Food – zellerfest

I’m Ruined for Life, all Thanks to Paris

Published on September 8, 2015 by alikzeller1 Comment

You know that moment when you realize you’ve been ruined? You see/eat/do/feel something so amazing and perfect you know you can never go back to where you came from? In one day in Paris (on Day 2, specifically), I had three very specific things ruined for me:

Macaroons
Cheese
Bread

For a little backstory: since we’re terrible at picking out food, but fantastic at eating, we planned for a “Food Tour of Paris” for our first full day. I decided that we needed someone to tell us what to eat and where to find it. We booked through Secret Food Tours and chose the Montmartre neighborhood tour.

Our group for the tour was small, a family of four from Boston and a couple from Melbourne who were on their honeymoon. Our tour guide was a true Parisian lady, who made us feel like she was just a friend showing us around her neighborhood. She knew all the shopkeepers and they all knew her and thus were very friendly to us tourists.

We walked for about two hours, stopping at a macaroon shop, a chocolate shop, a bread bakery, a cheese shop, a pastry and dessert bakery, a butcher and a wine store. At the macaroon stop we were allowed to sample, but the other places our guide made purchases (for our picnic) and we were taught how to order in that type of establishment, what the symbols mean on signs and labels (so that you know what you’re ordering and whether it’ll be good).

At the end of the walk we posted up in a park for a picnic to eat it all. It was glorious. A couple of the boys on the tour were picky eaters and didn’t like wine… thankfully I was there to pick up their slack.

This was clearly a hard day to get through.

Ahh Paris….

London Like a Local … I Think

Published on August 7, 2015August 7, 2015 by alikzeller1 Comment

In Washington, calling someone a “tourist” is not a compliment, so when in foreign lands we try to “blend in” with our surroundings – because, heaven forbid someone think we don’t belong there. I do extensive research pre-trip on what to wear and what neighborhood to stay in so that we aren’t surrounded by food traps and wearing clothing that screams, “I don’t know where I am right now!”

Visiting friends in London was going to take care of some of this hard work for us (outside of the wardrobe department). Phil and Jonathan were tasked with steering us into the right direction for authentic food and experiences, and they did not disappoint – especially in the food department).

Night One we had fish and chips from a “proper chippery” – which translates to “a good place for fried fish and fries.” The place was a hole in the wall but the fish itself was as flaky, warm, buttery and crisp as can be. As all food should be, really.

Observation: Local Londoners are not shy to the outdoors. We visited a handful of parks and gardens around town, which were surprisingly full of people since it was cold and rainy. People jogging, visiting the zoo, picnicking … I tried my best to pretend the rain wasn’t bothering me and I didn’t need more layers to warm up. I could totally be from here, guys.

These lush gardens grow on buckets of rain and no sunshine. Impressed.

When doing my extensive research on how to blend-in with the Londoners, I failed in the wardrobe department. In both practicality (shorts, tank tops, sandals) and style. My understanding was that the local style was more Boden, and in actuality it was more Urban Outfitters.

To help me out, Phil and Jonathan took us to Brick Lane – which is just an awesome mess of a place. I felt like a true world traveler. It was underground, it was loud and it was dirty. TRULY something only the locals are into. #SUCCESS

What else do Londoners do … drink! And, Kyle couldn’t resist a bar named “The Craft Beer Co.” (imagine the beers he could check-in on Untapped). We spent a lovely afternoon warming up under a tent, next to the heater and with our pints. These men, who were short on teeth and true Brits, drank theirs out in the open with cigarettes. I really didn’t fit in here after all …

Cheers!

Doing it Right: Tea Time on a Yacht

Published on July 14, 2015July 12, 2015 by alikzellerLeave a comment

Our good friends Phil and Jonathan have spent a year across the pond and we couldn’t pass the opportunity to visit them (we’ve really missed them in DC) and of course take advantage of a free place to stay.

Going into London we naïvely had no worries or concerns. They speak English, we knew things would be expensive and they do tea in the afternoon – what more did we need to Google-search before we went? We also knew our priorities for the visit would be simple: spend time with friends, ride a double-decker bus and drink tea with small sandwiches as a snack. OH and enjoy traditional pub fare. Live like the locals, right?

We were also pretty confident in our word-traveling-chops. Having flown across the ocean before, we knew not to make the same mistakes and arrive either exhausted (as we did in Italy, 2013) or hungover (as we did in Copenhagen, 2014). This plane ride we limited ourselves to exactly one movie and one glass of wine. It was sadly uneventful but we did arrive somewhat ready for a day of touristing.

Thank god, too. The Tube line we needed to take to get to Wimbledon was down when we arrived so we quickly needed to figure out the bus system. The bus we needed was a double decker (!!) – check that one off the list! We were also on a time-crunch as Phil told us we were doing tea on a yacht and needed to meet Jonathan on the boat by a very specific time.

I was NOT going to miss this yacht-tea-event. Unfortunately the bus took for-freaking-ever to get around town. After about 30 minutes of weaving around narrow London streets I had had about enough of my double-decker experience and was ready to move on to the next item on my list. A few Dramamine pills later we were walking the streets of Wimbledon (note: it’s a neighborhood AND a tennis facility) on our way to the apartment.

Heading to the yacht, Kyle and I were panicked. We were definitely running about 10 minutes late and the assumption was that Jonathan was about to sail off for tea-time without us.

And you know what they say about assumptions … it turns out the yacht doesn’t actually sail.

Also, as you can tell from the photos, tea time in London is properly amazing. A perfect way to start this #ZellerTrip!

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