Apple Days Are Here Again

Opting to ring in the autumn season with something a bit traditional (despite our nearly un-traditional 80 degree weather at the moment in London), two weeks ago we ventured in search of Apple Hill, or at least the closest British equivalent we could find (as some of you may know, Apple Hill is a Northern California icon, a place dear to us both). Our search took us a bit outside of London, via train and ferry, to Yarmouth, a small seaside town on the western end of the Isle of Wight. Taken aback by our luck in weather, a sunny break during a rainy week, we hopped aboard an open-top bus, relished in the sight of an absolutely stunning, windy coastline, and spent an afternoon at Afton Park apple farm, picking 3.5 kilos worth of Discovery apples (which are actually pink on the inside), strolling through their gardens, sampling apples straight from the tree, drinking freshly pressed apple juice, indulging in a few apple pastries, and purchasing a few homemade jams and chutneys...alas, no caramel apples in sight, but a lovely sunny Saturday indeed. We spent the night in a tiny, 17th century Victorian-style guest house, formerly the town hall of Yarmouth, and bumbled around the town's streets, known for unique artisan shops selling locally-made crafts, sailing equipment, and homemade chocolates. And, in true apple harvest style, we spent over a week upon our return eating apples in some capacity - homemade apple sauce, sauteed apples with cinnamon and sugar, apple and balsamic salad, and of course, a few trusty apples with peanut butter...

Afton Park

Needles Park Coastline

Town of Yarmouth

Lymington Pier, ferry port on the UK mainland

-B&B

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad." ~Edwin Way Teale

Stockholm, Part Deux

It's been almost 2 years since we went to Stockholm for New Year's...and experienced the city in its full, white and frozen glory. To us, Stockholm will always be about wool shoe inserts, long snow-covered walks along the banks of frozen lakes, hot chocolate, good friends, and being the coldest we've ever been.

But, ever since that trip, we've been determined to return to Stockholm during the summer time, when the sun shines, the locals are out, the water-front restaurants are open for business, and people are smiling in the heat. And last weekend, we did just that, and had yet another lovely weekend with our friends Ingrid & David. We were astonished by how different the city looked, not covered in snow (obviously), and enjoyed everything that we imagined Stockholm in the summertime to be - warm, cheerful, and surrounded by calm bodies of water and everyone outside to enjoy it!

All that being said, however, to us, Stockholm will always be associated with our first memories of the city - covered in snow, and equally as stunning.

Thanks again Ingrid & David! Hope to see you two in London sometime soon :).

-B&B

" A life without love is like a year without summer." ~Swedish Proverb

A Big Thank You

Just wanted to say a BIG thank you to everyone that made for a wonderful, whirlwind trip home last month....from the bridesmaids dress fittings, to the reunion dinners and drinks, to the quiet couch chats, the sleepovers, the poolside reminiscing, and everything else in between...

One of my favorites, from our girls' trip to Half Moon Bay (grandma is around somewhere!)...

THANK YOU!

-Bee

"...We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit." ~Albert Schweitzer

Define Holiday...

The dictionary defines a holiday as "a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done." However, the dictionary also provides a British definition, simply "a vacation."

In our 22 months here, friends and family often ask if we're enjoying our "extended holiday." Well, we have two answers for you; (1) Yes, absolutely! How could we not enjoy traveling Europe once a month, trying new delicious national cousines, and experiencing the vibrant cultures of the west; (2) However, as amazing as our experience is, I wouldn't define it as a holiday, and apparently neither would Webster. In order to afford our once-in-a-lifetime lifestyle, we still have to work 5 days a week, 8 hours a day - many times up to 10 hours a day, and even a few weekends here and there. Just like many of you, we have our challenging days, days we'd rather be checking Facebook or be at the pub. So when we do go on "holiday," as the British say, we take full advantage. Since many of our holidays are spent doing the tourist thing--Berlitz book in one hand, map in the other, camera in the pocket, and taking in all of the sites each city has to offer--we quite relish the summer holidays, as we've now made it a tradition (I think you're allowed to call it a tradition after two times), to do nothing but relax, have a lie-in, soak up some sun, and eat sweet and succulent summer foods.

So after our inaugural summer holiday last year in Croatia, we opted this year for Nice, France in the French Riviera. The weather was perfect in the mid 70's, the water was refreshing, and the Gellato and Crepes brought it all together.

We headquartered in Nice, and took a few trips along the Riviera. One was to Brandina's mom's favorite city, Villefranche Sur Mer - a quaint, little, beach village just under the train tracks, where the locals tend to spend their holidays. We spent the morning at the beach with the rest of the locals, then enjoyed getting lost in the narrow streets of the town. The other trip we took was to the lavish city of Monaco, the wealthiest place, per head and per square foot, on Earth; where the common traffic jam consists of a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, and a Bentley. Also home to the most famous casino in the world, Monte Carlo, where Bryan, being a frequent visitor to Vegas, felt he had to "test' out. After paying just to enter the casino, he left about 20 minutes later...but not before he witnessed a guy at his card table lose £1,500 in 30 seconds, while his wide-eyed girlfriend watched with anxiety. Nonetheless, it was a fun night, as we wore our Sunday best, and sat amongst the glamourous rank and file, people and car watching.

Beach in Nice

Beach in Nice

Old Town Nice

Beach in Villefranche Sur Mer

Narrow Streets of Villefranche Sur Mer

Monte Carlo

Dressed the Part in Monte Carlo

Sunset in Nice

Sandals relaxing in Nice

Looking forward to our next holiday...

-B&B

"After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working." ~Kenneth Grahame

Sunshine?! Is that you?

That's right - this year, we have been fortunate enough (ahem...) to experience the true, unadulterated English summer. Which basically means, absolute rubbish weather. We carry umbrellas, sunglasses, sunscreen, and raincoats all the time, in preparation for the wild range of weather that can, and does, occur in any given day at any given moment - hail, wind, down-pouring rain, sunshine, all at once, none at all, completely unpredictable, and to be frank, totally exhausting! That being said, today was absolute bliss to say the least - a full day of beaming sunshine! And, we took full advantage....pedal-boating in The Serpentine at Hyde Park, an activity that I've wanted to do since we moved here. The ducks were out, the park was alive, and the sun just did not disappoint. Tick that one off the bucket list (literally).

-B&B

"Weather is a great metaphor for life - sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and there's nothing much you can do about it but carry an umbrella." ~Terri Guillemets

Alice's Day

Two weeks ago, we hopped aboard a 75-minute bus ride, for a quick weekend escape to Oxford. A charming and bustling university town, Oxford is a lovely detour from the usual weekend routine. Oddly enough, we happened to be in Oxford on Alice's Day, the annual holiday dedicated to the very first telling of Alice in Wonderland in 1862, as the author, Lewis Carroll, was an Oxford academic, using professors and others from the University as the inspiration for the tale's wild characters (and the real-life Alice, for whom the story was written, was the Dean's daughter). Few things stick to the brain like droves of Alices, Mad Hatters, and White Rabbits roaming the cobblestone streets of a historic, prestigious English town. Though in Oxford for only one night, we did a bit of shopping, a lot of walking, and had a fantastic locally-sourced dinner at The Big Bang, a simple bangers and mash establishment, home to sausages of all sorts - lamb, beef, completely vegetarian, and even duck. We also had the opportunity to meet up for drinks with a lovely Oxford-educated American named Laura, who is (focus now), my grandmother's cousin's close friends' daughter (for real), with whom I've exchanged a few emails since being "introduced" online about a year ago, as two American young women who might enjoy each others' company if we had the opportunity to meet on this side of the pond. Always a delight to meet up with someone new, exchange stories of living abroad, discuss trips we hope to take, and pine away for real Mexican food...

Christ Church College, Oxford University

Punts for Hire

Alice's Shop (written into Alice Through the Looking Glass
as the Old Sheep Shop, where the real Alice often went)

-B & B

"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop." - King of Hearts, Alice and Wonderland

Homeward Bound: #4

It is with true sadness for us, and sheer excitement for them, that we say goodbye to an amazing couple, Bronnie and Kevin, who I have come to absolutely adore. Slowly but surely, life in London changes yet again...

A MINI PROFILE

• Hometown: Christchurch, New Zealand for Bronnie, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK for Kevin
  
• Time lived in London: Bronnie has been in London for 4 1/2 years, Kev for a lifetime
  
• Our introduction: At work! Both Bronnie and Kev are absolutely brilliant teachers, Bronnie on the ICT and Business Studies front, Kevin in P.E. and Special Education. I distinctly remember that when I arrived at the school, Bronnie and Kevin had recently become engaged - they were the talk of the school staff back then, and I first met Bronnie whilst she was being peer pressured into showing off her engagement ring to some of the ladies (very much to her chagrin, I might add). My first encounter with Kevin was at a parent-teacher conference day last year, for his Year 7 students at the time; within seconds of pulling up a chair, he offered me what was, at the time, my first taste of the UK phenomenon - Licorice Allsorts - and the rest is history.
  
• Something we've shared: Over this past academic year in school, Bronnie and I have developed a cherished morning routine. Because our offices are next door to each other (we can, and do, literally speak to each other through the wall!) I see her shining face every morning as I reach the top of the staircase near our offices. Her door is always open (except for Tuesdays, when she has a department meeting in the morning) - I smile and often remind her just how many days we have left in the term (I'm responsible for the countdown), and she generally belts out a "Good Morning" in some sort of sing-song tune (she's responsible for the singing). Periodically we even have the pleasure of walking to work together as well, which is just delightful. And through this morning routine, we've shared everything - our happy thoughts, our tears, our secrets, our worries, our moans and groans, and a lot of hugs and baked goods. Kevin and I shared a week with 19 Year 7 students in Aberdovey, Wales just a few months ago. As co-chaperones of this rambunctious group of city kids in the wilderness, we also shared quite a lot - early morning coffee and chats overlooking the Dovey Estuary, late-night supervision rounds of the student dormitories, ready-made meals around a campfire (various rice dishes straight out of the cooking pan), and an epic tournament of Connect-4 in the staff lounge. We've also all shared a delightful double-date at their house, where Bryan and I were introduced to the electronic table grill - a one-stop indoor BBQ (which is imperative when planning an afternoon BBQ with the ever-unpredictable British weather).
  
• Something they've taught me: Both Bronnie and Kevin go for what they want - Bronnie with an honest, no-nonsense approach, Kevin with heaps of patience and a fantastic sense of humour. In their own ways, they've both encouraged me to persist at the important things, and to let the rest of it go.
  
• Our newly acquired hand-me-down: Nothing actually - they tried to give away and sell loads of things as they packed up their house, but we decided we probably shouldn't be acquiring anything more ourselves, at this point :).
  
• Our next meeting place: Definitely New Zealand....that's sure shaping up to be a fantastic friend-filled holiday!
  

-B

"Ask me what is the greatest thing in the world, I will reply: It is people, it is people, it is people." - New Zealand Proverb