London Calling

Matt and I recently returned from a lovely week and a half across the pond. He received a grant to do research in the British National Archives and British Library (both in London) for his dissertation work, which was why we were there. I tagged along for the tourist-ing opportunity! We were tied to London because of the research, except for the the day trip we took to Bath to give Matt a break from the archives (and because John Jay went there). And we had a great trip, both research-wise and tourist-wise! And not bad culinarily, either. Since we were not really on vacation, we tried to keep our food costs down, but we did splurge occasionally on some delicious delicacies that I have to share!

This is at Logan Airport in Boston - who knew Big Ben was in Boston this whole time???

The Original Maids of Honor

The original Maid of Honor

We tried these tasty little delights when Matt was working at the British National Archives, which are near Kew Gardens. The Gardens house Kew Palace, a favorite country estate of the royals for years (no longer in use), and a particular favorite of crazy King George III. The Gardens are lovely - there are quite a few large greenhouses with plants from around the world, as well as a treetop trail you can walk above the trees (not good if you have a fear of heights, like the guy in front of us), and you can even take a tour of the Palace and adjoining Kitchen (a separate building). Across the street from the Gardens is a little bakery that sells the original Maids of Honor.

Yum!

The story goes that before King George III, nearby Richmond Palace was a favorite of Henry VIII.  One day, Henry VIII came upon Anne Boleyn and her maids eating these delicate pastries along with their tea and was so enamored with them that he imprisoned the maid who had made them and demanded that she make them solely for him and his household. Apparently he also demanded the recipe and kept it under lock and key. By the 18th century, the recipe had been leaked and the tarts were the hit of high society. Around that time, this bakery opened up, purporting to make (and sell) the Maids of Honor made from the original recipe (which they claim is a secret, but you can find here). They are basically small tarts with a croissant-like bottom topped with an almond-y custard, and are best served warm. We ate them at room temperature and they were still really good.

Matt ponders the Original Maid of Honor

Sally Lunn Bun

Sally Lunn bun with cinnamon sugar

This is a Bath tradition! Sally was a Huguenot refuge who came to Bath and started selling these brioche-like buns to passersby. Her kitchen has been transformed into a museum with creepy period-dressed mannequins, and the upstairs of the house is now a restaurant specializing in Sally Lunn buns. Since they are so big (the diameter of a bun is probably about six inches), they are usually split in half width-wise and can be served with either sweet or savory toppings. We had a cinnamon-sugar toasted bun with our afternoon coffee - the perfect afternoon pick-me-up!

Champagne afternoon tea

Tea sandwiches for a Birthday Matt!

We celebrated Matt's birthday while in London, and for a birthday treat we went to a champagne afternoon tea at a fancy hotel near Hyde Park. It started with picking a tea (I had a lavender Earl Grey that was delicious), and then we were served champagne and a variety of open faced tea sandwiches (cucumber, smoked salmon, egg salad, ham, and shrimp - I traded Matt my ham for his cucumber). 

The Tower of London

Then a tower of deliciousness was brought to our table. At the bottom of the tower were warm scones  (plain and with raisins) with a very strawberry-y strawberry jam, clotted cream (a British staple - seems like a cross between butter and cream to me), and a chocolate spread (yum).  Did I mention they were warm? And that the strawberry jam was full of chunks of fruit? mmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Next was an assortment of mini cupcakes, with icing as tall as the cake itself! They were good, but kind of sugar overkill (although, so was the whole experience...) and my general feelings on cupcakes are kind of 'meh', and I feel like once you've had one chocolate cupcake, you kind of know what they all taste like. Which is not to say that I didn't eat them, because you know I did. The top layer were all treats in tribute to the Rolling Stones, who were playing in Hyde Park that week, and were placed on top of a fully edible chocolate stand dusted in edible glitter. Anyway, we were a little dessert-ed out by the time we reached the top layer - I'm not sure how anyone could actually finish the tower! Even with more people - there was a table of four next to us, and they got two towers!

Tower Bridge at night (leading to the real Tower of London)