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Pub Heaven at the Duke of York
We spent a day in North Devon and had a pub lunch in the Duke of York Pub in the little village of Iddesleigh.
I was in pub heaven! The Duke of York is a 15th century pub that is the local for British author Michael Morpurgo, who got the seed of the idea to write the novel “War Horse” (which later became the blockbuster play and film) while in this very pub. More about this here!
It was homey and cozy and a little hobbit-like and included all of the things that I look for in a good pub:
A walk on the seawall in Teignmouth, Devon
After Paris, we hopped back on the Eurostar to London and then caught a train down to the southwest coast of Devon. We headed to a quaint, seaside town called Teignmouth, where my mother-in-law and lots of family friends live.
The train takes you right along the coast. Gorgeous views, despite the unseasonably cold spring weather. A few days after we arrived, we took a brisk walk along the seawall, which runs right alongside the train tracks.
Merci Shop in Paris
On our trip to Paris, we visited Merci, a three-story concept store in Marais that donates all profits to charity (helping underprivileged women and children). They sell clothing, furniture, housewares, stationery, gardening supplies, perfume and other toiletries. In addition, they have a charming little bookstore and three cafes. It really was a (high-brow) one stop shop!
Top 10 highlights from Paris, Part Deux
Yesterday, I posted my first five Paris highlights. Today? Let’s post the remaining five, shall we?
6. Rue Montorgueil, a gorgeous market street with butcher shops, boulangeries, cafes, chocolateries, fish markets and so on and so forth! We walked from our apartment one bright morning and went to Cafe du Centre for a great basic breakfast (coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice and croissant or baguette).
I also had the great privilege of visiting La Fermette, cheese capitol of the universe, also on Rue Montorgueil. We spotted it right away with the black and white cow above the storefront. Best item was their 30-month comte, which the seller warned me about, in case I couldn’t handle it. Oh, yeah, I could handle it! It was a delightful, nutty cheese and we bought a block of it. They also sold these plates of various cheeses for about 11 euros – really generous portions (we got one plate that was stellar – sadly, they weren’t labeled so it’s tough to know what cheese we had – but it had a good variety to suit every palate. A camembert, a blue cheese, a goat cheese, a Mimolette, etc.)
Top 10 highlights from Paris, part une
So many things we loved in Paris. Here’s the proverbial greatest hits over the four days we spent!
1. Love padlocks on all of the Paris bridges. They really are a stunning sight. Couples buy padlocks as a symbol of their love, add their initials and lock it to the bridge! And they say romance is dead?!
Staying in the heart of Paris
When we made it to Gare du Nord in Paris, we grabbed a trolley for our bags and headed towards the taxis. The queue was LONG.
A man approached us immediately to ask if we wanted to hire a mini cab. He took a glance at all of us and of our luggage, asked our destination and then declared it would cost about 75 euros. We paused, and then remembering what the exchange rate is (about 1 euro = 1.3 US dollars), declined. No sooner did we turn around, but another mini cabbie was there to ask if we needed a ride. His quote was even steeper! 106 euros!
We decided our best bet would be to take the Metro from Gare du Nord to Chatelet Station. It was a bit of a juggle with luggage, kids and collapsed stroller in tow, but we managed it like the amateurs that we were, groaning and agonizing until we arrived! Chatelet Station! The apartment we rented was only a five-minute walk. We were within walking distance of an H&M and a Zara (always a good sign, I believe), some good looking brasseries and little grocery stores. It was urban and positively pulsing with activity!
Onward to Paris!
So, we tried to pack light on our trip to Europe, but really, it was nearly impossible in the face of freezing cold temperatures (hello, 3 degree highs – yes, Celsius, but still!). We ended up taking two medium sized suitcases and one big suitcase (along with carry-ons and an umbrella stroller).
Make no mistake. Our luggage was only a fraction of what Victoria Beckham traveled with last month.
This was us at our most abbreviated and I’m personally proud of how light we ended up traveling (well, for us, anyway). While I was in the U.K., I read a story about Victoria Beckham flying out of England to L.A. with four children and 12 suitcases. It was written with such outrage, but I found it perfectly reasonable.
Still, for our brief jaunt to Paris, we wanted to go even lighter and so we only took one suitcase and left the other two bags in Left Luggage at Paddington Station. Left Luggage is a miraculous place where, for £8 for the first day and £5 for each additional day, this office within the train station will securely look after your bags. Our luggage situation was still unwieldy without a train station trolley, but we managed and enlisted some help from a fellow traveler – my mother in law! We invited her to join us on our mini break to the City of Lights. She took the train from Devon to Paddington to meet us and we caught a taxi together from Paddington Station to St. Pancras Station, where our Eurostar awaited.
Heathrow Express and a bear from Peru
Once we landed, we quickly made our way through security and customs, picked up our luggage and made a beeline for Heathrow Express, the super speedy train that travels to Paddington Station.
I’ve traveled on Heathrow Express so many times that I actually feel like I’ve officially arrived in London when I take it. Something about the smell of the carriage, the lighting and the news segments playing on the TV. It’s just serene and nice! The price, on the other hand, is getting a bit steep! It’s £20 for a single adult ticket, £34 for a return (or round-trip) adult ticket, £10 for a single child’s ticket, £17 for a return (or round-trip) child’s ticket. Kids under 5 are free. We found out later that it is much cheaper, when there are two or more people traveling, to take a mini cab from central London straight to Heathrow. But never mind! There is also something to be said for tradition and I loved the trip. It’s 15 minutes and you’re there! Paddington!
I love the little Paddington Bear statue at the station. There’s also a little Paddington Bear shop upstairs, which sells all manner of Paddington items – books, stuffed toys, plates, cups, aprons, tea towels, chocolates – you name it!
Paddington Station also has plenty of options for food. We stopped for lunch at Patisserie Valerie, which had a nice selection of bakery items, sandwiches and desserts. I got a simple ham and cheese sandwich on a baguette and a cappuccino (ah, can anyone explain how Europeans get coffee so very right?!). It was the perfect precursor to our trip to Paris, which was only hours away.
More tomorrow!
Flying to the U.K. with extra leg room
Hello! I am happy to report that we are back from our whirlwind trip to the U.K. and Paris and had a fabulous time!! I have so much to blog about for the next few weeks and lots of photos to share so stay tuned!
First things first! The plane ride! We flew Virgin Atlantic out of San Francisco Airport, which required a morning drive from Sacramento. Best thing we did? We booked long-term parking at Millbrae BART station, which was $6/day! So much cheaper than any park-and-sleep package I could find and a lot cheaper than long-term parking by the airport. My husband dropped me and the kids (and our luggage!) off at the airport first and then parked and took the BART to the airport (so we wouldn’t have to lug all of our luggage and stroller and kids with us on the BART, and we saved money on three BART tickets in the process). Win!
Now about that flight … well, we flew economy and splurged on extra leg room seats, which Virgin offers now for an added $50.
Was it worth it? Well, it was hard for me to tell (but I am 5′ 3″). My husband appreciated the extra legroom.
We haven’t flown internationally in a couple of years now and I was most startled not by the lack of leg room, but by the lack of food! My 3-year-old daughter ate an adult sized portion of pasta and bread, and was starving, as were we all! She refused the Gu mango and passionfruit cheesecake pot that was her dessert and so I quickly ate hers and mine.
Big mistake. Huge.
Within a couple of hours – in the complete serenity of our turbulence-free cabin – I became decidedly unwell. I actually vomited into my empty water glass and had to climb over the poor sleepy stranger victim, who was unlucky to be sitting next to me (and who was none too impressed and looked like Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) to get to the bathroom. My husband and son were sitting directly behind us since there weren’t a four-seats-in-a-row available to us in the extra-leg room section.
My husband asked if I had eaten the Gu. He hadn’t touched it since he thought it smelled spoiled. Neither did my son. Thankfully!
There wasn’t any ice cream, or after dinner Bailey’s (which I think of wistfully, when I think of flying Virgin years ago. The water and juice tray came around a couple of times. It actually didn’t matter since I couldn’t stomach anything after the Gu. Not even the skimpy muffin top breakfast that they brought around with coffee and tea. I was sick again.
But it didn’t matter. After ten hours or so, we touched down in London and I wasn’t going to let any Gu stop me from enjoying my holiday!
More tomorrow!
Busted for Kinder Surprise eggs
Before you attempt to head into the U.S. carrying Kinder Surprise eggs from the U.K., beware! The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol seized about 25,000 Kinder Surprise eggs in 2010 and reissued the warning that Kinder eggs are banned (due to the non-edible prize inside each egg). Rumor has it that if a Kinder egg is seized by customs, you can be fined for $2,500!
If you’ve never had a Kinder Surprise egg, they are quite fun little toys (i.e. cars, characters, even stamp rings) tucked inside a half milk chocolate and half white chocolate shell of an egg. You never know what you’re going to get! Nearly 30 billion have been sold worldwide.
And check out the Americanized version of the Kinder Surprise: The Choco Treasure! It launched last month.
Also, here are the top 10 items not to bring back from your international holiday.
BRITRISH.COM 