Saturday evening, mum and I took a late flight from Munich to London Heathrow. Long story short here, we made our way to our hotel (which was less than satisfactory thanks to the 7 narrow slanting wobbly staircases) and then headed out in search of dinner at 10pm. It ended up transpiring, after a wander up and down our street in Piccadilly, that the pub directly next door to our hotel entrance was the best place in the street. 
It turned out to be a slightly famous pub, with a plaque on the wall denoting it as the 'Longest Pub in England'. And long it was. Mum nearly said no to eating there as it wasn't very packed on first appearance. What we couldn't see were the dozens of patrons filling tables all the way back through the pub. We took a seat and perused the menu before I jogged back up to the bar to place our order. So late at night, we just shared their big fish platter (which came with a lovely mix of fish nibblies and really yummy chips) and while mum enjoyed a wine, I was so happy to drink a cider once again. Strangely enough I chose a New Zealand cider...
The best bit about our choice of dinner venue, I was still able to access the hotel wifi as we were 4 floors below our room!
On Sunday, Mum and I dressed up a little as it was the official start of the 'Girly' trip. After a less than appealing hotel breakfast, we started our journey into the city centre. Being a Sunday, very few things were open, so we started at Marble Arch and slowly walked up Oxford street, stopping at the few shops that were open. Come 11, the streets started to liven up but we had a destination in mind.Mum was having fun just noting all the stereotypical English shops like Selfridge and Marks & Spencers!
We wandered down to an area called Carnaby Street, which was the start of a great cultural district. Full of funky shops and restaurants, we made our way to the most important shop of all - Choccywoccydoodah!
When our coffees and cakes arrived, we both started licking our lips. I am not a huge cake eater, but boy did it look good. And because I had chosen the 5 layer, I had 5 different flavours to try. The ginger cake was my favourite. Meanwhile, mum enjoyed her Amaretto cake (only 3 layers).
Tummies filled and bursting, we stumbled back downstairs to take in the shop itself. Of course we had to buy some chocolate for Michael, but it was the artistic cakes that were so amazing to look at.
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| Yes, we bought this for Michael - but in Dark Chocolate |
We ambled along the busy London streets, with mum excitedly taking photos of the big double decker red buses and playing Monopoly, pointing at famous street signs.
Eventually though, we did find our way over to the West End side of town because this afternoon was special. One of mum's biggest reasons for wanting to visit London again, was purely to see a show on the West End. And in particular, one show - The Lion King. She had never seen it in Australia (I saw it in Melbourne 10 years ago) and she had desperately wanted to see it for years. So it was with absolute pleasure that I booked tickets months ago for us.
And the tickets had to be just right. I managed to get us fairly close to the front, but on one of the aisles. As we took our seats, I insisted mum take the aisle side seat so that she could see the stage better. Little did she know what the real reason was. As the show began, mum was already grinning ear to ear - but it was the shock of a full sized Elephant suddenly walking down the aisle towards the stage that took her by complete surprise. She turned to me, with glistening eyes and squeezed my hand. I knew in that instant that I had made mum very happy.
By the end of the show, programs in hand, I led away one very giddy girl. Funny how roles reverse. She will always be my mum but somewhere along the way, it has become a more even share of responsibilities, and for me, London showed that I also take great joy in being looked after by mum but also being able to look after her.
On our way back to the underground, we couldn't help but make a short detour via a bridge so we could have a look out along the Thames.
Tonight, dinner was again important as we wanted good English food, proper grub, you know. But it was a surprise when we both expressed a desire to once again dine at the longest Pub in London. Tonight we ordered our own meals, both of us really keen for a Pie. I ordered the Lamb, Rosemary and Sweet Potato pie, while mum ordered the Chicken pie. This was because their signature Steak and Ale pie was sold out!
Having said that, we both absolutely loved our meals, swapping halfway through so we could try a bit of both, and at the end, the plates were practically sparkling.
And another cider.... of course!
Continuing with the 'girly' vibe, the following day (Monday) was to be our 'High Tea' day. After yet another drab hotel breakfast (we didn't bother eating much as we knew what was in store later in the day) we decided to do some more sight seeing.
We started our morning stroll at Westminster Abbey, then we wandered along Whitehall road, past Horse Guards Parade and up to Trafalgar Square. At this point it did unfortunately start to rain, so we did not hang around for long in the square.
** I should mention here that I am absolutely petrified of horses (due to an accident when I was 8) so while mum was super excited to have her photo taken here... I was rather apprehensive. I'm almost certain it shows all over my face....
Instead we headed around the back of the National Gallery, and made our way into Leicester Square. Mum stopped for a quick photo in front of the statue of Shakespeare before I ran off (not just to take shelter from the rain). I had finally found MnM World!!!
This rainbow heaven shone like a bright beacon on such a dreary grey London day. Now, for those who do not know me very well, I rather like chocolate. But none more than a packet of Peanut MnM's. Seriously, these are my vice. I can be so good, ignore the chocolate cravings and be so healthy for months on end.... until someone waves a bag of these colourful drops of peanuty goodness under my nose. Then I'm a goner.
So for me, a visit to MnM world had been on my to do list for a very long time. I think Michael regrets not coming with me for this one, but mostly because he wasn't there to control my spending!
Now I hear some of you audibly groaning and I promise you I did not buy that much. To be fair, I spent more on actual MnM's than I did frivolous merchandise! You will understand a little more as I show you the photos of the MnM rainbow wall.
This was a series of wall mounted tubes, each filled to the top with MnMs. All different colours. An area of tubes were filled with pre-created mixes with names such as Ocean mix or Park Green mix. Then came more than 20 tubes of single colours of just Peanut MnMs! I went tube to tube with my bag, and filled a little from each and every colour Peanut MnM that one does not find in an everyday packet. By the end, my bag was full with everything from turquoise to hot pink, teal to gold. The bag weighed close to 1kg I think by the end....
While I was at it, I bought Michael a small bag of a special pre-mixed colour selection of 'Dark Chocolate' Peanut Mnms. For this he was very thankful as neither of us have ever see dark choc ones. Mum meanwhile bought a small bag of pre-mixed colour plain mnms.
We also took all the necessary photos of us with the bevy of 'Famous' MnM characters throughout the shop, my favourite being the Abbey Road Beatles recreation.
Mum managed to eventually drag me out of my delicious nutty rainbow heaven... I mean MnM world, as it was time for us to start making our way towards our High Tea. With one or two shopping detours along the way, and jumping more than a few puddles, we made it to the Langham Hotel - the original home of the High Tea. 
The Langham has been serving high tea for, as luck would have it, exactly 150 years. We managed to turn up just one week into their 150th anniversary celebration. Shame we hadn't been a week earlier as I later found out that Lady Gaga had been the special guest for the first day of the celebration!
I digress. We were seated inside the lavish Palm Court in the Hotel and perused the extensive tea menu. Together, mum and I both decided to try the special Langham tea blend, which turned out to be rather delicious! With our tea on the table, we were soon presented with the first food - a lemony amuse bouche. 
This was quickly followed by a large tray of sandwiches carried by our waitress. We were welcome to choose what ever we wanted from the tray, which consisted of 5 different types of finger sandwiches. We both decided to try one of each. For me, the best was a cute little roll filled with a cured ham, relish and asparagus spears. Mum's favourite was the egg and mustard sandwich (I agree this was also delicious). That is not to say that the others weren't tasty, just a little more along the line of normal High Tea finger sandwiches, with salmon and cucumber...
We were offered the tray a second time but we both wisely declined as we knew we still had several things to try. Before long, our tiered stand next to the table began to fill up, with scones and a plate on top filled with an assortment of beautiful delicate desserts. The scones were good, but it was the petit fours we were dying to sink our teeth into. 
Again, we each had our own favourites, for me the macaroon sable biscuit (front of plate) was sublime, but mum rather fancied the red/green mini gugelhupf cake (with gold horse to the right). We both loved the tall glass of rhubarb, sherbet and vanilla bean custard, both of us polishing off a glass on our own.
Stomachs absolutely fill to bursting point, we went for a long wander along Oxford street, stopping to try on clothes here and there until it was time for our next appointment.
It was of course again for food, but this time with a twist. A very dear old family friend who lives in London just happened to be free and came to meet us as soon as he finished work for the day. Greg is the son of a really old friend of mum and dad from when they all lived in Tasmania. All Germans, they became firm friends back in the 60s. Meanwhile, mum and dad were so close to this family that Greg and his sister Iris both to this day still call my mum Aunty (and dad was Uncle). I even still refer to Greg's mum as my aunt.
It was of course again for food, but this time with a twist. A very dear old family friend who lives in London just happened to be free and came to meet us as soon as he finished work for the day. Greg is the son of a really old friend of mum and dad from when they all lived in Tasmania. All Germans, they became firm friends back in the 60s. Meanwhile, mum and dad were so close to this family that Greg and his sister Iris both to this day still call my mum Aunty (and dad was Uncle). I even still refer to Greg's mum as my aunt.
The following morning, we packed our suitcases, ate one more barely palatable breakfast in the hotel and made our way across to Kings Cross Station where we boarded the Eurostar! 
We found this to be a very uneventful day, as we simply caught a train. We found out later that we were very lucky as there was a lot of unrest in France and due to issues on the channel, the chunnel was closed and our train was the last one let through that day. The next train was sent back to London!Unaware of all this, we arrived mid afternoon in Paris, made our way to our hotel and subsequently collapsed on our beds for a small pause. I have to say that this hotel was much nicer.
Having only snacked on the train, we were in the mood for an early dinner and bed, so I suggested I take mum to a favourite Parisian area of mine and we could eat there. This area happened to be where Michael and I stayed last year, the area where our friends Alex and Axelle lived (before they moved to Australia) and where Axelle's family bakery is.
Going on tips once again from Alex, I was dying to visit the crepe restaurant that Alex had recommended last time (but had been closed for holidays). Above ground from the metro, I took a moment to gather my bearings. Things had changed and thanks to roadworks, I almost didn't recognise the streets that I had walked just over a year ago. But soon I knew where I was heading again.
Reaching the crepe shop, I was pleased to see a black board outside denoting the specials and I took it as a good sign. Alas, they were not open until 7:30pm. It was only just after 6. Mum and I studied the menu board outside and decided it was worth the wait, so we went for a wander through the area.
Mum took great delight in visiting Axelle's family bakery (despite having only heard of Axelle from me) and then we bought some beautiful cherries from a fruiterer to munch on our way. Eventually though, we were both just bored and wanted to have some dinner so we made our way back to the restaurant.
We watched on as the crepes were made fresh in the tiny kitchen at the entrance, and absolutely gobbled up the crepes as they landed on the table. Mum chose a tuna crepe with a small salad, and I enjoyed a goats cheese, ham and honey crepe. Simply amazing.
Not quite satisfied, we ordered a dessert crepe to share (as if we wouldn't). This crepe was the house speciality with a home made hazelnut creme - so good. SOOO GOOD!
Being the first customers afforded us the chance to eat and head home rather quickly and we were both tucked up in bed by 9pm!
What plans we had for the next day. It was going to be our big French day, doing all the Parisian things. First on the list of events was a pre-booked tour of the Eiffel Tower.
This turned out to be the start of a not so successful day. We arrived at the office of the tour company and waited around for our tour guide. We thought the wait was starting to drag, but with so many other tour groups in there, we just thought that perhaps our tour was just being held back until the room was clear. 
Mum had visited Paris once many years ago with my dad, and on the day they were booked to go up the tower it had been so stormy the tour had been cancelled. So this alone was reason number 2 for picking the London/Paris trip. Mum was desperate to go up the tower. I felt her physically slump next to me as all the excitement just evaporated.
Adriana said that she was hopeful that it would open up again soon, and begged us all to stick around and wait with her at the base. 2 families left for various reasons but we decided to stick it out, as Adriana was such a lovely bubbly girl. She kept us all hopeful with her attitude.We waited in line under the tower for about 20 minutes when suddenly Adriana came bouncing (I do mean bouncing) over to the group, arms in the air, shouting that the tower was opening up! We all cheered - not just us, all the tour groups around us did too - and we all got ready to move. What wishful thinking that was. It was another 40 minutes before our line actually moved. But to be fair, we did get taken to a different entrance and once we were through the gate, it took us very little time to get into the lift up to the first deck.
Just as Adriana was about to say goodbye (she was only a skip the line guide) she told us that she had just spoken to one of the security guys and found out what happened. She said that the hold up had been due to a couple who had managed to avoid detection the previous evening and had managed to spend the entire night on the tower. And now refused to come down. The police had to physically remove them from the tower and that the dogs had done a full sweep to ensure nothing else suspicious had gone on. 
** I will admit here I was torn between anger (how selfish of that couple to steal away on the tower and ruin the day for everyone else) and being impressed (wow - how did they manage that)!
By the time we got down from the Tower, it was after 2pm, and we were both rather exhausted. We took a few photos downstairs, like the obligatory 'I'm standing in front of the Eiffel Tower' shot before we wandered down to the water front.
Trying to get our energy back, we were both busy admiring the boats that lined the river, some of which we could see through the glass into the spacious dining cabins with tables all laid out for a fancy restaurant meal.Mum had been rather keen to have a cruise while she was here in Europe, something which sadly did not eventuate, but seeing the boats docked, she couldn't help but exclaim how much she really wanted to have a small cruise at the very least. So this is how we came to book ourselves on a dinner cruise boat sailing the Rhine.
Once on board the boat, we were actually glad that we had paid a lower price for our tickets as we were sitting in the middle of the boat, with a great view, in the shade and in better air con. Those that sat right next to the windows were constantly fanning themselves as the sun was still streaming in the tinted windows.
Mum and I thoroughly enjoyed some wine and our three courses. Our waiter Pierre was lovely, although clearly didn't deal well with kids as he really struggled with the tables sitting behind mum. I felt sorry for him to a degree but only for a moment. I then went back to enjoying myself, taking in the view and having some great laughs with mum. And the food really was amazing! I even ordered the Foie Gras for my entree. Awake on our final day, we handed our luggage over to the hotel to look after with intentions of being back to collect it around 5pm (our flight was not until 8:30). The hotel manager burst my bubble by saying he would recommend us leaving for the airport between 2 and 3 pm. When I enquired as to why, he informed us of the Taxi strikes which were in turn affecting the trains. So once again, with our day shortened, we did our best to see as much as possible before collecting our suitcases.
The previous morning, we had experienced breakfast at our current hotel. While it was no where near as appalling as the London hotel's excuse for breakfast, it was still not that amazing. So we went for a quick wander around our hotel to see if we could find a place that served breakfast. The little cafe on the corner did not have a breakfast menu, but the lovely waiter said he was happy to whip us up some baguette with jam and a cappuccino. Which he did! Quite frankly, it was the best coffee we had had all holiday!
We caught a metro the quickest way possible to the river front. Here we boarded a Batobus - a river bus cruiser that allowed us to view the major attractions of Paris from the water, with a glass walled, open topped boat. There were only 8 stops but in between time was also rather enjoyable.
We took the Batobus first to the stop for the Louvre. Mum and I did not have time to enter the famous gallery, but mum was happy to just see it from the outside this time including the ornate gate. We had to avoid the crazy guy in a giant frenchman suit who wanted to photobomb everyone.... but luckily we got our few photos in before he pounced on us.
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| Early female footballer...? |
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| Another footballer? |
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| Goat in a moat! |
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| Mum called this "A seal is biting my butt" |
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| "Horseback Ballet" |
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| "It's a man-bag, not a handbag" |
Halfway down we stopped for an ice cream. We waited for what felt like forever as there was a large school group in front of us, but we understood why and it was worth the wait. The ice creams came sculpted in the cone to look like a rose. Each cone was an art work - a very temporary artwork as it started to melt almost instantly. But our sorbet roses I can assure you were delicious.
We took our ice creams and sat down on some chairs overlooking Place de la Concorde. Finally I got the chance to show off a bit to mum and tell her some history. Place de la Concorde is for me a place with quite gruesome yet interesting history. It was a central point in the town in the 1700s and it was where be-headings took place. It is said that at one point the ground was so soaked with blood that animals refused to walk on the ground, that horses reared up as they approached. Most famously of all, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed here.
With statues all around, usually one would not question the large structure in the centre of the Place de la Concorde, however the large ornate and gold adorned Egyptian Obelisk does of course stand out a little bit. It was given to the French by the Egyptian Government in the 19th century, and as the rumour goes, the Egyptians ask for it back every year, to which the French reply "Non!".
Speaking of the statues though, it must be noted that one particular statue grabbed my attention. It was a large statue of a regal figure, a queen. I can give you no more details as I could not stop laughing. Michael and I have seen one or two tampered statues in our time, but this took the cake. Someone had secured a 'red nose' on the queen with great success. I do question how they climbed up there though...
By now, we were close to another Batobus stop so we jumped back on the boat and road all the way down the river. The boat eventually turned and headed back up the other way. We enjoyed the cruise but the sun was so hot that we both started drifting off!
We did eventually disembark at Notre Dame. A final stop for us, we both wanted to see this architecturally stunning church from the outside, as mum had never, and I had only seen it by night. We took in the front facade, before heading inside. I must admit that I was far less impressed with the inside than the out. I've now been inside some stunning churches around Europe, and I can honestly say I would rather spend an hour outside Notre Dame, than 10 minutes inside.
As we checked our watches, it was already 2pm, so we started our journey back to the hotel without lunch (thanks to the hotel manager's warning). We did admittedly encounter train problems, with one line just not running at all, so we had to double back and go a different way. But we made it to the hotel before 3pm.
The journey out to the airport was a hot, uncomfortable, squishy nightmare, mostly because the taxi problem was causing everyone and their dog to take the train out to the airport. Finally at the airport, the shuttle train was a much more comfortable ride over to the correct terminal. We dropped our suitcases off at baggage drop and made our way up inside the crazy French terminal that I love.
Through security and gate found, we found a nice cafe where we could purchase a selection of sandwiches and a large Macaroon, along with much needed coffee. At 5pm. Our flight was not until after 8! We needn't have listened to the hotel guy.
Although we ate our words soon enough, with announcements soon coming over the loud speakers - the trains had also gone on strike to support the taxi drivers! Once again, we scraped through by the skin of our teeth! Thank god we caught an earlier train. At the end of the day, 3 hours to eat and read a few magazines was not a big problem. I even had a chat with Michael on the wifi.
9:30 pm I was reunited with Michael, and mum and I were back in Munich, mini holiday over (for me anyway).
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