October 2015 Half Term

I have a love hate relationship with the kids' school half term breaks (See what we did for October 2014 half term).  I love the chance for a decent break before the usual Christmas & Easter times.  We get a chance to sleep in and stay up late.  It also provides for another opportunity to travel Europe.  When we stay in London, the best part is that I get to take my kids out into the city to experience the amazing things I see when they are in school.

There is one piece of half term that irks me - everyone else.

All of the schools in England (and possibly quite a large percentage of Europe) are off at the same time.  So that means the museums are beyond packed.  If you can book something in advance, you had better book it six months ahead because the Brits are planners.  Despite my annoyance with crowds, we try to cram in everything we possibly can.  This October, I let the kids help decide some of the itinerary.

Saturday: MC Escher exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.  I've known his art for a long time, but I never knew it belonged to him!

Sunday: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew - The autumn leaves are in their full glory, and we were happy to spend the day amongst them.  It's a UNESCO World Heritage site, too.    

Monday: Ai Weiwei exhibition - I left the kids home with Matt so I could see it.  Phenomenal show by a great artist.  There might also have been some walking in the city since the sun was shining.  We needed a top up of tea from Fortnum & Mason.  

Tuesday: Tower of London - My annual pass expired at the end of October, so we had to visit what we could one last time.  We brought one of Oldest Kiddo's friends along so that made for a really nice day.  The weather cooperated so much that everyone in England decided to go to the tower as well.  The Tower of London is another UNESCO World Heritage site.  Matt left for a week in America so I'll entertain the kids for the next seven days.  Wish me luck. 

Wednesday: Oldest Kiddo went for a sleep over at a friend's house in the afternoon.  I took Youngest Kiddo out for a dinner date to the ever exciting mall.  A little Five Guys & Cherry Vanilla fountain Coke makes me happy.  Some window shopping at Lego makes him happy.

   
Thursday: The day after a sleepover usually necessitates a rest day for her.  No one complained about watching movies in our jammies all afternoon.  A friend dropped her toddler off for a few hours while her older kiddos had swim lessons.  He was more than happy to play trains the whole time.  

Friday:  We had a big to do list to complete today to get ready for a few weekend birthday parties.  So we went back to the mall for lunch and a little shopping.  We barely made it home before the sun went down.  

Saturday: Halloween in London is super low-key.  Oldest had a birthday party in the morning and Youngest had one in the afternoon.  Then we all went out trick or treating with friends in the evening.  They received some interesting candy.  A few houses passed out marshmallows, single unwrapped marshmallows.  Ew.

Sunday: We had a full week to complete homework, but did we do it?  Heck no.  After pain au chocolat, the kids labored through their work.  When I say kids, I mean I played referee through each task because they could not have cared less about doing it.  As you can see from out the back window, there was nothing to see anyway. Pea soup out there, it was.

Next week is back to school for them (YAY!!), and I'm back to my real job - touring the city with some brunch mixed in for good measure.  

A4 Update - October 2015

We changed the clocks back an hour, and now the sun goes down at lunchtime.  You think I'm kidding?

*Holly & Oldest Kiddo took a day trip to Paris.  It might be one of Oldest Kiddo's favorite days of our whole time in Europe.  

*The kids went to various birthday parties.

*Matt & Holly went to a taping of the Graham Norton Show, which is one of our absolute favorites.  

*Matt was gone from London only 8 days during the month.  That's not too bad.  

*The kiddos had a half-term break.  We split our time between seeing the city and movies on the couch in pajamas.  
*Holly saw the incredible Ai Weiwei exhibit at the Royal Academy 

*The kids trick or treated.  Halloween isn't observed by all households, but from the noise on the street past bed time the older kids loved it.  

*Oldest Kiddo continues to love middle school (weird).  She attends different clubs each day after school, such as art, drama, and orchestra.  

*Youngest Kiddo is obsessed with building everything with Lego.  He likes the prepackaged sets, but he's having a blast with creating his own ideas.  

Seeing the Sights in Berlin - Touring Tuesday

The day my sister and nephew left London, we jetted off to Berlin for a few days.  Matt and I have been to Munich a few times, and we thought it would be great to see the north of the country.  Berlin is quite a different city than Munich, and it is full of history!

Train Stations - The best way to get to know a city is to walk it.  However, we took the train a few times as it's one of Youngest Kiddos favorite pastimes.  Riding the train in Berlin is much different that in London.  You validate your ticket upon first ride and then you don't need to bring it out again unless asked by an inspector.  Such a difference from London where we have to tap into and out of the train each time we ride.    

The Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche was bombed in November 1943, and the decision was made to not repair the building.  They felt leaving the church in its destroyed state would remind of the terrible repercussions of war.  The more modern chapel next door is now used as the worship space.  Its interior is starkly different from the traditional German church I think of.

Checkpoint Charlie, unfortunately, is an unfortunate tourist spectacle.  Men dressed in military gear (with no military status at all) stand at a replica of the original checkpoint to pose with tourists.  For all the history that occurred on that spot, it's a shame for what it turned into.  We preferred the visual panels across the street that outlined how people tried, with differing success, to get out of East Berlin.  

Remnants of and reference to the Berlin Wall is everywhere in Berlin.  Remaining panels are on display at the Berlin Wall exhibition across the street from Checkpoint Charlie.  I remember watching the Berlin Wall come down in 1989; my parents told me that I needed to watch the TV with them as it was a historical event.  Evidence of the wall is seen all over town.  Remembrance plates lay on the ground where the wall used to split sections of the city down the middle.  The East Side Gallery also displays sections of the wall that painted once the wall ceased to exist.  It is in a declining state, so we were happy to see it.  Panels of the wall were preserved and put on display all over the world.  I've seen a panel at the Ronald Reagan Library in Pomona, CA, which is fitting since he gave a speech urging the demolition of the wall, and at The Imperial War Museum in London.

The Brandenburg Gate was modeled after the Acropolis in Athens when it was built in the late 1700s.  It was the main gate separating West and East Berlin.  Former United States President Ronald Reagan gave a famous speech here in June of 1987 urging Mikhail Gorbachev take down the wall.  Two years later the wall came down in November 1989.  

The Ampelmann is a symbol seen all over town.  The logo was seen by Berliners on the communist side of the wall.  Today it is a symbol of the city, and a big hit with tourists as there are many bits of merchandise you can buy.  

Berliner Dom is a gorgeous cathedral on Museum Island.  It was originally built as Hohenzollern family's church until the early 1900s.  The crypt downstairs has the sarcophagi of many family members.  The main area of the church is ornately decorated with a heavy focus toward the family.  It's upon further study of the walls and art that you see typical religious symbols in muted colors.  

The Lustgarden is in front of the dom.  The square of earth has it's own significant history.  It was used as a military parade grounds under Wilhelm I & Napoleon.  Anti-Nazi demonstrations took place in 1933, but eventually Hitler addressed approximately one million people in this space.  Thankfully today it's a lovely spot to sit in the sun. 

There's a few more spots we visited to where just a few photos isn't allowed, that's a post for later.    

Food in Berlin - Touring Tuesday

Eating in Germany is all sorts of wonderful.  As a life-long carb lover, I had no problem finding good eats for the family.  Interestingly, our first meal in Berlin was a lovely Italian meal.  The restaurant was close to our hotel and it was just what we needed after a day of travel.  We had an interesting experience with the waitstaff.  They were Italians in a German city; what's the best way to communicate?  We switched between German & Italian cordials.  At the end of the meal we asked the waiter which language they preferred.  He chuckled when I asked, and he said that they spoke many languages and were happy to speak in any one!    

Why have only one pasta when you can have three?

Spätzle - The boy was not sure about spätzle, but he quickly realized how delicious a platter can be.  I was pleased to finish what he could not.  We actually had dinner here two times.  The specials were delicious.  Matt had the sauerbraten and I had the gulasch vom wildschwein (goulash with braised boar)

Currywurst - I refused to leave Berlin without consuming a currywurst.  It's quite a simple dish, but man was it good.  The German sausage is served with a zippy ketchup and a sprinkling of curry powder.  (For you baseball fans, the zippy ketchup reminded me of the special sauce at Miller Park in Milwaukee.)  We saw many outlets that served currywurst - from one-man band style server to full sit down restaurants.  We opted for a street-side stand to have a proper table, yet affordability.  My kids were not fans of the curry sauce, but a quick scrape of the fork quelled their dislike.  

Doner kebab - These are big business in Germany.  Some say it's due to a large Turkish population, which arrived in Germany to rebuild the country after World War II and stayed.  I have observed that many of the bloggers I follow tend to go to similar spots, and many of them went to Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap.  This stand alone hut on the sidewalk often has a huge queue.  On the day of our visit we probably waited about 20 minutes.  The food was good - a pita bread filled with lamb, fresh veg, and feta cheese.  I don't think I would go out of my way to go there again, if I was in the vicinity I might stop again.  But that's just me.  

Beer - self explanatory 

Proper German breakfast - All of the places we've stayed in Germany provide a proper breakfast, and our hotel was no different.  Our kids are well served by these breakfast spreads.  Youngest Kiddo loves salami, ham, and cheese for breakfast.  Oldest Kiddo can't get enough of the tiny pancakes and Nutella.  Matt and I are big fans of the endless coffee and bacon.  

Of course many pretzels were consumed along the way, but for some reason none of them hung around long enough for a photo.  All of my carb and red meat fantasies were fulfilled with each meal in Berlin.  

A4 Update - April 2015

April was filled with fun.

Both of our kids celebrated their birthdays. The small distance between their dates makes for a busy month. Thankfully they are easy to please; Oldest Kiddo was thrilled with books & clothes and Youngest Kiddo Legos, Legos, Legos.

Holly's sister & nephew visited for ten days around Easter. They got the full tour of London.  

After the family returned to 'Merica, we spent the last few days of the kids' Easter break in Berlin.

Matt was only gone one day this month, such a difference from last month's 15 days.  

The month rounded out with another set of visitors to the Manor from 'Merica.

Youngest Kiddo lost his two front teeth, but only one was available for the Tooth Fairy.  He swallowed the first one with his breakfast!

Dubai - Touring Tuesday

We spent the February half-term break in Dubai.  Why Dubai?  Other than the Caribbean it was the only place that guaranteed us sunshine and warmth.  Dubai and the Caribbean are approximately the same distance from London via airplane, so we chose to visit somewhere new.

With only four full days to explore a completely different corner of the world, I created a big list of things for us to see.  However, things do not always go according to plan.  Here's why....

1.  The selection of flights to Dubai did not provide us convenient flying times.  We left London on a 12pm flight Monday, and we did not arrive to the front desk of our hotel until 4am Tuesday morning Dubai time, which is +4 hours from London, Tuesday morning.  Not a big deal - we knew this going into the holiday.  An interesting experience in passport control is something I'll never forget.... 

2.  To accommodate our late arrival Monday night/Tuesday morning, we planned for Tuesday to be a pool day.  The kiddos had not had a fun holiday with pools and beaches in a long time so we knew this would be well received by all four of us.  A little time at the pool and at the Gulf beach filled our day, along with a lot of sunscreen and sunshine.

3.  Tuesday night Youngest Kiddo's body decided that everything he ate that day needed an immediate jettison from his stomach.  So thankful both kids can make it to the bathroom in these situations.  He did not feel better until Wednesday night.    

4.  Oldest Kiddo and Matt spent Wednesday morning at the pool while I hung back to snuggle with a not 100% Youngest Kiddo.  We watched TV dubbed into Arabic and appreciated the sunshine from our 18th floor windows.    

5.  Wednesday night Matt's body took the same route as Youngest Kiddo the night before.  And I will spare you the details.  It was my turn to spend the afternoon at the pool with the kids.  

6.  Late Thursday afternoon Matt was feeling well enough to navigate the Dubai Metro to find dinner.  The bonus of our adventure was to see the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

7.  We had big hopes for Friday as it was our last day in Dubai, and the boys were feeling pretty good.  But we woke up to a dust storm.  At least we called it a dust storm, the locals might just call it dusty.  However, we knew it was bad when the hotel restaurant would not sit anyone outside.  So on Friday the family hung out in our hotel watching out the window hoping the sand would subside while we consumed the internet & watched movies from 2004 on the TV.  At least they were in English.

8.  We hoped that the storm would die down by dinnertime, but no such luck.  We had to call it a day around 7pm because our taxi was scheduled for a 4am Dubai time pick up to head back home.  

I still have my list of things to see and do in Dubai, and I hope to share that with you soon.  I hope that we can plan another trip if time allows while we are in London.  We've affectionately called this half-term trip - Dubai, the trip that really tried.  

I Went on an Internet Date

Yes, you read that right.  I went on an internet date.  I am still married.  I’m not cheating on my husband.  He knows all about her and likes her.  He even thinks her family is pretty awesome, too!  

I met her through Instagram's explore photos feature.  I randomly clicked on a London photo on my screen, and the caption immediately drew me in.  The gal had recently moved to London, and her captions rang true of our expat adventure.  She wrote of their plight of living in a temporary apartment with kids, needing to find a house, and needing to get the kids in school.  Those dilemmas sure sounded familiar to me so I followed her feed.  As I continued to follow along with their expat adventure, I messaged her my email address to say I had just gone through the same things, and if she ever wanted help or a sounding board to let me know. 

I did not hear anything for a while as she was busy doing all of the things above (and more).  Not wanting to be an internet stalker, but I continued to follow their expat adventure.  Just a few days later she sent me a message with a nice greeting and wasted no time getting to many of the same questions and face-palm moments I had just a few months earlier.  We swapped a few emails, and after they settled into their house & got the kids in school we made a date to meet.  

That was quite an out of the box moment for me.  I was to travel to an area of town I'd never been to meet someone I befriended on the internet.  No surprise, my husband was weirded out by the whole situation.  He texted me several times during lunch to make sure I had not put myself into a dangerous situation.  

I was only nervous that lunch would be awkward if our true life personalities were not compatible for conversations longer than a three sentence Instagram caption.

It was all good.  While she has a much more exciting & adventurous back story than my little family, we easily made conversation about all things moving to London and family.  We continued to email and text through until the October half-term break when our families had the chance to meet.  We met up for an afternoon at the observation deck at The Shard.  After introductions we became engrossed in the amazing view despite the rain.  
  

Then something spectacular happened.....  

Her girl and my girl started talking, and they did not stop.  At times they talked simultaneously, but neither one cared.  It was absolutely adorable.  The rain really bummed us out so we decided to drown our sorrows in lunch at Covent Garden.  Once we sat down, the adults finally had a chance to talk.  Again, insert the concern for awkward conversation if Matt and her husband could find nothing to talk about.  Turns out the men have some similar job experiences that made conversation easy for them, too!  It was all good.  

So that's the story of my internet date.  In the months since our first meetings, we've gone out several more times with and without the children, and our girls have had a playdate.  They even text every once in a while.  We have big plans for the winter term to find and devour some of the best pastries in London while exploring the architecture and history of the city.  

I'm so happy that I took the chance to use my limited expat expertise to help someone else in the same situation.  The bonus of it all is that our family now has new friends in London.  I'll keep you abreast of the pastry hunt.  

A4 Update - November 2014

Happy One Year in London!

Us at the Tower Bridge

• We made it to the one year mark on the 14th.  Happy to say that one year in everyone is happy and healthy.  We are so thankful for all that we've seen and done in this year.  
• The kids had a half-term break at school.  We spent the week touring far and wide around London.  
• Holly picked poppies at The Tower of London.
• Thanksgiving was a non-event at our house.  It was just Thursday in Britain; the kids had school and Matt worked.  We made a big batch of baked ziti over that weekend so we could experience a food coma.    
• Matt spent a few days back in 'Merica.  He packed in visits with family, attended a colleague's wedding, and even squeezed in a bit of work.  Of course he found time to stop at Trader Joe's and Target for some essentials.  And by essentials I mean TJ's pumpkin bread mix and M&Ms.
• At the end of the month, Holly took a day trip to Paris with two mums from school.  We took a 7:01 train from St. Pancras and a 10:15pm train back home.  We walked, walked, ate, and walked.  
• London is starting to look like Christmas.  We took a Christmas lights walk on the last Saturday of the month.  The different streets sure put on a good show.  

Half Term In London - Touring Tuesday

One thing I really like about British schools is the half-term break.  I suppose I never grew out of the "how many days until the next vacation" countdowns.  Even as a teacher I secretly knew how many days it was until the next day off or better yet week off.  

In Britain the kids get at least a week off during each term (autumn, spring, and summer).  They get almost two weeks off around Easter.  While some of our American friends might be jealous of this time off, you must remember that we only had 41 days of a summer break.  Now, the difficult part of managing this time off is that the entire country has a week off for half term as well.  Hotel and airfare prices reflect this.  Unfair?  Yes, however there is nothing we can do about it.

Matt's work schedule did not allow for him to take time off this half term, so our options were a little different.  I am game for taking my kids on unknown adventures, but I was not interested in navigating a new country & language alone.  So I decided to take the kids on adventures in London.  This October half term was blessed with the most amazing weather.  We debated pulling our or shorts one day, but we resisted.  

Our school decided to tack two institute days on the end of half term so we benefitted from extra days on our break.  All in we had 11 days of togetherness.

Saturday - Youngest Kiddo attended a birthday party for a classmate.  I was happy to attend with him so I could catch up with some of my mum friends from school.  After the party we met Matt & Oldest Kiddo at the mall for some good old 'Merican Five Guys burgers and free flowing Coca-Cola.

Sunday - Our clocks fell back one hour last night so everyone was up and ready to go this morning.  Well after our weekly pain au chocolat that is.  Matt and Oldest Kiddo went out for some together time to Covent Garden while I hung at home with Youngest Kiddo.

Monday - The kids and I ventured far out of our west London confines to the Horniman Museum out in the south east end of town.  I've had this museum on my list for quite some time.  The museum's must see is the over stuffed walrus.  The taxidermist who stuffed the walrus did not know that the species is naturally wrinkly and he filled it to the brim with whatever taxidermists use to stuff animals.  If you did not know that the walrus was overstuffed, it would not really stand out to you, but it was funny to see.  This museum also had an aquarium for an additional small fee.  Besides the walrus, our favorite part of the museum was the gardens.  The Horniman Museum has an edible garden, medicinal garden, fields for running, a sound garden, and great views of the city.  

I don't want to hang out with this guy

Tuesday - The warm weather continued on Tuesday, and we took another trek out of west London to Greenwich.  The boy was thrilled to take the DLR on our journey.  In February we visited this borough and marveled at the Prime Meridian. Today we visited the free Maritime Museum and ate falafel & empanadas from the market food stalls on benches by the River Thames.  

 

Wednesday - Rain was in the forecast for the entire day so it was a good time to go to the cinema (British for the movies).  Plus I think the kids were worn out from all the walking on Monday & Tuesday.  We decided to partake in the cinema's £1.75 feature of How to Train Your Dragon 2.  We'd seen it before so no one minded that the theatre was full of crying babies and wandering toddlers.  After the movie the kids picked out some new fall clothes as the weather will change to dark, cloudy, and rainy before we know it.    

Thursday - Big kudos to Matt for stumbling across the free pumpkin carving at Kings Cross Station.  The station created an installation of 3,000 carved pumpkins to be lit on the terraced stairs by the canal.  The kids each chose a huge pumpkin and created their design.  I have to say that this was the best way to carve a pumpkin since the mess was not at my house.  I was surprised that Youngest Kiddo wasn't upset that we did not bring his pumpkin home.  Some of the pumpkins on display were very creative.

Friday - This was another low key day as Youngest Kiddo was in a foul mood.  After lunch he'd perked up enough to take the bus to run a few errands.  He was really excited when we ran into one of the teaching assistants from his former class.  The kids did not trick or treat as they really did not care either way about going.  Plus, there was only a handful of houses on our street that participated.  Truthfully, I did not feel comfortable taking them to get candy from people we don't know.  Back at The 407 we knew what houses to visit and which ones to skip.  Both kiddos were happy with the candy I bought at the store for them.  

Saturday - I found a source for, what I hope will be, quality tortillas and salsa.  The shop is located near the Portobello Road Market.  As we had never visited the market, today's sunshine was the perfect reason for a detour.  Whoa.  The streets were crazy packed.  With both kids in tow it was not a pleasant experience.  Maybe the market was busy because of half term or the gorgeous weather brought people out of the woodwork, but it wasn't what I thought it would be.  It's nothing like Hugh Grant showed us in Notting Hill.  I'll give it another go in a few weeks just in case our first go was an anomaly.  On Saturday night, we left the kids home with a babysitter for a little shopping and a little wine with a kid-free dinner.

   
Sunday - Again, kudos to Matt for finding free kids admission for the observation deck of The Shard.  This skyscraper is the place for an amazing view of London.  The typical admission (£24.95/adult and £18.95/kid) is out of my comfort zone for what you are really getting, but free kids admission was worth it.  Unfortunately it was a rainy morning and the rain drops messed with the camera's ability to focus.  We rounded off our outing with burgers, cheese fries, and shakes from Shake Shack at Covent Garden.

Monday - Most of the London schools went back today, but we still have two bonus teacher institute days.  I think days of go-go-go finally took their toll on all of us.  Youngest Kiddo slept until 9:30!  The rain falling on the windows and the visible breath of the neighbors walking by did not encourage motivation to get outside. Instead, we decided to don comfy clothes, play Legos, drink hot chocolate, and watch a movie.  

Tuesday - On our last day of half term, we spent a few hours at the Natural History Museum.  The kids' last visit here was on a weekend with every other family in London.  Today, they experienced the exhibits without queues for the dinosaurs or masses of prams (British for stroller).

We had an errand to run down near Knightsbridge Station, so we walked down to Harrod's to see their Christmas display.  Not as posh as I expected, but maybe I missed something in the store's labyrinth of rooms.  Oldest Kiddo was excited to see the Paddington Bear outside of the store that was designed by Emma Watson (you know her as Herminone Granger of Harry Potter).  

We made it back home just before the rain started.  We will make bangers & mash for dinner so the kids have full bellies for a good night's sleep.  Back to school tomorrow!