Spicy mixed seafood and tofu claypot – Jun Ming Xuan

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Spicy mixed seafood and tofu claypot - Jun Ming Xuan
Calamari, shrimp, scallop, white fish, fried tofu, mushroom, cabbage, chilies, green onions. £12.80
Jun Ming Xuan Chinese Restaurant, London ENGLAND

This was pretty good and there was plenty of it! I liked that they used fried tofu instead of fresh tofu because I prefer the texture. There was also a nice helping of seafood in there. I just wish the dish was a little spicier!

Tower of London, Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress
Tower of London, Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress. Home to the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, this historic castle is a very popular tourist attraction. We didn’t want to wait in line and, instead, opted to be outside to enjoy the much welcomed sun that day. I’m not crazy about the weird lion statues they installed in front of the fortress. They look out of place.

Dark chocolate and chilli petite – Starbucks

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Dark chocolate and chilli petite - Starbucks
A chilli infused, fudgey, dark Belgian chocolate torte with a smooth dark chocolate ganache topped with dried chillis. Contains nuts, vegetarian. 170 calories, 4.9 g sat fat. Buy 3 or more, Eat in £1.20 each
Starbucks, London ENGLAND

This was my favorite of three bars I tried because it was the least sweet! It had a great chocolate and chilli flavor and I enjoyed the dense, fudgey texture.

St. Paul's Cathedral, Statue of Saint Paul

St. Paul’s Cathedral, Statue of Saint Paul. We approached the cathedral from the back side where it’s actually green and quaint as opposed to the stark, cement area in front of it. We walked inside for a little bit and it’s absolutely beautiful! The stained glass windows and large organs are amazing!

Vanilla soft ice cream – Josef Ice Cream Van

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Vanilla soft ice cream - Josef Ice Cream Van

Callestick Farm Cornish dairy soft ice cream served with a chocolate stick. Small £2.30
Josef Ice Cream Van, London ENGLAND

The day got surprisingly warm so we took an ice cream break at the Joseph Ice Cream Van parked along the Tower of London. The soft serve ice cream was SUPER airy and whippy! The chocolate stick was odd in that it’s really a compressed chocolate ribbon making it light and crumbly. Ahhh, just what we needed!

Demetrius and Tristen, Tower Bridge
Demetrius and Tristen bask in the sunshine along the River Thames on our way to Tower Bridge.

Tower Bridge, London
Tower Bridge south suspension. A beautiful and easily accessible bridge – no wonder this iconic bridge is SO popular with us tourists! There are tours that take you up one tower, across the walkway, and down the other tower. Didn’t do it this trip but it sounds fun!

Fried shrimp chips – Jun Ming Xuan

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Fried shrimp chips - Jun Ming Xuan
Prawn flavored crackers for the table. Complimentary
Jun Ming Xuan Chinese Restaurant, London ENGLAND

Also called krupuk, these crispy airy chips are addicting! I love the subtle shrimp flavor and the melt-in-your-mouth texture. I’ve never fried these myself at home, but I think I’d prefer to save the time and energy and buy them premade!

The Monument to the Great Fire of London

The Monument to the Great Fire of London. We walked up the 311 steps of this Roman Doric column that commemorates the Great Fire of 1666 located in the financial area of London. It’s the tallest isolated stone column in the world and the panoramic views from the top are pretty amazing!

Strawberry shortcake petite – Starbucks

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Strawberry shortcake petite - Starbucks
A vibrant fruity strawberry shortcake topped with yogurt and strawberry pieces. 207 calories, 6.3 g sat fat. Buy 3 or more, Eat in £1.20 each
Starbucks, London ENGLAND

It’s a little bit odd that Starbucks in England charges you more if you’re going to eat the food in store. I guess we’re just not used to that in the States. It’s usually built into the price already. This bar was, again, super sweet! Probably my least favorite of the bars I tried.

London Eye, Millennium Wheel, River Thames
London Eye, Millennium Wheel, River Thames. This is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe and the tallest structure in London. It’s a bit of an eyesore but I think it’s pretty cool anyway. I snapped this pic from the Hungerford Bridge and you can see the Palace of Westminster on the right bank of the river.

Pork ribs in Mandarin sauce – Jun Ming Xuan

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Pork ribs in Mandarin sauce - Jun Ming Xuan
Fried pork spareribs in a tangy sweet sauce. £5.80
Jun Ming Xuan Chinese Restaurant, London ENGLAND

Mmm, these were really good! I loved the flavor of the Mandarin sauce and its sticky consistency. I’m a sucker for ribs, noms!

Buckingham Palace during Changing of the Guard
Buckingham Palace during Changing of the Guard. Wow, this place is an absolute madhouse during this ceremony and unless your next to the inner fence you really can’t see much! I would say it’s kinda cool, but I wouldn’t waste my time waiting on future visits.

Salted caramel pecan bar petite – Starbucks

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Salted caramel pecan bar petite - Starbucks
Salted caramel, pecan and biscuit filling on a chewy biscuit base topped with milk Belgian chocolate and pecan pieces. Contains nuts, vegetarian. 248 calories, 4.1 g sat fat. Buy 3 or more, Eat in £1.20 each
Starbucks, London ENGLAND

We don’t have these petite bars available at U.S. Starbucks which is totally lame! The Starbucks in Europe have such better pastries, desserts, and food in general than those in the States. This was a little sweet for my taste but definitely delicious. I can’t believe they can pack almost 250 calories into this tiny morsel!

Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, London 2012 Olympics Countdown Clock
Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, London 2012 Olympics Countdown Clock. The fountains in the square are also pretty cool and they have sea-themed statues in the middle like this one with mermen and dolphins.

Fish and chips – The Lord Moon of the Mall

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Fish and chips - The Lord Moon of the Mall
Battered fillet of sustainable cod, chips, tartare sauce and garden peas. £5.99
The Lord Moon of the Mall, London ENGLAND

Who says British food is gross and flavorless?! I HAD to try their fish and chips and it tasted great! The fish was nicely fried and the batter had a good flavour (hehe). The fries were crisp on the outside and pillowy on the insde and I definitely prefer garden peas to mushy peas.

The Lord Moon of the Mall dining room
Perhaps this painting is of the Lord Moon of the Mall? Lol, prolly not but the dining area is quite cozy and busy! So there aren’t any servers that come to your table to take your food order. You have to go to the bar to order and then expeditors bring out your food when it’s ready.

The Lord Moon of the Mall interior
I love the high ceiling and large windows in the dining room. This was our first full day in London and the weather was horrible – it was cold and rainy!

Big Ben, Elizabeth Tower, Palace of Westminster

Big Ben, Elizabeth Tower, Palace of Westminster. It was a gloomy day but that didn’t prevent us from walking around London like crazy people trying to fit everything in. It’s pretty amazing how ornately decorated this Clock Tower is.

Pouring the perfect pint – A trip to the Guinness Storehouse

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Guinness pints
Our pints of Guinness at various stages of pouring. Mine is the second from the right, a beautiful sight! Lol. Sláinte!

Discounted entrance which included a pint of Guinness €14.50
Guinness Storehouse, Dublin IRELAND

The Guinness Storehouse is purported to be Ireland’s number one visitor attraction, and somehow I believe it. To jumpstart our first full day in Dublin and kick off my friend Kryan’s pre-birthday celebration, we took public transit to this brewery/museum/beer haven! It’s housed in an old historic brick building, but the interior is quite clean, beautiful and spacious.

9000 year Guinness lease
The central atrium is actually the world’s largest pint glass! Well, shaped like one anyway. If it were filled with Guinness, the seven story tall atrium would hold 14.3 million pints! At the bottom of the atrium, displayed beneath glass, is the 9000 year lease that founder Arthur Guinness signed in 1759 on the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin.

Harvesting barley
The self-guided tour takes you through multimedia displays that explain the brewing process used to make Guinness stout. This projected video shows the harvesting of barley, one of the four natural ingredients used in brewing.

Guinness experience waterfall
A long sheet of water cascades through the middle of one room. The displays are both interesting and interactive.

Chronology of Guinness
Chronology of Guinness. Among the artifacts used in the brewery process are displays like this one which recount the historical events that shaped this global brand.

Brewing tank copper lid from 1936

Copper lid from 1936 which was probably from one of their many brewing tanks.

Old copper brewing tanks
Old copper brewing tanks/vats. Weave in and out among these large tanks, some of which have been converted to video viewing rooms.

The Guinness Academy pouring station
The Guinness Academy pouring station on the 4th floor. We decided to redeem our free pints while learning how to pour the Perfect Pint. This bar/classroom was really cool! They had 4 or 5 of these stations where groups would learn the craft of pouring pints from a Guinness Ambassador (yeah, kinda cheesy but we’re on vacay, ya’ll).

Kryan volunteers to pour
Of course my friend Kryan volunteered to help demonstrate how to pour the Perfect Pint. Well I guess he was the pre-birthday boy! I was a little disappointed that our Ambassador was from Michigan, what!? I would have preferred a native Irishman so I could listen to his cute accent but Michigan-guy was actually really nice and super informative. Some things I learned (which Kryan knew btw): Guinness is a ruby red color, pouring Guinness is a two-step process with waiting involved, aim for the harp when pouring the first round, it matters whether you pull or push the beer tap handle, etc.

David pours Guinness
My other friend David takes his turn to pour with guidance from our Michigan Ambassador.

Untitled
After pouring our Perfect Pints, we grabbed a table and happily consumed all 198 calories each, lol! We even got cute certificates declaring us pouring experts.

Gravity Bar views
Gravity Bar sits at the top floor of the Guinness Storehouse and offers 360 degree views of Dublin! It’s a fun relaxed space where seating can become scarce, but everyone seems a little jollier with their pints in front of them.

Kryan and his Guinness pint

Kryan recounts his hour of glory as the Guinness Ambassador’s assistant. Sláinte, männliche schlampe! Love you, mean it!

David, Kryan, and Tristen
My travel buddies David, Kryan, and Tristen!

Rainy Dublin
Even the rain couldn’t put a damper on our Irish adventure!

Susan Boyle sighting

And our Guinness Storehouse Experience was topped off with a Susan Boyle sighting, OMG! This lady is tiny! We saw her walk by our table and we had just decided to follow her and ask for a quick photo when a group of feral students mobbed her, ruuude! That’s ok because the following day good ‘ole Suze followed us onto our Dublin Bus Tour. What a stalker, right!?