London Day 2

We awoke early on our second day in London. Our group had purchased London Passes which gave us a free entrance into many places. Our group leaders believed the passes worked with all transportation, but they were wrong. We ended up having to buy all our metro tickets and then when we got back we were reimbursed. So after we got all of our transportation situated we finally made it into London. Where we ran into another issue. We didn’t have the actual tickets for our bus tour. The issue was resolved and we were on our own for the day. Our day ended up looking a little like this: changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, hop on the bus and ride to St. Paul’s Cathedral, St. Paul’s Cathedral, hop on the bus to the Tower of London, Tower bridge and Tower of London, hop on boat tour of the river (which came free with our bus tour) and ended near the House of Parliament. Everything was absolutely amazing, there is just so much history it almost seems unreal. I always find it very funny (and seem to forget) that the history of England goes back SO much farther than the history of the United States.

Day two of London will hopefully come sometime tomorrow, if not tomorrow definitely Sunday. Actually I shouldn’t make promises who knows what will be going on then. It will be posted at some point. And most of these recap posts will have lots of pictures and not a lot of words.

PS. ONE OF MY ROOMMATES JUST ARRIVED…YAY!!! More on this later!

Time to Rewind

Hellllllo bloggiessss!! So I have basically been MIA for weeks…okay maybe not weeks, but it feels that way. I really hate when I get off track with reading everyone’s blogs because I feel so behind and end up not having time to read all that I want to. Anyways, I am going to back track..rewind if you will to last Thursday/Friday.

Last Thursday we awoke bright and early to catch a bus to London. I think if any of us had our way we wouldn’t have gotten on that bus for another three hours as most of us enjoyed one of our first nights out at a local Newcastle club. Brings me back to Baltimore…just a little bit.

So bright and early at 8 am we boarded the bus. We had about a three-hour bus ride until we reached our first stop The Chatsworth House. If anyone is familiar with Pride and Prejudice this house was feature in the movie. It was the house of Mr. Darcy. If anyone from high school is reading this I hope you understand the excitement that went through my head when I heard the name Mr. Darcy. The house was also featured in the movie The Dutchess if you have ever seen that. While at the house we took a tour, visited the cascading water, the pond, and the kitchen garden. Everything was just beautiful. So for your viewing purposes I have some of the pictures (not even close to all of them…I am working on a page where I can upload more so you don’t get bombarded with pictures on every post).

After we arrived in London (we actually stayed in Chelsea) we wandered around looking for somewhere to eat dinner. We ended up finding a cute little pub called Brogen’s and hopped in for a bite. We made it just as the kitchen was closing but they still served us which was really nice. I sat at a table with 7 other people. Usually you go to the bar to order, but a waiter came to our table because it was such a big group. The kitchen actually ended up loosing my order and never cooked it by the time all of my table mates dinner had arrived. They ended up giving me my dinner for free which was really nice, and I only ordered water so I didn’t end up having to pay for anything…it was marveloussss. And right now I just decided I was not going to write about Friday because I didn’t want this post to be a million pages long…because lets face it…thats so flipping boring to read. So instead you have Thursday our travel day and soon you will have Friday. There also is about a million pictures from Friday so I wanted to save it for one post!!

A mini vacation

The past three days have been like a mini vacation except the most stressful vacation anyone could imagine. Okay maybe not the most stressful, but still. What was Loyola/Newcastle thinking when they planned to ship us off to London for three days the day after we got to Newcastle. That was mistake number one.

Mistake number two – London Passes. In all reality these things are amazing…expensive, but amazing. Our leaders believed our London passes could be used for public transportation (aka the only way we would be getting around). They were wrong, oh boy was it a hassle. Instead each day we had to buy a metro day pass and we are going to get reimbursed which I guess (okay I know) it is a plus.

Mistake number three- Not getting enough sleep. I know that is my when I am at my crankiest and a couple of points in the weekend I got super cranky. At least I was not the only cranky one at some points…ahemm Erin when she was hungry. I guess its good we are roommates, I get cranky when I don’t get sleep and she gets cranky when she gets hungry.

Other than that London was awesome and I will have some more posts about that trip, but right now I have no time and need to get some groceries. PS if you missed it at all I have had some amazing guest posters and you should check out their posts.

Healthy [kind-of], Budgeted, Local Eating While Abroad

HI GUYS, TODAY I HAVE A GUEST POST FOR YOU AND I AM SUPER EXCITED!! So while I am off registering for classes and trying to find my way around this campus I have a very good friend here to talk to you. Jenn and I go way back…all the way to high school. She also just recently traveled abroad so I thought it would be a good idea for her to share a post, seeing as some of my readers are currently studying abroad or are going in the future. So I’ll hand it over to Jenn and enjoy!!

Hello Kat’s Meow readers!

Jennifer here from The Gourmetour, and I am so excited to write this guest post for Katherine. Katherine and I have been long time friends, dating back to the early years of High School. Unfortunately Katherine and I were out of touch for a little while we adjusted to life at our respective Loyola’s [Maryland for Katherine, Chicago for me!], but fate led the way and she and I were reunited through our love for food and blogging!

Katherine and I started our blogs around the same time and have been mentoring and encouraging each other along the way. I am so blessed to have such a great blogger friend as Katherine is!

I created The Gourmetour as a reference to my friends, family, and anyone who was interested to learn a little about food, find yummy restaurants, and quickly track down a recipe or too. I must say The Gourmetour has grown up a bit since the original days, but with that my love for the blogger community has grown too. I hope you find a second to stop by and check it out, I’d love to see you there!

Anyways, enough of the sentimental history lesson and onto the whole reason for my guest post: International Travel!

Over the summer I spent a month gallivanting around Europe [6 countries to be exact!] with 3 of my best friends. We saw a lot of sites, and tasted a lot of foods, and with those experiences I was able to form a better understanding of various cultures and what it means to be a guest in each culture.

I want to offer out a few tips and guidelines to follow while abroad, they helped me tremendously and I have faith that you can take something away from them too!

1.) Always go where the locals go.

You may be wondering: “But how do I know where that is?” Well, my answer to you is to spend the day, or evening, wondering around neighborhoods that are not listed in city guide books as tourist destinations. This may be a no-brainer to some, but it’s actually harder to do than one would imagine.

Take note of cute side alley restaurants and pubs. Wonder in and out of local markets and boutiques.

2.) Speak the language.

Not fluent in that language [or even a second language.. ehem ME]? Don’t worry about it. Master key phrases such as typical conversational lines and questions about where the locals go. Word of thumb is always greet locals in their language [and put a solid effort in pronunciation!] and after they have responded, proceed to ask if they speak English.

Ask people where their favorite places to go are. Ask them for the most reasonably priced restaurants that offer their favorite meals. Do your research, not in travel books, but through human interaction.

3.) Find the local Restaurants, and eat recommended dishes.

Apply all of the above rules and you will find yourself here, in the restaurants of the locals. Ask for dish recommendations by both the people who recommended the spot to you, and by the waiters. If you are able to eat that dish [no allergies, etc.] but you are unsure of how you will like it, then the answer it simply to try it. End of discussion.

4.) Split dishes.

If you find your way to the local restaurants you’re already saving money. Restaurants located in tourist destinations almost always have a price mark-up. Remember that. But, another way to save money and to allow yourself to try new foods is to share dishes with your friends. Your friends may pick something you never would have, or you can split a portion to save money and calories without compromising your selection! Whether you want to share two dishes or split one you will get to try new things and/or save money!

5.) Follow their schedule.

Are you one of the thousands of Americans that eats dinner between 5:30 and 7:00pm? Well then, this rule is for you. Europeans don’t typically eat lunch until 1:00 or 2:00pm (13:00 or 14:00) and dinner after 8:00pm (20:00). If you want to be treated like a local and eat like a local, well you better well follow this rule. You’ll find your experience during their hours to be much more enjoyable than your hours.

6.) Drink their drank.

Seriously. The house wine is the best wine [usually]. Ask their recommendation, in their language, and you’ll be sure to have a wonderful bottle glass of wine. The prices will be way lower and you’ll be much happier. There’s really not much more to say about it.

I hope you all enjoyed my tips and tricks! Enjoy!

Let’s talk:

Do you follow any of these rules already?

What are some rules not listed here that you would recommend to international travelers?

What are some of your favorite culinary destinations abroad?

Guest Post: What’s Justine Cooking?

HI EVERYONE! Today I am site seeing in London, with my study abroad group. It is my second day in London and am loving every minute of it! As well as my site seeing I have a guest blogger set up for you. This is a special guest post because it comes from one of my friends. Last year the lovely Justine and I lived on the same floor at school. I quickly grew fond of Justine’s blog because its all about food. Yes you heard right, every time she posts its about a new recipe. I also went through a huge baking/cooking phase last year so her blog was a lifesaver. My favorite (and super easy) Stuffed French Toast….seriously go check it out! Alright onto Justine’s post.

 

Brownie Cheesecake Ingredients:

Brownies:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chunks
1/2 cup halved walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat in eggs one by one until the ingredients are completely combined.  In a separate bowl combined the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Add a little bit at a time and stir after each addition until all has been completely combined.  Stir in walnuts and chocolate chunks. Place brownie mixture into the bottom of a greased spring-form pan.  Bake for 20 minutes in the oven.

Cheesecake:

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:In a large bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Then add the vanilla and 1 egg at a time, beating in between each egg.  Then add the lemon juice and beat for 2 minutes on high until smooth and creamy. Add the mixture on top of the brownie mixture.  Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until cheesecake is set. For an additional treat, top with hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry to make a brownie sundae cheesecake.
Enjoy!

 

THANKS JUSTINE! So if you’re a cheesecake lover (if your not…disgrace) please go make this! And don’t forget to check out her blog as well. Also if you want to check out my cheesecake post here is the link. A lot like Justine’s but I had a big fail while making mine, what’s that saying: you win some you lose some?

 

What is your favorite dessert to make?

I love making cheesecake, or cookies (so simple, but so many different kinds).