Stonehenge and Roman Baths

We did a one day tour of Stonehenge and the Roman Baths with one of a company that specialises in tours. It was great because they would pick you up from a tube station instead of you having to meet them at their designated location.

Our day started at 7:30 am as we had to leave our flat by 8:20 in order to arrive at our meeting point on time. We arrive to Earl's Court tube station at 8:40 and walk to our meeting spot. Our bus finally arrives at 9am. It is a small charter bus that seats about 55 people with 2 seats on each side. We check in and the tour manager correctly guesses who we are. I thought, "Wow he is pretty good." Well, he only got it because "well, you aren't Brazilian nor do you look Asian. So I think I had a pretty good chance at guessing who you are. Boy am I racist." At that point I wanted to sing "We're all just a little bit racist" from Avenue Q.

Beth and I were able to find seats together and our journey began, so we thought. Our trip manager announces that a couple missed the bus at Victoria (15 minutes on the tube to Earl's Court) and that we were going to wait for them. No big deal, they were to be arriving at any moment. 5 - 10 minutes later, the couple arrives.

We're off to our first destination - Stonehenge. I never was too excited to see Stonehenge because, well, it is a bunch of stones in a circle. But as our tour manager gave us the history or the lack thereof, I began intrigued. Henge refers to circle or hanging, so Stonehenge mankes sense. Each stone weighs about 50 tons and took over 600 men to carry just one. How they were able to do this back in Roman times, I have no idea, but I am not the only one who doesn't know. Apparently, it is a huge mystery as to why the stones were placed where they are today, how they got there, and why the circle formation. One myth suggests that Merlin the Wizard moved the stones, while for others it was giants. Who in the bloody world knows. We spent a good hour just staring at the stones and listening to the audio tour that was provided.

In addition to listening about the stones and how they might've arrived, there are several boroughs placed around the stones and the area. Boroughs are burial sites. You'll see in some of our pictures the smaller looking hills around Stonehenge. Back in the day, people were buried one on top of the other in these boroughs. But you had to be of high rank in order to be buried here. Weird and creepy.

Not only were we treated to the wonderful history of Stonehenge, but also the scenery. The scenery was much like home with green pastures, some corn, sheep, pigs, and cows. We were really surprised to see cows and pigs, but I guess how else are they going to get their milk and bacon? Import it??? The cows looked just like they do in the commercials. Black, white and clean.

We headed to Bath which was about 1.5 hour drive from Stonehenge. Again beautiful scenery. As we made our way closer to Bath, our tour manager gave us a quick history of Bath. All of a sudden we are on top of a hill and can see the city of Bath beneath us against the surrounding hills. It was an absolute sight and wish the shutter speed on my camera was fast enough to catch it.

Never having been to Bath, I didn't really know what to expect. I think I thought it would be more historical than it was. The most historical part of it was the Roman Baths themselves. However, the city is still very beautiful. Many of the streets are for pedestrians only so that makes the experience so much better. Words can't really explain my experience at Bath. So you must check out our photos on our Facebook page.

Can't wait until our next trip!!!

Time Flies....

Where in the world did September go? And of course, the months before that??? We have been here for over 6 months now and it feels like only one. Our first month was spent living in a lovely hostel with a room the size of our current living room. We were sharing bathrooms, showers, and kitchens. Although our hostel room was okay (for Beth, it was just fine but someone in this marriage has to have standards!!), I am a bit apprehensive about staying in another one.

The things we have experienced so far are absolutely lovely. Moving to London has indeed been a bit empowering for me. From having to live in a flat 6 times smaller than my house in Ankeny, giving half my closet away to charity, to finding a new home for our dogs. All of these were very hard for us to do, but I'm sure they would be hard for anyone.

In my job, I assist expats (mostly Americans) in finding a new home to live in London. Many have the impression that they will be able to find something suitable that costs the same as what they currently reside in. Meaning, they believe that since they can live in a nice 2 bedroom flat for 600 in the states, it'll happen in London. Let's not even talk about the exchange rate because many forget about it. Just compare apples to apples for one month- 600 in the states vs 600 in London. 600 in the States will get you a nice 2 bedroom if you live in Iowa or some place similar. In London 600 will get a bedsit. A bedsit is one a room that only has a bed in it because it is soo small. With these you may have to share a kitchen, bathroom, and shower. Obcviously 600 goes a little bit farther in the States. Then there are the clients who are the students. Mom and Dad have travelled with them to find them a flat because the student accomodations are just horrendous ( this truly is the case though). Here's the thing that just bothers me - most of these students are living in flats much better than mine and costs more.

For example, we had two students from New York arrive and their budget was 550 per week, which is over 2000 per month. ( the rent here is based on a weekly basis) . We found some pretty nice flats for them and they were able to move in soon. Well, we had a slight hiccup with the estate agent and the landlord and had to take these two out again. This time around their budget shot up to 650 and they were even more picky than the first time. 650 per week!!!!! They have a really nice two bedroom flat with a porter (doorman) right in the heart of Kensington & Chelsea ( one of the most affluent areas in London). They are only 20 21 years old and their flat is costs almost 3 times as much as mine. On the lighter side of things, I do have a good time taking a look at the photos as we conduct the search for them.

There are the rich kids and the ones who will not give up their dog even if they were living in a bedsit!!!! I think these people are very selfish to be bringing their dog over to London. Here are my reasons - 1) Hardly any space unless inside or out you are lucky enough to afford a flat with a communal garden or a private garden 2) dogs need to be quarantined for up 6 months before you are able to take them home 3) there are hardly any landlords that will accept pets within their building. It was very difficult for us to give away our dogs, but we knew that it was something that needed to be done. Now maybe if we only had one dog and it was 10lbs, we might've risked it. But I will NEVER be caught with a dog that is less than 50lbs. You hear that, Beth, I will NEVER be caught with a dog less than 50lbs. Beth would like to get a smaller dog if we move back to the States. What's the point in even having a dog if they are that small????

Sorry for my little rant on my clients. I just felt like sharing that information with you.

Back to how time is flying....

All of the things that we have done so far are amazing, and we've only just begun. Prior to my having a job, we really had to watch what we were spending. Even still we have to watch, but are able to spend more on weekend trips. Since we've been here, I've been to the Tower of London, the Monument, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Southbank, Trafalgar Square, Tate Modern Museum, St. Paul's, Paris, Brighton Beach, and seen random performances that have taken place at festivals or in the park.

We still have places on our list that we need to hit like Barcelona or Madrid, Dublin, Amsterdam, Greece, Croatia, a wine tour in the South of France, Oxford, Leeds, Windsor Castle, and Scotland. Oh and a tour of Italy - not the one from Olive Garden!!

Just this weekend we were able to hit the Roman Baths in Bath and Stonehenge (my next blog). We've got some pretty nice photos on our facebook page. If you don't have facebook, then you will have to wait until we see you. We'll show you the photos on my Ipad.

To Be.....

Yes - to be us! How wonderful.....we have wonderful family and wonderful friends, and of course, each other. This week is all about being American. Yes - we at Burger King for the first time since leaving the States......no, it was not that good. We are better off without the King! In addition, we got a package from home: Juicy Fruit, Maple Syrup, Ramen Noodles, and Crazy Mix Up Salt!!! Juicy Fruit never tasted so good, but still doesn't last any longer than I remember. And Ramen Noodles taste good any time of day! This week I think Ramen lunches are in order.

In addition, we played tourist on more than one occasion. We went to see Avenue Q and Ghost Stories in the West End theatres. Avenue Q was completely amazing (we got our own box seats) and we would highly recommend it to anyone (at least people who don't easily offend). Ghost Stories, while not what we expected, was clever - we jumped a few times and they did a great job making the play scary; however, we would not want to see it again. If others are interested we recommend buying the cheap tickets; it is the same no matter where you sit!

On Saturday we went to Hampton Court Palace; it was beautiful and (obviously) historic. The grounds are amazing and the inside is like a huge maze; no wonder King Henry VIII could cheat on all his wives, they wouldn't have a clue where he was!!!

Then, on Sunday we went to the Nottinghill Carnival. It was awesome! Really. There were a ton of DJs (driving and located all around), great food, and a TON of people!!! I'm sure Ja'Nae will write more on this as her attention to detail is greater than mine :)

Anyway - for our last post; our mind changes daily. So, you never know (and neither do we) when we will come back to the states! We miss you all though!

To Be or Not To Be (In London) That Is The Question

This is Ja'Nae'....

How do I even start this blog? After 5 months of being in London we are already talking about going back to the States. That is really tough for me to say considering the fact that I really like it here. I love the amount of diversity, being able to travel cheaply across Europe, and I actually like my job (for now). But we are wanting a kid soon and it's not easy raising a kid in London. Childcare is outrageously priced and both of us would have to work to raise a family. Maybe my sister Jasmine would come out here and be our full time nanny! What a gig.

Before we left or even thought about leaving we had a plan that we would start the process of having a family in June (yes, around our original wedding date) and raise a family in our home in Ankeny. We had already had our initial consultation with the fertility clinic and were prepared to start the process in June.

Now the move to London has postponed those plans and the last week we have been talking about the next step in our lives. Beth was up the other nite until 3 am because she couldn't stop thinking about it.

I would be willing to work to stay and raise a kid here. But I know that I miss my home in Ankeny and would like to get another dog. I don't know....

It's a matter of do we stay? Do we go back to Des Moines? If we go back to DM, should we continue to rent out the house and live downtown since that will be as close to London as we'll get in Iowa. Or should we move to some place other than Iowa like California??

What's great about is that we have choices, but which one will we make?

Face Plant....

This is Beth....as you may have seen on my facebook update, I did a total face plant off my bike yesterday. Here's how it goes.

We take our bikes to the grocery store....get some food and I carry it via back pack for the ride home. Luckily it was cold out, so I wore pants and a sweat shirt. We are taking the back way home (off the main street) assuming there will be no cars. We come up to the one way street in front of our flat and the cars are backed up.....something must have been going on the main road as our street is normally never busy (this morning we saw that they stripped the main street as they are going to repave - so must have redirected all the traffic to our street). Now, there is a flat space in front of our flat that we use to ride up to our front door - but now it's taken over by cars.....alright, so the curb it is!!! I'm ahead of JaNae and going pretty slow, so think the two inch curb in front of me should be no problem. I stand up on my bike, head for the curb and pull up for a hop....only, I did it too soon. So my front tire comes down right in front of the curb and the bike comes to an immediate halt.

At this point, it's slow motion for me. I fly over the bike and do a face plant/belly flop onto the cement and skid a bit. I'm slightly in shock and all I can hear is JaNae laughing! Her and the mess of cars next to me saw the whole thing! I landed on my front and my elbows (which are still hurting a day later). JaNae finally asks me if I'm OK and now all I can do it laugh - still laying face down on the side walk. I decide to get up, but can't because the handle bars are intertwined with my legs! I ask JaNae for help, but she is still laughing so hard! After a minute, she catches on that I need help and removes the bike from my legs.

Besides my arms/elbows being sore, my only other battle wound is a small cut on my thumb where I landed on a tiny rock......none of the groceries were compromised either. All safe and sound. Just wish we could have gotten this on tape!!!

Yesterday Was a Good Day!

After my 1 hour bike ride, it was time to play softball. I usually play left field, but our pitcher was absent and I was volunteered to pitch. I had only pitched one other time and did okay. I figured I'd be okay since the team we were playing weren't that good. Didn't do too bas as I struck out a couple people and only walked one person. I was not happy about walking that person for two reasons 1) it was a guy and 2) bases were loaded. But looking back, that might've been a good strategy since the bases were loaded.

We were down 7-0 in the third inning, and after the 5th we started to make a comeback. A home run by one of our teammates brought us within 1 and a home run by yours truly tied the game. By the end of the 6th inning were up by six runs and weren't letting up. Our defense made it so there was not a comeback and we didn't have to bat again! That was our second win in a row, and both were come from behind wins! Awesome. Of course we have to celebrate at the nearest pub for a drink or two.

Just when I thought our nite couldn't get any better, Beth and I meet three really cool guys. Once I receive my drink they immediately say 'Cheers!' and bang my glass. I say 'Cheers' right back and tell them that I don't sound right because I don't have an accent. Oh boy did this open up a can of worms. I was told that because I am in their country, I am the one with the accent. I tried to argue my point a little more and decided that only because I am in THEIR country I am the one with the accent. It was a friendly banter and we continued to chat throughout the nite. The three men worked in the corporate office of one of the grocery stores called Marks & Spencers. We didn't believe them at first as men tend to be liars and they were consistently sounding sarcastic about each of their job responsibilites. As we're talking about jobs, one of them is very interested in trying to et my food through the door at Marks & Spencers since they are hiring. He does his best to explain the job and it sounds like a sales forecast job. I let him know that I had a third interview in the morning and would keep M&S in mind. We move on to more interesting conversations and before we know it, it's 11:30 and the tube only runs til midnite. We pound down our drinks and make a rush for the tube. We had made it just in time to make it home without having to pay a ridiculous cab fare!

Thanks Andrew, Sam, and Helgi for a lovely chat last nite! We hope to see you soon.

As Ice Cube would say, " Today was a good day!"

I am speaking more of last nite than the actual day. My (Ja'Nae') day was pretty lazy, but that's not different than any other day since we have been here. I sat on the couch for hours debating whether or not I was going to 1) get a job which I was interviewed twice 2) work out to Billy Blanks 3) go bike riding 4) continue to play Tiger Woods golf. Needless to say, my choice was number 4 - Tiger Woods. I played Tiger for a few hours and then decided that I should get ready for my bike ride to Regent's Park to play softball.

I did some research online to figure out the best route as I really was not keen on taking busy roads. Of course I was leaving during rush hour so finding those roads would be difficult. The internet said it would take about 39 minutes to get there. So, I pack my bag and prepare my mind for the ride of the nite.

No helmet and no real sense of where I was going made me a little uneasy about the ride. Not only that, but there were not official bike lanes during the front portion of my trip. However, within 20 minutes I am feeling pretty confident and don't mind riding along with the traffic. Once I get acclimated to riding my bike with traffic, I see the traffic ahead of me has come to a complete stop. Usually when a biker or motorcycle passes through, it is to be on the left. The biker ahead of me decided to pass on the right and the road was only a two lane street. I didn't want to take the chance on getting hit so quickly pull off to the left onto the sidewalk and walk my bike.

A couple blocks later, I am at Kensington Gardens. A lovely park with tons of green space and the Kensington Palace. I have not seen the palace, but heard it is beautiful. As I make my way through the entrance, a bike lane has begun. Thank God!!! I follow the bike lane to the next busy road and once I get there, I realized that I had no idea where to go from there. Do I keep heading North or head East. I pulled out my handy dandy London Atlas map and it showed that I should head Northeast. Of course, it would tell me that. I sit there trying to figure out the best route to head Northeast. Should I head North first and then East or vice versa. Considering that I liked how wide the sidewalk looked heading East....that's where I headed.

I followed a few bikers who seemed to know what they were doing and found myself crusing down streets that weren't too busy. This was very nice. As we are passing the streets, I began recognizing a few of them and see the BT Tower. I know that if I head towards the BT Tower, I am getting closer to Regent's Park. I reached a street called Baker Street and know that we take a tube station from Baker Street to home. So I make it known to the traffice that I am going to turn left when the light turns green. After sitting at the light for a few moments I notice that I can't turn left. Baker Street is a one way street in the opposite direction of where I want to head. Gosh I am such an idiot! Luckily there is a street parallel to Baker Street that I was able to turn onto. From there it was smooth sailing to my softball game!

Day At The Beach

Again, this is a bit old, but worth the read I guess.



The day following our nite extravanza, we had planned to travel to the beach in Brighton. What was supposed to be an early morning start, turned into a mid-afternoon start. While we are at the train station, we see there are two lines for the tickets. Well, because we are smart, we get in the shorter line. Eventually, the two lines are beginning to merge together and those in the longer line begin to get bitchy. One lady, who is standing in the longer line, asks what we are waaiting in line for. After we tell her, she lets us know that it is unfair and makes sure that we do not get ahead of her once the lines merge. Don't get mad at us because we were smarter than you and got in the shorter line.

After a little bit of a wait on the train station and a 50 minute ride to Brighton, we arrive at 2 pm. Every passenger on the train is looking outside and there was a sense that something was wrong. It looks like there is a fire just outside the Brighton station, but it's difficult to tell. The day is supposed to be about 24 Celsius, which is about 76-77, so I (Ja'Nae') am wearing shorts and a tank top and Beth is wearing a t-shirt and shorts. We get off the train and it feels like 60 degrees outside!!!! I'm thinking that it feels that way only because the station is covered and the sun isn't directly beating on us. Boy, was I wrong. We walk out of the station and not only is it cold, but it is foggy!!!!!! Fog???! I don't remember seeing fog in the forecast! As we are heading to the beach, I can feel everyone's disappointment. The walk from the station to the beach is about 1/2 mile or so and the fog is so thick that the ocean can't be seen until you reach the beach.

We find our spot and get settled. After a few minutes we both decide to take naps and hope that by the time we wake up, the fog will have lifted. We slept off and on for about 2 hours and the fog had not completely lifted. It was teasing us. There were moments that the sun was beating on the skin making me feel like I should take off my shirt, and then a few minutes later, the fog would cover it. The fog finally lifted for good at 445/500. By that time it was beginning to get chilly and the water didn't seem appealing anymore. The Brighton Pier is nearby, and we waltz over to check out the rides and the food.

Brighton Pier reminds me of a carnival, but smaller. There are games, rides, and fatty food. We hoped one of the vendors might have funnel cake, but no such luck. Instead it was homemade ice cream, freshly made donuts, belian waffles, and crepes. Still, nothing to complain about. Because we had spent 30 GBP the nite before, we know that we can't spend that much on food. So, we bypass all the goodies and decide to head home.

Crazy, busy weekend so Sunday was truly a day of rest!

The Americas!

Alright - this is a couple weeks old, but we're always behind, so get over it.

Thursday - Beth's new office BFF from Chile goes to her desk and asks, "Do you want to go out tomorrow night? I will have some friends over, then we will go out dancing." The last time Beth and I danced the type of dancing that was to go on that nite was when she was 24! Beth and I had been wanting to hit the club scene here, but weren't sure of the good places to go (yea - not a lot of clubbers in the office). Not only were we not sure of the places to go to, we needed to have shoes other than trainers. Trainers are basically shoes that you wear to work out in. Europeans know when an American is around because we are always wearing our trainers out.

Friday.......
8pm....Beth and I are having dinner in Russell Square by the fountain in the middle. Our dinner consists of a pizza roll, danish roll, and a piece of cheese ciabatta. Not much of a dinner but we figure we won't be drinking that much tonite so we should be fine. As we are having our picnic in the square, these two little boys (around 3 and 4) are playing in the fountain and just going crazy. We are two of 30 people watching these two kids go crazy. Pretty soon, they are filling up their bottles with water and splashing each other. I had a bad feeling knowing what was about to happen; the older one throws too much water on the little one and it's on.....the little one starts pouting and runs over to their mom. No doubt he is telling her of lies, deceit, and almost drowning from his older brother. Mom comes over to find out the rest of the story - pretty soon they are both pouting. I'm talking bottom lip out and hyperventilating, you can see their stomach puffing from trying to catch their breath...the whole 9 yards! Twenty seconds (I'm not lying) later, mom has diffused both bombs!!! The boys were both looking at her smiling and now going after her with their bottles of water! This woman performed a parental miracle right there in the middle of a packed park! If we have a kid in this city, I'm going to find this woman and have her teach me everything she knows.

Enough of that - 8:30pm we are heading to Beth's BFFs place. She is there with two of her Chilean friends. They are speaking Spanish and we think it sounds beautiful. They proceed to tell us they speak the worst Spanish ever - other spanish speakers don't understand what they are saying. Well, if the other Spanish speaking countries speak the way I was taught (out of a textbook) then there's no way anyone could understand them. Since I took four years of Spanish, I can catch every 10 to 15 words! They bring out some Pisco (look it up on Wikipedia) and mix with Diet Coke ( you know, we're on a diet so need to be healthy!!). As they bring the VERY large glasses over, I begin to get a little nervous. The last time I was drunk ended up with me puking in a pizza box. But I knew moderation was the key tonite. The drink tasted similar to a rum and Coke but a little sweeter. The official name of the drink is Piscola.

We chat and drink for the next few hours and pretty soon it's 11:30pm! Time to go to the club! Now, Ms. Chile is only 25.....we are not. We're not exactly sure how to get to the club or the cover amount, but we're going out either way. We take a taxi to the club and upon arrival there is a line. I've never had to stand in line for a club. Well, that's cause the bouncer sees how hot I am and let's me cut. Yeah right. I've never been to a club that is so busy that you have to stand in line. The line goes pretty fast and we realize that it is 15 GBP per person to get in the club. Beth is not liking this idea and neither am I, but we are already here and should have a good time. We just know that next time we will not spend 15 GBP unless it has 6 floors and free drinks until 2 am. This club is open until 6 am, no free drinks, but has three floors. We reach the first floor and it is techno music. Every song that is played sounds exactly the same and the music is terribly loud. At this point, I realize that I am getting old. As we make our way to the next floor, people are bumping into us and not apologizing. The crowd is beginning to get bigger, but we still make our way to the second floor. This rooms sounds a little Latino, and then three songs later it turns into House music. At least in this room, the songs didn't all sound the same. I am dancing my butt off trying to burn the drink and carbs. Beth is not having a good time as she is still in her work clothes ( a very cute black and white summery dress) and is carrying her suitcase! Well, it's not really a suitcase, just a very BIG purse. The purse can hold at least two pairs of tennis shoes along with her necessities.

At 1:30 I start checking my watch every 10 minutes. We have to stay out til at least two to kinda get our money's worth. Finally 2 am hits and I can't take it anymore. We need to leave. The tube stops running at midnite, but there are cabs lined up along the street. We grab a cab and it's going to cost about 28GBP to go to Fulham (which is where we live.) The cab drops off Beth's Chilean BFF and she pays for her portion, and we are headed home. We didn't even think to ask how much she provided, but assumed she paid about 10. The driver asks us where in Fulham we live and we tell him near the Putney Bridge Tube Station. He tells us that it is going to cost about 10 more. Um, exxxccccuuuuusssseee me???!!! So to drive another 2-3 minutes is going to cost 10? He tells us the reasoning is because Putney is considered to be in the next price bucket. We argue and say that we live in Fulham, not Putney. But he continues to stand firm in the price and won't budge. So I ask him how much it would cost to go to Parson's Green, which is about 1 minute or 30 seconds at that time of nite from where he wants to drop us off, and that is 7 GBP more than the orginally price we were quoted. We tell him to forget it and that we will just walk from Fulham Broadway Station home. Fulham Broadway Station is about 1 mile from our flat. So we think he was trying to rip us off. As he drops us off we ask how much we owed and he tells us she left him 10GBP. So we gave him the remaining balance and took the bus home. It only cost us about 1 GBP to take the bus 1 mile. Hmpf!! And he was trying to get 7 or 8 more bones out of us. AHH, I don't think so! 'Homey don't play dat!'

In bed by 3 am to get up and go to Brighton's beach in severall hours....

Brighton Beaches

Last weekend we took a train to the southern coast of England - Brighton to be exact (well Worthing specifically - 5 miles west of Brighton). The train ride was relaxing; the English countryside is beautiful - green rolling hills with small villages tucked in safe and sound. We stopped at Worthing as we had booked a B&B there for Friday night. We walk a few blocks and are immediately face-to-face with the beach! Every time I see the ocean, it's like going home. And being a Pisces, water is my natural habitat. We take a quick right and our B&B is right across the street from the beach. We walk into a 3 floor flat (not sure of the right lingo here) and our lovely hostess, Pandora, greets us. She gives us a room on the first floor and tells us she'll make us a proper English breakfast at 9:15 the next morning. Lovely. The whole place, including our room, is decorated in ocean garb; pictures of ocean waves, small wooden boats on the dresser, fish pictures, etc. And to go along with it was, of course, the smell of the sea. Ahh.....

(sidebar - this is Beth - the name of my game is cheap. Most of the time this doesn't work out/Paris/ but this time I hit the nail on the head!)

We go to find some dinner and, as Pandora directed, we head west into Worthing. There is a small pier here and a lot of restaurants; however, they all seems to be closed. Now, it's only 8pm on a Friday night - just the start of the dinner rush in London - but here is seems to be completely quiet. Oh well - we find a local fish and chips place and make ourselves at home. We had been eating so well and working out that we decided to give ourselves a treat. Two ciders, two cheeseburgers with chips (fries) and after an hour of chatting, we'd let it all settle enough to have dessert. We left the restaurant around 10:30pm and strolled along the beach back to our B&B. It was the most perfect night (you can see some pics on fb); it was chilly, but not too cold and the ocean was providing a constant wave....the sound was so soothing.

So, back to our room and we get ready for bed. JaNae is slightly annoyed because the sheets are damp. This reminds me of home - I love it! If you've ever stayed near the water and the humidity is more than 40%, then you know what it feels like to sleep in a damp, cool bed. Every night of my life that I've slept at our cabin in Okoboji, it's felt just like this. The smell of the ocean and the damp sheets were my idea of a perfect vacation!

Anywho....the next morning, Pandora was right; she made us the most excellent English breakfast ever! Toast and jam, eggs, and thick cut bacon. Now, for you people in the states, this is not your normal kind of bacon. This is thick cut, barely any fat kind of bacon. It is amazing!!!!

Pandora - thank you for making us feel right at home in your place. We will be staying at the Marina Guest House in Worthing each time we're close!

So - it's 10am and we are off to the beach! Now, Worthing is only 5 miles from Brighton; at a slow 20 minutes a mile, we could easily be there in an hour....right? NO! We start off at our B&B and walk about 20 minutes; by this time we are getting warm and just want to get into the water - this is, after all, what we came to do! We set out a towel, get rid of the close and UGH.....what is that!?!? Ice water???? OMG - it was so cold! And, I'm used to diving in the water off a boat - there is no diving here! Janae teaches me that as the waves roll up, I need to walk in deeper. Your feet, legs, etc. are already wet when the wave hits you, so just keep moving in. And sure enough, it only takes about 10 minutes to get in......and take a nice swim! OK - that was refreshing. Janae only lets me sit on the beach for about 5 minutes before we pack up and move on. She is on a mission - we are going to Brighton; that is where everything is going on!

Alright - back to walking along the beach (shell beach by the way, not sand). We walk for at least another hour - no Brighton pier in sight....might as well stop at another beach and take a dip. We do just that. By now it's about 2pm and we need to eat some lunch. So we head into Shoreham and grab a pizza (which was excellent). Alright - we can only have another mile or so to go.....on the road again.....on the road again. So - another hour goes by and we hit an inlet. There is no way to get across this, so we end up back-tracking to the exact place we ate lunch - only now it's 4pm!!!! This part of the trip was very frustrating......so I'm not expanding on it. Anyway, we find a bus that will take us to Brighton - 5 miles my butt!!!! There is NO WAY we could have walked that in an hour - or even jogged it in an hour!

Ah - Brighton....holy cow - the beach is PACKED!!! There are people as far as the eye can see!!!! But, it was pretty cool and the people watching was REALLY GOOD! There are some scary people out there; we saw the real live version of Deuce Bigalo - WOW! And, we took one last dip before catching the 8:30 train back to London.

We decided that Brighton was a bit too packed for us - we will certainly go back, but will stay in Worthing. The B&B was great and the beach was close to empty. We highly recommend this trip.

The shell beaches are a bit painful on the feet though - we are on a mission to find a sandy beach. Next mission - surfing lessons in Wales where the sandy beaches are plentiful!

Paris - Revisited

OK - so now that the pain of Paris is over, I want to let you know it really wasn't that bad. The tourist stuff was amazing and the views of Paris from all over were incredible. The Eiffel Tower did look better from far away, Notre Dame was detailed beyond belief, the painting of Jesus on the ceiling of Sacre Coeur was breath-taking, and Versailles was a palace for serious Royalty - the grounds were unbelievable! If you are into taking trips that show you all the amazing sights most people only dream of - Paris should be on the list.

My only word of advice - the more Euros you spend in Paris (on hotel, cabs, food, etc.) the better your trip will be. If watching cash flow out of your wallet makes you faint, this trip isn't for you. You CAN do it, but be advised Paris will not be as dreamy or romantic as you hoped it would be.

If you stay near the Louvre, you're perfectly situated to hit all the high points by foot (except Versailles - the train ride was nice though). And, if you want to know what you're eating, learn a little French before you go......

Par-is Not for Us - Day 3, 4 & 5

Woke up too late to enjoy the breakfast in our hotel so ran next door to have a slice of Margherite pizza, which is known in the states as Cheese, while Beth had a strawberry tart. The pizza slices in Europe are already pre-cooked and the slice you pick goes in the toaster to be heated. I guess that is better than having a slice of pizza sitting in the heat all day long until someone purchases it. Oh, and the pepperoni is very spicy here. But I’m not a fan of spicy food either so I’m am sure there are those who will think otherwise. As far as the tart, Paris’ were better than the ones in London. Both are still very good. We have decided that we need to find a place that makes wonderful tarts and crepes.

After our wonderful and filling breakfast, we head to the Palace de Versailles which is home to the Royal family of one of the King George’s. We take the train down to Versailles and from the rear we hear music. ‘Oh, how nice. They have entertainment on the train. That’s a wonderful idea.’ After the musicians’ performance they came around asking for money. Of course, not knowing any better I begged Beth to give them a little cash. The music put me in a good mood and I was excited about our visit to the palace. We hit the train station that we are to transfer on as the train approaches we see a train full of people where red and yellow outfits. There must be a game, but what for? Football (Soccer)? Once the train stops, the fans begin singing and blowing into their vuvelas (horns) and causing craziness. Every single fan is dedicated to this team. As they walk off the train you can feel their excitement and almost want to be a part of it. Luckily, they let me take a picture which I have posted in Facebook.

We arrive to the palace and it is beautiful and big. This was bigger than the Tower which I totally adored. There are no words to describe the beauty of this palace. So, I will not talk about the visit but rather recommend that you visit our Facebook page and see the photos.

Day 4 -

We visited Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur. Both were great experiences and we were pretty happy that we had an opportunity to check 'em out. At Sacre Coeur we weren't allowed to take pictures indoors. But for those of you that know that Beth likes to be a rebel, it goes without saying that she still took photos. The pictures aren't the best, but they at least give you a feel of the architecture and atmosphere.

As we were heading to the tube station to head home, we get train tickets to the airport. Holy buckets did they cost alot!!! It was 17 Euro for the both of us to travel to the airport and we thought that was a bit ridiculous considering it wasn't that expensive when we arrived. But who knows. So, not only did we purchase tickets for the next day, we needed tickets to get back to the hotel. We purchase our tickets and I slide my ticket in the machine with no problem. But for some reason it rejected Beth's. Are you kidding me? We just purchased the tickets so why wouldn't they work.

By this time we were fed up with Paris and the train stations. In London, there is someone to help you at every single tube station and machines where you can buy tickets. Not this way in Paris. At every 3rd location (that might be giving them too much credit) you were able to speak with someone from the Paris transportion department.

Day 5 -

We know that given the way the trip has gone so far that we better leave 3 hours before departure. Well, it's a good thing we did! Going through the tube stations was not fun at all. Again, we had trouble using our tickets. After trying 3 to 4 times to get through the machine and having the French yell at us, we decide to hop over the ticket machine. What a waste of our 17 Euro. We should've used this method the entire time we were there. Once we arrive to the airport, we got lost in the airport trying to find our terminal to check in. After walking down to the end of the terminal for our carrier, we have to walk all the way back to where we started. So, we still hadn't checked in yet. Normally airports will have the check in near the entrance, but not in France.

Whatever, I'm happy to be home and I'm over it. We have realized that any other vacations that we take will only last a few days. It'll save us money and stress!!!

Par-is Not for Us Day 2

Again this is Ja'Nae'....

Breakfast in our hotel was pretty good. It only consisted of croissants, some rolls with fruit, cereal, oj, apple juice, and yoghurt. I am not a big of breakfast and even less the items they offered. But the croissants were very good.

We decide that we are going to head out to the Eiffel Tower. But the lady at the front desk suggested that we take a bus to Opera and then venture out. We take her word for it and get on the bus. We get on the bus and insert our 'unused tickets from Beth's friend' and of course, they don't work. When are these damn tickets supposed to work. I am starting to miss the London Transport system at this point, but it's still early in the trip. Taking the bus was NOT worth the trip at all. We arrive at the Opera and try to go in. But it costs money to get in. Beth still thinks that we can get in despite the admission cost. So, we walk in and see there is not an area for those that don't want to pay to at least get a good photo. So we walk right out. We get out our handy dandy map to try and figure out how to get to the Eiffel Tower. We decide that we should go to the Louvre first and then the tower. As we are making our way, we find that we are in the middle of a shopping district. When I say shopping district I mean Prada, Gucci, Levi Strauss (Yes, Levi's are pretty expensive here.) We found a pretty cool monument that had some some crazy artwork. (You can check that out in our FB photos.) Five minutes later, we find this wonderful looking garden. The garden is called Le Jardin des Tuileries. The Louvre is west of it and wait, I think we are beginning to see the tip of the Eiffel. Oh, this is soo cool!!! We head to the Louvre to take a few photos and are amazed at how big it is. From the Louvre, we can see a little bit of the Eiffel, an arch that looks like the Wellington Arch, and the big one - Arc de Triompe. We head to the Arc de Triomphe first. But before we leave Jardin ( must walk through the Jardin in order to get to the Arc) we have a crepe with Nutella, Strawberry, and cream. Mmmmm. This crepe was the best crepe I have ever had and the first. But it was simply amazing. We head to the Arc and take a few photos of the scenery and finally arrive. We walk around and take a few more photos and make our way to the Eiffel. Once we get to the Eiffel, we are hungry again! All this walking just makes us more and more hungry with each step. Since the prices for food are a bit high, we decide to get a hot dog with fries. The hot dog bun was a baguette. The restaurant had a machine with a pole which would poke a hole on the baguette for the hot dog. I was really hoping for a real bun, but this will work.

On to the Eiffel Tower. Beth is soo excited about getting to go to the top and we proceed to get in line. As we stand in line, I look over and see a couple of army looking dudes....with machine guns...and their hands on the trigger. I wasn't sure if this is normal or they are here for a reason. We make our way even closer to the purchase our tickets and on the sign it reads ' Top floor is temporarily closed.' Oh darn, we won't be able to make it to the top. Oh yes, I'm afraid of heights and only doing this because I love Beth. Deep inside, I am soo very happy that we don't get to go to the top. We purchase our tickets and the top is still temporarily closed, but make our way to the elevator. The elevator can fit about 20 people on each level and there are two. It was weird to go up the Eiffel Tower at an angle and fast. We have a video on FB.

Being on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower is not all that bad. Words can't describe the experience, so you need to check out our photos and videos on our FB page.

To end our day at the Eiffel, we catch a rollerblader who is attempting to break a world record. There is a ramp that is built as high as the bottom of arch of the Eiffel Tower. At the end of the ramp is abig balloon looking thing with big styrofoam pieces. Oh my gosh, this guy is going to jump from the top and try to skate down. How neat. But the attempt that we saw, he was unsuccessful. We saw on tv that he succeeded. But that is purely an assumption because the news channel was speaking in French. Did I mention that all of the tv channels in our hotel room were French speaking except for ONE. It was BBC World. At least there was one English speaking channel.

Par-is not for us! Day 1

For all of you that have been waiting for our blog post on our wonderful honeymoon in Paris! It's been a little bit since we have been, but hopefully we remember all the good stuff. This is Ja'Nae's version of Paris.

Day 1: Wake up at 4:00 am to catch our flight that takes off at 6:40am. Our cab picks us up at 10 til 5 and Ja'Nae' gets a little nervous about the ride. 1) It does not have a 'private hire' sticker on the vehicle 2) this is the second time we have ridden in a vehicle over here. Now let me explain the Private Hire. As I have walked around London I have noticed a few signs about taking unlicensed cabs (I'm guessing those that don't have the private hire sticker= unlicensed). The sign shows a girl in a cab screaming, ' Please, no, no. Stop. Stop. Please no.' So that is the reason why I was so cautious and the fact that I have seen too many Lifetime movies. Back to the ride to Heathrow (name of the airport). The driver was going pretty fast! It had to be about 80 miles an hour which Ja'Nae' was not ready for. It woke us up quick. Our driver appears to be of an Indian descent, which is fine, and finally with only 10 minutes left until our destination he decides to turn on the radio. At this moment two odd things happen - 1) There are horses just hanging out in the plains. I'm not sure if this area is considered for farming or what, but I was surprised to see horses near the airport. 2) the music blaring from the radio is Elvis Costello. It's like a scene from 'Office Space' when Michael Bolton blares his rap music. Who would think that Michael Bolton enjoys hardcore rap! I didn't expect Elvis Costello to come out of the radio, but that was the moment when I realized I was being ignorant. Shame on me! I wasn't prejudice when I was at home, but I think it's cause I was the minority. Here, Beth is the minority. And being in London has really opened my eyes and I'm not taking this for granted.

Anyways...... We line up to get our boarding passes. There's a couple in front of us that is taking everything in their house with them. Not only that, but they have two kids that are less than 1 years old that they are each holding. So watching them trying to get the luggage to be checked is quite a sight. I chuckle to myself and make a mental note of how NOT to travel as a parent. as soon as we board the plane I fall asleep immediately. 20 minutes later, I see that we are still at the terminal and hear a gentleman say to the cabin 'Ladies and gentleman, I need your assistance. My bags are at the gate and I need to get them on the plane.' This is the same guy that I just mentioned with the two kids and tons of baggage. He obviously didn't think this plan through. Just as soon as I was about to unbuckle my belt and help, two guys rose up and volunteered. They quickly returned to their seats and I'm thinking we are finally about to take off. Then I hear this guy's kid screaming as if the dad was leaving him forever. The flight attendant notifies the dad that he needs to have the child sitting in his own seat with a special seat belt. They disagree about the necessity of having one for a few minutes. Next thing I see the flight attendant storming off and muttering something under her breath. It didn't bother me cause I went right back to sleep.

After a 2.5 hour flight we arrive in Paris. We are feeling pretty good and are excited about this trip. Having the man's type of mindset, I hope that this is the stereotypical honeymoon if you know what I mean. I get even more excited about this trip. Beth is a pretty confident woman when she thinks she knows what is going on. She had unused tickets from a co-worker that travelled Paris a couple months back. We arrive to the platform area to take the train to our hotel. Since Beth was so confident I follow right behind her and put my ticket in the machine. What?! It doesn't work. Neither of our tickets work. We stand there for a second looking at each other as if one of us has the magical power to make them work. We head back to buy our tickets for the train and this cost us 8 Euros each one way. Okay not a big deal. Luckily the machine had an English translation otherwise we would've been screwed. We arrived to our stop where we needed to transfer to another train to reach our final destination. As we made our through the station we notice there is another ticket machine. So, we take out our tickets that we purchased at the airport and stick them in. Doesn't work! We try it again. Doesn't work! We, again, look at each other for a few minutes. There is no one that works for the Paris Transport Department around. No where for us to purchase additional tickets. A guy jumped over the entire ticket machine to continue his journey. Five minutes later, a husband and wife jump over the ticket machine. I couldn't believe that they did that. Won't CCTV catch them in action? See, in London we have CCTV (Big Brother) watching us all the time. After 10 minutes of hanging out, I noticed at the end of the row, there was a door that was wide open. Beth and I look at each other and walk through the door. Nobody was chasing us to tell us what we did was wrong, so we continue our journey. Finally we arrive at our final stop and look around for our hotel. If we would've been smart we would've checked to see how to get to the hotel from the tube stop. But we didn't and we walked around in a circle. Upon finishing our circle, we realized that we were pretty close to the hotel to begin with.

We get to our hotel and they speak some English. We walk around since we couldn't check in just yet and check out the area. We were pretty hungry so we look at some of the menus. All of the menus are in French, darn it! In the back of my mind, I thought not everything can be in French, right. As we walked around we saw a couple bakeries with tarts, breads, and other patisseries. We decide that it is time to eat and really try to decipher the menus. All of the food was expensive. We finally decided on a restaurant that had some familiar words on the menu such as ribs and frites and steak. Our meal and dessert was awesome!!! Our waitress really tried to help us understand the menu but she wasn't sure of some translations from French to English. Again, my ignorance kicking in as I thought she should know at least some English. But she was VERY nice.

We checked into our hotel room and they show us the lift. Beth and I look at each other and the lift and back at one another. The lift was small. It stated the capacity is 4 people, but I don't think 4 people could fit in there comfortably. We barely fit in there with the two of us and our luggage. We arrived to our room and boy was it small! It was just as big as our hostel. The only difference was that we had our own bathroom and shower and the walls are not angled to make the room even smaller. You can check out photos of our view on our FB page. After getting comfortable, we took a nap. When we woke up, we were both pretty hungry. Again, we make the trek around the area to see what's open. It's only 10:30 and everything was closed. We walked past 3 restaurants and finally ended up at one that had some English on the menu. I had mussels with fries and Beth had a cheese pizza. Now what was amazing was our dessert. I had a strawberry parfait with the best whipped cream I've ever had. Beth had a banana split. What a great way to end of first day.

Tube Drama

This is Beth - I'd like to say a few things about my commute this morning.

Let's start with - I hit snooze 3 times instead of only once; this delayed me 20 minutes. 20 minutes in tube time can be the difference between an easy or a hard commute. Anywhoo - I pour myself out of bed and leisurely eat my cereal, shower, dress, etc. Around 8:15 I put my ipod in and head to the station. I normally hit the platform around 7:55/8:00 - today about 20 minutes later. When I finished my 3 flights of stairs to the platform, there was a train sitting there with an unusually large number of people ready to get on. I normally try to get on the last carriage, but there was no time to walk down the platform I had to try the nearest door. I felt a wave of hopelessness come over me, feeling as if I'd have to wait for the next train (which wouldn't bother me at all). As I stood at the door watching people cram in, this short woman looked at me and generously created a spot with my name on it. This does not normally happen, so I smiled at her and gladly stepped onto the train. Of course the even shorter woman who had to stare at my chest for the next 4 stops may not have been so happy with my tube hero... It was either my chest or the 6' tall guy that kept her from drinking her coffee - either way, she was not happy.

At each stop, a few people would get off and another bunch would cram on. This wasn't a problem until the WB stop - this woman felt the need to push everyone in so she could get on. Again, this wouldn't normally bother me except her huge, expensive purse was pushing my leg so hard that I had to balance basically on one leg for the next two stops. I now have an even greater hatred for designer purses. Luckily - she was to get off at the next stop. I felt freedom! A lot of people got off to transfer at this stop, so I jumped into an open air section (where there are mostly seats). At the same time another woman had the same bright idea, only she thought it would be nice to lean her body up against the seat I was holding on to. She moved into my hand so hard that it actually went into her coat pocket! I pulled my (empty) hand out and tried nudging her a bit. She had room to move one (or 12) inches away from me, but never did. Finally, a couple stops later, more transferees jump ship; this includes the 3 sitters next to me with luggage! I snag a seat along with a few other people and enjoy total bliss. My next 5 stops were all in the comfort of a plush, tube seat.

My normal commute is not this crowded and much more pleasant; Ipod in tow and a blackberry full of games normally make my commute go very quick! Today was an exception and a lesson learned......wake up after just one snooze.

To end this lovely note, I'd like to give a shout out to the woman who created a spot specially for me this morning....it "made my day". And I'd like to give a warning to the designer purse woman - don't ever get on my carriage or your purse will be thrown out on the tracks!

AAAAAAADDRRIIIIIIIIIAAANNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!

Yes - Friday night was one of those Rocky moments! Not really, we just drank way too much with AT (Adrian) and JaNae and I (being slightly childish) want to yell this at him every time we see him. We don't, but in our heads we do :)

Friday at work ended up putting me in a terrible mood - luckily, a few of the guys at work wanted to go out for a drink. We head to the bar around the corner (not a pub, this place was classy) and they of course don't have Cider. Fine....Janae and I end up splitting a lovely bottle of wine (didn't realise we'd ordered a bottle, but it worked out) while the guys hit the tap. Being the only two women there, we felt a bit like we were invading the boys club; but their stories were hilarious, so we just sat, listened, and pounded the wine. I think we were only there an hour before everyone decided to head home. I can't feel my face by this time, JaNae is feeling pretty good, and AT is still up for a drink. The three of us head to a pub down the street and proceed to drink 3-4 more drinks maybe. I wasn't counting, but enough to make at least two of us very drunk.

I won't bore you with the details of the pub, but we'd like to give a shout out to AT. Here's to the funniest brit we've met - cheers AT!!!

Some where in the 9pm hour, we decide JaNae needs to eat; and trust me, if she doesn't eat things get really bad! AT doesn't ever eat, so he heads home. Nae and I hit up the Pizza Express down the street. I order a pizza and Nae gets back from the bathroom; she's looking a bit funny. "You got sick, didn't you?" "Yes". OK - the pizza was ready and I get it in a take-away (to-go) box. We are heading to the tube - at this point our good time is limited. We eat a couple pieces of pizza on the way and luckily only have to wait about 5 minutes for the right train to come. We sit on a fairly empty carriage (sissy word, I know) and Nae proceeds to close her eyes. She opens them to look at me and I can tell our night is about to drastically go downhill. She made it about 6 stops, past Earl's Court, before picking up the pizza box and just letting it all go!!! Once I saw the puke come from mouth and nose, I knew we were in for it!! She was very graceful and simply closed the pizza box, set it on the floor of the tube and cleaned herself up with my wet wipes. People got on the train at the next stop and even sat next to us!!! By the next stop, it was coming on again. We depart the train and she lets it go on the platform. We stayed there for about 10 minutes until she could bring herself to make the next two stops home. We make it home in about 15 minutes and start praying to the porcelain God. After a while, we both think it has to be done. Garbage by the bed, we both pass out. At some point, Janae wakes up again only this time to eat. Ewwww....don't ask me how she did it, but she was hungry. I of course wake up and....wait....what is this coming on.....ugh - I've got to puke now!!! My episode only last a few minutes then I head to bed again. Janae proceeds to pass out while her food cools off. She wakes up we-don't-know-how-long later and finishes off her cottage pie (mashed potatoes on top of meat and gravy). Then passes out again on the couch. I woke up about 8 and ran to the living room to make sure she was OK.....all was good. She woke up a while later and came to the bedroom. Still not feeling the best, she passes out again. As I'm writing this, it is 1:15pm: I'm still in my pajamas but feeling like I could be normal. JaNae just walked out of the bedroom still looking like she did on the tube.

Folks....it's gonna be a long day.

Bringing the Heat!

Tuesday started the real work week off (heck yea for Monday holidays). Just another day at the office, only tonight we have softball. We meet in the lobby after work and the wife and I are lucky enough to hitch a ride with MF while the others have to take the tube! DOH - sucks for them. Anyway, I guess he gets to park under the building (I had no idea this was an option); so we head down to the 20 car lot under the building. Pack the Lexus SUV with the softball gear and head out. We pull up to what I assume is a garage door, it opens but there is no street on the other side. We drive in and are now enclosed by 4 metal walls......this is very uncomfortable - I'm enclosed in what I finally realise is a car elevator! What?!? Umm....let me out! I don't like this at all!! Luckily, after about 20 seconds, we've moved up a floor and are safely headed to the streets of London. It was interesting - I couldn't even feel that we were moving up. And with the space issues here, I guess it makes complete sense to have an elevator for the car.

SO - out onto the streets in London in a car. YES! We have been here for 2 months, only been in a car twice and haven't driven at all. And, wouldn't want to. Other side of the car, other side of the road and intersections that include no less than 3 different streets filtering into it; it would overload my brain! Thank goodness MF knew his way around the city and drives like I do (a maniac); it was the best car ride I've had in this city.

After a NE tour of the city, we arrive at Regents Park an hour early so we can warm up. We spend the next hour stretching, throwing, catching, and hitting (yes, in that order). The bankers league isn't ready for what we are about to bring! We are standing at the pitch (field) which was on the fixture (schedule)....all alone. Is the team we are playing ever going to show up? Oh yes, there they are....wait.....this team is on our pitch, but we aren't playing them. Huh....OK....we'll move over to the next pitch and wait. Geez, nobody is showing up and of course we can't get the web link on our blackberry's! After about 20 minutes and getting a spouse on the phone, we realize we've been moved to another pitch. Only, this pitch isn't on the flat part of the park, it's half way up Primrose Hill. Now, if you've never been on Primrose Hill, here's a brief summary; Primrose Hill: the highest hill in the city! There is a wonderful view of London from the top of the hill - I would suggest taking a glance if ever in the area. Of course, we've been practicing for an hour and seeing how this is the first game of the season most of us are a bit tired by now. So, walking up the biggest hill in the city carrying all our gear - SO NOT COOL!!! After a 15 minute trek, we finally arrive at our pitch - which slants downhill. Now, this is good for people like me (Beth), I can hit the ball and it will roll downhill a bit. But, with JaNae and I both playing in the outfield and the other team being full of home run-hitters, this is a very bad combination!

Luckily, JaNae gets outer left field with the long-legged trader from....well, I'm not sure where he is from. Now, this is where all the right-handers hit - JaNae and Rogier are going to be busy!!! And they were! Lots of running and the two most awesome catches of the night done by none other than the athlete of the century - JANAE!!! She got the same guy out twice - he was NOT happy, nor were his teammates! As you can imagine, how JaNae is the most famous person in the office - and she doesn't even work there! Good job honey! Unfortunately, she will forever be stuck in left field running for the ball - a work out that will count for at least two days each week.

Now I got put in right field; they put me here because I have a fright of catching the ball (firmed up when I had to catch a ball in practice and got scared so put my un-gloved hand out - yes, my thumb was swollen and bruised for a couple days) and because there generally aren't a lot of lefties that play softball. Thankfully, I didn't have to do much work in my area; except for this one hit. If memory serves me right, dude was right handed - should NOT have been hitting in my area. But, strategically playing, he knew I was the weakest player on the team. BAM! He spanks it my way - a grounder that is gaining speed! It rolls by me and I take off at a dead sprint heading down the hill! In my head, there is not doubt I will lose my footing and take the biggest face plant this side of the Atlantic Ocean.......but, I didn't. I was sprinting like crazy until I got that ball and heaved it back to the infield! YEA~personal height of the night!!! Oh yea, and I spanked on and made it to first base once....then the team brought me home! I actually made a run for the team!

Enough of this - here is a quick rundown of stats for the game. Janae hit some good ones, made it home at least twice and caught the two biggest hits of the night. Beth hit one good one, made it home once and didn't face plant. At one point, we were up 8-7 after scoring 8 runs in one inning. The best team in the league (our opponent) then scored 13 runs in the next inning putting us in our place. I think the final score was something like 26 - 14. We didn't win, but we showed up and brought some serious heat!

Tuesday night - successful with lots of stretching and Tylenol to follow.

Randomness...by B

Here are more random thoughts from me (Beth):

There are a ton of homeless people here. Many of them have dogs; now when I see a dog I look for the homeless person. There is even one dog that keeps a pacifier in its mouth all the time - we wonder if it's dead. Anyway - my advice.......get a job! I'm annoyed with you!

A mid-afternoon hail storm in Battersea Park is not out of the ordinary in London.

I've never been happier to see my drying rack!

Due to the dryer not really drying, we are only buying thin-fabric clothing going forward.

Being paid once a month totally stinks - we may be eating bread and drinking tea for the next 10 days!

I have jealous moments of Iowa - it is in the 70s there and we are still hanging in 50s territory. Of course, all that will change once I hear it is 100 there and we are hanging at a mild 72.

Two days in a row of drinking now takes me at least 3 days to recover. Thank you year 30.

Now that I'm married and love my wife very much, strip clubs just aren't as fun......buzz kill!

Looking forward to playing softball tomorrow night in the bankers league. I guess we were good last year and moved up to the "serious" league - not good.

Why, if my behind is sore after a good walk, does it not get smaller? Or better yet, just fall off?

Enough of that......

So this morning we went for a walk - a 2 hour walking workout; this was NOT a leisure walk. It started out sunny....we were off!!! Yes - excited - ready to go. We head out the front door and make it a block before the rain starts. OK, we'll keep going since all rain episodes here last 10 minutes max. Sure enough - it stops. We are a bit wet and cold, but are only 3 blocks from home so need to keep going. The wind was crazy......it was cold......it rained again.....now the sun is out......dang, it's hot.....cold.....windy.....hot.....etc. This is how the whole walk went and why living on an island with a crazy weather pattern requires people to wear multiple layers and carry bags large enough to carry the clothes they off load. We stop the walk at Battersea Park to enjoy the sights and take in a bit of the warm fresh air (at this point it is sunny). Pretty soon, another little rain shower. No biggie - we've been in a couple thus far. Oh wait - is that an ice ball hitting my arm??? Wait - what? Yes folks, this is hail. Small hail, but still.....seriously. We are in this lovely park - families out and about, the entire running population of Chelsea is there and bam - HAIL! Anyway, I'm over that - won't be so shocked next time it happens.

So....we mosey on through the park and see a huge pagoda. Humf....wonder what is going on with that. We walk over and see a yoga class going on. The wind is blowing so hard that their little yoga mats aren't staying put. The mats along with the pose they were in (arm in front, arm around back and locking under the leg - yea, don't ask......most people wouldn't even dream this one up) is making the yoga class a bit difficult. But the 70 year old hippie teaching the class is enjoying helping everyone get into position.....very unsettling. On to the pagoda of peace.... there is someone power washing the stairs the lead up to the statues (London employs a LOT of people to clean - it's amazing). We go to a dry set of stairs and walk up - the pagoda is beautiful and it has 4 statues of Prince Siddhartha (Buddha), each in a different position. Very nice - and the view from there, even better. You look over the river and the river walk - and can also see the next rain cloud moving in. Whew - that was fun - let's go check out what this whole thing means. Now, I'm not going to give you a history lesson because I'm not really into all that smart stuff. We read over the specifics, etc. and then read at the bottom that no one is allowed up on the pagoda.........oops. If they don't want you to walk up there, the sign should have been much bigger...AND in front of the structure! DOH! I cannot believe we did that....I'm sure we aren't the only people to do that, but still pretty embarrassing.

Back to random thoughts - London is VERY clean! I cannot believe how many people are paid to push around a huge garbage can and sweep up leaves, garbage, really anything that is on the sidewalk. It's impressive!

The commercials here are very cheesy - this country is still stuck in the 80s. Weird. And, everyone loves 80s music....I get it, but not all the time.

Ok - that was anti-climactic! I'm getting tired.....done for the day. We did a ton of walking and did it through all 4 seasons :)

Hope you are all having a wonderful Monday!

Ja'Nae's Week

It'll almost two months since we have moved to London and I still love it here. Every once in a while I find myself missing my dogs and that beautiful home that we left behind (and the flat screen tv that we sold to one of Beth's friends). Once in a while both Beth and I chat about how we would like to go back and then we realize how good it is here and change our minds. Who knows what's going to happen. Maybe in 9 months we'll try to have a kid so that Beth can take advantage of the one year maternity leave. Or in 9 months we may be back in the states. Who knows. Enough of that. It's time to talk about my week.

If you are friends on FB with Beth or I, you will see that I went on a tour of Westminster Abbey. The place of coronations, funerals, and a wedding (Prince Charles and Princess Diana). The tour took about 2 hours, but was well worth the 20 GBP that it cost. My tour guide knew so much about the history and architecture of the church. I was thoroughly impressed. She explained how the architecture of the church is Gothic due to the pointed arches instead of the round arches. I didn't know there was a difference between the two, but I am not an architect. Another interesting fact is the reason why the ceiling is so high and decorative is because when you look up it's as if you're looking up to the heavens. Makes sense. Both daughters of King Henry VIII are buried in this church....in the same tomb. The funny thing about this is that it is Queen Elizabeth's statue that is on the tomb. (Queen Elizabeth and her half sister Queen Mary had different mothers and believed in different religions. Queen Mary is the first daughter of King Henry VIII and his first wife - Katherine of Aragon. He later began to fall for Anne Boleyn, divorced Katherine of Arago, married Anne, and fathered Queen Elizabeth.) All Tudors are buried in W.A. except King Henry VIII as he is buried in Windsor Castle.

I am not sure how many of you have been on tours, but this was my first one. And although the information was great, the other tourists were annoying. There were a few people who thought they knew more than the tour guide and would quiz her on different topics. Towards the end of our tour, one lady just had to ask what type of marble was used on a certain tomb and the engraving. The marble was Brazilian, but the engraving was paint. The lady refused to believe it and questioned it again. Someone else had to tell her that it was an engraving with some paint. I don't think she still believed it. Another tourist felt it was okay to get in my bubble so that she could see the tour guide. I guess she needed to see the tour guide in order to hear. Lastly, an older gentleman seemed to have loose dentures because as he stood behind me, the noise of nasty smacking was making me cringe. And I mean cringe. Each time I moved away from him, he seemed to find me and move behind me again. Come on!

Wednesday - Beth had a work function so I spent the night alone. But that's okay. I went to a cinema (movie theatre) and it was expensive. The cost was just as much as Jordan Creek, but was not nearly as nice. If you know me, I am not one to go to the movies alone. But since I have been doing everything else by myself a move shouldn't be too bad. The movie costs 8.50 + 2.50 for snacks ( popcorn, drink, and candy). The theatre did not have butter popcorn and I had two choices - sweet or salty. I chose sweet as it was pretty closet to Kettle Corn. Another option was my seat- premium or standard. Premium seats were more comfortable and created more leg room. Very similar to the stadium seats back home. Standard seats are the seats before we had stadium seating. I walked into the theatre and find my seat close to a wall. Slowly people start to make their way in. The first couple sits on the other side a rows up from me. Another couple shows up and sits in the row in front of me but towards the isle. Are there no other seats that are available?! Couple #2 decides to sit in the same row as mine close to the aisle. Couple #3 sits in the row behind me. REALLY?! Oh, the movie I saw was Date Nite with Steve Carrell and Tina Fey. Two very funny people, but not a very funny movie. It had its moments.

Thursday- I was so excited about the nite's show "Thriller Live". A tribute concert to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. I hadn't bought my tickets yet and was hoping that they would still have a few seats available. Beth had left for another work function and wouldn't be back until the following day. Anyways, I had remembered seeing booths for half price tickets but wasn't sure if it was a scam or not. To be safe, I walked to the venue to buy the tickets. No doors were open and there weren't any handles on the doors. I thought that was a bit weird. I walked back to the half price booth and got my ticket. It cost me 35 GBP and was 55-58 regularly. My seat was in the dress circle which is the level up from the floor.

The show started off with a few tunes by the Jackson 5. Michael Jackson was played by a cute 11 year old boy. His voice was very similar to Michael Jackson at that age. He was by far one of the best performers. The dance moves were pretty basic, so the criticism hadn't started just yet. As the show progressed, I realized that the dancers were not that into it. Where was the energy? I am pretty sure that Michael was a bit disappointed. Four other singers lead the way of the adult years of MJ - one a woman and another a white boy. The other two singers were not feeling the performance at all. I will say that the other best performer of the nite was the white boy impersonating Michael. He had perfected the MJ mannerisms, even MJ's voice. Maybe there was no energy because it was the upteenth performance and their bodies were geting tired. But this is their job. To entertain. It could've been better but I still had a good time.

Saturday - Our things that we had shipped over arrived. This place is now really starting to feel like a home. Got the printer, Wii, PS2, drying rack, and more clothes!!! I will have to go through my clothes again and possibly give some to charity. I don't know if we will have enough room for all my clothes ( and Beth's). We will see though. It is nice to have more than 3 polos, 3 pairs of jeans, and 2 pairs of sweats. We'll see how much I donate!

You Want to Get Ahead? Get a Hat!

(This blog is a combination of thoughts from Ja'Nae' and Beth. However, Ja'Nae' didn't care for how Beth was writing and took over.)

After living here for 3 weeks, we finally met one of our neighbors; an elderly fella (73) who is a war vet that used to live with his mother. He was quick to give us a brief history of Fulham (where we live). He was born in Fulham, but raised in Wales. He told us about how the language between northern and souther Britain is quite different! He had trouble understanding one while he was living in the other! He told us how our building was born the same year he was and it used to be a meat locker. It was shut down because they were providing meat that was from animals already dead instead of slaughtered - not good. After that shut down, they turned it into a dairy. Obviously that shut down at some point, but under our building is a ton of broken glass from the dairy bottles. For that reason, the rats stay away from our building. Um, excuse me, did he say rats?! I guess London is full of rats - from what we've heard - so it's a good thing we live on top of broken glass. Not to mention the two cats we've got living in the neighborhood. There is a black one and another orange tabby - our neighbor calls him Garfield since that's what it looks like. The cat has obviously been eating like Garfield too. That bad boy is big.

Our neighbor also likes plants and flowers, but due to the credit crunch, he wasn't able to buy flowers for the planters. Next weekend we plan on buying him some flowers. Our walkway needs some color and he (Phil) seems to enjoy it. Phil had a row of Daffodils, but they dried out and died. It's possible that we may try to find a florist and fill our patio area with some color.

Another great fact that our neighbor shared with us is that we have a tree that is 400 years old. I don't remember if he mentioned the type of tree, but it's pretty cool that we have a 400 year old tree in our 'hood. The weird thing is that it doesn't look to be that old at all. Luckily, Phil had a reason for that. Sometime ago, the tree was cut down to the stump. Since then, the stump grew back into the tree that it once was. Cute story, huh?

Later that day, we decided that we should check out the St. George's Day festivities. Advertisements stated that bands were performing at Trafalgar Square, but it was designed for those that were 25 and under. So, I (Ja'Nae') thought it would be pretty cool to check out a few no name bands. As soon as we get off the tube station, we can see a mob of people and two man band. The band included an acoustic guitarist with a drummer. But the great thing about this band is that the drummer appeared to be playing a kiddie drum set. And the bass drum was made out of a box. I have no idea how they made this happen, but they were rocking it. We head up towards to street towards Trafalgar and hear a group of singers singing what sounds like show tunes. I am thinking to myself, this is NOT the reason why we came up here. Beth seems to be enjoying it, so we stay a little bit longer. This event is standing room only, but we are determined to find a seat. The park is not as packed as I thought it would be, but sometimes that is better. A bunch of sweaty people in a confined area is not always the most comfortable. Once we find our seat, a song is being sung that sounds familiar - "Daisy, Daisy..." and that's all I know. While this song is being played, the entire crowd is singing along. That was pretty neat. I have a video of this on my Facebook page. The crowd proceeded to do this with a few other songs too.

We were supposed to watch the London Marathon, but the combination of the rain and cold temperature made us stay in. Okay, we actually slept in a little longer than we wanted and didn't get started on the day until 3. Even though we didn't watch the marathon, we had our own. We walked for 5.25 miles today along the Thames River to Hammersmith. It was a pretty nice walk and didn't feel like 5 miles until my body started to get sore. It was then that we decided to highlight in an atlas all the streets in London that we have visited. We are hoping to at least cover the City of London, and I think we are pretty close to that.

It's 11:10 p.m. and I'm tired. I have nothing else to say, but this....Good Night!

Ok, so I posted this and realized that we hadn't explained the title. Phil, the neighbor, told us about a toll bridge that existed at the current Putney Bridge location. It cost 25p to cross the bridge. However, if you didn't have the money to pay for it, people would give their hat as payment. So, as the saying goes, " if you can't get ahead, get a hat!"

Thank you and good nite!

OUR FLAT!!!! (number 2)

Our FLAT!!! (number 1)

Parks!!!!!

This is Hyde Park - the performers tree. Where the reformers would meet.














This is Tower Hill.














This is Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens.
















Regents Park

Regents Park

Ashes Ashes....We all stay grounded!

So, this is the result of the ash - the only viewable result. The sunset the first night was purple. Not sure if you can tell from the photo, but the sky is lavender. It was really pretty, but other than that we couldn't see "ash".

Flights started moving today AFTER our flight to Amsterdam was cancelled! Seriously BA - you couldn't start the flying a couple hours earlier? Maybe you knew I had one heck of a hangover!!!

I want to give a big shout out to our currency folk and the Pension Awards. I was the youngest person in the room, but thank goodness for the host. One of the comedians on 4 (channel) - he was totally politically INcorrect!! I loved it - oh, and the 12 bottles of wine and 1 bottle of whiskey our table of 7 went through!! OUCH!!! Black tie event - a success!!! It wasn't as posh as I was expecting, but I still don't belong there :) I'm a trousers kind of gal.

What else can I say....oh yes, this photo was taken on Putney Bridge (over the River Thames) which is about 4 blocks from our flat! We are on the Fulham side near Putney Bridge tube station - its a great location!

I'm going to post more pictures so you folks without facebook (you know who you are Scott and Susan) can see some pics :)

Miss you all!!!