We're Back in Rainy London

Hello again friends,

It seems like days since I've last written, oh yes, it has been days.  Much has happened.  As you all know we went to Paris for two days and one night.  I'm sure that more than one of you is thinking "Why go to Paris for just two days?"  I have a penpal, Simone, who lives in Switzerland.  We have been emailing for a year and a half and when my family planned to come to Europe for our vacation (that's "holiday" over here) her family decided to take a week out of their "holiday" and meet us in Paris.  Simone and her husband, Andi, have two daughters.

Our first meal together was lunch in an Italian restaurant.  I wasn't terribly hungry.  I had a typical appetizer (even in American Italian restaurants) tomatoes with mozzarella and basil.  Then I ordered a coffee.  It was a tiny little cup, and was so strong it just about burned my larynx off  (I think many a Toastmaster would be gladdened at the prospect).  I think it has nail polish remover in it.

We did a lot of walking around.  The first day we went to (not in) the Louvre.  It is a magnificent building.  There were too many children to even consider going in.  We stopped at a cafe which is where I ordered a cup of coffee with vanilla ice cream in a mixture of English and French.  I had mentioned to Simone that I wanted to get a couple of books while I was there to continue working on my French so she took me to a bookstore she had heard about.  Students from around the world can stay there for free in exchange for work.  It is called Shakespeare and Company.  Unfortunately, all of the books there were in English.  Of course, I would stumble into one of the few English bookstores in the city. 

 Then we headed off to the Eiffel Tower.  Rumour has it that the building is exceptionally tall.  It's a myth.  I guess it's all about perception.

See, even Hannah and I are only slightly shorter, and were are shorter than most people.

Paris had some interesting street signs.  I'm still trying to figure out what the red one in the first picture meant.  The second one seems to need no translation- be careful of the train tracks!

That night I ordered something off the menu that I couldn't understand.  .  It was toast with some kind of pork, some kind of cheese, and tomato.  Simone ordered something so fabulous looking I had to take a picture of her plate too. It came with a basket of bread, butter, and many types of meats.  Oh, and gherkin pickles.

Our hotel was called Hotel Americain.  It was about half the size of the average American hotel room, but the view was great.  We had two little balconies of off our room.  Ariel and Hannah shared a room, and all three boys shared a room, Bob and I shared the third room.

The next morning we went to their flat for breakfast (a little later than we said we would, sorry Andi).  Andi had prepared for us a great big spread.  There were croissants, lox, foie gras, yogurt, baguettes, ham, turkey, crepes, and home made jam.  It was delicious.  Then we headed out.  This day we went to see the Bastille, which of course, is no longer there but there is a monument in its place.  I couldn't help but think, "It was the best of times...it was the worst of times..." as I looked at the monument. 

Then we went to Vincennes Castle.  It was built in the 14th century by John the Good (who comes up with these names?  If I die anytime soon, would you all please refer to me as Diana the Great, please).  Finally, it was time to head back to catch the Eurostar back to London.  The trip took three hours to get to Paris, but only one hour to get to London. In Paris they took away an hour at customs, but they returned it to us when we got back to London.  Just before we reached the train station we passed four police vans filled with police wearing riot gear.  Who told them we were in Paris?  I know it was one of you.

We spent most of today doing nothing, a little sleeping, a little eating, a little walking in the neighbourhood, followed by a little sleeping and a little eating.  It rained much of the day, except for when it looked like it wasn't going to rain just long enough for us to get outside and rain again.  Bob did make us a breakfast that was "Andi"- inspired.  It was a full spread of delicious meats, eggs, cheese, fruit, breads, and even cheesecake. 

Tomorrow Bob and I are off to Brighton.  If we see any rioters we are coming home.

Day 2, August 5, 2011

We got a late start this morning.  We did not leave the house until after 11.  The weather was perfect.  Think warm Spring Florida day weather.  The kind of day that makes all of us say, "Wouldn't it be great if all days were like this."

The neighbourhood we are staying in has a large Muslim population.  We walked to the tube (subway) station and along the way I saw in the window of a store, a poster of a woman modelling a hijab.  That's the whole dress without the facial cover.  It was kind of silly because each pose looked exactly alike.  Kind of like this...

 except of course, it looked more like a great big garbage bag with a hole for the face.

We got our passes and boarded the train.  I got one lady to speak to me and another kept looking and smirking but trying really really hard to pretend she wasn't listening.  She failed miserably.  I have a confession.  I have a juvenile fear of escalators.  This was the steepest escalator I have ever been on.  Couldn't wait to get off of it.

We got all the way to Buckingham Palace but the queen had not put us on the guest list.  She obviously has not gotten over our issues.  We did get two friendly policeman to pose for us.  When they saw one sinister looking member of our bunch they drew their weapons!  Maybe they thought the little guy was armed, or hiding something.

We found a man dressed like a guard.  Not sure if he really was one or not.  He was carrying a credit card machine, so he was either pretending and charging for his photo, or he was a real one and raising money for the queen's dentist bill.

We went next to Westminster Abbey but the lines (queues) were so long and they do not allow anyone to enter after 3:30 so we headed home instead. 

We stopped and got dinner on the way home.  I meant to take some pictures of my food but I ate it first (sorry Steve).  I stopped in a Lebanese restaurant and got what we would call lamb pastry, a vegetable pastry, and a bunch of onion rings.  They have a much more exotic name for these things.  I didn't learn until a couple of hours later that it is Ramadan.  They fast from sun up until sun down during Ramadan so the food was a bit stale.  Tasty, but stale.  The man told me it was a bit spicy but "not too spicy, like  a mild perfume makes things better, mild spice."  I told him that if it made me cry I would return and tell him all of my problems.  I made him promise, then asked him to "pinkie promise". I told him what a pinkie promise is. (Sorry Jesse, but I told you I just couldn't leave the place the way I found it.)   We went back to the house and ate.  Then Bob and I went to a pastry shop around the corner.  That is where I learned it is Ramadan.  We got some Lebanese pastries and I wished the man behind the counter an easy fast.  Then we headed off to discover more of the neighbourhood.  Imagine my delight when we discovered a coffee shop!  This was to be my first international incident, and I am sorry to say, that despite stern warnings and serious breeching from my friend Jesse, I could not leave England as I found it.  The conversation went something like this:

Me: I would like a cup of coffee please

Man behind the counter: Ok, what kind would you like?

Me: What are my choices?

Man behind the counter: Espresso, cappuccino, blah, blah, blah...

Me: Oh, uh... no plain ol' coffee?

Man behind the counter: Silence accompanied by a blank stare followed by "espresso, cappuccino, Americano..."

Me: Ooh, Americano.  What's that?

Man behind the counter: Blah blah blah with a little blah blah blah

Me: Oh uh...

Then the lady behind the counter said, "How about a couple of shots of espresso with some milk?"  I didn't really know if that was like our coffee so when I didn't respond right away because I was thinking, she continued, "Would you prefer a watery base or a milky base?"  I thought How about something in between?  We agreed to try two shots of espresso with some milk and sugar.  Then I asked what fly tipping is.  She said she was from Brisbane and had no idea but thought maybe it was when we leave our stuff out for people to take like a couch for example.  Then an English woman showed up so I asked her about fly tipping.  She explained that it is putting the garbage out for collection before your collection day.  I suspect that she isn't really English at all because she was rather chatty and friendly.  She asked how we found ourselves in this neighbourhood and then suggested that we take a walk near the canals.  Hope that's not English for "Take a walk lady..." 

I had to ask the girl behind the counter a question about Australian men.  "Are Australian men flirtatious in general?"  It is a question that has been plaguing me for a while now.  She said "No, I find European men much more flirtatious, especially the Italians and French," then she pointed the guy behind the counter and said, "He's from both of those places."  The poor guy got the most embarrassed look.  Then she continued, "A friend of mine was in Italy and Greece WITH her boyfriend and men were calling out to her."  I told her that in America that is called cat-calling. (Sorry again, Jesse)

So, it is now 8:00 and we are home for the evening.  Tomorrow we are going out without the children.  I have places to go, things to do, and people to see, mostly dead people, but even they should be visited every once in a while. 

-Diana

P.S. Two shots of espresso with some milk and sugar does not American coffee make.