Chips and Crisps

In Great Britain, 'chips' are actually fries, and 'crisps' are what we in America call chips. 

 

One of the most famous English foods is "Fish and Chips" and you will see shops selling them everywhere.

 

One day we stopped and got some fish and chips to try.

 

The portions that they gave us were really big.  One serving would have been enough for all of us!

 

Deep fried and delicious!

 

We tried several strange flavors of "crisps" while we were there.  English "Flavours" include Roast Chicken, Cheese & Onioin, Smoky Bacon, Cheddar Cheese and Bacon, Shimp Cocktail, and Quavers.  Roast Chicken is a total bust.  (Don't eat them...very bad.)  Cheese and onion wasn't bad.  Smoky Bacon tasted like a campfire.  Cheddar Cheese and Bacon - too much.  Shrimp Cocktail was surprisingly good.  Quavers were kind of like puffy Cheeto things and they were the best!

 

 

Another traditional food we ate was pasties.

 

They are kind of like meat pies except for they look like empanadas.

 

We actually had the best pasties in the world, because they apparently won the World Pasty Championships.  (Bet you didn't know there was a World Pasty Championships.)  Well, now you do!

 

Something that they have in England that they don't have in Germany is Krispy Kreme Donuts.  Kieran thought he had died and gone to heaven.

 

Before.

 

After.

 

On a totally different note, we went to the land of Jane Austen to a city called Bath.  Now, you may ask,  "Why is the city called Bath?"

 

 

And that is because of the Roman Baths that are in the city.  In ancient times the Romans would go here for a nice spa day.  There is a natural hot spring that supplies warm, mineral-rich water for the spa.

 

Later on, the British restored it, and had their own spa days.

 

Bath was kind of a party city. 

 

These Roman statue guys were actually built by the British to make the Baths look more "Roman."

 

The water was kind of...green...and weird.  I don't know if I would want to have my spa day here.  They said the color was because of all the great healthy minerals in the water.

 

You could see the ruins of where they had heat rooms.  The floor would have been on top of these tiles, and hot air from a fire would be pumped into the space under the floor to make it really hot in the room.

 

So the whole city was full of cute little row houses. 

 

 

Just imagine Jane Austen's characters staying here for the season.

 

There was this cool bridge with a bunch of shops all the way along the bridge.

 

A little church in the distance...

 

We went to the Assembly Rooms which is a fancy place where they held all the balls, and they still have weddings or other fancy events there.  Inside there is also a fashion museum.

 

And in part of it, you can try on period clothing.  We got to try on hoop skirts and corsets and big poofy dresses and bonnets.

 

We talked Kieran into getting in on the action.

 

I don't know how we even got my dad to do it!

 

Another English food tradition is "Afternoon Tea."  It's not really lunch, but it's more like a super fancy snack time, served with tea (or hot cocoa!)  We went to the Pump Room, which is a restaurant above the Roman Baths that has been there since Jane Austen's time.

 

It's beautiful inside.

 

They served our food on a little tower tray with finger sandwiches, scones, and a ton of fancy little desserts.

 

Dramatic picture of chandelier.

 

But why, you may ask, do they call it the Pump Room?

 

Because they pump water from the natural springs below the baths and you can drink it here.  Because it's sooooo healthy for you and will cure all your diseases and sicknesses, as long as you drink five liters every day before breakfast.

 

It's not that bad, but I don't think I could drink five liters of it!

 

Next time, stay tuned for Stonehenge!