Our Trip Across the Pond

Dan and I decided to skip Thanksgiving this year and travel to London with our friends David & Briana Tavernier . We had a great time but I'm glad to be home and back on my regular schedule.

Here is a brief itinerary of our trip along with some pictures! We took over 400 pictures and there's no way I can add them all here, so if you're absolutely dying to see more pics, let me know!

DAY 1

*Took a stroll through Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens
*Walked through Picadilly Circus
*Shopped at Harrod's

Feeding the ducks at Hyde Park

Picadilly Circus

DAY 2 (Thanksgiving in the USA)

*Saw all the major sites in London

-Big Ben
-Parliament
-Buckingham Palace
-Tower of London
-Tower Bridge
-Westminster Abbey

*Rode on the London Eye
*Saw the musical "WICKED"

Buckingham Palace

Parliament & Big Ben

Dan, me, Briana, and Dave with the "Beef Eater"
Tower of London

Tower of London

What a better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with
traditional English fish & chips

Tower Bridge

You can't go to London without getting your
picture by the famous red telephone booths

Me and "B" at Westminster Abbey

A view from the top of the London Eye

"Wicked" was a fantastic musical. Thanks Dan for sitting through it
when you'd rather be doing something else. What a good sport you were!

DAY 3

*Rented a car and drove to the Cotswolds. Dan did all the driving and there were a few times we thought we weren't going to make it back alive. It was so strange being on the other side of the street, and having to look the opposite way than in the states.

*Went to Stratford Upon Avon-the birthplace of Shakespeare. It was one of my favorite towns.

Dancing in the streets at Bourton-on-the-Water (Cotswolds)

The famous stone cottages on Arlington Row
Kate Winslet and Elizabeth Hurley have a home here (at the Cotswolds)

I saw this pink car while we were at the Cotswolds
and fell in love with it. I wish it were for sale...I'd have Dan buy it for me for Christmas!

Stratford Upon Avon-the home where Shakespeare was born

DAY 4

*Drove South to East Horsley-saw the house Dan lived in for 2 years. We knocked on the door and introduced ourselves, and the couple that lived there actually let us go in and check it out. I think that was the highlight of Dan's trip.
*Walked through Bodiam Castle (East Sussex, UK)
*Visited the Battle of Hastings battle grounds
*Went to Eastbourne and saw the Seven Sisters (white chalk cliffs)

Dan's house in East Horsley

Bodiam Castle

The Seven Sisters

DAY 5 - PARIS

Our friends left on Sunday so we decided to take a trip to Paris since neither of us had been there before. We took the Eurostar (Chunnel) over Sunday morning and were only there for one day. Paris is a beautiful city, but one word of advice: Don't ever go on Sunday because everything is closed. Yes, we got to see all the big sites but all the cute shops and restaurants were closed. I guess God was trying to teach us a lesson on observing the Sabbath Day!

*Eiffel Tower
*Notre Dame
*Arc de Triomphe
*Ate lots of crepes
*Couldn't get over the fact that French people hate Americans

Notre Dame

Do I really need to caption these next photos?
I'm assuming you all know what this huge chunk of metal is.....

Arc de Triomphe

DAY 6 - Last Day

Before heading home on Monday, we walked around London and tried to take in as much as we could because who knows when we'll be back?

*Trafalgar Square (so sad you can't feed the birds)
*Notting Hill

Trafalgar Square

Notting Hill-I wish I would have seen Hugh Grant!

Bon Voyage!!

Tonight Dan and I leave for London. It seems like just yesterday we were planning our trip and it seemed so far away. I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and I'll be thinking of you eating your delicious turkey dinner as I'm chomping away on fish and chips (I'd much rather be eating turkey).

Happy Birthday Tim

Tim is my boss...the best boss in the world! :) His birthday was this weekend and I wanted to make him a golf cake (and hopefully in the process earn some brownie points). I just hope it tastes good!

Raw fish night at the Jensen's

I remember the first time I tried sushi I wanted to throw up. I thought it was the nastiest tasting thing I had ever tried. As I've gotten older my tastes have changed and I actually like things that I never thought I would...including sushi. (that's what happens when you grow up)!

Dan and I like to make our own sushi and did so last night. Dan's friend was in town for the weekend and we invited him over to come roll sushi with us. Everything was perfect...except for the oil fire I caused from the fried tempura. Long story....maybe for another post!

salmon, tuna, shrimp, cucumbers, cream cheese, avocado, & carrots.....
getting ready to be rolled up

completed sushi roll....delicious!

Dan and Dann (yes, that's how you spell his name)
enjoying the finished product.

Which Office Character Are You?
	You are Pam. You are sweet and likable, but your shyness makes it hard for you to express yourself sometimes. Regardless, you are always there for your friends and will usually come out of your shell to help anyone.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Pumpkin Toffee Cheesecake

Speaking of gluttony, I decided to indulge (again) and make a pumpkin toffee cheesecake for a party I went to on Saturday night. It was delicious and thought I'd pass along the recipe.

ENJOY!

• 
  
• PUMPKIN TOFFEE CHEESECAKE
  
• CRUST
• 2 cups (about 16 to 18) shortbread cookies, crushed
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
• CHEESECAKE
• 3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 can (15 oz.) pure pumpkin
  
• 2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz. can) evaporated milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (about 25 to 30) crushed toffee candies
• TOPPING
• 1 container (8 oz.) sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Caramel ice cream topping (optional)

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350° F.

FOR CRUST:
COMBINE cookie crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press onto bottom and 1-inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.

BAKE for 6 to 8 minutes (do not allow to brown). Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.

FOR CHEESECAKE:
BEAT cream cheese and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, cornstarch and cinnamon; beat well. Pour into crust.

BAKE for 60 to 65 minutes or until edge is set but center still moves slightly. Remove from oven; top with toffee candy pieces.

FOR TOPPING:
COMBINE sour cream, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in small bowl; mix well. Spread over warm cheesecake.

BAKE for 8 minutes. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of springform pan. Drizzle with caramel topping before serving.

Gluttony...Pure Gluttony

Instead of passing out candy to neighborhood trick-or-treaters, Dan and I decided to treat ourselves to a Brazilian steakhouse. We went to Texas de Brazil and indulged....to the point where we could barely walk out the door.

For those of you who don't know about Brazilian steakhouses you're missing out. Everybody has a card with a green and red side. The red side means, "No meat, thank you", but when you turn your card to green be prepared to be swamped by a troop of carvers serving various cuts and types of succulent meat. There is also a huge side bar offering all types of cheeses, vegetables, sushi, soups, beans, rice,....you name it they had it. After we were seated all of us went to the salad bar but Dan immediately turned his card over to green. He ate meat the whole night with out eating an ounce of the "good" stuff. He wonders why he was ready to explode this morning.

As delicious as it was, I came to the conclusion that this can only be a once a year tradition. I love meat as much as the next person, but last night was too much for me...pure gluttony!

"Good food, good company"
Brian, Christy, Parker, Dan, Me

Dan popped his head up for 2 seconds and allowed me to take this picture before burying his face back into the carcass of this dead animal. Correction - tasty dead animal!