Essaouira

Ok-I need to finish this trip up. This will be one rambling post as my original was lost and I made the stupid mistake of tossing the hand written notes thinking it was all online. Learned lesson there.

The small child that sampled all the drinks yesterday is sick (not surprised on that one), so is her mom. Today, we pack up from the mountains and head to the coast. It is a long windy drive in a small van with widows that barely open and if they do the smell of exhaust impales your breathing passages and makes an already car sick stomach more so. I gave all the kids their bracelets and some Dramamine and end up taking a migraine pill for myself.

We make a side stop to a village that has a nice little garden to walk around. This was meant to show us the saffron plants, but they are already harvested so we really just see plants that grow in nice warm sunny places-nothing new to a Californian but different for our fellow British travelers. Today is a holiday…damn, I wish my post didn’t disappear I had so much on this.

Not only is it New Year’s Eve, but Aid el Kabir as well. This is one the oldest and most important religious festivals of the Islamic world, based on when Abraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac, for God. Each Muslim household that can afford to do so will sacrifice a sheep; the head of the household turn’s the animal’s head toward Mecca and then slits the throat. None of the animal is wasted-our guide told us that the family eats 1/3, gives 1/3 to the poor and shares 1/3 with family, friends, or neighbors. The women of the household cast a few small pieces of the heart and liver into the corners of each room in order to keep away evil. So along our route we see gatherings of the people in each village on the mountainsides participating in special prayers and ‘masses.’ It is an arresting view to see an entire village dressed in white robes against the red mountains.

Of course this festival attracts controversy and outrage around the world from animal rights workers, who see the ritual as exceptionally cruel as the animal is conscious when their throat is slit and causes a bloody and painful death.
We had to drive all the way back to Marrakech in order to get to the coast-the roads are supposed to be better this way. Along the roads in random open fields we see plumes of black smoke and smell burning flesh. It appears that the portion given to the poor is the head of the sheep-they are all being roasted on makeshift fires. Kids no older than ours proudly hold up the blackened heads as we drive by. The smell is sickening and I wonder how long it will linger.
After 3 hours of driving and a lunch stop, we arrive in Essaouria. This is a nice sleepy coastal area. After checking into our rooms, we spent the remainder of the day walking around the town center and relaxing. Unfortunately while walking around the town center we did encounter one too many roasting sheep heads down small streets. After a pizza dinner, we retired to our room and fell asleep to the sound of dance music from the New Year’s party in the restaurant below.

Different Worlds

(Don't forget you can click on the photos for larger & better views)

This is such a different world from ours and there is so much to observe, if I don't write the date each day, I loose track. Tomorrow is a big festival here and everyone is traveling to see their families. We are lucky to get donkeys for our trek today, the group one day behind us will not get to start their ride until after lunch.

After breakfast-bread, some round bread made from semolina that appears to be last nights left-overs, coffee & juice-we piled in a local transport bus to go about 3 km up the road where our donkeys/mules were waiting. We had two pack animals to carry out lunch and seven others to carry the kids or adults who couldn't walk the trek. No saddle-just layers of blankets. Jilly and I rode 1, Jason claimed he was too big and walked, Kaitlyn & Griffen talked two members of the Scottish family into riding with them.

Our trek went straight up a mountainside into what seemed like nowhere. We had to stop along the while while locals made their way down either on foot or donkey's. Several times the donkey came too close to the edge of a drop for my taste. The trip back down is going to be a bit perilous.

About half way up we stopped to rest our legs (I think I'd rather be walking) and eat a snack of dates, figs and nuts. Our
resting spot was near a tiny Berber village and about 7 young boys aged 2-8 sat and watched us with great curiosity. One of them even looked like he could be the twin of my nephew, Logan.

About 40 minutes later a large village nestled into the mountainside appeared. The houses all built from the dirt and rock around them-all a saffron red color. The land in front of the village was all neatly terraced with bright patches of green all the way to the river. Some women were down by the river washing clothes, rubbing them against the rocks and laying them out to dry over bushes. As Jason was taking a photo of them from afar, one of the donkey guides stopped him and shook his
head no.

Our guide told us the village consisted of 1 tribe and the people all marry within their tribe. Most villages negotiate with the government for water (wells), electricity and a school.

Once we reached the village, we dismounted and were led to a house. We climbed up some very crude steps to an open area where we all sat on a mat. For shade could remove our shoes and go through a door to a room that had a carpet covering part of the dirt floor, pillows around the walls and a TV sitting in an armoire. The TV was tuned to Al Jazeera and we deduced that Saddam had been executed.

Back outside a gentleman was brewing mint tea for us and our guide was preparing lunch with some local women. The drink
of choice in Morocco is mint tea-90% mint leaves and 10% green tea leaves brewed and poured into a sort of shot glass with about 4 cubes of sugar. While in the Western World you tend see people sitting around have a glass of wine, beer or soda; here in Morocco it is mint tea.

We had to snatch our cups quickly as the youngest child of our group (not one of my kids) decided she would add even more sugar to the cups and then sample each one. The adults of her family thought it funny and didn't do much to stop her. Despite the primitive living, this turned out to be the most unsanitary moment of the day.

Me and 2 other women decided we needed the toilet. This turned out to be below the steps, through a door that led to some empty rooms that looked animal housing or storage. Through another door we found the actual toilet-a hole in the wall at the corner of the room that had a slight downward slant to the floor. As I sat, squatting on the floor and staring at the pile of potatoes in the opposite corner, I wondered where one had to go for a poo. I will be sure to step over the clear paths of wet coming from each house as well.

While we each waited for our turn to pee-a few local children gathered whispering and giggling at our marvel of their toilet. When we returned upstairs we found a teapot filled with water, a bucket and a bar of soap to wash with. Is is amazing to see that so many people still live off the land and nothing else. Nobody seemed unhappy with what they had or didn't have for that matter.

Lunch was simple yet delicious-fresh cut tomatoes, olives, red onions, green peppers, pasta, tuna and a spicy red pepper sauce. We had fresh mandarins and apples for dessert.

I put Jillian in the baby backpack and walked around until she fell asleep-I was then able to pass the backpack onto Jason and he started off down the mountain. I rode on the donkey with Griffen and Kaitlyn went with another adult from our group. The trip down was a bit spooky with the donkeys walking very close to the edge and all the locals coming back up with full loads on their donkeys or visiting family. At one point the donkey walking behind Griffen and I slipped and its hind legs went over the edge. Thank goodness no one was riding that one. After watching this happen, Griffen got spooked enough that we walked down the rest of the way.

At the bottom, the donkey guides surrounded us waiting for tips. I wish our guide had told us what was a fair tip or took all the money and divided it as each of us gave a different amount and it wasn't a nice way to end the day.

Ourika Valley

Today we are leaving Marrakech for the Ourika Valley in the Atlas Mountains. It was going to be a bout a 70 km drive to our hotel. We stopped along the way for pictures of the valley. Out of nowhere 3 little boys appeared with a bucket of lychees to sell.One family gave them 1 dh and they got 12 lychees in return. He was really very friendly, but we didn't want any-so we gave him some coins and took his picture with the kids instead. He wanted to the see the photo, when Jason showed him he smiled and said, "c'est bonne."

We arrived at out hotel around 11:30 and the staff seemed surprised to see us, none of the rooms were ready. Our guide warned us that there really wasn't anything around and we had all packed a picnic lunch which we ate on the hotel's rooftop terrace. We had to eat quickly and move away as lunch is the biggest meal in Morocco and this hotel's biggest trade was lunch for well off Marrakechi's.

We checked into our very cold rooms, turned the heater on and left to sit by the pool wondering what to do next. Our guide said he would return around 3:30 or so to take anyone on a walk that was interested. After the craziness of Marrakech we all just sat around the pool while the kids played around the hotel grounds.

We were traveling with 2 other families; one family from the London area had 2 children aged 5 and almost 4 I believe. Our kids got along quite well with them. The other family was a pleasant Scottish family consisting of 2 children, their parents and various aunts, uncles, and granny. Although the adults outnumbered the children in their case, the kids seemed to get the best of even them at times.

Around 3, a family with 2 kids from London suggested we walk on our own as the sun was fading quickly with the mountains. Since our kids were playing together we thought that was also the best way to make them want to explore.

Down by the river we were met by an old Berber man speaking a combo of French and Berber. He seemed very intent on telling us all he knew about his home, showing us a picture of his family and a card from a professor recommending him as a guide. He carried the kids across the water and then showed us what he made for a craft-it looked like a wooden mortar and pestle. He gave the kids sparkly rocks, picked mint for them, showed us a few cars that had gone over the edge of the cliff. After a while we took photos of him, paid him for his time and started back to the hotel. Along the way we saw a man selling tajines by the roadside-we could tell he was proud of his creations as he opened each one for us to admire.
Back at the hotel we sat in the lounge of the restaurant around the fire for a few hours, drinking mint tea and trying to get warm. After dinner we went to bed, huddled together in order to stay warm.

The Streets of Marrakech

Griffen is still sick-but he troops along anyway. We started him on a re-hydration sachet.

After breakfast (bread, oj, hard boiled egg and coffee) and meeting the rest of our tour group (3 families-18 people) we pile into some caleshes for a tour around the 'red city.' There is so much going on-I can hardly take it all in: Men wearing the traditional djellaba cloak, women wearing head scarves, donkey carts full of people, bikes, men pushing carts full of food, cars, horns, scooters carrying anything from food to entire families. All three kids are wide eyed and silent.

We are let off at the Djemaa el Fna-an open square full of snake charmers, monkey handlers, musicians, produce sellers, and more. All will pose for a photo-and that is how they make their living.

From here we head into the souks-each little alley devoted to a different craft-tea pots, leather, pottery, souvenirs and food. The alleys are crammed with people battling for space to walk between the random scooter, carts of goods and the occasional sheep. It was so intense, Kaitlyn soaked it all in without her usual litany of complaints.

We stopped in a Berber pharmacy where we got to sample a few items and purchase spices. Jas & I got neck massages for 20 dirhams each-about $2.50. We also bought 30 grams of saffron threads for what 2 grams would cost in the US.


After the souks we made our way back to the Djemaa. A quick picture with he snake charmers-I gave him 20 dh and he asked for 20 more. I said no and the guide came to our rescue, said we paid enough and we walked away.

Time for lunch. Griff had 1/2 a Sprite, Jilly had some bread, Kaitlyn ate pizza while Jas & I went for the traditional tajines. These are dishes cooked in a tahine pot for a long time at low temps. Mine was chicken with lemons and Jason got beef. The meals came with 3 baskets of bread-which all the moms stored away in their backpacks for future use.

Here our guide left us on our own till later that night. Previously he told us to only take petit taxis and to make sure they had a meter. HA. The petit taxi drivers all told us they could only take 3 people we had to take a grand taxi-and they don't have meters. We told him where our hotel was-there are 3 here with the same name so we had to make sure he got the right one-and agreed on a price. Although Dirhams are the local currency they will take Euros quite readily as well.

Back at the hotel Griff and Jilly napped, Jason and Kaitlyn went to the store for snack and then to find a garden while I wrote and watched from the window.
The hotel was not in a nice fancy area, but there was a grocery right next door and it was within walking distance of the Jardin Majorelle. The Jardin is a sub-tropical garden offering a peaceful getaway from the craziness of Marrakech.

My views out the window: I watched a man with a sheep appear and wait on the side of the road for a taxi. Once one stopped for him, he tied the legs of the sheep together and put it in the trunk of the taxi and off they went. Must have something to do with the sheep festival. Two groups of people were waiting for a taxi-as one pulled over both groups ran towards it and then argued over it. While they argued, the taxi left. At any given time there are 20 or so buses coming and going. A truck goes by loaded with plastic crates 16 long, 8 high and 6 across each full of oranges and nothing secured. A man driving a scooter with flats of eggs 10 high in front and two such stacks behind him. A old woman pushing a man in a wheelchair up the street amongst the other traffic.

After our rest we went for a walk around our hotel, an area called Bab Doukkala. This area is definitely poor. There was rubbish everywhere-the sidewalks filled with dust, old bits of food, trash, stray cats. Street vendors lined one street with wooden carts full of bananas, mandarins, dates, figs. Every doorway was full of craftsmen-woodcarvers, slipper makers, butchers. People were even selling just piles of straw. We had Jilly in the backpack and several women were eyeing it-they all had their young ones in slings across the back. We saw maybe 3-4 other westerners walking about-yet we felt safe. The locals might be staring but they were smiling as well. Several children even yelled "Bonjour" to us. We had to constantly dodge scooters-some carrying the driver with a child standing in front of him and the mom in back either holding another child or large bags in each hand. A smell invades us-raw meat, spices, sheep, smoke, there are so many cats you can actually smell them. Is this the smell of poverty?

Just as we were walking back to the hotel a man turned and smiled and patted Griffen on the head. He stopped ahead of us and came back to kiss him on the cheek with a big smile. We told Griffen it was good luck.

For dinner the hotel recommended a restaurant on the edge of the Djemaa. After watching the difficulty locals had catching a taxi, we asked a man in front of the hotel to help us flag a taxi. After about 10 minutes a man pulls up in a car and they all smile saying, "welcome, Marrakech taxi." We piled in and agree on a price-Jason just showing him what we thought was reasonable. As we are driving to the Djemaa-I tell Jason that there are no taxi markings on the car and I think we just hitched a ride with a total stranger.

The Djemaa was alive with activity-even more so than earlier today. The center area was transformed with hundreds of tables filled with dinners and men flagging us down to entice us to their table. The smoke from the outdoor grills is so thick it stings the eyes. The musicians, dancers, and storytellers were entertaining locals as well as tourists.

The restaurant was nice-tile walls, pillow lined seating along the walls. There was a set menu, but they let the kids just eat off our plates and also let us order a side of couscous for them as well. There were two musicians entertaining the guests as well-taking turns playing the qraqeb (metal cymbals) and the guinbri (3 string guitar type instrument), singing and swinging their heads ever so slightly making a large tassel on their fez hats swing around in unison. When they are finished and second set come in playing drums. After a short break the drummers come back with a belly dancer. Once Jillian saw her she said, "mommy when you are going to sign me up for that?" I know belly dancers aren't Moroccan, but it was fun. She tried to get Griffen to dance with her, but he refused. He'll regret that when he's 16.

Walking to the taxi stand after dinner a small boy no bigger than Jillian approaches us, hands out begging. He is alone. Once he realizes we won't give him money, he kisses Jillian on the cheek and walks away. It is hard not to give all the begging children money, but our tour leader as well as everything we have read warns against giving to them, it only encourages them.

All this in one day.

"We're off on the road to Morocco..."

"We're off on the road to Morocco" today (taken from lyrics by Johnny Burke). Our flight leaves at 5. We left the house at 11 and traffic reports said we should have a clear way. We have tried to time it so we will leave the car at Jason's office in Uxbridge and have a bit of time for lunch and to buy diapers, water and a book on Morocco. The clear traffic didn't last long.

Traffic jams in LA are nothing compared to here-there is never an exit every few miles and there are really no side streets for detours unless you want narrow,windy country roads. We had only about 45 minutes (pushing that) when we got to Uxbridge. Time for the convenient but unpleasant McD's.

While standing in line to order, Griffen clamped his hand over his mouth-I took one look at him and we raced out the door with the inevitable splat just clearing the entrance. Thinking it was just car-sickness from stop & go traffic, he went back in and a ate his burger and fries.

After scarfing down our food, Jas let me off on a corner with vague directions to his office. He took the kids to wait for our taxi at his office and I ran to Tesco's for diapers, water and tissues. By the time I got to the Amgen building, the taxi was loaded and waiting for me.

We were not sure where the Air Morocco check-in desk was but a board at the entrace of the terminal said to use the Air France desk. I asked an agent waiting by the line just to make sure and she said yes. So, we stood in line for 30 minutes only to be told by the check-in agent that no, Air Morocco does not work with Air France, we have to go to the Lufthansa desk. We trudged back to the other end of the terminal where the Lufthansa agent tells us Air Morocco has its own next at the end. After another agonising 20 minutes (I swear they typed with one finger), we are checked in for our flight.

Thankfully the security line was quick. Our departure gate hasn't posted yet, so we decided to run into Boots for forgotten deodorant, sunscreen and sudafed for Kaitlyn's aching ear. Another stop at WH Smith for snacks a novel for Jason and tour book on Morocco. By now the gate is posted and thankfully its a close 10 minute walk (it can be up to 30 minutes or a bus ride away).

Once in the air we smell dinner-fish. A strong yucky smelling fish. Beef was another option but we are stuck at the back of the plane and the beef runs out at Kaitlyn. The fish was just plain nasty and unedible. The rest of us ate bread and the pudding dessert. Griffen and Jillian are feeling ill and really don't eat anything. Great start to our big holiday and I am having a deja vu from our last winter break.

The plane lands in Casablanca where we have to change planes instead of the listed touch down only. The first agent we meet off the plane tells us to go to gate 3. The agent at gate 3 tells us to go to gate 7. Back at gate 7, the agent walked away without answering when we asked him. A passing agent said no, go to gate 3. After waiting at gate 3 for 5 minutes with a now frustrated crowd of passengers we end up back at gate 7.

Gate 7-a quick security check and a long wait with no information. Our 20 minute touch down turned into a 45 minute delayed flight to Marrakech. Once in Marrakech we run into the chaos of passport control where we pick the slowest line. It is now about 11 pm.

Our guide met us and we drove for 15 minutes to our hotel. On the way he apologizes for the business of the airport, there are lots of things going on with Christmas, New Year's and the sheep festival, Aid el Kabir and many people are traveling to be with their families.

Immediately after getting off the bus, Griffen christens the ground with his stomach contents. Wonderful. Off to bed in our rooms that face the bus station and very busy road and beds that are as soft as the tile floors.

Winter Wonderland

We walked to school this morning in a winter wonderland of fog and frost. Even though the kids have all seen frost-quite a few school children marveled at the crunchy ground and cobwebs on the way to school this morning. We were running a bit late after a Jillian fit and as I ran out from the drive I just about landed on my bum-there was an ever so slight layer of ice on the sidewalk.
Although it was fascinating to see the cobwebs covered with frost-it was a bit of an eye opener as well to see how many are around that are usually invisible.
A down-side to all the wintry beauty was that the fog didn't lift at all and with the dampness in the air and the cost of heating we are all walking around our homes with scarves on. I may have to bite the bullet tomorrow when everyone is home from school and keep the heat on all day.

Paris, Take 3-Photos

Paris, Take 3

I hope the kids realize how lucky they are-they've been to Paris 3 times in one year.

Jason decided we should make one more quick trip and do a bit of shopping. It was a lot of driving for such a short time, but worth it. Since we got a late start on Friday, we stayed in Calais and then drove into Paris Saturday morning. Our regular hotel was full but we found another one in the same area that had parking and a kitchen. After checking in and cleaning up we went out to find something to eat.

It is always a challenge to feed kids-but we managed to get Griffen to eat some onion soup and Kaitlyn cleaned up on a quiche. Jillian just ate some bread and a few bites of my omelet. We gave Vania the afternoon off and went out on our own.

The plan was to go back to Luxembour Gardens, but the rain halted that plan. Two more options-dinosaur and mineral museum or to try to find ice skating. The museums are free in London, and probably better so we opted for ice skating. Buying metro tickets tunred out to be harder than usual. We only needed a pack on 10 single rides, but the ticket attendant said he didn't speak English, and we had to buy those tickets from the machine. Ok. We see 2 different ticket machines, one to add money to passes, which had both English and French, and the other machine which you bought tickets from, and only had French. Tell me who is more likely to add to a pass and who is more likely to buy a ticket? We couldn't get the machine to take our credit card and it didn't take bills only coins. The attendant wouldn't give us change and told us to go across the street to the other station-even though he said he didn't speak English. That all taken care off, we were off.

So was everyone else. I felt like a cow being herded into a pen, no need to hold on. We never did find the ice rink. We walked around a bit and found a creperie instead. After the crepes we decided to take a taxi back to the hotel rathet than brave the Metro again. As we drove past the Eiffel Tower, we noticed large crowds and a lot of tents. We asked the driver to let us off here instead of the hotel. Good move. The ground was saturated with rainwater, turning the sandy paths into a nice pasty muck.

The smell of cheese, mulled wine and sausage soon assulted our senses. Apparently-for just this weekend-people from every region in France had set up stalls offering free samples of thier specialties. While wandering through the stalls, a group of Brazilian drummers walked up and down as well-I am only assuming they were Brazilian by their chosen attire of Brazil Football shirts. The kids were soon rewarded for walking thru the muck-At night the Tower is normally lit up-but on the hour for 10 minutes, the twinkly lights go on. Since it is winter and dark early, they got to see it this time around.

Having our fill of wine and stinky cheese, we started back to the hotel only to be distracted once again. The church bells were ringing for 6:30 Mass. Much to the kids' dismay, we took it as a sign to go now instead of Sunday.

After Mass we picked up some dinner for the kids and went back to our room-where Vania took over so Jason & I could eat without the kids. We strayed away from our normal dinner spot and found an out of the way restaurant filled with locals. I asked the woman who brought our menu if she could speak English and she laughed. I pointed to what the diners next to us were eating (looked good) and when I didn't understand her response, she went "baa baa" and laughed. We ordered the duck.

Sunday morning we wandered around the market as the kids marveled at the different foods-cow tongue, some sort of hearts, livers, whole bunnies, pigs, chickens with feathers still on, octopus ('you can't eat octopus thats disgusting' from Jillian). As we entered the market Jillian said, "mommy I smell that market smell" ie stinky cheese. We tried to go up the Eiffel after that as Vania said there were no lines the day before. It was probably the rain, because now there were lines. We promised Griffen next time and he said he wanted to skip breakfast next time and come straight to the tower before anyone else.

After one last crepe we loaded up the van and headed for the boarder. We made pretty good time, hoping to give ourselves 2 hours to shop at the boarder. We almost did, except Jason has a heavy foot and he couldn't get the cruise control to work. We did think it odd to see a large white car with a man hanging out the window just sitting on the side of the motorway. About 5 miles later as we paid our toll, a Gendarme flagged us down and told us to pull over.
He first asked if we spoke French, then said 'thats ok, I speak English.' Apparently that man sitting in the white (unmarked) car was his collegue who clocked us at 150 km/hour. He asked for Jason's drivers license and seemed puzzled with the California one-as he was expecting UK. He then asked Jason if the car was his, we said yes. "Ok, that will be 45 Euros fine please. You pay now with cash, no credit cards." We had no cash. So, he gave us directions to the next town, 10 minutes away and kept the drivers license. We debated not returning. After 1 wrong turn and 20 minutes later, we retuned with 40 in bills and 5 in coins (not going to make it easy on him are we?). The Gendarme asked Jason to come to his van while we wrote his ticket. I think we were targeted because we were in a GB car and once he found we were not British, had to fine us anyway, saying we almost were at the next fine level. At least no points will be added to the UK license!

Sunday Ramble

After church today, we decided to partake in a new tradition. A Sunday Ramble around the village. There are numerous footpaths around-some of which Jason & I run on during the week. Every Sunday it seems families are out walking either before or after roast-so we thought we'd giv it a try. The kids put up the typical fight but I hear it so often now I've grown immune to complaints. Once we were out though-Griffen decided he had so much fun that he wants to go every Sunday now. Kaitlyn's scowl broke for the occasional smile but won't admit to any fun.

Because of the cold, Jason led us on a short walk, but I think we will add this to our list of regular activities.

Christmastime Abroad

So, this is our first Christmas over here, a bit different than the states. For one thing-even though the kids are in a 'state school,' it is Church of England, so there is a Christmas tree in every classroom and a huge one in the hall. Although the anti-Christmas sentiment from the US is gradually seeping over here, it is still acceptable to celebrate, and in public. Company parties are still called Christmas parties, decorations are still referred to as Christmas not holiday. The school play depicted the Nativity and Jillian's pre-school has a show as well (she's an angel).

Another interesting occurance-the kids at school pass out Christmas cards much as they would Valentine's Day cards in the US. Although there is none of the PC method of giving them to every child in the class all at once-its just random-every day the kids come home with a handful of cards. This is good-as you have all either forgot us over here or the post is slow-we have only received one card!

After being raised in cold climates, I must say that Christmas in California was always a bit of a let-down weather wise. Its kind of invigorating to be here in the cold for the Christmas season. More sun-light would be nice, but there is only another week and the days will start getting longer again.

Next week our village shop is having mulled wine and mince pies along with caroling. By the way there is no milk and cookies for Father Christmas here-its mulled wine or whiskey and mince pies.




Last night Jason and I went into London to see The Producers. I know this play is shown all over, but there is something cool about seeing it in the West-End with a sell-out crowd. We ate dinner afterwards at mid-night and looking at the Christmas lights as well. Vania (nanny) was staying the night so we had no need to rush home. When we left London at 1 am-the streets were still packed and there was plenty of buzz going on.

Night Out

One of the many advantages of having a nanny is that Jason and I have a date night once a week. Another advantage is a nice authentic Italian meal every once in a while!

Last weekend we went to a pub in Cambridge for a quick Thai dinner and then to another (The Red Lion) one close by for a drink. There were not too many people in the Red Lion-an office Christmas party and a table of drunk mostly Scottish men. They were quite entertaining and we got a few chuckles from watching them. Mulled wine and mince pies are the tradition this time of year, so when the Christmas party had leftovers, the pub staff walked around offering free warm mince pies to everyone.

Tonight we opted for heading into Cambridge for pizza and drinks. Since its Christmas time-most restaurants were full with Christmas parties but we managed to snag a table at the Tapas restaurant. One of the problems we have run into going out in Cambridge is that the crowd is pretty young. So after dinner we decided to check out a pub in Sawston (village next to ours) where Jason had seen a pool table earlier on.

In the past when we have gone to our local, 'The Bees in the Wall,' we get that everyone stops what they are doing to stare at the intruders kind of feeling. Sawston is more of a blue collar town so we were hoping there would be a more welcoming reception.

Once we stepped in everyone turned to to look and waved a hello with a smile. We sat at the bar and ordered a beer for Jas and water for me. A woman sitting at the bar apologized for the noise-"X Factor" was on tv and the votes were in. She detected we weren't local and proceeded to engage us in a conversation. Turns out her son is named Jason, after Jason and the Argonots as well. Every once in a while someone would walk over and shake hands with us and say a few words. It got a bit crazy after half an hour and she bar maid started yelling at someone. Next thing we knew another woman and then the one we were talking to went behind the bar and started serving. We thought-cool she needs help and all these people jsut chip in. Wrong.

We were talking to the owner-made sense then why she kept getting her class replaced with fresh beer every 15 minutes. It was quite fun sittin around talking to these people, noticing all the missing teeth with the camradery. Wish our local was more like this.

Remembrance Day

We went to a different church today-United Reformed. Kaitlyn's Brownie troop was asked to participate for Remembrance Sunday and I figured it was good for her to experience and learn. Over here, Remembrance Day is actually November 11 (from WWI) and on that day at 11 am, everyone is asked to stop and give 2 minutes of silence. For the most part, people still do that.

Griffen has football (soccer) on Saturday mornings on the village green. He doesn't play in a league-it was full-so this is more who shows up, plays. Anyway-when he was finished, we walked over and watched the league players for a bit. At 11 the ref blew his whistle, stopped the game and everyone on the green stopped and bowed their heads for 2 minutes. Pretty moving. I suppose with the wars being closer to home here than in the US, no one is allowed to forget. On a side note-surprisingly there is quite a bit of prejudice against Germans still.

Back to Remembrance Sunday...I'm glad we went-the Brownies read a poem about poppies:

IN FLANDERS FIELDS.

In Flanders field the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

~~By Major John McCrae, May 1915.~~

they sang a song, and after a short service everyone followed the Brownies, Cub Scouts and Pastor in silence down the street to the War memorial where names of those from the village who died in WW I were read out loud. The Brownies then laid poppy wreaths and wooden crosses at the base of the memorial. A teen aged girl played The Last Post on her trumpet and we had 2 minutes of silence.

Kailtyn & Griffen would've forgotten today's reading at Mass, but I don't think they will forget what they did instead.

Guy Fawkes Day

Our First Guy Fawkes Day. Technically we really shouldn't take part in it considering what it is. Background: Guy Fawkes was a Catholic who wanted to blow up parliment and kill the King. His attempt was foiled, he was hung and burned and every year since then England celebrates this by having huge bonfires with a "guy" being burned and fireworks. So they are celebrating a foiled terrorist attack and burning a Catholic at the stake. But we are here and we want to experience all there is...

So at 6 (it gets dark really early now) we head over to the biggest bonfire I have ever seen. It is sponsored by Griffen's Scout Group in Duxford-so we use the fund raising bit as an excuse as well. The kids run around in the dark and we have no idea where they are-but we have become much more relaxed in supervision here good or bad I don't know. There are actually quite a few people here-and everyone from Duxford itself has walked to the field, in wellies of course. It is a nice clear, cold night-but the bonfire puts out a fair amount of heat. We can see plumes of smoke from all the other village bonfires-and this country says they are worried about global warming?

After the fireworks we run to the car to escape before the mad dash of others and miss the traffic jams.

Halloween

Halloween in England is nothing like Halloween in America. In fact they don't really like it here at all and would like to send it back to America.

I've had a few bits of decorations out-nothing big and crazy-just what the kids like to see around the house. The kids have their costumes planned and we asked around as to where the trick-or-treating took place.

We've been having a girl down the street (Rebecca) help out with the kids for 2 weeks while we look for a nanny-when I came home from the grocery shopping she told me my neighbor called about appearing on the news. Our neighbor across the street works for the BBC and asked if he could interview me about Halloween and film the kids getting ready.

So after school we invited a few others over, I asked Rebecca to come back in the afternoon to help and we were filmed 'getting ready for Halloween' and they asked me a few questions regarding Halloween and whether I was worried for their safety or if I though Halloween was evil yada yada. Then we were on the East Anglia version of the BBC news on Halloween! Once we figure out how to get it off the digital box and onto tape we can put the segment up here. I even had someone from my flower arranging class come up and tell me they saw me on the news.

Anyway-we also had a small party before we went out (bobbing for apples, snacks and mystery box). At most houses, no one even answered the door, others handed out 1 candy or biscuit that was unwrapped. The kids came home with so little candy that it was gone before the week was done. People here associate Halloween with evil and Satan-all the costumes are scary not cute or creative and all the older people are just afraid of yobs vandalizing their house. We need to set them straight-I think we will have a big party next year.

Corfu-Final Day

Our initial plans for today were to hire a car and drive into Corfu town. Jason has just been knackered from all the business travel, and the kids just wanted to play, so we decided to spend a brainless day at the pool.

First we went out for a nice breakfast-apparently Greeks usually only have a cigarette and coffee for breakfast. We went to the first place we ate at-Jason & I got special omelets and Greek coffee, Griff and Jilly opted for plain scrambled eggs and Kaitlyn got an English breakfast (eggs, toast, baked beans). Once we had our fill, we stopped at the grocery for snacks and went to the pool.

It was another beautiful day and with winter almost upon us we soaked up the warm sun. Around 3 we cleaned up, checked out of the hotel and went into town for an early dinner. We decided to eat at a place that looked like it had smaller meals. Jillian fell asleep in Jason's arms on the way. As we went to sit at a table, a young girl came over with 2 chairs and pushed them together-it took us a minuted to realize it was meant for Jason to lay Jillian down so we could eat. I love traveling in countries that appreciate families and children-England isn't one of them. Soon after we sat down and ordered, the Icelandic family arrived. Our kids, their kids and the daughter of the restaurant staff played a few rounds of Foosball and chased around one of the many cats wandering around the patio.

Just as we were about to eat, a rat ran in the rafters above our heads. I hope we don't get sick. Food wasn't too bad-we made sure to order hot food. Just as we finished Jillian woke up wanting to eat so we ordered her a small plate of pasta while all the other kids disappeared.

As we got up to pay-we found the kids-they were all sitting on top of a pool table watching cartoons with the little Greek girl. After we collected everyone-we went back to the hotel to wait for our bus to the airport.

Typical of small European airports, security was pretty lax. Griffen walked through with a tube of hydrocortisone in his backpack and Jason had an open bottle of kumquat liqueur. It was a long day-we didn't get back to London until nearly midnight and then we had a 2 hour drive home. All in all a good family trip.

Corfu-Day 4

Another early start...this time for Theo's BBQ Boat. It was described as a wild trip with a crazy, short Greek man who likes to play tricks on everyone. It rained last night and seemed a bit overcast, but warmer. The Thompson rep said usually when it rains at night the next day is beautiful.

We survived the bus ride, barely, even I was getting sick, and walked aboard Theo's boat. The plan for the day was to enjoy a 30 minuted or so boat ride to Limnopoula Beach near Kassiopi. At the beach we could play in the water, enjoy water sports and lounge around while waiting for the crew to prepare a BBQ lunch of chicken or pork chop, salad, bread and tsatziki. After lunch we were to get back on the boat to visit the Blue Lagoon and a cave before returning to Corfu.

Theo's antics started soon after we left the dock. Immediately he honed in on some Scottish ladies and a teen boy. He told one boy to go sit next to a girl, put his arm around her and kiss her; and if he didn't then, Theo would kiss him. Next he took someones hat and walked away returning minutes later and put the hat back on.
The trick was in the hat-Theo filled it with shaving foam. Griffen didn't have a hat on, but Theo decided a nice mohawk made with shaving foam would look nice. After a few more practical jokes, we arrived on Kimnopoula Beach.

The men helped Theo and his brothers unload the food and the rest found some lounge chairs. In high season, some 300 people land here for Theo's BBQ-we were the last group of the season with just some 40 odd people (much nicer that way). The day was turning out to be beautiful-sunny and warm.

Theo's crew set about lighting the grills and prepping for lunch. Picture this-a nice secluded beach, a very tan Greek man standing in nothing but small shorts and a sombrero lighting a grill with something that looked like a blow torch. Love it.

Jason went out on water skis, the Kaitlyn ran to the water, Griffen set off with another boy and Jillian sat on a towel under an umbrella trying to play with sand without actually touching it. The air was soon filled with screaming children as Theo talked Kaitlyn into opening her hands with her eyes closed only to find a small crab crawling on her.

Soon the wind was just right and two men decided to go up on the parasail. Here is anther picture for you to conjure...two fairly large men, bald men with tattoos at that, standing behind each other in harnesses. Theo walked up to us and said-"oh I can spot them anywhere-pooftas."

Lunch time-nice juicy chicken breast, fresh bread, tomato, cucumber & red onion salad and tsatziki and all the wine you can drink. Kaitlyn cleaned her chicken up like it was her last meal, and the salad was so fresh and simple that we had to go back for more. After lunch we cleaned up and went back on the boat. By the time we got organized on the boat, I noticed several kids running around with black shoe polish on their faces...Theo must be at it again. With ample warning-a water fight soon started. I thought Jillian and I were safe sitting far back on the top deck-but we still got a shock of cold water.

Our next stop was a gorgeous blue lagoon that Theo set anchor in. Jason was the first to jump off the top deck. Kaitlyn fearlessly jumped of the back and after some serious coaxing Griffen went down the water slide Theo had on the back of the boat. When Jason went off the top, one of the Scottish men said he'd marry me if Jason didn't make it. As I was contemplating jumping off the top-a Scottish woman came up next to me and looked down. After claiming it was pretty high-she climbed over the edged and dove, not jumped, in without a second thought.

Our next stop was a cave that was used during the War to hide gunnery. Theo drove the boat right in and was what seemed like inches from the side of the cave to the boat.

We returned to the hotel for a quick dip in the pool to clean off the beach and changed for dinner-yes our last night we went back to the Balcony.

Corfu-Day 3

No sleeping in today-we are to meet in front of the hotel at 9:30. It is another cloudy day-I hope the water park isn't too cold.

We manage to get the front seats of the bus, vital on these roads when you have kids who are susceptible to car sickness. We wind around the road and swerve around cars for about 40 minutes. Looking around, I notice there is a lot of garbage laying about, unfinished buildings everywhere. It is not uncommon to see a house that has a finished bottom story with rebar sticking out the top waiting for a second floor. There are also houses that have the second floor, but the second floor is unfurnished and has no windows. This looks to be a handy location to dry laundry.

We made it to the boat without incident, or so I thought. Jason didn't escaped the bus before me, but didn't tell me to look out fast enough as I stepped thru another child's reaction to the rough ride. Yuck.

We were told to herd on down to the bottom of the boat as it took off. The kids were excited to be able to see the sea as we moved along. After about 20 minutes, the boat set anchor as 2 SCUBA divers went below to show us various sea creatures. It was completely and utterly cheesy. I am sure the creatures were in cages under the boat, but the kids loved it. Happy kids, happy parents. Once the divers came back aboard, they drove us to a random platform in the sea for another cheesy performance. This one involved some poor sea lions. Didn't quite compare to Sea World.

That all done, time for another 30 minute bus ride to the water park. The car park was looking pretty empty. We wandered in to the whines of 3 hungry children. Although we were told there were numerous places to eat in the park, all but one was closed. That one didn't have much left-they close October 31 as well.

We walked around a bit to explore before venturing into the freezing water. We found some chairs to spread out on in a nice grassy area that the sun sort of shined on every so often. The older 2 didn't seem to mind the cold water and wasted no time picking the first slide. I stayed to watch the bags, while Jason braved the water and took all 3 to the pirate play area. Jillian lasted about 15 minutes.

The rest of the day was spent with Jason & the older 2 enjoying themselves, while Jillian napped and I wished I brought my book. The coldness of the air and water really didn't change the amount of fun that was had, and on the bright side there were no lines to wait in.

We were able to get the front seats on the bus once again. The Thompson reps had to force the driver, Costas, to open his window (he was a bit smelly). About half way back Jillian started to cough in that all to familiar way. The quick reacting reps told the driver to pull over and out of nowhere we were handed tissues and a bag. Disaster averted.

We got back to the hotel, washed up and went to dinner. Where. Ah-you guessed correctly, The Balcony. Kaitlyn ventured out and got fish fingers, Griff and Jilly stuck with pasta. I went with the Greek Salad and Chicken with Mushrooms and rice and requested no chips. Jason picked Greek Salad and Stifado. The hotel staff was very intuitive and each night brought the kids dinner with our salads. We let them eat dessert while we had our main.

Dessert was an event. Each dessert is decorated with umbrellas, plastic monkeys and sparklers. As they are being served the waiter says, "Happy Birthday." Needless to say, we will go home with a handful of plastic monkeys (they also attach them to the kids straws). Off to the disco., then bed.

Corfu-Day 2

We are staying at a Thompson Superfamily Resort. I think it is somewhat similar to a ClubMed of Sandals, but for families instead of single, young guests. This means we have to endure an hour long welcome talk telling us all that Thompson has to offer during our stay. While sitting thru the meeting, we noticed the room was full-which made us feel a bit better (no longer creepy).

We decided to sign up for 2 tours (this being the end of season, you can only get tours thru Thompson and not in town). Sunday: glass bottom boat ride, sea lion show and waterslide park. Monday: Beach Boat BBQ run by some crazy Greek man named Theo.

Once the talk was over-it was time for lunch. We liked where we ate yesterday-so we made a return visit. Pasta for Jilly & Griff, hot dog for Kaitlyn. I got a Greek salad (must stock up of fresh produce as England is a bit lacking). Jason got a 'special omelet'-feta, mushrooms, ham and tomatoes. Yum!

Although it was a mostly cloudy day-we lounged around the pool while the kids played. While watching the kids play, we struck up a conversation with another family and found out the real reason behind the mysterious increase of guests. Apparently our hotel was set to close on Tuesday (which is why I got such a great deal), but another Thompson resort about 20-30 minutes away was evacuated last night and all the guests brought to our hotel. This was due to 2 suspected cases of Legionnaire's disease. The hotel even had to call a few restaurants and bars asking them to re-open for the extra guests. Great.


After a cool day at the pool-we went into town for drinks and dinner. We started off having drinks in a bar overlooking the ocean and the beautiful sunset. Jason and the kids played some pool while Jillian stood at the edge watching the ocean. Next stop-back to the Balcony for dinner.

This being a Saturday-it was much busier than last night, there was a party of locals (always a good sign) and all the extra hotel guests. There was at least a 20-30 minute wait, but we could wait at the bar downstairs and the waiter would come get us. There were a few more families hanging out in the bar watching music videos on a giant screen tv. Jason and the kids played video games while I wrote in my journal. The guy at the bar didn't push anyone to buy drinks and about half an hour later, the waiter came down and said a table was ready for us.

Tonight the kids went for pizza, Jason ate what I had last night and I had Stifado-beef made with lots of cinnamon and baby onions. Of course we had the Greek salad again as well. I think we will have to come back again tomorrow.

Corfu, Greece, Day 1

This is going to be a long one...

The flight was uneventful-although the runway in Corfu is very very short a mere 2000 or so meters long and is built on a narrow strip of artificial land surrounded by water. See link to a video showing you just how short it is.

Once off the plane, we headed through passport control, or lack of. Those flashing a UK passport were waved through, most only showing the front cover of their passport. We had to step aside as well as an Australian couple. After everyone else went through, we waited while our passports were entered into the computer and stamped. We waited another half hour for the luggage which was piled so high on the cars that the driver could only drive about 2 miles/hour if that. After retrieving the luggage we herded onto buses going to various resorts.

Before the bus drove away, our tour rep welcomed everyone, distributed safety booklets and informed us of the high mineral content of the water, the fact that no paper goes in the toilet and it is mosquito season.

We sat at a red light for about 10 minutes or more as a police car blocked all traffic-a plane was preparing for take off and the runway was just yards from the road with only a chain link fence between the two. I imagine this is to prevent cars being blown away by the plane, something residents must endure for tourist season 6 months of the year.

Driving through town I observed several bicycle riders sans helmets weaving thru cars as well as a motorbike with a small child as a passenger without a helmet as well. Jason saw several shops with large animals he thought were cows hanging in the window. I don't think they were cows-beef is usually imported.

After about 45 minutes of winding, dangerous driving, we arrived at the Corfu Plaza Hotel but only us and one other family got off. We wandered around a bit after dumping our luggage and realized it was very deserted here. In fact only 2-3 bars and a few restaurants seemed to be open. Maybe that's why we got such a cheap deal.

We picked a restaurant that looked the cleanest. The kids ate ice cream and fries (its vacation). Jason opted for soup and bread while I went for the Dolmades. We then went to the hotel play area where the kids befriended some children who live in the London area but were from Iceland.

After a bit of play, we went for a siesta in the room. Despite telling Kaitlyn 3 times as we got in the room and once more while she was using the toilet not to put the TP in the toilet, she forgot. Luckily nothing happened and I am sure we were not the first to forget.

After a nap and a quick trip to the mostly empty grocery for water, cookies, and milk, we walked back into town for dinner. Once again we noticed how shut down everything was. While looking at a menu for a place called The Balcony (its main dining area is a balcony overlooking the sea), I spied a waiter waving us up. All the kids received a pat on the head and Kaitlyn said, "Just like Italy mom."

The kids tried to order soda and the waitress said, "Oh no, kids don't like that so much, you would like juice or milkshake better." Jillian dropped her pacifier and the waitress immediately picked it up and washed it.

The menu was in Greek, English, and German and most dishes came with 'chips' catering to the British clientele. I wanted to order something Greek that came without chips-so I pointed out the 'specialities' to the waiter for a description to make sure I didn't get lamb. I ended up with a Greek salad-which came with a huge slab of feta that was wonderfully fresh, a few bits of lettuce, and loads of cucumbers and juicy tomatoes and of course Greek olives. I think I could live off this. My main course, Stamna, is a Corfu specialty. It is like a beef stew full of either lamb or beef, potatoes, carrots, green beans, a fair bit of cinnamon and topped with cheese. Jason had pasta with the same hunks of beef found in my stew.

Corfu is the closest Greek island to Italy, so you find a lot of rice and pasta on the menus and there is even some debate as to who invented pasta; the Greeks or Italians.

Our fellow diners were the kids from Iceland and the staff didn't bat an eye at the kids going back and forth between the tables (unlike England).

We ended the evening with the kid's disco at the hotel-a bit cheesy but the kids loved it and the entertainers put in enough humor aimed at the adults to make it tolerable. The disco was followed by the Greek Dancers, and with only 9 families, we all had to participate. I got out of a bit-Jillian was thirsty so I ran back to the room for her water cup. As I was returning I noticed what looked like bus loads of people arriving-at 10 pm.

Travelin' Again

Half the adventure is always how you get there. With us, the journey started with Jason taking the luggage with him to London 2 days before we were set to leave.

After picking the kids up from school, we rushed home, changed clothes and ate a snack. The taxi arrived an hour later to take us to the train station (only a mile or so away, but I'm not walking that with 3 kids tired from school). The ticket machine wouldn't take my card -that chip and pin thing all over again-and the attendant only works until 1:30, so I purchased some permits to travel and got on the train. No attendant on the train either.

We arrived in London an hour and 15 later in the midst of rush hour. Broken ticket machines must be common as there were several agents waiting to sell you the right ticket to exit. We had a quick bite at Burger King and set off to find the right tube line to Victoria Station. Jason called and said he was stuck in traffic, but should be at the airport when we get there.

Without too much trouble, we found our line. We made it with just 5 minutes to spare for the Gatwick Express. Jason met us as we departed the train. If your flight leaves before noon, you can check in yourself and luggage the night before between 8-10 pm. This is supposed to save time, although we were told to still be at the airport 2 hours before departure; which meant we would be back at 4:30 am.

Is it worth it?

So, I still don't have my name on Jason's account. I have pretty much given up on that. Especially since they are now changing our post code because too many people are moving into this area of England. If they couldn't find me before, how will it be with a new post code?

New issue-driving license. I suppose some of this is our fault for waiting so long and not fully investigating the issue, also part of Amgen's for not really telling us what we needed to do.

Once moving to the UK from a non-EU country, you have 1 year to take and pass the driving test, both written and practical. Apparently we were supposed to get provisional licenses once we moved here. We didn't.

I decided we better get on this as our year is up very soon. I applied for the provisional license on-line-seemed simple enough until I got to the end. If you don't have a UK passport, you have to mail in a certified photo of yourself and your passport to prove you are who you are. Makes sense.

Problem 1:how to certify your photo. Your photo must be signed on the back by a witness. The witness must be a UK resident and have known you personally for 2 years and cannot be a relative. HMmm. Well if one has only lived in the country for 9 months how are you going to do that? So I called the number listed on the web site-only that is not the number of someone who can help me, so I get transferred to another person who cannot help me, but they give me the right number. I call the right number and they transfer me to yet another person. That person tells me-oh yes, to get around the time problem, you must go to your local DVLA office and have someone there sign your photo and fill in a form, then you can mail that with your passport and hope you get it back in 15 days because we are running behind in processing applications. OK. So where is my local office? I don't have one, I have to go to Luton which is basically London. I think we will find someone in Jason's office who we have 'known' for 2 years.

Problem 2:we need our passports. Jason is in Australia right now until next Monday, we go to Greece next Friday for 5 days, Jason is off to the US in November and we are all off to Morocco after Christmas. I can probably manage getting mine off, but not sure about Jason.

Once we have the provisional license we have to take the tests. I talked to another woman in the village and she had to take it 7 times before passing. If you do not pass and your year is up, then you have to put a big red L on your car and you can only drive with a certified driver. So I ask myself, is it worth it? Couldn't I just drive until we move back home and pray I don't get pulled over for any reason? Maybe I should add certified driver to my nanny add?

Bath & Stonehenge

Off on another adventure...this time within the UK. We have heard how beautiful and charming Bath is so we decided to take a weekend away before some more crazy travel from Jason.

Upon breaking the news to the kids, we got the typical response of "I don't want to go see some stupid rocks and water." Not even telling Kaitlyn that the rocks were 2000 years older than Jesus could elicit excitement. Griffen's interested piqued however when he shared with his class our plans. His teacher told him the Romans used to bath in Bath-and since Griffen thinks teachers walk on water-he was good to go.

So Saturday morning we set off to Bath-a more rainy part of England. We took the advice of our tour book and used the Park & Ride and took the bus in-free parking and free fare for the kids. This part of England also has a few hills-unlike Cambridge-so the bus ride in on the double decker was fun. We ate lunch and then headed for the Roman and Medieval Baths. Admission price included self-guided audioguides and even had special audio for the kids. Kaitlyn half-heartedly listened to a few while Griffen went thru and listened to every single number. Jillian got fed up after an hour and wanted her stroller back for a nap.

The water in the main bath is bright green because the pipes carrying the water to the pool are lead as well as the pool having lead sheets lining the bottom. It is amazing to see how all this water was brought from the hot springs and the original in/out paths of the water are still in working order.


The exit of the baths leads you right out to the Abbey, the last great medieval church of England, a mere 500 years old. As we entered the attendant told us an orchestra was rehearsing for a concert but we were still welcome to wander around. So we got the added bonus of enjoying the acoustics of a beautiful Gothic church. We even spied a WWII era American Flag given as a gift to the church. (Being over here, we miss seeing the stars and stripes)

After the Abbey, we went in search of Sally Lunn's Old English Tea House for a cream tea. Sally Lunn's is purportedly the oldest house in Bath (late 15c) and they still use the original bun recipe from 1680.

We are not huge fans of the typical English B&B-overpiced, run down and not very family friendly, so we opted for the Premier Travel Inn in nearby Bristol. Just your basic hotel with attached restaurant, but clean and suitable for families. I researched a bit before we left and found a cathedral in Bristol for Mass on Sunday. It was the first one built in England post Vatican II with the altar close to the people (very similar to St. Mary's in San Francisco). And with impeccable timing it literally rained buckets on us as we ran in.

After mass, we drove to Stonehenge. I'm not sure what I expected. You can see the stones from the road and they are quite impressive once you get as near as you can get to them. It is now a conservation area and they are roped off at quite a distance. Lucky for us however, it was a windy, rainy day and we got great shots with no people in them.


There were actually a lot of Americans there and Jason and I noted how happy they were. The rest of the tourists just grumbled around and we ran into some very rude French people, but the Americans were just clearly happy to be there. Maybe the long vacations and easy access to all of Europe has made Europeans inappreciative.

Conkers and Crane Flies

What is a conker? A conker is the seed of a horse chestnut tree-they are hard brown nuts surrounded by a prickly casing. Actually they look almost identical to a buckeye. An old playground game here is for kids to thread a strong string thru the middle of the conker and hit an opponents conker. When one's conker is destroyed, the game is over. Kaitlyn's class had an experiment to see what you could do to conkers to make a killer conker. Between these and the acorns, we have a very crunchy walk to school.

Now onto the crane flies...the kids here call them daddy long legs, we know them more as mosquito catchers. They are more annoying than anything. When we walk to and from school thru the green they fly around you in swarms. Forget leaving the windows or doors open in the evening because then you spend 20 minutes trying to catch the dozen that have made it indoors. At least when winter sets in I will only have spiders to deal with and hopefully the bug poison cousin Leif led me to will make the house impenetrable.

Flying Chicken

Last night Jason and I got to spruce up in our fancy dress and go to a Summer Ball. The venue was at a winery about 10 miles our village. I know what you are thinking, 'a winery in England?' I'd say the wine was on par with English food, nothing to write home about. So why am I writing?

Although England is a binge nation and people get quite out of hand drunk, A LOT, drinking and driving is not the problem that it is in the US. When people here know that they will be out drinking, they take a cab. So-in keeping with this, a random Amgen employee living in the village next to ours contacted Jason and asked if we wanted to share a cab to the ball. We ended up driving there in the 'company car' and sharing a cab home.

Things started off well enough...met a few people had a glass of champagne. Then we all went into the next room for dinner. It was labeled a BBQ buffet. With full plates, we returned to the table and started on the house wine. Oh-the food. It was an over cooked beef pattie, chicken breast, some salad and roasted potatoes. Have you ever seen a Brit eat with a fork and knife? They have this fancy rhythm once they get going and use the knife to scoop food onto the back of the fork and then eat. I thought I was doing pretty well-getting the hang of it all, trying to fit in when disaster struck. The meat was a bit overcooked and as I went to cut into my flavorless chicken breast, it flew across the table. AHHH! I was mortified.

I quickly grabbed the offending piece of meat and placed it on my plate before too many people noticed. Unfortunately it landed in front not my plate but the woman next to me. She graciously passed it off as her own. Needless to say, I didn't finish my chicken.

We got home late-around 1 and slept late. Actually we both felt quite ill most of the day and blamed it on bad wine rather than the amount. We have a wedding to go to next weekend and the same place-I think we will skip the wine.

Sights of London

Some of our pictures from around London...

"The Virgin Mother" by Damien Hirst, a 35 foot statue at the Roayl Academy Of Arts


Fancy a rest? Rent a deck chair for a small fee in Greenpark


St. Bride's Church Tower, the tiered wedding cake was modeled after this tower.


The London Eye with Big Ben in the middle

A pretty Bridge


Tower Bridge, the one that moves

London, London Bridge...

Funny lyrics-I wonder if Fergie knows that it is Tower Bridge that goes down, not London Bridge?

Anyway-We left the kids with Noelle in Cambridge last night so Jason and I could have a night out in London. We took the train in, checked into the hotel, changed clothes and headed out. We had tickets to go see Avenue Q and little time to eat a sit down-so we opted for a quick Asian heat up and a drink at a pub. Going to the pubs on a Friday after work with your mates is a very big deal here in England.

We found a pub across the street from the theatre-most people were standing outside the pub drinking and hanging out-no open container laws here. This weekend is a bank holiday-last one of the summer-so the area was alive and kicking with visitors. There happened to be a rather large group rowdy very drunk men from Hull hanging out as well. Hull is rated the worst place to live in the UK based on crime, education, employment, environment and lifestyle. We had fun watching them chat up the girls and it took about 5 minutes for one to approach me when Jason went to the bar for a 2nd round. Every so often one of them would yell something and they'd all start singing.

After the show-quite funny I must say, we went out to a dance club. Apparently you can reserve a spot ahead of time and then don't have to wait in line. We didn't do that but were early enough it didn't matter. We were also dressed the right way-the door guy took a look at us after we told him we were not on the list and he put us in line, but while we were waiting 2 guys stopped and tried to get in the same way and they were turned away. We stayed until well after 2 am, but my feet were killing me and we were both a bit tired. Most stay out until breakfast.

Jason let me sleep in and he went back to Cambridge to get Noelle and the kids for a day in London. They made it around lunch, so that was the 1st stop. With the kids complaining like always and short time-we felt the best way to see the city was to take an open air bus tour. After spending most the day sightseeing we went to Piccadilly for Noelle to do her last bit of shopping before leaving tomorrow. We sat down for a quick bite to eat before heading home-the only place open was next to a very colorful character.

France, Finale

Time to go home. First things first, breakfast at the only open bar. Griffen opted out of the petite dejeuner (croissant, baguette, juice, coffee and jam) and wanted bacon and bread. The waiter steered us to the English Breakfast for him. Griff was none to happy when his bacon showed up with fried eggs sunny side up on top of his bacon and refused to eat anything other than his hot chocolate. Travel with kids...

After breakfast we thought we would head over to the Rue Clare area for a bit of shopping. We didn't have as much time as we thought-Jason took a wrong turn. Noelle did find a few souvenirs and the kids found some 'farting putty' in a dollar store. Next step-getting out of the city, there is still a tine bit of life left in the Treo.

Armed with the map and Treo-we make our way out of Paris. I tried to video tape the event, but the charge as well as space was about gone. We were doing pretty well, we even made it around the Arc de Triumph (a giant round about with no rules) until we hit the tunnels. I had a general idea of where we needed to drive towards and when I saw a sign without a prompt from the Treo, I told Jason to take the exit. One of the many disadvantages of the Treo-no signal in tunnels. I was wrong and we ended up back in Paris and Jason decided he was not going to listen to me anymore and just drive to where he thought he should go. You know-we have a great marriage and argue about few things, but navigating seems to bring out the irrational woman in me and leads us to grumpy silence most times. After a slight delay we did make it out of the city and onto the motorway.

We didn't have as much time as we would've liked for shopping at the boarder. We decided to split up and meet at the car in 30 minutes. Noelle went in search of presents and lunch, Jason went on a wine mission and I fed the kids at McDonalds. Only in France do you have real art on the walls and beer on the menu at McD's. We all made it back to the car and went to check in for the train crossing-with a few minutes to spare me to run out and grab 2 sandwiches for Jason & I at the last stop before getting in line. Turns out we rushed for nothing-we sat in line waiting for the train for a good 45 minutes.

France, Part 5, Paris

Today's agenda: Pack up the car and drive to Paris for a quick trip and a way to break up the long drive home. The morning was pretty uneventful, by now we knew how to get to the main motorway and once there we just had to follow the signs to Paris. The only issue is that since Jillian got car sick, she won't let Noelle sit in the back with her, so I have to. On a side note-the French motorways are a bit nicer to drive on than the English roads. The smooth roads however come at a price, in the form of tolls, we have probably spent a couple hundred total. France also has more roadside amenities as well...free air pressure checks (with an attendant who will add more air as needed), petrol stations and eateries.

We stopped for lunch at one of these roadside eateries. Quite a few families were stopped as well, returning from their August sojourn, eating fresh baguettes. We got the kids a hot dog meal-which of course they hated and only ate the french fries and ice cream. I admit I tasted it and the texture was just yucky so I can't blame them. After lunch Noelle and I tried to pull a switch on Jillian so that I could better navigate once we got near Paris-no go.

Jason and I have been to Paris twice now, but only by train and taxi. As we approached the city, I located the hotel on the map and tried to guess which road we were entering Paris on (think wagon wheel with lots of spokes) and Jason put the address into the Treo (just a bit of power left). It was actually not too bad-although we had a few rude drivers. We stood out with the steering wheel on the wrong side and the French hate the Brits (who don't they hate?). We found the hotel, found street parking 2 blocks away and still have power left on the Treo! I read on the meter that parking was free for the month of August (everyone is on vacation), but Jason didn't trust my translation abilities and had to check with the hotel to make sure. I was right.

After a quick unpack, we decided to walk over to the Eiffel Tower. There was a bit of a rain shower and we only had 1 umbrella and no raincoats (must learn to pack the right things), luckily the hotel had a few spare. As we approached the Tower, the rain stopped and we saw a rainbow. We let the kids blow off some steam at the park and returned to the hotel area for dinner. We were staying at the same hotel as last time and remembered some Chinese take-away place the kids liked and a grocer for drinks. We had left over milk from camping that we froze the night before and paper plates as well.

After getting everyone ready for bed, we left the kids with Noelle and went out for a bite to eat by ourselves. We ended up at the same place we ate last time--only this time as I struggled to order in French the waiter asked if we spoke English and I breathed a sigh of relief. Since it was a nice night we opted to eat outside under the awnings which was fine until about half way through dinner it started to rain and my wine glass caught a few drips of water.

Big cities amaze me-here it is 10 at night and people are still sitting down to dinner and walking about. After dinner I woke up Noelle to take her to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. I didn't have the camera set up correctly, so you will just have to visualize it. The park around the tower was buzzing with tourists and the tower itself was glowing from top to bottom with golden light. My surprise for Noelle however was that on the hour the lights change to twinkle lights for about 10 minutes. It was great to see the excitement in her as the lights changed over. Off to bed.