Our London Adventure, in review

This is officially our last post. The end of our adventure has arrived and we can't believe it.

We have loved our journey here and are so happy that we had the opportunity to live in London. We have made life long friends that we will miss dearly! We have a new outlook on the world and a new appreciation for America. And if we were asked to live abroad again, I think we would both say, yes! Can you believe it?! It has truly been an amazing experience that we will treasure forever.

The things we won't miss:
The washer/dryer (really a steamer) combo
The winter weather
The metric system
Being far from our family and friends


The things we will miss:
Our friends
Thai and Indian food
Hyde Park
Traveling Europe
The French pastries
Walking everywhere(not needing a car)
Our Healthcare and doctors
The accent
The cab drivers (knowledgeable and courteous)
The pubs
Football
Cafe Nero
And many many more...

Here are a few photos of our last times in London.






Here we come America!!!!!!

Wimbledon 2009

Considering we only live 25 minutes from Wimbledon, we decided to brave the crowds and heat for the chance to experience Wimbledon. We are sure glad we did, and recommend the event to everyone even if you are not a tennis fan. The grounds are beautiful, with a mixture of modern and historic influences (and lots of money for a roof than will be used at some point given the British weather!).



We ate dinner on Henman's Hill, and walked around to watch various doubles matches. Given the presence of Noelle and her charm, we were even able to get our way into centre court.

Paris!

For our last trip while living abroad we decided we had to do Paris one last time! We had a wonderful time exploring local neighborhoods, visiting Versailles and having a picnic on the grounds, and of course eating and walking non stop. I am excited to tell you that after years of sampling, I have found the best chocolate croissant I have ever had. The next time you are in Paris, it is called Aux Armes de Niel. Deelish! Nils took us on a metro adventure- we now think we have somewhat figured out their metro system. We LOVE Paris and were happy introduce Noelle to this amazing city!

Royal Ascot

For our 5 year Anniversary we celebrated by going to Royal Ascot. Ascot is a famous horse racing event that is better known for the social aspect than the actual event. The Queen is present and enters each day via carriage (see how close Nils got). To us Americans it is quintessentially British- the fancy dresses, the hats, coattails... and of course excessive drinking. Little Miss Noelle loved wearing her fancy headband- she fit right in! We had a great time and our long shot came in 1st place!!

The Cotswolds

Last weekend we took another day trip out to the Cotswolds- an area with picturesque villages, green as far as you can see, and grazing sheep... the English countryside. We finally made it! We took the train via Oxford, and in an hour and a half we felt like we were in the middle of nowhere! We explored three of the villages, had a picnic along the river in Bourton-on-the-Water, had cream tea (which we learned is tea, served with a scone, jam and clotted cream- its the clotted cream which makes a cream tea a cream tea) and just relaxed. We felt like we were in a storybook land! The people were so friendly and welcoming. What a nice break from the city!

We are out and about again!

Lately, our only adventure has been that of parenthood, which we are loving, but we actually had a great weekend adventure. Grandpa came to visit us, which got us up and moving. We explored London, took a trip out to Richmond and spent a day in Cambridge. Richmond was beautiful, as always, and we happened to catch part of a regatta. It was great fun to watch the boat races along the Thames. What a beautiful little town just to take a stroll through, walk along the river and of course visit our favorite chocolate shop, William Curley.

Cambridge was amazing, definitely worth the trip. After a short train ride we were immersed in a stunning, medieval meets modern college town. We felt smarter just being there- especially when standing next to the building where the electron and DNA were discovered! Who knew that there are 31 colleges that make up Cambridge- each with their own beautiful buildings, housing, gardens and lawns. It was wonderful to hear all the stories of past students of Cambridge (people we have actually heard of). We especially liked hearing about Lord Byron and his bear who used to bathe in the fountain and in the Wren Library there is the original manuscript of Winnie the Pooh. How fun! Along the river people go punting, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punt_(boat) if you haven't heard of it. We loved watching the rookie punters, if that is the right word, trying not to hit other boats or to fall in. It was great sitting along the river watching all the action below. Noelle thought it was so fun to kick under the trees as the ducks and geese waddled on by her. Who knows, maybe that will be her school one day!

Snow Day

It has been an interesting few days in London. What started as a fun outing to watch the Superbowl in Pimlico for Nils and his friend Gordon turned into the worst snowstorm in London since 1991. The transportation system collapsed, and the 4 snowplows in all of London were conveniently located at Heathrow. Thankfully everything is fine, but definitely something new.

Finally, a big thanks to Sandy for the Galoshes!!! What a life saver!