stop was to Sloane Square which is a shopping district & part of the Chelsea-Kensignton area of London.  This area was so cute, I fell in love with it!  While roaming the streets we happened upon Ellis Street, this street intersected with Sloane Street.  hmmmmmmm......

me & Lake at Winter Wonderland

We continued our walk of the area & decided to head over to Hyde Park because we hadn't gone there yet, we hopped on the tube & discovered that there was a Winter Wonder Land Festival going on at the park & when I say festival I don't mean a couple booths, maybe a ride here or there....no this thing was CRAZY!  It was huge!!!  We walked around & the food, the drinks, the booths with the most adorable items, it was too much fun!  We grabbed an ale & walked around.  I bought the cutest earrings at one of the vendors' booths, that I adore!  Before we knew it, it was time to head back to St. Paul's Cathedral for the Christmas Eve Choir Service, but we had reservations after the service at a hotel very close to the festival so we thought if it was still open, we'd head back for the evening.

The choir service was so pretty!!!  and PACKED!  Lake & I weren't quite sure how long it would last, maybe 30-45 minutes at most....nope, it was a good 75 minutes, which was nice & I actually liked the fact that there were readings & a message & not just the choir singing.  Made me feel not as bad about missing going to church on Christmas.  We hopped back on the tube to go to our tea reservation.  I felt so lady like the whole time.  My tea was also so yummy!!  And the snacks were TDF!  While we were at our "tea" we asked the concierge of the hotel if he knew what time the festival at Hyde Park was closing at & he told us 10:30, SCORE!  We would have plenty of time to go back over there & that's exactly what we did!

Christmas Eve dinner

When we got back there it was so packed, more people had definitely joined the party!  We found a bar within the festival that was literally on carousel, best idea ever!  And boy, was everyone having a great 'ol time!  It was crowded, beer was flowing & cheesy 80's rock was playing, it was the funnest/coolest thing ever!  We people watched & had some incredibly strong cider!  It was probably the most fun I've had in a really really long time!  We slowly made our way back to the hotel & started the re-packing process.

I have been very lucky in life to travel the world like I have.  Internationally I've been to Paris, Chennai, India, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore & now London.  The last trip I went on that was international was to visit Lake while he was working in India in 2010, that was an amazing trip, but also a tough one!  I went there knowing that when I left, Lake wouldn't be with me & I wouldn't see him for 5 more weeks.  This trip however was great because we traveled together!  I've never been sad to leave somewhere....well, take that back....I'm usually really really really sad the last time I walk out of the Magic Kingdom at Disney World....no, like literally, sometimes I feel like I might tear up, no joke!  But leaving London was super sad, I fell in love with the city, if we could move there & still see our family & friends all time I'd move there in a split second!  But alas.....it's a 9 hour plane ride away & expensive.....**sigh**.......

Thank you for the memories, laughs, & one of the greatest weeks of my life!  We'll be back!

The "Perfect" Guacamole?!

So I've been asked, on a few occasions to share my "recipe" for guacamole.  I say "recipe" because it's not really one....more just avocado with a couple other things thrown in for good measure & for yummy delish-is-ness! 

My love for the avocado began at an early age, my mom was a HUGE fan, so there were many many times where we'd share a smashed avocado sandwich for lunch.....two pieces of white bread with some avocado all mashed up in the middle....simple & as good as that!  Since that time my poor mother has had to give up the wonderful-ness that is the avocado!  She discovered it was triggering her migraines, super bummer!!  I try not to bring up my guacamole around her, I think it's cruel.....I just hope I don't one day suffer the same fate.....

So how do I make "my" guacamole?  Well, I kinda stole my secret ingredient from Boudro's on the Riverwalk, shhhhhhh, don't tell them though!

EVE's Guacamole
*1 Ripe Large Haas Avocado (mashed)
*HEB Prepared Pico de Gallo (I buy mild, I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy stuff, but I'd say if you like it spicy, get it spicy!); I use about 2 - 3 heaping tablespoons.  It kinda depends on how much avocado you were able to get out.  Just remember, you always want more avocado, then pico.....figure out your own ratio.
*Juice of 1 Lime or 2 -3 small key limes
*Juice of 1/2 an Orange (***secret ingredient)
*Salt & Peppar to taste
*Your favorite bag of tortilla chips OR I've recently discovered that this goes great with Pita Chips as well!

This makes a good bowl full, so it can be used as an appetizer for a dinner of about 4-6 people depending on how addictive they think it is....

*In a small bowl, mash up your avocado
*Mix in the pico 1 tablespoon at a time & mix; you may find that you are good with just 1 tblsp. or just 2, again, this is to your liking
(**NOTE:  You want to drain the pico of all the juice, there's not much, but you don't want your guac to be runny)
*Squeeze in one 1/2 of the lime & mix.  Taste at this point, if you find that it's "limey" enough, then your good, if you want a little more zing, add in the other half
*Squeez in the Orange 1/2 & mix
(**NOTE:  the orange adds a really good citrus flavor without being super sour & adds a slight sweetness as well, it's so good!  If you don't like orange though, then just skip it)
*Add in the salt & pepper to your liking
*Enjoy with your favorite bag of chips!  :)



the final product



Junior League of San Antonio: Join a Junior League....Make a Difference!

Junior League of San Antonio: Join a Junior League....Make a Difference!: It's a fact, ladies: Junior League women make things happen. Even though we're a little past the beginning of the new year, why not add anot...

2012 New Year's Resolution: January Race

I never make New Year's Resolutions....ever!  Nothing against anyone that does, I just never have....This year I decided to make one, but make the "results" really easy to see.  

2012 New Year's Resolution

I am planning on running at least 1 race every month.  I think I've also managed on getting some friends to do this with me!  This morning I ran my first race, Too Cold Too Hold 5K/15K at McAllister Park.  January's group was:  me, Leah, Mireya, Kristen, Anne, her husband Mike, Ariana, Michelle, Lori & her husband.....the last 3 ran the 15K.

Race Goal:  Under 30 minutes

Race Time:  28:55, WOHOOOO!  This is my fastest 5K time ever.  My previous "PR" was 29:40 last March at the Green Door 5K in Rockwall, which we may run again this year.  The March race is still up in the air.....

The Race:  We ran through McAllister Park, the trail was good, a little tight in some places, but all in all I thought it was laid out well & not too difficult to navigate.  Everyone did super good & I'm super proud of everyone!  YAY!!  :)

Who'd I run it with?:  Anne, Kristen, Leah, Mireya, Michelle, & Ariana

Coming Up (February Race):

Run4Hope 5K Run/Walk at Brackenridge Park on February 25th, if you'd like to join in on the fun, check out the website for the race!  :)

http://www.active.com/running/san-antonio-tx/run-4-hope-5k-run-walk-2012

Next Race Goal:  28:30, not crazy faster, any little bit faster is a big difference!  

Too Cold Too Hold 5K Race:  January 22nd 2012; 1 race down, 11 more to go!

Most of the gals from our "group" that ran this morning

Lemon-y Pasta with Chicken

Lemon Pasta with Chicken

Ingredients

1/2 a box of Pasta; I used bow tie, but the original recipe called for penne...it's just whatever shape

3/4 of a lb. of chicken breast

Salt & Pepper

3 Garlic Cloves, sliced

1/4 tsp. of Red Pepper Flakes

3 tblsp. EVOO

3 tblsp. of chopped parsley (garnish)

1 lemon, juiced

2 handfuls of grated Parmesan Cheese

**makes 4-5 servings

*Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water (I also add pepper to the water before I boil the pasta)

*Boil until al dente.  Drain pasta.

*Season chicken with salt & pepper & drizzle with EVOO to sauté in a pan over medium high heat

*Grill until golden & completely cooked.

*Remove to plate 

*In a saute' pan add the sliced garlic & red pepper flakes with the 3 tablespoons of EVOO & sauté until fragrant.  Add the cooked pasta to the pan & toss together

*Remove pasta to a large bowl & add the chicken to the pasta & season with salt & pepper.
*Sprinkle in the chopped parsley
*Add the juice of the lemon & toss

*Right before serving top the pasta with parmesan cheese

This pasta ends up being super light & tangy!!  :)  Just make sure you add enough EVOO to the pan because that becomes your "sauce" 

And might I add, I had it for lunch the next day & it was really good!

mmmmm....salad

Who doesn't love a good salad with dressing!?!?!  We all do & of course we all know how bad "pre made" stuff can be, too much sugar, too much sodium, yada yada yada......I really do enjoy making my own dressings, but don't get me wrong, I don't mind having dressing out of the bottle either!  The dressing that I made below is super easy to make & most ingredients you probably already have on hand.  I'm also including a fruit salad that I've made on several occasions.  I like to make it for parties or on a Monday & then have it for lunch on Tuesday & Wednesday, it keeps well for a couple of days.

Honey Mustard Dressing (my version)

Ingredients

1 clove of garlic (cut in 1/2)

2 tsp. Whole Grain Mustard

1 tblsp. balsamic vinegar (the one I used is flavored, but you can you use whatever you have on hand)

2 tsp. honey

2 splashes of low sodium soy sauce

salt & pepper to taste

almost 3 tblsp. of EVOO (if you put too much, you can always add a little more mustard, or honey, or balsamic, that's the beauty of making your own dressing, highlight the flavors you want more of!)

**this makes about 3-4 servings of dressing

*In a bowl rub the inside of the bowl with your garlic cloves.  This is just to infuse the flavor, it's not overpowering, but you'll stop & be like....hmmmmm.....is that garlic, without having to worry about whether or not Edward Cullen will be scared of you!  You can tell that you've "juiced" the garlic once it becomes harder to move it around the bowl.  Do this with both of your garlic clove halves.  

*Add your mustard, honey, balsamic & soy sauce & whisk away!  About 10-20 seconds.  You just want to make sure everything gets combined & is happy!

*Taste & season with salt & pepper to your liking.  I love pepper so I add more  :)

*Drizzle in EVOO & whisk quickly as you do this, you want to make sure everything gets combined.  That's it, this dressing goes well over darker greens.  I'm going to enjoy mine over a spinach mix, yum!

A Berry Happy Fruit Salad

Ingredients

Strawberries (Halved); I used about 1/2 a lb, the rest I'll be enjoying in my spinach salad w/ my dressing

Blackberries (Whole); I used about 3/4 of this carton that you see below, again, the rest will be in my salad

Raspberries (Whole); I used the whole carton 

1 Banana sliced; not too thin

Juice of 1 Lemon

1 tsp. of sugar

**this makes about 4-5 servings

*Halve your strawberries & place in a colander with the rest of your berries

*Rinse well

*Slice your banana while you let the berries drain, then add the berries & bananas to a large bowl

*Squeeze in one 1/2 of the lemon & add the teaspoon of sugar

*Lightly mix & toss together your salad.  The raspberries are kinda sensitive, so don't go crazy mixing stuff around.  Taste a berry, if you like the taste (not too sweet), you don't need more lemon juice.  If you want it to be a little more tart, then squeeze in the other half

*The finished product should be refrigerated for about an hour & you'll find that your fruit juices, lemon, & sugar have made a super yummy natural syrup!  yay!!  Enjoy!  I've had this over ice cream, waffles & even over salad (minus the bananas), mmmmmmmmmmm.....

2011: The Re-Cap

So I guess I've been busy......that's my excuse I guess, because why else would I have a 6 month gap in posts?!
Well, since 2011 is now over & I did oh so much enjoy my year in review post from last year, I thought I might as well do that as my first post for 2012, so here it is:
January 2011
Back to school & routine & just regular life, but I did throw in a little visit to Vegas there with my best friends from the Valley. We went to celebrate Miss Cristina's single-dom one last time! It was a weekend filled with lots of laughter, food, gambling, & fun! I'm so happy to have taken this trip with this group of ladies. The rest of January was pretty much par the course, which isn't a bad thing
February 2011
During this month we celebrate love, right?! What better way to celebrate than to host a Twilight Movie Night! DUH! This party was so fun to put together. It also "snowed" in San Antonio & we got a day off for it, then had to make it up on President's Day. The same weekend of the "snow" was also my first race of the new year. I ran a 5K in New Braunfels with Michelle, which ended up being a great race, the weather started off chilly, but warmed up nicely & we ate Chicken E on the way home. Any day that contains Chicken E is a good day in my book!
March 2011
Happy Anniversary Lake & Happy Birthday! :)
On March 1st Lake & I celebrated our 3rd anniversary, crazy how time just flies on by. During this month Cristina got married & we had a great time celebrating her & Dyver. Spring Break was also in March, I spent the week being lazy & relaxing, it was awesome! During March I also ran my first half marathon for the year in Dallas & hit a new personal record! It was a great race.
April 2011
April was all about Fiesta fun & starting to look forward to summer! Lake & I had a very laid back Easter & just celebrated together, it was quite perfect actually! :)
May 2011
May began our race training for the fall. I'm still not sure why, but I made the decision to run the FULL marathon in San Antonio this past year & my training started the last weekend of May. We quickly went from running 3 miles the very first weekend to 12 miles by my birthday at the end of July. To say that the training was "hard" & "intense" is quite the understatement. Although, while I was going through it, it wasn't so bad, it's now that I look back on it that I realize just how crazy I really am! May also shoved me out of my comfort zone when it came to public speaking. I'll pretty much do anything to avoid having to stand in front of people & speak....I know what you're thinking, "but Erica, you're a teacher!" There's a HUGE difference between standing in front of a group of high school students versus a group of your peers. The position I currently serve in the Junior League of SA is New Member Chair Assistant which basically does lots of the background work for the New Member class, however, the New Members have a big kickoff before their year "officially" starts & it's run by the NM Chair & Assistant. As far as the presentation stuff went, I was in charge of showing off the website. To say I was nervous doesn't really begin to describe how I really felt. Alas, I did survive (obviously) & I think I've taken a positive step forward in public speaking. I still don't like it, but I now know I won't throw up on people even when I'm THAT nervous! May also brought my brother & his family to San Antonio. I am beyond grateful, happy, & blessed to have them so close, even it's only for a few years. I love seeing Maryn all the time & seeing her grow up right before my eyes. I'm also really loving being close & seeing Hayden during his first year, it's so exciting to see his new "tricks"
June 2011
Ahhhhh, the lazy hazy days of summer! I would say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself over the summer. June was filled with laying out, running, a super fun beach trip, & being lazy! I also was in Dallas for a week at the AVID Conference & got to meet up with some Dallas friends! SHOUT OUT to Misty, Mary, & Holly. They were all very sweet & came to pick me up from my hotel. I ate italian with Mary, ate mexican & saw The Bachelorette with Misty, & ate burgers with Holly & got all caught up on her life as a newlywed! So not only did I get to attend a really great conference, which I will go to again this summer, but I got to spend time with friends that I never see, it was a super fun week!
July 2011
July is my favorite month of the year, why you ask, because it's my birthday & the heart of summer! I turned 29 this year & had a great birthday, all thanks to my husband & friends! On my actual birthday I did a day bar crawl with Kristen. We covered a lot of territory. We hit up The Friendly Spot, took the downtown trolley to Esquire, & walked over to Zinc. It was one of the funnest birthdays that I've ever had! To top it off, Lake surprised me when I got home & said to pack a bag & we were headed BACK downtown to have dinner & stay the night. We took our time the next morning & did lots of fun touristy SA things! I really love doing that. That next weekend we bowled for my bday. It was a really fun night! :) Thanks to everyone who was able to make it!
August 2011
August always signifies the end of summer.....we had our last few pool times & last few lazy days, but back to work was definitely on the horizon. Coming back to school is always so stressful, no matter how many times you've done it! You're nervous & you feel unprepared, but just like every other year, you make it through those first couple of weeks & get back in your groove & things are great! August pretty much involved getting ready for school.
September 2011
Now's when the marathon training was getting a little crazy! We were approaching our "milestone" run & during this month I ran some pretty crazy amounts! The farthest & by far worst run was the 15 mile run. There was one point in the run where it was 90 degrees & this was in LATE September! UGH, South Texas, you make me sad! Although the first "cool" front to blow in was over Labor Day weekend, which coincided perfectly with a 5 mile race that I ran with Leah & my friend Dawn. It was a very hilly race, but I PRed with a 49 minute run, I felt amazing after! There really is nothing like a runner's high! :)
October 2011
October was more of the same, running & school & junior league, but all fun! During October my training group hit our "milestone" run which was 21 miles. I actually didn't run this with my group though. The weekend that we were scheduled to run this was also the weekend of my friend Monica's bachelorette party at SPI, so Lake & I got up extra early & headed out to the Valero Trailhead & ran. We ran the first 6 miles together & by that point the sun was up, so Lake felt OK to let me run on my own, so he finished his 12 & I powered through to run 21! WOW! Lake picked me up, I showered & was at the airport by 12:30, I was on the beach by 3:00, haha, it was a great & tiring weekend, but lots of fun!!! For Halloween I dressed up as the Tooth Fairy, thanks to Leah's help with my accessories.
November 2011
Monica & Tommy got married the first weekend. Since Connie (another bridesmaid) & I both live in SA, we decided to carpool to the Valley. We made it just in time for Monica's Bridesmaids Luncheon. Later that day was the dress rehearsal & rehearsal dinner at Pappadeux, yum!! The next day was make-up & getting ready in the morning, then wedding time! The reception was at Quinta Mazatlan, which a beautiful outdoor venue in south McAllen. The whole weekend went by in a blur, but it was a great time! The very next weekend was the marathon! The weather wasn't shaping up to be on any one's side & I started getting really worried. It had been so long since I'd trained in warm weather, then it totally freaked me out to see it would be in the mid-80's when I was supposed to finish! So the race didn't go as I wanted, but I did finish, and I suppose that's what counts, at least I have to say that! This race seriously taught me that running really is just putting one foot in front of the other AND I quite possibly have the greatest friends EVER! Seeing them sprinkled throughout the course cheering me on made me feel so happy & very special. Although I am glad that only Lake saw me between miles 16 - 22, I looked rough....someone only a husband could love! But having him pump me up during that point was definitely needed! Special shout out to Anne who literally ran with me around mile 6 & Kristen, Mireya, & Matt who walked with me around mile 24, I'm sure they would have run with me, but I was walking at that point, so they didn't have to! ;) We were off to Tulsa for Thanksgiving & I left with a very worried mind. My dad was hospitalized the Friday before Thanksgiving with pneumonia & stayed for an ENTIRE week! Things got scary around Wednesday, but he's made a full recovery & is doing great now!
December 2011
And finally the last month of the year! So I started 2011 with a trip to Vegas (see January 2011 section) & I also ended it with a trip to Vegas. Lake & I ran the Las Vegas Rock N Roll Half Marathon the first Sunday of December. I was really thinking.....hey, you already ran a full marathon, you've run more than 13.1 miles on SEVERAL occasions over the past 6 months, this half, well it's gonna be CAKE for you! But boy, was I ever WRONG! UGH! The weekend overall was fantastic. We flew in on Saturday, checked into our hotel at Aria, which was awesome by the way...highly recommend! After check in we made our way to The Venetian to packet pick up & here's where I learned that 44,000 other runners would be joining Lake & I on our run down the strip the next night, that's a whole lot of runners. This was the largest race I'd ever participated in by far! I was excited though, running on the stip, at night, pretty cool! Well, the weather was OK, a little chilly, but after running a 1/2 marathon almost 2 years ago while it was sleeting, I thought, hey, it's not THAT bad! The race started at 5:30pm & right away I could tell I would be annoyed. There so many people in my corral (Corral 15) who were NOT supposed to be in there. You are given your corral number based on your estimated time of completion, so everyone that SHOULD be in your corral would have --### (ex: 15339), so I know that I'm supposed to be in Corral 15 because of the first two numbers on my bib. Well, looking around me there were tons of people with 20, 25, 30, 40, 21, 19....well, you get the picture & I'm thinking....hmmmmmm, so moving up a couple corrals isn't the worst thing, but jumping 25 corrals IS! And just like I predicted they release my corral & BAM, a whole bunch of walkers. I mean, more power to ya if you are going to walk 13.1 miles, that's awesome, good luck, God Speed, but MOVE OUT OF MY WAY! I'm sorry, but when I spend half of my energy saying "to your right" or weaving in between people because YOU chose to move yourself up when you had no business doing so, YEAH, it's going to annoy me. I actually had one lady call me a SUPER mean & disgusting name because after I'd politely said "to your right please" & she didn't move I passed her anyway & while I did that I acidentally bumped her & wham....super mean disgusting name, what the?!?! After about 6 miles (yes, almost half of the race) things finally starting clearning up & I was feeling great! I was right on track to hit my PR. Then mile 9 rolled around, which has always sorta been my personal mile nemisis & it reared it's ugly head again. I physically could not make myself go any faster than I was going, it was sad....I finished the race, my 3rd best time, which isn't saying too much considering that my 2 slowest times are REALLY REALLY slow. And to add insult to serious injury I felt AWFUL after the race was over. I still don't know what happened, I'm not sure if it was too cold, if I didn't hydrate well enough, if I was too tired because we'd walked around all day or maybe my body just wasn't ready to run for that long of a time. Who knows, oh well.....Lake PRed though, which is awesome! YAY! December saw the end of the 1st semester of school & a 2 week much needed break! During those 2 weeks Lake & I traveled to jolly old London to enjoy holiday! That's a whole other long post though. Stay tuned.....
All in all 2011 was a fabulous year! I learned a lot, got way more involved at school & in Junior League, to which I'm so grateful for all that I've learned & the leadership skills that I've gained. I've lost a few relationships, but gained knowledge from the losses & also gained some amazing friends, so thank you 2011, for being fun, awesome, & pushing me out of my comfort zone! Ready to take on 2012, let's see what you've got in store!