London...it's so good!

We're Home

2009-12-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

For all or any of you still reading out there, we are home.

Living abroad was amazing, we covered 10 counties in 4 months, as well as extended site seeing in London. We will miss the United Kingdom, driving on the wrong side of the road and terms like Cheers instead of thank you...but home is in the United States with our families.

For everyone that read, commented and kept in touch with us on a regular basis while we were in London, we cannot thank you enough for being our anchors to home and raising our spirits when we missed your smiling faces.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year

Jen and Joel

Let it Snow!

2009-12-16T11:21:00.000-08:00

All week snow has been in the forecast and each day we have awakened to chilly temperatures and a few times rain. However this morning we woke up, and when we checked Facebook our friends were stating that there was snow. We bundled up and went outside to see snow falling on our street. It was so quiet and peaceful. It snowed harder as the day went on, and more is expected for this week. Never seen a white winter, and it's lovely, in bits and pieces.

Here is a picture a friend captured today of the snow, as I couldnt quite catch it on my camera, although I certainly tried.

Here's what the BBC has to say

BIG FREEZE FOR UK

Weather in the UK comes mostly from the Atlantic, bringing relatively warm, moist air. This week the air is coming from the east, where it has been sitting over very cold, dry land in continental Europe.

Eastern England showing feels like temperatures for Thursday

The brisk and dry easterly wind this week will make the temperatures feel quite different. For example an east coast day time maximum of 2C may actually feel like -2C once the wind chill effect has been accounted for.

As the cold, dry air from Russia travels over the relatively warm waters of the North Sea it will pick up some moisture, which will then condense as it hits the cold land of the UK. This will mean snow! Daytime temperatures will not rise much above freezing.

Last days of London

2009-12-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone

We have 8 days of London left, we have 6 nights of Hanukkah, Joel has 3 finals...and a partridge in a pear tree.

We are packing up our place to come home and looking forward to seeing everyone. In the last days we plan on doing some shopping and visiting a few last minutes spots we haven't had a chance to see yet.

There is snow expected this week, its COLD to say the least. We are really experiencing the "seasons" here...I rather like the normalcy of LA better.

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas

Jen and Joel

Winter Wonderland

2009-12-13T07:28:00.000-08:00

A group of us decided to walk around Winter Wonderland last week to see the sites:

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is 20 acres. There is an Ice Skating Rink, 95.8 Capital FM’s Giant Wheel and ever growing German Christmas Market.

There are plenty attractions, including the Power Tower, a 66m drop ride, a massive new Christmas Rollercoaster, the Black Hole ride - which twists and turns at breakneck speed in the pitch dark, a dinosaur-inspired Ice Monster which is experienced from the inside out, a Xmas Pirates Adventure.

Father Christmas now resides in his very own Santa Land circled by the popular Santa Land Express and containing lots of rides & games for the little ones.

Breakfast, Rain, London

2009-12-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

Just thought I would send a quick update. Nothing much has been going on as it has rained off and on for about 2 weeks now. Joel is in final crunch time mode studying and studying.

Today Caleb (another student at Joel's school) and I hosted a breakfast for all of the law school students. It was so much fun to really cook again. I made stuffed French toast with cream cheese filling, macerated raspberries and apple compote on the side. Caleb made Eggs Benedict with turkey, avocado and and homemade hollandaise quite a feet. We each cooked in our own kitchens and then hand carried everything over to the Pepperdine campus. Everyone brought juice and another friend Nicole brought fruit salad. It was a great morning!

Alright family and friends just 16 more days until we are back!

Sending you lots of love

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T04:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Family and Friends!

Joel and I missed everyone a lot...but we did get to celebrate a bit here. Our celebration officially started on Wednesday night when we went to see a play called the The War Horse.

It was very interesting an unlike any play we had ever seen before. The puppeteers working the horse were absolutely amazing.

Joel had to be in class all day and I had the traditional Thursday and Friday off. So Thursday morning I woke up early and made traditional stuffing (the kind my mom does at home) and put it in the oven. The house smelled like Thanksgiving all day which was nice. This is Joel Thanksgiving morning looking SUPER cute with his new haircut. (Sarah where were you when we needed you??)

Then we left to join the Pepperdine crowd for a traditional dinner in Imperical College (just across the street from the Pepperdine campus). We had a feast. We spent the evening chatting with friends and watching football on the big screen. After dinner a few friends came back and enjoyed an evening of hookah on our patio.

Friday we set off early with the Pepperdine crowd again, this time for a day trip to Windsor. Apparently the Queen really feels the most at home at Windsor and treats Buckingham Palace like an office. Before getting to Windsor we were taken to a JFK memorial. London gifted the US land to use as a memorial. There is a step for every year of JFK's life leading to a stone plaque in his honor. In the same area we also got to see where the Magna Carta was signed! Then we boarded the coach (not called a bus in London) and headed to Windsor. Windsor is both a town and the castle. We toured the castle starting with the Queen's doll house (which is a miniature of Windsor!) you cant take pictures but it was so amazing we did buy the souvenir book so we can share it will everyone when we get back. Next we toured the rooms of the castle, the most impressive being the Hall of Battle (where all the weapons are displayed so an enemy entering would be humbled by the power of the Queen). Other than that I really like Buckingham Palace and Versailles as far as castles go better. We then walked around the town and stumbled upon a place the served Turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwiches (which was amazing since we were all a bit bummed that we would not get these this year) and the best part was they had no idea that it was the day after Thanksgiving (they always have it on their menu).

Here is Joel enjoying his sandwich.

Saturday and Sunday have been mostly spent around the house as it is pouring down rain and Joel is studying for finals! Tomorrow we may venture out to see Tower of London (which houses the crown jewels!)

See you all in 3 weeks from tomorrow!

Christmas World at Harrods

2009-11-24T04:05:00.000-08:00

Last night Joel came home and said we should go to Harrods and pick our annual Christmas ornament. I thought we would find ornaments in the Harrods gift shop downstairs seperate and small compared to the rest of the department store. Just to make sure we asked where we would find ornaments, and were instructed to Christmas World on the second floor...Harrods does not disappoint.

This Christmas, Harrods is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz and Christmas World is divided into special areas, each echoing different themes from the film.

Peruse 2,000 decorations and festive gifts, including a selection paying homage to the Yellow Brick Road, Ruby Slippers, Emerald City and Somewhere over the Rainbow, plus traditional décor.

Joel and I will be headed back with the camera to show you how amazing it truly is. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukah.

The Ceremony of the Keys

2009-11-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

The Ceremony of the Keys is the traditional locking up of the Tower of London and has taken place on each and every night, without fail, for at least 700 years. The importance of securing this fortress for the night is still very relevant because, although the Monarch no longer resides at this royal palace, the Crown Jewels and many other valuables still do!

Nicole, a student at Joel's school wrote in for a group of us to do this, as it takes about 6-8 weeks to get tickets. We were at The Tower of London on a night with a full moon. It was an unforgettable experience to watch the ceremony and be a part of the history.

Here are some pics of the tower, and me with a beefeater.

Puttin' on the Ritz

2009-11-22T03:08:00.000-08:00

The Ritz is just 2 short tube stops from our house, but upon site seeing our first weeks in London we were denied entrance to even look inside, as you had to be up to their dress code to even enter. So try try again...

Several of the girls Joel goes to school with had mentioned doing a high tea in London in those first weeks here. So we decided once everyone was back from traveling we would arrange it. Last weekend was the last trip for us, so we returned our thoughts to high tea in London. Sasha (one of the girls) looked at The Ritz and booked us into the last spot the Ritz had available for while we were in London.

Saturday Hannah, Sasha and Stephanie and I all dressed up and met at the Ritz for tea. It is extremely proper so you much check your coat before being seated. Once seated in the golden inlaid dining room we were brought our tower of treats and given our choice of array of teas.

We tried, Lemon and Sage tea, Passion Fruit and Orange Blossom, Rose tea, Darjeeling, and the house special. The tower of goodies started with four different finger sandwiches for each, all on different bread, then we were brought fresh scones with jam and clotted cream and finally we were treated to two platters of mini desserts which we all shared. There were fruit tarts, napoleons, raspberry glaces, chocolate layer cakes, and fresh raspberries Chantilly cream on a pistachio cake.

Everything was lovely. We chit chatted and enjoyed out afternoon. Once we left we completed the day by doing some window shopping. London is all decorated for Christmas and we saw the most beautiful street all decked out.

Iceland

2009-11-17T05:52:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon we took off for Iceland on a 3 hour flight with 8 other Pepperdine students. We arrived in Iceland and took a taxi to our hotel. The cab driver played tour guide for the entire hour drive, which was very amusing but he did have a good bit of advice on a restaurant for us to eat at. So we dropped off our bags and headed out to see the city walking into the main square for dinner. Dinner was fabulous, everyone trying different Icelandic delicacies. There was puffin, whale and I kid you not rotten shark.

Saturday we slept in had breakfast at a hotel and walked the harbor of Iceland. We got back to our hotel just in time to change to go the Blue Lagoon. The Blue Lagoon is a man made lagoon attached to a spa, which is pumped full of natural hot spring water. The water is constantly replenished and runs between 100-110 degrees at all times. Iceland was sooooo cold this was an excellent way to warm up. Our pack of 11 got into the Blue Lagoon and quickly painted our faces with white silica mud masks (hey in Iceland...) anyway everyone was roaming around the lagoon together, neck deep in water with white masks on (boys included) it was sooooo funny. There was a steam room which we all enjoyed as well as we got to watch the sunset (as it sets at like 4pm there was only generally about 6 hours of daylight per day). We finished at the Blue Lagoon and got back to our hotel to catch the Northern Lights tour. Seeing the Northern Lights takes a bit of luck the atmospheric conditions have to be just perfect. We were very lucky and were able to see the Northern Lights that night. The light changes shape and moves; it's incredible. With the naked eye it looked like a bright blue/gray cloud, however Joel's camera was able to capture the slime green and vibrant purple colors. Joel really worked hard to capture the light as it takes a special technique with the camera and it was soooo cold and windy you could hardly stand, but the trooper he is stayed out there for an hour taking pictures.

Sunday we caught the golden circle tour. We started at a power plant, Iceland is completely green using the natural hot water springs as a power source. We left the power plant to see amazing waterfalls. It was extremely cold so we took all the pictures we could before hopping back on the bus. The next stop was to see that natural geysers. These geysers put Old Faithful to shame (I am told as I have not seen Old Faithful). They erupt about every 5 minutes or so shooting high into the air. The water is boiling hot, but it is soooo cold outside when it lands it would freeze on the ground. Finally we went to see where 2 tectonic plates are separating Iceland (actually causing it to grow 2-3cm per year). The area is quite beautiful and really looked like fall, trees with bright yellow and orange leaves, ponds, and of course the mountain-like plates on either side of us. Again a local suggested a Tapas place for dinner. So a group of us went there to again experience the amazing seafood of Iceland. The lobster was the best I have had. We finished the night hanging out together before having to get up in the morning to fly home.

Iceland is never a place I would have thought to visit but it was sooo worth it. That is our last official trip while we are here in London. We plan to spend the rest of our time site seeing around London and enjoying the amazing city we live in. Everything is decked out for Christmas, including Harrods with their amazing window displays set for Christmas with the Wizard of Oz theme. They have even gone so far as to change the white twinkle lights to green twinkle lights.

We are trying to stay in the moment, but looking forward to coming home to see everyone. I am sure Thanksgiving will be especially hard, but we will be with Pepperdine for a traditional dinner, a day trip to Windsor and to see a play.

Sending you all lots of love

Bonjour

2009-11-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

We took a train from London St Pancreas Station to Paris. It took a little over two hours. Once we got there we checked into our hotel and dropped off our bags. Joel and I wanted to see the Eiffel tower first so we hopped on the tube and took it to a viewing point of the Eiffel tower. It is absolutely breath taking.

We decided to go ahead and climb the tower. You climb 2 levels of stairs (major killer) and then take a lift to the top, over 900 feet above ground.

From there we went to the Arc de Triumph sooo amazing, you can see it from everywhere.

We walked from their down to Champs Elysees (the shopping is amazing- good lord what I could do with some money to burn). That walk took us to the Louvre gardens, and to the outside of the Louvre. It was getting cold so we left and headed back to the hotel. We got in and just really warmed up and headed back out to dinner. We ended up having a great meal at this Japanese restaurant-it was a total laugh watching Joel and I try to order Japanese food in french!!

The next day we started off at the Louvre. The Louvre is really cool, seeing all the famous works-its hard to believe they are real. We saw the Mona Lisa - honestly I would have to say I was underwhelmed...but there was some really amazing work there.

The Louvre is also connected to a mall, where they were opening the first Apple Store, the lines were miles long and the French were screaming and cheering! It was hysterical. From the Louvre we walked through Paris and saw Fauchon which is one of their famous food shops and La Duree, a famous patisserie. We also had Paris' best hot chocolate at Angelina. We made one more food stop at La Maison du Chocolat where we bought hand made chocolates including champagne truffles. We headed to Notre Dame and climbed to the top. The history is amazing there, and the bell tower is just unreal. The bell is over 13 tons. I felt like I was living in Victor Hugo's world. The gargoyles watching over Paris are absolutely enchanting.

We watched the sunset set at the top of Notre Dame and then made a mad dash to Museum d'Orsay which for me the highlight seeing Dega's Ballerina, as well as several of Van Gogh's painting including a self portrait.

After the museum we decided to head back to Champs Elysees for dinner, lets just say dinner was NOT good. When we got back to the room we had our champagne truffles and called it a night.

The next day we decided to take a day trip to Versailles. We took a train to Versailles. The chateau is soooo beautiful as are the grounds. The most amazing part was the hall of mirrors. If you get a chance google it or we will show pics when we can. The gardens at Versailles made the gardens at the Getty museum look like a preschool garden. Its unreal the sculpture and art involved in the landscape there.

Once we left Versailles we headed to the Musee Rodin where we saw The Thinker and Rodins Gates if Hell. To top off our day we headed to Mariage Freres the most famous loose leaf tea house in Paris, that has been around since the 1800s. We grabbed a bite on the street and headed back to the room for a quick rest. Because the Eiffel tower is celebrating its 120 birthday there is a special light show - so we went back out to watch the show. The Eiffel tower is even more beautiful at night all lit up. It was such a site to see it light up with different colors and effects. Of course we had to top off our evening with crepe stand treats, chocolate and banana crepes and fresh made churros.

The last day we were in Paris we decided to shop around the city. We went to some boutiques and walked around shops for most of the day - grabbing lunch in Fauchon before heading back to catch the train to London.

See our facebook pages for all the pictures

Holland, The Hague and Amsterdam

2009-11-02T04:45:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, we are just getting back and settled in from our trip to Holland I thought I would update you on our travels. Pictures will be up soon.

We left on Thursday night for Holland and got in in basically just in time to go to dinner and check in to our hostel. Joel's school had organized the trip so we were in a hostel but had our own room and it was much a like a bad motel, which was fine for one night.

The next day we got up early and went touring around all of the different courts in the Hague with the school. It was interesting but VERY tiring as I was in the process of coming down with a cold. Once we were done there we took a train into Amsterdam and had dinner as well as walked around the red light district. The red light district is unreal, you can buy pot and pot brownies from coffee shops, and get coffee from cafes, so you had to be aware of where you are going. Needless to say we stayed away from the coffee shops. Also there are all these windows lit by red lights with the prostitutes dancing around in bikinis selling themselves! I could not believe my eyes. There are gorgeous girls, fat girls, young and old.

So we left the red light district and headed to our hostel. We were sharing a room with 8 other pepperdine friends, which I guess better than sharing with 8 random people but the hostel was disgusting and I will never do it again. On Saturday we went to the Anne Frank museum which was amazing, the museum is actually the house she hid in and we saw her real diary!!! From there we did a walking tour of the city and grabbed some food. That night was Halloween so everyone got ready and we went out. We had a dinner of dutch pancakes and ice cream, and watched as our friends did a pub crawl. Everyone had a great time. Joel and some friends found a cigar place that sold cubans so they relaxed with a cappuccino and a cigar.

Sunday we went to breakfast for more dutch pancakes and then to the Van Gogh museum. His art was just amazing. He did over 800 paintings in just 10 years before killing himself. To see his original work was breath taking. It was rainy in Amsterdam so we got to the train station and ate and did one more walk around the red light district before heading home. Heading home is a process. We took a train to the airport. A bus to the other side of the airport, a plane into Gatwick, a bus from the plane to the terminal, another bus to the opposite side of the airport, a train to a tube station and a tube to a stop about 4 blocks from our flat. All said we left at 6pm and didnt get home until midnight! It was a long day.

We missed everyone and hope we get to talk soon. Joel and I will again be traveling this week to Paris, which I am really looking forward to!

Ciao Bella

2009-10-21T03:40:00.000-07:00

I am not sure where to begin, Rome was amazing, we saw the Colosseum, ancient ruins, Sistine chapel, ate delicious food, climbed the Spanish steps, saw famous fountains...then we headed off to Florence, where we climbed to the top of the duomo (amazing views and over 500 steps up and down for that matter) we saw the David, went to Uffizi museum...we did a day of Tuscany where we stopped in sienna, San gimignano (amazing wine and food) and saw the leaning tower of pisa. The next top was Venice where we saw the San Marco piazza and took a gondola ride at sunset.

Then we caught the cruise. The cruise itself was awful, I may never go on another cruise again, however the ports of call were awesome. We went to santorini and saw Oia village (the postcard town of Greece) and Fira village,

We went to Mykonos and had a traditional Greek meal, we then saw Rhodes, which is where my family is originally from, and we have our names on a plaque dedicated to those that were killed in the holocaust-It was amazing as my grandparents had done the same trip years ago and I grew up seeing those pictures.

The last stop was Dubrovnik which I am sure was amazing, but it was pouring rain and really windy and it was a Sunday so everyone was in church the whole town was closed up. We walked down the main street and saw the shops, and then walked on top of the wall of the old city-views were amazing-lagoons were unreal.

The pics we took are amazing, Joel's camera was awesome. So thank you to all who contributed. The album of pics is on facebook, because the files are huge. I am sure Joel will add some notes and his hilights of our trip.

For now just trying to settle back in, we have Amsterdam in a week Paris in 2 weeks and Iceland in 3 weeks...from there it will be a count down to come home.

Care Package

2009-10-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

A care package from home is the nicest thing! My grandma just sent us a Halloween snow globe(by my favorite-Jim shore) candy corn and toffee to snack on! Its officially Halloween in London. It looks like another box is on its way with hommade cookies! The best part was seeing a handwritten note. Its a lot of fun here, but we sure do miss everyone, and to have a such a nice suprise really made my day and warmed my heart!

Thanks Grandma!

More to come!

2009-10-01T08:57:00.000-07:00

So this weekend we have a day trip to Cotswold planned, and visiting the various museums and exhibits on the board walk at the Thames (sharks, Beatles, and Dahli).

Next week is the start of the travel break. Joel and I will be traveling to Rome, Florence and Venice before we leave for our Greek cruise. The cruise stops at Bari, Katakolon, Santorini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Dubrovnik before returning to Venice.

After that the next trips are to Paris, Amersterdam and Iceland. We are working on more but that's all for now!

Buckingham Palace

2009-10-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

Buckingham Palace is usually off limits to tourists. However while the Queen is on holiday in the summer in Scotland you can get a special tour of the palace.

The palace is lavishly decorated and just gorgeous to see. The rooms have amazing artwork, cutlery, and clocks.

My favorite was The Apollo clock , it shows Apollo in his chariot drawn by four horses, in all gold! Joel's favorite was a Rembrandt Self Portrait.

The rooms are actually used by the Queen, her family and guests so no pictures are allowed to be taken (we have a souvenir guide book with pictures for anyone to see when we get home. It really felt as the palace was actively used, as stated in all of the tours. Which was completely different from the feeling I got seeing the White House tour in DC.

The grounds are just as amazing as the palace. They are wide and expansive and completely block out any trace of the hustle and bustle of the city just outside.

Abbey Road

2009-10-01T06:59:00.000-07:00

Abbey Road Studios-The Beatles, recorded 90% of their recordings at Abbey Road studios. In April 1969, they came together to record their final album as a group and titled it ‘Abbey Road.’ This album became their best selling work and featured Abbey Road Studios and the now iconic image of the zebra crossing on the front cover.

On Abbey Road Studios they have painted over the brick wall, so you can write a message.

Everyone wants the shot like the album cover, what they don’t know is Abbey Road is a real street with a lot of very real traffic.

London Eye

2009-10-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

The London Eye-Amazing panoramic flight on the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel.

Joel and I decided to do the London Eye at sunset last Saturday. It was absolutely perfect and relaxing.

Museums

2009-10-01T06:22:00.000-07:00

There are three museums within walking distance of our flat. So far I have seen "bits and pieces" of two of them and absolutely love it! I am sure as the rainy season hits, I will be spending more and more time meandering through the museums.

The first one we went to was the Victoria and Albert Museum, but we really only saw about one exhibit before I had to get back to work.

Last week we started working our way through the Natural History Museum. It was absolutely fabulous.

Here is the entery to the museum and then you work your way down floor by floor.

The best of the museum by far was the amazing dinosaur exhibit. We have to get back as there was no way to see it all in one day.

The museum had a special butterfly exhibit call the Butterfly Jungle, that I was able to go to. You walked into this large hot house to see tons of different species of butterflies flying all over the place. The butterflies were as different and varied as you can imagine, stripes, spots, and realy exoctic colors. My my favorite was a blue morpho butterfly.

EU Trip

2009-10-01T05:52:00.000-07:00

EU Trip - short for European Union

I am sure Joel can add great insight to the reasoning for this trip and the various things we saw. So I am going to tell you about the craziness and beauty of the places we saw.

The basic premise was to see how the European Union worked by going to different courts and parliment. We started off in Brussels, went from there to Luxembourg, from Luxembourg to Strasbourg (now French but has been fought over so often between France and Germany the name itself is half German, Stras, half French, Bourg) and then back to Brussels. Needless to say we spent a lot of time on the bus and in trains.

In Luxembourg I didnt see much more than the main part of town and the hotel, however the hotel room we had was on the top floor with a wrap around balcony overlooking the city. It was stunning. The main center of town was hugely diverse, you could have any type of food you wanted and we able to view the town playing from sun up to sun down.

Strasbourg was like walking into a French movie.

Strasbourg was surrounded in wonderful pastry shops, history, culture and water ways. We saw a chapel that was contructed in the 1300s and took a boat tour that included the use of a lock!!! It was soo beautiful and a place I would love to get back to.

The best part of the trip for me was being back in Brussels just before leaving. We stayed at this 5 star resort call Be Manos, the rooms and bathrooms were sooo luxurious I did not want to leave.

Upon getting there and looking around in the city, we headed back to the the rooftop bar at the hotel. We all decided to get comfortable to enjoy our last night of the trip, all I can say is good times, good friends and great memories!!

London Antics

2009-10-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

Its all very different here. Like say you need to go to the store and stock up on necessities, as opposed to having to go to the store every other day. Joel and our roommate John decided to go to Tescos-similar to a large market (i.e. costco and walmart) with discount prices.

We orginally tried to order online but due the fun of a US credit card, and a UK verification process we couldnt get that to work. So the boys left, armed with their oyster cards (tube card) and duffle bags to bring the food back. Apparently their eyes were much bigger than their carriers. The guys came back with arms filled with groceries, bags tied together so they could be worn on their shoulders and belts! Then they had to get down to the subway (you take several flights down) and then out of the subway (several flights up)and then treck at least 6 blocks home. It was quite a site!

I mean imagine going to costco and then trying to get everything home without a car!

Bad Blogger

2009-10-01T05:38:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

I am just going to put it out there I am a bad blogger. So much to see and do and not enough time to write it all down. So I am going to start of easy with a quick general update on London and life here. Then I will go a little bit back and put on the EU trip and then hopefully that will catch us up just in time to be gone for Italy and Greece =)

The Mews-London has this adorbale cobble stone alleyways that are like a hidden network for getting around and avoiding busy noisy streets. The one we take from our flat to Joel's school actually makes you walk through what is called "the hole in the wall" just as you think you have hit a dead end you look to the right and there is a doorway that links you to yet another mews. Its very cool and you can see what London authors have such great imaginations. Secret passages ways, holes in wall, its all VERY clever.

Scotland

2009-09-14T02:51:00.000-07:00

So before we go on our next adventure, I should probably update everyone on our trip to Scotland. Jen wanted me to do it because the trip was really for me...far less a sightseeing trip and more a golf pilgrimage. It was my first Golf Odyssey, and like Homer's included both siren songs and multiple headed beasts. First, golf in Scotland is a different breed of golf that we are used to in the US.

Links golf is the original type of golf...a type that indicates rolling seaside holes that seems to be cut out of the natural surroundings. There was no course design 6 centuries ago when The Old Course at St. Andrews came into existence. Originally 22 holes (11 each side), it was Old Tom Morris who eliminated 2 of the shortest holes on each side to make the 18 hole golf course that is the world standard today. Links golf is meant to be played on the ground, through the use of shots that run on to the green. Links golf combines huge multi-tiered greens, bunkers that have nicknames such as "Hell" and require ladders to get down to the sand and deep grass and gorse (thorny) bushes on the edges of the rough. Then add wind and unpredictible and inclimate weather to all of this and you golf the way it was originally played...and still played in much of Scotland and Europe (although parkland courses--courses that are meant to be played in the air-- like we have in the US are becoming very popular).

Now with that introduction, on to my experience. I played four courses, the Jubilee course (named so because it created in celebration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee (25 years) as monarch of Great Britain) and The Old Course (named so because it is heralded as the home of golf dating back to the 15th century--it will be the site of the 2010 Open Championship) at St. Andrews. I also played Kingsbarnes and the Aisla Course at Turnberry (host of the 2009 Open Championship). I drove to Carnoustie, which was the site of the 2007 Open Championship (the British Open as it is called in the States) on Friday but it was closed due to heavy rains.

The Old Course at St. Andrews has been host to more Open Championships then any other golf course and for every golfer is a Mecca for which one must visit. My day on that hallowed ground begin the night before on Friday night when I found out that I had in every real sense won the lottery...my prize a tee time on The Old Course on Saturday morning. Golf in Scotland is viewed as a game for everyone (Keep in mind their most cherished and important tournament is after all an OPEN), it doesn't have the elitist persona that has developed in the US, case in point, even private clubs in Scotland allow the public to play on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All this to say that whether you are rich or poor, to play The Old Course you put your name/group on the ballot and hope to get selected for a tee time. I had one chance because of our traveling schedule and thankfully I along with my B & B mate from South Africa were selected for a 10:40 time on Sat.

Standing on the first tee of one of the most famous courses in the world, a course that I had seen hundreds of times on TV and played hundreds of times in video games, was nothing short of surreal.

Jen and I walked the course, playing the game as it was intended. It was very cool to have a caddie actually carry the bag, it is unfortunate that the professional caddie program in the states is not vibrant and often left to amateurs. I enjoyed every minute of my day on The Old Course, despite my golf game being left in the States, because I knew how special it was for me to be out there. I had no illusions that during those 4 hours, which felt like 10 minutes, I was very lucky. Lucky to have a passion for something even when its not going my way, lucky to be a golfer, and most of all lucky to be walking and playing golf with my wife on one of the grandest stage's in of all of golf.

Pictures of Turnberry in Ayrshire (pronounced Airshire) on the west coast of Scotland.

For the rest of the pictures look at my facebook page under the Album "The Home of Golf." CHEERS!

Peter Pan in the Park

2009-09-10T04:13:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Scotland but before we left for that trip Joel and I and some other friends treated ourselves to a rare play in hyde park. We all met at Joel's school and made ourselves a picnic dinner before heading off to Hyde Park.

This great play takes place in a circular tent and at the top are screens where they project scenery and images to carry the story through different scenes and stages. Peter Pan and a very different and wicked Tinker Bell fly the through the air. It was truly a whimsical fun expereince, which we all enjoyed. It was quite different from the Disney version, and seemed to embody London story telling.

I am sure Joel will want to share about Scotland so that is all for now!! Think magical thoughts.

Oxford

2009-08-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

No posts last week as we didnt do much but go to work and school. We did go to a great restaurant on Friday called Tom's Kitchen. Very pricey but worth every pence =) We officially had the best burger and fish and chips thus far.

Saturday a group of friends from Pepperdine decided to go to Oxford. So we set off of the train trip to see everything Oxford has to offer.

Christ college is famous for 2 things. Most recently for scenes of the dining hall in Harry Potter, and for being the place where Lewis Carroll was inspired to write the Alice in Wonderland stories.

In the picture on the bottom row hopefully you should be able to see the images of Alice and Wonderland, and then towards the top of the window pane Alice herself. They are tiny but they are there we promise!

Oxford has many many colleges built in it. Most of them, Like Christ Church, double as a place of worship as well as school. The seem to be set up with a quad in the interior.

The day continued with the group wanting to go punting-which basically is some sitting on a boat and one person driving the boat through various canals with what looks like a long pool cleaning tool =) We decided that we didnt want to take a chance on falling in (as many are prone to do) so we went to the botanical gardens directly across the street! They were amazing! Here is Joel with the punting canals behind him.

My favorite part of the botanical gardens was the section of sunflowers. This probably my most favorite picture Joel took.

From the botanical gardens we walked to New College, it was amazing, the schools in Oxford are just unmatched in the states, the living history is just unbelieveable.

We made one more stop before going to a pub for dinner, which was Oxford castle. We were all slightly disappointed as it had closed for the day and looked very much like a mall. Oh well ya cant win em all.

Dinner was at a place called All Bar One, where they served us the most amazing tapas, and cinder. Dinner was a mix of lots of laughs and good cheer as the pepperdine crowd continues to get to know each other.

More soon we promise, as this weekend we'll be off to Scotland for the most enviable golfing trip.

Movin' Out

2009-08-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been jam packed, as does every day we are in London. Saturday we said goodbye to the dorm we were living in and moved in to our flat in Knightsbridge. Joel and I and our roomies had a luggage caravan going through the streets of London, we were quite a site! We made it to the flat all in one piece and finally got to unpack. It was so nice to not have to live in a suitcase anymore. We have very nice accommodations here, and are getting used to living in London. Last night we decided to treat ourselves to a bit of luxury starting with a walk through Harrods. We only made it to the "Luxury Rooms" of the first floor, where Fendi, Gucci, Prada and Pucci were flying off the shelves as if they were being given away. Having left Harrods feeling a bit like a kid in a candy store we decided to have a bite to eat at, get this, an Italian Hookah Bar sidewalk cafe. We sat back and enjoyed the city and people watching over wine, Italian garlic bread and Hookah which they call "She-shah." It was a great first night. Today we finally got to see some of the site of London. After a week of running errands and finding a place to live we got to act like tourists. There are ton of amazing museums in London, and I hope we get to explore them all. We started with The Victoria and Albert Musuem today, looking through the history of fashion, as well as some "cartoons" of Raphael paintings. Then a group of us met in Hyde Park for a picnic in front of the serpentine lake. The weather was in the 80s with a light breeze so it was just perfect. After walking the park we headed to Buchingham Palace, the Queen was in but did not see fit to invite us in for tea. When going to Buckingham palace the flag is raised when the Queen is there. We saw the guards patrolling the gates and are looking forward to seeing a changing of the guards ceremony. From Buckingham palace we headed over to Westminster Abbey, Joel's and my favorite Abbey!! It was absolutely beautiful, but as it was Sunday we were not allowed to go in as there were services in progress. There was also a church just outside of the abbey, which had a window made for Catherine of Aragon-as a Phillipa Greggory reader I was super excited! As we came to the abbey we were able to get our first glimpses of Big Ben. Now we really felt like we were in London!!! Walking through London led us to the London Eye, which we hope to get to ride soon and a view of Thames River. There were many more museums and an installation of Dali-so many things to see, so little time. Most of us were getting a bit tired after a long day of walking so we made one more stop to Picadilli Circuis. We took the tube there and popped out in what looked like Times Square. It was amazing, theatres, stores and of course more museums. We called it a night and headed back to our flat where we made our first London dinner. I cant wait to get really set up for cooking here, and buying fresh produce for our meals.
Tomorrow is back to school. Joel has orientation-which I have been invited to and then classes begin Tuesday. We will post pictures in the next day or so but wanted to share the fun with all of you!

New Friends and Roommates

2009-08-20T06:41:00.000-07:00

The place that we found in Knightsbridge was amazing but the entry way and kitchen were shared. So I thought who better than to share it with than other Pepperdine Students. There is another married couple here who are very nice and I thought the front room would work great for them, they saw the place and they loved it.

Also they were friends with another student who also is very friendly and he loved the middle room.

So I am really excited because it feels like we will all get along great and we have a great place that is really close to school and in a great area. On an aside, I have really enjoyed walking around London, it is very beautiful and people really seem to be enjoying themselves.

Lastly, I have an interview tomorrow for a internship at a firm in "the City" (referring to the city of London in contrast to the commonwealth of London). It is for asset management and financial planning law, which is right in the same field of law as the private client work I hope to do at the firm back home next year. Check back soon.

We found a place to Live

2009-08-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hi all, so we have been here for two and half days. We have been waking up early and hitting the pavement looking for places to live. The weather has been amazing, in the 80's nice breeze. It reminds me of a New York day minus the humidity. We have walked ALOT. London is definitely a walkable city however, city blocks seem to be a bit longer than NYC blocks. There are lots of places to rent (let as it is called here) but many of them are not available for periods less than 6 months. It is amazing the cost of some of these flats. I saw a flat yesterday for £215/week (1.61 exchange rate=$355/wk or $1,540/month) that literally was a closet. I literally felt like I was in an elevator. Well we found a place in Knightsbridge, which we are happy about and looks like it will work well for us. It is a cool area, 1 block from Harrods and only a 12 minute walk to Pepperdine house. The kitchen and the entry way is shared but we have our own bathroom and a little outdoor patio. Well that is all for now, Jen and I will keep everyone updated.