V&A Museum of Childhood - Touring Tuesay

We took full advantage of the sunshine on Sunday morning.  The kids were happy to get moving once they found out where we were headed - The V&A Museum of Childhood.  I was surprised to know that we had to travel out to Bethnel Green (almost to all the way to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park), as the original V&A (Victoria & Albert) is at South Kensington.  Hey, the sun was shining so we had no worries.

The museum is an easy two block walk from the Bethnel Green Underground Station.  On our way in I made sure to warn Youngest Kiddo that the museum had toys he could not play with.  I can only imagine the fits kids can have when they cannot touch the beloved toys behind glass.  The display in the museum's foyer related to toys in school.  A teacher/artist made a collage of the contraband he collected from his students over the years.  As his charges grew, so did their contraband.  Kids bring the darndest things to school.  

I liked seeing toys I had as a kid.  

Tenderheart & Birthday Carebear

It was also fun to see the "technologically advanced" computer-based toys.  Do you remember if your computer games ran off of cassette tapes?

Smartly, there were areas of toys for the kids to actually play with; it kept Youngest Kiddo entertained while the rest of us walked around the exhibits.  A few exhibits ran with a 20 pence coin, and it that was well worth it to watch the trains run through the model city.  

Oldest Kiddo at a big Wooly Willy table

Until March, the Museum of Childhood has a War Games exhibit.  We could see toy soldiers and different war-themed board games.  

The whole family enjoyed our visit to The Museum of Childhood.  We fully toured the exhibits in about an hour.  It has a cafe in the center for a quick sandwich or coffee.  Other than that, there is not much around the museum so we walked back to the Underground and rode to Stratford for lunch at the Westfield Mall.  

V&A Museum of Childhood

Admission: Free!

Nearest Underground: Bethnal Green (Central Line)

Greenwich Royal Observatory & Cutty Sark - Touring Tuesday

We have learned many things since moving to London.  The one I'll focus on today is when the sun is out you should be too.  Last Sunday the sun was high in the sky with big puffy clouds.

We took the journey to Greenwich (Gren-itch).  The family checked a new train line off our list, which made Youngest Kiddo super excited - The Docklands Light Rail (aka DLR).  Riding the DLR is not unlike riding an Underground train, except for two things: it does not go underground and you can see out the front window.  It reminded me of back in the day when you could ride in the front of the monorail at Disney World :)

Our adventure started at the Greenwich Royal Observatory, which is where time begins - GMT or Greenwich Mean Time.  The world's time zones are based off this line called the Prime Meridian.  Oldest Kiddo studied this just before we left Chicago so this was a great field trip for her.  She also found a plaque stating that the current location of the Prime Meridian had moved many years ago.  I guess a few feet doesn't screw up the watches of the world too badly.

 

The Royal Observatory is situated up a steep hill which provided for a nice view of the city.  

The Emirates Airline gondolas - we'll ride these on a calm day

The Orbital Tower at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Heart of London with the Gherkin in the middle

We took several obligatory goofy shots as one would when visiting.  Especially since we had to pay a few pounds to pass through the gate to the Prime Meridian.  We squeezed our £16 family entrance fee to the max.  

Hemispheres apart

We stopped at a Tex-Mex place for lunch.  I was astounded that the kids' offerings had neither Tex nor Mex on it.  Our waitress shared that British kids don't like tacos & quesadillas.  They are content with fish fingers and hamburgers.  How is a kid ever going to learn?  Toss a cheese quesadilla on there would ya?  If I only ruled the world.......

After lunch we crossed town to the Cutty Sark.  This beautiful ship had a good life as first a tea ship and later for cargo.  It was recently refurbished after a fire, and she is a beauty.

  

The self-guided tour starts below deck where you can see the construction of the ship.  I wish I had more time to read the information about the Cutty Sark's history, but I had Youngest Kiddo as my partner who had other ideas.  He wanted to drive the ship so the sooner he could get above deck the better.

I was smitten by the ship's masts.  I could only imagine what it looked like when the sails were out and the brave (or crazy) men that climbed them to keep the ship running.

We also marveled at another great view of the city.  

The London Eye on the left & The Shard on the right

The final part of the tour is to walk under the ship.  This vantage point helps you ascertain the massive size of this vessel.

We paid £36 for admission (Youngest Kiddo was free).  Greenwich is a cute town, and I can see how warm weekends would be jam packed.  If you decide to visit in the warmer months I highly suggest pre purchasing admission tickets.

Oh Loo Hoo!

When one moves into a new house, it's lovely to have friends over to show off the new place.  Living thousands of miles away makes this visit difficult.  Over the next few weeks, I will share some bits of our house.  I'll be strategic so that I can provide privacy and security for my family.

Now on with the show!

Our house has three bathrooms.  Three bathrooms that get a fair amount of use each day.  Back at the 407 we had two bathrooms.  We hardly used the one downstairs so I did not have to deep clean it near as much as the main floor bathroom.  Here I have to keep up with the cleaning to mitigate the limescale of our hard water.  That crust is a pain in the arse to remove.

We have a small bathroom on the ground floor (aka WC).  The bummer is it's location is in the kitchen.  I suppose if that was the only place to add a bathroom then we will take it.  It's quite small and the best photo I could get was from above.  The white paint gives it a blinding feeling most of the time.  

Up on the first floor (the 2nd floor to you in the US) is the kids' bathroom and the one we'll encourage our guests to use.  I figure guests don't want to do their business in the kitchen.  A little decorum is always appreciated.  It has a tub with a shower and a great set of storage cabinets.  Can you see the string in the bottom photo to the right of the door?  That's how we turn on the light.  Youngest Kiddo is too short to reach it :)

All the way up to the second floor (3rd floor) is our bathroom.  Our bathroom is only a few years old and we enjoy the modern, sizable shower.  The towel warmer is a novel addition to the room; the towels do not actually stay warm long enough to make a difference.  The shelf is one of our IKEA purchases that fits the bill for storage.  There is a frosted window in our bathroom so it's filled with light all day with no accidental peep show to the neighbors. 

That's scoop for the loos!

British Library - Touring Tuesday - Museum Mile

Now that the kids are in school I have the city at my feet. Aside from the casual errands, I can go anywhere (as long as I'm back in time for the dismissal bell).  I prefer the free attractions, but I'm willing to pony up a few pounds for an exceptional spot.

I recently visited The British Library up near King's Cross/St.Pancras Station.  It is part of the collection of museums knows as the Museum Mile.  Read about the other museums in the collection I've visited here.

Here are some facts:

It is the biggest library in the world.  The Library of Congress is second largest.

The really old items in British Library were originally housed at the British Museum (one of my absolute favorite museums).

The British Library is a huge vault of literature and artifacts, and it even has below ground storage.  You might be interested to know that this is a research library, and you are unable to walk the stacks and peruse the books of this library.  A majority of the public space is comprised of reading rooms for different academic disciplines.  If you have a specific research need, and the proper documentation to prove it, you can request to see specific texts to be delivered to your table.

The library receives a copy of every book published in England & Ireland.  That's over 3 million items per year.  I wonder how often they receive requests for the dime store romance books with Fabio on the cover.

For me, the highlight of my self-guided tour was seeing the center tower containing books collected by King George III from the late 1700's to early 1800's (the anniversary of his death was last week on January 29.)  The tower is highly controlled for humidity and light behind the UV glass.  The size of the books is impressive.  Many of the volumes on the shelves are well taller than 12".  I would love to get my hands on any of these books.

Aside from the books, the British Library also has a vast collection of literary artifacts.  I was able to view such impressive items as a Gutenberg Bible, the Magna Carta, the original Alice in Wonderland, lyrics to many Beatles songs in their handwriting, and much more.

Overall, I was impressed with the British Library even though I could not peruse the stacks.  I think I toured the facility in about ninety minutes.

British Library

96 Euston Road

London

NW1 2DB

Nearest Underground Stations: King's Cross/St. Pancras, Euston, and Euston Square

Admission: Free - special exhibits priced separately

A4 Update - January 2014

January was a slow month compared to December.  We are getting into a groove for daily life.

Aboard the Cutty Sark in Greenwich

• The kids started school! Yay!
• Matt spent five days in NYC for a trade show.
• We made the last furniture purchases for the house (chair for reception room & wardrobes for bedroom).
• Holly walked 58 miles since the kids started school on January 13th.  Can't wait to see what February brings.
• It rained for 27 of 31 days in January.  The average rainfall is 8.1mm and January 2014 totaled 88.38mm.  Imagine if that was snow Chicago friends!

What's Cooking?

When we first moved to London I posted about the ready to cook meals that are common at the grocery stores.  We've eaten some delicious chicken with prosciutto & asparagus, ham with honey glaze, and chicken roast wrapped in bacon.  We also love the stir fry kit that gets dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes.

Our favorite promotion is when Marks & Spencer has a Dine For 2 promotion that runs fortnightly (that's every two weeks).  We can get a main course meat, vegetable side, dessert, and a bottle of wine for £10 ($16).  It is meant to feed two people, but I can stretch it for all four of us.  It's quite a deal.

While that's a wonderful convenience, there are days when I actually feel like making a meal for the family from scratch.  I've made some new meals that we really like, and I bet you will like them too.  The two meals I linked below are from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I've made many things from this blog, but these are two of our favorites.  You should make them soon.  

Sweet & Sour Chicken - This dish is amazing.  I doubled the recipe the first time , but I did not double the sugar for the sauce; I used one and a half of the recommended sugar.  My kids inhaled it.  Oldest Kiddo said with a mouthful, "You know mom, this is really good."  I don't think I can ask for a better testament.  

Crispy Southwest Wraps - A superb dish to have on a Monday or Tuesday to use up the leftover roast or chicken from Sunday dinner.  It's a very flexible dish that for the most part accommodates what you have in the pantry.  The recipe as listed makes a lot of filling.  I bet you could freeze some if you have extras.  I gave our extras to the handyman that came to fix a few things to avoid another expat faux pas.  

Bon Appetit!

First Weeks In School

What do I think about school so far?

So far, everyone is happy!  There are some obvious differences between our new school and our old school.

Uniform - This is the biggest difference from our school in the US.  Just about every school in the UK has a uniform whether public or private.  Each week the newsletter reminds parents of the uniform components and how it's mandatory to wear it.  We had to purchase the polos & sweatshirts from the school and the pants from the department store.  I am happy to report that the department stores have a school uniform section with extremely affordable clothes.  They bottoms are all polyester and the tags suggest to keep away from flame.  Nail polish and dangle earrings are prohibited.  Girls can only wear stud earrings.  Oldest Kiddo added a barrette to her hair today, I do hope that is an approved accessory.  It is nice to know what the kids will wear each day, but I have to keep up with the laundry as they each only have two polos and sweatshirts.

 

Lessons - Oldest Kiddo has many enrichment lessons planned into her week.  Each week she has PE two times, a clarinet lesson, a chess lesson, and a French lesson.  Soon swimming will be added to the mix.  That's one busy week!

Transportation - We live over one mile from school, and getting to school takes some planning.  We have two options: walk all the way (30 minutes) or take a bus 2/3 of the way and walk the rest (15 minutes).  I plan for the bus to school as it gives the kids a relaxed morning.  I use my favorite app to see what time the bus will arrive.  Lately the bus schedule isn't as convenient so we've had to walk in a pinch or arrive at school earlier than I like.  The kids love the bus.  After school I have the kids take turns to decide if we should walk or take the bus.  It's been rain and windy for most of the afternoons so the bus has been our main mode.  

Dressing for PE - Both kids have to change their clothes for PE.  I can't imagine the scene in Youngest Kiddo's room.  I bet most of their PE time is spent changing their clothes.  The most awkward part is that both kids change in the classroom.  In front of each other.  Oldest Kiddo is getting to the age where the genders should really be separate, in my opinion.  Another expat mom on the playground agrees with me.  She shared her concern with the Head Teacher, and she was told her that this is just the way they do it in Britain.  End of story.  Now we plan for her to wear a tank top under her uniform on PE days.  

School lunch (also called school dinner) -  At our old school Oldest Kiddo could decide each day whether or not she wanted hot lunch.  Here the kids have to decide for half of the term (aka semester, trimester) if they want hot or packed lunch.  The school was gracious to let the kids try hot lunch for a week so they could decide if they liked it.  There are three choices per day plus a dessert.  As you can see below the menu is quite varied.  After a week of hot lunch both decided they want packed lunches until the half term.  Secretly I wanted them to take the hot lunch so I didn't have to pack lunches every morning.  Oh well.  

Friendly Parents - I am surprised and humbled by the number of parents that have introduced themselves on the playground.  A few continue to talk to me in the morning, which I really appreciate.  One funny thing is that it's gotten around that we are from Chicago.  When people introduce themselves they say, "I hear you're from Chicago.  That's the Windy City, right?"  or "Wow, they have a lot of snow there right now!"

As long as the kids are happy, so am I.  Wait until the month is over and I'll share how many miles I've walked this month.  You won't believe it.  

Finding A School In London - We Found One!

The kids survived their first week in British Public Schools.  Well, Oldest Kiddo survived.  Youngest Kiddo developed a fever on Thursday night.  I was really surprised that he got sick since.  In the last eight weeks they've been all over the city, been breathed & coughed on, and touched every railing and pole on transportation that they should have Superman immunity.  I guess nothing is immune to the germfest that is a five-year-old classroom.  By Saturday morning he was back to himself, eating everything he could to make up for the missed meals.

Starting school has not been without it's own set of frustration and annoyances along the way.  Back in October I shared my take on how you apply for schools.  Since we applied after the school year started, our process was a little different, but you get the idea that it's a pain in the arse.  Our house is on the border of another school council (for ease of understanding we will call it a district).  I applied for schools in our district and in the neighboring district.  We have a school that is approximately 20 houses away, and dreamed that it would be amazing to be offered a place for both kids.

I applied before Christmas, and I knew I would not hear anything until the first of the year.  In January I received an offer in the post for Youngest Kiddo at a school about a mile away.  An email to the district revealed that Oldest Kiddo would be offered a spot at the school by the house.  That was a bummer for us because we really wanted them at the same school.  A week ago Thursday, Matt received a call from the Head Teacher in the neighboring district for a school just over a mile away to offer both kids a spot.  Since the kids have been out of school since mid-November we jumped at the chance for them to start school together on Monday.

We met with the Head Teacher, and she took us on a tour of the school to meet the teachers.  Before we left we purchased the uniforms and did a little happy dance all the way home that they were going to school.

On Monday morning the kids were elated to go to school.  They got ready in record time, and they happily walked the distance to school.  I'll admit that I got a little teary when I walked away from the school; these two kids have been my shadow 24/7 for the last eight weeks.  The tears quickly dissipated when I reveled in the peace while I enjoyed a latte and pain au chocolat at the coffee shop.

When I arrived home the post man had just delivered the day's mail.  In the day's mail was an offer for both kids at the school by the house.  Are you kidding me?  What happened to the offer the district sent me last week for Youngest Kiddo to go to another school?  I was beyond angry at this moment.  Over the weekend I came to terms that the trip to school would be just over one mile each way.  We'd have to leave for school 30-40 minutes before the bell to make sure Mr. Short Legs could make the trip.  Now my district can change their mind and make a different offer?!

We could take the kids out of their current school and place them by the house.  I've already bought the uniform shirts, but the school by the house requires the same pants and shoes.  Ugh, but they could not stop talking about how much fun they had on their first day.  Oldest Kiddo even says she made a friend.  The pros & cons continued.

Ultimately we decided to keep them at the first school.  This school is rated higher than the school by the house.  To give the kids some additional sleep time, we can take the bus to and from if they so choose.  I look at the walk each day as a free gym membership.  Plus the location is super convenient to the shops I need to visit several times a week since my refrigerator is miniscule.

Lesson Learned - Expat Faux Pas

There is no How To manual for moving to a foreign country.  Sure, there is help to get the kids into school, find a place to live, etc.  However, the day-to-day tasks are a learn on the job type of situation.

I was lucky enough to experience two in the same day.

Quick back story:
If you want to watch television in Britain, you have to pay for a TV license.  For the annual cost of £145.50 for color TVs and £49 for black & white TVs (they still exist?), you have access to over fifty Freeview channels via an aerial antenna.  Funny that it's called Freeview, yet you still pay for a license.  Our aerial did not pick up the channels so we had an installer out to the house to replace the bum antenna that was left for us.

My first faux pas was upon opening the door.  He asked if I had a parking permit he could use.  We have not purchased a parking permit as we do not have a car.  Mr. Installer was not pleased with that answer.

"You should really have a permit for the contractors that come to your house.  If I get a ticket it's on you to pay for it," says Mr. Installer.

I don't think I responded to his declarative statement, yet my mouth opened as if my brain had a response to share.  Truthfully I have not seen a traffic officer on our street, but that's not to say today wouldn't be the day they decide to check permits.  He did bring up a valid point.  If you have someone out to the house and live in a parking-restricted area, what are you to do?

The next one took me by surprise when Mr. Installer requested a "cuppa tea."  First of all, that is quite forward when I'm used to the host offering the beverages instead of the guest.  Secondly, I'm paying Mr. Installer to do work and not drink a cuppa.  To dissapoint Mr. Installer once again, I had to break it to him that I had no tea in the house.

His response was much the same as I had when he told me I'd pay for his ticket.  He shook his head and said something about how I should have tea for my contractors as well.  I shared that we had just moved into the house and I did not have a fully stocked pantry as of yet.  He did not need to know we've been here for a month.

Mind you this whole situation is taking place in about three minutes.

Over the course of his one-hour installation, he brought up wanting/needing/how I should provide tea at least three times.   By the last time he brought it up, I sternly told him that if I had tea I would gladly make it for him.  Since I don't have any tea I can't.  He sensed the annoyance in my voice and surprisingly became really nice for the last bit of time he was here.  Possibly because he knew he could leave and get tea somewhere else?

Lessons learned:
Our local council sells temporary parking permits on a perforated sheet of 10 cards.  When needed I am to scratch off the date and time and the contractor places it on his dash.

I did a search to see if it is really necessary to provide tea for the contractors that come to your house.  The overwhelming answer was yes.  Some go as far as making meals & snacks, but mostly just tea.  I'm still not on board with this.  Having a cuppa keeps them from doing the job I'm paying them to do, but I guess it's part of the culture.  Now I have a box of tea in the pantry so I don't disappoint again.

You can be most assured that there will be more faux pas to come.

A Tale of Two Cities

Our friends and family back in Chicago are dealing with some outrageous weather today.  The windchill is predicted near 50 below zero fahrenheit, and the wind chill warning lasts until noon on Tuesday.  Schools are closed today for fear of the little cheeks & noses that might freeze on their way to school, no matter how short the walk.  I also think about my colleagues that drive from some more rural areas that would have to deal with drifting snow on the roads.  Good choice by the school districts to be safe.  Chicago Public Schools are even closed today, and that rarely happens.

In addition to the significant wind chills, the midwest has experienced quite a bit of snow in the last week.  Over New Years Eve & New Years Day our former hometown received 12 inches of snow.  Since then a few more inches have fallen to put the total amount of snow on the ground to almost 20 inches.

The kids would love to have a little bit of snow in London, but we can certainly do without the extreme wind chill.  Stay warm my friends!

A4 Update - December 2013

Incase you missed it, here's a December recap

Tower of London & Tower Bridge

• We moved into our house in a great borough in London
• Oldest Kiddo has lost 3 teeth (5 in all since moving to London!)
• Our container from The 407 arrived just before Christmas.  The kids were so happy to have their toys!
• Santa found us with no problems, whew.
• While getting used to grocery shopping in England, I think we bought milk almost everyday
• We submitted the kids' school applications; not sure when we will hear back about placements.  Fingers crossed that it's very soon.  
• We hosted our first overnight visitor.

Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?

We have no idea who lives in our neighborhood.  No one makes eye contact on the street.  When you take the chance and say, "Hello," they look shocked that someone is speaking to them.  

However, the people in our neighborhood live in some pretty impressive houses.  Much of the area near our house and the Underground station is a long-standing conservation area (CA) comprised of many Queen Anne-style homes.  The CA has stringent rules about changes to outside and even the inside of some houses.  Their careful consideration is our gain.  I feel like each time we head outside, we see something new and always beautiful.

The half mile to the Underground station may seem far, but it is a lovely walk in our neighborhood.  The houses have similarities, but they all have a different twist that makes them unique.  We've come across different stained glass front windows, ornately tiled front garden paths, and well-kept hedges on our exploratory walks.

If people won't talk to us, their houses sure tell nice stories.