Paris Days Three & Four

Paris, Days Three and Four: “I’m in love, I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it!”  Elf

The Louvre

Laduree

Our second morning in Paris starts with more overcast, rain and gloom.  I can’t wait  to go to the Eiffel Tower.  Ariana suggests waiting until later in the day as the forecast suggests the rain may lighten up.  Sophie is at the desk this morning; she is very nice.  I’m so happy to meet her.  She gave us quite a good deal on the room and says she gave us the only one with a view of Notre Dame.  We have breakfast at the hotel then head to the Louvre via the Metro. We’re not going to go into the Louvre, but want to see the exterior and the grounds.  The lines to enter are really long – so glad we’re not going in.  We take some photos in the courtyard, it’s raining steadily now and the wind is blowing very hard.  We stop at the Paul truck to get a pastry.  We buy a small chocolate Viennese (like a baguette, but not chewy).  They don’t have coffee today, he doesn’t offer an explanation as to why.  I think I’ll drink a gallon of coffee when I get home.  No one makes brewed decaf, and all they serve here is a tiny shot of espresso.  That just doesn’t cut it for me.  We split the pastry and eat it on the run to the Museum de l’Orangerie, where we’ll see Monet’s Water Lilies.  We pass by the Palace, where security is very high, I assume due to the elections that just took place.  There are police everywhere.  We’re so wet by the time we get to the museum, cars splashed us all along the way.  The M d’O has a bit of a line, but we enter quickly, only to wait again in the ticket line.  At least it’s dry.   The art collection on display here is works by artists who inspired the composer Debussy, and it’s wonderful.  It includes many works by a very quirky artist Sautine, several Picassos (he will never be a favorite of mine) and another, Derain, who had about 30 pieces, very interesting.  Also some works by Kandinsky, who I love, and Modigliani.  I copied a Modigliani when I took an oil class years ago.  He has a special place in my heart.  We see several by Renoir, many by Cezanne (saw his work on exhibit in Philadelphia many years ago) and a lovely large Monet, as well as at least one Manet.  It takes us an hour or so to get through all of that, then we go upstairs to see the Water Lilies.  I think of myself as being fairly well educated where art is concerned, so feel like an idiot not having known that Water Lilies is comprised of eight huge panels decorating the walls of two oval rooms in the museum.  I had no idea Monet painted them in large pieces to be assembled as murals.  The rooms are specially designed and have seating on benches in the center with natural light coming from above, just as the studio where they were painted did. One views them as one would from a bench in an outdoor garden.  So relaxing and calming.  Serenity.

We venture back out into the blustery Paris weather and head to the Champs Ellysees on our way to the Arc de Triomphe.  We stop by Laduree to buy some macaroons, some of the best in Paris.  So many beautiful colors and flavors!  We get 2 large (coffee and dark chocolate) and three small (pistachio, sea salt & caramel and raspberry), 
almost $18, American!  We split a baguette sandwich for lunch to try to make up for that splurge.  Chicken & cheese, it was simple, but delicious.  From there we pay to climb almost 300 stairs to the top of the Arc de Triomphe.   It’s wet & windy, as expected, with excellent views of the Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower, too.  It’s finally time to head there.  I’m not what I consider a “touristy” type person, but I cannot wait to see the Eiffel Tower!  It’s certainly one of the most, if not the most, iconic structure in the world.  There aren’t very many people around when we finally get there and I have an awful feeling that it’s not open! We tried to get tickets online weeks ago and the first available were for June.  They have signs that only one elevator is in operation and the ticket area is closed.  Turns out we are at the base of the “leg” that is not operating.  When we go to another, the line to climb the stairs is short. We go up 300 plus stairs to the first level, which they refer to as the 2^nd level.  Ariana is a very good sport, especially since we are pretty much drenched at this point, and she accompanies me on up to the intermediate level, 670 stairs, total. We find 18 more stairs up to the 2^nd level elevator, so count those in our day’s stair tally as well.  The line for the elevator down is really long, but she insists that we not take the stairs back down.  We finish the macaroons as we wait.  It’s a neat ride down in a large, double-decker elevator.  As soon as we descend, the sun shines brightly for our walk to the closest Metro station.  We now head to Madeleine, known for the little cakes named for the area.  We visit a high-end store called La Fauchone.  Super expensive, all the food there is a work of art.  They have anything imaginable - chocolates, pastries, caviar, pates, seafood, teas, specialty coffees.  This place makes Gelson’s look like Walmart.  We don’t buy anything, but certainly have fun looking.  We walk around Madeleine for a bit, then start back to the hotel.  My hair is matted into a wet tangle of curls, I cannot even get my fingers though the back.  Can’t wait to comb it!  We stop at a boulangerie near the hotel and get two petit baguetttes to snack on, one with olives, the other with dried fruit, herbs and ham.  After cleaning up and researching local restaurants online, Ariana finds one called Le Petit du Benoit.  We’re in the St Germaine area, which is pricey, and this one is supposed to have traditional French fare for reasonable prices.  We walk about a mile to find this charming little old place packed with common/shared tables, and are seated between two couples, one younger than I, the other older.   It reminds me of eating at my grandmother’s house, it’s been operating since 1901.  A room the size of my living room has about 30 seats, all filled, at four tables.  We order a pate en croute to start and 50 cl of Bordeaux to share.  I order duck confite, Ariana orders Boeuf Borguinone.  It all tastes wonderful – the entrees are piping hot.  There’s a basket of baguette, but I’m not sure if it belongs to our neighbors or to us.  After a bit I decide it really doesn’t matter, so I dive in.  The woman from that couple is adamant that the food was not good; she says they have no cook.  I thought it was perfectly lovely – simple, home-style food for a reasonable price and good camaraderie. The older gent to my right has fresh cheese (yogurt) with honey for dessert - so simple, but it looks wonderful. We already have dessert planned elsewhere, so have none here.  They write your order on your placemat, and that’s how it’s tallied!  Cash only, no credit cards.  We walk to Grom Paris from there to indulge in some of the world’s best gelato.  I had a medium with three flavors - yogurt, caramel and coffee.  The coffee was exceptionally good, all were amazing.  Ariana gets the same size, but gets Crema de Grom, tiramsu and chocolate extra noir. Super quality, the place is immaculate.   We grab a coffee to go at Starbuck’s on the way back and call it a day.  We had walked 11.19 miles.  I sleep like a baby.

Creme Brûlée from Day One

We start our last day in Paris with another wonderful breakfast at the hotel.  I am so sad to leave Paris.  We go to the Bastille area and wander around, grab a couple of pastries for the train ride to London and split a ham (jambon) sandwich and chocolate éclair at Paul in St Michelle near La Chapelle.  I would have loved to go inside to see the stained glass at this chapel, but another 18 euro to tour yet another church seems ridiculous, so we just enjoy the walk.  We browse the market back in St Germaine and get some handmade cheese (chevre) and bread for the train as well as a very expensive (1 euro) apple.  We go to the hotel for the last time to pick up our bags and say goodbye to Sophie.  Ah, so sad to leave!   My favorite memories of Paris are getting on the Metro along with a couple of guys carrying brass instruments.  They set up just inside the doors and begin to play “Putting on the Ritz”.  I love it!  Same for the accordion players lining the bridge to the Ile St Louis playing “La Vie en Rose.”  Unforgettable!

We’re on the train to London as I write this and arrive in about 15 minutes.  The Chunnel was uneventful.  London, you have your work cut out for you – Paris is one hard act to follow.  J’taime. 

            

Paris!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is going to be short and to the point.  It's almost midnight here and I've been staying up way too late. Wanted to be in bed by 10 tonight and you can see how well that worked out!

We flew into Paris on Ryan Air last night via Beauvais airport.  Very small, efficient.  I was immediately happy to be in France when the first person I saw upon disembarking was an extremely handsome, smiling Frenchman on the tarmac.  Oh, yeah, now we're talking!  It was rainy but not pouring.  I blogged on the bus trip (1.25 hours) into Paris, raining off and on.  We could see the Eiffel Tower as we approached and the reality of being in Paris set in.  I seriously cannot wrap my mind around the fact that I am actually in Paris!  Me, a little country girl from a town that still, in 2012, does not have a traffic signal! I am humbled and thrilled to be here.  I started to worry that I've romanticized the city too much, that it won't live up to my expectations.  Not a chance - it's AMAZING!!!  It's more amazing than I ever could have imagined.  Bistros, shops, restaurants every where you look.  Incredible patisseries and boloungeries everywhere.  Fresh flowers and meats on display.  I want to go home and fill my house with flowers and decorate Parisian style!

Breakfast!

Sacre Coeur

We were STARVING by the time we got to the hotel (about 8:30), the Hotel California St Germain, recommended by my former boss, Louis Laulhere.  He knows Sophie, the proprietor, who we still have not met - she'll be here in the morning.  It's tiny, with small narrow hallways and a small room with little twin beds pushed together, but we have a view of Notre Dame Cathedral from our window!  It is clean and comfy with a contemporary bath.  George at the desk suggests two restaurants nearby that he says will be kind to us non-French speaking foreigners.  We chose Le Petite Prince just around the corner.  Very dark and eclectically decorated, but cozy and warm.  We have three courses from a two course prix fixe menu, our first small faux pas.  It says 'OR' dessert, not 'and' dessert, so we pay a bit more than we planned.  We have appetizers of escargot and pasta and tartine (open faced baked sandwich) with goat cheese, eggplant and red bell peppers. So good!  Our entrees, my sea bass wrapped in fresh bacon with apricots and a honey red wine sauce and Ariana's pork with mushrooms, bacon and red wine were delicious, served with pasta with cheesy cream sauce and potato gratinee and a basket of baguette.  My first mistake is eating about 6 pieces of baguette.  As someone who rarely eats white bread, I knew I was going over the line, but didn't care. We also have a half bottle of Cote du Rhone Villages - lovely. For dessert we have tarte tatine, an "upside down" hot apple tart with caramel ice cream and a chocolate straw, then we also order Creme Brûlée.  The server puts it down in front of us, then lights it on fire!  It caramelized itself!  I've never seen that before.  The man at the table next to us calls it a "three alarm dessert."  Very memorable for our first meal in Paris.  By the time we walk a block back to the hotel, the food settles in and I am so full I think I will die.  I never thought I'd eat again, but of course, by breakfast time this morning, I'm starving.  The hotel serves breakfast and it's included in our room charge, so we go to the little basement cafe - 9:15 by the time we were ready to leave the room.  They have everything one could want - eggs (weird and grainy, don't know why), fresh ham and two cheeses, salami, hot sausages, croissants, chocolate croissants, bread for toast, granola and corn flakes, yogurt, fruit, etc.  Wonderful.  No one has brewed decaf here - I make do with instant.

We leave the hotel and head up to Luxembourg Gardens, a few blocks from here.  Absolutely gorgeous - thousands of tulips and other beautiful flowers and trees.  Lots of people out for a run and many young children playing in the park areas. It's raining steadily.  By the time we leave, my jeans are wet in the area below my raincoat sand above my boots.  We walk to the nearby Pantheon, formerly the church of St Genivieve, now dedicated to the heroes of the country.  Victor Hugo is entombed there along Voltaire and other distinguished past citizens - statesmen, generals and senators.   They have an amazing pendulum in the center under the main dome, so we learn all about that.  From there, we walk to a crepe place Au P'tit Grec that was recommended by one of Ariana's friends.  We ordered one savory (cheese and mushroom with lettuce, tomato and onions) crepe and one sweet (chocolate Grand Marnier).  Amazing!  Ariana said I looked like a little kid with chocolate all over my hands and face and I felt like one - what a wonderful simple delight eating something so amazing is!  I couldn't stop smiling. We left and got about 1/4 mi away when I did stop smiling real quick.  I reached for my iPhone to take a photo and it was not in my pocket.  I panicked and realized I heard a noise beside our table at the crepery.  I had dropped it while we were eating lunch.  We doubled back, running and walking as fast as possible and went straight to the table where we'd been sitting.  A lovely man there said my phone was behind the counter, where the owner retrieved it for me.  I praised God and asked him to bless the person who turned it in - it would've been a disaster to be without my phone for the rest of the trip.  I was so grateful that someone honest found my phone.

Cookies on Ile St Louis

Notre Dame Gargoyle

We headed on to Notre Dame Cathedral, checking out all the unbelievably beautiful shops along the way.  We entered the cathedral with hundreds of others and walked around the inside.  You're asked to remain silent while doing so.  People were not silent, but were pretty quiet.  It's huge and gorgeous, so much stained glass. We went outside to climb to the top, for which you have to pay, touring the chapel itself was free.  We waited for more than half an hour in freezing wind and rain and nearly gave up, but I wanted to see the gargoyles close up so badly.  It was worth the wait!  We climbed 383 stairs (give or take couple - if Stan Schwarz reads this, please don't hold me to that!)  and took photos from several levels and in the bell tower.  Incredible views of the city with the ominous sky as a backdrop.  We left there and walked to Ile St Louis, a chic little enclave of shops and restaurants to the area north of St Germain. We stopped at lovely little shops and stores and had a snack of Bertillion ice cream (suggested as the best in Paris - it was wonderful!) and enjoyed all the colorful windows filled with pastries and confections.  We went to an area to catch the Metro full of amazing patisseries - we walked through and soaked up the beauty of the sweet creations filling the counters and cases.  We sat out another heavy rain under a heat lamp at Nectarine, where we had coffee and shared a rich, thick hot chocolate.  Soooo perfect! We walked back along a narrow sidewalk to catch the metro to the Sacre Coeur and it began to rain steadily.  I hate having my hood up, but my hair was already so wrecked, I put it up and just as I did, an awning under which we passed gave up it's stash of rainwater - right on my head and Ariana's!  We screamed and laughed - it was seconds after we put our hoods up.  We got wet but not drenched, thankfully.  We went into some high-end shoe and clothing shops to check out the local fashions.

Sacre Coeur

On we went to the Sacre Coeur, the sacred heart, the highest point in the city.  The Pope has said mass there.  We chalked up another 294 stairs.  Smaller chapel, but beautiful altar and the surrounding area had lots of shops and store fronts to peer into.  We had a coffee and soaked up some sun when it came out brightly around 6:00.  From there we meandered to a cafe where Ariana had eaten in October - Chez Francis La Butte.  They didn't serve meals until 8:00, so we sat and had wine and pommes frittes and a jar of pork pate served by our rockstar waiter, Adrien.  He was very pleasant and was serving the entire restaurant himself.  We were surrounded by smokers and I can still smell smoke on myself - I was fine for most of the evening, but started to wear down towards the end.  Hard to adjust to after living in CA - Scotland was the same - smokers everywhere!!!  Anyway, for dinner we had steak tartare with fresh ginger (fantastic!) and a very good chicken brochette, which Adrien dropped on his first attempt to serve it.  We shared the tartare while we waited for them to redo it, so it was not an issue.  We were too full for dessert, so we went across the street and picked up an opera cake (my favorite from my LA Vie en Rose days) which we brought back to the hotel to eat.  It wasn't nearly as good as La Vie's - guess we'll have to try some at another patisserie tomorrow!

Getting to Know Edinburgh

Blog Part Two: Edinburgh

After getting off the bus, we walk to Ariana’s flat from the bridge.  Lots and lots of old buildings, narrow streets, narrow sidewalks, much different from what we’re used to at home.  She warns me not to walk too close to the street – so many buses.  If they get too close to the curb, you can get hit by the side mirrors extending out over the sidewalk.  Since they drive on the “wrong side” you can’t see them coming behind you.  I LOVE the buses here – so cool!  

It’s raining, but not hard, gray and cold.  I can see my breath.  We wind our way up the hill.  It’s hard to cross the streets with confidence in not being struck, the cars come from a direction different than you expect.  I joke that she may have to get me a leash. We get to her flat and I unpack a bit.  She has one small room, modern, cute, with a sink.  There are three individual toilets in the hallway.  I unpack and give her presies from home.  By now, I can barely keep my eyes open and I ask if she minds terribly if I take a nap for about an hour.   I konk out for two hours.  I feel pretty good when I wake up so we head out to dinner.   We go to a nearby tavern called the Albanach.   She’s already told me the house specialty here is Balmoral Chicken – chicken breast stuffed with haggis with whisky sauce.  I’m in.  She orders venison sausage with black pudding (blood sausage).  The sausages arrive swimming in sauce, but are very tasty, as is the pudding.  The chicken is delicious.  We were going to share, but she’s happier with the venison, I with the chicken.  We were too full to have dessert, so we head home. 

Friday promises to be a busy day.  We head out first thing on a three mile trek to Leith, a colorful area of Edinburgh, to tour the HMS Britannia, the Queen’s yacht.  It was decommissioned in 1997 and has been docked there as a tourist attraction since.  We stop first for breakfast at The Edinburgh Larder – Ariana has a Groupon for brekkie there.  She orders porridge (oatmeal) and I have a freshly baked scone with homemade jam – just as delicious as it sounds.  Her oats were terrific, so creamy - they load them up with goodies like nuts and sultana’s (raisins) here.   The shop is displayed with every type of pie, pastry and salad.   It all looks so good!

Back on towards Leith.   Ariana points out many interesting buildings, shops, etc.  The city is huge, she says about 400,000 people.  Lots of hustle and bustle. Before setting off, I went to get my sunglasses.  She says there’s “no way possible” I’ll need sunglasses, so of course, now the skies clear and the sun and blue sky are blindingly bright.   It becomes a joke – I didn’t touch them until this morning – didn’t want to jinx the lovely weather.  We get to Leith and tour the yacht.  It’s only three years older than I am and looks pretty darn dated – a bit disconcerting!  They fold their dinner napkins similar to the The Anaheim White House!

Ariana had made reservations for us at Kitchin, a Michelin star restaurant in Leith owned by Chef Tom Kitchin.  They have a £26 three-course lunch menu that looks terrific, so we go there after the tour.  The service is impeccable, the restaurant contemporary and lovely – fresh peonies on every table.

They bring us crudités to start then a petite cup of chicken consume with grapes and apples sliced paper thin.  We get a basket with 4 kinds of bread – sourdough, tomato, seeded whole grain and a dense whole grain roll.  Ariana orders carpaccio of octopus as a starter, lamb for main course and lemon soufflé with lemon poppy seed sorbet for dessert.  I have rabbit kidneys, duck breast and duck egg custard tart with rhubarb sorbet.  Everything was fresh and wonderful.   There were two gnocchi with my rabbit – so light and fluffy, I don’t understand how they did it.  Ariana’s octopus was so fresh and citrusy, amazing!  The tart was served atop a bed of paper-thin rhubarb.  Someone in that kitchen does one heck of a lot of slicing on a mandolin.  Fabulous meal.

We decide to bus it back to town.  We’ve been invited to Sally and Jeremy Jameson’s for dinner tonight.  They “adopted” a university student, Ariana, for dinner back in January.  They got on so well, they told her to bring me for dinner one night during my visit.  We stop into Artisan Coffee on the way back to buy some coffee beans to take as a hostess gift.  I’m wishing I’d have thought to bring an extra bag of California almonds with me.  We’re due there at 7:30, so I catch a quick 30 minute nap.  I’m not exhausted, just a bit dim-witted, not quite yet adjusted to living 8 hours into the future.  We walk to Abercromby Street, a very nice area of Edinburgh, to the Jameson’s home and arrive right on time.  Jeremy greets us, he’s just as I expected, a sweet elderly Scotsman.  Sally on the other hand is a very in-charge, domineering woman whose father was a dean of the Medical School in Edinburgh back in his day.  She offers us a drink and nuts and cheese crisps in the sitting room.  After a bit we move into the kitchen where she serves a beautiful salmon with a chive cream sauce, fresh green beans and tiny new potatoes for dinner.   Everything is lovely – my new favorite word for all things Scottish!  The potatoes are so light and fluffy, I guess that’s the secret to the gnocchi I’d had earlier – Scottish potatoes!  We have apple crumble and crème fraiche and pouring crème for dessert, then a cheese board with blue, white cheddar and camembert with oat cakes and rye crisps.  So very, very good!  We move back to the sitting room for coffee and conversation.  They’re fascinated by the upcoming US presidential election and were dying to know what I thought, as well as my opinion on the US economy.  We left well after 11:00  and headed back home.  It was drizzly, so we popped into a pub to cap off my forst day in the ‘burgh.  The Tass was pleasant ands not so packed as many of them on a Friday night.   I had a very good whisky called Skyeburn, Ariana has a locally brewed beer.   I noticed ‘Penn State Pretzels’ on the menu, so googled them when I got home.  They’re named for the birthplace of pretzels, not the University.  Or so it says….

Royal Botanical Gardens

Saturday we did a walking tour of the ‘burgh.  Ariana tallied 10.7 miles for the day. We walked to Grass Market below the castle, up to the castle, the Royal Botanical Gardens,
then to Calton Hill, and finally after to
Arthur’s Seat high above the city. That trek was 3.85 miles alone. It was a killer hike up, especially near the top, and the way back down was tedious.  We were passed by a guy running full speed back down – if he’d have been going a bit slower, I would’ve told him he was a great candidate for the crazy sport of stair climbing!

View from Calton Hill 

Anyway, we managed to eat some great food that day, with very little guilt since we walked so far.  For breakfast, we shared a pear, almond and Sultana porridge from the Porridge truck at market, then an Angus beef sausage sandwich (so good) also at market.  On the way back from the Gardens, we ate at Moo Cafeteria – had “bubble & squeak” and a pumpkin, beet and feta salad – wonderful. We stopped and picked up two cupcakes to take home from Cuckoo’s, a chocolate dipped one, “The Big Dipper” and a gluten-free lemon raspberry. The chocolate one did not survive the trip home, we saved the other for later in the day.  For dinner, after the hike, we headed to The Assembly near the University and had fish & chips and Ariana had fajitas.  Afterwards, we went to Holyrood 9a for my first sticky toffee pudding. A very light textured molasses cake with dark, dark toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream.  Soooooooo yummy!  I tried another Scotch, Monkey Shoulder, which was okay, but not as good as the one I’d had on Friday.  We went back to Roxburgh Place and crashed after our busy day exploring the city.

Glasgow

Sunday we took the 9 am train to Glasgow.  We went to our sister church, C7, in Glasgow.   Small with very friendly people, a young church, mostly students.  Afterwards, Lucy and Ericka and Ariana and I went to the Grosvenor (pronounced without the ‘s’), which was formerly a theatre, a neat place with fun food – the two of us shared 3 ‘small plates’ – lamb meatballs, eggplant and hummus dip with flatbread and a frittata.  We walked around Glasgow after, it was lovely and sunny and warm.  We explored a high-end supermarket where we got some chocolate bars and bacon flavored potato chips  (yummy, but don’t think I could eat them on a regular basis – thankfully!) for the return trip.  We got back at 5:00 and headed to church at 6:00.  C7 meets Sunday evenings in Edinburgh at a bar called The Three Sisters.  It was an intimate but energetic service with Lucy leading worship and Ericka running the show, so I felt very much at home. Jodi, the head pastor’s wife, spoke on “Awakening” – a terrific message.   I nearly nodded off during the prayer at the end, still fighting the time change!  I met her afterwards to pass on greetings from Jonathan and Di at Newport Church.   She was lovely.  I invited her to come to Newport soon.   I got to meet Zoey, who had hosted Ariana for Christmas, and so many of her other friends.  Really nice.  After, we headed to Prezzo, a restaurant downtown that Ariana had a discount coupon for.  One of the coolest restaurants I’ve ever seen – gorgeous and sleek, very contemporary, but very warm and welcoming.   If only the service had been. I think the server just arrived from Italy – she was clueless.  We shared an Alderwood smoked salmon salad and a prawn/salmon risotto.  Both fine, nothing exceptional. We decided to bale to a different Italian place for dessert. Ariana had been there before and said the gelato was homemade and fantastic, but the woman behind the counter with no hair was very mean.  She was right on both counts!   We got terse, one-word responses to our questions about the food, but decided on a slice of chocolate cake with strawberry mascarpone gelato.  To die for good – we almost licked the pate clean.  Great place for dessert, I could’ve eaten about three times what I did.  Good thing I have no Scottish money of my own!

I wrote this on the way to Paris.  I'm beyond excited to be here..... 

Europe Trip 2012

Getting out of town:  I love going places but hate travel!  It takes so much effort to get my house and things at work in order to feel good about going away.  I was so anxious the week before leaving that I lost a pound and a half from nervous energy.   Wednesday morning, the day I left, I ran errands trying to get a few last minute things done.  I had to do laundry, make my bed with fresh linens (my landlady is staying at the house with the dogs), pick up a Rx and withdraw cash from my bank to deposit in Ariana's B of A account.  She is providing cash from her Scottish account so I don't have to pay fees to convert dollars to pounds.  I've been making regular deposits - my little vacation fund.  I also need to get her a Sprinkles Cupcake.   I have no desire to lug a cupcake 5,000 miles, but she really, really wants one.  I reluctantly head out after 11 am.  I'm supposed to leave for LAX at noon - have to be there 2 hours before my 3:40 flight - this is going to be close.  When I get to Sprinkles, I ask the girls if they can put in some extra tissue paper since I'm taking the cupcake to my daughter in Scotland, at which I begin to cry!  I get very emotional when I'm stressed, and I am stressed.  I text Ariana later in the day and joke that I can never go back to Sprinkles again...

I get back to the house at 11:54, still not having been to BofA.   I'll do it on my way to Jenny's.   Jenny, a friend from church, will follow me to Ginny's, a friend from high school, in Long Beach, then take me to LAX.   Ginny will keep my car and pick me up from LAX.  I already have my big bag in the car so just have to run in to grab everything else, including a container of yogurt that I'd had a couple bites of since I didn't have time to eat anything and an iced coffee made to use up my leftover morning coffee.  I toss my things together and say a quick good bye to the dogs.  I've been dreading it so much, so hard to leave them with a stranger, especially when they don't understand why you're leaving.  I speed off to B of A at 12:14, running really late.  I realize two blocks from the house that I've left my coffee and yogurt on the table.  Too bad, you're not going back, I tell myself.   I think about it for a sec and call Jenny to see if she can meet me in Long Beach instead of her following me there from Costa Mesa.  She says yes.  I'm so relieved, I buy a few minutes.  I make the deposit and head back home to grab my yogurt to eat in the car.  Jovi is on the couch, so I give her another quick squeeze, but Toby was already hiding under my bedcovers, so he missed out.  Finally, I'm on my way!

I get to LAX at 1:38.  My flight leaves at 3:40, so the timing is perfect.  The woman who checks me in at British Airways suggests that I hang out outside of security since I have another 45 minutes or so before I have to go through.  This is all news to me - the last international flight I took was to Costa Rica in 2003.  I go to the rest room then to McDonald's and get a bottled water. I sit in a lounge and drink it along with the first mini-bottle of courage, er, vodka, I packed to help me sleep on the flight.  I brought five with me - it's an overnight flight - I really need to sleep!  A very nice middle eastern family, dad, son and daughter sit beside me and we start to talk.  They ask where I'm going, and I start crying again. Oh, my. They're very sweet - he's there to pick up his other son, whom he has not seen in six years, so he is sympathetic.   I text Ariana for a bit, then head for security.  

Security isn't too bad until I pass through the metal detector.  I'm fine, but then a bell rings.  She tells me to step off to the side.  I ask if I should take off my rings and she says, "No, you've been randomly selected".

Before I ask, "For what?" a younger woman comes and swabs my hands.  I think to myself, this can't possibly be for gunpowder, so as she pops the swab into this hi-tech looking machine, I ask, "What is this for?"  When she answers, "Explosives," I burst out laughing, and, thankfully, she laugh, too.  She says, "You're clean," and I say, "I guess so!!!" and we both laugh again.  Seriously.   

Upon boarding, I'm really surprised at how crowded the seats are and how very little leg room there is.  I had expected more of a 777.  A couple who had been beside me on the jetway had deep croupy coughs and, of course, they are seated next to me.  I'm not normally a germophobe, but really do not want to get sick on my first trip to Europe.  Within a few minutes, she tells me they'd been sick for a couple of weeks, but have a lingering cough and are not contagious, so not to worry.  I am relieved.  One of their sons lives in Newport and his wife works at Ensign Middle School, so we end up talking quite a bit.  The flight is fully booked.  We take off right on time.  British Airways service was efficient, but not over friendly by any means. I drink lots of water, and both women who served me seemed peeved, even though I tell them so each time I ask for more water.  I begin asking for two glasses at a time because I don't want them to make extra trips.  It's a 9 1/2 hour flight - what can I say?  One would think they'd fill the dang glass up the whole way or just give me a bottle.  I get a vodka and tomato juice (no charge for alcohol!) when they offer a drink and have another of my mini-bottles within the first hour.  I watch the movie "Hugo" - absolutely wonderful.  If you haven't seen it yet, do so!!!   They serve a very nice meal.  I have chicken with mushrooms in a delicious sauce, served with rice, which I do not eat, nor do I eat the roll.  I do, however, eat the chocolate swirl cheesecake slice and ask for another vodka, which the attendant does not want to have to go get for me, so I settle for a small bottle of merlot.  I am delighted to see that it is Laboure Roi, an excellent label which I'm familiar with from my restaurant days.   After clearing, they ask people to close the window shades to darken the plane and get passengers ready for sleep.  I pop in my ear buds and put on music and try my best to doze off, but it's so uncomfortable! My pillow keeps sliding down the plastic and going beside my seat.  I try wrapping it in my blanket, but it's no use.  The seat barely reclines.  I eventually try to bend over and rest my head on the tray table, but there's not enough room. I try one more mini-bottle around midnight or so.  By this time, two kids are screaming so loud that my music doesn't drown them out.   I give up and end up trying to just relax and rest my eyes.

They had told us we'd get a continental breakfast an hour and a half before landing.  I have already eaten an apple that I brought along and a small granola bar.  Breakfast consists of a "Lunchables" type box with a puffy blueberry muffin, a small dense raisin/whole grain bar, drinkable yogurt, a lifesaver and mini box of raisins.  I do the yogurt and whole grain "cookie".  Both are tasty, and I get some decaf, so I'm good.  The flight has been very smooth and is an hour shorter than the posted flight time of ten and a half hours, with almost no turbulence.  I'm a very happy traveller other than not having had any sleep in almost 24 hours.  

London Heathrow airport is hell on earth. Security is intense, pre-Olympics.  I don't even want to review it here, suffice it to say, I feel like a cow on the way to slaughter.  After surviving an interminable number of queues, I have to wait and wait for them to post the gate for my flight.  Less than 20 minutes before boarding closes, it finally comes up.  I get to the gate only to be told the flight is "slightly delayed".  I got a good seat assignment on this flight.  I could've been in the first row, but chose a 3rd row window seat.  When I finally get aboard, there's a woman on the aisle and a gray-haired Rastafarian dude in the center seat.  The Airbus is much roomier, but they both have to move to let me in.  This flight is sold out as well. We take off about 15 minutes late.   The seats are more comfy and recline more, so I plan on leaning back and resting for the 55 minute flight to Edinburgh.  They offer beverages right away, so I wait and ask for water.  They give me a small snack, too - a bag of mixed crackers and pretzels, which I normally would not eat, but I'm hungry.   The Rasta guy gets something different and we both wonder aloud why and what it is. He's having trouble ripping the wrapper open, so we try different methods and when he does get it open, there's another wrapper inside!  He empties it onto the tray table and we realize he's gotten two small chocolate bars. He offers me one. I agree to give him my remaining crackers in exchange.   We make small talk and he says he's a musician going to play in Edinburgh.  He asks if I'd like to come to his concert Friday night.  I tell him thanks, but I already have plans (I do...).  I figure I am not much into his style of music, anyway.   We begin talking about that.  I finally ask his name, and when he tells me,  "they call me Billy Ocean", I bury my head in my hands - I am so embarrassed not to have recognized him!  I loved Caribbean Queen, had his "cassette" (Google that word if you're under 25 and don't know what I'm talking about....) and have always loved the story of how that song rose to #1 twenty-five years or so ago.  He seems to appreciate that I recognize him and we yak the rest of the flight.

I ask for a pic with him and his manager takes some photos that are overexposed. I tell him they won't do since everyone knows Billy Ocean isn't white and they all crack up.  The other guy traveling with him takes two better photos, considering I look like crap.    

He gives me a kiss on both cheeks and we leave the plane.  I see him posing for photos with someone in the terminal. He's so much tinier in person - never pictured him being so slight.  Or with white hair for that matter!  I exit the airport and go to the Airlink bus that Ariana had emailed me a ticket for and head into Edinburgh.  It's raining slightly, gray and overcast, but the 30 minute trip into town is great - so much beautiful scenery.  A couple of very loud female students (from the US, of course) are telling two young guys everything we see along the way, so I learn a lot.   I am trying to text Ariana with my phone on airplane mode, but can't figure out how to send it.  I don't know how she'll find me, but she had told me not to worry if I couldn't send a text - she said she'd track my flights.  We finally get to Waverly Station, and the driver stops on a bridge to let us out.  I had thought we'd be getting dropped off at a station, so I'm  confused and don't know where to go when I exit.  I turn around to try to figure it out, and see my beautiful daughter standing on the sidewalk.  I gasp, I'm so surprised and happy to see her.  She had only been waiting for a little while but asks why I hadn't turned on the wireless on my phone.  I had forgotten all about having to do that.  I am so very happy to finally be in Scotland with my darling kid!