Experience London yourself!

At Target!!

Liberty of London, a landmark department store near Regent Street and Carnaby Street, known for its prints and patterns is at your nearest Target! Yes, London is now on Highway 280. Check out these cute things (dresses, shirts, scarves, you name it) that will surely put a spring in your step. And then if you come visit me, I'll take you to the real Liberty of London. Deal? Great.

I'll take the above bike. Just add the wicker basket please.

Thank you!

Once again, I have the best friends. Not to brag. But they are really great. "Fab" as they like to say here. I mean, 2000 animal stickers for Wiley! Sleepless in Seattle! Sweet words of encouragement. Awesome CDs (We are currently rocking out to I and Love and You as well as Beyonce's Halo and Single Ladies...by "we" I do mean Wiley and I. Oh, and some amazing Bible verses and maybe an Office quote.

What? Jealous of my Office quote? I'll share:

Michael Scott: would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.

Um, thank goodness they show old Office episodes over here.

I really wish I had something clever or smart to blog about. I will say that the weather has suddenly decided to be spring-like. It was almost 60 degrees here this week! When we moved, we heard that as soon as it warms up, Londoners go outside and start peeling off their layers of clothes in the park. Note that I said "warm," not "hot." I am afraid I have been here too long already, as I was dashing out to play in our neighbor's garden in shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt (peeling of layers of clothes), desperate for sun. It was not even 60 degrees that day (kind of warm, not hot). London weather makes you a bit desperate, even if you haven't been here that long.

Oh, and we will have been here 6 months in April. Can you believe it? I can't. For that matter, can you believe it is almost April?!

Our "diary" is getting fuller by the minute. The weather is getting warm. There seem to be a million things to do in the summer here, that I am starting to worry we won't have time to do them all. And we are going to the States for a nice "holiday" in a few months.

Thank you again friends for the wonderful care package!

Bruges

We visited Bruges, Belgium this past weekend. It was a quick, one night/two day trip, which was the perfect amount of time. We had a wonderful time. We heard from friends who studied abroad that Bruges with its canals, rivaled Venice. That seemed pretty bold, and we'll see in a few weeks how they compare, but Bruges truly was a beautiful town. Outside of Brussels, it was an easy train ride away and could easily be paired with a trip to Brussels. Its beauty is perhaps more understated and natural than anything else.

We rode our bikes that the hotel (Hotel Adornes) provided the first afternoon/night and all the second day. It was definitely the quickest and easiest way to go, as cobblestones aren't particularly fun with a stroller. They were bumpy with a bike, but at least you have speed! I felt like I could have taken pictures of everything. And I sort of did. But even as I was snapping away, I thought, these pictures will not do this town justice. I thought of so many of you who I wished could have been there to experience it with us!

Literally, every street looks like this. Cobblestones, beautiful wood doors, old brick, bicycles parked outside. Many, many of the homes had leaded glass windows. Ahh. Perhaps it was the old architecture, windows, bricks and the warms colors that I liked so much...I wished I had someone who knew about architecture to explain the steeped gables and iron supports to me.

Octagonal Belfry...a landmark of Bruges

On a bridge, statue of Jan Van Eyck is behind them

Dr. Evil: It's a Belgian Dip. (Please note that there are 2 spoons, and I was not eating the Belgian waffle on my own. Thank you very much. And I realize this is not cute. But I think my sister would appreciate this.)

Biking down cobblestone streets!

Beautiful.

Can you imagine having a little desk in that window that juts out over the canal?

Although definitely a place popular with tourists, it somehow did not feel overwhelming in the way London does with all the tourists. I definitely did not want to hang out in the Markt very long, but once away from there on our bikes, exploring the random streets in search of Belgian waffles and chocolate, it felt as if we had the city to ourselves. We had dinner Saturday night at a fondue restaurant, which was very popular with Wiley for obvious reasons. It was one of those nights that seems a bit magical, a bit surreal. Biking home that night with the canals reflecting the lights of the homes and the bridges, adding a golden hue to the water, I hated to end our bike ride home. I think I could have followed my boys on their bike for hours around Bruges that night.

Needless to say, Bruges is definitely a must-see if you are over in Europe for an extended amount of time. It is unexpected and humble beauty. It is so much chocolate that you might never have any again. It is water and warm colors. It is a funny boat ride down a canal, packed like sardines into a little boat with a man who when he speaks English, you don't recognize your own language. It is croquettes, mussels, and "famous" french fries. It is a perfect excuse to have a hot chocolate at least once a day.

Yes. I heart Bruges.

Tuesday in Marylebone

Today I walked up Marylebone ("Marley-bone"...I think) High Street in order to purchase a book for my book club. I had been wanting to see Daunt Books for awhile after seeing loads of people carry their tote bags around and after hearing how great it is from my book club. Here is a view inside of the "Edwardian" book shop.

These are books about Italy. Interspersed between travel guides are works of fiction that take place in or are about that particular region, area, or country. So, say when I go to Venice or Tuscany, I decide to read a book that takes place there, then this is how I can easily find it! So cool.

Obviously, I had to check out the "America section." I found the Southern shelves, curious what works of fiction I would find there...maybe To Kill a Mockingbird, Pat Conroy, Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Crazy in Alabama...the list goes on! What a treasure trove it would be! WRONG. As you can see in the picture above, there is no book about Alabama. However, if you want to know about Branson, Missouri and the Ozarks you will find it. It is also lacking in Southern Fiction. Oh, well. The rest of the shop was amazing, so I will forgive them that they don't think Europeans want to read about Alabama. I did get this sweet little tote bag below to carry my book and advertise for them. Seriously, I bet they don't do any advertising aside from these bags. They are everywhere!

And then, deciding I didn't have enough time to get home before turning around to pick up Wiley, I wandered in a few more shops, including Cath Kidston. I found these 1 metre scraps of fabric on sale downstairs, bargained them to 8 pounds cheaper because of dirt on fabric, and now I have the cutest ABC fabric for some future project (pillows? frame it?) and an oil cloth tablecloth on my kitchen table! The oilcloth just barely fits but cleanup is going to be so easy compared to trying to keep that glass table top clean! I could even us it for a picnic, craft projects...the possibilities here are endless.

And there is the messy boy eating chocolate mousse on the new tablecloth!

I loved the Marylebone High Street...there are cute cafes too. Next time I explore a new area/High Street though, I think I should leave my wallet at home! (Although I think I snagged some great deals!)

PS: High Street = Main Street (has grocery, basic stores, specialty shops, etc)

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza

While Brooke is enjoying her authentic pizza in Italy, Wiley has turned into a pizza chef here in London! For a birthday party of a classmate, they went to Pizza Express where they were instructed on how to make their own pizza. It was such a cute idea, and while the pizzas were baking, they were entertained by a magician. The kids thought it was great and were enthralled by his tricks! Pizza was followed by cake, of course, and it was fabulous, if I do say so myself (I just helped Wiley out a little bit with it...).

Chef Wiley

Mom, stop taking my picture. These 2 pictures are an indication of the type of day Wiley and I had together both before and after school. Rough. I thought the family would get a kick out of that face.

Do you like seafood?

The finished product and now happy child.

What a view!

The other day I walked to Primrose Hill. This is an area of London (home to Jude Law, I think) that is really cute, but really quite a pain to get to because there is little public transportation that easily accesses the area. Before having coffee there with a friend, I had a few extra minutes. The sun was shining, and I decided to seize the chance to walk up the actual hill. It is quite large, might I add.

But the view was totally worth it. Plus feeling the warm sun on my face? Heavenly.

The whole view. (Excuse the quality...the sun was in front of me and I didn't have the big, fancy camera with me.) Notice the muddy track down the middle...I think it must be from the fact that this would be the best hill to sled down and well, we've had a lot of snow.

Can you find some of London's landmarks?

Zoomed in looking towards The City.

Zoomed in looking towards the rest of London (western part)

I can't wait to go back and get a better picture! One sight that you may not realize is there in the last picture is the London Zoo. Or as they say on the tube, "the London Zoo, ZSL." (pronounced "Zed S L.") I could actually see the birds flying in the aviary part (the triangular netting in foreground).

While admiring the city, I overheard some movie people talking about filming there. I didn't hear any stars names, or a date, time, and they didn't ask me to be an extra...but I did linger longer just in case...

Apparently, though, someone will be riding a bike, and they might get a crash crew in case the actor cannot stop the bike and runs into the camera. Talk about being prepared!

Okay, next clear day, I'm off to Primrose Hill again!

Planes, Trains, Automobiles...and Space Rockets

We recently took Wiley to the Science Museum (right behind the Natural History Museum) where he saw tons of transportation "stuff" (see below) and also got to do some hands-on activities. We saw a "explosion show" that was fun and involved blowing up flour and launching Barbie out of a Barbie-sized canon straight into a wall. Poor Girl. We were there on a Sunday afternoon, so, yes, it was a bit crazy. However, this is like a little boy's dream world (and girls like it, too!) Old cars, trains, planes, you name it really and it is there!

They also had a good space section. It made me think of Huntsville and the Space stuff there. We got a little proud when we saw this, and I had to have a picture of Wil and Wiley. Wil and I both loved seeing the American flag on all the models of the Apollo missions and their spacecraft/suits.

Wiley enjoyed the HUGE hangar-like room filled with planes from the Wright brothers-era to a cross section of a Boeing 747 (or whatever the massive one is). You can see part of the cross-section in the back of this picture below. He loved being able to touch the planes too. I hope that was allowed. Shortly after touching this plane, Wiley wondered off to the side displays. He must have been going to touch them too because he didn't see the glass and ran straight into it. We had a minor meltdown and a major laugh at poor Wiley's expense. Do you know how many times this kid runs straight into walls, doors, and glass? This is not the first time.

I had to post this. I just had to. Even the English would find this amusing given their relationship with the French. The answer to this is "Yes." Sorry Victor.

If you are in London with little ones in tow, go to the Science Museum. Like most museums here, it is FREE! It would be really great with kids 2 and up, but there is a lot to look at for younger siblings too...they just might not be into the activities/exhibits. You must go to the "launch pad" area for the hands-on activities.