Day Trippers

We had a really nice visit last week from Steven's parents, who came out to see us and to help with Grandma's move. Everyone has been chipping in, trying to prepare Grandma for such a big change. And we are really appreciating being closer to her and the rest of the family this year, seeing the generations together and all of the changes that come with time. It was great to have "the in-laws" in town.

We spent some time showing them around our neighborhood, walking through the Common and taking the bus around the hood, going out for coffee, and shopping in Wimbledon. Then we had a couple of day trips- the first was to Canterbury, where we toured the Cathedral, walked along the old Roman city walls, had a great pub lunch, and checked out the market stalls. It is a beautiful city, and one that we had never visited before. Franny didn't join us on this trip, as she spent the day up in Manchester for the Primary Engineering National Finals (she didn't win, but did have a brilliant time).

The second day trip was to Hampton Court and Palace, something we had been meaning to do for ages. We toured the grounds on a gorgeous sunny day and were all impressed. I'll let the photos do the talking here.

We're off on Spring Break later this week, so definitely more blog posts to come soon!

Friends, daffodils, and other news

Street art

Walking through Brick Lane

Spring

With Evy in Notting Hill

The Orangery in Kensington Gardens

For the first couple of months, I was friendless in London. Yes I could definitely connect with friends back home, and we had plenty of family time- with all of the London excursions and the fact that the house here is much smaller than we're used to. But it's not the same as having face-to-face time with people my age. But I haven't had any melancholia regarding friends as of late- I have made some really great friends from school and also have weekly Skype calls/lots of emails/Facebook messages with friends from Seattle. Not to mention Evy and her mom Gale coming to London a few weeks ago!! We had tons of fun going around London (Phantom of the Opera, Greenwich, Notting Hill, high tea...). It was a surreal moment when Evy came to see Chestnut Grove school on one of the days she was here- she got to meet almost all of my London friends, and I felt so lucky to have the best of both worlds continents.

In other news, my grandparents (Dad's parents) are here visiting from Canada and we're having lots of fun catching up, playing cards, taking walks in Tooting and Wimbledon, and going out for Indian food. I had a very fun and very busy two days last weekend- on Saturday four of us went to South Bank, Green Park, and Trafalgar Square which was so so fun (I couldn't believe I was all over the center of London with no parents, actually!). Then on Sunday about six or seven girls and I went to Brick Lane in East London. I had been there before with Dad, but we went on a weekday and it's a whole different scene on Sundays because they have tons of market stalls set up making it uber busy.

Oh and next up on the social calendar: Hunger Games.

P.S. For once the the photography is mine! (or my friends')
P.P.S. Changed the size of the pictures but hopefully it won't change anything to the layout...thoughts?

Hockney Exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts

It started with an hour's wait in the cold, then followed with expensive tickets upon entry, and a large crowd; but it was worth it to see this exhibit. Normally, we just wander into museums without too many expectations, sometimes not knowing what will be on during our visit. Today Steven and I planned a special trip to the sold-out David Hockney exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts, mainly because there has been so much hype about this show and it seemed like a rare opportunity.

The line wound around the courtyard already when we arrived a little after 9am, and the museum doesn't even open until 10am. It was chilly, but the people-watching was very interesting: lots of older folks and middle-aged hipsters (is there such a thing?), clearly very well-heeled, with posh accents and expensive outfits. It didn't fell like our scene at all. Steven went to see Mark Lanagan perform a sold-out show last week, and that was probably more up our alley.

When we finally got to see the paintings, we were more than impressed. There was room after room of massive canvasses, most with bright vivid colors, and many of gorgeous English landscapes. There was even a room devoted to paintings that Hockney had done on an ipad. He also painted the same nature scenes throughout the changing seasons, detailing the numerous differences in color. The paintings were amazing and we were so glad that we made the effort to see this special exhibit.

 

Spring Comes to London!

Daffodils are in all the parks

Greta's School- Chestnut Grove

This actually went by our front door- collecting scrap metal!

It feels like only yesterday that I was writing about a "winter wonderland," and now it looks like Spring has sprung. The bulbs are all blooming, and there are buds on the trees, the temp is mild, and the style seems to be shorts with tights underneath- it's spring time in London. And, it being England, everyone talks a lot about the weather. We are enjoying the warmer, longer days, and all is well.

It was straight back to work and school after our Prague/Vienna trip, so things have been busy. Steven has had a few Seattle restaurant projects to complete on deadlines, so he has been at the computer quite a lot. Greta has had some exams, which she is acing, and has been spending more time with her school friends- going in to town, to movies and museums; and she also had a visit from her Seattle friend, Evy. My work has been hectic, as the company is growing at an impressive speed, recruiting hundreds more customers each week. And I have been training for various "tasks" in the office, so have had different responsibilities and varying shifts. Franny has been doing all her usual football training and matches, plus graduated from a Primary Practice course at the local hospital, competing in the school netball tournament, studying for the SATs (not the same tests as in the US), and prepping for the National competition of Primary Engineering in Manchester later this month. She is probably the busiest of us all!

We're looking forward to a visit from Steven's parents in a week's time, and then have friends planning to come out nearly each month for the remainder of our stay. It will be great to see everyone. And Steven was up in Devizes last week, helping Grandma to pack up her house for the impending move to a smaller place in an assisted living community (finally!). He got back yesterday and noticed the French porcelain espresso cups that I had bought at a charity shop and nearly shouted, "No more stuff, I don't want anything else brought into the house after seeing all the work it is to pack it all up and get rid of it!" To be fair, he had spent the last few days taking things to the tip, after years of Grandma's accumulating. How are we ever going to get everything back to Seattle? Ah well, don't want to think too much about that just yet...

Crossing the Thames on our bikes

Fulham Football Stadium

Even more from Prague and Vienna

 

First day in Prague was a low of 5 degrees F.

 I absolutely loved these houses on the water, especially the ones is pastel blues, yellows, and some pinks.

Like Mom said, the Czech Republic's capital was like fairytale land. To me, Prague looks like the setting for the animated movie Anastasia (probably my favorite Disney film) although it is supposed to take place in Russia. I think it's partly the snow, partly the gorgeous old buildings, and maybe partly all the faux fur we saw.

 The anatomical clock was incredible- we were in the square at 10 am, and got to see the figures on the clock move. Plus, there was someone playing the trumpet at the top of the clock tower!

 Cool swing in a park near Prague Castle. Unfortunately, I fell flat on my face in the snow shortly afterwards,  and then became even more snow-covered after Franny's hands warmed up enough to allow her to make snowballs. 

 One of fifteen or so old-fashioned tram pictures that Dad took.

 Outside Vienna's Stephansdom before Dad, Franny, and I climbed up it. 

 The view from halfway up, the furthest you can go. Cannot imagine what Vienna looks like from the top.

There were horse and carriages all over the city, just to make it that much more picturesque.

Half-Term Break Part Two

After spending the first half of the week in Prague, we took the train to Vienna- what a ride! We had our own compartment on the train and spent most of the time looking out the window at the ever-changing landscape. We went through some beautiful cities, some snow covered forests, miles of wasteland, and lots of Czech and Austrian farmlands. The buildings were as different as the landscape, and it was so cool to ride past it all. We got snacks from the dining car (total rip off), and had tea while staring out the window. It was about a five hour journey and we arrived in the center of Vienna in early afternoon. We took the subway to our flat and were equally impressed by this one. It was located in a gorgeous building overlooking a historic square, just a few blocks from the center of Old Town. It, too, was nicely furnished and very comfortable, so we definitely lucked out on accommodations.

Ah Vienna...of course, we had lots of coffee and hot chocolate (every day), and we made sure to see the major landmarks. Our flat was right around the corner from Stephansdom Cathedral, so we walked around there quite a bit and did tour the inside. Steven and the girls also walked up the tower to look out at the city, while I took advantage of the time to enjoy a melange (similar to a latte) at Kleines Cafe, a well known little hole in the wall that had caught my eye when we passed it earlier. We tried different cafes every day and were amazed to see that many of them were actually in our guidebook as famous hangouts of bygone artists, writers, and intellectuals. My favorite was definitely Cafe Central, which we stumbled in to on our first night in Vienna, after walking around for a few hours and all being tired, cold, and hungry. It was like stepping back in time as we walked through the doors, with its red velvet booths, live piano player, elegant pastry cases, and palace-like setting (it is located in the historic Palais Ferstel). This was a real treat, and we all had a lovely evening, as well as our first taste of sachertorte (a special chocolate cake) and apfelstrudel (you guessed it). I realize that we take great stock in sampling the local food and drinks when we travel, which does nothing for our figures but sure makes for some fun meals while on holiday. Eating out, and in fact doing anything, in Vienna was much more expensive than in Prague. And some places don't have menus, so you order what sounds good and can be in for a shock when the bill arrives; this happened to us at Cafe Hawelka, which was definitely a cool hang-out, but extremely expensive for coffee and cake.

We didn't just eat the whole time, we also spent half a day at The Belvedere, a gorgeous museum that houses the largest collection of Gustav Klimt paintings, including The Kiss (how many Art Docent projects did we do around this amazing painting?!? It was so cool to see the original up close). We also sampled a local market's stalls, saw the famous Secession Building, rode a couple of old trams, walked along the canal, and went ice skating at Rathaus Park. Vienna is definitely a beautiful city, but I wasn't quite as taken with it as I was with Prague. It seems like it knows it's a regal place, whereas Prague doesn't seem so full of itself. Of course, it was only a week's stay, but these were my impressions. We wanted a winter wonderland Half-Term Break, and that is exactly what we got.