Days 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, and 142. International Food Week.

Days 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142. International Food Week.

 Day 137.  Monday. My friend Tamara had told me about a doughnut shop that was running a special doughnut for Australia Day. Didn't know that was a thing, but it is. I also planned on seeing if I could get day tickets for a play that evening, and they were both in the same spot, so I figured why not get doughnuts and a ticket for a play. Well, apparently I picked opening night to see the play, so no day tickets were available, but I still got doughnuts. I tried not to act shocked when the lady at the doughnut counter told me that "six doughnuts are only twenty pounds". Twenty pounds for six doughnuts? Say what?!? Um, I got three. And Tamara paid for one of them. The two I got were delicious. I got a Sea Salt Caramel & Banana Cream and a Lamnut. The first is described as, "A winning combination of homemade chocolate soil topping, chocolate sour dough base and fresh banana cream filling. A sweet but silky banana cream filling is encased in Crosstown’s light and fluffy chocolate sour dough. We then top it all off with a generous swirl of sea salt caramel and a divine chocolate soil." It was pretty amazing in the doughnut world. And the Lamnut, "a cake ring doughnut and a smothering of fresh raspberry jam, dipped in that chocolatey goodness we know and love, then rolled around in a generous dousing of coconut" made after a cake eaten in Australia, this was pretty stellar. I messaged Tamara, told her I got the doughnut, and we met up for lunch at the Falafel King on Portabello Rd for the doughnut exchange. Sweet. Falafel king was pretty great too. They sell one thing. Falafels. They serve them in pita w/all the fixings. To get to Falafel King, it is the farthest I have walked down Portobello Rd in 10 years....I remember the place I had fish and chips at was up and across the street from where we had lunch. I like my photographic memory of places, its the directions for getting there that is the issue. Food. Am I making you hungry yet? I spent the rest of the day being domestic, do laundry.

 Day 138. Tuesday. I really need to write more often/take pictures to remember what I did everyday because Tuesday I have no idea what I did other than iron. I know I ironed. Everyday off school, I think I am in London, I need to see this town, but the more I think that, the more I like my bed. Hahaha. Thank goodness for text messages. I remember what I did. I planned my entremets. The layers, ingredients, amounts, the time plan (what to make when), wrote out the recipes, and mentally prepared myself for the next two days of making this thing. I had no idea how it was going to go in the kitchen the next day (were we going to do paperwork, have a discussion, or start baking right away). I wanted to be prepared. And I was. Or at least I thought I was.

 Day 139. Wednesday. Six AM comes way too early. Adrenaline keeps me going on days like today. We started baking right away. Chef said that she would come around and look at out plans/recipes but she never did. She recommended doing the jelly/internal layer first as it needs the most time to set. That was forth on my time plan. I needed to get my baked mousse pudding in the oven right away in order to get that cooled. Then I did my jelly. I have never used cardamom in my life. Another chef had recommended pear & cardamom jelly, so thats what I did. I put a lot of ground cardamom in the pot with the pear puree, I wanted it to be tasty, but not awful. It looked cloudy/like applesauce color when I put it in the chiller, but I didnt think anything of it. I needed a jelly/middle layer, and that was that. Done. Moving on. I didn't even get scattered going out of order. I had a plan & I kept on going. I made shortbread for my crust, while that was mixing I made a tuille to fingerprint on a Silpat mat that would be covered by an almond sponge. Everything was mixed and baked within two hours. Right on time according to my time plan. Yippee. I didn't know that chef had planned chocolate and tuile decoration was saved for the afternoon session, so I had some 'spare time' to kill. I added an extra 100g to the chocolate mousse for good measure, as I didn't have anything else to do, oh well. Spoiler alert: it still stood tall in the end. After a quick break of grabbing some soup, we were back in the kitchen tempering chocolate, making decorations. The vision I had in my head, was not possible with the equipment I had to work with. I had to improvise, and make new things. I was not excited. I planned/made almond brittle & chocolate cardamom tuile, and before I knew it, I spent way too long making stuff I knew I did not want. Oh well. Live and learn.

 Day 140. Thursday. The day we put the decorations on our Entremets. Aka improvise. I wanted flat round circles of chocolate getting larger on the way o 0 O to the edge of the entremets, but since that wasn't possible, I used the tuile triangles to make a circular pattern to the edge. As I pulled my tempered chocolate away from the acetate, it fell to pieces/shards. I thought it wasnt tempered as it was so fragile. It was too much on top, but when in Rome.... i added shards of chocolate throughout the triangles. I was trying to do a desert mountain landscape, but looking around at everyone else's work, I should have gone for a minimalist approach. My shortbread was too thick, my tuile paint on the sponge needed to be darker, my chocolate shards showed 'no skill' (a requirement that i didn't use my pieces that fell apart), my mousse had chocolate bits in it but it was smooth, my jelly was like nothing she has ever had before (not in a good way), but my chocolate was in temper, and my chocolate glaze was nice and shiny. This is the feedback I got from Chef. I swear no matter what I try to do, it is never good enough. I planned, I prepared, and still its rough to have little good and lots of bad feedback. But my fan club back home was impressed, thanks to comments on Instagram. My classmates ate mine, and all liked my mousse, and some liked my jelly (those from the Jordan/Oman especially....apparently they put cardamom in everything). By the end of classes, my entremets was gone. I had lots of people try it, and got some good feedback. 

We still had two more classes that day. Two tech classes. The first tech class was our Tea Party Prep meeting, where we found out how the whole thing was going down, how it works, and what we needed to do. They divided our three groups into teams of three people, where each team will be making three desserts (30-40 portions each) over three (four hour) sessions next week. no big deal. our teams were "randomly selected" and I am with Delhi and Malta. Sweet. We can do this. They gave us the recipes, and from that we had to come up with equipment lists, ingredients list, time plan, work order, etc. To turn into our team captain, to turn into Chef my Monday morning. Tea time cooking starts Tuesday. I should have gone on vacation for the weekend to prep myself, but there is always another weekend for an adventure.

 Second Tech class we watched Chef make Verrines. Basically shot glasses of dessert, with creams and jellies that I got my shirt dirty sampling #wasntworthit. I was deliriously tired through this class, and yet when Singapore & Jordan asked if I wanted to join a group for dinner, I agreed to go. The Chef in this class was the same that did our tech where I used my fabulous fake accent. Chef at the beginning of class said, "I might have my accented assistant come up and help eventually tonight, we'll have to see." "With pleasure Chef! With pleasure!" I said from my seat in the infamous accent. The class laughed. "You don't know what your accent does to me." Chef said after the laughter died down. Uhhh I don't want to know what it does to him, :) so I did not ask, and he never asked me to help.

 For dinner, 10 of us ventured to Diwan Restaurant. It was middle eastern food. Monday's Falafel King I was told is Israeli, tonight was Jordan-ease, I am a world traveler of food without leaving London. Going around the table, we were the United Nations of school. Jordan, Oman, Singapore, China, Poland, India, Israel, and USA. We have good fun loud laughing conversations.

 Day 141. Friday. I got up and headed to the theatre again to see if day tickets were available and they were! I had talked to Jordan about it the night before, but I never told her I was actually going to go see if there were tickets, so I didn't know if she wanted to go. I tried texting to no response, so I texted Oman to see if she could call Jordan. She tried, and no luck, but somehow Oman decided to come along. I stopped by school to reserve a spot at the tea for a friend, and stopped by the american big name expensive grocery store on the way home for fresh ground peanut butter & tortillas. random, but needed. I came home, worked on all the lists/time plans we needed for the tea time to be turned into my team captain, with just enough time to get ready for the play. My first play. I think. What play? 'Taken At Midnight' starring Penelope Wilton. Who? She is on Downton Abbey people.....Matthew's mom. I did not know much about the play going in, other than it is about a lawyer who put hitler on trial (before he became THE hitler we all know) and he was captured and thrown in jail under hitlers regime. the play is about him in jail and his mothers fight to get him out. As the lights were going down and the play was about to begin, Oman told me that this is her first theatre experience ever no musical or play ever before. Dang I hoped this was good. The first bit was strange as it felt like it was already into the story when it started, and the pace was hard to keep up with. Irmgard (Penelope) seemed to be angry the whole play, I would be mad if my son was in jail for no good reason either. Overall it was good, the actor playing her son, was amazing.....he truly captured (no pun intended) his role & did an excellent job. Seriously the acting was great. Oh! I forgot to mention that the Day Tickets were FRONT ROW!! Say what? When I picked them up, the box office guy pointed to row three, but in the theatre, we were there watching the spit come out of there mouths as they pronounciate their words. Front row is so cool. And so cheap. 15 pounds. Better than a pack of doughnuts that is for sure. There was no stage door that I could find for pictures afterwards ( I really wanted one), and Oman was wondering why I was wondering around outside the theatre looking for a door. So there are no stalking stories this time around, just a picture in my heart of Mrs Crowley being five feet away from me :)

 It was 10pm when the play was over, but we were a little hungry. Oman knew a vegetarian place near by with Egyptian food. Chalk another place up for international week eating out. Koshari Street. "Koshari is a satisfying, naturally healthy meal of lentils, rice and pasta topped with a spicy tomato sauce and garnished with caramelised onion and boiled chickpeas." It was pretty good. Not so good on the way walking home when I thought I was burping and ended up having a bit too much come up (if you know what I mean) and no place to dispose of it for half a block. Not the best food memory. Hahahah.

 Day 142. Saturday. My knee was feeling a bit weird when I went to bed last night, and when I woke up this morning, it hurt a bit. Don't know what I did to it, but it must just mean that I am getting old. I rested up the morning in bed, and then decided to go for a walk around the block to see if it got better...and that turned into a walk down the river walk turning into 2.4 miles roundtrip....in a light drizzle of rain. I decided to treat myself to a place around the corner from the house, Barossa, for a late brunch. I've wanted to try this place since I moved here, and finally got to try it. I will be back. Its Australian. I got a Veggie Brekkie. Grilled Haloumi, Sautéed Spinach, Roasted Plum Tomato, Garlic Field Mushroom, Corn Fritter, Sourdough Toast & Poached Eggs. Best meal of the week. Amazing.

 And instead of writing that mysterious paper on Chocolate, I am writing this magnificent piece of literature. typos and all.

Days 131. 132. 133. 134. 135. and 136. Good people.

Day 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, and 136. Good people. Day 131. Tuesday. We had one class in the morning. Restaurant desserts demonstration. Chef showed us what we were going to be making for the next two days. After class, a group of us (Maine, Essex, Jordan, Poland, Delhi, Oman, Israel, California, and me) headed for London's best doughnuts....well at least what five different websites claimed to be the best. It was a bit of a trek, and when we got there, it was a restaurant with a bakery in the corner. They only had one flavor for the day, vanilla. It was a creme filled doughnut, light, fluffy, not greasy, and the filling was creamy, soft, airy, and not too sweet. It was a pretty good doughnut for a trek. After that, we headed to dim sum. We'd been before, and I must say there are plenty of placed to eat in this town, I need to stop repeating places. We split up from there. I was pretty tired. I went home, dropped off some things and headed to the store, for a three things, ginger & clove and treacle. They don't have molasses here. The next best cousin is treacle. As I bought/found it in Wales no problem I figured it would be at the store down the street here. Nope, not at the next or the next. Five grocery stores and I finally found it. It's Essex's birthday on Thursday and I asked her what her favorite cookie/biscuit was and she said Ginger. I asked if she had ever had them dipped in chocolate, and she said never, but it sounded amazing. The recipe I used is now complete with the treacle and spices in hand. I made the dough at home that night, and called it a night...8am class the next day.

 Day 132. Wednesday. We made two of the four desserts for the restaurant segment, and tempered chocolate and tulle decorations for our final desserts the next day. Six hours making mousse, parfaits, sauces, sables (crusts) before having another demonstration class to show us how to put it all together. I think this class would have been nice to have before we made our chocolate & tuille decorations, but now we had to make due with what we had the next day. Nine hours at school is very long. Poland, Singapore, and Vermont were getting sushi after class, I wasn't that hungry, but went for the social part. Two sisters from Canada in the intensive cuisine program joined us as well. It was nice to compare programs/chefs. Came home, made a dozen cookies, dipped them in chocolate, and headed to bed.

 Day 133. Thursday. We completed/plated the two desserts from the day before, ate the remnants after chef critique, and made the other two of four desserts, and plated them as well. We worked in pairs for these two days. She made stuff I wasn't proud of (overcooked sable) and I made stuff she probably was not proud of either (gelatinous mousse). Oh well, we pressed on. We used what we had and turned out with some stellar plated desserts for first timers. We had to do two identical platings for the Ricotta Mousse...I redid my chocolate piping 5 times on one plate to get them exactly the same. That is the way of restaurants, consistency in all plates. It had been a long two days of desserts.

No one was ready for another lecture class, but we had one. This time a tech on Restaurant menu planning. After about an hour lecture and me zoning in and out it was time for a quick break before an 'activity.' We never had activities in tech classes. Chef divided us into groups, had us draw a restaraunt type from slips of paper, and then each team made a menu, pricing, aimed clientele, etc. There was Windsor, Heathrow Airport, SE London, Hong Kong Central, and we had a Country Manor. As our group was planning the menu, I busted in with my British accent. Its getting better than before I came here. My group was laughing at my attempts at saying "raspberries" and they insisted I be the presenter for my group, only with the accent. I was a bit nervous, hoping I would not pee my pants, but once it was my turn, I got up, and presented our English Country Manor in my best British accent. "Good afternoon and evening everyone, and welcome to our Country Manor." I began in a british accent. Singapore, (who was in another group), later told me that she thought when she first heard me speaking she thought something was wrong with my voice, and then she realized I was up to something. I had the class roaring in laughter with my descriptions and my accents. I could not even look at Poland, Vermont, Maine, Malta, Essex, Delhi, really anyone as I spoke. Chef was even red with laughter. "Our next selection will be a chocolate surprise. If you haven't seen this you need to look it up on the internet, its like a chocolate bomb, or a chocolate shell the size of a ball that when you pour hot fudge over the top it melts and opens up like a flower to discover a a chocolate fondant cake inside. Seriously brilliant!" The group laughed at my "bomb" and "brilliant." It was quite a fun time performing a menu of all things to people.

 Friday. Day 134. We had a class in the morning about the requirements for our entremets dish that we will each be creating/making for our final. There are lots of details and components that go into it. Seriously a bit overwhelming to be planning (a mousse, sponge, crust, insert layer, tuille, tempered chocolate work, and decoration), ingredient and equipment lists, cost sheets, time tables, oh and presentation. No big deal. Ha! I talked some ideas over with the chefs. I have a rough idea of what I would like to do, but it could be different. We will see soon how it all turns out. One of the chefs helping us/answering questions was the chef from teh night before. He is British. I apologized to him if my British accent was offensive. "Quite the contrary. Are you an actor? [No.} Have you done performing like that before? [No.] Best presentation in five years. You had me rolling in laughter. I hope I was not distracting to you." Ha! From behind us, a squeal comes from Delhi, "See I told you it was good!!" I can pull off an accent. My life is complete.....with a backpacker in Amsterdam it would be really complete. Ha! We were done earlier than expected.

I had lunch plans with Essex ,but her group met at 1130, and mine met at 8am. I had plans to work on that imaginary chocolate paper I need to write about, but Jordan, Poland and Delhi wanted to go to brunch. Anything to prolong doing work was good with me. Jordan had been to this hotel before and said it was excellent for brunch. She was throwing her daughter's surprise birthday party here next week. The hotel was amazing. It was formally a car park [garage] turned into a hotel I could see anyone with a designers eye would love. It was a mix of mediterranean, african, and topiary. They had a bowling alley with four lanes in the basement of the hotel....with a dance floor off of it. The wall had Tiffany blue wallpaper covered with colorful butterflies, that was topped off with alligator sculptures made from wood pieces. How do I know about the bowling alley? As we sat down for brunch, Jordan told the man who seated us that we must have a tour of the hotel after we eat. The rest of us were a bit shocked at the request, I didn't know anyone could get a tour of a hotel. But we did. They showed us two of the hotel rooms, the rooftop garden, the party rooms, bowling alley, and library. Amazing hotel. Brunch was good too. I had baked eggs. I liked the ones at St. Francis in Phoenix better (its a good place....go my PHX peeps!) Funny story about brunch. Poland told the waitress that she is allergic to wheat and wanted to know her options. The waitress said that they have 100% rye bread toast with avocado and if she would like she could add tomato & poached eggs to it. Poland said that was fine. On the menu I could only see the toast with avocado for five pounds, not the added extras. When the bill came, it was a bit of a shock for Poland's order. Five pounds for the toast & avocado, plus four pounds for the sliced tomato, and plus another six pounds for two poached eggs!! Fifteen pounds for toast and add ons! Crazy! You can buy two dozen nice eggs for six pounds here....Poland was shocked as the rest of us, as she only really wanted a coffee and bread. Poland said as we were leaving the hotel that a big group was meeting at Borough Market and that I should come. I told her I would see how long lunch went with Essex.

Thus began my expensive weekend. I walked back to school and met up with Essex and Oman for lunch at a cute Italian order at the counter place called Princi. They had slabs of pizza, salads, breads, desserts. I didn't want Essex to know I already ate brunch an hour ago, so I ordered a small salad plate with a pesto curly noodle salad, and a roasted pumpkin salad as well. So amazing. Essex used to work in the area, so she knows amazing places to try. After lunch was over, Essex headed home to meet her sister who was coming for the weekend. Jordan had messaged Oman about the group going to Borough Market and so Jordan wanted to go. She told me that she had never been. What!?! Its a foodie place!! I had to go with the first timer. The 'big group' ended up being Poland, Singapore, Jordan, Oman, and me. It was a good time going around, trying samples, and finding the doughnut stand (the same company as the other day has a booth at the market) that had lemon doughnuts this time. Still amazing. I asked if they were hiring. They said that if we could bake bread like theirs, they needed two bakers. We said we could, and they gave us their business cards. Watched everyone eat oysters.

 Jordan saw The Shard (a massive business building that looks like a shard of glass) from Borough Market and insisted we go to the top to see the view from the bar and hear them play jazz music. Well, we made it to the 42nd floor, but as we approached the bar doors, security told us that they had a strict dress code policy and no trainers [aka sneakers] were allowed. We all looked at everyone's feet to see who was being denied access, myself and Singapore. Jordan persisted with the men telling them that we were planning a party and we all needed to see the bar. Security was not having it. We assured her and the others that we were fine waiting for them, and to go in and check out the view. They all went in, but Jordan came out two more times to try and get us in. No way Jose. I was really fine. I could see the view from the elevator area. There was another bar opposite this one. Jordan said that they were run by different companies, so we could go in there. Denied again. #comfortoveraviewanytime #carryingmyballetflatsfromnowonnot

 I headed home after that to drop off my bag before heading out to meet Dierdre for dinner. Yes, this is still Friday. Three meals out, plus a doughnut snack. It was an adventure of a day. We met at Leicester Square and walked tell we found a place, turned out we went to Jamie Oliver's Italian. I think I've been to most of his places now, and this one was reasonably priced. I got a board with an array of cheese, olives, veggies, slaw for eight pounds. Cheapest Jamie meal yet. After dinner we tried to walk to find dessert, but it started raining and was getting late so we said goodbyes and headed to our homes. Long fabulously brilliant day.

 Saturday, Day 135. I got up, tidied my room and heard the vacuum running outside my door. “Do you want to vacuum your room now?” My landlady asked as I headed to the bathroom. “Um yah sure.” I think it reassures her to hear me vacuuming my room, so that she can believe that it is getting done, rather than me verbally telling her so. After that I headed out for an errand before meeting Maine & his girlfriend for lunch. It was my first time meeting the girlfriend, and she was quite nice. We went to Granger & Co. I had heard great things about it. I didn’t know if it was worth an hour wait, but Maine & GF insisted that the eggs alone were worth the wait. I got the ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter with a side of eggs. The eggs looked like a pile of hard scrambled eggs, but in the mouth, they were light fluffy layers of eggy goodness. The hotcakes were great too. Maine bought my meal as my delayed happy birthday meal :) happy me. I had to jet before GF was through with her second plate (seriously she could eat) as I was meeting Delhi and Poland at 345, and it was 330. Whoops.

 After multiple texts we finally met up, and I discovered that it was more than just Delhi and her boyfriend and Poland, but Singapore and Vermont and Vermont’s boyfriend too. Wow. I felt terrible being late. Nevertheless, we walked to William Curley, Patissier Chocolatier shop to have the dessert bar. A six course expedition of strictly desserts. We knew that service ended at five, and the shop closed at six. We walked in at 420. When we all walked in the staff was a bit shocked at our group size, only because they don’t take reservations. There were people at the dessert bar already, and would be there for another 30 minutes. They said that we could sit at tables in the shop area and eat there, but we wanted to sit at the bar. Why? Because the chef makes the desserts right there in front of you at the bar that’s why :) The lady said that she does not normally do this, but she would take a phone number and call us when they were ready for us (the shop was small, and we were big). I pulled out my phone, pulled up my recent text conversation with Maine, and gave them my unmemorized telephone number. We headed across the street to a bar to wait it out. I watched as my buddies all drank. We told the waiter that we were only there for drinks, and they said that his was the restaurant side, and if we wanted only drinks we should have gone to the bar side. We told him we would move, and since we were willing he said that we could stay until they got busy. We didn’t mind, we knew we would be gone in thirty minutes. Thirty minutes came and went. I was a bit miffed that the chocolate shop had not called. Vermont’s boyfriend said that they probably took my number and threw it away. After 45 minutes of waiting, Maine calls me. “Um Michelle I don’t know why, but this chocolate shop keeps calling me telling me that your reservation at the Chocolate Shop is ready.” Oh my goodness. I gave them Maine’s number, not mine! Laughter ensued, as me, Delhi, and Delhi’s boyfriend ran to the chocolate shop to hold the bar until the others could finish their drinks. A drink was included in our six course dessert menu . I got Hot Chocolate of course with praline paster & 72% dark chocolate. Then the courses began. The chef told us we could ask him anything as the menu went along. We didn’t tell him we were pastry students until course four. :) Only two courses had chocolate in them, the rest were fruit based. The menu changes monthly, so February might be filled with chocolate who knows. But the courses were great. Yummy. I almost made it through the sixth course before asking for my petit four chocolates to be wrapped up like Delhi’s.

 It was a lot of sweets consumed. We needed to balance it out with some savory. We walked around for a while before I pulled out Yelp to find us a pub. There was one down a questionable alley.  But had a good soup for me.  After the pub, I was ready to call it a night. The bus line to my house ran the road that we were on, so I said goodnight, and watched my friends walk away. As I watched them, I thought about how great it is to have good people like them in my life. I am thankful for friends. 

Sunday. Day 136. The usual. I came home, and timed myself making the potential filling for my entremets, chocolate pudding, to see if it would even be possible. With an over that only has 9…8…7…6..5…4..3..2..1.. on it and not actual temperature degrees, it was questionable as to how to make this work. I’m pretty sure I overcooked it, but it turned out the same fluffy thick goodness that it has been for the past many years of making it back home. I met up with my friend Tamara for a fireside, and we chatted for a long time after. I worked on this novel during the day too. And bless you for making it this far through. Goodnight.

Days 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, and 130. Fifty Days To Go.

Days 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, and 130. Fifty Days to Go. Day 124. Tuesday. I got up just to do laundry. Yep. That is so exciting I know. Oh and I made cookies from some dough I had. I had one class that afternoon, and it was a demonstration class on different tuiles that can be used on our entremets dishes later on in the term. Chocolate cigars (rolled chocolate) and sugar syrup like things covered with seeds. Its crazy to think about how I will be making a dessert start to finish with fancy decorations at the end of the term. Never imagined doing that and trying not to think about it for as long as possible. Anyhow.....after class some of my old group went out for dinner at Wahaca (the phonetically challenged fusion Mexican restaurant). It turned into an unofficial birthday meal. I brought the chocolate chip cookies I had baked this morning for our dessert, and jokingly sang "happy birthday to me" as I passed around the cookies, which then turned the group into singing happy birthday. A few minutes later, the waitress came around with a plate of churros, with a candle in them and said, "Again, happy birthday...." and then the group sang again. It was rather funny to be sung to twice. It made my night, and I actually blew out a candle so I officially can move on from the birthday. After dinner, 6/9 dinner guests went to a pub for more talking, and drink watching. Seriously, an outsider would wonder how we all got together, we are all different cultures, backgrounds, and different dressing habits, but together we have fun. Day 125. Wednesday. No school. Talked to Angela (loved it! sorry I took up so much of your day) via FaceTime. Ran errands. Bought a binder at the office supply store, and tabs, and a whole punch. These things do not run cheap here. A 2 inch binder was $8. And that was on the cheap side. Stopped by the ATM, and the cell phone store to top up on my phone. Really exciting stuff. I headed to North End Road for some groceries as well. Seriously love the food stalls, one pound for sixteen carrots, one pound 6 bell peppers, one pound ten onions, three pints of cherry tomatoes for one pound... you get the idea. Good deals. Even better was at Iceland (an all freezer grocery store) that had Quorn veggie burgers (6) for one pound!! Yay! I made shepherds pie that afternoon. Meals for the week. Day 126. Thursday. No school. Decided to go on a walk down my favorite path along the Thames. I walked a route longer than I usually do, but it was nice to get out of the house, get some air, think, and exercise all at once. Came home and made marinara, and onion & pepper sandwiches with the veggie patties, and used my frozen ciabatta bread to complete the ensemble, sandwiches back into the freezer for meals for the weeks. Talked to Mel, made a sketch for my sugar sculpture, watched too much TV, and got stuff done. Day 127. Friday. Back to School. Back to early morning class. Back to being too tired too early. We had Chef Arizona with us. The king of sugar work at my school (he's competing next week as a matter of fact). We've had another chef with us all week (I cant remember my nickname for him right now.) So to have the master of all things sugar work with us was a bit alarming. However, he showed amazing patience with all of us, taught us how to work with sugar more than the other chef, and was kind during our misery. My classmates and I thought that this was our last time at a sugar sculpture, but we were informed on the contrary. We still have to do another sculpture and rose tomorrow. Great. Not. My sculpture turned out like something a kid would do if they were allowed to play with 330 degree farenheit sugar. I did not post it anywhere to show that catastrophe to the world. I was the last to get feedback, and all Chef Arizona said about it was 'Don't do an open eye [with a hole], just do a dollop of sugar instead. And change the bubble background to a darker color.' I wasn't happy with my sugar work nor his feedback because it wasn't that honest. I waited for everyone to leave before I said 'Chef, I know this could be improved by 200% but I don't know how, please give me some tips and help on how to make this better. Telling me to fix the eye and background are not going to help his thing be better.' I think [hope] he appreciates my honesty. He gave me some good advice, and with that I dumped my sugar piece into the garbage, and headed off to a quick lunch break before our next class, this time making blown sugar apples. I had seen previous classes last term coming out with full fruit baskets (bananas, apples, grapes) but we just made apples. Chef said that we weren't being graded on our fruit, so it was 'just for fun' and gave us some more time to practive our rose for tomorrow. I like blown sugar and pulled sugar more than poured sugar sculptures any day. I like to have a bit of control over my work, rather than pouring it and hoping for the best. After class I went with Delhi for dessert and a good long talk. Sure it was a Friday night, but we had class the next day. I was home by seven and in bed by nine. Day 128. Saturday. Last Day of Sugar. Hallelujah. Our first class was to make a pulled sugar rose for a skills test. I swear the first one I made in sugar class turned out a lot better than the last one. Oh well. Sugar goes on. After a quick break, we were back in the kitchen to make our poured sugar sculpture. Its always a gamble with poured sugar. Never know if its going to be too thin/too thick/burned/did not make enough or too much. I just hoped it would all turn out. And it turned out better than the day before, and I was glad it was over. Into the bin it went again, with all the other sculptures. They are so fragile, most wouldn't make it out the door. Had lunner with Delhi and Jordan at a Thai place before heading home. I took a nap and then woke up when I was supposed to be at India2's party. Whoops. I headed out for the hour tube ride, and discovered that I was the fourth to arrive, and I got there and 1 1/2 hours after start time. Of course people stared pilling in 3 hours after start time, I stayed for a bit, but did not want to miss the last tube ride home. Day 129. Sunday. The usual. The Sunday School story said that Jesus' birth story is 'the most boring story to tell in January because its been over talked so much in December.' Yep. He actually said that. He also likened Mary & Joseph not realizing that the left Jesus after a days journey to Kevin from Home Alone. Yep, nice intro to the New Testament. Took a little walk through the V&A museum on the way home, I had never been to the other side of the garden area, so I decided to go see what was over there, turns out it was a beautiful cafe with amazing looking food. Came home, and made french toast out of my brioche bread. Talked to Lisa. Talked to the parents. I worked on my portfolio, doing the write ups for the Sugar Work and Boulangerie sections. That felt like good progress. Day 130. Monday. No class. The previous day I had made plans with Kami (church friend) to go to an exhibit on the 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year' at the Natural History Museum. We went. It was amazing. Seriously. A.maz.ing. How do people capture these things? There was even two kids categories...5-11 year olds taking pictures I could never imagine. One ten year old asked his family to drop him off along the road (near their fishing sight) so that he could watch and see if any birds come out of the reeds (i know they have a name, not bamboo, but reeds) and take pictures of them. Turns out, the rare bird came out and he captured the moment. Kami (and I) were also impressed with the camera equipment list of the kids....fancy expensive and things I dream of owning. Another kid saw a bug in his grandma's garden, told her to not loose sight of the bug as he went and got his camera, two flashes, and a piece of paper (to put behind the bug on the twig) to capture the little creature. The adult pictures were so good. I don't know if I would have the patience to wait 75 days in a marsh to capture a flock of birds at the right moment, but someone did. Seriously great. We met another church friend for lunch, hit up some thrift stores before heading back home. Where I did ironing. Oh yeh. Ate a cookie. Even better. and tried to tidy my room. I walked to a book store to get some research from actual books (not the internet) on chocolate. Not much success there, but I did find one of my cookbooks I have back home (Smitten Kitchen -- I heart you) which inspired my dinner: crispy potato hash browns with fried eggs on top. I added cheese just for kicks. Totally not healthy, totally don't care, totally worth it. And now I sit and write when I need to be writing a research paper on Chocolate. If I want eight hours of sleep I better be off...... I have one last four day weekend ahead. Any recommendations for short trips can be sent to michelletarwater at gmail dot com. ttfn friends.

Days 120, 121, 122, and 123. Amsterdam

Days 120, 121, 122 and 123. Amsterdam. Day 120. Woke up at Malta's house at 3:15am to catch a taxi to catch a plane at 6am to Amsterdam. It was too early. We got to the airport with enough time to eat breakfast at Jamie Olivers restaraunt. I did not want to eat that early, but Malta was hungry. I had granola with yogurt and fruit. Really nice. I spent most of the time on the plane sleeping. The pilot announced after take off, that there were heavy winds and that we might need to circle Amsterdam for awhile to get in line to land and "we should see you on the ground in about twenty minutes." Malta did not like heading the word should come out of the pilots mouth. She is not a good flyer. I am still alive to write this so we landed very safely. We got off the plane, and onto a train into central Amsterdam. From there we bought a 72 hour pass to museums and transport. It included a boat trip through the canals, so that was our first item of business. It was lovely to float through the canals of Amsterdam, just like I imagined it to be. This town is quaint, but large, nice people, less noisy than London, and small intriqute streets. After the cruise we walked for hours through streets, shopping areas, and canals. We found a chocolate shop and picked a few pieces. We were recommended a cafe down the road, where I enjoyed a nice soup and crusty bread. We kept walking. We went to Rembrandts house. Yep. The former house of Rembrandt has been turned into a museum to replicate what it was like in his time. The rooms had bed boxes (wardrobes with beds in them), there was not a room that was made to be a bedroom. In some of the rooms, they had workshops going on, we jumped on one for an etching/print class. I etched with a scraping tool a picture of one of Rembrandts works on a plastic sleeve, they covered it in ink, then wiped off the excess ink, and ran it through a press on paper to complete image. It turned out pretty cool, and a nice souvenier of the trip. We stopped in shops, walked a bit more, and sat in a cafe for a bit to rest ourselves as we waited for the guy to get home from work (Malta's friend) whom we were staying with. We headed off on the tube and chatted about how we had been in a car, plane, train, boat, and tube all in one day. We had transporation covered. We met the guy at the tube station, walked to his house, got settled, and headed out for dinner. We wanted something local, and not toursity. We went to a restaraunt that was a former car dealership. It had the high walls and wide open space of a dealership, but filled tables filled with people. The food was great too. I got deep fried risotto balls with saurkraut (I like the homemade stuff way more than the jar), and roasted squash. I was so tired, I was in bed by 11pm, but we had been up since 2am Amsterdam time, so that is pretty good day I suppose. Day 121. Next day we slept in tell 9am AMS. We got breakfast at the modern art museum cafe before heading over to the Vincent Van Gogh museum. I love his works. I should have warned Malta of my love for Vincent before we went, but I read every plaque & stared at every painting. And there were a lot of paintings. The texture, the layers of paint, the way he moves the strokes of his brush to create a simple flower, a garden seen, were amazing to see up close and personal. It walks through his life, from his early work to his last year, to how his family determined to promote his work after his death. It was truly educational. It was lovely. Truly a great museum. The guy told us that he really enjoys the modern art museum and thinks that we would too. Well, after being in it for about 20 minutes, I was ready to leave. Modern is not my thing compared to Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet. Malta didn't really care for it either, so off we went. We took pictures with the crowds at the I amsterdam sign. By this time, the Rijksmuseum was closing in an hour and that was not enough time to beat that monster, so we headed over to the Diamond Museum next door. It had a lot of replica's not a lot of real things. Lame. We went back to the guys house, and headed out for dinner at a Chinese place, and the guy showing us around town. Ahem, the red light district. I had no idea what it was, so don't judge. The guy said that whenever people come visit him, they always want to see the red light district, get drugs, and see a strip show. Um, yah not that type of person at all. We walked around town a bit more before settling into a pub for drinks (I got an apple pear juice) and conversation. Day 122. Sunday. The day known as my birthday. I asked Malta Saturday night if we could get up earlier than Saturday so that we could beat the crowds at the Rijksmuseum before going bike riding for the day. She said she was up for that idea, but she actually got up at 930. The guy and I had been up for an hour, making small conversation over soft boiled eggs and toast when Malta appeared. 'Happy Birthday." She said. The guy didn't say anything at all. "Thanks." She left a card on my bed, and that was the last I heard it was my birthday all day. It was rather strange, but made the day like any other day. The guy told us it was going to be windy, and Malta said "We're absolutely not going bike riding then" with no consultation on what I wanted to do. I told them I really didn't need to go to the Rijksmuseum as it was just a Rembrandt [and it was not included in our tourist card, so it would cost extra. They both laughed at me, "Just a Rembrandt?!? Hilarious." I decided I just be quiet and go along with the day and whatever they had planned. Yes, I am complaining. Malta and I went to the Rijksmuseum, saw just the Rembrandt and other famous paintings, sculptures, and art. After that we met up with the guy who was an amazing guide through the streets of Amsterdam, he took us through "the nine streets" -- small local shops lining a # grid in an area of town. I got some great hot chocolate Sent from my iPad Day 123. We got up at 730 to get ready for the last day in Amsterdam. We headed out to the Anne Frank House. I was so glad i went. It was really sad to think about all that went on during the war, but nice to see how they lived. For some reason, I thought that they all lived in a single room with a bucket in the corner for "deposits" but it was an actual livable apartment. Yes, they could not move during the day when the workers moved below, but they had beds to sleep on, a kitchen to cook in, and a bathroom. Anne's dad prepared for a long time before hand to have a place ready to be livable. The helpers sacrificed a lot to help them. It was really hard times. It was a sobering experience, and i am glad I did it. After that, we headed to Winkel's for the best apple pie in town. It was really good. The crust was most like a sugar cookie, and there was a hearty amount of cinnamon in the apples. Seriously lovely. So good. Go there if you are ever in town. I got a hot chocolate with it too #whynot. It was served in a tall glass drinking cup. So good. We walked the canals to a photography museum, it was around the edge of one of the larger U's of canals around town. I really did not mind the walk. Sure it was cold and windy, but it was quaint, lovely, homey, quiet, and enjoyable to see how one place could be a house, and the next row house was a business. It was fun peaking in the windows as we passed to see what was going on inside. The photo museum was closed, but there was another one down the road, so we walked on....and should have kept on walking past the photo museum we ended up at (foam) it was worse than the modern art museum. On the way to the Museum Willet-Holthuysen I thought Malta would enjoy the museum of purses and handbags (she has LV & Michael Kors) so we stopped in there..... bags from the 16th century to the current day. Amazing that purses and bags have been around for so long and that we still carry around large bags full of unnecessary things everywhere we go. The Willet-Holthuysen was a museum bringing back to the late 1800's where a couple bequeathed their house to the city. Amazing to think about the US in the late 1800's and where these high society types were around that same time. Our classmate from Amsterdam recommended the Food Hall for a place to eat. It was a former tram station, turned into an eating place with many built in booths of all kinds of food. I got a quiche and soup. Malta said that she was going to the ATM and the loo as I was ordering my food. She was gone for over a half an hour as I ate. I was beginning to wonder if she left me in Amsterdam alone with no return plans (I did know how to get to the guy's house). It was about this point in wondering where to look for Malta, that a tall ruggedly handsome backpacker approached the long table I was sitting at and asked if he could sit down. I said, 'Sure!' but after that I was too shy to talk to him. In my head I had a whole conversation with him, how we would chat for the next two months via text/FaceTime and then I would join him backpacking the world. But instead, we both sat in silence eating our food. After about forty-five minutes of no Malta, I started walking around, before I found her. She said that the queue was nothing when she went to the ATM, but when she came back to order her food, there was a massive order that had been placed, and that was the delay. I could have been talking to my future husband, but instead I was worried if I had a ride on an airplane later that night. Future husband did go to the counter where he got his sandwich from after ordering, and thanked the man for an excellent meal. I drooled silently over him wishing I would get up out of my seat and start a conversation, but I was held back by shyness. Note to the backpacker that ate at the Foodhaal in Amsterdam at 2:20pm on Monday 12 January: Hi! I was too shy to talk to you, but if we ever meet again, please introduce yourself. I really wanted to know where you were going with your life on your backpack, and I want to know if I could join you on your next adventure. :) After our late lunch we did another canal tour. #whynot #maltawascold #ilikedridinginaboatseeingthecityatdusk #itwasgreat. We headed back to the guy's house after that to organize our bags and head out. I thought our flight was at 730, but I am not good with the 21:00....22:00 stuff and found out that we didn't leave tell 930pm. The guy was an excellent host and guide. We got to the airport with plenty of time to mill around before our gate was announced. The flight was good, quick, and I managed to get in a nap. Got back to Gatwick, took a train to transfer to another train only to miss it by 30 seconds, and the next one left in 30 minutes. Luckily the train station where we were was the one I went to Southampton from, so I knew how to get home from there on the bus. Malta said that she would take a cab home from here. We said our goodbyes as I boarded the bus, and from there walked home under my umbrella in a drizzle of rain. That is the end to my Amsterdam adventure.

Days 118 and 119. Adventures in Sugar Sugar

Days 118 and 119. Adventures in Sugar Sugar. Day 118. Mornings are not my thing. You already know this if you know me. If you don't, mornings are not my thing. Especially for being creative. Wednesday morning started off with Sugar class. Poured sugar class. I've never thought it was as interesting subject, and with my mood not being awake enough, I really did not want to be there. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but not really. As I was moving my hot sugar pot from the stove to my station, Delhi was behind me. I didn't know she was there, but when I turned, I had to turn back to prevent spilling hot sugar on her & myself, thus some ended up on the floor. No one was hurt, but a mess was made. Chef got a dish porter to clean it up, and said I had to start over. I could not use the remaining sugar in my pot as i still had to add glucose & since I had no idea how much spilt to accommodate a new recipe, I stated over. People were pouring sugar into molds, and i was watching a pot of boiling water & sugar. I cooked it too long, and some turned into caramel. I had made my green and blue base before it turned into caramel color. But My green & blue colors would not work in caramel, but red & yellow would. Not my favorite colors in the world, but I had to do something. I made some shapes, used different techniques, and compiled a bunch of objects, and miraculously it turned out into a sculpture. It wasn't what I expected, but improvisation is a key tool to cooking. That afternoon was pulled sugar. Pulled sugar roses more precisely. I like having sugar in my hands more than I like pouring it & hoping it turns out alright. In my hands I have the choice on how to make something. My rose turned out really well for never making pulled sugar before, nor making a rose out of a sugar. I was impressed, and so was chef. For a firsr timer that is. After class, got some dinner before I headed home for the evening. Day 119. More sugar. We got to do pulled sugar roses again. Being the morning hours, my roses the day before turned out better. Nevertheless, it is always good practice. That afternoon, we worked in pairs to make sugar ribbon. Neither me or my partner were really excited about it, but we made sugar ribbons....and chef was really impressed for first timers he said that we did really well. We made ribbons, they had no flavoring, but were really pretty to look at. I kept them, but I have no idea what I will be doing with them. Any ideas? Norde Mark.

Days 116 and 117. Ode to a Glove.

Days 116 and 117. Ode to a Glove. Day 116. Monday morning started up bright and early. Classes this week M-Th start at 8am. This is quite the difference from what felt like afternoon/night school. We were given new lockers, changed into our uniforms and met Chef Bread in the kitchen. Two things. They changed up our groups. and this term things are done differently. Yep. My precious group was split up. I honestly miss them all. We were a good group. Luckily I have Malta and Delhi in my group still (plus Amsterdam) and about six names to still learn. This term, we go straight to the kitchen, there are no more three hour demonstration classes, we go to the kitchen, chef shows/tells us what to do and right there on the spot, we make whatever they tell us to. Chef Bread handed out our folders for the term, and said basically, 'Lets start baking.' I had no idea that we would be baking for six hours with one 30 minute break for the day. We were busy, repeating a few items (croissants, pain au chocolates, and brioche) and made some new things, baguettes, kugelholf, pain surprise). All manageable. In my lifetime, I've never been a lover of baking breads....probably because they never turned out right. Now I can say I like baking bread. This was a two day segment, so all but the baguettes and brioche were left at school to finish the next day. Monday I met my friend Tamara to go see a movie. Pretty good. Day 117. Tuesday. Mornings come too early. I really liked my snooze button and got to class just as the clock struck 8am. We baked off the crossaints, soaked up the kugelholf, filled the rye pain suprise (gutting the middle of the loaf & using it to make tiny tea sandwhiches), and made another brioche, ciabatta, five cereal loaf, and champagne bread (no champagne in it). It was very busy, but fun to see the outcomes of first attempts on most of these breads. I had five shopping bags filled with bread when I left school at the end of the day. Luckily there is lots of freezer space. As I left the school, I put my gloves in my pocket, to put on once on the tube. My hands were so full, I wasn't able to put them on. When I got home and dropped all the bread bags, I discovered that one of my gloves was lost along the way. I retraced my steps back to my tube station, with no luck. The chances of finding it further back than that were slim to none. Ode to a Glove In July of nineteen and ninety nine, a companion made me gloves that were mighty fine. They have seen me through fifteen years of mild AZ winters, You have saved me from cold harsh blisters. You have been a safe hand to hold. We've had so much fun. I am sad that I am down to only one. Seriously, I've gone places with these gloves, thanks for the the memories, i write this just because. RIP Glove. I'm sorry I lost you.

Days 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115. The time I was too busy to blog.

Days 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115. The time I was too busy to blog. Day 108. Sunday. Church in Aberystwyth began with a climb up a "hill" which started out freezing, but the higher up we got, the sweatier we became...it was a branch, that meets in a rented space in a business park. I thought it was a pretty decent size crowd. After church it was a beautiful day, no rain, no wind, and sunshine. The plumber came to the flat and fixed the toilet issues while we were gone. We went home, ate lunch and then took a beautiful walk along the seashore & enjoyed capturing a most beautiful sunset. Back to the house for more card games, eating, and packing. It was a lovely stay in Aberystwyth Wales. Day 109. Monday. Got up really early to catch the bus back to London. It was a 6:30am bus, that got to London at 3:00pm. I fell asleep as quickly as I could on the bus. It was going to be dark for another 2 hours, so I really couldn't see the scenery anyways. I did take a peak around sunrise, the whole valley next to us was covered in frost, trees were etched out in shadows by the sun creeping in behind them. It was a scene I hope not to forget, not captured on a camera. Closed my eyes and went back to sleep. We were stuck in London traffic the last hour, and I was getting a bit stir crazy to get off that bus. Once off, I was too tired to carry my things to the tube station, so I opted for the bus. Came home, did laundry and while loads were going went out and got groceries. And prepped for the arrival of my sister. Day 110. Tuesday. Mel comes to London!! It is her first time here! Being in the city, and seeing so many of the sights I never know what people who come do/do not want to see. I had a rough plan for the first day depending on her jet lag, but she didn't really have any. I had package notices left on my door the day before & had to wait / or find where the postman had placed them for package retrieval. I got some great things in the mail. It truly was a late but thankful Christmas. We headed out to see some sights. First up: a walk through Green Park to see Buckingham Palace. It really is an amazing site. To think that an actual queen lives there. We peeked in the Queen's Gallery gift shop to look at the goods. We then met up with Singapore who very graciously agreed to let us use her Student ID for discount theatre tickets. Only as this is a holiday week, they were not offering any discounted tickets. We got tickets for Friday night. After that we headed to lunch at Jamie's (Oliver) Diner in Piccadilly Square. We both got veggie burgers. Next up we headed to the National Gallery to see some works of art (Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir to name a few) and walked through Trafalgar Square, passing the Horse Guards, Downing Street, and down to Big Ben, Parliament, and the river. I forgot that Westminster was only a block away. We walked over the river to the Christmas market where I got some of the paper stars I have been eyeing at 50% off. My kind of deal. We also got hot chocolate. The chocolate came on a lollypop stick and they poured the hot milk over it, an interesting concept for any entrepreneurs out there. Next up was the London Eye. We couldnt decide if it was better to see at night, or day and since we were there, we decided to go then. It was advertised as a 50 minute ride, but it was only 25. I need to write a letter to those people asking for half off my ticket, but its the holiday season I guess I need to be kind. We walked along the water too while we waited for our Eye time to happen. Day 111. Wednesday. Harry Potter Studios. I got in. Dierdre couldnt go to Harry Potter Studios, and had asked me in Wales if I wanted her ticket. I told her no, as my sister would be in town. But while in Wales I FaceTimed Mel to see if she wanted to go, and she of course said yes. Host1 and Sister were also going, and we got to the studios before them. They were running a bit late. The plan was for me to sit in the lobby and wait for them to have the Harry Potter experience for a few hours. I got in the ticket collection line, and asked if they had any extra tickets. [Note: if you ever come to HP Studios, you MUST get your tickets in advance online. There are no at the door opportunities (like Disneyland) to buy tickets.] They asked if I was part of a party that already had entrance, I said yes. How many in the party, four plus me if possible. Before I knew it I had four tickets in my hand, and I was going to experience the Harry Potter world with the rest of them. Me personally, have only made it through 3 1/2 books and 2 1/2 movies. Mel is an avid fan, along with her family. I liked it, Mel loved it. You walk into the Great Hall, see Hagrid's house, and the sets for a lot of the rooms. You see how they made snow & fire, costumes, how the paintings on the walls are actually some of the crew's faces, the cars/motorcycles/buses used in the films, bridges, how they made the animatronics, makeup, wigs, costumes, etc. They also have the full to scale model used for overhead/around shots of Hogwarts. This model is massive. Probably 50x50 feet. It was incredible to see all the details that go into planning and making a movie. I also had Butterbeer. I could drink that by the pint if they sold it that way. Lots of pictures. Good times. After that we headed back to London. There are tons of things to do, but just didn't have a plan of what to do after Harry. We got off the train and got off at South Kensington, where I introduced Mel to the best hot chocolate I've had in London so far at Paul's. We shared a almond filled croissant, and headed over to the V&A for a visit. We saw things there I did not even know were there....aka the David (ok a replica), Egyptian Towers, so many cool things. Seriously I don't think I will see everything in all the museums here. There is too much to see. After that we walked to Harrods. It was madness in the food courts. People everywhere. I did not know but end of day have sales of 1/2 off certain food products. We got croissants and a brownie. After that we walked and walked and walked. We got dinner at Wahaca. I love that place. Untraditional Mexican food. Then we tried to go to the cinema to watch a movie to kill time before News Year Night. We walked to four cinemas and they were all closed for the night. We walked more along the river, and opened up a new year watching the fireworks off the London Eye from the bridge with drunk people over the river Thames. Headed back home on the crowded subway. Called family to wish them Happy New Year before crashing to bed for a few hours. Day 112. Thursday. Adventures in far away lands. We got up early for the second day in a row. This time, for a bus tour of three places. First up: Windsor Castle. This is the Queen's preferred home when near London (about 45 minutes from city center, no idea it was that close). Our tour guide said that the Queen calls Buckingham Palace the office. It was quite a lovely place. I could see shy she liked it. All the state rooms were open (only happens during the winter months) and were each detailed exquisitely. After that we headed for Stonehenge. It was freezing, windy, and drizzling rain. For some reason, I never imagined going to Stonehenge in my life, but now I can say that I am glad I went to see a wonder of the world. I had always imagined it to be fifty feet high for some reason, but it was around the 15-20 feet height. Not too grandiose, but still amazing to think why did people build this 2500 BC? It is still a mystery. Next up we headed to Bath. I was surprised to hear that we only had 2 hours to see the town, and see the ancient Roman Baths. The Bath was cool to see, we charged through the museum surrounding it, drinking the spring water from a water fountain, (as it is not recommended to drink from the pools themselves anymore) that has over 40 minerals in it. I was fighting a cold, so I couldn't taste the flavor of the water, but from some looks on peoples faces it wasn't worth the three glasses I did drink. I figured the minerals were good for fighting colds. Mel had read about having tea time in the pump room at the Roman Baths. I had never heard of it. We didn't have time for a full tea, but we did have delicious herbal teas (Mediterranean for me, Floral Blossom for her) along with a macaroon, fruit tart, and chocolate mousse cake. All was delicious. Back on the bus and back to London. I tried to catch up on missing sleep. I must say that traffic getting in/out of London for this was amazing!! There was none! The city was definitely on snooze mode for the first day of the year as crowds weren't too big anywhere. Once back in London, we made a stop at the church for the loo. After that we walked through Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. Mel got a nativity, a bratwurst with delicious mustard (about a foot long) and I got fantastic french fries. We headed home after that. Exhausted. Day 113. We slept past 8am, a first in three days. And headed to the Tower of London. I told Mel that anytime I had ever gone before, it was always when it first opened, Rick Steve's mentioned long lines for the day otherwise. We headed straight for the crown jewels. Mel asked me a few questions that I did not know the answers too. Luckily, they have amazing workers who know and explain things so well. The jewels always amaze me. Once we were done with the Jewels, we walked back out into the daylight to see a long queue for the Jewels, the white tower, and all towers pretty much. Long ques would be the theme for the day. We took a Beefeater tour of the Tower of London, most enjoyed the stories of gore, murder, and grit of the Tower of London. Borough Market. I wanted Mel to experience a market of uncountable food stalls and grocery markets. It was the busiest I have ever seen in. Long queues for lunch lines. So we decided against eating there. I showed Mel around my school area and headed to the British Museum. Mel has seen the Acropolis in Athens, and now she got to see the parts that were taken away many years ago to London. We were hungry, I knew a pub in the area that had really good fries, we got a table and found out the kitchen was closed for the next hour to prep for dinner service. It was 4pm and I was starving. Up next. Primark. It is a store similar to Forever21 or H&M. AKA, cheap clothes. Mel picked up somethings there as the prices are too good to beat. We headed back to the pub for dinner. Mel got Fish & Chips, and I got a falafel & haloumi cheese burger. I asked Mel if the fish was good enough to be pescitarian for the day. She said it was so good, it was worth me eating fish. So I ate a bite. For the first time in over 3 years, I ate a bite of fish. It was sooo good. I think I was too hungry to really savor the flavor, but it was amazing fish, and now I know a place to go to when I need a hankrin for fish. We headed for Kings Cross Station to grab a picture at Platform 9 3/4. But there was a very long queue and we had tickets to go see.... Wicked. Mel had never seen it before. It was my third time. It is an amazing show no matter how many times it is seen. Afterwards, we stood by the stage door, and got some pictures with Elphaba and Fiyero and told others great job (Galinda exited the other way down the signatures so we missed her). We headed back to Kings Cross Station after the musical, this time a small line, and took pictures of Mel going off into the magical world of Harry Potter. Day 114. Portabello Road. Got up, Mel packed, as I lazily laid in bed. I put on some clothes, and we headed out with all of her things. We made a detour to Portobello Road for the Saturday morning festivities of streets where the riches of aged are told. One could spend all day there, and we had an hour. After that it was off to the airport. We hugged goodbye, and she was off as fast as she came. Thanks for coming Mel! It was a blast! Once I got back to London, I got a notebook (for classes that are resuming on Monday), medicine to get rid of this darn cold, and and ATM for money for rent. After that I headed home to tidy up my room, do laundry, and sleep. I took three naps. I slept for an hour, then got up for an hour, repeated two more times, before finally showering and surrendering to my bed for the evening. Day 115. I went to Church this morning. Talked to Tamara for a bit after church. And am now back home and resting and writing really long boring blog posts. Tomorrow, the final block of pastry school begins. I have two months and seven days left in this lovely London town. I hope to make the most of them. Cheers to a new year!