East/South

 Shoreditch

 Street art

 Borough Market

 Lunch

 Golden Hinde

 Southwark Cathedral

 Metal detector-ing at South Bank

 Tate Modern

Looks like a pile of sunflower seeds...

 ...but actually each one is hand-crafted porcelain

We've all been busy being lazy, and I haven't made the time to post in awhile, so here's some catch-up... before  Christmas, Dad and I went to Brick Lane in East London for the day while Franny was still in school and Mom at work. We were searching for a peacoat for Dad, and Brick Lane - in the Shoreditch area- because the neighborhood is known for "pubs, vintage stores, and Bangladeshi curry." Minus the pubs, we fully explored Brick Lane. We went in loads of different vintage shops, marveling at the racks and racks of '50s prom dresses, ugly Christmas jumpers, and beat up leather satchels. Some of the stores even specialized in American vintage, like Beyond Retro, but unfortunately they didn't have a coat for Dad. There are lots of little shops on Brick Lane and around it, but one of the bigger ones is Blitz, a 'vintage department store,' that we happened upon. Finally, we found the new coat: not a peacoat, actually, but a really nice camel hair Pendleton overcoat with awesome brown buttons- and very vintage, of course. Lucky we did find the coat because the predicted rain had just started. Stopping in a Bangladeshi restaurant on the way to the tube was the best way to end the Brick Lane adventure.

Fast-forward a couple weeks to yesterday: Franny, Dad, and I headed to South Bank for the afternoon. First stop was Borough Market for lunch, which was a great foodie spot. Franny chose a chicken wrap, and Dad and I each had some seriously good beef and veg stew (that miraculously didn't spill). Also saw the Golden Hinde, a replica of Sir Francis Drake's famous ship; Southwark Cathedral; then wandered into the Tate Modern for a bit. I love how most of London's museums are free, so you don't feel bad at all if you don't spend very long in them- you can come back again, no charge.

It has a been a fantastic Christmas break, and none of us are really looking forward to getting back in the routine (I would really rather not think about the huge science test I have in a few weeks). But we still have a few days of the holiday left, and are already making plans for the February half-term!

Christmas with Family

We are back in London now, after a wonderful trip to Hampshire to visit with family over the holidays. It really was everything that we hoped for for Christmas, and it is definitely one we'll remember. We rented a car in town to drive the hour and a half to Barton Stacey on Christmas Eve. When Steven got to the car rental office, they said that they didn't have any more compact cars available (we had reserved the cheapest option), and so would give us a free upgrade. Steven was pleased with this and then even happier when they said, "Well, Christmas has come early for you, Sir, as we're upgrading you to a Mercedes." So, we drove to the country in high style. 

We made excellent time and arrived at Julia and Jim's place by lunch time. We had arranged to stay at Julia's neighbor's house just down the road, with Susan, Robert, David, and Grandma. It was a lovely 4-bedroom house with lots of space for everyone, and they had decorated it for Christmas, so we deposited all of the gifts that we brought under their tree. We settled right in and felt very comfortable. Greta and Steven met Julia and her family for lunch at the Swan Inn, while Franny and I had sandwiches and unpacked in our cozy new digs. Then Steven brought Grandma back to our place to rest. That was the one sad part of our holiday- Grandma is not doing well at all. She had a bad fall on Christmas Eve and was in a lot of pain, and she's having a lot of difficulty in general. She'll be 90 years old in February, and she is definitely feeling it these days.

Later that day, a few of us walked up the road to the old church for a Christingle Mass, which was just beautiful. Franny and David participated in lighting the candles of the Christingles (oranges decorated with sweets and holding a single candle each), and the church was illuminated with flickering candles and happy faces. We all had dinner at our own houses that evening, with Robert cooking our household a nice salmon and pasta, followed by apple crumble with cream. A little later we walked over to the Pub (again the Swan Inn) for a couple of festive pints and a good laugh. Julia and Jim knew everyone in there, and lots of villagers (yes, that is really what they call themselves) came over to chat. We were quite the novelty as "strangers," given that everyone else was a regular. We made it home before midnight, though, to finish any Christmas prep and be sure to get to bed before Santa arrived.

The kids were very reasonable and slept in until about 7am, then we all raced downstairs to open a few gifts and have some breakfast- toasted Panettone and coffee, with clementines on the side. We got dressed and walked up to Julia's for more gift opening with all the family. It was a blur of activity for about 20 minutes, and then everyone was busy playing with their new loot. The boys got lots of electronics, which kept them quite occupied. Greta got books and gift cards, as well as some clothes and jewelry. Franny got books, headphones, clothes, as well as slippers and a robe that she has barely taken off since she opened! Everyone was thrilled with their goodies.

Much of Christmas Day was spent cooking, as we had fifteen people around the table for dinner. Each family contributed a different part of the huge meal, from turkey and ham to desserts and veg, as well as starters and drinks. I had ordered all of the veg from Abel & Cole and we had loads of pots and pans going to cook it all before bringing it up to Julia's house. She had transformed their playroom (itself transformed from a former launderette for the soldiers) into a Christmas Grotto, with the table-tennis table covered in Christmas wrap and the walls decorated with fake Christmas scenes, it was amazing! And we all fit comfortably around the table, with plenty of space for the enormous amount of food and drink. Everything turned out beautifully and it was such a nice family meal to share. 

We were all pretty knackered that night, so stayed in and played games. We also watched the specials on telly, including the Doctor Who and Downton Abbey Christmas specials. Then for Boxing Day, we headed out for a nice walk in the country. We followed a trail through some horse pastures and country lanes, where we hardly saw anyone else. That is, until four Land Rovers pulled up and the country gentry got out in their full hunting regalia. It was quite the scene, with even the kids wearing full tweed and carrying rifles! We marched on, enjoying the setting but no hunting for us.

On Boxing Day afternoon, we had another excellent meal with delicious left-overs and various salads and desserts. We had our fill of mince pies and Christmas cake, and we sampled some new things such as pickled walnuts. The kids all went into the main house to play, while the grown-ups sat around drinking wine and chatting, it was really nice. Made me realize how special it is to be with family for the holidays, and we fully enjoyed it all. Of course, we missed our family that is back in the States and Canada, and our dear friends with whom we usually share a wonderful Christmas meal; but this was pretty special, too.

We drove back to London on Tuesday afternoon, and made use of the car by doing a massive Sainsbury's run. Then it was back to work for me on Wednesday. I'm off for the long weekend, though, and Steven has another batch of mince pies in the oven as I write, so life is full and good. I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas, too, and Happy New Year to all!

Ice Skating...continued.

Check out the quick clips below, and it's almost like you're there skating with us:

More Holiday Hoopla!

Yes, there are the Christmas lights and decorations, the mince pies and mulled wine, the carolers and the cakes, and all of the festive revelry; and there is also ice skating at the Tower of London! Today we took the tube to London Bridge, walked across to the Tower, and bought our tickets to join the fun on the ice. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and we got a work-out gliding around the rink with the Tower as our backdrop, it was great fun. Then we had a Pret a Manger picnic before heading in to see the sights of the Tower of London. We'd been there before, years ago, but it was cool to see it all again with the girls being older. The most exciting bit was when one of the ravens actually pecked an old Italian woman who was sitting on a bench! The ravens have always scared me a bit.

When we felt like our legs wouldn't make it up another winding staircase, we headed out to cross the Tower Bridge and walk along Butler's Wharf. We saw the Blue Print Cafe, where we had our anniversary lunch, and stopped for ice cream for the kids and lattes for the parents. The sun was shining the whole time. Eventually, we made our way back to the tube and traveled home on the Northern Line, with Franny and me both dozing on the train. The girls are on their winter break, and these days feel magical.

As to my break, I'm looking forward to a few days away from the craziness that is an organic delivery company the week before Christmas. It has been so busy at work! The mood is merry in the office, but the stress level can get rather high as folks are mighty concerned about their holiday deliveries (if we screw up someone's Christmas goose, we are in BIG trouble!). And the gifts and snacks around are plentiful, which adds to the fun. Tomorrow our chef is making a special table service Christmas lunch for all the staff, which should be delightful. I was scheduled to work on Saturday (Christmas Eve), but a very sweet co-worker agreed to work it for me, saying that she doesn't have kids yet, so it's not such a big deal for her. I was so appreciative- we made her a big batch of chocolate chip cookies! And the girls made their traditional Christmas cookies last night, using a tall drinking glass instead of a rolling pin, and designing their own shapes rather than cookie cutters; see, not having all the usual comforts of home lets us get creative these days! Franny also got to make a traditional English Christmas cake at school- had to take a photo, as it was just beautiful.

We're off to Cousin Julia's for Christmas, where we'll celebrate with all the family. This will be a very special holiday. Wishing you and yours a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year.