Day 5: London to Paris, a little snafu in our travel plans, Eiffel Tower at night

Day 5 - Travel Day from London to Paris via the Eurostar - December 30, 2013

Do you know the first rule of traveling is to roll with the punches? It goes with the second one to be flexible and remain undaunted when snafus happen. I was forcibly reminded of this as I herded my nieces to Kings Cross/St Pancras to catch the Eurostar to Paris. I had booked our tickets online and printed them at home to bring with me. I had our Paris hotel booked, our travel plans laid out and we were on schedule. Until we got to the train station and our printed tickets didn't work. It turned out the time I was marching us towards was the arrival time in Paris, not the departure time in London. So....we missed our train (insert feeling stupid here). Doh!

Fortunately, we were able to get to the ticket office at the train station and the most helpful, kindest ticket agent helped us rebook 3 new tickets on a later train. It wasn't direct, we would have to change in Lille and it took us to Disneyland Paris instead of Gare du Nord in the heart of Paris so we would have to take an extra metro ride to get to our hotel. But my nieces are troopers and instead of complaining at having an entire day taken up with more travel between destinations, they rolled with those punches and treated me to a leisurely brunch at Le Pain Quotidien at the train station while we waited for our new train.

Croissant with jambon (ham) and grueyere cheese

Florentine Quiche

 

Quiche Lorraine

We boarded our new train without further incident and were underway. I've traveled on the Eurostar before when I first visited London and Paris and it's a pretty easy ride. The direct train ride is a little over two hours and although we had to transfer at Lille, even that didn't seem so long.

It was a bit more of a pain once we reached Disneyland Paris to find the Metro and secure the right Metro tickets to get us to where we were going but Lauren was pretty accomplished at getting around in Europe after her months in Madrid so we were soon on our way. After more than an hour on the Metro, changing at Chatelet Station (hauling our luggage up and down the stairs was not fun and a good reminder to always pack light!), and emerging at Montparnasse where our hotel was, it took us more walking around and asking people fluent in French but not so good in English to find our hotel but we finally made it.

After traveling all day, we relaxed at a nice bistro for a good dinner (fortunately, it's almost impossible not to find great food in Paris). After sitting most of the day, it was a good time to stretch our legs. Despite the cold, we set out for a walk after dinner and, since we were in Paris, it was easy enough to walk towards its lighted iconic beacon, otherwise known as the Eiffel Tower.

Along the way, we saw this cathedral which I'm sure is famous but we didn't get close enough for me to figure out what it was. I just liked it though because it was beautiful, especially at night.

But, for me, nothing says Paris like the Eiffel Tower. I imagine the locals are used to it but I'm not. I couldn't take enough pictures of it. The Eiffel Tower is to me in Paris what Big Ben is to me in London. Beautiful, majestic, breathtaking and if it wasn't freezing out, I could've stood there all night and just stared at it. It was a great way to end a long travel day.

Restaurant Review: Hong Kong Buffet, London, England

Hong Kong Buffet - lunch on December 29, 2013

This was the Chinese buffet place we went to for a late lunch after the Muggle Tour. Although we could probably have yelp'd to a better place in Chinatown, truth be told, we were so hungry at this point that a buffet of anything sounded like a good idea or else we would've eaten all of our remaining GBPs. This place was "only" 10.95 GBP which, for London, a city we had already discovered is a very expensive place to eat, seemed like a good deal. If you come here though, be warned, it's cash only, no credit or debit cards.

It wasn't fancy but they had a good selection of food including chicken satay, fried rice, several types of noodles, sweet and sour pork, vegetable stir fries with chicken and/or shrimp, and even the ubiquitous "chips", also known as French fries.

I can't say it was the best food I've eaten or the best Chinese food because it wasn't but it served its purpose in satisfying our hunger without emptying our wallet so no complaints. I looked them up later on tripadvisor.com and one reviewer titled their review as "great price but average food". I would concur with that assessment. No pics of my plate or what I ate but it probably wouldn't have been telling anyway since I only take a scoop of this and a spoonful of that. Not to mention I was too hungry to pause, take out my camera and take a picture.

London Day 4: Muggle Tour, Chinatown, British Museum, back to Borough Market

London Day 4 - December 29, 2013

My nieces' surprise Christmas gift to me after we arrived in London was to tell me they had booked us on a Muggle tour. We're all Harry Potter geeks and I've enjoyed the books and movies as much as they have while they were growing up so it was a terrific present for all of us to enjoy while we were in London. My niece Lauren even made the personalized "gift card" that denoted my present. The picture above and below are both sides of the card she drew. Clever, right??!?

We caught the DLR and transferred to the tube to get off at London Bridge where we met the start of the tour. There were about 15-16 (?) other people on the tour and we were led by an entertaining, chipper and very-good-at-his-job tour guide by the ironically coincidental name of Adam Potter. Adam was terrific in keeping the tour both informative about London and the filming of the Harry Potter movies and getting everyone involved by quizzing us on certain parts of the books/movies as he took us around various locations in London that had something to do with the films. Yes, I was geeky enough to know answers to most of his questions.

The picture below of the Chez Michele flower shop may not look familiar but imagine the front covered up and the old walls as part of the set. Then you would have the front of the Leaky Cauldron. This is located right near Borough Market. The director used this flower shop because he wanted the old brick walls for the scene.

From London Bridge, we caught the tube to another stop. I can't remember which one now since we had to change lines because the Jubilee line was closed. I think we ended up at Westminster? In any case, Adam led us to the street where they filmed the scenes in Deathly Hallows of the street leading to the Ministry of Magic where Harry, Ron and Hermione took polyjuice potion to masquerade as three ministry workers in search of one of Voldemort's horcruxes which was in the locket being worn by Dolores Umbridge at the Ministry. (See, told you I was a Harry Potter geek.)

We then walked to this house which long ago was once Scotland Yard and is now abandoned. The inside of this house is where they filmed 12 Grimmauld Place or Sirius' house. According to Adam, the film crew kept the filming location secret or else they would be stalked by obsessive Harry Potter fans. Imagine that. Unfortunately I can so I'm glad they were able to keep the location a secret and keep on filming.

Next up was down a small, narrow alley which served as the inspiration for Knockturn Alley. Standing there and looking around at the old building, old-fashioned street lanterns, I can easily see how this inspired that part of the movies. It was too narrow for the film crew to actually film in so they took a number of pictures and recreated the scene in a studio.

The tour ended by walking from Trafalgar Square, down Charing Cross to this row of shops that served as J.K. Rowling's inspiration for Diagon Alley. Adam said this was her favorite place in London and the stores include Watkins Bookshop, the oldest in London, as well as a place to get bank notes (Gringott's!), an Alice in Wonderland shop where you could buy oddities (potions??) and other shops that could lead a fertile imagination to dream up Olivander's and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. It was a really fun tour and if you have any interest in Harry Potter at all, I would highly recommend it. My nieces found it through tripadvisor.com and Adam said that's the only place they actively advertise with and draw business from.

We hadn't had breakfast before the tour and it lasted a little over two hours so we were famished by the end. From our walkabouts the previous two days, we had already found London's Chinatown and by mutual agreement, we ended there for a late lunch.

At first we wanted dim sum but given how hungry we all were and how expensive everything in London was, we opted for an all you can eat Chinese buffet instead (review to follow in a future post).

One of the shops in London's Chinatown

After lunch, we headed to the British Museum which was free to enter and packed with people. We didn't stay long but admired a few of the antiquities in a couple of the rooms then went in search of the Rosetta Stone.



Outside the British Museum

Inside the British Museum

The Rosetta Stone encased in glass

After that, it was back to Borough Market to pick up bread and cheese for dinner.  We'd eaten so late and we had a reasonably early start the next morning so we didn't want another dinner out. I actually love visiting a new place and going to the local market to pick up local goods, especially bread and cheese, and having that as a meal so it was a perfect end to the day.

Bakery Review: Maison Bertaux, London, England

Maison Bertaux - dessert on December 29, 2013

After we had dinner at Wagamama, we were in the mood for dessert but nothing on the Wagamama dessert menu looked appealing so we got a recommendation from our waitress as well as yelp'd and google mapped possibilities which led us to Maison Bertaux nearby. According to their website, they're the oldest and "best" patisserie in London.

Part of the display case from the inside

It's a very small shop with only a few tables, typical of London. Instead of a formal dessert menu, the patisserie offerings were in a display case in the front of the shop. The girls chose a cheesecake and I went with an apple tart. After making our selections, the person manning the bakery brought the desserts to our (small) table.

Some sort of fruit-topped cheesecake

The cheesecake was light according to my nieces. Since I don't like cheesecake, I didn't try it so I'll take their word for it. My apple tart was tasty, particularly the crumble topping, but I don't know that I would consider it extraordinary. Both desserts were rather expensive though, as are seemingly most things in London, and came to almost 10 GBP. Can't say they were exactly worth it but they were sweet and hit the spot before we headed back to the hotel for the night. I don't know that I can give Maison Bertaux a fair review based on only one (or two) offerings but it's worth stopping by and checking out if you're in the neighborhood.

Apple Tart with a crumble topping

Restaurant Review: Wagamama, London, England

Wagamama - dinner on December 28, 2013

After our tour guides left us, we went foraging for dinner. Based on not only Kat's and Sami's endorsements but also recommendations from friends of mine who had lived in London before, we went to Wagamama's. I'd actually been to Wagamama's on a prior business trip as I was taken there by a work colleague long ago. It's an Asian fusion noodle place and I knew my nieces would like it so off we went despite Wagamama's being a chain and my usual determination to keep it small and local. But it was a cold night, we'd been out walking all day and hot noodles and/or soup sounded really good.

Inside Wagamama

The one we went to had a very modest outside storefront but that was mostly because you went down a flight of stairs to a much larger restaurant below. It was lined with tables and very crowded. We shared a table of 6 with three strangers who were served separately. Having had a filling lunch from one of the sandwich stalls at Borough Market we weren't that hungry so we ended up sharing an appetizer and two entrees.

Duck Gyoza with hoisin sauce

 I ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Donburi. It arrived served on a bed of rice which I expected but it wasn't the donburi I was used to back in the States since it wasn't topped with a soft-cooked scrambled egg. Still, it was tasty and hit the right spot.

Teriyaki Chicken Donburi 

My nieces split the duck gyoza appetizer and the Wagamama Ramen bowl. My niece Lauren loves ramen noodle soup and I swear I only took my eyes off her for a minute before I looked back at her bowl and found it empty. I guess she liked it, lol.

Wagamama Ramen

London Day 3: Changing of the Guard, Trafalgar Square, Borough Market, Covent Garden

London Day 3 - December 28, 2013

Palace guards heading in

Our third day in London was a little more structured and we were fortunate enough to have a couple of local "tour guides" join us. My niece Lauren had a friend, Kat, who she met in Madrid but who lives near London and my other niece Shyla had a friend, Sami, who happened to be in London visiting his girlfriend but who had also lived in London for a time while he went to school here. We wanted to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace so we arranged to meet them at "the fountain" at noon.

Buckingham Palace

That turned out to be a little tricky as it turned out every tourist in London also came to see the changing of the guard and we were roped off into certain sections to allow traffic, including the guards on their horses, through. There were so many people we didn't actually see the changing itself although we managed to catch them mounted up and heading towards Buckingham Palace in red robed glory. Fortunately we did miraculously locate Sami in the throng and went to Plan B to meet Kat at Trafalgar Square.

Trafalgar Square 

Specifically, we met her (literally) at the blue rooster. According to Sami, artists compete to have their works displayed at Trafalgar Square for certain lengths of time and the current winner was whoever designed this rooster. It's very big and very blue and is an ideal landmark to meet someone by simply because you absolutely can't miss it at Trafalgar Square.

The foursome - but see the legs of the blue rooster at the center top of this pic?

The nice thing about having local folks to guide us around is they know where to go and what all the buildings and landmarks were that we were passing. Our walk included a peek in at Somerset House to watch the ice skaters as we made our way to the Thames and its myriad of bridges.

Somerset House with an ice skating rink outside

But the best place they told us about was Borough Market, underneath the bridge near London Bridge tube station. This place was great and exactly the kind of local market I like poking around in when I visit somewhere.

There were a lot of fresh food stalls from seafood and meats to breads and cheeses to fruits and vegetables. You can buy fresh produce as well as ready-to-eat foods cooked onsite. Or at least kept warm there and served hot.

It was a fun place to walk around and from there they took us to Covent Garden, also very crowded and filled with more tourists. No shopping for us but just people watching and walking. My biggest surprise was discovering a Shake Shack at Covent Garden. I thought they were only in New York City and I have very fond memories of trying my first Shake Shack burger on my last trip to Manhattan. I didn't try it here, only because we had already eaten at Borough Market but don't think I didn't consider it.

Covent Garden

Shake Shack at Covent Garden

 Like most of the central locations in London, Covent Garden was very crowded. We weren't in shopping mode so it was enough to mill around with the thousands of other people, see the sights and people watch. It was a great day filled with local color (or should I say "colour"?) and we had another fabulous time. Many thanks to Kat and Sami for showing us London through their experienced eyes.