Missed days 1 & 2 of our trip? You can find them here:

• Europe Trip Summary
• Europe Trip Day 1: London
• Europe Trip Day 2: Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle

We enjoyed a nice Irish breakfast at our hotel before heading out for another full day of sightseeing.

Our first stop was Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. It was closed when we attempted to visit on our first day in London, so we made sure we arrived early to not miss the tour.

The original Globe Theatre burnt down and this one is a replica. They even used old building methods and it has an old thatch roof.

We got to walk around the bottom floor and some of the upper floors of the theatre. I found it quite interesting that they don’t use microphones for any of their performances at the theatre, just like in Shakespeare’s time.

I would have loved to see a play here but we visited during the off season so there were none showing for the public. They did have the theatre set up for a modern day interpretation of Romeo and Juliet for school age kids – to encourage them to get into Shakespeare.

When we left the theatre we took a small detour to get a glimpse of the London Bridge. I assumed it would be sort of amazing since Arizona bought their old one, but nope. It’s just a regular old bridge. I didn’t even take a picture haha.

We crossed over the River Thames and made our way to the Tower of London. I thought it was so neat to see this old castle tower in the middle of such a modern City. It really gives you a sense of the deep history of London.

It was still cold, windy and sprinkling outside when we went into the tower gates, so we ducked in and out of the wall towers and made our way around along the perimeter. I loved getting to walk on the castle walls – It was cool to see what it would be like to use the walls to protect the interior when it’s under attack.

We went into the White Tower which houses the Royal Armories. We felt a little like herded cattle in this part since it was insanely busy and crowded. We had seen a lot of similar artifacts the day before from the Queens private collection at Windsor Castle, so we didn’t spend too much time gazing at all the stuff.

We did however have a little fun in the gift shop area

Next up were the Crown Jewels. I originally wasn’t too excited to see these but once we went in I ended up really loving it – how could I not? There were diamonds and sparkly jewels everywhere!

When we finished up at the Tower of London we popped into a Starbucks to get some tea and a snack. We warmed up a little and looked out onto the Tower Bridge and the River Thames.

The Tower Bridge ended up being a pretty cool sight. We learned about the history of the bridge and a little about how it was built. The views from the top were pretty awesome too. Definitely the coolest bridge in London!

We also went into the old engine rooms – which was actually really cool. They don’t use steam engines to lift the bridge anymore, but those engines were neat to see.

We wandered around a little on the South bank until we found The Old Operating Theatre. It was somewhat hidden and had the tiniest staircase I’ve ever seen (very steep, single file – and only one direction of traffic).

The operating theatre is in the roof space of a church – but it used to be a part of the wing of the hospital. And all of the patients at the operating theatre were women. I can’t explain just how creepy this place was.

The museum was filled with old instruments used for surgeries and operations. Saws…forceps…pretty much anything you can think of.

I had chills the second we walked into the operating theatre. Seeing all the old pictures and logs made it feel a little too real.

The museum space was also full of herbs of every kind. An herb garret provided a second entrance into the ward.

So creepy – yet so cool.

Despite all that we just saw, we were ready for some food! We took the tube over near Piccadilly Circus and decided on some Indian food. Lance and I shared some delicious garlic naan – and each had a curry dish as an entrée. It was just what we needed: delicious, filling and warm.

Next up we hopped onto one of London’s iconic red double decker buses. I immediately climbed straight up the stairs to sit at the top. We cruised down the street and gazed out the windows for a bit.

We hopped off at a random stop then walked around the streets. We stumbled upon Chinatown which was pretty cool.

We also found a phone booth worthy of a photo.

We did a bit of window shopping before we jumped back on the tube to make our way to Kings Cross Station – destination platform 9 3/4

I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan, but I couldn’t resist making the stop to check it out. Harry Potter always brings back so many memories of my days working at the theatre so the quick detour was worth it.

When we got back to our hotel we rested up for a bit before heading back out for a drink. When we got into our lobby we saw that our hotel bar had some live Irish bands playing all night and had some Irish food specials for St. Patrick’s Day. We were sold!

Little did we know, St. Pat’s (yep – that’s what they call it in London!) was pretty popular round these parts. This place was packed!

We grabbed a table and ordered some drinks. A half pint of Guinness for me and an Irish whiskey for Lance. For dinner I decided on Cottage Pie and creamed cabbage. I was skeptical about the creamed cabbage, but holy yum it was good.

After dinner and our pints we went back to the room to pack up our stuff for departure for Paris the next day.

© 2012 The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie | Nicole White

Yesterday I briefly touched on the freakiness that is bottled margarita mix.

Can we really trust something that neon – NEON yellow/green? The answer is no. We most certainly can’t.

While I am sure there are some bottled mixes that are good – nothing beats actually fresh lemon and lime juice. Fresh juice always makes the best drinks…especially margaritas.

There’s one little secret ingredient that makes this mix a winner. Okay…so it’s not very secret but the juice of an orange is what sets this mix apart. You’ll like it – I promise

And the beauty of this margarita mix is that it’s not sweetened, so you can sweeten it as much (or as little) as you’d like – which also makes it perfect for these skinny margaritas.

You can sweeten them with agave, simple syrup or even some honey. You’ve got lots of options.

This recipe makes about 3 1/2 cups of margarita mix, so if you’re only making a couple margaritas or don’t think you’ll use it within a week, then you can halve it or reduce the amounts as needed. It also freezes well, so that’s normally my preferred route – makes a good excuse for margaritas on the fly!

Now it’s time to get your margarita on!

© 2012 The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie | Nicole White

And the countdown begins…

Cinco de Mayo is in less than 2 weeks! You countdown for Cinco de Mayo too, right? I refuse to believe I’m the only one..

We happen to really like Cinco de Mayo. For us it’s a holiday where we can indulge in our favorite Mexican food and drink margaritas.

I’ll be honest though, the margaritas are the best part. But a good one? Those are hard to come by.

Bar margaritas are a big gamble. Most of the time they’re way too sweet, drowning in bottled sour mix, maybe, just maybe, you can taste a splash of tequila in there – and if you’re lucky there’s actually a lime in it. I know you’ve had one of those.

I have definitely had my share of horrible margaritas. But I stumbled upon something genius: the skinny margarita.

Gone are the days of super sweet, pre-made mixes. Skinny margaritas have fresh ingredients and they are full of flavor.

Did I mention that these are really easy to make at home? We’ll show you just how easy in our latest episode of Drink & Dish:

Ari made some yummy Chicken Enchilada Dip, head over to her blog to get the recipe.

And I’m sure you guessed by the name, but they have significantly less calories than your typical margarita (I guess that means you don’t have to feel guilty if you have two )

Start with your favorite tequila. We love blanco tequila in our house and I recently discovered Sauza Blue – Suaza’s new 100% blue agave tequila – and I really really like it. We officially have a new margarita tequila in our house (PS I’m not compensated by them in any way – I just like it!).

Whatever your choice is, just make sure it’s decent quality. You will taste the tequila in these skinny margaritas so make sure it’s got pretty good flavor.

Besides the tequila, you’ll fill your shaker with some homemade margarita mix – I like to use my homemade mix, but a combo of fresh lemon & lime juice will work here also. And we sweeten the whole thing with agave nectar. Agave mixes really into drinks and compliments tequila perfectly.

© 2012 The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie | Nicole White

It’s starting to warm up – which means that grilling season is here!

The other night I was so excited about a new grilling recipe I had created, when all of a sudden Lance came back into the house to inform me that the grill was out of propane. Womp womp. Such is life right? At least that recipe was easy to throw into the oven, but it meant a much later dinner hour than usual.

We are a burger loving household and I like to have fun with different flavors and toppings.

These Asian burgers come out so flavorful and juicy, the cabbage helps keep all that moisture in the burgers – and the wasabi mayo was the perfect spicy complement. If you don’t like your food very spicy, it’s really easy to control in the mayo, so just start with a small amount and taste as you go to get to your desired level. I’m sure there’s plenty of you out there that can handle yours much spicier than I like mine, so add more if you do!

I love to use Tamari soy sauce when I am cooking dishes with Asian flavors. It adds a stronger flavor to the food and in most cases can be swapped out for traditional soy sauce. You can find it in the aisle with regular soy sauce or at specialty markets. If you can’t find it or just don’t want another specialty ingredient laying around the kitchen, you can definitely use regular soy sauce – it’s totally up to you!

These burgers go great with some quick soy sauce stir fried veggies, a side salad or pretty much any easy summer side dish.

© 2012 The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie | Nicole White

From the moment I heard the news I was glued to my phone checking my twitter feed and was constantly refreshing the CNN news page. I was shocked, outraged and utterly heartbroken that this could have happened. And on Marathon Monday of all days – at THE Boston Marathon – a day that is so happy and inspirational for many. At a race that I someday aspire to run.

I sat there at my desk in a teary eyed daze and unable to focus on anything but the tragedy of Boston for the entire afternoon. But then the reports of all the good started to pop up – the pictures and stories of people rushing towards the explosions to help the injured. The marathoners who ran through the finish line and right to the hospital to donate blood for those in need. It’s people like that who bring light and goodness into our society and to the running community. I was glad to see that people were not all forcing blame or pointing fingers, but sharing the kind acts.

There’s been so much positive support from social media in the last 24 hours. I’ve seen campaigns to get out there to run or walk, to change profile pictures to race photos, to wear race shirts – all to support Boston.

When I left work yesterday evening I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to run. I put on my marathon shirt and running shoes, then just ran as hard as I could. I ran faster than I have in months, with no reservations and didn’t hold back. I ran to clear my head. I ran for the victims. I ran for justice. I ran for Boston.

Today I am proud to be wearing my race shirt – to be a runner – to be a marathoner.

© 2012 The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie | Nicole White

I mentioned before that Lance and I aren’t very keen on organized tours. We tend to get a little bored and prefer to do our own thing.

We knew we wanted to see both Stonehenge and Bath while we were in England so after a bit of research I realized a tour was our best bet. It would be less hassle than renting a car and pretty much the cheapest option. I decided on this Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath tour from Evan Evans Tours. Initially I didn’t really care much to see Windsor, but since a lot of the itineraries included it I looked into it and was sold!

The tour left from Victoria Station – which took us a hot minute to find. The tour buses leave from a spot down the street from where the Victoria Station tube stop is. A little confusing but we found it. We grabbed a to-go breakfast on the way – and I also got this bottle of blood orange juice, which was delicious. Blood orange juice seemed to be really common in Europe – too bad that’s not the case here.

We loaded onto our bus and headed straight to Windsor Caste. On the way there our tour guide shared all sorts of historical information with us. Our tour guide was so awesome – he had a wealth of knowledge about pretty much everything related to England. And he was the most adorable old English man ever. I tried to sneak a picture, but this really doesn’t do him justice. Just look at that hat and umbrella.

Windsor Castle is where the queen lives on the weekends – and it’s also where she grew up. Can you imagine living in a place like this?! And I think she was actually there while we were visiting.

We got to walk around the castle grounds…the castle literally has a moat – well used to, they just use it as gardening space now, but it’s cool none the less.

We went inside the State Apartments and got to see some of the treasure of the Royal Collection. Unfortunately we wouldn’t take pictures inside but some of the stuff was so cool. The dining rooms were magnificent – and the china was so cool too.

We also went in and saw Queen Mary’s dollhouse – which was both crazy and creepy at the same time. All the detail that went into the miniatures was really neat but reminded me of the miniature killer on CSI from a few years ago..

We also went walked around in St. Georges Chapel. 10 different monarchs were buried there and has been the site of a few royal weddings.

Before we left I snuck a picture with one of the guards

I also brought home a box of Earl Gray tea (it’s so yummy and has been my new obsession lately). I’m going to pretend this is the Queens favorite tea also haha.

After Windsor Castle we loaded the bus again and made the drive to Stonehenge.

Lance and I were both really excited to see it – and it did not disappoint.

We made our way around the path, stopping for photo’s at almost every angle. The wind was a battle the whole time (sooo cold!) but this was one of the most enchanting places I’ve ever been.

We started with a couple of headsets, but got a little bored with them and ended up just carrying them in our pockets till the end.

There was something about Stonehenge that had this almost spiritual feel too it.  Not to sound like a weirdo but  you could feel that there was something different and magical about this place.

I also snapped a picture (or two) of some sheep. They were so cute just chillin in the fields.

Once we made our way back to the end of the loop it started to rain, so we hurried back onto the bus to warm up a little. Next stop was the City of Bath!

Our guide took straight to the Roman Baths so we could walk around and explore.

A Roman temple was build next to these thermal springs – which have been supplying water for over 2,000 years.

Lance and I were blown away at the size of the baths and the attention to detail. Some parts felt like you were transported back in time.

Many people believed (and still believe) that the springs have healing properties and that the mineral rich water has many health benefits.

Looook at that steam coming off the water. I would have loved to jump in to warm up.

Right before you exit the building there is a place where you can stop and have a glass of the water from the baths – which they purify so it’s drinkable. I was feeling quite adventurous and decided to stop in and have a glass.

Mmmm mineral water

Lance helped me drink about half of it and it honestly wasn’t bad. Most people said it tastes gross, but it really made the experience for me. How could I do to Bath and not drink some of the water?!

We had a little bit of time before we had to get back on the bus so Lance and I popped into a pasty shop and got a couple of traditional English pasties. They were really good! Plus they were nice and warm, which was perfect for our cold and dreary weather.

We spent a little time browsing around Bath. We saw the Pulteney Bridge took a couple pictures in front of the the Bath Abbey.

Then we stopped into The Mad Hatters Tea Party and grabbed some traditional English afternoon tea and some scones with English butter and Jam.

Shortly after Lance and I went in, our tour guide came in behind us to order himself some tea, so I knew we picked a good one. My tea was phenomenal and the scone was excellent as well!

After our long bus ride back to London we decided just to grab dinner at the restaurant in our hotel. I settled on bangers and mash – which was so good. Definitely the perfect meal to round out our fun day.

Stay tuned to hear about Day 3 of our trip!

© 2012 The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie | Nicole White

Phew I’m exhausted from my productive (yet uneventful) weekend. Something came over me and I got a little serious with some cleaning on Sunday. I guess it’s that time of year for Spring cleaning..

Now I know some of you are going to judge me right now, but I ‘m going to be totally frank. I spent hours polishing the hardwood furniture in my house, there’s not a lot of it but it was still a chore. That’s probably normal routine for some of you, but I can’t tell you the last time I did this. I usually just do a quick wipe down to remove dust/dirt/whatever else, but oh no – this time I broke down and actually used fancy wood cleaner. As much as I hate doing it (which I believe stems from having to do it to our household furniture as a child) it looks dang good. It’s like my kitchen table has a new life!

But that’s not all. I started to tackle my master closet. I was shocked at all the weird clothes I found in there. Why the heck was I holding onto a size 3 (T-H-R-E-E) pair of jeans. Uhm those were probably from my late teens (maaaybe early 20’s) and lord knows this bootay isn’t fitting in those again haha. Some of this stuff hadn’t seen the light of day in years – and I had no idea that shoes were even a problem for me, but turns out they are.

So I did a little purging and little organizing. There’s still a lot of chaos but it’s about 24732895734 times better than before.

You know what kind of chaos is good? When it’s in the form of candy. When there’s so much going on that you don’t really know where to begin.

Yep. That’s this bark.

Almond Joy’s and I don’t really have much of a lengthy history. Years ago I stood by my belief that they tasted gross and they were probably my least favorite candy bar choice. Somewhere along the way I fell in love. Now they’ve crashed landed their way pretty close to the top of my candy bar favorites list.

It’s that classic combination of almonds and coconut that just works – so I took it to the next level. The chocolate is spiked ever so slightly with a hint of coconut flavor. Then we load up the bark with the usual suspects: Almond Joy’s, coconut, almond, and some Almond Joy Pieces (the fancy cousin to Reese’s Pieces) to give it some color.

I drizzled a little while chocolate on top, but you could also use some blue colored candy melts to give it a little more color. Once it’s cooled you get to break it apart and dig in!

PS – look at that Almond Joy Piece in top corner of the picture below – doesn’t he look like he’s hanging on for dear life and about to fall at any moment? Haha

Click to grab the recipe for Almond Joy Bark

© 2012 The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie | Nicole White

Today I’m another year older. I sure as heck don’t feel any older – in fact, I still feel like I’m 18.  I’ve officially been an “adult” for 10 years, where the heck does the time go?!?

I do miss things like recess and that lovely 3 month summer vacation from school, but being a grown up isn’t all that bad and has it’s perks – I can stay up as late as I want and refuse to do chores when I don’t feel like it. And drink adult beverages. Really delicious alcoholic beverages like this Boozy Birthday Cake Shake!

We start this puppy off with none other than cake flavored vodka – there’s a ton of brands that make it now so just pick your fav (or try a new one!). Then we add some amaretto for a little depth and hint of almond flavor. That takes care of the booze.

Next up we have our ice cream – just plain vanilla will work here, or if you’re feeling fancy you can use a cake flavored ice cream (like this homemade no cake mix version I shared yesterday) or you could even use some cake batter frozen yogurt.

And then we’ve got the cake mix. I’ve made this a couple different ways so you have some options. You could use some store bought cake mix  – or you could use a homemade cake mix blend (like this homemade funfetti cake mix that Ari made) and add in a splash of butter flavoring/extract (about 1/2 tsp).

After we blend it all up we stir in some sprinkles. In my world sprinkles aren’t really “optional” but if you’re not a fan I guess you could skip it. While drinking my shake I noticed that the sprinkles will slowly start to sink to the bottom, so be sure to use a thick straw to make sure you don’t leave any of those guys behind. And no shake would be complete without a swirl of whipped cream and a generous handful of sprinkles on top.

To celebrate my birthday (okay so Lance’s and Ari’s husband Steve’s birthdays too..) we did a special episode of Drink & Dish all about Funfetti:

You can get Ari’s Funfetti cake mix recipe over on her blog!

If you’re looking for more Funfetti goodness, I have a few other recipes up my sleeve..

This Homemade Funfetti Ice Cream is made with no cake mix! Just a few simple ingredients.

Looking for a crowd pleasing dip? This Funfetti Cake Batter Dip takes 4 ingredients and just minutes to prepare.

Obsession with Oreo’s and funfetti cake? Yeah, me too. Try this Birthday Cake Oreo Bark I made last year for my birthday.

Love froyo like it’s nobody’s business? This {low fat} 3 ingredient Birthday Cake Frozen Yogurt is the perfect answer to your cravings.

© 2012 The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie | Nicole White

This week is my birthday week (hooray!) so I’ve planned an extra special cake/Funfetti/sprinkle filled week for you. Today we’re starting with one of my favorites: Ice cream

Have I ever told you guys that I don’t really like cake? Everyone LOVES cake, but me? Nope, I’ll pass. I find it to be a little dry and too – um how do I put this…cakey. I really like the idea of cake (or rather the flavor of cake) so cake flavored things tend to appeal to me. It’s the best of cake without actually eating it.

With that said, I’m really excited to share today’s recipe with you guys! I made some funfetti ice cream – without cake mix. Ice cream + cake flavor = WIN

It started just as an experiment to see if, in fact, you could make a deliciously cake flavored dessert – without actually using cake mix. Today I’m here to tell you that it CAN be done.

Skeptical?

Psh, don’t be! It’s realll easy, I promise.

It takes one very special ingredient to make it work: butter flavoring

And I’m not talking about that stuff you put all over your popcorn at the movie theatre – Sorry for those of you who didn’t know that isn’t actual butter…it’s definitely artificially butter flavored topping. Ick.

I am talking about butter extract – you know, like the vanilla extract you have in your pantry. That butter extract plus some almond extract makes magical things happen.  Well that and sprinkles. But sprinkles are magical in and of themselves. Especially when you use 3 different kinds of multi-colored ones to top your ice cream

There you have it, a new pantry staple to make all your cake flavored dreams come true. And no more boxed cake mixes.

© 2012 The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie | Nicole White

Our full day of travel began Wednesday morning with a 10am flight from Phoenix to Charlotte. Our Charlotte layover was speedy so we didn’t have much down time. Lance and I made good use of the time to make a few last phone calls/text before boarding our (first ever) transatlantic flight!

Can I start by saying that this plane was huge! And each seat had their own TV screen with a selection of movies, TV shows and music to choose from. It was pretty sweet! Soon after take-off the flight attendants came around with dinner (yay?). Mine wasn’t horrible, but it certainly wasn’t delicious. After a quick bite to eat, it was nap time. We had an overnight flight arriving in London at 6am so we were counting on a few solid hours of sleep to help us get through our first day of sightseeing without a hitch. Based on a recommendation from my sister, I took some melatonin to help I woke up to a lovely airplane breakfast, then Lance and I watched the beginning of Argo before we landed.

After arriving we went through customs, picked our luggage and hopped on the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station. It was easy to navigate, but really crowded – everyone was headed into the City for work, so this made navigating public transportation with luggage a little challenging.

Then we took the Tube (London’s underground system) to our stop and walked to our hotel – which turned out to be about a solid 15 minute walk. When we got there I was immediately impressed by the Crown Moran – the lobby was gorgeous and there was an Irish pub connected to the hotel with live Irish music all weekend for St. Patrick’s day (but more on that later!). We expected to just leave our luggage with the concierge but we lucked out and they had 1 room available for us to check into when we arrived – Yay!

The room and bathroom were much bigger than I expected – and both were super nice. Everything looked like it had been recently updated too. I definitely recommend it if you’re headed to London and want something away from the center of town.

We dropped off our luggage and headed out to see London!

London Sightseeing

First stop was Westminster Abbey.

Coronation ceremonies throughout history have been held at the Abbey and its also used for burials and memorials for some of Brittan’s finest.

The coolest part: It’s also where they hold royal weddings!

The stained glass and vaulted ceilings were so gorgeous – especially with the morning sunlight filtering in.

This is supposedly Britain’s oldest door – it looks pretty good to be the oldest door..but I still thought it was neat!

Afterwards we snapped a few pictures with Big Ben – and got to hear it ring twice while we were nearby.

This picture just doesn’t do it justice – it was huge and had so much detail.  It was pretty impressive for a clock tower if you ask me!

While crossing over the Westminster Bridge we looked back and got some gorgeous views of the House of Parliament.

I was seriously in awe over the size and look of that building. I kept stopping and taking more and more pictures haha.

I realize this is immature, but Lance and I were cracking up at the shadows on the ground from the cut-outs on the bridge…

The Westminster Bridge was pretty cool too – I really liked the light posts (Notice the picture above of me + Big Ben + a light pole haha)

We weren’t quite ready for lunch but couldn’t resist splitting a strawberry + whipped cream waffle when we passed them on our way to the London eye. The waffle was slightly crispy yet fluffy on the inside – a winner in my book!

We grabbed our tickets for the London Eye then jumped aboard. I’m a huge Ferris Wheel fan so I was excited to get up there and get a birds eye view of London.

I loved that you could see all the way round – the views were really spectacular!

After the London Eye we walked along the River Thames then popped into a little cafe to escape the cold and enjoy some afternoon tea (hot chocolate for Lance). After our little break we had our sights set on the Globe Theatre, but arrived to find that it was closed for a school tour/presentation but it would be back open on Saturday to the public. We revised our afternoon plans then crossed the Millennium Bridge – and made our way to St. Paul’s Cathedral.

We spent some time wandering inside the cathedral. The top gallery in the dome was closed while we were there, but we were still able to go up to one of them. The view down to the main floor was pretty cool though!

The next order of business was food! We wandered around a little then decided on a little place off the beaten path (no idea what it was called – oops!). I ordered some fish & chips (with a side of mushy peas) and Lance got the shepherd’s pie. Both turned out to be an excellent first meal in London!

While we were eating we looked over the Pub Crawl in my Frommer’s Day by Day London book and thought it sounded like fun. We picked out a few pubs that were close to where we were (or along our walk back to the Tube). Then we headed out on our London Pub Crawl!

First up was The Black Friar!

I fell in love as soon as we walked in the door. It had a wonderful old world feel and the walls were covered in sculptures and mosaics of monks. My cell phone pics just don’t do it justice.

Lance and I snagged a corner seat (great for people watching!) and sipped on a pint while reading some of the phrases carved above the openings around the pub – “Wisdom is Rare” “Haste is Slow” and “Tomorrow Will be Friday”.

There werea few empty seats when we first arrived, however by the time we left the pub was full of locals stopping in for a pint before heading home after work.

Next up was Punch Tavern:

We sat back and enjoyed a pint of cider while admiring the pubs Victorian charm.

We snacked on some popcorn at Punch Tavern before heading to our next destination:

The Old Bell! This tavern had such a casual and laid back feel to it. It was crowded from the moment we walked it but we managed to grab a few seats in the middle of the action to enjoy our beers.

Our 4th pub crawl stop was at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. This was probably my favorite of all the pubs we went to – and I don’t think I really have to discuss how cool the name is, right?

This place was like a labyrinth. There were rooms at every turn with random stairs that took you even further into the maze.

We found ourselves in the bottom floor and enjoyed our beverages at a huge table in the center. It was definitely the most crowded place we went, but something about the atmosphere was comforting and fun.

I ended up getting this Samuel Smith Organic Apricot Ale – I think it was one of the best things I’ve ever drank! Once we finished up we wandered back through (I only took us on a few wrong turns before Lance took over as navigator) and made our way to the exit.

The last stop for the night was The George.

This was an ideal spot for us to end our pub crawl – to me it had the perfect English feel to it and had a couple comfy tables/chairs to sit and chat at.

We finished off our first night in London with one last (half) pint before heading back to the hotel.

The pub crawl turned out to be one of my favorite things we did together on our trip – each and every pub we visited was so different than what we have here at home and I enjoyed getting to take part in such an iconic English pastime!

And that’s all for day 1 in London! Stay tuned for the rest of the day by day recaps of our trip.

© 2012 The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie | Nicole White