The Day We Ate Lunch At Downton Abbey - Touring Tuesday

The M25 is a motorway that rings the greater London area.  To some Londoners, the world does not exist outside of this road.  Up until August, we were content with touring within the border of the M25.  Partially because there was so much to see in London and because we don't own a car.  

Just before the kids went back to school we rented a car for a day trip to Stonehenge.  As you can see from the map below, it's way outside of the M25 ring.  I'm sure some were not sure if we'd ever return from the unknown.  Like good Brits we planned ahead and booked entry tickets for late afternoon to give us time to get lost or take any detours we chose.    

Matt rented a car from Heathrow which meant that's where he had to go to get the car.  It took a bit longer than expected because he had to travel on the Underground to Heathrow and then drive back to our house.  Lesson learned on that one.

As we crossed over the invisible M25 barrier, a sign caught my eye.  (I did not get a photo of the first one because I was slightly dumbfounded after reading it.)  Did that sign say Highclere Castle?  No, it can't be this close to us.  It is not the same Highclere Castle.  Or is it?  However the Rampant Cat seems intriguing, but that's for another time.  

A quick search confirmed that this was, in fact, the actual Highclere Castle.  It is home to Lady Mary, Anna & Mr. Bates, and the always overlooked Lady Edith.  We did not have tickets for the tour because all the online tickets were sold out, but a detour couldn't hurt.

Our effort was rewarded.

The parking lot was free, and we pulled in to take a few photos.  As we talked to the parking attendants they told us that it was a slow day at the castle and walk up tickets were available.  Unfortunately our timed admission to Stonehenge kept us from going in.  Fortunately for a small admission, the family could walk in the gardens of Highclere Castle, and we could bring our picnic!

I know that the rest of the family did not care if we ate lunch at the castle, but there was no way I was leaving without getting somewhat close.  We grabbed our gear and plunked down in the middle of the lawn.  Whether or not you watch Downton Abbey, the gardens of Highclere Castle are amazing.  

The gong rang to tell us it was time to leave for Stonehenge, but that did not stop me from taking a few sneaky photos through the window.   

Summer Holidays Part 2 - Barcelona - Touring Tuesday

After a quiet night in the hotel, we rolled our suitcases to the metro for a ride to our apartment in the heart of Barcelona's touristy area, La Rambla.  Our apartment was smack in the middle of it, and I think it was the best choice for our family.

La Rambla is a pedestrian friendly strip of walkway paralleled by a street on each side.  The street is jammed at almost every hour of the day.  The area is filled with fountains, souvenir stands, street vendors, a few pickpockets, beautiful buildings, and lots and lots of Go Pro cameras.  

The city's busy open air market, La Boqueria, was directly across the street.  It was significantly busier than the market in Lisbon.  So busy to the point that it was not fun to walk through.  The number of people taking photos in the market far outnumbered the shoppers.    

Barcelona began to show off once we ventured off La Rambla.  

A4 Update - October 2014

October was the most tame month we've had since moving here!

• The first few days of the month spent with Nana as she wrapped up her visit.
• Matt & Holly spent a weekend in Stockholm Sweden.
• Holly volunteered for two of Oldest Kiddo's school trips to the Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Museum.  Taking 20 kids on the Underground is exhausting.  
• The kids had their autumn half term break, and we kept the kids busy!

A Pause In the Summer Holiday - Touring Tuesday

After a few days in Lisbon, we jumped a quick flight to Barcelona.  Unlike our trip up the hill in Lisbon, we had an easy trip into Barcelona thanks to the airport shuttle.  Our first night was spent at a hotel in downtown Barcelona. 

 The kids were thrilled to swim and have little downtime from all that walking.  It was a bit too chilly for Matt and I to don our swim gear, but the kids did not care.

Like the civilized children they are, they had a quick game of chess before dinner.  

We could already see a difference between Lisbon & Barcelona just from the view in our hotel room.  We had no idea what was waiting for us tomorrow.  

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!

That's Not My Name

I've changed my name.  My name is no longer Holly.  

It was lovely name.  It frequently spurred conversations over the years.  Is my birthday around Christmas?  Is that a family name since it's uncommon?  A weird coincidence occurred during my undergraduate studies; there were three girls named Holly in my program?  That was fun.

However, I decided that in order for anyone to properly spell or say my name in this country it had to change.  The "ah" in Holly is not a natural sound to the Brits.  They are never sure of how to spell it.  So after almost one year living in the UK it was time to give them a break.  

Henceforth I shall be known as Holly.  

No, it's not the same name.  You see, my former name Holly was pronounced as you would the horticultural plant.  My new name Holly rhymes with Pauley.  It may seem a subtle change, but it's huge for me.  

Just because my name has changed does not mean that I have changed.  I still laugh loudly at bad jokes.  I still can't bake a batch of brownies.  I still speak my mind a bit too freely.

You can still call me Holly, if you wish.