Escaping the Rat Race

On another free Saturday, we met up with Vinz again. He invited us over to his place for a most amazing Swiss breakfast, complete with bacon, 2 types of sausages, eggs, nutella & banana filled crepes, croissants, 2 types of juice, a variety of cereals... I'm probably forgetting some other items, but the point has been made. It was delicious and very, very filling. He even had special big chocolate muffins on Ady's & my plate as gifts for the ladies. So sweet.

Despite that we could barely walk after all that food, we managed to make it to Westfield Cemetery, which Vinz had been told to check out. The cemetery looked very very old and overgrown with vegetation... but apparently, it has just not been well maintained because the oldest graves we saw were from the early 1800s. And come to find out, once we paid our entrance fee (Yep, we had to pay a fee to enter a mismanaged cemetery), the cemetery with all the really old graves was across the road. He he. Oh well. Some of the grave stones had actually come out of the ground so you could see down into the hollow vault- and of course, we had to look.. but no skeleton sightings occurred. Some of the grave stones were actually cracked completely in half, & some had a big ol' tree growing right out the top of the burial- apparently some good fertile ground there. He he. British humor has apparently made its way into me. Oh, and in our wanderings, we discovered that Karl Marx was buried there, so we stopped and gave him a visit.

Then it was off to another big park called Hamstead Heath. It is a huge park with some areas left in a more natural state. The view of the city was stunning from on top of the hill. People were flying their kites, walking their dogs & children and enjoying a little breathing space out of the hustle bustle of the big city. It was a nice break for us.

Dress Code

When in Great Britain, do as the British do. Wear a wool coat. ...And so we shall.

Tower of Terror

One Saturday with not much to do... we decided to check out the Tower of London. We started out on a guided tour, but I was quickly overcome with way too many details of beheadings and executions that we decided to go our own way. I hate when you are told something and you cannot unthink it. Absolutely terrible images in my poor, innocent, non-murderous brain. There was so much death associated with the castle that it felt eerie and unsettling. It was very common that a King would have his wife put to death. One King had been married to his wife for only 11 days, I think it was, before the wife was sentenced to death. And to think we modern people consider that first year of marriage rough! Good thing we didn't live back then, & Tyler wasn't a King. He may not have put up too long with my "marriage is good, but it is an adjustment" statement I liked to make in our first year married. Anyway... enough about that. Lucky for me, we decided to skip the torture chambers. Thank goodness. I'm starting to learn that that is a part of British humor. There is this darkness about it. Here is an example: While at the gift shop, you could buy your child a pop-up book that pictured a beheading- & the head would actually come off! Oh so terrible! We saw the Crown Jewels while there, which was very interesting to see. We also saw centuries old knight's armor and battle weapons. There was also a great exhibit of royal coins through time. These latter things were more my cup of tea.

Speaking of tea... have you ever wondered what a crumpet is? While at the dreaded grocery store one day, I came across some & could not resist buying them. To prepare them, you put them in the toaster and then spread butter and jam on top. They tasted like an english muffin and a pancake mixed together. It wasn't too good, if you ask me. But maybe store-bought crumpets are like store-bought sushi- BAD! Next time I get the gumption, I will get a crumpet at a quaint English restaurant and pair it with a cup of tea (instead of ice cream). Cheers!

Little Zombies

Ady has been busy drawing pictures and learning how to write letters. These are a few of my favorite pictures. According to the artist herself, the first zombie is a picture of me. I can definitely see the resemblance. I'm pretty sure she was drawing her impression of me during our little grocery store nightmare last week. In the second picture, I have been told that the blob above the eyes is hair, and the squiggly scribble on the one leg is a bandaid. The third picture is of the ocean.

It was cute to watch her draw these. I think she even surprised herself that she could draw something that had order and represented something, instead of chaotic scribbles. She focused so hard to draw them, and took her time to draw each feature in places that made sense.

Economic Inequality: Occupy Protests

These protests are going on just down the road from us. It has been a peaceful demonstration here, unlike some other places, but police teams are everywhere monitoring the situation to assure that it remains tame. We have not felt threatened or afraid by the protests. It is actually a little thrilling to see.

Here is a link to an article that tells more info.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/18/world/europe/occupy-london-protests/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

"We are part of a global movement of people who are fed up with the current system."

Good Friends. Good Times. Good Food.

Last week we had a truly multi-cultural/international day. Saturday morning we met up with a guy that Tyler met at work who had also just moved here. His name was Vinz & was from Switzerland. Vinz invited another girl who had also just moved here from Brazil. Her name was Tatiana. We were like a bunch of peas in a pod out looking for good neighborhoods to live in. For fun, we checked out a place called Camden Town, which was far from a good place to live- but definitely an interesting and crazy place to shop. Camden Town is marketplace central if you want anything from anywhere else around the world. You could find everything from 18 century style clothing to trench coats adorned with metal thorns, boots with 8 inch soles, furniture, jewelry... you name it, it was there. There was also an international food market. We decided to go for West African food- which was flavorful, but not spicy. We had chicken, lamb & rice with plantains & some kind of bread on the side. It was alright, kind of greasy. I might try something different next time.

After Camden Town, we walked through several different parts of London. We ended up in Mayfield and walked past the U.S. Embassy. We know where to run now if we are seeking a safe haven. We continued on through two great parks and checked out the ducks there. Vinz fed the squirrels. Next was the Horse Guard Parade, but the horses were nowhere to be seen- only guards in uniform standing around the outside of the building- so we snapped a few pictures with them. We finished the day at this amazing restaurant/pub where we enjoyed some delicious cheeses, prosciutto, & wine. The restaurant was so interesting. It was a small underground building in this dark dug out tunnel, lit only by a few candles. Pretty awesome. It was a good day- and we all became good friends. Tatiana & Vinz may or may not have become a little more than good friends. :)

A Place to Call Home

We spent all day Wednesday and Thursday looking for that perfect flat we could call "home"... and we found one we love!  Here she is...

... And you will never believe where it is located.  Do you recognize this album cover?

Here is our attempt at recreating the scene

Yep.  We will be living on Abbey Road.  It is just down the street from Abbey Road Studios where the Beatles recorded their final album in 1969.  This crosswalk is just 5 minutes from our place.  Pretty cool, eh?  Abbey Road is located in a place called St. John's Wood.  It is a beautiful and charming area that is not so busy and crowded as some areas of London, but close enough that we can easily get in on the London scene.  We are so very excited!  It has 2 bedrooms + 1 little office room, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen (with a big fridge & freezer!), & a living room/dining room.  Despite the fact that I will almost exclusively be doing online grocery shopping, as was stated previously :),  when we were looking at the place, it warmed my heart that just across the street is a cute little store that reminds me a little bit of Ken's Kash in Oakley (minus the world famous hotdogs).  The flat has decent tube access & is close to several parks, namely Regents Park, which is a very large and beautiful place that you MUST see if you visit.  We are set to move in Tuesday October 25th.  Visitors are welcome!