So much to say!

Let me recap the last month:

• More guests- My mom came to visit and we had a blast. My very independent and resourceful mom has lived her whole life with a car and in a suburb. I was very impressed with how quickly she got over her jet lag and took to the streets to enjoy the city like a local. We gave her an oyster card (travel card) and a map and she took to the buses and tube like a native. Not only that, she tried Indian, Turkish and pub food and even cooked JP and I some home cooked meals. It was sad to watch her go- reminding us of how far our loved ones really are.
• Dubin- I had to head over to Dublin for a work meeting and my very fun manager suggested heading out a day earlier to check out the city since I had never been there. I enjoyed the day I spent around town- but if you are planning an Ireland trip- don't spend too much time in Dublin- get out of town to see the gorgeous countryside.
• Weather- Somehow we were cruising through October enjoying a proper autumn- leaves changing, crisp weather and sun. Suddenly last week it turned freezing. I'm hearing about all these heat waves at home and here it is snowing in London (first time in 34 years!) and just wintery. It has improved a bit from the "cold snap" that we had last week- but it is definitely time to pull out the seaters ("jumpers") and scarves.
• Berlin- highlight of this month, other than my mom's visit of course- was our weekend break to Berlin. We went over with a bunch of expats and really enjoyed the city. The history and stories behind the buildings and walls was alone worth the trip. We spent all day Saturday touring around on our own seeing the bigger sites, and then after a big night out on Saturday we took a walking tour on Sunday of the Third Reich. It was sobering and interesting to learn about the events in such recent history. The city is quite cosmopolition and didn't feel like Germany necessarily- it is nothing like Munich. We had sushi and mexican food- to give you an idea of whats on offer there! I recommend the city and would go again. I put our pics on the shutterfly site- the link is on the left hand corner of the page.
• There ARE nice people in London! As a quick side story- I left my cell phone on the tube last night on accident. Now, let me say that I have already lost one phone in London- and I don't consider myself an irresponsible person. Anyways, so, frantically searching for my phone and resolved that I lost it for good, I went along to dinner and drinks with friends. Then, at a bar- JP looks at me and says "You just called me!" We walked outside and this very nice man picked up my phone and called us and we made arrangments to pick it up. He was extremely nice and at first refused my gift of chocolate saying it really wasn't a big thing. To me though- it showed me that there really are nice people in London! Whoda Thunk??
• Proper tea at an English person's home! A little over a year ago before we came out to London we got an immersion lesson from a nice English lady who told us that we could consider ourselves as immersed here when we are invited over to another English person's home for tea. Now, until this point we have had plenty of happy hours and outings with our non-American friends- but have yet to get that nod.... until recently. Today we headed up to Muswell Hill (great area of North London!) to have tea with some friends. It ended up being very much any other thing we would do with our friends- some apps and sweets to munch on, wine and tea to drink, good conversation with some friends. However, we just need to say- we are now officially immersed. Not only that- the topic that we spent the most time on was the election. It is amazing how living outside the US makes you realize how important our elections are outside of the country. People knew just as much about the election and candidates as we did- some of them even more! Incredible.

Looking to the future:

I think JP has mentioned in his own blog- but something I haven't shared yet officially is that we have purchased a new home to move into when we go back to OC next spring. It is being built and is a little townhome in Aliso Viejo, a short 4 miles from the beach. We are super excited and have added that to the list of things to look forward to when we move back.

Just yesterday we booked our trip home to the US... via Southeast Asia!! We will be leaving on April 1 and spending three weeks exploring Thailand (specifically Bangkok, Ko Samui and Chiang Mai) Cambodia (specifically Siem Riep to see Ankor Wat) and Vietnam (south Vietnam- in Ho Chi Mihn or Saigon). While many consider our secondment to London as the "pre-baby, pre-grown up" detour, I very much consider this trip to be the big one before we finally settle down.

This week we are welcoming Dave & Ariel to London and looking forward to a side trip to the Cotswolds and a trip on our guest circuit. We are super excited to see them.

I'll make it a habit to update this more regularly to avoid such excess information next time! I got a little lazy and busy with guests and such - but no excuse to drop in and update on all our antics!