Comic Books, Chocolate, and Waffles

During the week of October 31st to November 4th I had what is called "reading week" at Royal Holloway. Basically what that means is I had a week off for mid-term break. Reading week is designed to allow students to catch up on reading and work though most end up either going home or on vacation; in my case I did the latter. I have never been one of those students to get behind on work and since I didn't have anything to work on over break I decided to go on holiday. Most of my friends already had plans or were staying home so I ended up going by myself which was fine. I left on Monday and spent the day in London and caught a play, "The Woman in Black," which was genuinely terrifying and appropriate for Halloween. I then hopped the Eurostar train the next day at St. Pancras station in London and two hours later I was in Brussels, Belgium. 

I had two main reasons for picking Belgium for my holiday. First, I had never been the Belgium and wanted to see what it was like; second, i could take the train and avoid the horrific experience that is the United Kingdom airport security and border agency. I decided to spend three days in Belgium and arrived late Tuesday evening, basically just in time to have dinner and go to bed. I stayed near the city center and could walk most places though Brussels does have a metro system. 

View from the balcony in my hotel room

I had Brussels as my base for Wednesday and Thursday nights and Wednesday I set off exploring. I walked to the Grand Place which is slated as the "most beautiful square in Europe." It is lovely, but I have to say I think that Prague's main square is more beautiful in my opinion but you can judge for yourself.

Grand Place

The area was absolutely saturated with Belgian chocolate shops, waffle stands, and lace stores (all of which are Belgium's trademark goods). While I didn't buy any chocolate, I did have waffles on three different occasions and I must say they were outstanding. They topped them with molten chocolate sauce, strawberries, or whipped cream and they simply melted in your mouth. 

Brussels is the capital of the European Union and the city reflects that; it is full of office buildings and, in general, I found it to lack some of the blockbuster sites and beauty of other European capitals. I spent the day wandering and was easily able to do everything I wanted within one day. Two other things that I did was visit the Mannekin Pis statue (a statue of a small boy peeing which apparently has come to symbolize Brussels) and visit the Belgian comic book museum. Comic books are enormous in Belgium and the country has produced many famous comics such as Tin Tin and the Smurfs!

Mannekin Pis

I enjoyed the city but there were a few hiccups during my visit there. Firstly, my map given to me by my hotel was atrocious; it barely covered the city center and the area around it was nonexistent so when I tried to visit a museum a bit further out I ended up walking in circles for two hours and was ultimately unable to find it. Secondly, the city itself is not well marked with sign posts for tourists which was irritating, being a big capital city and all. Thirdly, the metro system in Brussels was confusing at best (and I consider myself a public transit pro). Many times I wandered around stations trying to figure out which way the signs were pointing to or which direction the trains were actually going. I spent a lot of time checking and rechecking my metro map in order to make sure that I was on the right train. 

On Thursday I took a day trip to the town of Bruges, which is in Northwest Belgium in the Flemish speaking area. One other surprise I had was that for most people in Belgium their first language is Dutch whereas I thought it was French. I was completely thrown off when signs were in Dutch and people spoke to me in Dutch on the streets or in shops (I must look Flemish because I had loads of people ask me for directions in Dutch). Bruges is a town that was once on the trading route as a canal stop but has been largely untouched since the 1500's. It is a UNESCO world heritage site and absolutely stunning. 

main square

I spent the day wandering around the canals and the town as well as taking a canal boat tour. It did rain most of the day but I still had a lovely time strolling and Bruges truly was the highlight of my trip. It was so quaint and beautiful and reminded me a lot of Amsterdam. I enjoyed it much more than Brussels. 

Chai tea break at an adorable cafe

I ended my day in Bruges by ascending the large bell tower in the town square in order to get a 360 degree view of Bruges. The stairs up were incredibly tightly wound and there were 366 stairs to boot. Needless to say I was exhausted and slightly on edge because of the steepness of the tiny stairs by the time I reached the top; I have to say though that the views made the climb worth it. I will let my photos do the talking for this.

Death stairs

a sea of red roofs

On Friday I didn't depart on the Eurostar until 2pm so I had time to do one last thing on my list in Brussels: visit the Atomium at the old World's Fair exhibit grounds. It is basically just a giant statue of an atom but nevertheless it was quite pretty in the sunlight. 

Atomium

I arrived back at Cherrywood Avenue at 8pm on Friday night after two train rides, two tube transfers, and one bus ride and I was knackered. I took the weekend to recover my throbbing legs and rested from my vacation. I enjoyed Belgium but was glad that I only visited for 3 days as I felt that I covered everything that I wanted to see with ample time. It was good to be back in the UK where I once again understood the language and could enjoy the comforts of my own home.

A Proper English Stroll

Last weekend what started out as a day trip with Nikki to Bath ended up in a rather sudden decision (at the station's ticket machine) to go to Winchester, a town in the southern county of Hampshire. Though ticket prices dictated our change of heart (Bath was 20 GBP more expensive to go to, no laughing matter for my American pocketbook), I think because of the unexpectedness of our trip I was absolutely blown away with Winchester. Having little or no expectations (except having once two years ago been told by a South African/Englishman in Heathrow that I should visit the town) I fell in love as soon as I stepped off the train. It helped that it was about 60 degrees, blue skies, and the leaves were in full fall brilliance but I think I would have loved it regardless. The thing about Winchester is that it is such an old city; I know that there are plenty of old cities in the UK, nearby Runnymeade goes back to the signing of the Magna Carta, but the difference is that Winchester has amalgamated its past and present in a way that doesn't come off as commercially or over the top. The cohesiveness of the two is subtle and classy; for example, when you walk down the high street you walk by many 16th century half-timbered buildings now converted into shops like Cornwall Pasty co, Boots (pharmacy), or pizza parlors. The city has managed to keep up with the demand of tourism and industry while still preserving their local treasures. This is something that I sincerely wish we did more of in America.

High Street

victorian era storefront

16th Century Home now Pizza Parlor

local market

 Both Nikki and I had never been to Winchester before so we decided just to have a stroll through the city. It is not a very large place and we could walk wherever we wanted to go. We started off visiting the Great Hall, the only surviving part of the Winchester Castle, built in the 13th century. Winchester was once a capital of its area of England in Norman and Saxon times and the town reflects the wealth and importance that it once had. It is primarily a cathedral town and the Bishop of Winchester is still a powerful figure in the Anglican church. What is important to see at the Great Hall is the Round Table. It has hung there for 700 years and is still painted with the original paint from the 1300's. It is thought to be the original round table of King Arthur and on it are painted the names of each knight and a picture of Arthur himself. Whether or not you buy into this idea (I am holding out that it is THE original, huzzah!) it is still a beautiful historical piece of work. 

The Round Table

After having lunch at a pasty shop on the high street (again, located in an old half-timbered building beautifully restored and full of old wood and beams inside), Nikki and I took a stroll down to the Winchester cathedral.

Winchester Cathedral

Winchester cathedral is a masterpiece of Gothic and Norman architecture and is the longest cathedral in Europe. It reminded me in bits of the Notre Dame de Paris because of its high ceilings, stain glass, and angular arches and beams that are trademarks of a gothic church. The original church was built in 1079 ad but was then remodeled in 1350-1410 to the current cathedral we have now. Because this cathedral was so important, it did suffer some damage during King Henry VIII's dissolution of the catholic church in England. For the most part the cathedral survived unscathed but the stain glass windows were shattered as well as entombed remains  spewed about the church. The windows were eventually restored in 1660 and the bodies were replaced in the tombs (although it's anyones guess as to who is actually in each tomb). 

Another thing Winchester cathedral is famous for is that it is the burial place for Jane Austen. It also has beautiful wall frescos from the 12th century that have only been recently found which explains their vivid colors.

Jane Austen's burial site

The choir was practicing while I was there which made the atmosphere even more brilliant. 

House where Austen died

After the exhilarating experience of the cathedral ( I could feel the history seeping into my bones; I loved it) we decided to have one last wander up the high street and near the river Itchen. On the little river (more stream-like) were swans and ducks frolicking about and people were slowly meandering along the little path. Who knew that simply wandering could be so rewarding? As we walked back to the train station to make the return trip to Egham, I felt a calm sigh pass through me. The day could not have been more perfect; good company, good weather, and a good location. Nikki and I both left wishing we lived in or near Winchester and were so happy to have accidentally arrived there. I will definitely be going back there during the Christmas season, Christmas markets being a big draw there in December. Winchester is for me every image I had of an old English town and I fell in love onsite. Now if only I could afford the steep price of an old gentrified Hampshire country home, then I'd be set.

on the river Itchen

Grocery Shopping in England

I have been requested by several people to write about my experiences with grocery shopping here in England because, let's face it, it is quite a bit different. Sure the major things are the same, you can get your breads, frozen items, fruit, veg, and canned goods like you can in the States, but what is different are the types of things found at the grocery store. In Egham the only grocery store is Tesco which is a national brand and tends to be one of the cheaper grocery stores; this shows in the selection. After a few failed attempts to find ingredients for recipes or just good quality fresh food I abandoned Egham's Tesco in favor of (the more posh) Waitrose in Staines (the next town over). It is the "official grocery providers to the Queen" after all so it better be posh. The thing I like about Waitrose is that I can get much higher quality freshly made breads, ready made meals for when I'm in a hurry, and they just have more of everything which to the American in me makes me indescribably happy. I've come to terms with the fact that I quite like having 20 different options for jam or mustard because then I know I get the exact one that I want. At Tesco it tends to be one or two options for things which I find appalling (but I am a full acknowledged grocery store snob).

Waitrose in Windsor

Waitrose I shop at in Staines

One major difference in English grocery stores is that you have to bag your groceries yourself. Also, if you don't provide your own bag you have to let the cashier know that you need plastic bags otherwise she won't ready them for you. Sometimes you even have to pay a small fee for plastic bags, at Mark's and Spencer's for instance you have to pay 5 pence for a bag. I like that stores are trying to encourage people to use less plastic but the thing that is rather annoying is that the cashiers wait for you to bag all of your groceries before helping the next person in line; this is annoying because usually they don't help you but instead glare rather impatiently at you to hurry up and get out of the way. Another difference is that if you want to use a cart you have to put in a 1 pound coin to "rent" the trolley though you do get it back at the end once you return the trolley to the store. 

Another difference (from Fargo at least) is that if you want fresh produce you have to go early in the day to get it because once they run out for the day they are very slow to restock it. This is frustrating especially on the weekends when everyone is out shopping; it is not uncommon to go looking for veg and not find it in stock at 3pm on a Saturday. What I find interesting is that grocery stores in Britain are beginning to emphasize more and more buying British made and grown products. Nearly every item will tell you where it comes from in the world and if it is from Great Britain it has a lovely sticker on it saying something like "celebrating Britishness" or something adorably British like that. What I do love about British grocery stores is walking up and down the aisles and seeing what kinds of food are heavily marketed and featured. I think that this shows someone new to the country exactly what kinds of food are dear to the British heart. For instance, Tesco has a whole half of an aisle dedicated to british baked beans (the kind eaten with the full english breakfast) and tea. In the meat department, British made sausage links are the predominate item and one can find endless varieties of sausage. The frozen food section has its own freezer specifically for Yorkshire puddings and frozen peas. Another thing you always find is sections of ready made microwavable indian dinners. It's common to see meal deals for two that include curry, rice, and naan bread for 10GBP. Indian food is like America's mexican or chinese and people love a good curry. Of course you also have the sections of ready made take away sandwiches, crisps, and cadbury chocolate (which is my favorite chocolate) which you see people all over the streets eating. 

so many kind of tea!

London Waitrose- Jaclyn, I hope you appreciate this because right after I took this I got yelled at for taking photos.

While I still cannot find the proper ingredients to make decent Mexican food and microwave popcorn is a rarity, I am enjoying trying new things that I find at Waitrose. Grocery shopping is a biweekly event for me and I always look forward to it. It is the little things in day to day life in England that challenge me and make me smile and I love being actively engaged in normal life with the English. For the most part you are always greeted with a helpful and smiling face (apart from the cashiers) and people are always willing to help you find anything you are looking for. Grocery shopping in England is just another example of making the familiar strange and enjoying every moment of it.

Brighton

 Yesterday Nikki, Rachel, and I headed southeast to the seaside town of Brighton. Brighton is pretty much directly south of London and after changing trains at Clapham Junction we made our way speedily down towards the sea. Our main objective for going was for Rachel to shop because Brighton has a huge shopping center and high street. We arrived at 11:30 am and as soon as we got there we headed down to the beach. Brighton beach is a rock beach so it was quite exhausting trudging through the rocks towards the pier. It was also quite windy, though not too chilly (mid 50's) so we didn't linger long. We had lunch at a fish and chips restaurant close to the pier. I had fish fingers and chips; the main selling point of the restaurant we ate at is that they give you unlimited chips (french fries) with any meal purchase. While I didn't take advantage of that (my portion was big enough) I did throughly enjoy my meal. After we headed up to the mall and shopped the rest of the day away. We left to go home at half past six feeling completely knackered and foot-sore. Brighton looks like a beautiful town with lots of hills and picturesque lanes and houses. I would love to go back in the warmer months and just wander through the town at a leisurely pace enjoying the stunning views of the sea as I go.

On Brighton Beach

Touching the English Channel

Really Windy!

Royal Pavillion