Winning London: Part 1

You might be pretty excited by the title, but I’m not talking about the Mary Kate and Ashley movie from the early 2000’s today. Waah waaahhhh. Although, shout-out to them for making a really great movie, not to mention they were the original fashion icons of my generation. Their outfits during that entire movie were so classy and amazing.

Well, look at me, maybe we will talk a little bit about the movie! Anywho….. I am actually going to take you on a quick trip around beautiful London, England! We are going to hit some of the hotspots, then wrap it up for the day!

Your first stop should 100% be Westminster Abbey. It is an absolutely gorgeous building, inside and out! One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new larger city is look at the cathedrals, because you really get a taste of the incredible architecture. I have rarely seen a cathedral that was disappointing.

Westminster Abbey stands tall in the city, and it’s hard to miss because it really is in the center of everything. I have to hand it to London, most of the major tourist hot-spots are all in the same area, making it very easy to walk and see a lot! When you go into Westminster Abbey you are not really allowed to take photos inside, which was a major bummer for me. I guess they want to keep the allure, which I suppose I understand. I will warn you, it is very expensive to get inside, but in my opinion it was well worth the cost for the experience and the history! You have years and years  of famous monarchs getting married, crowned, and buried in Westminster Abbey. It’s incredible to see all of the people who are buried there like Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, Jane Seymor, most of the Henry kings!! Incredible! AND! They have a large corner called the Bard’s Corner that pays tribute to authors like Shakespeare (heard of him?) and Jane Austen!! So much history in one building.

I also highly suggest coming back at night and looking at it then! The way they light up Westminster at night is so beautiful and almost haunting, especially on a rainy London night. Make sure to explore all areas that you can! We loved this corridor that leads to a beautiful courtyard in the back! It kind of reminded me of Hogwarts!

After you have explored Westminster Abbey till your heart is content, your next stop should be Big Ben and Parliament. Westminster Abbey is next door neighbors to the Parliament building! Again, I love how close everything is in London!

Did you know that Big Ben is actually the nickname of the clock itself, not including the tower? The tower is called the Elizabeth Tower; it was renamed in 2012 to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee! Also, can we just take a moment here and talk about how adorable  the Queen is?! I’m not sure if it’s because she reminds me of my Grandma, but I just think she is the cutest little lady!

Ok, back to London. One of my favorite views of Parliament and the tower is from Westminster Bridge. You can walk out on the bridge (or even cross over to the other side of the Thames) and get a great view of the building! One of my favorite parts of walking around London was hearing the chimes of Big Ben. When we went, it was the last time Big Ben was going to ring for awhile because they were doing some restoration on it, so that was really special.

Another super cool thing we got to see was Parliament letting out of session! At one point we walked around the corner and all these men and women were dressed in old clothing and had powdered wigs on!! It was both fantastic and hilarious. Jackson, being the fearless guy that he is, walked up to one of the younger looking Parliament members and asked if we could take a selfie with him. Yes, I know that this was the most American thing we could have possibly done, but looking back on it now it’s one of the funnier moments in my life. Turned out the member we selfied with had just begun his time serving, and he thought we were hilarious….so…. we were Parliament approved.

There is so much to do and see in London that I could hardly cover all of it in one blog post. I thought I would start with two of my favorite places, then eventually I will put out the second half. I hope that if you ever get the chance to go across the pond, you take it! London is a neat city, and one that I hope to visit again in the future!

❤ Abbie

P.s. This should go without saying, but I did not take the photo of Mary Kate and Ashley or the photo of the Queen. Everything else was taken by me. Obviously.

Tabasco Factory- Avery Island, LA

Do you love Tabasco Sauce? Do you love historical places? How about beautiful plantation-like oak trees? Well friends, I have a place perfect for you, if you like any of those things! Today we are going to be touring the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island, Louisiana!

For those of you who may not have heard of Tabasco sauce, it is a true Louisiana-brand pepper hot sauce. To be fair, Tabasco makes a lot of other types of sauces and products, but their most famous is the hot sauce. When you go to Avery Island, you can see where the original sauce was created more than 180 years ago! The island is still a working factory to this day, and you can tour all of the neat historical buildings that the sauce is made in!

First stop should be the Tabasco Country Store. They have all the Tabasco products and gifts you could ever want! They even have a tasting center where you can sample quite a few of their different kinds of sauces! I highly suggest trying their Pure Honey and the Garlic Grill Marinating Sauce! After you’ve gotten your fill of samples and picked up your favorite Avery Island Tabasco souvenir penny, you should grab some lunch!

1868 is the delicious restaurant on the property! They have everything from Hot Dogs to good ‘ole BBQ! Don’t worry if you left your Tabasco sauce at home though, they have plenty of different sauces you can add to your food if you’d like!

After you’ve got a belly full of good food, it’s time to walk it off on the Factory tour! You can see some of the really cool original pieces of Tabasco history in the first building. It’s pretty amazing to read about the incredible people that made Tabasco, and all of their different endeavors.

A little further along on the tour, you will see the greenhouses where they grow their famous peppers that are the main ingredient in the hot sauce. You will also get to see the giant barrels where the sauce sits and salts for a long time.

It is said that Avery Island sits on top of a giant deposit of solid rock salt. There are mines under the island that they gather their salt from. The rock salt formation is said to be as deep as Mount Everest is high!! They have a really neat exhibit where you can see an example of the rock salt. Trust me, it’s actual rock salt…. someone in my party might have licked it just to be sure….

In the last building there are giant replica hot sauce bottles that you can stand with and pose for pictures. It’s a pretty cool photo op!

Remember when I said there would be plantation-like oak trees? Well, it’s time for that! Not only does Avery Island house the Tabasco plants, but it’s also home to some amazing gardens!

The factories only take up a small portion of the island, the rest is home to some gorgeous plants and wildlife, called the Jungle Gardens! Take a drive around to all of the amazing scenic locations around Avery Island. When I say take a drive, I mean it, because there is no way you could walk all of the grounds in one day!

While you’re driving around all the rivers and lakes, don’t forget to watch for alligators! If you keep your eyes peeled, you might just see one! I also suggest checking out the beautiful Chinese Garden where a giant Buddha sculpture sits.

After you’ve seen all you can see, don’t forget to stop in one of the gift shops on the way out to claim your free bottles of Tabasco Spicy Green Beans and Tabasco Hot Sauce!

I hope that if you are ever in Louisiana you check out Avery Island and the Tabasco Factories!

❤ Abbie