Tea and Crumpets

I had a lovely late night snack of tea and crumpets. To feel more British I had my tea the way the Brits do, with milk and sugar. My mates and I had taken a Jack the Ripper walking tour in the bitter cold so the hot peppermint tea helped to thaw my hands. It was just what I needed. For a mere 53p (pence) the grocery store will sell you eight crumpets. They tend to expire quickly so they are great for sharing. We don't have a toaster so the stove gets fired up to toast them. Our stove is quite slow at heating up so it's quite the process to cook anything, but so worth a warm delicious crumpet. We then butter both sides of the crumpets, place them on the stove, and wait.

When they are slightly brown on both sides, the crumpets are ready! They are too hot to hold or take a bite, but this is immediately done. Slightly crunchy on the outside, but fluffy and a little sweet in the middle, a crumpet is a scrumptious, perfect snack. They remind us a bit of popovers. I only hope I am able to find them in the states, as they have become a staple here and I don't want to have to miss it. You all should start on a search for these so we can eat them together when I get back! 

Have a wonderfully marvelous day, cheers! ~Laura 

Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace

The birds here are not afraid of people. When running through a group of them the ones you get closest to nonchalantly take a few steps out of the way. The rest just stand there watching and hoping you have food. I find this kind of cool and scary at the same time. I hear that geese can be aggressive and mean but I still couldn’t resist getting as close as I could to them and the swans, this distance being about a foot. I had never seen a swan in person, let alone gotten close enough to touch one, until Megan and I went to Hyde Park on Friday. The swans were my favorite of the many birds flying around. I couldn’t believe how much snow accumulated as I heard it hardly ever snows. So we decided that Hyde Park would be beautiful covered in snow, and it was. It was a bit cold, but totally worth it.

This bird had so much attitude! 

This is my favorite picture of a swan that I took

We went to a café by the lake in the park called Serpentine Bar and Kitchen. We both bought a chocolate croissant and hot chocolate, which were a bit pricy but ended up tasting delicious. The warmth of the café was also totally worth it.

After warming up we made our way to Buckingham Palace. Can you imagine 1. Living in a castle (which is my dream by the way) and 2. Having your home guarded by men who are not allowed to smile? I certainly can’t. The Palace was huge and the architecture gorgeous. The gate was adorned with golden lions and other beautiful details. The lawn was covered with a perfect sheet of snow. We asked a man to take a picture of the two of us standing in front of the gate. I simply couldn’t believe the grandeur of the site. Unfortunately we couldn’t get close to the guards because Megan had some jokes at the ready.

We will definitely be going back when it is warmer out to see it again.

Have a wonderfully marvelous day, cheers! ~Laura