Wills + Kate = One Big Party

The big day was finally upon us! Dan and I decided to go watch the festivities in Hyde Park where they would be broadcasting the wedding on huge screens. We had no desire to camp out to catch a 3 second glimpse of a carriage, but still wanted to be part of the atmosphere, and Hyde park is within walking distance of our place. I read an article that quoted the mayor of London stating that he encouraged Londoners to dress up for the occasion, as if we were really guests at the wedding. Even though I've know about this wedding since before I even moved here, I still ran out to time to buy a proper fascinator for the big event. A fascinator, I recently learned is what they call those crazy hats that seem to be fastened to your head. So I had to settle for wearing my straw beach hat. I pared that with this navy blue dress I had purchased on Steinway in Queens from Strawberry Jam, which just so happened to bare a resemblance to Kate engagement photo dress. Dan dressed up as well in a sweater and suit in, accompanied by his new favorite hat. I know people have been saying that it's silly all this for a a wedding. But if I've learned anything in my two months here its that Londoners love to party! Most people don't care about the monarchy, but simply were glad for a day off work and a reason to drink in the middle of the day. In trying to completing immerse ourselves in the surrounding culture, Dan and I happily partook in this revelry. We brought a bottle of champagne and plastic cups and toasted to the happy couple surrounded by 100,000 other party goers. It was a fantastic time. The screens were gigantic so you could sit down and see from a long distance off, there were stalls selling drinks and food, and importantly (at least for me) there were hundreds of porta potties! People ranged in dress to causal jeans and t-shirts, to full on wedding dresses and tiaras. The crowd cheered and waved flags as the procession went by and the couple share their kiss on the balcony. And in a moment of divine intervention, the clouds parted exactly as Kate made it up to the alter. I feel really lucky to be have been in London to witness such a unique event.

 Photos here: Royal Wedding
 

Under the Tuscan Clouds

We started our journey at 3:45 am with a walk to the Easybus stop. This bus took us to Stansted airport which is about an hour outside London. It's a major hub for cheap airlines for journeys all over Europe. It was not easy getting up that early, but the upside was that it gave us 4 full days in Italy.

When we arrived in Pisa after our 2 hour flight, we headed to the rental car agency. We had to pony up extra money to get an automatic (someone doesn't know how to dive a manual, Dan. And someone is just too scared to drive in general, me.) but we were excited anyway for our Italian road trip.

In our cute little Fiat we drove down the Autostrade to our first destination: Montepulciano. This is a little hilltop village in southern Tuscany. Why Montepulciano you might ask? Well back in NYC whenever I used to eat at my favorite restaurant, Little Frankie's, I would order a glass of Montepulicano wine by the glass (full disclosure, it was the cheapest!) So when I found out that it was a town in Italy, and when I read all the charming reviews of it in Tuscan travel guides, I knew I must visit. But as Dan's mom enlightened us, it turns out the wine I drank back in NYC is actually not the wine that this Montepulciano town produces. Whoops. Dan says we are not traipsing all over Italy to find the 'real' Montepulciano. Anyways back to the trip. I'm glad I got it wrong because this Montepulciano was wonderful. It's a town way up on a hill, with little winding streets, old churches, cute cafes, and delicious restaurants. Its a town that is popular for Italians on holiday from big cities, rather than international travelers. The town is not that big, so we stayed 2 nights and mostly just ate and drank! Every meal we ate was spectacular and the wine was fabulous. The only catch was all the hotels in the actual town were too expensive by the time I booked so I got us a hotel right at the bottom of the hill. The reviews warned me that it would bring my calves “to the failure point” and they would have been right if I hadn't already climbed the Inca trail ( my calves were beyond failed then, they were dead). Nonetheless, it was a steep hike up to the town, and really dark and a bit scary on the way back from bottles of wine dinners. Our hotel made up for this however, with super nice owners, and a indoor heated pool and spa. I recommend anyone visiting Tuscany to stop in this town, it's probably the most charming town I've ever been to.

Sunday morning came, however, and it was time to bid arrivederci to Montepulciano and drive to our next destination, Radda in Chianti. But first we stopped off at Lago Trasimeno, a big lake nearby, and the town of Castiglione del Lago that sits on it. We spent just enough time there to drink a cappuccino, browse some street markets (many booths were selling Native American goods – quite unexpected), and a few pictures in front of the water. Then we drove to Radda. This drive took almost 3 hours and was harrowing to say the least. We had to drive up this really winding, narrow road in our little car that didn't have much power. The scariest part however was that it didn't seem to bother the Italian drivers as they constantly drove around corners at high speeds and passed us as soon as they could. I alternated between gasping at beautiful hillsides and shrieking at oncoming cars. As picturesque as the ride was I was grateful when we made it to Radda. Chianti is a region in northern Tuscany, close to Florence. Most Americans, as myself, know this region also for the wine. These two facts make a popular destination for American and English travelers and it felt a bit more touristy. This time we stayed right in town in a really old building converted into a hotel. I kid you not when I say our hotel room was bigger than my whole apartment. Sigh. But I guess that's why I live in a closet, so I can pay for experiences like this. Again I digress. Radda in Chianti was a much smaller town, with really only one major street. The views of the Tuscan country side was its strong point. The undulating hills dotted with vineyards were stunning. Consequently we have way too many pictures of them! This hotel also had an indoor pool that was underground and looked like a grotto. After swimming, we ate a spectacular dinner at a restaurant right across from our hotel and finished the night with a bottle of Chianti Classico in our classy room.

Monday morning it was back to the road again. Our flight wasn't until 10 pm that evening so we had a full day to further explore Tuscany. We drove up to Lucca, another ancient town just north of Pisa. The cool part about this city was that it is completely walled in. Today the walls surrounding the city act as a park. This was our best day yet in terms of weather with the sun finally making an appearance. This combined with the fact that it was a holiday in Italy (Liberation Day) made Lucca swarming with people. Again it seemed to be mostly Italians. This town seemed a lot bigger, with mainstream shops like Sephora in abundance rather than cute little food shops. After a few hours of wandering the streets we decided to make one last stop before heading to the airport. I figured we came all this way, might as well see the most famous spot in Tuscany. So we headed to Pisa to see it's famous leaning tower. Pisa really wasn't that interesting as it's a much bigger city than the ones we had just visited. We parked the car and walked towards the building and were hit with massive crowds. Tourists from all over the globe were here and all trying to get the classic “pushing up the tower” picture. First Dan and I laughed at all the rubes doing the same thing. Then we did it too. You know what they say, when in Rome, take cheesy pictures like the rest of them! I'm glad we decided to make this last minute stop because in all honestly it was cool to see, it really looks like it could fall at any moment. It was time to leave Italy so we headed back to the airport. It was an awesome trip and now have to add to it my list of places I can't wait to go back to again. Next up: Scotland!

Enjoy some photos here: Tuscany

A day in the life of an American girl in London

My day starts with Dan's alarm going off around 7:30 am. If feels so good for once to be the one who gets to go back to sleep! After an hour (or 2, or 3) more of sleep, I let the cat in and play with her on the bed for awhile (like 30 more minutes). I rationalize this extra time in bed as a way to bond with my new kitten. When I finally make it out of bed, its time for my wifely duties (not that, Dan's at work remember, geez) I make the bed, wash dishes, laundry, straighten up the place. Being as my place is so small, this work takes 20 minutes tops.

Next on my busy schedule is job searching. I realize I still really want to be teaching. The problem is, all the international schools did their recruitment for the next school year back in January! I'm not too sure yet whether my US qualifications will allow me to teach in a public school here, and I get different answers from various people. So we will have to see. I can always take a job as a Asda greeter (Asda is the UK equivalent of Walmart).

After job searching (and yes, facebooking, celebrity gossip reading, and vacation researching) I try and do something 'fun'. I have to remind myself sometimes that I am lucky that I have this freedom. Fortunately I don't have a mortgage or kids yet so its not imperative that I find work right away. Fun consists of exploring new neighborhoods, shopping, reading in the park, or just grabbing a mocha at a local cafe. Lastly, before Dan returns home from a long day at work, I either prepare us a nice meal or select a new restaurant for us to try.

I know this will sound chessy, but weekends are still really the best times because Dan is home! It is so much more fun exploring this city with a partner. We try to frequent as many pubs as we can, visit tourist attractions, or just relax in the park. We also have many weekend trips coming up all over Europe as we take advantage of three bank holidays in the next 2 months.

Sometimes I feel lonely, for all my friends back in New York, my career I left behind, and my family in LA. When moments like this strike I have to remind myself how lucky I am to get this opportunity to live abroad. And thankfully, there's always skype!

Enjoy some pics of how we spend our weekends:  Around London

Ahh Paris...the city of light, romance, and veal kidney's

Dan and I left Friday afternoon for a weekend in Paris! Even I hate myself for saying that so please feel free to want to punch me in the face the next time you see me.  I'm pretty lucky. We took the Eurostar, which is a train that goes under the English Channel. It only takes 2 ½ hours and the best part is that both train stations are in the center of the city, so no bullshit airtrain ride or $45 cab ride.

We stayed in the area called St. Germian des Pres, which is on the left bank in the 6^th arrondissement. It is a very cute neighborhood with tons of outdoor cafes and boutiques. Friday night we just explored the neighborhood and had a causal meal. I had the obligatory beef bourguignon which was really great. Then we shared a bottle of champagne to celebrate Dan's 31^st birthday.

The next morning we set off to explore the famous sites. We walked first to the Hotel Les Invalides, which is a massive complex housing a hospital for wounded soldiers, an armory museum, and Napoleon's tomb. The former ruler's mausoleum was remarkable. Dan now says he is leaving all his money when he dies to erect a similar tomb for himself. The grounds and buildings were spectacular, I highly recommended visiting it.

Next we walked over to the Eiffel Tower. We were lucky to have a warm sunny day and were able to enjoy the view by siting on the lawn in front. We then climbed up to the second observation point, which was about 40 stories. To get to the top, you have to wait in a huge line and it just wasn't worth it. We still got a great view from our vantage point. After posing for too many pictures, we walked on to our next destination, the Arc de Triomphe. Unfortunately by the time we got there, the weather had turned for the worse and was raining pretty heavily. We therefore only quickly looked around and headed back to our hotel to dry off and rest up for dinner.

For Dan's Birthday, his parents generously gifted him to a nice dinner in Paris. We had a wonderful dinner at Chez Ferdinand, which was recommended by a friend of Dan's who had lived in Paris for awhile. It was so good. Being that I am not at all adventurous, and the fact that the menu was all in french, I opted for the steak au poivre. Dan doesn't speak french either, but to him that made it more fun. He just picked something at random which turned out to be veal kidney! Disgusting! But Dan liked it so I guess that's all that matters!

Sunday morning we decided to try our hand at being Parisian. We took a seat at an outdoor cafe, ordered breakfast and coffee and people watched. It was very enjoyable I must say, except for the smoke. Geeze Parisians love to smoke! After breakfast we headed over to the Musee d'Orsay. It's a bit more manageable than the Louvre, but still very impressive. The building itself, inside and out was worth the visit alone, it was so beautiful. The paintings were equally impressive, with Monets, Gauguins, Van Goghs (including his Starry Night) and much more. Next we walked through the Jardin des Tuileries, past the Louvre, and on to the Notre Dame Cathedral. The cathedral was breathtakingly beautiful, especially it's stained glassed windows. Finally it was time to pick up our bags and head back to the train station. It was a fantastic trip, and I can't wait to go back again sometime soon! Who's coming with me?

Check out our photos here: Paris Photos

Finding Shadowfax, or how to trick your husband into getting you a kitten

S: Dan, let's have a baby! It will be so cute and have an accent!

D: (Trying to suppress a look of shock and horror) But sweetie, what about all the traveling we want to do? How can you have Champagne in Champagne France if you're pregnant? Plus it will never be old enough to to get an accent.

S: Yeah that's true...what about a puppy? Oh it will be so cute! I can take it on walks all around London, he'll be my little buddy!

D: (This time with a mock look of sympathy) But honey, remember how small our place is? And who will take care of him when we travel?

S: I guess you are right...but I came all the way here and I have no job, I'm just a little bit lonely sometimes...(with a super pathetic look)... maybe just a little kitten then?

D: (Knowing he can't possibly say no now, a look of resignation) Oh ok, that sounds good. I guess a kitten can't do too much harm, right?

And that's how I schemed my way into getting a kitten!

Shadowfax is named after Gandalf's horse in the Lord of the Rings ( I had to give Dan something)

She was only 7 weeks old when I took two tube trains and one rail train to Tottenham to pick her up. I love her, and as you can see, Dan's learning to love her!

Greetings from London!

 I have been here almost two weeks now and so far so good!  My 'flat' may be tiny, but I love my neighborhood, Marylebone.  The name comes from a church called St. Mary's that was located on a bourne (stream).  It is really cute and honestly, upscale.  I would compare it to the West Village in New York and Brentwood in Los Angeles.  Places I could never afford, consequently  my flat is only 400 square feet! 

Here are some pictures:  My New Home

 More to follow soon!