Merry Christmas!!!

I never got around to sending Christmas cards this year so here's my electronic version...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

May your holidays be filled with Peace, Love and Happiness!!!

Love,

Tony, Julie, Isabelle and Logan

No Snow Day!!!!

Here is a picture of Logan walking to school in the snow. Do you see all that snow?? And they still had school. If we were still at home we would be sitting at home in our PJs having a snow day!!!!

Christmas time in the City

London is very nice this time of year. It doesn't have quite the magical feel of NYC but there are lots of lights and activities.

We took the kids to see the Snowman. I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from Logan at a ballet but he was awesome. He really enjoyed all the dancing Snowmen but his favorite character was the spiky man, Jack Frost. Isabelle, of course, loved the Ice Princess. After the show, we went down to Trafalgar Square to see the BIG Christmas tree. It's impressive!

(A few days after we were there the student protesters tried to burn it down! )

Next on our list was to see Santa or as they like to call him here, Father Christmas. I was told back in September to book tickets to Santa's Grotto at Harrods so I did. It was nice but I was expecting something more.... grand, I guess. It is Harrods after all but it was Santa sitting in a big red chair. The kids loved it and decided he was "the real one" and the ones in Charlotte had all been dressed as Santa???

We then put up our Christmas tree. We bought a real one since we left the big fake one in storage. Imagine this... Tony having to walk a good 15-20 minutes with a 7 ft tree over his shoulders. I thought it was funny and cute, made me think of "It's a Wonderful Life". Not sure he felt the same way.

There are lots of Christmas lights in London but one area seems to be the brightest of all... Oxford Street, Regent Street and Carnaby! We sat on top of a double decker bus down Oxford St and it was pretty cool. Isabelle liked the lights that were above the street. Logan loved Carnaby because Santa was dressed in a space suit.

Of course, there are also the Christmas windows! Harrods had a Peter Pan theme and Hamley's toy store had lots of teddy bears. I love this time of year!!!

Thanksgiving Celebration in Germany?

Since we do not live in a country that celebrates Thanksgiving (or as one Englishman said "celebrate the fact we took over other people's land and then help feed them with our plentiful food grown on that land" : ) ) we decided to take a trip to Munich. Why Munich? I wanted to go to the Christmas Markets and the kids wanted to see Sleeping Beauty's castle.

On Thanksgiving Day, we did not eat any turkey and dressing or pumpkin pie. But we did eat Schnitzel and Apple Strudel! Not exactly the feast we are used to but it was ok. What I find funny is what I missed most about Thanksgiving... the smell of all the food cooking and hearing the Macy's Parade in the background.

We got a car for a day, which a rental is usually something like a Toyota or Nissan but in Germany, Mercedes is like owning a Ford back home. So we pile into our Mercedes Wagon and drive into the Bavarian Alps to see the Neuschwanstein castle. This castle was built by King Ludwig II in the 1800s way up on a hill. I must say he had good taste. The caste was small, well, small for a castle but it was decorated with very elaborate fabrics, lights, wood carvings, etc... The tour was very short due to the fact he died during the building of the castle and it was never finished. There were wall murals with dragons being slayed by knights with blood aplenty. This was Logan's favorite part of the entire trip to Germany..... it just warms a mother's heart!

The next day, we went to the Marienplatz which is a big square with a large Cuckoo Clock. At 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., the Cuckoo comes to life. These little dolls spin around and dance while music plays. I heard a tour guide behind me say this was voted the second most boring tourist attraction in Europe. Hmmm. This was Isabelle's favorite part of the trip (she thought it would be the castle but it wasn't since Sleeping Beauty obviously wasn't there).

Below are some pictures from out trip. The first two are from the castle. The last ones are from the Christmas Market, Marienplatz and the Christmas train.

October fun

My one goal for October was to find a Pumpkin Patch! It wasn't easy but I found one.

First let me say what I learned... just because public transportation will eventually get me there doesn't mean it's still a viable option! So after walking, taking a train, the tube and a bus ride we arrived at Willows Farm 2 1/2 hours later (this is one way)!!! It turned out to be a great place. The kids loved it! But wouldn't you know it, when it was time to walk back to the bus it starts to down pour. It's not easy to hustle with 2 kids and 2 pumpkins. However, after the 2 1/2 hour journey back home, at least I can say I accomplished my goal.

Halloween was interesting. It's not so big with the British so only the predominantly American neighbourhoods hand out candy. As you can imagine, all the Americans ( and some British who like the idea of free candy) converge on a few areas. It's total chaos!!! Police were on the scene for crowd control. Logan was almost crushed due to a stampede and I lost Isabelle several times!! Needless to say it wasn't nearly as fun as hanging on my front porch (or Emily's) handing out candy while the men, and their wagon full of adult treats, took the kids around the neighborhood.

I'm trying to meet people but it's not as easy as I remember it being in the past. Of course, the down side to making friends here is that everyone I meet is in transit. The 2 people I happened to click with are moving. One just found she is leaving in Dec and the other leaves in May. It kind of makes the effort tiring.

I had a Pretty Woman moment the other day. I walk by a little boutique everyday on my way to pick up Logan. Every window display has had something I really liked so I decided I would actually go in and check it out. It's a small store. As I'm browsing the sales ladies just buzz by as if I'm not there. One actually stepped in front of me and said "I need to get there" (pointing to the corner she just backed me into). I was planning to buy a few things but instead I heard Julia Roberts saying "I tried to go get a dress on Rodeo Drive today and the women wouldn't help me. And I have all this money now and no dress! "

For those of you who use iPhones, you know it spell checks for you. As you might expect, the spell checker is based on the country you are located. So every time I try to type in Favorite, Color or Specialize (or any other word with a z in it) it automatically changes it to the British spelling favourite, colour, and specialise. Not that this is surprising but I still find it annoying.

Digestive biscuits are a popular treat. They're cookies and they are quiet tasty. But I can't help but feel I'm eating ex-Lax in the form of a chocolate cookie. Hey, as I write this, I realize that maybe I am, hmmmm.

The word Gastronomy is often used when referring to what we call a restaurant. I decided to look up the definition because it seems like such an odd word. According to Wikipedia, Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between culture and food. I also see ads for a Gastronomic Experience.

I can't help but feel like I would be heading to a doctor's office... or maybe the Planetarium.

Venice

Ahhh, Venice! It's a uniquely beautiful place. I fell in love with it the minute we stepped off the boat (aka shuttle "bus" from airport). There is truly no place like it. The kids did great considering it's not an amusement park. Our saving grace... pigeons! Yes, as we were told by numerous people, letting them chase the pigeons around St. Mark's Square in between site seeing helped us get around without grumpy children (well, the pigeons and the Gelato!!!). Of course, we had to take a Gondola ride even if it is quite pricey. It was pleasant even though I worried the entire time that Logan was going to jump out of the boat. We also went to Murano to see how all the beautiful glass is made. Let's just say this was not the best decision for my state of mind. For those of you who know my son well, you know this really was like taking a bull in a china shop!!!

Just an FYI for anyone planning a trip to Venice, if you fly into the Venice airport you still have to get across water to the islands. I knew this but I didn't fully investigate to know that the Water Bus takes 1 hour 30 minutes to get to St. Mark's and a water taxi cost 100 Euros to get you there in 30 minutes. The water bus wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't late evening with kids. Overall, the trip was fabulous! I really hope to get back there.

Back to London...

Someone asked me recently what is the one thing I can't live without here. I thought about lots of things but to pinpoint one absolute must have for me would be my iPhone. It's not because I do a lot of talking on it but for the GPS. I use it daily to help me get from point A to point B. I recently posted on Facebook, "Where would I be without the little blue dot on my phone? Lost is London!". It is so true. When I come out of the underground it's not always easy to get my bearings. I generally walk a few blocks then check to see if my blue dot moved in the right direction. You know you use it a lot when you're not lost just reading a sign and your 4 year old asks "Mommy, can't you just look at the blue dot?". At least I'm teaching him how to read a GPS : )

What's the latest

Well, we (or maybe it's just me) are still trying to adjust to life in London.

I really enjoy not having a car but using public transportation is not always easy or reliable. The tube workers go on strike at least once every few weeks which really screws things up! I try to walk as much as possible. The only down side to walking is learning to dress properly. It's cold out so I bundle up. However, once I'm 10-15 minutes into a walk, I become very warm. By the time I get where I'm going I'm usually sweating like it's a 100 degrees outside. So I'm learning to dress in layers... I usually peel something off every 10 minutes.

I have started saying lovely, chat and top up (aka fill up my cup). Although, I still can't ask for the toilets. I know it's silly but it really embarrasses me to say toilets. They don't really use the word Loo much and I've gotten some strange looks and one sarcastic remark when asking for a restroom (are you going to take a rest?).

Contrary to popular belief, there are dentist "shops" on almost every corner. I call them shops because most have bright, fancy window displays. And almost all of them have signs out front listing the many things you can have done at the dentist, i.e. teeth cleaning, teeth whitening, facials, massages and Botox. Kind of a wide range for a dentist, don't you think?

I am now a proud member of the Hampstead Women's Club. I never really thought of myself as the Women Club type. I envision Emily Gilmore from the Gilmore Girls. I don't do Chanel suits! However, this seems like a very laid back group that can hopefully help me find a place to get the kids haircuts, sort thru the NHS and someone to talk to that understands my frustrations. Not to mention hook me up with a tennis instructor.

Tony wants to change careers. He wants to become a London police officier and no, it's not so he can wear the really cool police helmet and be called a bobby. It's because they drive BMWs for their police cars. So how cool is that, to be in a Beemer, as a police officer with no worries of being pulled over!!!!

One thing I have learned is to never order lemonade unless you want Sprite. No matter how many times I have tried, asking "Is this REAL lemonade?" to which the answer is always "Yes, real lemonade.", I get Sprite (or maybe 7Up). So apparently here if life gives you lemons you make a carbonated beverage.

How We Spent the Rest of the Summer

I'm a little behind in uploading photos of the later half of our summer. Isabelle, Mom and I went to Paris as a day trip in late July. They were both excited to see the Eiffel Tower. However, I think Isabelle's favorite part was riding the Eurostar and buying souvenirs!

Tony and I went on a week long Mediterranean cruise with our friends Joe & Khalen. We have taken a trip together, some with kids, some not, every year for the past 4-5 years. Just like the past trips, we had a really great time. We started in Barcelona, then to Monaco & Monte Carlo, Pisa, Rome & The Vatican, Naples & Pompeii and Mallorca, Spain. I absolutely fell in love with the Amalfi Coast!!! It's an incredibly beautiful part of Italy. I hope to spend more time there in the future. Tony and I also visited the Monastery on top of Montserrat in Spain. Below are a few pics but if you want to see more you can go to our gallery page:

http://gallery.me.com/fowler99#100051

We took family day trip to Windsor Castle. The castle state rooms were interesting. The little town of Windsor is quaint. Logan was impressed by the Queen's Guard but Isabelle wouldn't get any where near him!

Lessons Learned

Today, someone stole Mom's purse.

Mom and I took the kids to the theater for an afternoon show. We went to lunch before the show.

My mom, who realizes this was not a good decision, put her purse on the back of her chair. I noticed a woman sitting very close to Mom but I try not to be suspicious of everyone I see. But I did have a gut feeling. I made eye contact with her and if I had known Mom put her purse there I would have asked her to move it.

So she lost £60, a cell phone, Tube travel card, debit card and, of course, the Coach purse itself.

It stinks but at least no one was hurt and she didn't have her passport or FL driver's license in there. It could have been worse.

What I'm PISSED about is the process of reporting it to the Police. The security guard at the Mall told us we needed to go to the Police station to report the crime. Mom and I schlep the kids all around trying to find the Police station. I swear Police are always around until you need one!

Once we find it, I explain to the nice officer what happened and that we were here to report it.

The nice officer asked if we actually saw the purse being taken. I explain that I did see the woman but I did not actually see her walk away with the purse... otherwise I wouldn't be in a police station with my children because I would have screamed bloody murder!

So the lovely London police officer informs us we can't report a crime that we can't prove happened. What the hell?!? Sure that I have misunderstood him, I say, as politely as possible, "Excuse Me". He restates it as you can't report that you have a suspicion that your purse was stolen. My response... Are you kidding me??? It's not a suspicion! My mom had a purse when we arrived and she didn't when we left. Does he think we are senile and we can't remember for sure that we had a purse there?!?

I wanted to argue with him that if being able to prove a crime was committed was truly a requirement for reporting a crime, no one could ever report one!!! That should really help their crime statistics go way down! Can't report what you can't prove!! That is the stupidest ******* I have ever heard!!!!!

But I didn't argue that last point with him because at this point my children are both are sitting there staring at me. I decided it was not a good idea for them to see me arguing with the nice officer so I thanked him for his lack of help and we left.

Lesson learned today.... just because you leave with a purse but come home without one does not mean a crime was committed! Welcome to the big city!!

Isabelle's First Day of School

Izzie started school last week. She was so excited to ride the bus. I have to say I was quite excited by the bus also... it picks her up right outside our door (so we can stay indoors until it pulls up which will come in handy during the winter months) and they are really nice buses (most of them are made by Mercedes Benz). The bus driver got out and introduced himself to me. His name was Tommy. The afternoon driver's name I have already forgotten but apparently he tells jokes all the way home.

The school seems to be amazing (as it should since one year's tuition cost almost as much as my entire 4 year college tuition)!! To start off, I emailed to find out where I could find the school supply list... there isn't one!!! All the things she needs for school are supplied by the school (good to know that the above mentioned expensive tuition covers more than just walking into the school).

Tony and I attended a 4 hour orientation on Saturday at the American School. A 4 hour orientation seemed excessive but it was very informative about the school and living in London. There were resource booths setup during lunch... it felt a lot like being in college when you go to the student center to find the right group you fit in with that is also trying to recruit people. There were clubs for adults, sports groups for after-school, even churches in the area were represented. I signed up to volunteer at the school in several areas, one of them is working in the front office in hopes of getting to know the admission people. So operation "Get Logan into ASL" is now under way.

As much as I do look forward to moving back home one day, I think I will miss the opportunities Isabelle and Logan could have had spending their school years at ASL.

When school starts

That's my new motto! When people ask how I'm adjusting I have noticed that I begin a lot of sentences with "When school starts". For example:

How are the kids adjusting?

"When school starts I think things will get better for them. They will have a schedule and kids to play with everyday."

Have you met anybody to hang out with?

"When school starts I plan to volunteer at Isabelle's school so that I may meet a few other stay at home moms."

Have you figured out the grocery store yet?

"When school starts I hope to have time to slowly walk through a grocery store and figure out what things are called and/or a substitution for the things I'm used to."

Have you found anything fun for you to do?

"When school starts I should have plenty of time to resume my gym schedule and work on photo albums. I also plan to learn how to play tennis."

Have you gotten your routine down yet?

"When school starts I hope we will be on a normal schedule again."

So obviously I have high hopes for how life will change once school starts. Since I'm not working while I'm here I will become a lady of leisure. I look forward to sitting on the couch eating Bon-Bons and watching EastEnders!! Well, maybe not that leisure.

School starts tomorrow for Isabelle so we'll see if things start to settle down more around here.

Complaints, Comments and Suggestions

We have been in London for exactly 7 weeks today. In some ways, life has gotten easier... I can now cross the street without panicking and people are starting to come back from holiday. However, obstacles keep coming, some big, some small.

The law of averages are always against you. I have been vigilant about keeping 7 years worth of records close at hand. Not even 3 months after putting all those files in a storage container somewhere in the outskirts of Charlotte, NC, we are being audited by the IRS! I don't really know what else to say about that. Tony said not to write anything disparaging about the IRS - you know, the Big Brother is watching kind of thing.

Isabelle and I went to a new family coffee at the American School. For the first 45 minutes, Isabelle stood behind my legs and nobody approached us to talk to her. She asked if she could go back to JV Washam with her friends. We both were on the verge of crying in the school gym. Finally, we saw another family standing much the same way we were and started talking to them. Their daughter is a year older than Izzie but they hit it off immediately. They have just moved here from Connecticut. As I talked to her parents, I learn that her mother actually works for the same parent company as Tony... small world!

We are trying out the National Health Care System. Logan started to get another ear infection so I took him in. First off, a lot of the doctor buildings here are not like back home. They are in old buildings/homes and don't have that warm, fuzzy sterile feeling to them. I was concerned we would have trouble getting in but I was able to get Logan in the next day. So we go in, see the doctor who says he's alright. She says I'll write you a script because that's what people who are coming from private insurance expect but I don't think you should give it to him. Now don't get me wrong, she was real nice about telling me that we Americans over medicate our kids : ) But my biggest shock comes when checking out which is you don't check out. When you are done with the doctor you just leave! No paperwork and NO cost, at all!!! As matter of fact, if I do decide to over medicate my kid that will be free too!!

The Food. What can I say about that? Apparently a lot. Tony says I complain about it often. It's not so good, plain and simple. All things made with beef taste funny. Everything we have try to bake (brownies, cookies, etc...) come out chewy but not in good way. All the cereals I have tried have a stale taste to them. I could go on and on, however, Tony has suggested that I try to have a better attitude (about the food and our life here in general)! He suggests that I should find enjoyment in different tastes and look at everything as a grand adventure. Well, damn why didn't I think of that. It's easy for someone who has been here 6 months already, has become a world traveller and goes to work everyday without children who are still adjusting to have such insight. So I guess I am going to try to be more... positive. I'm just hoping Mary Poppins will come on by and give me a spoon full of sugar to help it all go down!!

Home Sweet Flat

Here are a few pics of our "Mansion". The last one is the room Isabelle refers to as the basement room??

Notice the nice, big tv in the living room? Tony has a funny story on how it came to be at our place. Short version... he bought it from an Amsterdam bound, cannabis smoking teenager whose parents had already "moved" back to their home country, hmm. Then he has to stand on the side of the street with his big tv, hailing a cab to carry it home. It's a good thing London cabs are quite spacious!

How we have spent our first 2 weeks

The London Eye - the slow moving, gigantic ferris wheel.

Thanks to the Niblocks, who were passing thru London, we were able to take a ride in a not as crowded "pod". Logan's favorite part was seeing some guy on the street dressed as Iron Man.

Tate Modern Museum

Their favorite part... putting money in the donation bin and watching it fall down.

Brighton Beach

We took a day trip to a beach town just south of London. When preparing to leave, the kids insisted on wearing their swimsuits even though I warned them that this beach is not like the beaches in Florida/South & North Carolina. Once we got there, their first observation was that there was no sand only pebbles, lots & lots of pebbles. They managed to stick one toe into the water but that's as far as we got. The swimsuits never saw the light of day. So we moved on to the Brighton Pier for fun and games.

Swiss Cottage

This little area is not too far from our apartment. They managed to play in the water for a few minutes before the lips started turning blue.

Side note, the weather has been great for the most part since we have been here... warm, sunny and very little rain. So I'm thinking this isn't so bad then I hear on the news that London is in a severe drought... this is not normal weather even for summer. Bummer!!

We'll enjoy it while it's here.

Piccadilly Circus

The kids had no real impression of Piccadilly Circus. It is more fun at night but seeing how it doesn't get dark right now until 9:30 (sorry, I mean 21:30) they won't be seeing it anytime soon.

National Gallery

I had no great expectations of taking Isabelle & Logan to the National Gallery. I mentally gave Logan 5 minutes before he would beg to leave. They didn't disappoint but did manage to last 10 minutes. Logan very calmly said, "Mommy, can we leave? This place is booooorrrrinnnngggg".

Lunch with Daddy in Covent Garden

It was fun meeting Tony for lunch. Even funnier that the kids saw a Pizza Hut and begged to go there. Guess where we ate lunch?

The London Zoo

This has probably been their favorite place so far. Mom & I enjoyed the walk through Regent's Park to get to/from the zoo!

Natural History Museum

There were dinosaurs, space shuttles, bugs, jewels, volcanos and a lot of things to touch. Need I say more...

Hampstead Heath

We live in an area called Hampstead. Not too far away is this VERY large park.

There are lots of areas to roam and trails to explore. My kids favorite part of the park... the swings!!

That's a pictorial review of our first two weeks. Surely, Isabelle & Logan will look back on all these places/experiences one day with some appreciation.

Nah, probably not : )