Ely

The finest tea room in Britain named “Peacock” was located in Ely. I tried the traditional English afternoon tea there. There were three layers in the shelf. Usually the tea sandwiches with different flavors were put in the first layer. The scones, jam and butter were placed in the second layer. As for the third layer, some small tarts and cakes were deposited on the third layer. According to the tradition, we should eat the third layer first. The scones in Peacock taste almost the same as those I mentioned in my first post, but the butter and the jam were homemade. The cream was sweet but yummy and the jam was a little bit sour but it’s delicious. The brownie was also incredible when you ate it with handmade ice cream.

 

 

Ely is a small town with a famous cathedral near Cambridge. It took you fifteen minutes from Cambridge to Ely by train. The small town is surrounded by the river I like the silent atmosphere there, and it’s a best place to choose for the retirement life. J

 

 

Xiamen

 

I went to Xiamen with my relative this winter vacation. Because my uncle lived in Xiamen, he showed us around as the guide. This is a kind of dessert named Wo wo tou. Though it’s very small, after you ate it, you would feel full. So it was seen as the main food in the northern China. It shaped like the tart, so some Chinese called it “golden tart”. On the top of it was Chinese red date. It was made of cornmeal, that’s why its color was yellow. It was said even Empress Dowager Cixi liked its taste. It tastes like a steamed bun, but the difference was that Wo wo tou tasted sweeter. Now the Wo wo tou is regarded as panda’s favorite dessert. The reason why pandas like Wo wo tou is that it makes them feel full easily, so people tend to feed them it instead of lots of  bamboos. It tastes very unique.

Austria

 

 

Sacher cake is one of the most traditional cakes in Austria. Basically, it’s a chocolate cake made in a special way. Its taste was very unique. It melted immediately at the moment you put it into mouth. And it was very sweet. You couldn’t eat the sacher cake without drinking coffee or tea. Otherwise you would feel thirsty when you finished the dessert. The Vienna café named mélange café was also very famous. It tasted like cappuccino added with some smooth cream. Frankly speaking, the hot café is tastier than the cold one. You might feel a little bit disgusting when you finish the cold mélange café because it was added too much cream. But the hot café was much better.

 

 I went to the concert taking place in Musikverein. It was considered one of the most famous concert halls in the world. The performance was really fantastic. The music they performed was very melodious, and they all wore the clothes like what Mozart dressed like. It’s marvelous.

Czech

 

Kürtőskalács, which mean the chimney cake in Hungarian, was originated from Hungary. At first it was sold for celebrations like Easter and Christmas celebrations. As time passed by, it became one of Czech’s traditional desserts. They made dough into roll on the crowbar, slowly baking it, put sugar, walnut, and cinnamon mix onto it. Because they made the cake after you ordered it, I waited for a long time. But the chimney cake is worth waiting. It was certainly tasty, crunchy, and full of a sweet smell.

 

I thought Czech’s buildings were unique due to the pediment, specifically in Telc, a small town in Czech, listed as one of the World Heritage. So fascinating was Telc that I would never forget the excellent scenes there. Each architecture had its own characteristic. I preferred the black building in addition to its color. Most buildings were light color except it. It impressed me a lot because I had never seen constructions of that kind of style before.

 

 

Paris

 

Macaroon was one of the most popular French desserts. The cookie was mainly made by egg white and almond powder. It was often filled with cream or chocolate. Our tour guide said that macaroon oringinated from Italy, but it became a famous dessert in France. The reason why the macaron became so famous was its appearance. It was so various, colorful, smooth, and cute. Different parts of France have its own unique shapes and tastes. Look at the macaron on the right hand side. The cookies have different flavors and it tasted very delicious.

 

 

I bought those macarons at the Lafayette department store, which was full of tourists. I went up to Eiffel tower to overlook Paris. It was magnificent, everything became tiny and it felt like I was very close to the sky. Besides, the tower would keep shining at 11 and 12 pm every day. It was really amazing. I also went to the Louvre Museum, where many famous artworks and antiques were displayed in the museum. I really like the atmosphere filled with history and art there. I hope that one day I can visit France again. :)

Cambridge

This is a chocolate cake. Behind the cake, you can see a scone over there.I could hardly remember the name of the cake and the afternoon tea house. But I still remembered it was located on the only way to the punting dock. The outside of the scone was crispy but inside was soft. The restaurant offered six bottles of jam to you. The flavor of each bottle was different. You could eat the scone with jam or non-sugar cream.  Although the chocolate cake was sweet, you could still eat it with a cup of earl grey tea(the right hand side of the picture). That would make you feel that the cake was not so sweet.

Last summer I went to Cambridge to have a study tour with my sister. Cambridge is a fascinating city. Walking into the university, I was deeply overwhelmed by the thick academic atmosphere there. Cambridge University is composed of King’s College, Queen’s college, Clare College, and St. John’s College. Each college has its beauty. The most interesting thing was punting. Punting on the River Cam, you could hear the guide introducing the history of each college and the scenery to me, which made me feel that I was more familiar with Cambridge.