A Nerdy Girlie Christmas Vacation: Day 7 & 8 Paris

After an Who-tastic day in Cardiff and SIX amazing days in the UK, it was time to say CHEERS and head to Paris!  We awoke at the un-Godly hour of 4 a.m. and made our way to our 6 a.m. train.  I had the deepest sleeping nap the entire train ride to Paris and awoke in the "City of Love!"

We took a VERY crowded Metro to our hotel, which was quite an upgrade from our London flat.  For one there is a TON more square footage, a comfy bed and a bathtub!  I loved our London room, but it was nice to finally spread out a bit.  We dropped our stuff in the companions room and headed straight out to site see.  I would have loved to take a quick break and freshened up, but our room wasn't ready, so sightseeing it was.

We walked to eat some breakfast and I had my very first Parisian crepe: ham, cheese and egg.  The cheese was perfection, as was the ham.  It was so delicious and filling.  The server at the restaurant was also so great at getting us refills on our water, unlike in the UK.  I also noticed that the city drivers are less honk-y and speedy, but Paris in the winter is quite muddy.

We walked down to the Seine River and through an open air market, selling so many wonderful smelling foods.  We all shared desserts and walked down the Champ de Eleysee to the Arch de Triumph.  Then it was time to make the LOOOOOOONG trek back to the hotel.  I thought we would never get there.  But finally we did, not before stopping and getting some well deserved Pepsi and Kit Kats!  I was able to take a nice LONG and HOT bath, rest my feet and relax.  I was so happy to have some down time after six long days on the go.

Day two had us again walking the entire of Paris!  I was more refreshed this day, but by the end, I was exhausted again!  When I awoke at 9 a.m and looked out the window, the sun was barely coming up.  Isn't that a glorious site?!  We had breakfast at a small cafe, where I had a tartine for breakfast and fell in love!  It was fresh French bread with lots of butter and raspberry jam.  Perfection.  Add in a coffee and I was a happy camper, until the bill came and my coffee was $6!  Oops!

We walked to Notre Dame, back to the market on Champ Elysees and over to the Eiffel Tower just in time for sunset.  As we were starting to head back to the hotel for the night, I turned around just as they lit up the Tower for the night.  I was so happy to see it during the day and lit up so pretty at night.

Our final day in Paris had us waiting in a 2 1/2 hour line to get into the Louvre.  It was also the coldest day of our trip.  Once we got in, we headed right over to the Mona Lisa, which it seemed everyone else did as well.  It was PACKED.  Pushing and shoving to get to the front.  There were signs all over the museum saying no pictures, but no one followed that and the security didn't seem to care either.

The museum was complete sensory overload.  There was SO much to see and since it was our 9th straight day of sightseeing, I was completely wiped out!  

After a very LONG trip back to the States, which was a bit of an ordeal, I look back on our trip and think about how blessed I am.  This trip was completely last minute and though it was a bit pricey, it was worth every penny!  I have so many wonderful memories and I can check so many things off my bucket list.  I truly had the time of my life!

You can read ALL of my Christmas adventures HERE!

A Nerdy Girlie Christmas Vacation: Day 6 Cardiff

Another early wake up call and morning walk to Paddington Station for our day trip to Cardiff!  It is a two hour train ride from London, when there isn't construction on the tracks, which their happened to be during Christmas.  Our train ended up being delayed by an hour and a half.  We were very worried we wouldn't get there and back for our train the next day to Paris.  But finally at almost 10 am we were on the train heading towards Cardiff.

I took a bit of a nap and I awoke to a beautiful rainbow that we could see formed over the gorgeous green hills.  Perfection.

We arrived in Cardiff at one, just when our tickets for the Doctor Who Experience were good for.  A short walk down to the bay and the HUGE blue building and TARDIS were visible!  I squeeed in delight!  It was SUPER windy, but not raining!  We lined up for our tour of the Experience and were transported into the world of Doctor Who.

The first part of the Experience was an actual experience!  We watched a short video showing 11 stuck in the Pandorica {again} and then the screen turned into THE crack in space and time and we walked through into the USS UK museum.  We were shown pieces of artifacts including a Vincent Van Gogh painting.  Then the TARDIS appeared and we walked through its doors and onto the main deck.  At this point I was about to start sobbing!  Then we all helped 11 pilot the TARDIS. We were captured by Daleks and walked through a forest of Weeping Angels {my second favorite part after driving the TARDIS}.  We arrived in the Pandorica for a 3D show through the time vortex.  We helped 11 escape the Pandorica again and were lead into the exhibition floor.

Once on the exhibit floor we could stay as long as we like taking pictures and browsing all the costumes and TARDIS set.  Up some stairs all is where the baddies lived, more costumes, props, makeup and sound stations.  My favorite things had to be the three TARDIS' from the 50th anniversary special and Matt and Jenna's outfits from this year's Christmas special!

Then it was time to SHOP!  There was so much Doctor Who goodness it was hard to narrow it down!  I ended up getting all things I could use, a pen, a coffee mug, a bag and a 50th anniversary pin.  It had rained a bit while we were in the Experience but we were able to stay dry while we looked for a place to eat lunch.

I spotted a place called Top Gun and we HAD to check it out.  Almost like bit of home, with a British twist.  I had my last bit of fish and chips and then it was back to the train station for the two hour train ride home.

When I arrived in the UK I thought I would see a LOT more Doctor Who stuff than I did.  One shop in Oxford had a few shirts, but that was about it.  So I am so happy we made the trek out to Cardiff to get our Doctor Who on!

You can read ALL of my Christmas adventures HERE!

A Nerdy Girlie Christmas Vacation: Day 5 London Sight-Seeing Marathon

After a nice chill Christmas day, it was time to get down to some MAJOR sightseeing!  I had my to see list and our route on my phone and we all met in the lobby at 9 am to get it done!  Since it was still a holiday in England {Boxing Day} many things were not open to the public, but I still wanted to at least see them with my own eyes!

Our first stop was the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.  It wasn't open to visitors on Boxing Day, but I did want to see it in person.  It was so amazing to read the history of the building to see something so old and filled with so much history.  It was nice that it was located right next to the Tower Bridge so we killed two birds with one stone.  Boxing Day ended up being the coldest day we had experienced in London, not sure if it was because we were by the river or not.  But it was COLD!

Next we walked on over to St. Paul's Cathedral and we were able to see a small portion of the inside without paying.  We also were able to say a small prayer and light a candle for The Hunny's mom, which was special.

Then one of my favorite parts of the day, we walked over to St. Bart's Hospital to see the sight of The Richenbach Falls from Sherlock S2 Ep3.  As we walked up, my fan girl escaped!  Both The Hunny and I are huge fans of the show and we both recreated the famous scene.  I startled some locals who thought I was hurt laying there on the ground!  Ooops.

A quick bite for lunch and then more walking to the Millennium Bridge {aka The Harry Potter 5 Bridge}.  It had a nice view and I was so happy to see something Harry Potter finally!  From the bridge we could see The Globe Theater, which was our final stop before hopping on the Tube to Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.

The walking continued through to Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus and SoHo, where I stopped in THREE used record shops looking for A Silent Film's UK albums.  Only one of those three shops even had them in their system and so my search was a fail.  I need to plan that a bit more for NEXT time! :)

Then came more Sherlock on Baker Street, 221B from the series and Speedy's Cafe.  The latter was quite a bit out of the way from the actual 221B Baker Street, so needless to say, with all that walking we were BEAT by the end of the day!  Tomorrow I share our trip to Cardiff for The Doctor Who Experience!

You can read ALL of my Christmas adventures HERE!

A Nerdy Girlie Christmas Vacation: Day 4 Christmas Day in London

Christmas in London.  Something I never thought I be able to say!  We planned on it being a pretty mellow day since nothing was going to be open.  We let ourselves sleep in and then had breakfast to go from Starbucks.  We walked with our warm cuppas and pastries over to Hyde Park.

Our first stop on our lazy stroll was Kensington Palace.  It was a gorgeous day and the sun was shinning!  We walked the entire park and down to Oxford Street, which had tons of shops, all of which were not open, but nice to see one of the busiest streets in London on a non busy day.  We walked and walked trying to decide where to eat lunch, options were limited.  We ended up at a Syrian restaurant and the food was really good!  The Hunny's roasted chicken was the best I have ever had and I do not usually like chicken at restaurants.  After walking all day, we took a bit of time in our rooms before heading down to the pub The Phoenix for an authentic English Christmas feast!

The pub was completely full and it was difficult finding a seat, but when we did, we ordered our three course Christmas dinner.  The first course was a mushroom soup with bread and butter, I ate the bread and butter and The Hunny TRIED to eat the soup but he didn't like it too much.  On to the second and main course of turkey, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, veggies, stuffing and lots of gravy.  This was super yummy!  So yummy I almost didn't save room for our third and final course a chocolate cake in custard.  It was warm and sooooooooo delicious!

After eating the four of us did a white elephant gift exchange.  We had all shopped in Oxford the day before and now it was time to exchange gifts!  It was so fun to do this in the pub and it made it feel more like Christmas, with a few small gifts!

When I realized the time, we ran back to the hotel for the Doctor Who Christmas special!  It was so fun watching it IN the UK!  We ran into some technical difficulties getting it going in the hotel lounge, so I ended up watching it alone in my room, but it was fun just the same.  Now that it has been a while since the special and I have watched it again {SPOILERS}...I realized that it was just ok.  I thought that they threw in too many baddies and made the story line a bit to complicated.  I did wish there was a bit more of Peter at the end.  Anyone else lose it when Amy Pond walked out!?  What did you all think of the special!?

That night ended with wine from Stonehenge and waffles from Belgium {the companions had a layover there and picked them up}.  The plum wine was delicious.  The sister and law and I almost finished the entire bottle between the two of us.  I finally found a wine I like!  The three of them played a board game and I blogged and drank wine!  It was a nice chill day and fun and unique way to spend Christmas.  It was also nice to have a bit of family with us!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and stay tuned for tomorrow's installment, in which we walk the WHOLE of London with some BBC Sherlock sites!

You can read ALL of my Christmas adventures HERE!

A Nerdy Girlie Christmas Vacation: Day 3 Oxford

I cannot believe we get to celebrate Christmas Eve in England!  We were up bright and early for a day trip to Oxford! There were a few reasons I picked this town out of all of the surrounding towns to visit.  First Harry Potter had some of its scenes filmed there, the very first coffee shop in England was there and lastly/most importantly "our band"A Silent Film hails from Oxford!  The day started out a bit bumpy with us arriving at the train station and me realizing I left my camera in the hotel lobby!  After figuring out our tickets and platform, The Hunny called the hotel and they had my camera safe!  WHEW! Then we were on the hour long train to Oxford!

We arrived right as the sun was rising {it rises late in England!} and checked out the map of the town.  The Hunny was excited to see that they had a castle, so that was our first stop!

My very first castle!  It was a bit chilly in Oxford, but it was bright and sunny the entire day!  We completely lucked out on the weather the entire trip {besides Stonehenge!}.

We then headed to High Street, which was a wonderful street with so much shopping and beautiful old buildings and churches.  Oxford felt so much more home-y than London and I was loving it!  We walked around The Covered Market, which was one thing on my Oxford to do list.  It was so fun seeing all the local produce, flowers and bakers!  The butcher shops were a bit of an eye opening experience and I think pushed me more towards vegetarianism {but not totally since I ended up having a meat pie for lunch!}.

Another stop on my list was The Grand Cafe.  The very first coffee shop in England! They had a wide selection of teas and I ordered lavender tea {ASF tribute} and my very first crumpet!  Both were extremely delicious!

We also tried to order a mince pie, but they were out.  I also made my very first souvenir purchase of a cup and saucer from the cafe!

We strolled along all the streets and shops in Oxford that we could in six hours and after lunch walked over to Christ Church, where bits of Harry Potter was filmed.

The main reasons I love England so much is for the importance it puts on traditions, the history that is everywhere you look, how everything is made out of stone or brick and that they don't mind ivy and moss growing over it.  The accents are not to shabby either!  I have fallen even more deeply in love with this country since stepping on its soil.  I wish I could stay longer, and already have so many more plans for the next time I can come.

Here is one of the small details that makes me love this country so much.  A fresh ivy and holly wreath on one of the many adorable small side roads.  My favorite part of the day was when the four of us split up to shop for our white elephant exchange.  It was fun to take in the town alone with my own thoughts and thinking of what it would be like to actually live here.  Oxford was everything I wanted England to be.

What an amazing way to spend Christmas Eve!  After our six hour tour, we hopped our train back to London at 3.pm.  I gazed out the window at the passing green fields day dreaming of a life in England.  Stay tuned for our Christmas adventures in London!

You can read ALL of my Christmas adventures HERE!

A Nerdy Girlie Christmas Vacation: Day 2 Stonehenge

Day two in London, was our day trip to Stonehenge.  This was the thing The Hunny was most excited for.  I was happy that we did not have to wake up early for this trip, as I was still adjusting to the time change.  I fell asleep the night before at 8 p.m., woke up at 11:30 p.m. thinking it was way later, and stayed awake for an hour before taking some Nyquil.  I woke up feeling much better.

We arrived at the bus station with time to spare, so we had time to explore the surrounding area.  I was again happily surprised to stumble upon something unexpected, the Philip Treacy hat shop, where all the Royals get their hats!  I just peaked through the window, I didn't go in I didn't feel fancy enough!

The bus ride to Stonehenge took almost three hours, through the crazy rain and wind. I slept the entire way and woke up feeling like I had finally adjusted to the time change.  Upon arrival it was still pouring rain and so windy that I was being pushed along the path by it!  Even though the weather was less than ideal, the smile never left my face.

I still could not believe where we were and what we were seeing.  It was so fascinating and awe inspiring.  We were out by the stones for about ten minutes when we had to head back to the tram because we were soaked through.  Totally worth it.  We dried off in the museum and gift shop, before hopping on the bus back to London.

After the bus ride back into London, we made an unexpected stop near Harrods.  This was not our official stop, but I begged my companions to jump off so we could go into the HUGE store.  Everyone told me I had to go there and I was so glad we were able to.  It was a dream inside and out!  I am so happy we were able to see it all light up at night!

After a long and amazing day, the cherry on top was seeing this me size poster of MY Doctor, David Tennant in the Tube station!  I had to stop and give him a lil kiss!  

Stay tuned for day three of my UK trip, where on Christmas Eve we head to Oxford!

You can read ALL of my Christmas adventures HERE!

A Nerdy Girlie Christmas Vacation: Day 1 London

Our journey to London began at 3 p.m. on December 21st in San Diego. Everything was smooth sailing the entire trip. I have never done an international flight before and WOW it was so much better than US plane travel. They gave us two meals, free TV and movies {good ones!} and if you drink FREE alcohol. I am sure the cabin behind us was taking full advantage of because of a screaming kid! The entire ride, I still didn't believe where we were going to the UK. It was surreal when they announced "this is the flight from Atlanta to London." It was definitely difficult sleeping on the plane because I was so excited!

Upon landing in London, we were greeted by my brother-in-law {The Hunny's brother} and sister-in- law {who's Mexico wedding we just attended in July}. It was so great to have them there waiting for us and then our England Christmas holiday began! We popped into our first cab and were on our way to our Notting Hill hotel.

I was nervous about the hotel room since my brother in law did all the booking for us. I was pleasantly surprised when our hotel turned out to be quite nice. The room was SUPER tiny, but we were barley in it so that didn't matter too much. Only when we were trying to leave the room with all our layers did it get a bit cramped. I ended up just putting them all on in the lobby each day.

My first picture in London had to be me in one of their famous telephone booths! This one was right down the street from our hotel. After we dropped off our stuff at the hotel, we headed downtown for a bit of sightseeing and dinner.

The moment we stepped off the Tube, we were greeted by Big Ben. He was RIGHT there, looking down on us. It was such an amazing feeling to see such an iconic sight. It finally started to set in where we were!

The weather the first night in London was a nice way to ease us San Diegians into cold weather. There was no rain and we didn't wear all the layers we brought. It was a nice trial of what we needed to wear while on the trip and after that first day, the weather never bothered me. I was too happy to be bothered by weather.

Down by the London Eye there was a charming Christmas market going on. There were tons of shops and food stations and I was totally overwhelmed. I wanted to try everything! But we all really needed to eat some dinner first and warm up so we headed over to a local restaurant The Slug and Lettuce. My very first meal in London HAD to be fish and chips, they were delish! Now warmed up a bit we went back to the market and had some sweets. The Hunny and I shared a Chimney Cake and my sister in law bought us some chestnuts roasted on an open fire! So Christmas-y!

A short walk across the Hugerford Bridge and we stumbled across The Sherlock Holmes Restaurant! I wasn't expecting it so I fan-girled out just a TAD! We then walked to Trafalgar Square and crossed off TWO of my Sherlock sites in one night! End scene on day number one in London!!!  

Stay tuned for more of my travels in the UK and Paris! HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

You can read ALL of my Christmas adventures HERE!