Posts
I must admit, I live in fantasy land most the time. I think this blog is read by just a few people and occasionally I will hear from an old friend on Facebook or sametime here at work who is like- oh, love the blog, etc. However, the idea that people who don’t know me actually read this never even occurred to me until I looked at a recent comment posted on my last entry.
The comment had to do with my Hugh Grant sighting. I didn’t publish it simply because I thought it to be a tad confrontational and sarcastic, and my intended spirit of this blog is more or less for me to just keep my close friends and family up to date on our London antics. However, it totally opened my eyes to the fact that anybody could read this. I am not changing the security settings or anything because all I care about are those of you whom I know who are reading this. However, the comment compelled me set the record straight on Hugh Grant- perhaps he is taller than 5’8” but he was not as tall as I thought he would be, nor is he 6 feet tall. I stand by the tanned and botoxed comment and argue that actually Botox isn’t long lasting and it is entirely possible that he has had recent work done. Finally, it was my sighting, my “encounter” as you called it and I am at liberty to share with my readers just what my impressions were. Thanks though, for feeling the desire to correct me and make assumptions about my eye sight and such. You are a rockstar.
Enough on that front- this week has been full of excitement- and Inauguration spirit has swept us up as well! In true London fashion I caught the ceremony at a pub. I’m proud and excited and looking forward to change and progress. I have heard a lot of debate on just how fast things can turn around- and I don’t expect immediate turn around on issues or problems, just smart decisions and different thinking than what we’ve experienced before. I will keep my expectations on the lower end simply because some of Obama’s “to-do’s” are incredibly complex and not things you can just change in one day, one week or even one month. It is interesting here to observe people who are just as excited as Americans and feel a sense of camaraderie with Americans. On the news this morning one of the reporters said “And we have a new President of the US- but it feels like he is President of all of us!” Interesting perspective I never considered before moving here.
This weekend we are heading to two parties: the first for our friend Chris who turns the big 3-0. We’ll gather at his favourite BBQ joint near his flat for some pulled pork and Coors Light on tap. On Saturday night we are going to a friend’s house for a Burns Night party. It is a Scottish tradition and takes place every year around the famous poet Robert Burn’s birthday. It will include whiskey, poems, singing and eating a traditional Scottish meal of haggis and other not so delicious foods. We are going for the experience and the company- it sounds like it will be a real riot and a night that we wouldn’t be able to experience at home. More info on trusty Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_Night
Shout out this week to my oldest and bestest friend Michelle, who gave birth to her first child, a little girl named Kate. She was 2 weeks early and came out weighing 9 lbs 1 oz. I think Michelle deserves some sort of medal for that as 9 pounds just sounds scary to me. Mum and little Kate are doing great.
Pictures to come on the parties of the weekend! Until next time…
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Countdown
10 weekends to go. There is nothing like a countdown to prompt action...
With that in mind we took to the streets this weekend and were non stop. Friday night we enjoyed some pub action with friends. Yesterday we had brunch with some friends and then headed to the pub for some day drinking action that led to evening drinking and Mr. India. We hit up a great restaurant and pub in Parson's Green- a little area on the water (very near Craven Cottage where Fulham Football Club plays) and enjoyed loads of wine and chatting with our friends. Today we headed out to Richmond- a posh little neighborhood in West London known for the largest park (with deer!) in England. We had lunch with some friends and then took a nice stroll through the park. All in all, it was a fabulous weekend with some cold sunshine and lots of pubs and friends. We couldn't ask for more! (Ok, that isn't true- maybe weather that is warmer than 45 degrees...)
This last week was much more exciting than past weeks- all due to the ultimate London celeb sighting- that of HUGH GRANT! To make a long story as short as I can make it- JP was out with some buddies and saw Hugh out with his blokes in a pub. Being the very nice husband he is he promptly sent me the following text: " Hugh Grant in pub". I was close by with a girlfriend enjoying some wine and chatting and glanced at my phone. Within 60 seconds of seeing the text we had finished our wine, paid our bill and ran to the pub. The boys were laughing at us at the sheer giddiness we displayed upon our entrance to the pub. Some thoughts on Hugh: He is short. He can't be taller than 5'8". How did he date Elizabeth Hurley? He is 48 years old (we googled it) and he is still super cute. He is tan and fairly botoxed. You can't be tan in England even if you tried. He had the same smile and facial ticks he has in his movies too. He was with some of his "mates" who were all middle aged, balding and not good looking in the least. Hugh also shut down a few females who approached with the hopes of chatting with the hottie. My friend and I blissfully situated ourselves with direct views of the star and shamelessly stared, texted all our friends and giggled like two teenagers. We had no photo opp unfortunately but we enjoyed every minute of our star sighting. What a funny thing seeing a star does- I was not calm cool and collected. In fact, I think for the first 10 minutes at the pub I had trouble stringing sentences together. Sad sad.
So, basically we can go home now. I mean, pints with Hugh Grant, about a mile away from Notting Hill no less.
I also have developed an expensive new habit- Reformer Pilates. My friend and I went this morning and took a free class at this exclusive little studio in Notting Hill and man oh man do I finally understand why these famous stars are so toned and fit. I went from hinting to downright telling JP that this is the new thing that will transform my life. So what if it costs 25 pounds per session? Good health is an investment right?!
With that said, it is time to kick back and relax finally. Life is tough these days- pubs, strolls, expensive pilates courses. I love my life.
With that in mind we took to the streets this weekend and were non stop. Friday night we enjoyed some pub action with friends. Yesterday we had brunch with some friends and then headed to the pub for some day drinking action that led to evening drinking and Mr. India. We hit up a great restaurant and pub in Parson's Green- a little area on the water (very near Craven Cottage where Fulham Football Club plays) and enjoyed loads of wine and chatting with our friends. Today we headed out to Richmond- a posh little neighborhood in West London known for the largest park (with deer!) in England. We had lunch with some friends and then took a nice stroll through the park. All in all, it was a fabulous weekend with some cold sunshine and lots of pubs and friends. We couldn't ask for more! (Ok, that isn't true- maybe weather that is warmer than 45 degrees...)
This last week was much more exciting than past weeks- all due to the ultimate London celeb sighting- that of HUGH GRANT! To make a long story as short as I can make it- JP was out with some buddies and saw Hugh out with his blokes in a pub. Being the very nice husband he is he promptly sent me the following text: " Hugh Grant in pub". I was close by with a girlfriend enjoying some wine and chatting and glanced at my phone. Within 60 seconds of seeing the text we had finished our wine, paid our bill and ran to the pub. The boys were laughing at us at the sheer giddiness we displayed upon our entrance to the pub. Some thoughts on Hugh: He is short. He can't be taller than 5'8". How did he date Elizabeth Hurley? He is 48 years old (we googled it) and he is still super cute. He is tan and fairly botoxed. You can't be tan in England even if you tried. He had the same smile and facial ticks he has in his movies too. He was with some of his "mates" who were all middle aged, balding and not good looking in the least. Hugh also shut down a few females who approached with the hopes of chatting with the hottie. My friend and I blissfully situated ourselves with direct views of the star and shamelessly stared, texted all our friends and giggled like two teenagers. We had no photo opp unfortunately but we enjoyed every minute of our star sighting. What a funny thing seeing a star does- I was not calm cool and collected. In fact, I think for the first 10 minutes at the pub I had trouble stringing sentences together. Sad sad.
So, basically we can go home now. I mean, pints with Hugh Grant, about a mile away from Notting Hill no less.
I also have developed an expensive new habit- Reformer Pilates. My friend and I went this morning and took a free class at this exclusive little studio in Notting Hill and man oh man do I finally understand why these famous stars are so toned and fit. I went from hinting to downright telling JP that this is the new thing that will transform my life. So what if it costs 25 pounds per session? Good health is an investment right?!
With that said, it is time to kick back and relax finally. Life is tough these days- pubs, strolls, expensive pilates courses. I love my life.
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Shortlist
As time winds down here, I’m having a lot of those “Love London” moments that I want to pause to help me remember them as well as appreciate them while they are happening. At the same time, I am having many moments that make me immediately think- “only 2 ½ more months of this and I’m outta here” Recognizing this, I thought I would shortlist (I love lists, almost as much as I like long blog posts…) the top ten things about London I love, and to even it out, the top 10 things I hate. I will start out with the hate, b/c I am a glass half full type of gal who likes to end on a positive note:
HATE
The weather- which includes the almost non-existent daytime we get during the winter months -average temps right now are at about 40 degrees and we get about 7 hours of daylight, if you call daylight clouds and grey skies.
The utter loss of humanity people have when they enter public transportation. Are you pregnant? Walking with a cane? Have a stroller? I feel really really bad for you if you have to get on a crowded tube. People have no shame in their game and will elbow, push and crowd you out. Forget about gentleman rising out of their seats for the ladies- British chivalry does not exist in the Tube.
TV. We have no cable and we watch a lot of Friends and BBC news and The Dog Whisperer. Our other options are terrible UK soap operas and even worse reality shows.
HATE
The weather- which includes the almost non-existent daytime we get during the winter months -average temps right now are at about 40 degrees and we get about 7 hours of daylight, if you call daylight clouds and grey skies.
The utter loss of humanity people have when they enter public transportation. Are you pregnant? Walking with a cane? Have a stroller? I feel really really bad for you if you have to get on a crowded tube. People have no shame in their game and will elbow, push and crowd you out. Forget about gentleman rising out of their seats for the ladies- British chivalry does not exist in the Tube.
TV. We have no cable and we watch a lot of Friends and BBC news and The Dog Whisperer. Our other options are terrible UK soap operas and even worse reality shows.
The loss of good sushi and Mexican options here. It is painful and we have substituted with Indian and Thai in the short term- but sometimes a girl just needs a burrito.
The UK firm. I don’t know who reads this so I will leave it at that.
Not having a car. I like to think of myself as relatively green, but I miss having a car to run errands. Some days I just don’t want to walk the mile from the store to my house loaded with bags and in the rain just so I can pick up some needed supplies from the drug store.
The way people communicate here. In an effort to save people’s feelings, people just don’t say what they think, what they mean and tell you what they want. Instead they beat around the bush, dance around answers and don’t answer questions. It is and incredibly time consuming way to operate.
British customer service. It is about non existent.
Having to always walk downstairs to use the restroom in public. Often the stairs are steep, smelly and not temperature controlled. Also, once you get to said public toilet it is often clogged or not flushing and there are no paper towels which makes people not want to wash their hands which leads to germs which leads to me getting sick…. You can see the repercussions.
The ever public blowing the nose/hanky up the sleeve habit. First of all, these people are just gross overall- but public blowing of the nose (like, both sexes, all ages, restaurants, the pub, you name it- disgusting). While browsing at a bookstore yesterday, this woman who was all but standing on top of me pulls her hanky out of her shirt sleeve, blows her nose as hard as she can, and crumples up the hanky and sticks it back up her sleeve. A year later I am no more used to this and it makes me vomit a little in my mouth every time it happens.
LOVE
The pubs. They are cozy, mostly friendly and normally you can get a place to sit while you drink. There is one on every corner of this country- seriously!
Public transportation- yes yes, I hate the tube at rush hour, but overall the public transportation system is efficient, organized and gets you where you need to be without having to worry about traffic and parking. It is not cheap for those of you who think we are saving all this money without a car- but it works and you can go to pubs and not worry about driving after. Plus, I have read so much this year b/c you always need something to read on the tube.
The work life balance. People here come in at 9am and work until about 5:30/6pm and then they go home. They have lives. They don’t work many weekends. They aren’t married to their blackberries. They take sick days when they are sick. It is a nice change of pace from 50-60 hour work weeks, “I don’t take vacations or sick days” type of mentality that people reward in the US.
There is always something to do here! Art exhibitions, new bars and restaurants, markets, street fairs, you name it and something is happening in this city, and you don’t ever have to repeat outings if you don’t want to!
Travel- from here we are 2 hours away from any Central/Eastern/Western European country.
Happy hour. Along with work life balance- people here get together after work for the pint and it is a glorious way to end the day.
Aesthetically this city is gorgeous, and even though there is no daylight, it is nice to walk around at night with the buildings all lit up and historic sights on every corner.
Fashion. I can’t partake as much as I’d like because I would rather travel than shop- but I really like the stores and options here. Not that I don’t miss rocking the flip flops and jeans- but it is cool to see other options and various ways of dress.
Our friends. We have some incredible friends here who make life more interesting and keep us busy while we are missing our friends at home.
Increasing my awareness of the world outside the US. I have learned more about other cultures and countries than I ever dreamed- in both very direct and indirect ways. It is so interesting to understand our impact on the entire world and also I have become much more patriotic in my time here, I love the USA!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Happy New Year!
Friends, Romans, Countrymen… oh wait- I’m not Mark Antony on the speakers stump in the Roman Forum, I’m Angie and I’m blogging… apologies.
Italy was fabulous, amazing, incredible, fun and yummy! We spent 11 days abroad in the boot shaped country and spent our time taking in the sights, eating pasta and pizza with abandon, drinking house wine for 3 euros a ½ litre, and taking full advantage of the siesta. A quick recap:
Rome: We spent four nights (including Christmas) in Rome. We stayed near the Colosseum and took us where Rick Steves told us to go. The city is great- it is organized chaos at it’s best. The people are nice (and most speak enough English to get you by) and everywhere you go there is some ruin or statue on the corner. It is incredible. We went to the Borghese museum, took in some great Baroque statues and art and then did our own walking tours to discover the city. On our final day there we did an organized tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum and heard fun stories of people from thousands of years ago inventing everything from roads to cities to socialism. It was really cool to get a refresh of history lessons that we had long since forgotten. We stayed at a hotel that treated us like we were at a bed and breakfast: Hotel Lancelot: www.lancelothotel.com
Siena & Tuscany: We took a coach bus from Rome to Siena on our fifth day in Italy to the town of Siena in the Tuscany region. Tuscany is just what it is portrayed to be- rolling green hills, vineyards and rows of olive trees, big hill towns surrounded by nothing. I can imagine during the spring it would be even more gorgeous, but we really liked Siena. I think in all this was our favourite town mostly because of the slower pace, lower prices, gorgeous scenery and great food. We explored neighboring villages and cities while there, courtesy of a mini-car we rented on one day and then a guide we hired to take us wine tasting and such the second day. We saw Cortona (where “Under the Tuscan Sun” was based), Montelcino (where they make the expensive and tasty Brunello wine), Montepulcino (more wine!) and Buonconvento. Here we stayed at a villa/guest house that was much like living in someone’s home- which is both good and bad. It was pretty loud, which if that is the only thing we can complain about we are lucky. http://www.villaeldasiena.it/
Florence: Finally we headed into Florence for the last two nights of our trip. By this point we were a little tired out of museums and such which is really a shame because Florence was the birthplace of Renaissance art and even for us art novices we knew there was some great things to see. After waiting through a painful reservations-but-you-still-have –to-wait-an-hour-in-line thing at Ufuzzi we enjoyed the place but decided we had enough of Italian run museums (completely unorganized, inefficient- like herding cats or something) and just concentrated on roaming the streets, admiring the various piazzas and enjoying gelato- which supposedly is the best in Florence. We loved our hotel here- in the middle of everything and reasonably priced. http://www.hotelsantamarianovella.it/
Food: Italians know what they are doing. We didn’t have one bad meal- even the more touristy spots served delicious and fresh pastas and pizzas. I think we have spent over a year deprived of really good food here in London (yes yes, there are good restaurants- but let’s get real…) so this was a real treat for us. There aren’t many options other than Italian food options- so if you are watching your carbs then forget it – but I challenge someone to go to Italy and say they are on a low carb diet… Italians don’t eat Italian food when they visit other countries, and they are all convinced their region’s food is the best. I won’t argue- it was all great.
Holidays: We spent Christmas in Rome, which was a treat. There were a few things open, but the weather was so nice that we just walked around the whole city and enjoyed all the street performers and other tourists and took lots of pictures. We enjoyed a Christmas Eve dinner of five courses of fresh fish that was the highlight of our time in Italy. We had Christmas dinner at the hotel with other guests staying in Rome for the holidays and met some nice people that night. New Years Eve we spent in Florence with another incredible meal (Florentine steak! Yum) and then followed the crowds to the main piazza in town to watch the incredibly unsettling and yet strangely entertaining firework shows put on by the towns most drunken and rowdy people- there was no organized show, just loads of illicit fireworks going off all night long. We fell asleep to huge bangs and booms, but it was part of being in Italy (the Italians love loud noises).
All in all, other than our honeymoon, this was the best trip we’ve taken. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays as much as we did! Pics are on shutterfly and some are on Facebook as well.
Italy was fabulous, amazing, incredible, fun and yummy! We spent 11 days abroad in the boot shaped country and spent our time taking in the sights, eating pasta and pizza with abandon, drinking house wine for 3 euros a ½ litre, and taking full advantage of the siesta. A quick recap:
Rome: We spent four nights (including Christmas) in Rome. We stayed near the Colosseum and took us where Rick Steves told us to go. The city is great- it is organized chaos at it’s best. The people are nice (and most speak enough English to get you by) and everywhere you go there is some ruin or statue on the corner. It is incredible. We went to the Borghese museum, took in some great Baroque statues and art and then did our own walking tours to discover the city. On our final day there we did an organized tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum and heard fun stories of people from thousands of years ago inventing everything from roads to cities to socialism. It was really cool to get a refresh of history lessons that we had long since forgotten. We stayed at a hotel that treated us like we were at a bed and breakfast: Hotel Lancelot: www.lancelothotel.com
Siena & Tuscany: We took a coach bus from Rome to Siena on our fifth day in Italy to the town of Siena in the Tuscany region. Tuscany is just what it is portrayed to be- rolling green hills, vineyards and rows of olive trees, big hill towns surrounded by nothing. I can imagine during the spring it would be even more gorgeous, but we really liked Siena. I think in all this was our favourite town mostly because of the slower pace, lower prices, gorgeous scenery and great food. We explored neighboring villages and cities while there, courtesy of a mini-car we rented on one day and then a guide we hired to take us wine tasting and such the second day. We saw Cortona (where “Under the Tuscan Sun” was based), Montelcino (where they make the expensive and tasty Brunello wine), Montepulcino (more wine!) and Buonconvento. Here we stayed at a villa/guest house that was much like living in someone’s home- which is both good and bad. It was pretty loud, which if that is the only thing we can complain about we are lucky. http://www.villaeldasiena.it/
Florence: Finally we headed into Florence for the last two nights of our trip. By this point we were a little tired out of museums and such which is really a shame because Florence was the birthplace of Renaissance art and even for us art novices we knew there was some great things to see. After waiting through a painful reservations-but-you-still-have –to-wait-an-hour-in-line thing at Ufuzzi we enjoyed the place but decided we had enough of Italian run museums (completely unorganized, inefficient- like herding cats or something) and just concentrated on roaming the streets, admiring the various piazzas and enjoying gelato- which supposedly is the best in Florence. We loved our hotel here- in the middle of everything and reasonably priced. http://www.hotelsantamarianovella.it/
Food: Italians know what they are doing. We didn’t have one bad meal- even the more touristy spots served delicious and fresh pastas and pizzas. I think we have spent over a year deprived of really good food here in London (yes yes, there are good restaurants- but let’s get real…) so this was a real treat for us. There aren’t many options other than Italian food options- so if you are watching your carbs then forget it – but I challenge someone to go to Italy and say they are on a low carb diet… Italians don’t eat Italian food when they visit other countries, and they are all convinced their region’s food is the best. I won’t argue- it was all great.
Holidays: We spent Christmas in Rome, which was a treat. There were a few things open, but the weather was so nice that we just walked around the whole city and enjoyed all the street performers and other tourists and took lots of pictures. We enjoyed a Christmas Eve dinner of five courses of fresh fish that was the highlight of our time in Italy. We had Christmas dinner at the hotel with other guests staying in Rome for the holidays and met some nice people that night. New Years Eve we spent in Florence with another incredible meal (Florentine steak! Yum) and then followed the crowds to the main piazza in town to watch the incredibly unsettling and yet strangely entertaining firework shows put on by the towns most drunken and rowdy people- there was no organized show, just loads of illicit fireworks going off all night long. We fell asleep to huge bangs and booms, but it was part of being in Italy (the Italians love loud noises).
All in all, other than our honeymoon, this was the best trip we’ve taken. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays as much as we did! Pics are on shutterfly and some are on Facebook as well.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Homesick
What is my deal? One minute I'm desparately thinking "I don't want to move" "I'll miss it here" "I love it here" !! The next minute I'm whining to JP that I miss home, I'm tired of the pace and the people and the weather.
It has nothing to do with hormones either for those skeptics!
This homesickness thing is funny. It washes up on you at very unexpected times! We are cruising along, finishing the last minute details for a 10 day trip to Italy next week and all I can think about is home. Wasa sushi. Javier's seafood enchiladas. The sun. The beach on early mornings when I used to go swim. My friends. My car. Friendly people in the office.
Maybe it is the sudden absence of activity- for the last three months straight we have been entertainers and haven't had much down time. I got home from work at 6pm last night and was just irritable and wanted nothing more than to transplant myself to a warm day in OC. Yes, my commute home was normal- shoved in the tube with smelly and unfriendly people. Yes, it is cold outside and rainy. Time to think of the positive though....
I thought if I blogged it, the feeling would go away. I'm hopeful that I'll wake up tomorrow morning with a renewed exuberance for London. I will acknowledge that this city wears you out. Sometimes I don't want to walk as fast as I possibly can to the tube stop like everyone, I just want to take my time. Sometimes I just want to smile at people and shake them a bit and say- what is wrong with you?? Why are you so, I don't know, British!!!??? Sometimes I just want to shout at the sky and say- "STOP HIDING THE SUN!!"
This should do it, my five (thanks Tina) friends to vent to and make it real- you CAN be sick of such an amazing city, there is nothing wrong with it!
It has nothing to do with hormones either for those skeptics!
This homesickness thing is funny. It washes up on you at very unexpected times! We are cruising along, finishing the last minute details for a 10 day trip to Italy next week and all I can think about is home. Wasa sushi. Javier's seafood enchiladas. The sun. The beach on early mornings when I used to go swim. My friends. My car. Friendly people in the office.
Maybe it is the sudden absence of activity- for the last three months straight we have been entertainers and haven't had much down time. I got home from work at 6pm last night and was just irritable and wanted nothing more than to transplant myself to a warm day in OC. Yes, my commute home was normal- shoved in the tube with smelly and unfriendly people. Yes, it is cold outside and rainy. Time to think of the positive though....
I thought if I blogged it, the feeling would go away. I'm hopeful that I'll wake up tomorrow morning with a renewed exuberance for London. I will acknowledge that this city wears you out. Sometimes I don't want to walk as fast as I possibly can to the tube stop like everyone, I just want to take my time. Sometimes I just want to smile at people and shake them a bit and say- what is wrong with you?? Why are you so, I don't know, British!!!??? Sometimes I just want to shout at the sky and say- "STOP HIDING THE SUN!!"
This should do it, my five (thanks Tina) friends to vent to and make it real- you CAN be sick of such an amazing city, there is nothing wrong with it!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Of all the GEP's here, we seem to be the ones who most often are anticipating, hosting or planning for guests. Since we landed, we have hosted 20 people in our flat on Sinclair Road. Considering we've been here for 14 months now, that means in some form or another we have had at least a guest per month. We often talk about how lucky we are that our friends would make the long trip and pay the high costs of a plane ticket just to see us (well, and this amazing city!)
Tomorrow we'll be saying good-bye to Anneliese- fittingly our first guest last December and our last planned guest during our secondment here. It is bittersweet, no longer will our little guest room and extra phone and oyster passes be needed. (well, unless I lose one of my own, which is highly likely). No longer will we have an excuse to go out every night of the week. No longer will we have deliveries of American goods like salsa and make-up (it is expensive here!!).
What it also means for me is that our time here is winding down. We don't touch down in the US until April 23, but with the new year quickly approaching, I feel like we will soon be packing and filling out moving forms and planning leaving "do's".
Highlights of Anneliese's trip include a holiday costume party that also celebrated our friend Andy's 30th birthday (so, named the Dual-Purpose party), a Christmas pantomime show : http://www.stratfordeast.com/shows.php (another England holiday tradition), a trip to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, a viewing of the movie Four Christmases, and pub quiz night. Today we will be spending our last day together by doing a day trip to Marlow- a quaint little town about an hour outside London.
JP is in Barcelona this weekend attempting with some friends to score tix to the Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona tonight. He luckily is enjoying some more mild weather. It is freezing here with weather warnings of sleet and rain- great for walking around outside! That is why there is a pub on every corner here.... ahhh the pubs.
Thanksgiving also has come and gone- and my sister and I successfully cooked for 20 people in a small London flat. It was a super fun day and night- cooking with my sister and then relaxing and watching American football with our friends. I didn't realize how easy a turkey was to cook and now that I have a fancy roasting pan perhaps I'll try to do the wife-ly thing and cook a chicken or something for JP. (although, I secretly think he likes my super special meal of minestrone soup out of the can and a baguette)
This is our last week working before we head to Italy for 10 days to celebrate Christmas and eat loads of pasta and gelato. Everyday this week we have some sort of holiday lunch planned at work that starts at 1pm and includes copious amounts of wine and goes until evening. What a tough life we lead here.
I'll leave you with some pics of Thanksgiving and the dual-purpose party.
At the pub, we were quite the spectacle. Stuart wearing the PJ's went as the American dad on Christmas morning. Oggie, well, kind of did the Canadian tux and a holiday tie and hat.
Anneliese made three sweet sweatshirts for our party... JP wore his proudly. Antlers purchased separately.
The gang heading out to the pub after some drinking and beer pong at the flat.
My first turkey going into the oven... yum!
Tomorrow we'll be saying good-bye to Anneliese- fittingly our first guest last December and our last planned guest during our secondment here. It is bittersweet, no longer will our little guest room and extra phone and oyster passes be needed. (well, unless I lose one of my own, which is highly likely). No longer will we have an excuse to go out every night of the week. No longer will we have deliveries of American goods like salsa and make-up (it is expensive here!!).
What it also means for me is that our time here is winding down. We don't touch down in the US until April 23, but with the new year quickly approaching, I feel like we will soon be packing and filling out moving forms and planning leaving "do's".
Highlights of Anneliese's trip include a holiday costume party that also celebrated our friend Andy's 30th birthday (so, named the Dual-Purpose party), a Christmas pantomime show : http://www.stratfordeast.com/shows.php (another England holiday tradition), a trip to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, a viewing of the movie Four Christmases, and pub quiz night. Today we will be spending our last day together by doing a day trip to Marlow- a quaint little town about an hour outside London.
JP is in Barcelona this weekend attempting with some friends to score tix to the Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona tonight. He luckily is enjoying some more mild weather. It is freezing here with weather warnings of sleet and rain- great for walking around outside! That is why there is a pub on every corner here.... ahhh the pubs.
Thanksgiving also has come and gone- and my sister and I successfully cooked for 20 people in a small London flat. It was a super fun day and night- cooking with my sister and then relaxing and watching American football with our friends. I didn't realize how easy a turkey was to cook and now that I have a fancy roasting pan perhaps I'll try to do the wife-ly thing and cook a chicken or something for JP. (although, I secretly think he likes my super special meal of minestrone soup out of the can and a baguette)
This is our last week working before we head to Italy for 10 days to celebrate Christmas and eat loads of pasta and gelato. Everyday this week we have some sort of holiday lunch planned at work that starts at 1pm and includes copious amounts of wine and goes until evening. What a tough life we lead here.
I'll leave you with some pics of Thanksgiving and the dual-purpose party.
Showing off our super sweet sweatshirts, thanks Anneliese!
At the pub, we were quite the spectacle. Stuart wearing the PJ's went as the American dad on Christmas morning. Oggie, well, kind of did the Canadian tux and a holiday tie and hat. 
Anneliese made three sweet sweatshirts for our party... JP wore his proudly. Antlers purchased separately. 
The gang heading out to the pub after some drinking and beer pong at the flat. 
My first turkey going into the oven... yum! Friday, December 5, 2008
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!
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