Kotor

One day we took a bus from Dubrovnik to Kotor, Montenegro. Throughout its history, Kotor has been under the rule of Romans, Venetians, Ottomans, Habsburgs, Napoleon, and was part of Yugoslavia before Montenegro gained independence. 

One of the most well known sights in Kotor is the city walls. The construction for these walls began in the 9th century and they have been restored several times since their completion. 

When we got to the entrance of the city walls we were greeted by this sweet calico kitten who walked all the way up to the church with us, meowing the entire time. She would pause sometimes (mostly to lick herself) but she would come running to catch up when I would call out to her. 

I was sad when she stayed at the church as we moved up higher to see the fortress. As we made our way back down the path I was surprised to see that she had waited for us at the church for 45 minutes! She came jumping out of the bushes and went right back to her spot walking alongside us. She was the sweetest kitten!

Kotor was very small so it didn't take long to see the important sights plus almost all of the beautiful marbled lanes. Kotor is a great little town, so I'm glad that we popped over for the day.

Dubrovnik

This Thursday marks Warren's and my tenth wedding anniversary. We thought we'd take a special trip to southeast Europe to celebrate. We started in Dubrovnik, a well preserved walled city in Croatia. In the summer, Dubrovnik is a bustling resort town but we practically had the city to ourselves since it is the off season. 

The weather was beautiful our last day in Dubrovnik so we took the opportunity to walk the city walls. It includes sixteen towers, several forts, and amazing views of the city on one side and the clear blue water on the other.

Croatia is across the Adriatic Sea from Italy so the food seemed similar to Italian food, which I was happy to see. The best meal I had was this spaghetti with shrimp at one of the few restaurants still open during the off season. It was amazing! I accidentally forgot to let Warren try it because it was so delicious. 

Sponza Palace currently holds the city archives, with documents dating back to 1022. It was built between 1516 and 1522 and was not damaged by the earthquake in 1667 that destroyed most of Dubrovnik's buildings. 

The city bell tower was built in 1444 and is located in Luza Square, a market area at the time. The bell tower has two clocks, one is a traditional face clock and the other was added in the 20th century and is unlike anything I've seen before. It has roman numerals for the hour and regular numbers for the minutes, but it only changes every five minutes. So the time is inaccurate every four minutes out of five.

Inside the old city walls Dubrovnik is pedestrian only which made for an easy weekend of wandering. We didn't have to worry about which side of the street we were on or getting lost as everything we wanted to see was contained inside those walls. This is truly one place where the city is the site. 

I was really impressed with Dubrovnik and am pleased we started our trip in this beautiful city. I know it isn't an authentic look at Croatian life but the city is picturesque and a great starting point to many other worthwhile destinations in this part of Europe. Now, off to the next!

Charles Dickens Museum

Last week my mother-in-law and I visited the Charles Dickens Museum. It is located in the only remaining London home of Dickens (the house where he was born in Portsmouth is also still standing). 

The house is set up how it would have looked when Dickens lived there, including very minimal lighting which made it hard to read the descriptions of some of the objects. 

The kitchen area in the basement looked as if food items had just been delivered. There was also a copper pot for washing laundry that would have also been used to boil puddings at Christmas, a detail Dickens mentioned in A Christmas Carol when he writes, "...while the two young Cratchits hustled Tiny Tim, and bore him off into the wash-house, that he might hear the pudding singing in the copper."

The rooms on the main floor focused on Dickens love of entertaining and especially how he would do readings and act out stories from his books. The dinner table was set up with names and descriptions of his friends and frequent dinner invitees. 

Upstairs in the nursery were items from Dickens' youth and the years he spent working at a young age. The photo below shows a grille from Marshalsea Debtors Prison where Charles's father, mother, and siblings were imprisoned in 1824. 

While his family was in Marshalsea, the 12 year old Charles Dickens worked at Warren's Blacking Factory near Charing Cross in London. He would work ten hour days putting labels on jars of boot polish. Charles's mother forced him to continue working at the factory even after his father's release from prison because the family's financial situation was still dire. 

The museum also had a pantry window about the size of the one Bill Sikes had Oliver Twist crawl through during the robbery of the country house. It was so tiny, I see why he needed a small young person to fit through.

The museum featured a special exhibit on Dickens last and unfinished novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. I'd never heard of this novel before but now I am very curious about reading it (it is a free download on iBooks). The crime novelist Patricia Cornwall even wrote her own ending to this unsolved mystery. 

Both Nadine and I really enjoyed exploring the Charles Dickens Museum. It was interesting to find out more about the life of the man who created so many characters that have been a part of my life for many years. 

Chester and North Wales

Warren's mom came for a visit so last weekend we headed north to Chester, one of the best preserved walled cities in Britain. We were impressed by the Rows (the street featured below) which have two levels of shops with continuous walkways. We liked the covered walkways a lot since it was raining most of the day. 

Just beyond the city walls lies St John the Baptist's church, a building dating back to 1075. The eastern end of the church was abandoned in the 1500s and now stands as ruins of a medieval chapel and choir. 

Since I love touring churches, we also went to Chester Cathedral which was formerly a Benedictine abbey built on the remains of an earlier Saxon church. The cathedral was refinished in the Victorian era but the structure dates back to the 12th century. 

The ceilings are often my favorite part of these magnificent churches, and the Chester Cathedral did not disappoint!

Chester was a really great town to visit. It is small enough that it only took one day to see the sites we were most interested in seeing.  

The next day we took a bus tour of northern Wales and Snowdonia National Park. One of our first stops in Wales was Llandudno. We were visiting on Remembrance Sunday and the weather was bad so the pier was really empty but it was still beautiful and the town had amazing Victorian buildings. 

In Conwy we saw the castle and city walls which were built by Edward I in the 13th century during his conquest of Wales. 

The Conwy town walls are a UNESCO world heritage site and have been described by some historians as one of the most impressive walled circuits in Europe.

Conwy is also home to the smallest house in Great Britain. Our guide told us that the man that lived there was over 6 feet tall and couldn't stand up straight inside the house, which has two floors. And I thought my little London flat was small!

By the time we made it to Snowdonia National Park it was pouring rain. Warren and I still tried to take some photos but sadly none of them turned out and we got absolutely soaked. 

We had a great time in Chester and North Wales despite the downpour. We also ended up staying an unplanned night in Wolverhampton because our train was delayed and we missed our connection to London. But even with all that it was still a great weekend. 

Armistice Day

November 11th is Armistice Day in the UK and Veteran's Day in the US. Here in London there is a marked difference in how this day is commemorated compared to what I remember in Omaha. 

In the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday (the Sunday before November 11th) and Armistice Day, volunteers sell paper poppy lapel pins and other poppy merchandise for the Poppy Appeal (British Legion). 

Starting at 11am on Armistice Day, the entire nation holds two minutes of silence to honor those who gave their lives in World War I, World War II, and all later conflicts. This even extends to London emergency sirens and some even pause their online posting as a way to show respect. 

All over England people wear poppy pins, stores have special signs, taxies and lorries have poppies adorning their car hoods/bonnets showing their support. It is nice to feel a part of a positive movement that brings the country together for a common cause. 

Americans And Their Peanut Butter

I love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, especially with crunchy peanut butter. Peanut butter is something you can find in almost any grocery store in London, but typically just one brand and usually just creamy. So I sort of stopped eating very much peanut butter. Over the last year I kind of forgot about all the peanut butter that is available in America. Peanut Butter & Co make really fancy peanut butters. They have a chocolate one, honey blend, and even cinnamon and raisin.

I'm not even going to go into how many candies America has with chocolate and peanut butter, but I did find this milk inspired by Reese's. I'm pretty sure it is seasonal for Halloween but I bet there would be demand for it year round. 

Peanut butter and jelly is a staple in the American diet. Some companies have even done the hard part for us and combined them already. I saw pre-mixed jars of PB&J, fruit snacks, pop tarts, and frozen pre-made sandwiches, crust removed of course. 

What better way to start your day than with peanut butter cereal? I grew up with Cap'n Crunch's Peanut Butter Crunch as a special treat. That stuff is amazing. 

We also love us some peanut flavored granola and breakfast bars. 

I'm not sure why it took so long for Pop Tarts to start a peanut butter line but I've heard good reviews from friends about these. I've seen the peanut butter ones in the American section at Partridge's in London but they are pretty expensive. Too bad I didn't have room in my suitcase. 

And who could forget about dessert? (Remember that those chocolate and peanut butter Pop Tarts are for breakfast.) I saw several kinds of peanut butter refrigerated cookie dough in addition to regular peanut butter cookies (peanut butter Oreos not pictured). A classic American cookie is a Peanut Butter Kiss, where you bake a peanut butter cookie, then press a Hershey Kiss on top while it is still warm, see bottom right for image. 

If you aren't in the mood for a delicious peanut butter cookie, maybe some ice cream is a good match for you. I found all these varieties in just one store without even trying very hard. It is amazing how much we love our peanut butter!

Pumpkin Spice Overload

This weekend I made a last minute trip back home for a family event and I was excited to see what differences I would notice between Omaha and London from the America side. Since it is autumn I've seen a ton of seasonal foods, but none more than pumpkin spice flavored foods. We do have pumpkin products in London, but it is over the top in America. Pumpkin spice has always been popular but it seems to have seeped into every product imaginable. 

I saw pumpkin egg nog, milk, cookies, baking chips, cake mixes, candy corn, muffins, chocolate bars, and oatmeal. I do like pumpkin so I bought a few things to bring home with me for Thanksgiving later this month.