Vienna: Part 3

Next, the Griswolds eat through Vienna. I had heard that the sweets in Vienna were very good, and sure enough they did not disappoint. We found a very delicious shop with amazing truffles in all different kinds of flavors. Wil preferred the rum and chocolate, and I preferred the Bailey's and chocolate. Wiley liked them all!

One afternoon, we went to Demel, a famous sweets shop that has one variety of the Sacher Torte (the other one is at the Sacher Hotel). We had coffee and a slice of the almond chocolate cake to share. It was amazing. I wish I could have tried all of these cakes, torte, and pastries! You could also watch the pastry chefs at work in the kitchen. Wiley loved this and was upset when it was time to leave.

I thought the packaging was cute!

Yum!

Eating out with a small child is not very much fun. Especially when you don't speak the language. After our first night of eating out (yes, we had weiner schnitzel. no, i don't want any more weiner schnitzel for a long time.) being an exhausting experience that not only was expensive but unenjoyable (we even took Wiley to McDonalds before so we wouldn't have to buy him food he wouldn't eat half of), we were pretty much of the belief that traveling with a small child is not a good idea. The next day was much better and renewed our faith in travel, but we were still tired and cold at the end of the day. So, once we got to our hotel, I was not keen on leaving, nor did I want schnitzel. Sweet Wil went out in the cold and brought back pizza for Wiley and two doner kabobs for us! He also got 3 Sacher Tortes for us to sample! We were very happy with our affordable meal inside our warm hotel room where Wiley can wiggle and be loud.

The famous Sacher Torte

Dinner is served!

In case you travel to Vienna, we stayed at the Kaiserin Elisabeth which was very centrally located. We were able to walk to all the main sights (except Schonbrunn), the room was comfortable, the staff helpful, and the included breakfast was great. There were some pretty famous people who stayed here including Mozart!

And that is all I got for you on Vienna! My takeaway travel tip: Don't go in the winter.

Vienna: Part 2

Here are a few nighttime shots of our time in Vienna. St. Stephens is first, then mystery building (we weren't sure what it was, but it had an ice skating rink in front of it), then part of the Hofburg.

We toured the Treasury, home to the Austrian Crown Jewels. Now that was very impressive! I think that when Disney came up with their princess/prince and queen/king stories, they went to Vienna and saw the clothes that the Hapsburgs wore. They look just like what you have always pictured a royal person wearing.

This is supposedly a nail that was used to nail Jesus Christ to the cross. Interesting thought, but of course you never know. We decided that if there was much truth to this, that it would not be in Vienna, in a little museum, and in a not-so-prominently displayed area. Apparently the Hapsburgs were very religious folks (Catholic), and so relics like this would have been really important. There were loads of crosses, crucifixes, etc. in this room as well.

The family tree of Hapsburgs. Engraved on those little ovals were little pictures of them (I think). I liked this piece the best!

Dear Franz Joseph, having the year encrusted with diamonds is a little much don't you think? Tacky, with a capital T. This was the first bling to inspire that of 50 cent (see below).

And check out this massive emerald! It's a little trinket box. It had an actual term/name/purpose, but of course, I can't remember so I will call it an emerald trinket box. Sorry Franz.

We also saw the Imperial Apartments and the Sisi Museum at the Hofburg. Those were really great, and we both wished we had more time to read everything there. Of course, we probably did as much as we could with Wiley in tow. The Imperial Apartments were much better than those at the Schonbrunn, and included those of Sisi and her husband Franz Joseph I.

So, let's talk about Sisi. Her real name was Elisabeth, and she was a bit of a diva. Although, Wil decided in the museum dedicated to her, that she was really more of a hippie. Her clothing did not really give that "hippie" vibe, but I think he meant a hippie in that she was pretty revolutionary in her actions as an empress and quite liked the freedom that she lost when she became empress.

She had hair to her ankles that she was quite proud of, and she would spend hours brushing it. Well, someone else brushed it, while she practiced her languages. She also was quite a fanatic about her size, and obsessed about her diet and exercise. We saw the dressing room where her exercise equipment was (2 rings hanging from door, some contraption that I don't know what she did with it, and what looked like a chin-up bar) along with her massage table because you know, Sisi loved a massage after her workout. Who doesn't? I earlier had read/heard on the audio guide that she often did not have family meals because she did not eat very much. Apparently there are a lot of myths about this lady, so maybe that is an exaggeration. I will say she did have a 20 inch waist. It was really interesting to hear about her life. It was quite touched by tragedy, and she never seemed to be very content. So, while she might have been portrayed as a diva, I think I might side with my very insightful husband and agree that after all she was a bit of a hippie, a free-spirit, who wasn't quite cut out for the strict court life.

And that is your history lesson for the day.

Next up: the Griswolds eat their way through Vienna or Vienna is home to lots of yummy desserts. (As if you want to hear more about Vienna!)

Haiti

Want to help? These two ladies have some great ideas!

Almost Home: the One about Haiti

(I think I would like to donate via that t-shirt)

and if you love art, or are looking for a new piece, maybe you could bid on this beautiful piece by Birmingham artist, Liz Landgren. The verse that inspired her is below.

I don't want to infringe on her painting, so just click up there, and go look at it. It's pretty incredible.

And first and foremost, let's pray.

Arise, cry out in the night,

pour out your heart like water

in the presence of the Lord.

lift up your hands to Him

for the lives of your children who faint from hunger

at the head of every street.

Lamentations 2:19

Vienna: Part 1

We are back from Vienna! Also known as Wien. Boy, was it cold! -12 degrees celsius.While we were at the market we were stopped by a nice German woman who thought there was something wrong with Wiley. That's how he looked. His face was wrapped up in a scarf and his head was on his chest. That is how he rolls. Did I mention that we got up at 4:30 a.m? I can assure you, he had a breathing slit by his nose, and if you were that little and tired, you would look like that too.

To market, to market.

We also went to Schonnbrunn Palace, the summer palace of the Hapsburgs. We saw the Imperial Rooms, and then headed to the zoo. The Imperial Rooms were okay, but not nearly as impressive as those of Windsor Castle. I think it'd be okay to skip those if you didn't have enough time. You will want LOTS of time at the oldest zoo, also located at the Schonnbrunn because it was fantastic!!

Oh, hey little monkey running free in the monkey house. Can you see him?

Cheetah. Very skinny. Very fast.

Um, yeah. So this was not taken with zoom. He was that close.

Yeah. I was terrified. A piece of glass separated us from 3 pacing tigers. We have like 20 shots of these (thanks Wil). Those tigers are huge, and you could just see the power. We later watched them devouring raw meat. I kid you not. They were hungry, hence the pacing earlier. Therefore, I backed up when they came close to the glass where we were standing.

Hungry Hippos. They had an indoor pool (well, their whole house was indoors, at least during the winter) and if they had gone for a swim, you seriously could have touched one. Not that you would want to, but still. Scary/Awesome. I might add that if you've seen Madagascar, you can appreciate how good of a job Pixar did of the hippo character. I kept thinking of her and how sassy and diva-like she was while watching these guys. While these hippos may or may not have been sassy, physically, the animation was spot on. We saw these at the beginning, and then came back right before we left.

Sweet Cuddly Pandas. That is what I wanted to be doing.

We also laughed really hard at the penguins who looked so funny waddling and shaking their heads. We caught a sea lion show that despite a language barrier a Viennese mom had told us about at lunch (international language of mommy-ese) that showcased a large alpha seal who kept taking smaller sea lion's fish. I've never seen so many animals, so active in one day. Maybe it was because they were mostly inside being warm, and we were outside freezing. Maybe it is because they reminded me of the Madagascar movie, and they enjoyed putting on a show for the visitors. Either way: that was an awesome zoo.

No, it didn't snow while we were there. Yes, it was that cold.

(Garden at Schonbrunn)

Coming up next: The Hapsburgs in Vienna: their bling and their famous queen.

London Day Activity

I would call this a "rainy day activity," and for you folks at home, it is. However, in our case, it is a London day activity, as many of our average days are similar to your rainy days (look out our kitchen window for example). I desperately miss my Vitamin D, and I am about 98% sure I would be a better mommy if I saw the sun more regularly. Not to mention, pasty isn't a good color for me.

Anyway, after being home for a week sick, it is safe to say Wiley was bored. And I was too.

What is that you ask? Oh, it's flour. Plain flour. On the kitchen table.

And on Wiley too.

Since he's been missing his education this week, I thought we would do some work on letters. We only got to "D" before he decided he was bored with watching Mommy write, then tracing, then doing his own.

Here he is writing his name. If I want to prove to my parents that I learned something at Wake (and am using it), this really worked well for Wiley as he is active and messy (also known as a boy). So taking that information, let's assume with Gardner's Multiple Intelligences that he will learn better in a "bodily-kinesthetic" mode. A.k.a. hands-on learning! (I also think he would learn really well through music.)

Plus, have you ever tried to teach a pre-schooler how to hold onto a pencil? Yeah, really hard. But with flour, they use their finger which is so natural and much easier to maneuver.

The finished product. "Wiley."

It put my increasingly OCD mind at peace knowing that tonight I would be vacuuming, so who cares if we get flour on the floor? Or the chair? Or the child? Or the Mom?

(Idea came from Wiley's nursery where I think I saw them do something similar, or maybe it was with paint. They always have to most creative ideas!)

A thought...

The fundamental mission of motherhood now is the same as it always was: to nurture, protect, and instruct children, to create a home environment that enables them to learn and grow, to help them develop a heart for God and his purposes, and to send them out into the world prepared to live both fully and meaningfully.

-from Sally Clarkson's Misson of Motherhood

via Fly Through Our Window

Go-to Show

I think that when you reach a certain age, maybe when you stop going out all the time with friends, have a job, have a child, etc. you tend to get attached to television shows. Or maybe you have that one show that you just love watching re-runs. Friends, anyone?

Lately, this show is taking up space on our recording space:

There is no denying how funny Tina Fey is. And Alec Baldwin. It's fabulous.

But our newest favorite is:

If you are married, this show is for you. It does the best job of making fun of the nuances of being married. We've already spotted ourselves in a couple situations and even some of our friends!

Happy TV watching!

(can you tell that we've been watching too much TV lately? i guess that happens when you have a sick child at home. and no, he's not watching either show. he prefers strawberry shortcake and other British kiddie shows.)

(Hoping to be) around town!

And we are on Day 2 of Wiley being home sick with a fever. Camping out on the sofa, maybe leaving the house to go to the doctor (yesterday; only a cold; much, much better experience) or check the mail, and Wiley watching an inordinate amount of "CBeebies" and movies. All plans of school for him and my getting out are dashed. But that is okay. It's quite nice to cuddle up with this sweet boy, even if he is a bit too warm to the touch.

For practicality sake, I thought I would make a list of things I want to do around London in the near future. And in hopes of enticing you to come visit, I will share with you the cultural events around the city that look like fun!

At the National Portrait Gallery. As you can see, I've waited to the last minute and still need to purchase a ticket (ahead of time) online. It is described as, This major exhibition explores the leading pop music personalities who helped create 'Swinging London' in the 1960s. Over 150 photographs, together with a range of memorabilia, illustrate how the photographic image, music, and performance made these popstars the leading icons of their time."

Turner and the Masters is at the Tate Britain. I think that this museum houses a lot of Turner anyway, but this exhibit shows him alongside the Masters like Rubens and Rembrandt.

I've been really wanting to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum since we moved here. I want to take the tube down to Kensington, grab a Starbucks, and just wander around and look at all of the pretty things. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Still haven't made it down there. I want to see the fashion, furniture, & textiles in particular. They will have a Wedding Dress exhibition in 2011. There is something to look (way) forward to!

And at Kensington Palace:

The Last Debutantes

This exhibition is in honor of the last debutantes in London in 1958. Yes. 1958. Eli, you know I am thinking of you.

Diana, Fashion and Style Exhibition

This one appears to not have a deadline, so maybe I can wait till February. And it sounds amazing!

Now that my diary (that is what they call a calendar here) is full, I just need to get this sweet boy well again! Something tells me he won't think these exhibits nearly as fascinating as I will.

{click the pictures to go to the Museum website + where I got the picture}

Basketball, Warm Weather, and American Idol

As I type it is 8 degrees C, or as Google tells me, 42.8 degrees F. And it is 8:30 p.m. Which means that it was warmer this afternoon when I "ran," warmer when the boys went to the park to play soccer, and warmer when I arrived, only to bust my you-know-what trying to make an heroic basketball goal. My phone told me that it was 48 degrees this afternoon.

48 degrees. Ahhhhh.

Oh, and the basketball story? I think my exact thought process was: "And she's taking it to the hole," whomp! My feet went out from under me and I landed on my you-know-what. I didn't make it to the hole.

The updates have been slow. Sorry. But you see, we are finally getting into a nice little routine, and my posting about how I walk (or stroll) with Wiley to school each morning (a 10-15 minute walk, if you are curious) then again in the afternoon isn't all that interesting. Here are a few random thoughts on what we have been up to:

I have decided that I really love the "walking lifestyle." I tried to equate what we walk to school to something in Birmingham. It is definitely shorter than what I would have walked to elementary school, plus there aren't any killer hills. I think there are a lot of distances in Crestline though that are definitely walkable. When we move back to the States, wherever we go, I hope that I can incorporate this lifestyle. I sure do love my big SUV, but a little walking won't hurt its feelings.

I bought Wiley some "wellies," and it is a good thing I did because rain is forecasted for the upcoming week. They are pretty much an essential item here, and it's really silly I didn't get him some sooner.

The next few months are pretty exciting. Trips are planned, friends and family are coming over, and it looks like Spring will do its usual thing and fly by.

American Idol is on. Over here too. Which makes us really happy. As I was watching the Atlanta auditions, it suddenly hit me why the World's perception of America is so screwed up, and probably why they don't like us. What do they see? Hollywood (not real), American Idol (oh. my. goodness. I love it, but where do they find some of these people?), Friends (we need more Friends, maybe only Friends. Then they would love us.), and those crazy reality shows (I keep hearing about somebody named Snooki from New Jersey, what is that? I don't think it is good for our image, though.). However, the Office is on now and that has to help. And Glee, who doesn't love some a cappella? And 24 is coming next week. Which means that they know that we have Jack Bauer. Yeah. That's right, ya heard.

2 things about American Idol:

- Posh Spice was so nice. She got bad reviews in the Metro here, but she was really pretty good about saying nice things to the people auditioning. Even when they were pretty bad. She also needs to eat. I would really like to fix her a nice meal. I think she is hungry. I know I would be if my arms were that tiny.

- Wil and I have agreed that if we could meet a Brit here it would be Simon. I used to think Paul McCartney. He lives near us so I thought it would be more feasible. You know, like I'd be out jogging, and he would too, so we'd just jog together, discuss the Beatles. It'd be great. But now, I'm pretty sure Simon would be super entertaining, albeit scary at first.

Oh and one more thing:

Did you see this?

How amazing was that? Thank you, Atlanta.

And on a serious note, Pray for Haiti.

Meals, again!

from food network

Just in case you are looking for a new recipe or meal idea to try, here is what we are having this week!

Monday: Lemon Fusilli with Arugula (or Spinach since I couldn't find the arugula)

This was so delicious and really creamy. However, the boys are not especially fond of strong lemon flavor, so I think I would do less zest next time, and maybe only juice of one lemon. I saw this one on a Barefoot Contessa show I watched. How much do I love her house? So much. It would be good to make if you had to serve maybe 6 adults. It makes a good bit, and I think a good baguette would be divine with it...along with white wine.

Tuesday: John's Red Beans and Rice from Magic (Junior League of Birmingham cookbook)

I've never made this, but my red beans are soaking as we type, so we'll see how that goes!

Wednesday and Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Smothered Chicken, rice, peas from Cook and Love It (from the Lovett School in Atlanta, my favorite cookbook.) Who doesn't love an easy cream of mushroom soup, Lipton's dry french onion soup kind of dinner.

Saturday: Cheeseburgers!

Sunday: Taco Pie (so good! Thanks, Mom!)

(Side note to my first "meal planning" post, Aimee's Chicken looked so great and it was so easy. However, either the dijon mustard here is hotter than it is at home or I put too much on there. It was like eating chinese mustard. Every time I took a bite, my sinuses were cleared. So if you have a sinus infection, maybe this is good for you?)

What are you eating this week? Any ideas? I've recently taken up watching the Food Network (yes, we get it here. yes it is amazing.) so maybe I will have some new recipes to try. When they make it look so easy, how can you not try a new recipe out?

Need Something to Read...and Relax?

Try: Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth by Eric Carle.

I kid you not. This book will totally relax you during story time right before bed. Maybe that is always relaxing for you, but sometimes for us, we rush through it. I know, I know. We shouldn't. It is precious time. But truth be told, it can get rushed.

However, every. single. time. I read this book to Wiley, I slow down my pace of life and mind to about 0.5 mph. Maybe even 0 mph. Or is it km/h over here?

I think it is because you have to get in a sloth-type of mind. (Although the sloth will point out that he is in fact not lazy.) You know, channel your inner sloth.

And repeat "slowly, slowly, slowly" quite a few times.

(Oh, and it is Eric Carle, and who doesn't love his books?)

Snow Day!

This week we had some beautiful snow fall! In fact, it is still around. And I think it was flurrying again this morning, but I wondered if it might have just been the wind blowing the snow that is already around. The UK has been experiencing some of the coldest temperatures in decades. Some of our new friends here who have lived here for 10 + years have also agreed that this is the coldest London has been and is quite unusual. This makes me feel better, in hopes the cold snap won't last forever. It's not awful because it does feel so seasonal and snow is pretty, but it is cold enough to keep us inside instead of at the park.

Wil got off work early this past week, and when he came home we went straight back outside to go sledding, throw snowballs, and make a snowman. Some new friends up the street thought the snowman was built by our neighbors (who they are really good friends with) so they decorated him with scarf, sunglasses, and carrot nose. It wasn't until the next day they realized it was ours! Our snowman had another wardrobe change into new sunglasses (first were gone), an Atlanta Braves hat (how did they know we were fans?), and the same scarf. The nose was gone (hungry fox, perhaps?). Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of him, and he has kind of taken a hit (literally) lately as he is crumbling and breaking apart. Our entrance certainly looked very festive and fun for a few days!

I am of course amused amid the cancellation of and getting out early for the flurries back home. But even more amused that Alabama fans were so concerned James Spann would interrupt the National Championship to tell you that 2 snowflakes have fallen, and no they are not sticking. (I'm kind of going on the assumption that nothing stuck in B'ham.) Poor sweet James Spann. All he does, alerting us to tornados, being in cahoots with the Piggly Wiggly and helping them sell out of milk and bread faster than you can say "snow flurry." I could go on, but you can read my post about him instead. Y'all. Don't send James Spann hate mail. That is low. Really low.

Yes. We were those people (like the only ones on our street) sledding and rolling snowman body parts. A sweet older couple stopped and talked to us. They said they were glad someone was enjoying the snow, and concurred that this is totally uncharacteristic weather for London. When we told them where we were from, they had that look of "oh, that explains it." And of course as most people ask, "Is this your son's first time to see snow? I bet he loves it!"

Thankfully, we can reply "Actually, he's seen snow before. 2 snowflakes that never stick."

(embellishment. it snowed a lot at wake last winter. a lot for the south of course.)

New Year's Parade

Wil found out that London has a supposedly big deal New Year's Day parade, so on the first day of 2010, we were off in the morning to stake our spot for what might be London's version of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

However, this was not the Macy's parade. Not even close. No huge balloons. No teeny-bopper and has been stars lip-synching to their greatest hits, while Elmo and Snuffalufagus bee-bop next to them. And Katie Couric, or rather Meredith Vieira, and Matt Lauer were certainly not the commentators. But that is okay; I am just telling you this so you can imagine it better.

It was however really, really cold, like one might imagine NYC to be in November. Wil couldn't feel his feet by the end of it and stomped around like he was marching in the parade to try to bring back feeling to them.

And it was really fun to do something "London-y." Plus, Wiley loved the marching, candy, and stickers they gave out. (Come to think of it, I still have an unwrapped Mars bar in my coat pocket. Gross, I know.) I know we made some fun memories that morning. Even if it might go something like, "Remember the time I couldn't feel my feet, then my legs started to go numb, and hypothermia was a real possibility?"

Oh, and then we went up and introduced ourselves to the nicest family from Vestavia. Yes, Vestavia. In London. They were there because Vestavia Hills High School was marching in the parade. The mom told me they turned down Macy's for this. I think they just wanted to go to London.

So anyway, we saw a "Sweet Home Alabama" sign, knew Vestavia was marching, and obviously we had to introduce ourselves.

I think we must have screamed: "ohmygoodnesswelovealabama.yougettogohometoalabama.welivehere.itisbloodycold.yesitisfun. yeswemissourfamily.yeslifewillgoon.youarefromalabama.

iamsohappytoseeyou.iamsohappytohearyourvoiceandknowyoudrovedownhighway280and

cursedthetrafficduringchristmasjustafewdaysago."

subconsciously, of course. Because somehow the sweet mother or aunt of the brood was telling me how quickly this time would go and what a wonderful opportunity it was to travel, and I walked away thinking, "Oh I was just comforted. I didn't know I needed to be comforted. That was nice." But that is not the point of the post.

We were very excited to see "Sweet Home Alabama" scrawled across the poster. And we screamed for all the American bands and cheerleaders when they passed us. You know, that good ole' fashioned pride in your country.

Enough silly banter. Here are some pictures as a reward for getting this far:

Here we are freezing.

There were donkeys?

And miniature trains?

And marching Rebel-ettes? Or whatever they are called!

Marching Rebels! Whoever would have thought we would have been so excited about Marching Rebels!?

Oh, and if we go again next year, this is where I will be watching the parade (imagine me in the window on the left, maybe a mimosa in hand, able to retreat into my lush room to warm my hands and then come back out to smile upon the donkeys and other random things progressing below me):