Parks in Springtime

This week the weather has been too nice to stay inside. So I met up with some friends for a picnic lunch at St James's Park and a walk through Green Park. London is especially beautiful in the springtime when the trees begin to bloom.

Even though it is in the heart of the city, St James's Park is very peaceful. It is the oldest of the Royal Parks and is surrounded by three palaces: Westminster (now the Houses of Parliament), St James's Palace, and Buckingham Palace. 

St James's Park has been featured in several movies over the years including the live action 101 Dalmatians. The dog owners take their dalmatians for a walk through St James's Park and end up falling in love and into the park lake. 

So many Londoners and tourists were enjoying the park and the beautiful weather. We saw people feeding ducks, eating lunch, reading under the trees, and of course, photographing the beautiful flowers. 

Buckingham Palace is in between St James's Park and Green Park. Below is a photo of the palace gates with Green Park behind. 

Green Park is different from the other Royal Parks because it does not have any flowers or lakes. I heard a very interesting (but untrue) story explaining why. Charles II's wife found out that he went to visit his mistress and picked some flowers for her as he walked through Green Park. She demanded that all the flowers be removed at once and no beautiful thing ever be planted there again. 

In actuality, Green Park was used as a burial grounds of lepers from the nearby St James's Hospital and digging in the park is forbidden as to not disturb the many shallow graves. Plus, Charles II was upfront about the fact that there was nothing his wife, Catherine of Braganza, could do to prevent his affairs...so there's that.

Pamela told us a story she heard on her ghost tour about a tree in Green Park. The story was that many people have fallen asleep under a particular tree in Green Park (no one knows with certainty which tree it is) and died with no cause. To make it even spookier, no bird will sing whilst sitting in the branches of this terrible tree of death. 

Tree of death or not, walking through these parks was a great way to spend an afternoon. Even though the winter here was not nearly as bad as the ones in Nebraska, I am really looking forward to enjoying more of this beautiful spring weather.

Sweeney Todd

Last week I had the amazing experience of going to see Sweeney Todd starring Emma Thompson and Bryn Terfel. With only 13 performances the tickets sold out quickly. I had barely moved here when tickets went on sale so I was so excited when my friend Cierra told me she had a spare ticket to the show!

Sweeney Todd was a production through the English National Opera and was performed at The Coliseum near Trafalgar Square. 

The building was absolutely beautiful inside and out. 

The stage was set up with a music stand for each performer. They came out in really fancy attire (not costumes) and started singing from their books. I was really disappointed because I was hoping for more drama and acting rather than just the singing. 

A few lines into the first song Sweeney Todd (Bryn Terfel) threw his book to the side and Mrs Lovett (Emma Thompson) threw her music stand. Then every one joined in trashing the stage including the potted plants, the piano, and their own clothes. They added scenery that looked like graffiti you find on modern day London streets (you can see it a bit in the photo below). 

It was really clever how they acted with very few props and they would even take things from the orchestra as props. One time Mrs Lovett (Emma Thompson) yelled at the bass player to get up so she could use his stool. She was a scene stealer every time she was on the stage. One of the funniest parts was watching her exit the presence of the judge trying to curtsy the whole time. 

I had an absolutely fabulous time and I am so glad to have such amazing friends to invite me along. The singing was amazing (especially Bryn Terfel, a renowned opera singer) and the acting was incredible. 

Cinderella

My friend Pamela arranged tickets for us to see the Cinderella exhibition at Leicester Square a few weeks ago. The exhibition features some costumes and sets from the new live action movie. 

My favourite was right at the entrance where they had original drawings and promotional material from the animated Cinderella in 1950. 

Here we are in one of the rooms in Cinderella's family home (from left to right: Mary with baby Harvey, Kate, me, and Pamela).

This dress, worn by Cinderella's stepmother, (played by Cate Blanchett) was stunning. I haven't seen the movie but this seems like a perfect dress for the stepmother. 

I thought these little mice were adorable. Gus was my favourite character in the animated movie.

I love Helena Bonham Carter so I had to pull myself together when I saw two of her costumes. I love her but I have a hard time imagining her as the fairy godmother. She does an amazing job no matter what so I'm sure she is fabulous in this. 

Swarovski provided over 1.7 million crystals for the costumes including this fairy godmother dress below. 

I really enjoyed the movie stills and the sketches of the costumes. 

The exhibit included over 100 props and 30 original costumes. Here I am in the pumpkin turning into a carriage.

The blue dress worn by Cinderella had over 10,000 crystals on it. It was beautiful but I thought the stepmother's dress was much more striking even without crystals. 

There were several of these very sparkly crystal slippers on display. They had this cute thing at the end where they were taking photos of kids and photoshopping the glass slipper on their foot. To be honest I was bit jealous. 

We all really enjoyed the exhibit and can't wait to see the movie now. 

Geffrye Museum

My friend Kate told me that she really enjoyed her visit to the Geffrye Museum so last weekend I got my friend Lisa to go check it out with me. The museum is free and they have a special exhibit on homelessness that I wanted to see. 

The Geffrye Museum began as a museum dedicated to the East End furniture trade but the focus has evolved into the history of the home. It is also known as the museum of the middle class because it features rooms from homes of the middle classes throughout different time periods. The museum is set in the former almshouses of the Ironmongers' company which was built in 1714. 

The museum shows how both the home itself has changed but also how the concept of a home and social behaviours of families have changed throughout the past 400 years. This Hall (1630) would have been used for dining, recreation, entertaining, business, and childcare. 

This drawing room from the 1830s had the most amazing carpet. It is based on a terraced house in Clapham, south London. This room would have been used mostly by female family members for leisurely reading, painting, or playing music. 

This fireplace is from a drawing room in 1890 when people wanted to express a cultivated and artistic style. Central heating and televisions have made it so fireplaces are no longer the focal point of the room as it was here. It is a shame because the tile around this fireplace is beautiful.

This 1965 living room is modelled after a typical town-house in Highgate, north London. As with most living rooms today it is set up for homework, watching television, eating, and entertaining. 

The Geffrye Museum has a display on homelessness in the Victorian Era right now until mid-July. The exhibit was pretty good but was a lot smaller than I expected. I was also disappointed that there wasn't more information and photos about workhouses.

The exhibit said that children were often depicted in artwork and photographs because people were much more sympathetic toward homeless children than adults. 

"The Pinch of Poverty" by Thomas Benjamin Kennington in 1891

Below is a photo from meal time at a workhouse in 1900. Men and women were separated, even if they were from the same family. 

This wooden doll is dressed like an elderly workhouse inmate and was given to a member of the workhouse staff as a gift. 

Wooden boxes like these were provided by the Salvation Army as a bed. After crawling in one myself I can say that it was really uncomfortable and terribly small. The exhibit said that since these boxes would be set up in groups it became a very social atmosphere as you can see from the photo in the background. 

There were several maps throughout the exhibit showing where workhouses and hostels for the homeless were located throughout London. Two of those hostels are still in use today, serving as a reminder that homelessness is still prevalent today. 

British Sweets

I've been tracking down some of the most iconic British sweets in order to do a massive taste test. I convinced my friends, Cierra and Lisa, to help me with this task so it wouldn't be just my opinions. 

Liquorice Allsorts--a variety of liquorice sweets

Pink with liquorice in the center (the pink part had coconut) 

Lisa: "The pink disguises the liquorice which I'm into."

Cierra: "It's not terrible."

Liquorice man

Rachael: "Surprisingly chewy."

Lisa: "Less terrible."

Cierra: "I typically think of black liquorice as tough."

Roll with white center

Rachael: "Not a fan of that!"

Lisa: "This is how I expected them all to be."

Yellow with liquorice in the center

Lisa: "A sub par version of one that was already in there."

Cierra: "Not as good as the pink one."

Liquorice Allsorts

Solid black flower shaped roll

Lisa: "I strongly dislike this."

Orange stack

Lisa: "It is like an orange starburst."

Cierra: "Too orangey."

Brown stack

Cierra: "If you are going to have chocolate don't put it with black liquorice."

White stack (not pictured)

Lisa: "Like a marshmallow in between."

White and yellow stack

Lisa: "Why?!"

Liquorice Allsorts Overall

Rachael: "Not as terrible as I expected, but still not good." 1 Star

Lisa: "There isn't a situation dire enough sweets-wise where I would stoop to this level." 1/2 Star

Cierra: "If it was sitting there, I wouldn't eat it." 1/2 Star

Sherbet Fountain--a sweet, fizzy powder with a long piece of liquorice to dip (it should be noted that sherbet in the UK is always a fizzy powder, never a type of frozen dessert)

Rachael: "As a child I would have loved this." 1 Star

Lisa: "It reminds me of the foamy stuff they use at the dentist." 1 Star

Cierra: "Not a good flavour. Tastes like slightly sweetened baking soda." 1 Star

The inside of a Sherbet Fountain

Jammy Dodgers--a shortbread cookie filled with strawberry jam

Rachael: "Not the best shortbread I've eaten." 1 Star

Lisa: "Not the best jam I've had." 2 Stars

Pear Drops--a type of hard candy, voted 14th most popular sweet in the UK in 2009

Pear Drops

Rachael: "I would eat this if I had a sore throat." 2 Stars

Lisa: "Tastes like overripe bananas!" 1/2 Star

Cierra: "Tastes like the hard candy my great-grandma had in a crystal dish." 1 Star

Bounty--coconut filling with milk chocolate coating

Rachael: "I wish it had an almond on top. The chocolate and coconut is better than an Almond Joy, though." 3 Stars

Lisa: "I would eat a whole lot of these." 4 Stars

Ceirra: "These are actually one of my favourite candies." 5 Stars

Bounty

Roast Beef Monster Munch--a baked corn snack, often referred to as "Monster Munchies" (on the back of the package it says, "Suitable for vegetarians and monsters")

Rachael: "Not nearly as bad as I expected. I'm not going to lie, Warren and I will probably finish off this bag later." 3 Stars

Lisa: "Tastes like the flavouring on Bold Chex Mix. If I was at a party and feeling pretty bad about myself I might consider soothing myself with these." 3 1/2 Stars 

Cierra: "I would not buy them, I wouldn't eat them at a party. But they are better than I thought. I would prefer this if it was covered in cheese." 2 3/4 Stars

Roast Beef Monster Munch

Brighton Rock--a hard candy in stick form, similar to a candy cane. Typically found in coastal towns and has the name of the town going through the middle of the candy

Rachael: "This tastes old. It is probably better fresh." 2 Stars

Lisa: "I don't know what it is supposed to taste like, but probably not this." 2 Stars

Curly Wurly--a chocolate coated caramel bar (these typically only cost 20p each!)

Rachael: "It tastes like the caramel from a Twix bar!" 5 Stars

Lisa: "I plan to buy this." 5 Stars

Cierra: "It would be delicious melted in hot chocolate." 4 Stars

Curly Wurly

Fruit Salad--a type of raspberry and pineapple flavoured chew

Rachael: "This is the worst thing I've ever eaten." 0 Stars

Lisa: "It is like the worst parts of bubble gum and Laffy Taffy." 1/2 Star

Cierra: "I didn't expect it to taste this bad because of how good it smelled." 0 Stars

Jelly Babies--a soft jelly candy covered in a fine powdered sugar. In the 1960s fans of The Beatles would throw them at the band after they found out George Harrison liked eating them. 

Rachael: "Terrible." 1 Star

Lisa: "I dislike it less than Rachael led me to believe." 2 Stars

Cierra: "I wouldn't eat it again." 2 Stars

Jelly Babies

Fruit Pastilles--round, jelly like candies coated in sugar

Lisa: "These taste medicinal. The strawberry is the least worst of a bad bunch." 1 Star

Cierra: "Tastes like a bad version of sour Skittles." 2 Stars

Fruit Pastilles

Wine Gums--Chewy candies similar to a gum drop but without the sugar coating. Even though they have names of wine on them they contain no alcohol.

Rachael: "I don't mind them." 2 Stars

Lisa: "They don't taste like anything. They are different colours but I'm not getting any different taste." 1 1/2 Stars

Cierra: "Just tastes like gummy sugar." 2 Stars

Wine Gums

Pickled Onion Monster Munch

Pickled Onion Flavour Monster Munch

Rachael: "It is so vinegary. My mouth hurts." 0 Stars
Lisa: "How did they get that through testing?" 0 Stars
Cierra: "Why would someone do that?" 0 Stars

Aero--aerated chocolate bar

Rachael: "The chocolate is not a good quality." 2 1/2 Stars

Cierra: "I don't think it is that bad." 3 Stars

Aero

Flake--bar made up of thinly folded milk chocolate. It is really popular here to put half a Flake bar in soft serve ice cream cone which is called a "99". 

Rachael: "Why is this so terrible? And impossible to eat!" 2 Stars

Lisa: "Tasted like Christmas chocolate 2 months later." 2 Stars

Cierra: "It tastes like old chocolate. It is really chalky. Why do people make bad chocolate?" 2 Stars

Flake

Wham Bar--thin, chewy taffy with sherbet bits 

Lisa: "It's not an enjoyable experience. Tasted like overripe fruit...it keeps getting worse!" 1/2 Star

Cierra: "I do not care for this. I appreciate the sour bit, though." 2 Stars

Cierra with a Wham Bar tongue

Chocolate Buttons--drops of chocolate (we tried milk and white chocolate)

Rachael: "I prefer the white chocolate ones." 4 Stars

Cierra: "The only downfall is that it isn't dark chocolate." 3 1/2 Stars

Milk chocolate Giant Buttons and regular sized white chocolate Buttons

Starburst--until 1998 Starburst were called Opal Fruits in the UK. The flavours here are: Lemon/Lime, Strawberry, Blackcurrant, and Orange.

Rachael: "I don't like these very much, but I love Starburst back home." 3 Stars
Lisa: "These flavours are sub par. I wish they had kept just plain lemon instead of lemon/lime and that the strawberry was in a pink wrapper instead of red." 3 Stars (but 4 Stars in the US)
Cierra: "I prefer the US flavours but I like the green one here. I will eat the blackcurrant." 3 1/2 Stars

UK Starburst

Crunchie--honeycomb toffee covered in milk chocolate

Rachael: "I love the honeycomb." 5 Stars
Lisa: "Very sweet. Much sweeter than a normal chocolate bar." 4 Stars

Inside a Crunchie Bar

Double Decker--a layer of crispy cereal and a layer of chewy nougat covered in milk chocolate

Rachael: "I love me a Double Decker!" 5 Stars
Lisa: "If someone gave this to me, I would be genuinely happy." 4 1/2 Stars
Cierra: "I would mail these to my family." 4 Stars

Inside view of a Double Decker

Maltesers--malted milk balls

Rachael: "Much better than Whoppers." 4 Stars
Cierra: "This is the best of British candy." 4 1/2 Stars

Maltesers

Jaffa Cakes--small sponge cakes with orange jelly in the centre, then covered in chocolate

Rachael: "I love these!" 4 Stars
Lisa: "I'm eating two. I'm into it." Then later..."This is my third Jaffa cake. I feel slightly sick but this is delicious." 4 1/2 Stars
Cierra: "I've had better Jaffa Cake products but this one is still good." 3 Stars

We had a great time tasting so many different iconic British candies but in the end most of them were not very good. But the ones that are good are insanely good. 

I apologise in advance to fans of British sweets but I think Cierra summed it up best: "There is a reason why so many American candies are popular here."