Happy Christmas

This installment brings you a little UK holiday lesson: First, a fun pic:

The UK holiday season doesn't differ much from what you are experiencing in the US. However, just for fun, I thought I would reveal some of those little things that make the British feign more excitement than normal (it ain't much) this time of year:

Mince pies. Sounds gross right? They are these little pies filled with minced fruit. They are the rave come mid-November here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mince_pie I recently ordered a box with our grocery delivery and mistakenly put in 2 boxes. For two people, 2 boxes of minced pies is about 1 1/2 too many. So, I took one to work and put it by the coffee machine. Even the more reserved people in the office got a little excited about the appearance of the random mince pie. Direct quotes include: "mmmm, now that is quite nice" and "it rather is, but me mum makes them better"

Christmas crackers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_crackers These fun toys give even adults something to look forward to. You typically open one by standing in a small circle with friends and holding on to the xmas cracker next to you (the toy, not the random guy) and pop the cracker for some holiday treats. It is a fun tradition, I just sent some to the US to start the trend. You always get a fun hat to wear, as modeled by yours truly at least year's holiday party.

Boxing Day. You get two days off Christmas and Boxing Day. What is boxing day you ask? It is rooted in the day where traditionally you give gifts to those less fortunate. Nowadays, it is an extra day off. With a 10 day trip through Italy planned, I'll take all the holiday time I can get!

What you get here is the same focus on consumerism, and in this economy you can bet that everything is at least 10-15% off. Daily we get emails advertising sales at the major retailers and there is plenty of encouragement to buy right now. I'll do my best to keep this economy on the upside :)

What you don't see as much is that public need to be more philantropic and cater to those who have less. Businesses don't adopt schools or a family to put gifts under the tree and a dinner on the table. That may come with living in a much more socialist society, but I have not noticed any Christmas Angel trees or adopt a family or soup kitchen pleas. It also may have something to do with the fact that people volunteer just like at home but do so in a less public way. Many people have it as part of their routine to volunteer at shelters, schools, churches, etc. but you don't hear about it unless it is specifically brought up.

Finally, it's CHRISTMAS here. Not holidays. Not Hannakah. Nobody is PC and if you do not celebrate the holiday you don't remind somebody, you jus accept the greeting and continue on. There is no PC-ness when it comes to Christmas. And, it is not "Merry Christmas" it is "Happy Christmas"

So with that in mind friends, with less than 3 weeks go to, a Happy Christmas season to you all!

To the four readers of this blog:

You can subscribe here (see to the left) and you will get notified via email when I post a new update to the blog! I know, I know, super exciting, right!

A Paris Affair

There is more to this posting than just Paris- but that is where I will start. JP and I planned a trip way back in August for a quick Paris getaway this last weekend- and I can't believe it has come and gone. The last time we were in Paris we spent a very quick 24 hours on the back end of a trip to France and packed in all the big sights. Our purpose in returning (which, we try not to do since there is so much to see) was to just slow it down and be romantic and enjoy the experience of being there versus rushing from sight to sight. We did it the right way this time, nice long dinners, crepes and wine and cheese, fun sights but also with some rest in between. We chose a fun neighborhood yesterday to wander around- Monmarte- home of the cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried, the cafe where Amelie worked in (great movie by the way) and Moulin Rouge. It was a really fun hood- lots of galleries and street vendors and kitshy shops. We took in a nice french romantic dinner at Le Tavestin http://www.letastevin-paris.com/ where I tried escargot (yum) and we had great steaks and delicious desserts.

I love France, and I love Paris. However, it is the only place where JP and I have felt 1. unsafe (i'll explain) and 2. the need to be a little vigilant against taxi drivers out to rip off tourists. Of all the trips and cities- Paris is the only place we've been approached and pursued by people hoping to rob us, and the only city where we've had to get out of taxi's due to meter problems. On Saturday while walking to the subway a group of guys approached us talking very fast and pulling at us and we had to look down and walk fast to get out of their way. It is a pretty common ploy I guess to distract tourists while stealing from them. Only, this happened to us on our first trip. We don't think we walk around looking like targets- but either way we thought for how gorgeous and fun Paris is- it definitely has it's drawbacks.

Drawback number 2? Oh yeah- 26 euro for ONE drink at our hotel bar. I guess on Sat. nights at the Le Meridian hotel bar they price their drinks accordingly: 26 euro for your first drink (ANY drink- fruit juice, water, whiskey, wine) and 12 euro for each subsequent drink. Imagine our surprise, we come back from a great dinner, it is sub-zero outside (it snowed on our way out of town, it was freezing) and we decided- hey, let's have a few at the hotel bar before going to bed... only to sit down and glance at the menu and be suitably SHOCKED by the prospect of paying 75 euro for 2 rounds. Give me a friggin break. Thankfully we looked- often at a hotel bar we'll just order a couple glasses of wine or beer and let that be. We retired early to watch some french TV and marvel at the audacity of a sub-par hotel bar for charging such prices. Oh, and BTW- the bar was pretty packed. Ridiculous. Am I a cheapo? Must be.

Enough bitching though- I'll put some pics up and show you what we saw, it was a great little getaway on our favorite mode of transportation- the Eurostar.

In the last couple weeks we also saw Dave & Ariel come and go and had a little overnight jaunt to the English countryside and saw the Cotswolds. Let me just say that we really enjoyed having the Gutierrez's visit- any friend from home is always a nice welcome break from the norm. Additionally, the Cotswolds and countryside is just gorgeous. We rented a car and JP drove us all around to various little villages and we stopped in pubs along the way. Very typical too- good food, fireplaces, friendly people. We stayed at a cute little inn over a pub/restaurant called The Kings Head http://thekingsheadinn.net/ and enjoyed a great dinner and played cards and drank with some locals. I highly recommend a trip out there, I would have liked to stay one more night . Of all the trips we've taken, it ranks high up there as one of the highlights.

As all of our US friends are getting ready for Thanksgiving- we expats are preparing for a feast of our own. We will be cooking a big dinner next Saturday to celebrate the best holiday of the year. No friends, we don't get Thanksgiving off here in England (and yes, we are asked that question from our friends and family) but we'll make up for it suitably with a turkey bowl and 20 expats gathering in a small flat to give thanks, eat turkey and drink beer.

Finally, the final immediate family member left in our small circle is making her way across the pond- Mandi lands on Tuesday! I'm beside myself in anticipation- both because we don't get to spend a lot of one on one time with Mandi, and also because I gave her a list of things to bring me the size of a short blog posting (I don't know how to do short blog postings, sorry!). She also knows how to cook a turkey, which is better than the other 19 of us Americans who are eating together next Sat. night. On the agenda for Mandi is the normal guest circuit along with a day trip on Friday to somewhere close and also the Jack the Ripper tour which we still haven't done and are looking forward to. With each of our guests we try to plan /organize something unique- whether it be oysters or a side trip or a play, with Mandi it is Jack the Ripper.

Well, since JP just asked me in his exasperated way- "are you still doing your blog posting??" I'll leave it here. As November is almost over, I must admit that I'm getting extremely anxious/excited/sad/happy about the coming 4-5 months. I can't believe our time here is almost over. I am just not ready to go home at the same time as being ready to get back to the sun and our friends/family. How can that be? I'll leave you all (my remaining 4 readers) with that thought.

Until next time, HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I'm grateful for so much- mostly for those of you who read this to the end. :)

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!

The Guest Circuit

We just put our latest set of guests on the plane (a tad hungover from too much fun at the piano bar the previous night) and it got me thinking...

First, how lucky are we to have so many friends who have made the trek across the Atlantic to visit? We are well aware that it ain't cheap here, and the fact that we've hosted so many people just makes us realize how lucky we are. Cheesiness aside- I'm well aware that people use us as a check in point on the way to other places as well, but just the idea of people saying - hey, let's go visit those short. loud and crazy kids John and Angie in London... we are blessed.

Then I thought of what we have come to call the guest circuit. It occurred to me as I was confusing which restaurant/pub/street we took each friend to in recent months that we do have a pretty nifty thing going for us. A visit to our hood includes a sampling of local favorites like Mr. India (our fave Indian joint), Parrs Head (where we munch on thai food AND sit in a pub at the same time) and of course- we highlight the trip with Best Mangal II. Turkish food folks. Don't turn your nose up at it, it is delicious, and I wish we could bring it back with us to OC. In fact, we've had multiple visitors who have requested repeat visits to this little gem of a place instead of trying new places during their visit.

Other things we have expanded our guest circuit to include: Piano Bar (piano players, gay nights, pure chaos, so fun!), Borough Market - on an empty stomach, and if we are lucky for some good weather, an al fresco pub drinking experience. Don't forget also a night out in Covent Garden, if your visit happens to be over a weekend.

So, just in case you are thinking to yourself "man, I wonder how JP and Angie are doing, we should visit before they move back" we are ready for you! Just come ready to walk, eat and drink (well, of course, if you are preggers, or a non drinker, you get a pass). We promise a comfy and private second bedroom, a regularly cleaned flat close to the sights, maps /guidebooks/mobile phones/travel cards and of course, our company for how ever many days you are here!

Yeah, yeah, just another overt invite in case you were unsure if we wanted any visitors!

One year down, six months to go

Last year, on a sunny Tuesday in September, our Virgin Atlantic flight landed into Heathrow and JP and I deplaned with no return ticket to OC.

While walking into work this morning, I thought to myself how far we had come in the last year. The first thing is simply the walking- a year ago I would have driven up to the front of the OC building to see if there were any EY spots available to take for the day- it sure beat the 5 minute walk from free parking a block away! A year later, I walk at least a mile a day as part of my normal commute to work. This got me thinking of all the things that have changed…. Here is my reflection in numbers and figures:

A year ago we…
Drove to the gym, Golden Spoon, the store and the bagel shop- all of which were less than .5 miles from our home
Now we…
Walk walk walk… (and take the bus and tube as necessary)
A year ago we…
Drank on occasion at bbq’s and had some wine with dinner on the weekends
Now we…
Drink heavily with great abandon any day of the week.
A year ago we…
Were in great shape due to regular gym activity, participation in races and triathlons and an overall active lifestyle.
Now we…
Think longingly to our skinny days while eating nachos at 2am after drinking with our friends.
A year ago we…
We had Mexican and sushi regularly and took it for granted.
Now we…
Are regulars at Mr. India and Parrs Head for Indian and Thai food.
A year ago we…
Watched TV and kept up with all of the shows with a DVR, and JP had regular access to watch baseball
Now we…
Watch old reruns of Friends and Scrubs on tv in the absence of anything better.
A year ago we…
Commuted to work via a temperature controlled car with our favourite radio station – time 30 minutes
Now we…
Cram ourselves on the tube with our book/magazines/Ipods and pray for no delays- time 25 minutes

Just a few fun facts:
Guests to date: 18 (we should start a B&B when we get home!)
Trips to date: 12
Months it took to get set up: 3 full months (including getting a working phone, internet, tv, bank, etc.)
Interviews Angie went on before getting a job: 22 (and three job offers)
Miles walked per day: average of 1.5
Pints: can’t count that high
Pubs: see previous

It is easy to capture all the funny and fun changes in our lives. What is harder to articulate are the other things- like perseverance when the phone company hangs up on you after being on hold for 2 hours, or patience when you get shoved or elbowed on the tube during a terrible commute, or humor when your peers at work are not the same caliber that you are used to, or humility when you finally realize how lucky you are to come from a country as great as the US, or awe when you travel to places that have been through bombings and wars and still emerge gorgeous, or understanding when you realize just why people might not like Americans or integration when you finally start feeling that someplace foreign is home.

I wouldn’t give the last year up for anything- mostly because of what we have seen in our travels as well as how close it has made me and JP. However, now that we are in the countdown to coming back to the US- you bet I am excited to feel sand between my toes again and see the smiles of all the friends and family we miss so much while we have been here.

Until next time…

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest: Chaos, singing, drinking, crowds, cheering, singing, drinking, eating, eating, drinking, and some incredible corn on the cob... that in a nutshell is Oktoberfest!

After almost a year of planning, we just arrived home from experiencing the opening weekend of the world's largest party- Oktoberfest. (I think I may see how many times I can use Oktoberfest in one post). I've put some memorable pictures below... we had a great time. The city of Munich is gorgeous and very accommodating. We had a super fun time with our friends while drinking, eating, drinking, singing and drinking some more.

Here is what I pictured- think "European Vacation" circa 1985 with Clark Griswold and family donned in drundels and leiderhosen drinking liters of beer while singing along with the crazy Germans. Well, Oktoberfest isn't quite that, but there are tons of people around and the whole aim is to just drink yourself silly in the various beer tents. It is a big festival- with rides, fair food, stands selling all sorts of things German and kitchy, and then there are a load of brewery tents that seat up to 10,000 people with long rows of tables and benches. If you are lucky enough to score a seat by lining up early or you have a reservation (we had both on subsequent days) then you are served your liters of lager by a fine gal in a gorgeous drundel with the brute strength to carry up to 10 liters of beer in huge steins with a nice smile on her face. There is music and loads of singing and toasting and yelling. It is pure chaos. We heard accents and languages from all over the world and toasted friends around of all ages and backgrounds. It was a fun way to spend the weekend.

I won't go into terrible detail, because in essense we arrived Friday, started drinking and eating almost immediately, and didn't stop until we left the last tent yesterday at 5pm. If you have a chance to go, I would recommend it. It does take some years off your life though- but we'll recover. I 'll leave you with some memories:

Rachel travelled all the way from CA for Oktoberfest and even taught us some German phrases!

Here is part of the group as the day was winding down on day two:

We had reservations in the Hofbrau tent on Sunday- the biggest and craziest scene I've ever seen!

More pictures posted on shutterfly. Enjoy!