Hey Everyone!
Just wanted to let you know that we're going on "holiday" next week and won't be back until September 5th...I'm not expecting anything particularly interesting to happen between now and then, so hold tight...
On holiday we're planning to "Walk With Lions"...LITERALLY! We're going to the island of Mauritius which is in the Indian Ocean just off the coast of Madagascar. From what I hear it's heaven on earth, so we'll see. As for the lions, one of the "national parks" there has a program where you can walk with lions as they are trying to make them adapt to living around humans as we creep into their land and build skyscrapers and such---wonder if that would work for the bears back home???
On the tail end of our journey we're hitting up Paris for a few days. We have to fly through there anyway, so we'd might as well make the most of it! We've already got a booking at the Moulin Rouge and will be taking a bike tour and a DaVinci Code tour!
Happy Labor Day Everyone! Happy 30th Birthday to Robbie and Edgar! Sorry we're not making it to Vegas to celebrate with you guys!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
I know, I know I've been slacking!
I got not only 1, but 2 emails today telling me that I'm slacking on my blogging. I'm not sure why, I guess since we actually LIVE here now, the novelty has kind of worn off. Mike and I have caught the Olympic fever here though. Last Friday, we watched the AMAZING opening ceremonies and I have to say that it was funny to hear the English announcers saying how it's going to be hard for London to compete in 2012! Frankly, I'm not sure how London is going to handle all of the HubBub of the Olympics. Granted they are building all of the stadiums and stuff in East London where there isn't much of anything, but the London underground and bus system can't handle the normal day to day traffic--forget bringing an extra 50,000 people into town!!! We're really happy not to have to be here for it!
On Saturday we had an Olympic party at our house. Everyone picked a country and brought food/drink for that country and we had the Wii Olympics...I was very happy to take the gold medal away from Mike in the bowling event! I can't help it if I'm just that good, ya know? We had to be careful not to overdo it on Saturday because we had to be up bright and early to head to Oxford to visit the Casey's.
We took the bus from Victoria and Uncle Mick came to pick us up on the other end. Then we all went to Blenheim Palace where they were having an jousting tournament. The kids loved it, but Mike and I had to admit that it kind of paled in comparison to Medieval Times! It was a nice visit though, but we were really tired when we left Oxford at 8:00...When all was said and done, we didn't get home until after 10 and we were exhausted!!!
On Saturday we had an Olympic party at our house. Everyone picked a country and brought food/drink for that country and we had the Wii Olympics...I was very happy to take the gold medal away from Mike in the bowling event! I can't help it if I'm just that good, ya know? We had to be careful not to overdo it on Saturday because we had to be up bright and early to head to Oxford to visit the Casey's.
We took the bus from Victoria and Uncle Mick came to pick us up on the other end. Then we all went to Blenheim Palace where they were having an jousting tournament. The kids loved it, but Mike and I had to admit that it kind of paled in comparison to Medieval Times! It was a nice visit though, but we were really tired when we left Oxford at 8:00...When all was said and done, we didn't get home until after 10 and we were exhausted!!!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
A Year Ago Today...
Can you believe it's been exactly a year since we arrived here in Londontown? This weekend we've decided to celebrate our London-iversary with a bang. It all started on Wednesday when we went our to dinner to the very posh Nobu with one of the partners Mike works for and his wife, along with a couple of others from his team. Like the Nobu in NYC, this is a the place to see and be seen, and I had my eyes peeled for celebrities, but to my dismay, I didn't see any. We decided to get a "Chef's Selection" so we were completely surprised with what food we got. It was all served family style. Nobu is a Japanese-fusion restaurant, so I had to struggle with my chopsticks, but the food was wonderful. Sashimi, Teriyaki, Black Cod, and a delightful chocolate bento box. We didn't get home until after midnight, and Mike had left his computer at the office so he had to go in early.
On Thursday, we were a little worse for wear after the late, gluttonous night before, so I was surprised when Mike was home at 3:00. We went for dinner at our favorite pizza place, Napule' and called it an early night. We had a big day ahead of us on Friday. Mike took the day off and we planned a day of "touristy" things to do. First we went to the TKTS booth to try to get tickets for a show that day. Unfortunately, we were there at 8:30 and it didn't open until 10. We had thought it opened at 9! We had tickets to visit Buckingham Palace at 10:15, so there was no time to wait, but we killed some time when I let Mike get a McDonald's breakfast. From there we headed to the Queen's Gallery to see her collection "Amazing Rare Things" if you ask us, it was more like "Amazing Boring Things". Sure, she had a couple of Michelangelo's sketches, but overall it was kind of a let down. I was really eager to get inside the palace anyway, so we headed over there. During the months of August and September, the Queen opens up her house to the public, for the low, low price of 30 pounds sterling each! It was worth it though. While we weren't able to see the Queen's apartments, we were able to see the areas where the Queen entertains. They even had the ballroom set up for a State Banquet which was really opulent and impressive. From there we decided to head back to TKTS to see if there were any tickets left, and we were able to get matinee tickets (5:30) to Avenue Q. We had a great lunch in Leicester Square and went to Harrods to kill some time before the show. We had ice cream and walked around the food halls for a while. Then we went to the pub we went to on our first day in London. Here we reflected on the year and the things we'd learned and how we've assimilated to life here. After we had a pint, it was back to Leicester Square to go to the theatre. Avenue Q was a great show, and it was hysterical with American/New York humor that was brilliant! I'm not sure how it was received by the Brits in the audience though. The couple sitting next to me asked if I was enjoying the show during the intermission, and it seemed like they weren't enjoying it at all. After the show, on the way home, we had Nando's for dinner which was a bonus for Mike (it's his favorite place in London).
Yesterday (Saturday), we had all of our friends over for a dinner party. Since we all arrived at the same time, it was their 1 year in London as well. It was really neat to reflect on the year with them as well. Today, we're just relaxing! We don't do that often living here, so it was a nice, welcomed, uneventful day.
On Thursday, we were a little worse for wear after the late, gluttonous night before, so I was surprised when Mike was home at 3:00. We went for dinner at our favorite pizza place, Napule' and called it an early night. We had a big day ahead of us on Friday. Mike took the day off and we planned a day of "touristy" things to do. First we went to the TKTS booth to try to get tickets for a show that day. Unfortunately, we were there at 8:30 and it didn't open until 10. We had thought it opened at 9! We had tickets to visit Buckingham Palace at 10:15, so there was no time to wait, but we killed some time when I let Mike get a McDonald's breakfast. From there we headed to the Queen's Gallery to see her collection "Amazing Rare Things" if you ask us, it was more like "Amazing Boring Things". Sure, she had a couple of Michelangelo's sketches, but overall it was kind of a let down. I was really eager to get inside the palace anyway, so we headed over there. During the months of August and September, the Queen opens up her house to the public, for the low, low price of 30 pounds sterling each! It was worth it though. While we weren't able to see the Queen's apartments, we were able to see the areas where the Queen entertains. They even had the ballroom set up for a State Banquet which was really opulent and impressive. From there we decided to head back to TKTS to see if there were any tickets left, and we were able to get matinee tickets (5:30) to Avenue Q. We had a great lunch in Leicester Square and went to Harrods to kill some time before the show. We had ice cream and walked around the food halls for a while. Then we went to the pub we went to on our first day in London. Here we reflected on the year and the things we'd learned and how we've assimilated to life here. After we had a pint, it was back to Leicester Square to go to the theatre. Avenue Q was a great show, and it was hysterical with American/New York humor that was brilliant! I'm not sure how it was received by the Brits in the audience though. The couple sitting next to me asked if I was enjoying the show during the intermission, and it seemed like they weren't enjoying it at all. After the show, on the way home, we had Nando's for dinner which was a bonus for Mike (it's his favorite place in London).
Yesterday (Saturday), we had all of our friends over for a dinner party. Since we all arrived at the same time, it was their 1 year in London as well. It was really neat to reflect on the year with them as well. Today, we're just relaxing! We don't do that often living here, so it was a nice, welcomed, uneventful day.
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