Disclosure: We hope you are sitting down because this post will be quite lengthy.
Could we BEEE more excited to share with you our amazing adventures to the well-known capital cities of London and Paris??? We spent the last 6 days traveling those two cities. And by traveling we literally mean waking up at 7:30am and touring all day. To sum it up in a few words it was: enchanting, exhausting, delicious, and confusing.
First Stop: London
We arrived late Wednesday night in London. Immediately we felt like locals by taking the tube straight to our hotel. Our hotel was…ummm….let’s just say “cozy.” You could say it was built for a king if that king was Lord Farquad. The Kensington Rooms Hotel provided us with a bathroom fit for a small child and a labyrinth to get out of the hotel every time. I swear we spent a total of 30 minutes finding our way to and out of our hotel room. This posed to be a problem when the fire alarm went off at 6am in the morning. To say we were alarmed (pun intended) was an understatement. The labyrinth of halls on our way out allowed us to see an array of characters that we can’t unsee (aka a half naked girl and a group of wasted British women).
THURSDAY
We began the day early, getting a quick bite to eat and then straight to the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus Tours! Despite the “classic” London rain, we were able to see a lot of sites this day! Our tour guide was the best man we have ever met. His humor made the rain bearable and he even supplied us with gorgeous rain ponchos to sightsee Buckingham Palace. We were able to go to a delicious outdoor market (thanks to the recommendation by the one and only Brooke Zingler)! Then, we traveled across the Tower Bridge (during a hailstorm we might add) in order to see the London Tower, which held the Crown Jewels (or as Cassie called it, “the jewelry store”).
Rain Ponchos are the new black.
Tower Bridge pre-hail storm
This is our “post-hail storm bridge” look
p.s. it stopped raining right as we got off the bridge #epic
Our next stop was to the meca of all mecas: Harrods. Decadent and luxurious are the two words that perfectly sum up our experience there. The most unbelievable part was that there were people that actually bought these crazy expensive items with no second thought (NOT the frugel kugels of the world if you know what I mean).
With our day reaching its end, we decided to stroll on down to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. On our way, we took the tube and found the elevator to be overcrowded- forcing us to climb 193 steps. Life was LITERALLY a climb. Stairs are now the new enemy. Despite our new hatred, we landed in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for an amazing production (Cassie’s favorite phrase of the weekend)! The show showed us how British kids are just cuter and better #sorrynotsorry. Charlie was adorable and had the singing pipes that made us shoot out of our seats like Grandpa Joe.
Read our tombstones: Death by Stairs
We’ve got the golden ticket!
FRIDAY
New day, same wake up call. We got out of bed pre-sun rise in order to begin our new day of exploring. Because we saw so much, it is best to be clear and direct at all the sights we saw. Big Ben. Parliament. Westminster Abby. Changing of Guard (crowded but overrated/we had no idea what was going on/felt like President Inauguration that happens every day). London Eye. Food market. Took fancy cab to Shakespeare’s Globe. It was closed. Went to top shop. Explored the Victoria and Albert Museum (showing a special Wedding Dress section – Jodi was FREAKING OUT). Whole foods (search for Luna Bars – to say we went to 7 stores looking for them would be a lie, because we went to 10…) Hotel. Much-Needed Nap. Dinner at Umami (note: pad thai can be found in every city in the world).
Our friend, Big Benjamin
Where the Queen (not Beyonce) enters when she visits Parliament
Westminster Abby (think: how do you solve a problem like Maria)
Big Buck Palace
EYE love London!
Been around the Globe, but couldn’t get in
Wise words from Albert and Victoria Museum’s Wedding Dresses gallery!
SATURDAY
Saturday called for delicious cereal breakfast and classy high tea. We started our day going to the other side of London to see the well-reviewed Cereal Killer Cafe. It was definitely worth the shlep. The ambiance took us back to the 90s, while the upcoming high tea took us back centuries before. High tea was everything and more. We went to the Browns Hotel which graciously had a gluten free version of high tea. Yes, that means gluten free finger sandwiches, hot scones, and small desserts. It was by far the best meal we have ever had. This is ALL due to the scones. The scones were life changing. Is butter a carb? If so, we didn’t seem to mind smearing their homemade butter and jam all across our freshly baked scones. We HIGHLY recommend going for high tea when in London. High Tea is BAE. Scones are the ULTIMATE BAE.
If cereal could kill…
Camera Shy: the unbelievable scones
Our subway stopped in the middle of our travels, making us extremely grateful that we were in a country that’s native language was English.
TIME FOR THE CHUNNEL! We took the famous chunnel (known as that for the idea that it goes through the tunnel through the channel). It was quick and easy. Everything we wanted it to be and more.
Sharing some giggles on the Chunnel!
PARIS
We call this section: Two American Girls in Paris- Part Une.
Our experience was NOTHING like Carrie Bradshaw’s #unfortunately. However, none of that mattered because we were in the city of LOVE! Jodi could not have been happier/in a greater state of bliss. Jodi’s love for love exploded in this city.
BONJOUR A PARIS
SUNDAY
The day began with a delicious French-style breakfast – so basically all pastries. Luckily, for Jodi, they found an all-gluten free bakery! Cassie officially wins nicest roomie in the world to eat gluten free pastries at her own will. The pastries were amazing (according to only Jodi of course). The ladies traveled to the Louvre, unaware that on the first of every month everyone gets in for free so the line circled around the block multiple times. However, after a security guard whispered sweet nothings in our ear and we found the secret entrance through the carousel that led us right into the museum sans-line. We saw it all and by it all we mean Mona #typical and Napoleon III’s apartment. Definitely not your average NYC real estate.
Jodi’s first eclair!
Our homegirl, Mona!
What was wrong with Mona?
Hey MTV, Welcome to my crib! – Napoleon
We LOUVRE It!
After the Louvre, we explored the wonders of Cafe Angelina. Hot chocolate will never be the same. It can be described perfectly (by Cassie) as the taste of the end of your hot chocolate where all the excess chocolate is stored. It was that amazing. The waitress, in true French style, was so sassy and told us we ordered too much food #sorryNOTsorry.
No hot chocolate will ever be the same!
Your newest Parisian hat models!
After Angelina we walked along the Champs d’Elsey #casual and stumbled along some great hats and macaroons. Lauduree was everything we expected it to be. The macaroons were all they were cracked up to be. We could MAC(aroons) them all day. We also were able to explore the 5-story Louis Vuitton store that made us feel like a bunch of peasants. We then took the plunge and climbed the Arc de Triumph. But before we could do that, we had to cross the traffic circle to get there. Little did we know that we didn’t need to dodge traffic and there is a clear underground/less dangerous way to get to the arc. We were unaware and dodged traffic like mad men. But don’t worry, we live to tell the tale.
Then we stopped by this little known building known as the Eiffel Tower. It was beautiful in three ways. One- during the day, two- some lights on at night, and three- when the light show occurs. All three ways left us mesmerized. Cassie definitely enjoyed the crepe right outside the Eiffel as Jodi was obsessed with the neutral color of the Eiffel Tower #bothtypical.
Eiffel in love with Paris
Holy Crepe!
The two girls left the beautiful sight to go to dinner and then a great night sleep at Jodi’s friend Ali’s apartment!
MONDAY
Waking up early (as per usual) the girls went with their new tour guide Ali to D’orsay. But before they could do anything, the ladies had to try the best croissant place in all of Paris (that happened to be down the street from Ali’s apartment #LuckyLady). The croissant was nothing less than “buttery and flaky and amazing.” No croissant will ever compare. Unfortunately, the museum D’orsey is closed on Mondays so the ladies were not able to go inside the museum #BigFatBummer. No worries for these gals! It might be surprising to know, but Jodi was pretty calm about a change in her strict itinerary plans. Our little girl is growing up!
The girls then went to walk around the shopping area, try more macaroons (but, of course), Notre Dame, go back to their Israeli roots by trying amazing falafel, and ending the day at Pompidou museum. The museum was definitely more of Jodi and Cassie’s style with its modern feel. Luckily, artist Jeff Koons was there! Definitely an must-see!
Three Chicks in front of the mighty Notre Dame
Preeetttaaaayyyy close to Israel
Jeff Koons Takes Paris
AND THAT’S ALL FOLKS!
Talk to you after our weekend in Barcelona #abroadfest.
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