Éire Excursion

We recently made our first weekend trip via plane to Ireland. We learned a fair share about the Republic of Ireland such as Éire being the official name of Ireland in Gaelic. We stayed near St. Stephen's Green- a beautiful park in the center of Dublin, that is filled with people having picnics and just relaxing throughout the day. We walked all around Dublin, exploring the main shopping streets, Trinity College, and Temple Bar area. Overall we had amazing weather and a great time.



One excursion we (okay Nils) have been looking forward to is going to the original Guinness Brewery. Thanks to a great tip from friends, we booked the tour on line. For anyone else interested in taking the tour, you need to do this to avoid waiting in any of the lines. The tour was actually very informative and unique, especially the advertising area. Nils lost his concentration in the testing room, so he had to sample the test batch twice. The Guinness definitely is better from the source, and the view from the observation deck is the best in Dublin.

We wanted to explore the greater Dublin area in order to get a taste of the uniqueness of the country. We took the DART (yes, they borrowed the idea from BART) out to Howth, which is a fun little fishing village on the north side of Dublin Bay. We were lucky to go when the market was open, and of course we had to try the local pastries.


Random fact: The island behind the boat in the bottom picture is named Ireland's Eye, where Vikings had built watch towers.

A Day Full of Sports!

On February 3rd the Sorensons had a fun filled day of sports! Esther was generous enough to take me to the Fulham football game. My first football game here- how exciting! It was such a good game; Nils even watched it at our local pub and Esther and I had a great time cheering them on!

After the game it was time for Nils, Esther and I to host our first annual Superbowl party in the UK. The pre game started at 9pm and the game around 11pm. Jammies were totally acceptable! We had tons of delicious food and wonderful company. Nils and I finally turned in at 3:30am- we are truly dedicated Americans!

ssssssssshhhhhhhh.....Surprise!

Anna's 30th Birthday Week (of course it couldn't be constrained to one day or a single weekend) ended with a bang. With the help of many of our new friends via blackberrys, iphones, text messages, and good old fashion keys under the door, we were able to put together a smashing surprise for Anna! She had no idea that a quick stop back by our place after the pub to drop off some things would lead to a house full of people, drinks, and cake!

Though I tried to act like it wasn't a big deal, the most difficult part of the entire planning process involved Anna's repeated demands for her favorite cake and frosting throughout the week. Little did she know it was secretly transported from the U.S. via special courier (our prior roommate Allegra) and then brought to life by a three member baking team (thankfully she didn't head to Partridge's to make it herself, though she suggested it twice).

Thanks again to everyone who helped out and were able to make it. We are sorry everyone back home couldn't be here as well, but click here and see below for more pictures of the special event.

Anna's 30th Birthday in Paris!!

What a birthday! We had an unbelievable trip to Paris and loved every second of it. The Eurostar was great and so easy! Amazing to be in London and a few hours later in Paris! We stayed right off of the Champs Elysees, which was magnificent! They still have the street decorated for the holidays, so it felt quite festive! We once again ate our way through the city- we are getting quite good at that!! Luckily we walked everywhere so felt we deserved the delicious chocolate croissants, cheese, bread, crepes, ice cream.... We went to fun dinners, one of which was on top of the Pompidou and had a view of the entire city. We finished off the trip with a trip to the Eiffel Tower and the Musee d'Orsay. Once we were home Sunday night we couldn't believe we had been on the Eiffel Tower earlier that day. This is quite an experience, to say the least!!!


Then, on Monday, my actual birthday, my London friends took me to high tea- it was so sweet of them and made my birthday very special! And then to top off the perfect 30th birthday, Allegra is in town for the week! What a TREAT!! So after Nils and Allegra worked all day they took me out to dinner and a pub quiz. You know how we love games! Needless to say we lost due to the fact that the first round was general British knowledge. Dan and Esther came and helped us in the last few rounds, but the damage had already been done. It was a the perfect way to enter the next decade!!!

Pastry School

It's official, I finally started pastry school! And... I love it!!! It is very hard work and definitely not glamorous, but the end product makes it worth it! It has only been two days, but I have already learned so much! Here is a picture of my first project- it is puff pastry with poached pears and almond creme.


Close up- notice my fanned poached pears. :)

I have met incredible people from all over the world. This is such an amazing experience and I am so thankful for it!! Today as I was walking home, I finally felt that I was a part of London!

**In the future, I will post my creations on Anna's Patisserie Adventure (see link on the side bar). I wish I could send all of you at home some of the pastries I am making!

Our Trip Home

Happy New Year!

We realize we may have lost many loyal readers since we haven't written in quite some time, but we hope you will rejoin us in our adventure!

Our trip to California was amazing! We had a great time with all of our family and friends! We started off in our old neighborhood in San Francisco, (thanks Allegra!) where we were able to see many of our good friends. It was great to back and so fun to stroll on our favourite streets (note British spelling). We then spent some time visiting family, celebrating Nils' mom's birthday, and enjoying the food and restaurants we have been missing i.e. Villa Corona, P.F. Changs, Our the Door, Nicks Crispy Tacos, Chipotle... why not eat out when it is half the cost? :) 

We were then off to San Diego where we ate loads of Mexican food and frozen yogurt, and wore flip flops every chance we got. Christmas in paradise! We went to our friends' wedding (congrats Austin and Margaret), spent time with family and friends (and niece, baby Emma), and celebrated Anna's mom's 60th birthday! It was all so much fun! The day we left it was 75 degrees and beautiful, and when we landed it was 0 degrees (Celsius). It made coming back hard, but we are looking forward to the next part of our adventure. 

Stay tuned for many more posts this month- up next Anna starts cooking school and our trip to Paris.

Guest Post

Have cranberry, will travel!
Chile . . London for Thanksgiving? Not a problem, let’s go . . .

Annie and I had the opportunity to catch up with Anna and Nils in their new digs in London for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. We packed an extra bag and brought cranberry sauce, dressing, gravy, table cloths, napkins and a desire to bring our own traditions to London with them as they started their Big Adventure in the land of Big Ben. We wandered around in the rain and cold, undaunted, but dressed like we were in the Alps during the heart of winter ~ certainly standing out as tourists in London.
We visited a variety of places as we traveled by tube (always minding the gap), foot and taxi to Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, Primrose Hill, Camden Town, Harrods with the mobs, St Paul’s, the Tate Modern, The London Eye, The Millennium Bridge and the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. We saw Wicked in the West End, took in a movie and wandered the local neighborhoods and then enjoyed the streets, sounds, schools of little kids in their uniforms, markets and restaurants. We had dinner in an Indian restaurant with the singing fans of the Croatian football team as they prepared to beat the local English lads which we watched in the local pub that dripped in major national disappointment as they self destructed in their own goal.

Thanksgiving rolled around and Megan showed up to join us for our trekking, rounded up some of her friends and then Anna and Nils, along with Megan and Annie, set to cooking the 5lb, $90 turkey and all the fixings – we could have fed our regular family size gathering with all the wonderful dishes that were produced. It was great ~ the food was wonderful, having most of the family together for Thanksgiving was a treat.
Anna, Nils, Jackson and Nessie have found a wonderful new home for themselves, were very generous in their hospitality and we certainly enjoyed having the opportunity to see the lives they have created for themselves. The trip ended all too soon and we are booking our next visit already!
Cherrio (if they say such a thing anymore?) and Chao