Presidential Visit

We got to go to the London American Embassy today to see President George W. Bush on his farewell tour. Regardless of your political views, let me just tell you that it is pretty amazing to only have two people between you and one of the most powerful and influential men in the world. There were only about 150 of us there total and it was surprisingly informal... security outside the building was insane, and roads were closed off for miles, but once inside apart from the guys standing around with bugs in their ears it seemed like any other meeting.

We all entered the conference room and an assistant ran in to put the presidential seal on the podium moments before he entered with the first lady and the ambassador with his wife. The room fell silent, holding their breath waiting for him to speak. He is quite small in person but carries himself in such a way that he seems like a giant.. and his wife is just beautiful!

The ambassador did a quick lead-in speech and then the President addressed us, thanking the employees for their service, and everyone else for their support during his term. We weren't there for more than half an hour, but he shared some jokes and experiences and took a few pictures with some kids from the embassy, before we all headed back to the base.

Frankfurt

Well Geoff had a 4 day conference in Frankfurt for work, so I went along for fun since I've never been to Germany before. It was a bit of a strange place, and somewhere neither of us really have an desire to return to, but it was interesting to see none-the-less. We had some time the first day so spent it walking around the center of the city. We strolled through some art gardens and along the river. Passed the crazy markets and into a little deli for lunch. The rest of our time Geoff was working, so I did some exploring and shopping and we reconnected for dinner in the evenings with some of the others from the conference. There were several crazy nights of watching football(soccer) fans from our window as they celebrated and rioted in the streets during the Euro 2008 cup matches which was actually alot of fun! Then we headed home to unpack and get organized after our back to back travelling!

Our House!

Ok so finally here is our house! (the one on the right!)

And a quick peek inside...

A Road Trip to... Paris!

This Friday we had a bit of a party at Bure Farm for my birthday, I'm not usually one for parties but since it was my 25th everyone decided to conspire to celebrate. All my coworkers showed up and some extras, and it actually was a blast! Afterwards everyone came back to our place and we played video games and had drinks. Before we knew it time had flown away and it was past 1:30am ... that was when we decided to pack!

We booked a hotel and Euro-tunnel tickets and jumped in the car. It is about a 7.5 hour drive, and we ended up getting to the hotel at about 11 a.m. after cleaning up the house, packing and taking a couple of roadside breaks for food and a walk! We checked in straight away and took a 2 hour nap before heading out to find a bus tour.

We were just a short walk from the Arc De Triomphe, so we started there and then grabbed a tour around all the major sites jumping on and off the bus. We stopped for an early dinner (since we hadnt had lunch!) at a Greek Cafe (i know i know.. greek in france?!) it really hit the spot!

Afterwards we decided to go for a walk around the city at night. It was beautiful but took HOURS! By the time we got to the Eiffel Tower it was 10:30pm. Luckily last addmittance was 11pm so we still got in and went up to the second floor to look accross the city at all the lights. It was amazing!

I don't think anyone ever sleeps in Paris, as when we started our walk back to the hotel at midnight there were more people out at cafe's and playing music and dancing and singing on the steps of various monuments and buildings - it was truely fabulous! It was about an hour walk back to the hotel, but it was warm and pretty out so we didn't hurry.

The following day we went back to a couple of the sites to take a better look, we had to head out at 5pm to get back to the chunnel in time for our crossing, but we made time to stop by a bakery to get some french bread and fresh croissants to take home! All in all it was an amazing trip and we can't wait to get back to go in the Louvre and Notradame since we missed being able to tour inside those!

We're goin' on a safari!

Well it was our three year anniversary this week so we decided to take a weekend away. We went to a beautiful hotel near Stratford on Saturday after a long drive through the sunny countryside. We had dinner at the little indian place we stopped at on our vacation, and took a walk through the town. The following morning we decided to go to Woburn Safari park. It was alot of fun driving through the animal cages and then walking through the small animal park. We had a wolf run right infront of the car, and a big black bear too. Then while we were walking a big lemur jumped right at Geoff and then down onto the walkway running over my toes!! We were definitely there at the right time!

Sooo much to fill in, so I will back date some stuff!

OK - to answer a few questions:
- YES we are still alive!
- YES I do need to start updating this thing, and am going to make a real effort to write at least every other week!
- NO I still havent taken house pictures.. sorry!
- YES the conservatory is finished!

Did I miss anything?! I really am going to try to keep this some-what current so check back peeps :) For now I am going to back date a few entries to update you on some day trips and events and then I will be caught up and able to move on! So see you soon, happy reading... xx

Par-tay at the Penny Black!

We had a fun Friday out this week, we got to get together with some co-workers and hung out at the local pub. It was crammed with a million teenagers, but entertaining none-the-less! Everyone came back afterwards for some wii sporting contests and we had some crazy fun until 3:30 in the morning, bowling, golfing and playing tennis matches!!! It was the first time we have truly felt like we were back at home since we got here - and we are looking forward to checking out many more local spots :) Here are a couple of pics: one of Steve, Suela and us before we went out & Paul & Will at the pub!

Stonehenge with Jim

Well we drove down to Stonehenge today with Jim (our neighbor), when we left it was reasonable weather... but by the time we got there it was hailing and freezing so our tour was very quick!! There were plenty of crazy asian tourists there, but basically no-one else! We were planning on heading on to Salisbury afterwards but it was just too too cold so we cut the day short, grabbed some hot chocolate and headed home. Anyway here are some pics..

Yorkshire continued...

Day Two

We woke up early to a drizzly day and headed out to Thornton Abbey & Gatehouse. It was a pretty long hike out from the Gatehouse to the Abbey, so we donned our waterproof clothing and wellies and braced ourselves for the walk. There is not much of the Abbey remaining aside from a couple of walls, but you can see the groundwork of where it would have once stood. The Gatehouse on the other hand is still fully intact and it is HUGE! We walked up the hour floors and through the many narrow passageways and rooms. The wind was howling across the open fields and with us being the only two people there it was very creepy! There were also some interactive learning rooms and Geoff tried on the period clothing which was very entertaining!


















Our final stop in Yorkshire was Brodsworth Hall & Gardens. It was a private home that belonged to a once wealthy Victorian family, with the last heir moving out in the 1980's and donating the home in her will. The house retained much of its original characteristics as rooms had been closed off for years due to requiring too much upkeep, and the ever changing fortunes of the family. The gardens have been restored and are large and well designed to have flowers with every season. We both want to go back in the summer to see a more colorful bloom, although next time we will probably skip the house! All in all it was a fun tour but definitely not a must see on our list!

A couple of days in Yorkshire

Day one

We got up early and headed out to Richmond Castle. It is in the middle of a pretty market town right on the edge of the River Swale. Rumor has it that King Arthur lies in a cavern under the castle, but no-one has been able to prove or dis-prove it. The tower is over 100 feet high and the view from the top over the town was a step back in time! We were lucky enough to have sunny weather for the walk up to the tower and around the grounds, although the wind was freezing!





















After Richmond Castle we headed to Rievaulx Abbey - it was only supposed to be about 45 mins away, but driving on single track roads through the snow capped hills and national park made it take quite a bit longer!! This abbey is a MUST see - it is the most beautiful site I have seen to date. We walked around it and then headed up on top of the hill to take a look from the two viewing temples. It was a great hike around, and luckily the rain held off until right before we left!

Once we were done in Rievaulx we took a drive to the coast to Whitby Abbey - the inspiration behind Bram Stokers 'Dracula'... it is an eerie, Gothic Abbey - and the scene was set well since we arrived just as dusk was setting in. We just barely made it in to the grounds as we arrived 35 mins before closing (much to the delight of the teenage girl manning the entry gate), but since we were members we got to just wave our passes and go through! After a speedy walk around we jumped back in the car and took a coastal drive down past Scarborough Castle to our hotel.

Cruisin' through Cambridge

We took a week off of work since we already had a four day weekend, and decided to do some day trips around the country. We started in Cambridge for a day. I think it is by far one of the most beautiful cities in England. The students at Cambridge University aren't allowed cars anywhere near campus so there are hundreds of bicycles in the city center since that is the main alternative method of transportation. Some of the main attractions were King's College Chapel, Christ's College, Corpus Christi and St. John's College. The buildings are amazing, and with it being a sunny day there were a ton of people punting on the River Cam. Anyway, here are a couple of photos - enjoy!

To work I go!

Well I have finally started a full time contracting job as a housing assistant on base. It is good to get out and do some real work, and the first few weeks have been fun! Basically I get places ready for people arriving and organize departures. I move furniture and appliances in, get welcome kits and departure kits put together and delivered, and a multitude of other tasks! It is not a mentally challenging job, but it is actually quite enjoyable doing some manual labor and getting stuck in with the team! I am one of four new hires, and my new co-workers are a blast! The team is 7 people in total, but I think the older members are taking some time to adjust to the new energetic employees! Here is a pic of the four newbies working hard!

Shakespearian Stroll

We went out to Stratford-Upon-Avon today with our neighbor Jim and Tracy (a girl who was on a short work trip out here to help with Logistics). It was a pretty day, and we grabbed our passes around the historic homes and set out for a day of walking. We visited his birthplace, his wife's house, and his grave site.

It was amazing to see where he lived, wrote and worked. Most of the original furniture was still in the homes - and where pieces were missing they at least had things from the same period.

After our Shakespeare trek we had a late, late lunch in a local pub, and then took a stroll along the canal where we fed the ducks and swans. By this point the weather had turned very cold and windy, so we decided to head home before rush hour.

The First Emperor - China's Terracotta Army

Well I finally managed to convince Geoff that we should visit the British History Museum in London after reminding him that he saw the Terracotta Army on the Amazing Race and wanted to see it - so we got to go! Let me start off by saying that I LOVE the British History Museum, it is absolutely HUGE and has some awesome exhibits, but for those of you that are not big museum people it is probably one of your worst nightmares as it makes the ones in DC look tiny!!

We went down the night before and stayed in the holiday inn express on the outskirts of the city as we needed to make sure we got to the museum early (their special exhibit pre-sale tickets were sold out and only released 500 tickets a day on a first come - first served basis). The tube stop was right behind the hotel so we managed to get to the gates around 8:15 (the museum opened at 10, with tickets starting to be sold at 9:30), there was already about 60-80 people there, and by 9 the line was around the block!

We got our tickets and only had about a 20 minute wait before we could see the Chinese exhibit in the amazing 'reading room' - unfortunately for preservation purposes there was no photography - but take it from me, the terracotta pieces on display were breath-taking.

We are now both desperate to go and see the full army in China! No two of the soldiers are alike and the bigger models like the horses are so intricate and still have some preserved color its amazing!

After the exhibit we walked around some of the museum - we made it around about half of the rooms before heading home. I have included a couple of pics - but if you come visit you should go yourself to see how brilliant the whole place is!! LOL

Well I didn't get a puppy for Christmas, but...

... I got a baby bunny rabbit!!! We got a baby mini-lop - his name is Nibbles and he is the cutest thing ever! He earned his name within the first few days as he chews on everything. It doesn't seem to matter if it is hay, carrots, carpet, belt loops, fingers, or his cage - but apparently everything is tasty! Anyway, here are a couple of recent pics (including one with the edible hut Geoff came home with for him...!) - you have to come and meet him though cuz he is even cuter in person!!