Our Week in Meals #503

Good morning, and happy Sunday! This week included a European vacation and a unique 4th of July. You’ll find all of the highlights from the past few days, along with each of our dinners, in today’s roundup of Our Week in Meals.

For those of you who are new to the blog, Our Week in Meals is where I share a little bit about what we’ve been up to over the past week — as it relates to our dinners each night. This series gives you a glimpse “behind the scenes” at some highlights from our life, shows you how I balance a busy schedule with feeding my family, and offers a few new ideas for your own weekly meal plan.

Now, let’s back up to last weekend…

Casey and Khloe worked in the church Sunday school, Keith and Gibbs played golf,

and I took Casey and Spencer to play soccer at the high school that afternoon.

Keith grilled salmon for supper,

which we paired with sauteed zucchini, rice, and a baguette.

I have such a great book to recommend this week! My mom and I both recently read Land by Maggie O’Farrell, and wow — definitely one of my favorites of the year!

In this novel, a father and his young son are mapping the rugged Irish countryside in the years after the Great Famine when a mysterious encounter changes everything. As they struggle to finish their journey and make sense of what has happened, long-buried secrets, family history, and the scars of Ireland’s past begin to surface. It’s a beautifully written historical novel with vivid landscapes, unforgettable characters, and a story that stays with you long after it’s done.

Monday was all about trip prep! I met Ashley for a walk that morning, and then spent most of the day getting us organized to leave town.

Gibbs worked and played a round of golf with a friend, Spencer had soccer training at UVA that evening, we dropped the dog off with my parents while we were in town, and we had Dorito taco salad for supper…

…plus guacamole, extra chips, and pico de gallo.

Tuesday was a full day (and night) of travel!

We made the drive up to Northern Virginia for our red-eye flight that left from Dulles that evening.

Dinner wasn’t glamorous, but it got the job done: Chick-Fil-A at the airport before boarding our flight.

We arrived in London early on Wednesday morning, went straight to our rental house in Pimlico to drop off our bags, and grabbed breakfast at a nearby coffee shop.

After a couple of hours at the house to shower and rest, we ventured back out to explore the city.

We walked for hours, enjoyed the beautiful day, and came home exhausted (and jet lagged)!

I especially loved all of the flowers — in Hyde Park, in planters outside private homes, and in impressive displays on restaurant and storefronts. It’s such a beautiful city!

We wanted to get the full experience by watching the England team play their World Cup match alongside the English fans in a pub, so we had dinner at The Marquis of Westminster that night. The atmosphere was fun, and the fish and chips were delicious!

Casey and I found “football” themed donuts for breakfast on Thursday morning!

The rest of our day included a tour of Arsenal’s stadium (which was very cool)…

jersey shopping at Lillywhite’s, and a relatively quick spin through The British Museum (interesting exhibits, but way too hot and way too crowded…we didn’t last long).

We had dinner at a steakhouse called Jones Family Kitchen. What a treat; it was all incredible! We started with fried squid, sourdough bread, and seared scallops, and then I had the filet, charred green beans, and arugula salad.

For our third and final day in England, we visited the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels — a big hit with our boys!

We also spent some time in the Camley Street Natural Park before boarding the Eurostar train to Paris that evening.

Dinner was a quick grab-and-go meal on the train: a prosciutto and cheese baguette with fruit and chips.

It was late when we arrived in Paris, so we settled into our Airbnb and went straight to bed!

And that brings us to Saturday.

We spent Independence Day visiting Normandy and honoring the fallen soldiers.

Keith drove our rental car to Bayeux, where we walked around the medieval town and picked up lunch at a boulangerie (more jambon baguettes and macarons!).

Spencer had his first nutella-filled crepe (LOVED it)!

We then met up with our tour guide, who took us to Pointe du Hoc,

to the American cemetery,

and to Omaha beach. It was fascinating, incredibly moving, and felt like a special way to spend the holiday.

We had dinner at a brasserie in Bayeux called le Saint Jean. We loved everything we ordered (the croque monsieur, oysters, chicken sandwich and tenders, and fish and chips), plus my Tartine Pinsa Normande. This had a cream sauce, andouille sausage, camembert, mozzarella, and caramelized onions.

Then we were back on the road for the drive to Paris!

I’ll share the rest of our trip next Sunday. Until then, thank you for being here and have a wonderful holiday weekend!