Walk Like and Egyptian...

Yesterday I had to go to the Egyptian Embassy to get our tourist visas for our May trip to Cairo. I had to be there between 9:30 and 11:30 AM and figured I would leave around 9 to get there for 9:30. If I hadn't gone to Lowndes Place instead of Lowndes Street, I would have been there by 9:30. Luckily they were in the same neighborhood and I was there by 10 after trying to navigate the London maze of streets. When I arrived, there were about 30 people in front of me in line and I stood there for about an hour. I don't know what I was expecting the embassy to be like, but I can assure you that it wasn't a basement with dirty carpet that smelled. They had crappy replicas of the Sphinx and King Tut on a couple of shelves. I can't say that I visited a NJ DMV in the 70s, but this is what I would imagine it to look like. Dark panelling on the wall, broken formica counters, etc. When I finally reached the front of the line, I walked up and said, "Good Morning, How are you today?" to the woman wearing a head scarf behind the counter. She not only didn't respond to me, she didn't even look at me. After looking at our passports and rustling through our papers, she said "You're American...24 pounds." I paid with exact change as I had seen the guy in front of me get ripped off because she didn't have any change. Not sure how that's possible with all the traffic coming through that morning! Then she handed me two slips of paper like you'd get at the deli line at Shoprite and sent me on my way. When I turned to ask when to come back for the passports she said (again, without looking up) "Wednesday between 3 and 4--not before, not after". So tomorrow I'm headed back to this little hell hole in the middle of very posh Belgravia! We're crossing our fingers that they haven't lost our passports or anything crazy like that!

Emerald Isle Adventures...

As promised...I'm going to post a photo along with a little explanation of what we did while in Ireland. We got to Shannon Airport and rented our car. Originally we'd booked at Mazda 3, but when Hertz wanted to give us a Ford Focus in its place, Mike refused and upgraded to a Toyota Avensis. Probably the worst mistake we made while on the Emerald Isle, but more on that later.

After picking up the car we took off for Tralee and the Dingle Peninsula. The sole reason I wanted to go to Tralee was because every year, QVC has a special show called "The Rose of Tralee"...No joke, this is why I wanted to go there. I can't express how disappointed I was in this city. I really was a dump and because we were there on Good Friday very little was open in terms of food, so we went to a diner-like place and had pizza...big mistake! Again, Tralee was a huge disappointment mainly because of my ideas of grandeur brought forth by QVC!

From Tralee we hit up the Dingle Peninsula which was possibly the best part of the trip. Here is where we got to see all of the VERY ANCIENT (500AD) ruins. The way they created these structures is amazing--fitting rocks together without mortar so perfectly that they survive even today! Going around Dingle was the first problem we had with the car. We kept hearing a grinding noise which I assumed was just some crud in the wheel well, but came to find out that the whole front end of the car was dragging on the ground the entire time! We hadn't hit anything so we knew that it was of no fault of our own, but Mike still had to fix it in the pouring rain, wearing the only pants he brought with him. (Even though I told him he should have brought a spare--so much for light packing!)

After we finished the Dingle Peninsula we went down to Killarney to our hotel and anniversary dinner. As we were getting into town, Mike's temporary fix of the bumper came down and people were literally staring us as we were driving up the main street. Luckily this time we parked in a parking garage and Mike was able to put a more permanent fix on! We went to a very nice dinner at a seafood restaurant and enjoyed our meal in a very empty restaurant on Good Friday.

We woke up early the next day to head up to Galway where we were to spend two nights. On the way we visited the majestic Cliffs of Mohr and the Burren Region--Both of which were breathtaking. The Cliffs of Mohr brought out a fear of heights that I wasn't aware I really had. There was a stone barrier up to a point and then there was a sign that said "Do Not Pass Beyond This Point" but everyone was. Beyond that point there was no barrier, guard rail or anything. I got very nervous and you can see it in the pics of me! I made Mike get back behind the barrier before we could even get a picture of the two of us there! The Burren Region is very interesting. It's a huge area of the country that seems to be growing rocks! The rocks just come out of the grass as if they are growing upward! After that, we got into Galway where I wanted to see some traditional Irish music in a nice Irish pub! We got some great pub food and went out in search of some fiddles. We found them in what can only be described as the most crowded bar I have ever been in...We had a pint, listened to the music and were on our way.

On our second day in Galway, we drove along the coast to Connemara National Park. Again, those QVC fans will know that there is such a thing called Connemara marble which is green in color and quite rare. I thought we'd see where it came from. NOPE. No marble in Connemara National Park! There were a series of hiking trails where, if we had the time, we could have taken a nice hike. We consciously tried to get back to main roads before dark though, so we had to pass on the hikes. Again, QVC led to another disappointment! That night we went to a "Local" bar in Galway. We'd heard that in real Irish pubs they don't play Irish music, they play American music, it's just in tourist bars that they play Irish music. We knew we weren't in a tourist bar when we heard "Sexy Back".

We rounded out our trip the next day at Bunratty Castle where we stopped before returning to the airport. This was a true medieval castle where I thought they did a great job in capturing what life would have been like back then. They even created a little village showing what regular homes and businesses would have been like back in the medieval era.

When we got back to Shannon and returned the car, we found out that there were a lot of hidden charges with the rental. What we thought was going to cost about 300 euro, wound up costing us about 700 euro! Needless to say, Mike is livid and has "written a letter!", in true Mike fashion, to Hertz. We'll see how that goes!

All in all, Ireland was everything I'd hoped it would be and more. The sights were great, the food was good and the pints were fantastic! Even with the little disappointments of Tralee and Connemara--which I hold QVC directly responsible for! I can't wait to go back again to see Dublin and Waterford.

Ah, The Garden State!

Home Sweet Home! You know, many people consider New Jersey to be the armpit of the world, but I must admit, there's no place I'd rather call home! I have been here almost a week at this point and am sad to say I'll be heading home to England on Thursday. Again, it's been a whirlwind of a trip, but at least with Mike going back earlier it gives me a little time to relax a little bit!

Some highlights of the trip home, are always seeing friends and family, shopping, American food, shopping, driving, shopping. Did I mention the shopping! I need my retail therapy afterall! Things are twice as expensive over there!!!

One thing I've been told several times since being home is that I'm slacking with the blog. I'll try to keep it up with more frequent posts. It's just that we're starting to really LIVE there now, so nothing terribly interesting has been happening!

Again, I'll post some pics of the Emerald Isle when I return to foggy London town, and write a blog about our trip to Ireland. In one word it was amazing! In one phrase, a dream come true. Stay tuned for some more detail!

Year 2 + 2 Days

It's hard to believe it's been a year since we got married! So much has happened in the last 12 months, and time has certainly flew by! So on the 17th we decided that we'd skip the fancy dinner to have some good ol' St Patty's Day fun. The first problem would be finding a place to celebrate in England! We decided to head to Brogan's our local "Irish" pub in the land of English pubs (yes there's a difference). Mike came home from work early and we headed to the pub around 5PM. The place was already packed with people wearing green wigs and green boas. I felt like I was at Willie McBrides in Hoboken! It was tough to get a seat, but Mike has some skill in this area and after only a few minutes we were sitting cozily on a nice sofa. We had a pub dinner and Mike had a few pints of Guinness and I a few of Irish cider. They were playing some of my favorites--Whiskey in the Jar, No, Nay, Never, but not the Unicorn. I was a little disappointed, but I got over it. Unfortunately, the stopped playing Irish music around 8, so we decided to leave.

Today, I'm working on our Irish road trip this weekend. We fly into Shannon on Friday morning and will be picking up our rental car and heading first to Knappogue Castle, then through Limerick and Adare where we'll have lunch. Then we're headed to Tralee and around the Dingle Peninsula and to our hotel in Killarney. Here we'll have our REAL anniversary dinner. On Day 2 we'll head north toward Galway stopping at Doolin which is the Irish Music capital, the CIlffs of Mohr, and the Burren Region. Galway will be our starting off point for the next 2 days. We're really looking forward to the trip and will be sure to take lots of photos to document it! We arrive back in London on Easter Monday and fly back to the states on Tuesday. I'll be spending a little more time in the States than Mike and it seems like when I get home on April 2, we're actually going to fly to Poland on April 3. What a whirlwind couple of weeks!

Drew and Cat's Visit

Drew and Cat just went home today, and I think "Tourguide Tara" showed them as much of London/England as humanly possibly in 8 days! It really was a nice visit and I think that Mike and I really enjoyed getting out to some of the tourist attractions around town that we haven't gotten a chance to see. I have to say as well that it was nice to have people from home here...but at the same time, it was a little surreal having friends from NJ in London with us!

Here is a little summary of what we did:

Saturday: Drew and Cat arrive, and we just headed out to a local pub for them to get a pint and a little relaxation.

Sunday: Drew only had 2 days to really see the city as he had to work while in town, so we donned out walking shoes and hit the pavement. We got to Buckingham Palace, The Horse Guards, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, The London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London (Unfortunately, it was closed when we got there!). What a day! Along the way, we were even privy to a demonstration celebrating Kosovo, and discovered an "Ale Trail" that I'll write about later.

Monday: Catherine and I head out to Windsor to explore WIndsor Castle. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the best for their visit and rained quite a bit, but as Cat put it, it's better to have wind and rain than to have heat and crowds! WIndsor was a great little town and the castle was awesome. I had watched a 3 part documentary on the castle and how it's run, so it was great to see it in person. It was really an impressive building structurally and was the most beautifully decorated palace I've seen. We had lunch in the "Crooked House" which was built around 1670 or something like that which was great! We wound up spending the whole day there so there weren't any other sights that day.

Tuesday: We took a bus ride from Hyde Park where their hotel was to Sloane Square. Home to the most fashionable people in London and some of the best shops. We took a walk up the Kings Road where the mini skirt was invented in the 60s and hopped back on a bus to head to the Chelsea Megastore--2 floors of retail bliss dedicated to none other that the world famous Chelsea Football Club. We each got some Chelsea gear and then headed to Harrods to have a look around there. From Harrods we we to Notting Hill, where unfortunately, everything was closed, so I dropped Cat off at her hotel and went home.

Wednesday: Catherine and I went to Kensington Palace to see the Princess Diana Memorial and tour the palace. Here, we became "Palace Members" so now Mike and I have passes to the Palaces (Kensington, Hampton Court, Kew, and Tower of London) for the year. After a few hours in Kensington Palace we hit the Prince Albert Memorial, Royal Albert Hall and the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington. Finally, we took the tube back to Fulham Broadway (our home) and got to see a Chelsea Football match. It was a great experience, the score was 6-1 Chelsea over Derby (pronounced Darby) County with my new favorite player Frank Lampard scoring 4 times! It was neat to hear the crowd chanting and singing even though Mike was disappointed the didn't sing "Ole', Ole', Ole'"!

Thursday: Cat and I were up bright and early and hopped on a 2 hour train ride to the Cotswolds. It's a region of England that is pretty much preserved as it was 500-600 years ago. It wasn't like historic Williamsburg as it was a real living, working collection of villages. We did some exploring in Moreton-in-Marsh where the train dropped us off, and then hopped on a bus to Burton-on-the-Water to explore there. In Burton we got to see the most popular tourist attraction in all of the Cotswolds-- "The Miniature Village"! It's a 1:9 scale model of the entire town of Burton, complete with rivers! We walked around the model for a while like giants and then made our way to the tea house for some scones. We were careful to make our bus/train back to London as we really would have been stranded in this very rural part of England!

Friday: We visited Hampton Court Palace. Hampton Court is just a short train ride from Wimbledon and was well worth it. Originally, I didn't really have much interest in visiting there, but was pleasantly surprised at what I found. Hampton Court is famous for being the home of Henry the VIII who I have to say is really interesting and possibly my favorite royal of all time. This palace is a little off the beaten path and was far less crowded than any of the others we'd been to. Here they had actors in period dress giving tours. The gardens here were absolutely beautiful as well--the trees looked like Hershey's Kisses!

Saturday: Drew was done with work on Friday night, so Saturday was another whirlwind tourist day. We headed back to Tower Hill to ensure we got to the Tower of London first. We saw the crown jewels and had a great tour from a Yeoman (aka Beefeater). We spent a few hours there and then went to Westminster Abbey in order to get a tour. Unfortunately, the Abbey closed at 1:45--who knew??? I suppose it is a working church and does actually have to have services every now and again! We also went to St. Pauls Cathedral where the entrance fee to enter the church was 10 GBP, which all of us thought was a bit ridiculous considering it's a place of worship! Needless to say, we got as far as the lobby, and turned around! Then it was back to one of my favorite places in London--Harrods for some souvenir shopping. After Harrods we started on our Ale Trail! We had read a pamphlet on day 1 that challenged you to visit 5 pubs and get stamps from each when you purchased food or drink and you got a free tshirt. We hit our first pub around 6pm and finished around 11! A pint an hour with dinner in there as well--not too shabby! We weren't optimistic that we were going to actually get the tshirt at the end, but I have to say that the pub we ended at was excited that someone had followed the trail and were all over getting us our shirts! The four of us are now shirt-bearing conquerors of the "Ale Trail".

All in all our visit was great! Although my legs and feet will be thanking me this week, it was nice to experience the city. Mike and I even surprised ourselves with how much we've learned about this place and how knowledgeable we are in getting from place to place in the short time we've been here!


We haven't got much time until our next adventure. On Friday we leave for our Western Ireland roadtrip. We've rented a car and are going to be exploring Counties Kerry, Shannon, Clare, and will be spending Easter in Galway. We fly from Ireland to London on Monday and are off to the good old US of A on Tuesday! It makes me jetlagged just thinking of it!

GUESTS!!

We have our first guests arriving tonight! Drew and Catherine were supposed to come in May, but luckily, Drew started a new job at a hedge fund based in London, so he's here for the next week at training. I suppose starting a new job has put their overseas jaunt on hold so Catherine is tagging along on the business trip. They are staying with us tonight and next Saturday and leaving next Sunday. Catherine and I will see the sights and Drew will bring home the bacon. Mike and I are going to try and cram as much of London as we can into the 2 days that Drew will be off of work. Tomorrow is going to be a big day...St. Pauls, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, London Eye, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, etc! The list goes on! Luckily, a lot of these things are just "stand and look" attractions! I'll have to double check to see if the churches are open to the public tomorrow too!

It will be nice to have some friends from home see our place and maybe see for themselves what a 3rd world country this place really is!

Speaking of England being 3rd world, last night at happy hour, Rachel (our friend from PwC NY) was telling me that her knee has been swollen to twice the size for OVER A MONTH! She has gone to her GP who then sent her to the hospital for x-rays. She had to wait 15 days for the results of the x-ray and when she called for the results she only had a 30 minute window--11:30-12:00. The results were that there wasn't anything broken and that she needed to speak to a doctor, but to speak to a doctor she had to call between 10:00 and 10:30. So now 5 weeks later, she still doesn't know why her knee is swollen and has been wearing an ace bandage. Luckily she flies home to NY in a couple of weeks for work so she's going to see a doctor there! So much for socialized medicine!!!

Prague...

Who knew that we were doomed? Nearly every trip we go on, if there is a storm, it will find us! Prague was no different! When I checked the weather before we left, I knew it was going to rain, but I wasn't aware that there was going to be a storm so crazy that it brought thunder and lightening, hail and heavy wind and rain! All this on Saturday when we were scheduled for our 6 hour walking tour! We sucked it up and labored on and really enjoyed our tour. Prague is really a beautiful city architecturally, which kind of reminded us of Monaco with the pastel colored buildings. Some interesting things we saw there were the Astronomical Clock which has 4 methods of telling time, and a calendar with date and month. It was all built in the 1300s and was actually pretty cool. The Czech Republic is a country of non-believers, which you would never know based on the amount of ornate churches and cathedrals in the city. It's said that over 90% of Czechs don't believe in any organized religion at all. Most of the churches are actually used for concerts rather than worship. On Friday night we took a Pub Tour of Prague which was really cool. 3 pubs, 3 beers in 3 hours. The best part was visiting the "local" spots. The beers in these pubs were EXTREMELY cheap, and we got the opportunity to sample some of the Czech Republic's best--Bernard, Gambrinus, and Pilsner Urquell. All of which we put on our list of favorite beers! While on our hour tour on Saturday, we saw the oldest Synagogue in the world as well as the oldest Jewish cemetery. It has been in operation since the 1300s with just a few years break during WW2 during the German occupation. Ironically, the Jewish Quarter was ordered to be preserved by Adolf Hitler so that when he ruled the world it would become a museum of sorts to the inferior race and it's extinction. Prague was also home to the famous surrealist author Franz Kafka, who wrote "Metamorphosis". Yet, another work that Mike had not read! I thought every kid had to read that in sophomore English class! After seriously doubting Mike's literary training, he assured me that Marlboro gave him a decent education, but were just a little uptight on what kids read--imagine--The Diary of Ann Frank on the banned books list!!!! All in all, despite the weather it was a great trip at a beautiful place with absolutely lovely beers!