Bakeries and Fruit Stands

One of my favorite things about Paris was the pastries. Carbs are my favorite.

It didn't hurt that we had an adorable bakery right on the corner by our hostel. We stopped there each morning.

There was also a fruit stand around the corner. Rach and I made a habit of stopping on our way to the metro each morning. The man was so nice and would always speak to us. Too bad we couldn't understand anything he was saying. We would just smile, nod, and say "merci" as we left. He fondly became known as the fruit stand man. Original, right?

On our last day we were pretty upset. Plus I had to sneak a picture of the Fruit Stand Man. He kind of looks like Mario or Luigi, right?!

My Kind of Surprise

The girls just got home from school for lunch. They came in and told me they had a surprise!

I walked into the kitchen to find this:

Now that is my kind of surprise. French chocolate muffin? Yes, please.

Spaghetti Carbonara

According to Wikipedia, spaghetti carbonara is "an Italian pasta dish from Latium, and more specifically to Rome, based on eggs, cheese, bacon, and black pepper." So essentially it's like eating breakfast and dinner at the same time.

I had never heard of this before I came here. I was interested to try it. I mean, it's Italian food. What's not to like?!

It was good, but it wasn't my favorite thing ever. I couldn't get over the fact that my spaghetti noodles were covered basically with an uncooked omelet.

French bread is a staple at every meal. Sooooo good. Oh and bringing out the camera means the youngest wants to have her picture taken. Only problem is she can't sit still for even a second!

Eating our way through Amsterdam

Amsterdam was one of my favorite places we visited. Before I talk about anything else, here is some of the delicious food we ate.

Bagels and Beans

This place had so many good options to choose from. I went with a cinnamon raisin bagel with bananas, cinnamon, and maple syrup. With a cappuccino to drink. Yummm.

Burger Meester

This place was sooo good. And I don't even like meat that much. The burgers were ginormous. I tried to take a bite like normal but it hurt my neck (not even lying). So I ate the rest with a fork and knife.

Thank you, Liz, for the recommendation!

Screaming Beans

We stumbled upon this hole-in-the-wall by accident. I only got a croissant and orange juice. But man was that juice good. Freshley squeezed deliciousness.

Rachel got a filtered coffee and she said it was great. I don't really drink coffee but this girl knows her stuff. So I trust her.

Last but not least, dutch apple pie. It was good, but I like American apple pie better. I'm more of a hot pie/thick crust with ice cream kind of girl. Dutch apple pie is cold with hardly any crust and a lot of raisins.

In summary: it was dessert so of course I liked it. But it's not for everyone.

Muriel's Kitchen

After going to the National History Museum, we were starving. We planned to go to our trusty restaurant Pret a Manger (we literally ate there every day). But we stumbled upon this adorable place instead. So glad we found it!

Muriel's Kitchen is a great brunch/lunch place. The decorations take you back in time. There are tea cups, plates, decorative spoons, and vintage posters all over the walls. And the food is just superb. I will definitely be going back whenever I revisit London.

Picnic in Front of Kensington

I'm on a roll with these posts! We have a lot of free time today as we're waiting on our bus to go to Amsterdam. Perfect time to update you on our excursions!

On our last full day in London, we went to Harrods. This was my first time and I had no idea what to expect. Holy beautiful. We looked through most of the floors, including the toy room and the pet spa. We were like little kids looking through all the toys and books.

Our main purpose was to get food from the food court. When I say food court, you probably imagine lots of fast food restaurants surrounding a huge room of tables. This is not the case at Harrods. It is more of a fancy market where you can order anything you like. There are deli stations, meat counters, shelves filled with pastries, and even a build-your-own-salad area. Food heaven!

I got a delicious ham croissant and a double chocolate muffin. Rachel built her own salad. The people working there are so friendly and are always smiling! I'm not sure how they do it because there were definitely some rude people in the lines. We got our food to go and headed to Kensington to indulge!

It was a gorgeous, sunny day. Much better compared to the nasty rain we had the day before. We parked it in the grass in front of Kensington Palace, overlooking the Round Pond. It was such a perfect ending to a great day.

I know you wanted to see a sequence of me eating. You're welcome.

Road Trip

I've been blessed to know these two wonderful ladies since kindergarten. We haven't always been best friends...that started in ninth grade. But it has been so fun to watch each other grow up. We always pick up right where we left off. Love friendships like that! Melissa and I were roommates our first year at UGA. We've made a road trip to Anderson, SC every year to see Kristal. This year was no different!

awesome fluorescent lighting

We always eat lots of food when we're together. We went to The Fox in downtown Anderson for dinner Saturday night. It was an English pub and so so good. I'm excited to go to London for more! We were too busy talking to get pictures of our food...or anything else for that matter. These are the only two pictures we took all weekend. Such a bummer!

We also went to Roost in Greenville, SC on Sunday for brunch. This place was delicious. They use locally grown, organic products. We were unaware that Sunday is their big buffet day. They have a huge buffet with all the breakfast foods you can imagine. Unfortunately, we weren't prepared for this financially (curse you, college, for taking all of our money) so we just ordered off the menu. But what we did have was sooooo good. I had Nutella waffles. And now I'm drooling just thinking about it. Melissa had a bacon/egg/cheese sandwich on a croissant and Kristal had a goat cheese omelette. Both were fantastic. If you're ever in Greenville, make sure you go here!

Other fun weekend activities included Pitch Perfect, free movie tickets, yummy popcorn, chocolate, and lots of girl talk. Oh and it rained all.stinkin.weekend. It never stopped. #minordetails
So glad I got to spend time with these ladies before I leave for Europe!

Tuscany-Hike and Homemade Meal

Welcome back to part two of my day in Tuscany.

Before we left for Italy, we had to pick the activities we wanted to do in Venice and Florence. For Florence, our options were either a hike through Tuscany or a cooking lesson. Either way, we got to eat the meal after it was made. I originally signed up for cooking because who doesn't want to learn how to cook from an Italian?!
Once we got to the site, however, I changed my mind. Fortunately Mila was excited to have another hiker (there were only five of us, including me). I am soooooo glad I made this decision because the views were absolutely incredible.

One of the first stops on the hike was a Catholic Cemetery. Standing in the entrance, you could see a white house on one of the neighboring hills. Einstein's cousin, Roberto, lived in this house with his wife and two children.  He married a Catholic woman so neither the Catholics nor the Jews would accept their children during WWII (Children are Jewish by their mother or Catholic by their father). Roberto hid in Mila's grandfather's house (which she happens to live in now) to escape from the Nazis. His wife decided to stay with the children in their home because she thought they were safe as Catholics. Someone planted weapons in their farm house in order to have a reason to kill them. Mila's grandfather had to tell Robeto that his family was dead, and Roberto committed suicide a year later. Roberto is the only Jewish man buried in the cemetery. Not only was he Jewish, he also committed suicide, which can kick even Catholic people out of cemeteries. He was buried in the cemetery beside his wife and there is a huge memorial for him. They also recently changed the cross on his tombstone to the Star of David. The rocks on the grave are a Jewish way of showing respect.

It was such a moving and incredible story. Mila got emotional while telling it to us; it was all so fresh to her. Her grandfather kept a war journal and wrote that telling Roberto about his family was the hardest thing he had ever done.

The rest of our hike took us over hills, through vineyards (yes...through vineyards), to a castle, to a count's house (now used as an exclusive bed and breakfast), and through people's backyards (Italians are just so friendly).
*cue the massive amount of pictures*

We had definitely worked up an appetite by the time we made it back to Mila's house. The rest of our group had been making pasta for our meal. Mila's husband also made appetizers and dessert. Italians sure know how to eat. I'm not sure how I managed it, but I ate every single bite. Along with over 10 cups of water (the hike made me thirsty).

The food was all so delicious, as usual. It was a perfect day exploring such a beautiful country. Fun fact: Mila actually lets people rent her house when they are traveling. Her home is quite large. Because there are so many rooms and hallways, it was a perfect spot for hiding Jews in World War II. Just being in a place so full of history was exciting all on its own. My goal is to go back one day and stay with Mila and her family. If any of you are traveling and want to check it out, email me and I will give you the details!