Life in London

2009 in review (Jan - Sept anyway)

2009-12-28T10:44:00.007-07:00

Well, as promised - 2009 in review! I already did a review of the last 3 months being back home in my last post, so I am only going to cover my time in Europe this time. As a side note, I had a lovely Christmas and it was very white!

2009 once again saw me in 12 different European countries (kind of in order, I think): England, Switzerland, Poland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, Czech Republic, Monaco, Italy (for about 30 minutes!), Belgium and Germany. I'm pretty proud of myself because I exceeded last year's record of 11 European countries in less time and with only a few repeats! So, here they are all linked up, with a few extras thrown in for fun. For more details and pictures, check out my Facebook albums for each trip.

January - skiing in Switzerland

February - London snow storm

March - move to a new flat in SW London

April - Easter trip to the Cotswolds, day trip to Dover

May - day trip to South Downs Way, Poland - Krakow and Warsaw

June - 3 weeks at home in Denver :)

July - Paris for the Tour de France, 10 days in Scandinavia - Sweden, Norway, Denmark

August - day trip to Canterbury

September - Prague, Alsace, French Riviera, Monaco, Brugge, Munich, saying goodbye to London, Tara's wedding

I think this will be the final post in my "Life in London" blog. I hope everyone has enjoyed it! I might miss blogging, so stay tuned....maybe I will pop up somewhere else in blog land!

Farewell Tour

2009-12-18T13:16:00.013-07:00

WARNING: I have just discovered how to put links in my blog (thanks to Mom's help - when did she get more tech savvy than me??) so there are more links than might normally be necessary in this post!!

I've been feeling for a little while that this blog is not really complete yet. I haven't let you know about my last (big) trip in Europe!! But first let me update you on more recent happenings. Then, I'll cover what I call my "farewell tour". Hopefully before the end of the year I'll do a 2009 in review like I did last year and then this blog will be officially dead. But I'll leave it up and running if you'd like to peruse past photos sometime...

So I moved back to Denver in September. I can't believe it's already been 3 months! My return to the States started with a trip to San Diego for my beautiful cousin Tara's wedding. You can check out the pro photos here. (My camera broke on the last destination of my farewell tour...) Needless to say, it was a gorgeous day, a gorgeous wedding and I thoroughly enjoyed spending my first days back on US soil celebrating with my family.

Then it was right to Denver and right back to work the next day! I am working at a company called Liberty Global, which is the second largest cable TV company in the world. I work in the tax planning department which basically means I help the company make wise decisions tax-wise on pending acquisitions of companies, sales of companies and other restructuring within our company. We have only foreign operations, so what I do on a day to day basis is very similar to things I was doing in London. I work with two guys in my small sub-group and our whole tax department is closer to 15 people which is a great size. I am enjoying working in "industry" as opposed to public accounting and getting to know a new company is a welcome challenge.

I have attended some sporting events, even a Monday Night Football game courtesy of my new company. :) One thing I missed in London was American sports (if you recall, I went to the NFL in London last year) so I'm thankful I've already been able to get to some pretty big games. Ben and I keep busy with lots of remodeling going on, including the biggest project of the whole house: the kitchen! Much of the rest of the house is coming together and is drastically different than even 6 months ago when I last visited!

Overall, I'd say my life is pretty much "normal" and I've adjusted back very very quickly. I do have some pretty painful moments of missing London and my amazing friends there. But we have all been good about keeping in touch through email and Facebook and one of the perks of my new job is a high possibility of European travel. So as soon as I get pegged for one of those trips, I'm taking some extra vacation days and visiting everyone!!

I'm looking forward to a pretty peaceful Christmas season, with only Ben's and my immediate family in town. Even so, there is still plenty to do, particularly in this last week before the big day! I've always enjoyed these "quieter" Christmases without the hustle and bustle of out of town guests because there is more time to focus on the real reason for the season.

OK, the real focus of this post, none of the boring "life since Europe" stuff! My summer was pretty slow on the travel front, minus my big Scandinavian trip and a quick weekend in Paris. Oh, and 3 weeks in Denver. But anyway, relatively slow I guess. When I decided to move home, I also knew I wanted to take a big trip to tick a few more destinations off of my wish-list. So I set up an itinerary, bought Ben a ticket to London, made oodles of arrangements for flights, hotels, trains, cars, etc and then we were off! I am proud of my arrangements and organization for this trip, especially the prices I found considering how quickly I planned it. Guess it just goes to show some of the sweet skills I learned in London. :)

Our first stop was Prague, Czech Republic. This is a very popular desination for tourists and for very good reason. We loved the winding, narrow streets; the huge central square with churches, shops, food and an astronomical clock; the bridges over the river; the sprawling castle grounds and so many other things! We were both exhausted so spent a lot of time relaxing amongst our sightseeing. One day we even took a day trip to visit a church decorated entirely in bones of people killed during the Black Death!

Due to some airline going out of business (how rude), we had to do some last minute scrambling which included heading back to London for just one night. Not so bad in the grand scheme of things. Our next stop was in north east France, a region called the Alsace. It's a wine region nestled right up against some beautiful hills on one side and the German border on the other. The architecture of each village was amazing and we also enjoyed touring an old castle, originally built in the 1200s!!

Then we flew to southern France, hoping for a beautiful beach getaway in the French Riviera. However, due to high winds and not just a little rain, those dreams were a bit crushed. But we cruised around in the hills of the area (more like cliffs along the coast), explored in Monaco and around the Monte Carlo casino and even took a little side trip into Italy for a couple hours! The wealth in the whole area was pretty astounding, as evidenced by the cars in Monaco and homes all along the coast. It was a nice time and I'm glad I can say I went, but it was definitely a low point in our trip overall.

Next stop: Brugge, Belgium. Now before we went here, Ben was a bit unhappy about the fact that a) we were only going for 24 hours and b) he had never heard of Brugge and barely heard of Belgium. But it turned out to be fantastic and we wanted to stay way longer! Brugge is a small city about an hour north of Brussels. We flew up to Brussels and then boarded a train for the short ride. We thoroughly enjoyed wandering the streets of Brugge, snacking on Belgian waffles and frites (french fries, which the Belgians insist they invented). We ate 2 dinners because the food was so good there! We couldn't get enough of it and I definitely think this maybe somewhere we visit again. :)

Thankfully the trip just kept getting better when we headed to our last stop: Munich, Germany. I had made plans for this leg of the trip way back in February with my closest friends. I had no idea at the time that it would turn out to be a farewell trip or that this would be my last time to see them in a very long time. But, it all worked out and here we were all together in Germany! We had a fabulous weekend and I wouldn't trade my friends for the world. The highlight was staying in a very fancy hotel right by the train station where we were able to relax after a couple weeks of what felt like being constantly on the move.

The sad part about Munich is this is the city where my trusty camera broke. I've had the camera since right before I moved and ironically it died on my last trip. I had to rely on others for pictures which was also a great thing because there were others to rely on!

Ben went on to Zurich with my friend Brandi. (For pics of Zurich from October 2008, check this post out.) I returned to London for a couple days to wrap up loose ends at work, finish some packing and say some final good byes. Ben joined me for one more day in London and then we headed back late in September. I would say the farewell tour was a success and while there are still some hot spots on my list that I haven't gotten to yet, but I definitely was able to cover off some of the major ones and end my European adventure in style.

Announcement

2009-08-10T06:11:00.003-06:00

For those of you who don't know (or haven't heard from my mother), I've decided to move back to Denver! I have taken a job at a company in Denver doing tax planning and structuring work and am excited to move into this new phase. I'll be leaving London in late September, but only after I take a 2 week trip to some spots I have not been yet. :) After that, I'll head to my cousin's wedding in San Diego, then home to Denver for a day before I begin my new job. After I'm settled, I'll have to post my farewell trip photos and probably say farewell to the blog as my life will take on a much more mundane aspect I think... Thanks to everyone for following along with my adventures and encouraging me with sweet comments!

Le Tour de France

2009-07-31T09:59:00.003-06:00

Last weekend I took the train to Paris with some friends to watch the last leg of the Tour de France. It was such a cool experience to be standing on the sidewalk, watching the racers whizz by on their way to the finish!

Notice Lance Armstrong right in the middle of this photo - black socks and shoes, blue uniform!

Copenhagen

2009-07-24T06:50:00.005-06:00

In a drastic contrast to Oslo, I LOVED Copenhagen! The city was bright and friendly, had amazing architecture and such a fun vibe. It helped that the weather was gorgeous and I got to take a free canal boat ride all around the city. The buildings are painted all different colors and are well-kept. I have to rank Copenahgen as one of my top 2 favorite cities in Europe so far (tied with Krakow)!!

Norway - Voss, Geiranger, Oslo

2009-07-24T06:26:00.007-06:00

I have to admit that I find it harder and harder to blog since I post so many of my pictures to Facebook. I'm guessing that some of you out there aren't on FB or aren't my friend, so I do feel that I need to keep this up! However, if you notice the quality of my posts falling off from last year's, the reason is probably because I've already been messing with pictures I post here for close to 2 weeks and am getting a bit tired of it. :)

We traveled all over southern Norway it seemed! There aren't a lot of big highways, so I spent a lot of the time feeeling ill as the bus wound around curvy roads and up and down steep hills. We saw so much water, so many mountains and so many trees. The countryside was undeniably beautiful. The scenery was so dramatic and shocking at times to see the steep cliffs and water falls jutting right up from the sea-level fjords! There was quite a lot of rain and chilly weather, but that didn't really dampen our spirits too much.

We spent some time in some smaller places like Elverum, Voss and Geiranger before heading to Oslo. We went white water rafting in Voss, rode a train through the mountains and took a cruise down a fjord in Geiranger. We had to have a few ferry crossings as weel. Prices on everything are very high in Norway, even on gas which is interesting since most of Norway's riches come from oil!

I wasn't terribly impressed with Oslo (I think this might be the first time I've said this about my travels). It seemed very industrial and cold, but somehow was voted the 6th most livable city in the world, or something similar. There is lots of public art, most of a modern nature. Um...I don't have much else to say really! I'm sure there are nice things about Oslo and I was initially disappointed that we only had one day there. But in the end, I was happy to be making progress towards Copenhagen again.

Oh - almost forgot my favorite part of the trip! Bobsledding in Lillehammer!! We went down the actual 1994 Olympic bobsled track in a bobsled with wheels attached. We experience 4Gs of force and were going 100 km/hr. It felt like a super awesome roller coaster to me and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute (OK, second really since the ride was only 67 secs long!). I'd love to visit again in the winter and try it on ICE! :)

Stockholm

2009-07-24T06:21:00.003-06:00

After a bit of a delay, here is my official Stockholm post. Unfortunately, I rarely had internet after Stockholm so wasn't able to keep up to date as I wanted. Plus I was having too much fun enjoying the very light nights and getting to know my new friends!

Stockholm is a beautiful city with lots more history than I imagined. Like I said before, it is a great combination of old and new and has a very active feel to it. I spent two days there, wandering around, eating moose burgers, shopping and checking out the changing of the guard. Here are a few pictures from those days.

Oops

2009-07-13T13:14:00.000-06:00

So clearly I wasn't able to get internet access after the first couple of days. Plus, we were very busy touring! Anyway, I will post a full update (possibly in a few parts) sometime soon. But right now, I have some major work deadlines that need to be looked after...

Into Norway

2009-07-05T23:45:00.003-06:00

I spent yesterday wandering around Stockholm again, but this time with new friends! We visited the Vasa museum where an old war ship is preserved (it sank in 1628). Then we wandered around the old town and did some window shopping. We watched the changing of the guard and even had moose burgers for lunch!!

Today we head into Norway, first stopping at one of the largest lakes in Sweden (there are 10,000) for a picnic. Should be a long day of travel, but I'm looking forward to getting to know my new friends more.

Strolling in Stockholm

2009-07-04T08:06:00.004-06:00

Well, this is day 1 of my Scandinavian tour. I will be in Stockholm through tomorrow night, then we are headed all around southern Norway, back to Sweden for a quick stop and then to Denmark. I arrived in Stockholm this morning, but don't meet my tour group until this evening. So I took some time to wander the city on my own. Stockholm is made up of a bunch of islands and canals (check out a map-it's pretty cool looking!) and also seems to have quite a bit of forest around.

I got myself to the center of town and then headed out to one of the main islands which is made up of parks and museums. I had some lunch there, did some fantastic people watching and strolled around looking at the impressive private boats.

The people here are tan, fit, friendly and welcoming. The city is clean and proudly mixes old and new. Everyone seems to be active and there are lots of people outside enjoying the summer weather.

I'm not sure if I'll get to blog every day but I will do my best to keep this updated as I go along. Unfortunately no pictures because I don't have my own computer. :( I'm going to take a quick nap now since I've been up since 5 am and still have 2 hours to meet my new friends!

Happy Independence Day!!

Warsaw

2009-05-28T02:13:00.011-06:00

OK, so then we were in Warsaw. It was the hottest day of our trip, so finding the hotel with our bags was a bit uncomfortable. But we found it and got ready to head out. Our hotel was a bit east of the center of town AND there was a lot of construction going into town, so getting where we wanted to go was a challenge at first (and took awhile!). But we finally made it and were happy to sit down and check out some more yummy Polish food. Afterwards, we enjoyed walking around the Old and New Squares and taking in the culture around there.

There seemed to be a heavy classical music culture (of course, Chopin was from Warsaw) and always I was struck by the tenacity and courage of the Poles. The entire city of Warsaw was destroyed and pretty much evacuated during WW II. However, today it has been rebuilt to its previous glory and you would never guess that the city was literally a pile of rubble 60 years ago. That just goes to show that the Poles have a deep sense of national pride and put a lot of effort into rebuilding their lives instead of just moving on or giving up.

Royal Palace

Old Square

City Walls

New Square

On Friday we tried to visit the Russian bazarre but it was pretty dead and there was no English spoken anywhere, so it ended up being quite difficult. So we headed back to the Old Town and toured the Royal Palace. This building has also been rebuilt and restored and it was spectacular!

One of the many thrones

Some old masters (Rembrandt)

Magnificent architecture

After that it was time to head back to the airport and back to London. We were both very pleased with our trip. Ben was able to explore his homeland and is excited to return with his mom sometime. I had never really thought of Poland as a destination, but now I would recommend it (particularly Krakow) to anyone thinking of venturing to Eastern Europe.

Poland - as promised!

2009-05-27T13:33:00.023-06:00

I absolutely LOVED Poland! Perhaps it was because of the company, the nicer than normal hotel, the decent weather, the cheap food, the not too crowded cities or the Polish culture. Whatever it was, this was a great and FUN trip!

We started in Krakow on Saturday night (after Ben had flown all night from Denver the night before, poor thing) and headed straight out to check out the city. Then on Sunday we hit up all of the hot tourist spots in the main part of town - central square, castle, fire-breathing dragon (not real and not real big). We had some great food and made some new friends to boot!

Main square - centuries old and the largest in Europe

Castle hill

Looking over the river

Fire-breathing dragon (told you)

Tasty treat

Monday we took a small day trip out of town to visit the salt mine. The mine has been in operation since 1300 something (I think) and has 9 levels. We were able to visit parts of 3 of them, but only saw about 5%!! The highlight of the tour was a massive chapel in the middle that was entirely made of salt - the walls, the floors, the pictures, the statues - everything! We both thought the mine was pretty sweet, but were happy to be back in some fresh air and a little sunshine at the end.

One of the caverns finished in 1666

The miners made many statues throughout the mines

In the chapel

By Tuesday we were realizing that we were going to want more time in Krakow than we had previously planned (until Wednesday). So we arranged to stay another night in our hotel. Since we were traveling by train to Warsaw, it was easy to postpone buying those tickets. So with all of that settled, we set out to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau - the Nazi prison/death camps. This was a very sobering trip and it didn't help that it was gloomy and rainy most of the day.

Entry to Auschwitz I

Birkenau - much bigger and more morbid, if possible

The Nazis burned most of the barracks (each of which held at least 700 people!) when they retreated. These chimneys remain as a grim reminder.

Ruins of the gas chambers where many Jews were sent if they were deemed unfit to work

Thankfully we had ALL DAY on Wednesday to still explore Krakow! We did a lot more wandering, especially in and near the park that circles the middle of town. We also did some souvenir shopping and just enjoyed the day.

A cute restaurant

People watching

The Park

Grilling our own sausage

On Thursday we boarded a train to Warsaw. This train was different than the trains I use in England. It was much more "old-fashioned", if you will, as in it had compartments with 6 (1st class) or 8 (2nd class) seats and a door that opened onto the hallway. We traveled 1st class and shared our compartment with only one other person, so we were very comfortable. We slept quite a lot and watched the countryside pass. If you must know, it looks a lot like Wisconsin - lots of deciduous trees, mainly farms and some small hills.

I'm going to have to take a break and show you Warsaw later...but hopefully this is enough to keep everyone happy!

Kathy is...

2009-05-15T06:35:00.002-06:00

Going to Poland tomorrow!
Very busy at work, even though it's not busy season.
Not very good at updating her blog (but then again, she hasn't been farther than the southern suburbs of London since Easter).
Wishing it was warmer/sunnier in England.
Wondering if she's ever going to hit all of the must-see locations on her "list".
Ready to begin her summer travel season.

Pictures of Poland to come the last week of May!!

Easter in the Cotswolds

2009-04-16T06:02:00.011-06:00

I had the fun privilege of traveling with 4 of my friends (2 from work and their spouses) to the Cotswolds for Easter weekend. In the UK, Easter is a 4 day weekend and a lot of people celebrate by doing some traveling, even if it's not far. The train ride we took was just shy of 2 hours, but it was like being in a different world! The weather was "typical" English - cloudy, a bit rainy, with some spots of sun - but that didn't dampen our spirits.

On Friday after a yummy lunch at the pub we were staying in, we took a long country walk on some steep footpaths. The Cotswolds are very hilly and we experienced the hills first-hand while we were scrambling up the muddy paths and trying not to slip and fall coming down! There were lots of sheep around and even though it was raining, we had a good time and felt that we got plenty of exercise so we could justify a 3 course dinner. :)

Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day! We had arranged to rent some bicycles from a shop in another town so after breakfast, we headed over and picked them up. They gave us a very detailed map with several long rides through lots of villages highlighted. We had a fabulous time cycling up and down the hills (well, the uphills weren't too fabulous), checking out the villages along the way, taking lots of pictures of the countryside and enjoying the sunshine and sheep. I think we visited/cycled through 7 villages and they were all distinct in their way. We stopped in quite a few to do some extra "sight" seeing, including a long stop for lunch and a wander through the church in Chipping Camden.

On Sunday we celebrated Easter in the church in the village we stayed in. It was a traditional Anglican service in a beautiful building and I really enjoyed worshipping there! After church, we had a bit of a wander around, found some lunch and then headed back to London. It was a fantastic weekend and I'm so happy that it all went well and we were able to take a good break from the demands of London and work.

Dover Cliffs

2009-04-08T09:49:00.011-06:00

Last weekend I once again started my day trips around the UK. Last year I was able to start doing these almost as soon as I moved here, but this year my work schedule was quite a bit different in February and March so I had to delay until April. Thankfully, the UK has impressed me once again and I am ready for more and more day trips in 2009!

I went with a work friend, Lauren, down to Dover where we explored the castle and took a hike along the cliffs. Thankfully the weather was SUNNY and pretty warm, especially since we were outdoors all day and walked about 10 miles, much of it uphill it seemed!

The castle has been there for hundreds of years, but was especially strategis in WW II due to its underground tunnels and crucial look-out points over the Channel. We toured the tunnels and wandered around the castle grounds some after we had a brief picnic lunch. We were both antsy to find the cliffs and start hiking in the open though.

After getting some interesting directions, we walked about 2 miles, mostly along a country road that wasn't quite wide enough for 2 lanes AND us, until we got to the beginning of the cliff paths. By that time, clouds had entirely covered the Channel so it was very difficult to see past the ferry docks, let alone all the way to France! But we enjoyed a good hike and took some fun pictures - which hopefully you enjoy as well!

Entrance to the underground tunnels

View of the castle from the cliffs

Me on top of the cliffs with the Channel behind me

The White Cliffs of Dover

A view down to the beaches below - the cliffs were literally bright white!

And in case you didn't believe I have a friend......this is Lauren :)

New Digs in the SW

2009-03-21T04:36:00.010-06:00

I am all settled in to my new flat. I love the area and the commute has been easy so far (and no longer than my last commute). My flatmate is great! She is a flight attendant so is gone about half the time and when she's around is good to talk with and learn about the area from.

Speaking of area, my flat overlooks a private park which I walk through each day when I go to work. The park is beautiful and some of the trees are starting to bud so I know spring is coming! On the other side of my flat is a street that is completely lined with trees and lots of old-fashioned buildings. I live right across from a big, old church as well.

My flat is walking distance to lots of great parks and shopping and even some of the museums. Right after I do this, I plan to get out and do a little exploring on foot to see what I can find! I already went out this morning to the massive Tesco (grocery store) that is just 3 minutes away and was shocked at just how huge it was. I'm very excited to be in a new place, mostly because I have a new perspective on the city and get to explore new places!

Moving!

2009-03-08T07:38:00.002-06:00

As has been my habit over the last few months, I took a few minutes one day this week to do some online flat hunting. I came across one that looked perfect for me and contacted the lady. I figured since it seemed so right that it would already be gone or some such thing so tried not to get my hopes up too high! However, she wrote me back and set up a time for me to come by on Saturday.

I spent about an hour yesterday looking around and having a chat with Louise. I took the room on the spot and am moving next weekend! My new flatmate is fun and outgoing and is a flight attendant on big, long British Airways flights. She and I got along well and even though I am moving into somewhere smaller, it is a much better location and the whole situation will give me a new perspective on London that I've desperately been needing!

So on top of lots of work, I have a busy week of packing ahead of me. I am currently procrastinating by writing this blog, but I suppose I should get up and attempt to pack a few boxes... I'll give you an update and some new pictures after I get settled in!

I'm alive - don't worry!

2009-03-01T13:09:00.003-07:00

Some of you may have been wondering where I've disappeared to. The answer is - my desk. Even the porter (doorman) in my building saw me yesterday and asked if I had been gone somewhere because he never saw me coming home from work! This has turned into my busiest busy season yet but it's not all bad. I have worked some very long weeks and my brain is beginning to turn to mush, but I have learned a lot and feel that I'm settling into my new manager role.

So I haven't been able to take the day trips I was fortunate enough to take last year, or even wander around London. My weekends are generally spent at work and if I do have some spare time, I usually nap, read, catch up on emails or buy milk! The simple things. The truth is I have come to the point where I am exhausted mentally and physically, so the few hours I get on Sunday after work are so very precious.

Right before all of this started, we had a snow storm in London. It made international news, so I'm sure you heard about it. It wasn't very much snow by my standards, but it was so beautiful to see all over the city. Plus most of the transportation (well, the above-ground stuff anyway) shut down so most of the city had a snow day and I enjoyed watching people have fun in the park.

Well, I was just going to upload a picture of the snow, but apparently I don't have any and I'm too comfortable on my bed to go see if they are on my camera. Sorry, perhaps another day! For now I am going to concentrate on getting into bed and doing my best to have a good night's sleep before another very busy week.

Skiing in the Alps!

2009-02-02T06:12:00.002-07:00

Last weekend I took another girlie trip to Switzerland and this time we went skiing in Davos. We were there just before the World Economic Forum, but didn't manage to see any famous movers and shakers. But we had a fantastic time skiing and enjoying the town. The weather was perfect all around - enough snow to have great skiing and enough sun to enjoy the lovely days.

Colorado Christmas

2009-01-10T03:58:00.017-07:00

Just a note: I have formatted this NUMEROUS times and Blogger won't cooperate. So I'm sorry that the words get a bit out of whack farther down the page. :(

Every other year my mom's familiy all gets together for Christmas in Colorado. 2008 was a Geary family Christmas year! I was happy to be able to see all of my family at once after being away for so long...especially since they had all gotten together over July 4th without me! We always have a good time eating and catching up, as well as doing fun things together like shopping, movies and skiing.

This year was no exception as we all scored tons of presents (I brought everyone presents from around Europe which were a BIG hit!)...

had a great time laughing together...

cooked and ate more than our fair share of food...

went to tea...

played the wii...

rode the ski train to Winter Park...

did some skiing...

and generally did our best to stay warm!

2008 in Review

2009-01-04T12:12:00.018-07:00

Well, it's a few days late, but here it is as promised: 2008 in review!

As you know, I started 2008 in Denver and moved to London at the end of January. Since living in London, I have visited 11 European countries (in order of my visits, as close as I can remember):

*England

*France

*Spain

*Portugal

*Hungary

*Italy

*Greece

*Wales

*Switzerland

*Scotland

*Spain (again)
*Germany

In England, I have taken multiple day trips to places like Bath, Oxford and Cambridge (along with a few others) and a couple of weekends away to Cornwall.

I went home in September for a weekend and just returned to London today after 4 weeks in the US attending training and visiting for the holidays.

I have enjoyed my job at Deloitte doing US corporate tax and just received a promotion to manager which I am really excited about!

I have had visits from Rachel, Aimee, Sarah, Sandra, Kara, Jessica, Ben, my parents and Craig and met up with Jess and Jaime in Athens. Forgive me if I've left anyone off...

All in all, I am very thankful for 2008 and the blessings I had! I am looking forward to some more big trips in 2009 and will of course be sharing them with you here!

Christmas Festivities

2008-12-19T10:56:00.001-07:00

Before I left London, I was able to join in on a few Christmas festivities. We had our office Christmas party which was a lot of fun. Also, I went ice skating at an outdoor rink at Somerset House. The night was beautiful and I had a good time skating and meeting new friends. Earlier that evening, I went over to Sarah's and she and I enjoyed some Christmas treats and a chat before I left London for the holidays.

Since I've been back in the States, I've been in Denver, Scottsdale and Las Vegas! I just missed the snow in Las Vegas (that would have been festive!) but it was pretty chilly when I was there anyway. I love that all of the casinos are decorated so beautifully for Christmas. I always enjoy the Bellagio fountains and so it was an extra treat to have the show set to Christmas music! Now I am back in Denver - working, visiting and getting ready to celebrate with my family next week.

I'd like to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Happy New Year as well. May you enjoy making many happy memories with your family and friends this year!

Nuremburg, Germany

2008-12-04T06:57:00.009-07:00

Well, here it is everyone - my last European trip of 2008. *tear* I had a fabulous weekend in Germany with my friends the Wildes. You'll recall that they are my friends who I met through a mutual friend when I moved here and they have been SO good to me. Sarah regularly cooks me fantastic meals and we shop and relax and go to church together. The Wildes let me stay with them when I was homeless for a week in February and they have never stopped being amazing to me. In fact, tonight we are going to have a quick Christmas get-together so I can see their decorated apartment and try minced pies for the first time!

Anyway, last weekend Sam, Sarah and I went down to Nuremburg, Germany to visit the Christmas Market there. Germany (and some surrounding countries) are famous for their Christmas markets and Nuremburg came highly recommended. There are many traditional German gifts and food items and we just wandered around for hours soaking it all in. And stimulating the European economy, of course! I'm so excited to give my family the gifts I bought! Enjoy the pictures of the market and the town.

I head home on Saturday for 4 weeks in the States to work and celebrate the holidays. I have been busy this week with packing and organizing for that trip. While I'm there I'll post some about my Christmas festivities in London as well as things I'm doing at home. Plus, I've been thinking of a 2008 year in review with a few select pictures (that you've already seen)...stay tuned!

Granada, Spain

2008-11-14T09:54:00.018-07:00

Last weekend I took a quick trip down to the south of Spain. It's been sinking in more and more lately how lucky I am to just be able to jump on a plane and spend a couple days in a completely different country! It's not that I ever took it for granted really, it's just been something I've been thinking about.

Anyway, I went down to Spain with Chad and Laurie who are friends of mine from Denver who also live in England (but not London so I don't see them often). Chad had studied for a year in Granada so knows the city and the area well. It was so nice to have a tour guide and we were able to check out a lot of his old haunts. It was a pretty laid back weekend. The biggest thing we did was explore the Alhambra. Then we wandered around a couple of the areas of the city and ate tapas and watched the sunset.

On Sunday we drove back towards the coast and enjoyed some time on the beach! I always love places where you can be in the mountains and on the beach in the same day and the south of Spain is like that!

Enjoy the pictures...I only have one more European trip before I head home to the States for about 4 weeks. I'm sure I'll be updating from there about my holiday experiences in London and at home.

P.S. I am doing this at work since my internet at home is out of commission for a bit. The upload speed is WAY faster here so there are more pictures than usual (and in no particular order)!

Are you ready for some football???

2008-10-28T13:41:00.004-06:00

The NFL came to London this past weekend. I am a big football fan and my team is the Broncos. Unfortunately the Broncos weren't scheduled in London this year, but the Chargers and the Saints were. I bought tickets months ago and woke up SO excited on Sunday! I miss football and even though I try to watch the Broncos game online each week, it's just not the same as watching in the States or going to a game.

The vibe here in London was a bit different than at home. There were a lot more Brits there than I would have thought and a lot of them were wearing various team jerseys. It was a Saints home game and they ended up with the win after a really good game. Wembley Stadium is massive and is part-covered so that was nice since it was raining earlier in the day. Game time weather was nice and crisp and I enjoyed every second!

Wembley

Pre-game show

Great seats at a great game!

Scotland

2008-10-24T13:17:00.011-06:00

The next weekend my parents visited, we headed up to Scotland to explore my Mom's ancestry. Her grandfather lived north of Edinburgh until he emigrated to the US in the early 1900s. We stayed in another lovely B&B in Edinburgh and explored Edinburgh and quite a bit of the surrounding area (by car again!). We went to my great-grandfathers home town and saw the street where he lived.

There are TONS of castles in Scotland! We went to 3 of them - 1 in ruins. We also visited the golf courses at St. Andrews and Glasgow. My favorite was just wandering on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and checking out the shops and watching the bagpipe players. Everyone we talked to was so nice and the countryside was beautiful!

Edinburgh Castle

At the Palace of Holyrood Place

Stirling Castle views

Cathedrals in Glasgow and Edinburgh

On board the Royal Yacht Britannia

Now that I've been away for the last FOUR weekends in a row, I'm going to stay in London for two whole weekends! I am looking forward to sleeping in, relaxing and enjoying what's going on in London (like the NFL game this weekend!). My next trip will be to Spain with my friends Chad and Laurie...stay tuned!

Cornwall - and my first English driving experience!

2008-10-24T13:02:00.009-06:00

Well, my parents have just gone back to the US after visiting the UK for 2 weeks. They enjoyed their visit very much and were able to see a lot of things. But I think they got an understanding of how MUCH there is to see and do here as they still have a list of things to do! See why I live here? :)

The first weekend they were in London, we took a driving trip down to SW England. You might remember Cornwall from when I went for my friend Sarah's birthday in July. This was my first time driving in the UK and I was a little bit nervous at first, but also very excited!!! If I must say, I thought I did a pretty good job, especially as I had to drive in London, on the motorway and on some pretty narrow roads.

We had a great time exploring the coast. We hunted out a castle that my Vawter ancestors had built in the 1200s after they were given some land from William the Conqueror. That was a cool experience even though the castle isn't open so we had to figure out other ways to see it!

We stayed in a really lovely B&B. I drove quite a lot on Saturday and I was exhausted at the end of the day! I experienced some very interesting roads and rode on a ferry and didn't kill anyone. So it was successful. We explored several towns along the coast and enjoyed the unusually beautiful weather!

Zurich

2008-10-08T12:24:00.018-06:00

Here begins my new-found love for Switzerland. I only spent 2 1/2 days in Zurich (and I'm told the country side of Switzerland is so much better than the cities like Zurich), but I am already totally in love. Perhaps it has to do with the mountains and sunshine, which remind me of Colorado? It certainly doesn't have to do with the overly friendly people (because there are none). Maybe it's the German language that I have a hidden love for as well. Whatever it is, Switzerland is my new favorite European country.

Zurich is a very clean city and very efficiently run. The public transportation time tables are all linked together so you never have to wait long if you need to transfer. Zurich is a main transport hub so there is a fantastic airport and 2 big train stations. The shopping is fantastic - ranging from H&M to Prada, Gucci, etc.

Two things Switzerland is famous for: cheese and chocolate. Both are amazing! The Swiss eat their fondue with only bread, no veggies and meat like Americans add in. Also, they would probably frown upon a chocolate fondue.

Zurich has a lake and a river (maybe 2 rivers actually?) The lake looks out towards the Alps and the river runs through the center of town, dividing the old and new parts. There are also several Reformed churches which are not quite as overwhelmingly beautiful as Catholic churches, but have many beautiful aspects in their own rite. One church has some beautiful modern stained-glass windows that I probably could have stared at for ages.

I was in Zurich visiting a friend who moved there from London. I went with two other good friends from work in London and we had a fantastic, girly weekend together. On Sunday we took a day trip to Reinefalls which is a bend in the Reine River where there is a BIG waterfall. It was amazing to us Americans how close we could get to the water without lots of barriers or plexi-glass or something. It was so enjoyable to be in the sunshine enjoying Creation with friends! I will post a few pictures from that for you to enjoy.

A visit with Shakespeare

2008-10-02T13:41:00.009-06:00

Well, not literally. Last weekend I went to Stratford-upon-Avon which is the birth and death place of Shakespeare. I saw several houses and sights related to his life and also had the opportunity to catch up with Denver friends Chad and Laurie. They live near there so we spent the weekend together. On Sunday we visited the Black Country Living Museum and learned about the lives of coal miners and their families in the mid 1800s to early 1900s. There was a whole village set up and lots of very knowledgable guides and actors. The only downside was the cold and rain - I guess autumn has truly set in to England. :(

Next week I promise to have more exciting non-England pictures as I start back into my European travel with a trip to Zurich this weekend!!!

The house where Shakespeare was born

A lot of the town was preserved/restored like it was in the 1500s

The farmhouse that belonged to Anne Hathaway's family. Anne was Shakespeare's wife

London Open House

2008-09-21T02:08:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I visited some buildings as part of London Open House, which is a celebration of architecture in London one weekend a year. I met up with some work friends and saw the Bank of England, Royal Courts of Justice, the old Daily Express building, Dr. Samuel Johnson's house and Benjamin Franklin's house. It was a beautiful, sunny day and we had a good time beefing up on history and walking where many important people have walked.

Inside of the Daily Express

Ben Franklin's London house (first American embassy)

Mandy's Wedding

2008-09-18T13:15:00.008-06:00

Well, as you can see from the silence on my blog lately, I have been sticking close to London and taking care of business (literally, it's busy season). Plus, my weekends have just been full of other fun and exciting things...I just can't think of what right now. Anyway, about 2 weeks ago now I took a super-fantastic trip to HOME!!!!!

My friend Mandy was one of my first friends after I moved to Colorado. She and I were in the same high school class and when there are only 5 girls in the class, you tend to bond. She and I continued to be best of friends throughout college even though we were in different places and we moved into our first apartment together back in Denver after graduation. At the time, I was in grad school and she was starting her job at Lockheed Martin. We lived together for a year before I moved downtown to be closer to work and away from the suburbs. She happens to like the suburbs, so she stayed. Shortly after that, she met Danny through friends and they were engaged this past spring.

Now I'm not the sort of girl who LOVES weddings or has everything planned down to the minutest detail for my own, but Mandy and I would occasionally talk about weddings and we both knew that we wanted each other to be a big part of our special days (we are a little bit girly!). Mandy emailed and then called with the news of her engagement and asked me to be a bridesmaid. I knew it would be very difficult because of the timing (September is a MAJOR deadline time in US tax) and the cost of a plane ticket. I hmmmed and hawed for several weeks but finally had to just say I can't commit to being there. It was sad for both of us, but we kept in frequent contact and I helped the best I could with the decisions and listening to endless options regarding every aspect of the day.

WELL, about a week before the wedding, a sale popped up on tickets to Denver that I just couldn't resist. I had continued to look for tickets because I hadn't yet come to grips with not being there for her, even if I wasn't going to be standing beside her. So, when a ticket that cost only $480 (not kidding) came across, I jumped on it. I didn't tell Mandy I was coming, but made arrangements with her family.

I can't tell you how excited I was to go home! After a long, sleepless plane ride, I came into Denver on a Thursday night and was picked up at the aiport by a friend because I was also surprising my mom. Friday morning I drove up to my mom's house and surprised her (after some prodding to get her to come to the door) and spent some time catching up with her (and the piano). Then I headed down to Mandy's. She was completely surprised and even stared at me for a couple seconds as if she didn't know who I was! We had a great day together finishing up some final things, going to lunch and chatting.

I also caught up with some old work friends, helped out at the wedding Saturday morning, attended the wedding (of course), had a couple really great dinners at restaurants I had never tried (hooray!!!), went to church, had lunch with my brother and watched some of the first week of the NFL! I loved driving again and playing the piano and hearing the office gossip from the Denver office. I had way more fun than I had ever imagined before I went back to Denver and it was very tough to board the plane back to London on Monday. But I know I am also enjoying seeing new and different things here and I'm not done with that yet!!

This turned out to be a much longer posted than I anticipated, but I'll leave you with some pictures from the wedding...Stay tuned for updates from my newest travels which will start up again next weekend!

You know the saying: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue? Well, most of us lop off the end that says: And sixpence in her shoe. Mandy's friend Mary remembered this part and I happened to have 6 pence in my purse. (There is no longer a sixpence coin, but 5 pence and 1 pence work.) So Mandy glued these to her wedding shoes - how fun!

The wedding party

Mr. & Mrs.!

This is me with Mandy and our friend Joleen - we have all been close since high school. Joleen just got married in May. And, yes, I am MUCH taller than either of them (to be fair, Mandy had her shoes off and I didn't).

Bank Holiday Weekend

2008-08-25T13:22:00.003-06:00

Sadly, I don't have too much out of the ordinary to report even though today is a public holiday in the UK. The August bank holiday is much like Labor Day in the US, although this year it's a week earlier. It signals the end of summer and the beginning of a new school term. Many, many Brits go "abroad" (usually meaning to somewhere in continental Europe) for a last shot at the beach or at least somewhere warmer than the UK. This is not a tough goal to meet as temps have been steadily in the (very) low 70s if not cooler for a couple weeks now.

On Saturday I started out with a tour of Kensington Palace here in London. Kensington was Princess Diana's home and has been in the royal family since the 1600s when it was purchased by William I (? or III?). Anyway, it was where Queen Victoria was born and lived before she became queen and also King William III and Queen Mary ruled from here for a time. There is lots of history AND they had a display of the last debuntantes in 1958. It was interesting to learn about the debutantes in Britain and the end of that era.

Sunday I had many intentions of continuing my royal weekend. I ventured out to Buckingham Palace in the morning and found that there was going to be an Olympic handover ceremony that afternoon. Interesting. I went to get in line to get tickets to the State Rooms at the Palace. They are only open in August and September each year. However, the line was very long and I found out that I wouldn't be able to get into the Palace for at least 3 hours. I was by myself and didn't think that sounded like a fun way to spend my day. SO I headed over to Oxford Street, which is one of the main shopping areas in London. Generally it is overrun with people, especially tourists, so I tend to stay away. But I knew I would be getting there right when the stores opened and it was threatening rain and it's bank holiday so I was hoping to avoid the normal mayhem. Plus I needed to run an errand there anyway. Well...3 or so hours later I ended up finishing my errand...with several shopping bags in tow! So I guess staying in London to try to save a bit of money over the weekend didn't pan out quite as I had hoped. But I got some really cute shoes. :)

Today I had to do some work since I had been away at a training Thursday and Friday. Since it is a holiday I can use this time for another day off some other time when I can actually take it. So it was a nice, quiet weekend with some touristy things and shopping thrown in as well. Can't say I can complain!

Cardiff

2008-08-18T01:26:00.004-06:00

So I've been thinking that I don't have any overseas trips planned for August. That wasn't acceptable as I have been out of the country at least once every month since April! So yesterday I decided to take a little trip to the country of Wales. It's not out of Great Britain, but it IS out of England. :) I took a bus tour (3 hour drive each way) and spent a few hours wandering around Cardiff. There is a castle there and a huge rugby stadium as well as a bay area that is very developed and lots of shopping. It was a great city to visit for a day and I'm glad I did it!

London!

2008-08-08T12:08:00.003-06:00

I have been thinking the last few days about how I have a blog entitled "Life in London" but very rarely do I talk about my life in London. Since I haven't been anywhere more exciting than west London lately, I thought I'd do a post about my life here.

I've been living here for 6 months now and feel that I have adjusted pretty well. Every so often though, I am thrown for a loop by something I haven't encountered before. Often it has to do with government or bureaucracy or how to act in certain social situations. London is an incredibly diverse city so just about anyone can fit in here quickly and easily. I do still find myself a bit embarrassed of my accent at times, though at least I speak up more than I did when I first moved here.

Things I like/love about London:

Ability to travel in Europe easily (and relatively cheaply) - this, of course, is the reason I moved here
Walking through various neighborhoods and wishing the 200 year old houses that have been shops, pubs, houses, servants quarters and modern flats could talk to me
The diversity and acceptance that it's OK to be from somewhere different and have a different background than other people
The train services to the countryside

Things I dislike/hate about London:

I miss my car so much. I feel like I am 14 again and totally dependent on others (even though now it's the bus driver instead of my parents or older friends). Sometimes I just want to DRIVE.
The weather. Everything you've heard is true, except it doesn't rain EVERY day.
The tourists, especially Americans
The cost of living
The health system, my doctor in particular

I don't think I will ever tire of the view of St. Paul's from my seat on the top floor of a double-decker bus every night on my way home from work. And hopping a plane and being on a Greek beach within a few hours isn't too shabby either. Unfortunately, I can't call London home and I don't think I ever will. But I am glad I made the decision to live here and being here has given me experiences I never dreamed of five years ago.

Athens and Aegina

2008-07-27T09:30:00.012-06:00

Sorry it's been SO long since I posted! I was away (to Athens obviously) and before and I after I went, work has been bearing down on me with a massive deadline this Friday. So I haven't had much time of my own to tell you about Athens.

I LOVED Greece!!! I definitely cannot wait to go back...hopefully soon. I went down to Athens on a Wednesday evening and met up with my friend Jess and her sister Jaime who had already been there all week for a conference for Jaime. Unfortunately, Jaime was sick the whole time I was there, but I was able to get out and see the city and meet up with Jess when she could join me.

This is a view of the Acropolis (the Parthenon is the biggest building) from one of the nearby hills

The food was absolutely amazing and I tried everything I could! I really wish I could share the sounds and smells (mostly good) of Athens with you. There always seemed to be something yummy cooking and the people were so friendly and eager to share their culture with visitors.

I spent quite a lot of time just wandering around the city and trying to find shade to stay just a little bit cooler. Thankfully the heat wasn't totally unbearable by the time I got there, so I was happy to get some time to spend on the beach on Friday morning. That afternoon I visited the Acropolis area and got my ancient culture for the trip. ;)

Jess and I spent the evenings doing more wandering up hills, watching sunsets and enjoying fantastic dinners. My hotel had a great rooftop view of the Parthenon/Acropolis area.

On Saturday we took our much-anticipated jaunt to the island of Aegina (pronounced EGG-ina). It is the closest island to Athens and therefore easy to do in a day. We enjoyed the beach, the ancient ruins, wandering the side streets, people watching and eating seafood! We tried octopus and ray and had a good time enjoying the sunshine and the water all day long.

I was sad to leave. Especially because it was about 90 degrees when I left Athens Sunday morning and about 65 and windy when I arrived in London! Thankfully, London's weather has been fantastic this week and today I had a great time with a picnic, swim and sun bathe with my friend Sarah in Hampstead Heath. The British summer has finally appeared, but there is no telling how long it will stay!

Cornwall

2008-07-15T14:58:00.004-06:00

I went on a last minute trip this past weekend to Gorran Haven, Cornwall. Gorran Haven is a small village about halfway down the county of Cornwall right on the coast of England. We went down to celebrate my friend Sarah's 25th birthday with her family and her husband's family. Even though the weather was a bit on the chilly side, we had a great time on the boat, picnicking on the beach and even swimming! It was so fun to visit a little village and experience life there for a couple of days. Plus, I finally got to take a trip in a car instead of a train or plane!

Oxford

2008-07-09T13:57:00.003-06:00

On Saturday I went to visit the town of Oxford. The main attraction is Oxford University, which is made up of lots of small colleges. I only visited Christ Church College and then spent time reading on the riverbank and wandering around the town and the market. It was a pretty day, but prettier in London, so I didn't stay long in Oxford and ended up coming back to London to enjoy the warm sunshine (it is fairly rare for it to be warm and sunny in the same day) for the late afternoon. It stays late until after 9 PM this time of year, so it is fun to enjoy evening sunshine and long days.

The Championships, Wimbledon 2008

2008-07-06T05:27:00.005-06:00

I went to Wimbledon TWICE last week! There are a few ways to get tickets to Wimbledon and I utilized two of them. One of the more fun and generally known ways it to stand in line whatever day you want to go and wait for people to leave so that you can buy a grounds pass. That gives you access to all of the outer courts and the hill where there is a big screen TV playing the Centre Court match. From there, you can also stand in another line and try to buy tickets to Court No. 1 or Centre Court as people leave their seats there. Another way to get tickets is on Ticketmaster the night before.

Monday I went and stood in line with friends from work and got onto the grounds. The Centre Court match was very popular so we weren't able to get actual seats but we watched a few of the outer court matches and also watched the TV on the hill. It was a beautiful day and I was completely hooked on Wimbledon!

Since there were some big matches on Wednesday (men's quarterfinals), I decided to cough up the money and get actual seats at Centre Court to see Federer and Nadal play their respective opponents. Despite a bit of rain delay, I got to see both of them play and had a fantastic day with my friends! The matches actually turned out to be not that exciting since they both only went to 3 sets, but I can say I have seen Nadal and Federer play live! (The pics below are Federer and then Nadal.)

By the way, the finals are today. I don't have tickets but I will be watching at home with friends. Hopefully they get to play as the wind and rain are nasty in London today.

Royal Ascot

2008-06-29T02:31:00.007-06:00

Last Saturday and went with some work friend to the Royal Ascot horse races. Royal Ascot is an event that everyone dresses up for and wears hats and watches for the queen to come by! Oh, and watches the races too. ;) I had a great time dressing up and wearing a hat for the first time. My friend Sarah helped me pick it out since I had no idea what I was looking for or where to buy it! But it turned out well and I enjoyed the whole experience, especially my glimpse of the queen.

The queen (on the far side of the carriage in blue). Her husband, Prince Phillip, is on the near side of the carriage in the top hat.

Me in my hat!

Quite the fashionable party - me with my friends Brandi, Kelley and Stephanie

One of the races flying by our vantage point

Vatican City

2008-06-23T15:39:00.006-06:00

OK, if you are just coming to this blog after awhile away, settle in for a long ride! This is my eighth (count them, 8!) post about Italy. You might have to go back a page to see the very first post or two. (Hint: Rome is the first one, so work backwards from there.)

Alright, last post - Vatican City! The Vatican is its own country or principality or something, but they don't give out passport stamps. But they do have their own post office. Anyway, once again the sheer size and impressiveness of the buildings was overwhelming. I spent about 6 hours in the museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's basilica (largest church in Europe, by the way).

No pictures are allowed in the Sistine Chapel, but I sat in there for an hour, moving around to different seats to take in all of the artwork. The walls and ceiling are completely covered in paintings and it was difficult to take it all in!

When I made it out to the square, the Pope was giving his weekly blessing. In the pictures below, he is in white in the middle of the platform. After he was done, I visited the basilica and even climbed to the top of the dome to see the view from there.

Venice, Italy!!!

2008-06-23T15:10:00.012-06:00

On to my favorite FAVORITE part of my trip - Venice!!! My day in Venice was like a dream come true for me; I was fulfilling something I'd been wanting to do my whole life. I think I was in a daze most of the day, but I do remember it all and I remember how beautiful the city actually is. There isn't explanation for most of my pictures, mostly because I was wandering around snapping random shots of the beautifulness!

There are something like 500 bridges in Venice and the streets are a mix of actual street and canals. Unfortunately, the lower floors of the houses are starting to rot from all of the water so many of them are uninhabited, although top floors still have people living in them. Only 60,000-ish people live in Venice so it's a small city and easily walkable.

Of course we took a gondola ride (my favorite part!) and saw a gondola stop light and two gondola traffic jams. The inside of the basilica floored me with how beautiful and vast it was. It compares to nothing I had ever seen before (well, until I went to the Vatican that is). The weather was a bit chilly while we were there, but thankfully the rain in the morning didn't continue all day.

Just a sampling...

Oh and here's a picture of me with some of my new friends!

Milan, Italy

2008-06-23T14:48:00.010-06:00

Milan is every bit the fashionable city that comes to mind when you hear its name. There is also lots of art and culture as well. And Milan has the 3rd largest church in Europe. I really enjoyed wandering the streets (and, yes shopping!) and exploring the church and its roof.

Shopping!

The church and climbing to the roof

Side trips in Italy

2008-06-23T14:33:00.006-06:00

We didn't stay for a day or two in every place we visited. There were a few stops we made that were only 1-4 hours long. That's the way you see so much of the country in just 12 days!

First, Pompeii. We all learned about this city in elementary history class. It was covered in the eruption from Mt. Vesuvius. But what I didn't know before was that many people actually escaped Pompeii before the eruption. What happened though was that they came back when the volcano quieted down and that was their fatal mistake. The volcano began spewing poisonous gas and that is how most of the people of Pompeii died.

The ruins of the city are amazing, but again hard to capture it all in pictures. I learned a lot about the city and living in the Roman empire in the first century - pretty amazing stuff! For instance, a smallish city like Pompeii had a gladiator training ground, two theatres and "advanced" sanitation ideas, as well as beautiful artwork and lots of temples. This is the ruins of the main political/social center of Pompeii - the Forum - with the volcano in the background. By the way, it's long overdue to erupt again!

We also stopped in Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was meant to be the bell tower of the church in Pisa, but started sinking shortly after it was built. I couldn't resist trying to hold it up!

We also spent some time in the cities of Verona and Bologna and at Lake Garda. But since they weren't incredibly interesting places (although not bad places), I won't waste your time. On to Milan!

Cinque Terre, Italy

2008-06-23T14:20:00.006-06:00

OK I'm still hanging in there for my 4th post tonight...about halfway there!

Cinque Terre is a beautiful area on the north west coast of Italy. It literally means 5 villages and is 5 small fishing villages famous for their brightly colored houses and precarious perches. You can't drive between them, but you can take a train or ferry or walk on a path. We took the ferry and stopped briefly in the first and fourth villages and stayed an afternoon in the last one (sorry I don't remember the names). Oh, they are also famous for the basil they grow and make into lovely pesto!!!

Enjoy the pictures - I don't have much else to say about this area besides it was absolutely stunning and I would love to go back!

Florence, Italy

2008-06-23T14:03:00.005-06:00

After Sorrento, we traveled back past Rome and into Tuscany to Florence. I took a few pictures of the Tuscan countryside, but none of them did any justice to the beauty, so I won't try to tell you. Google it or watch a movie or something and you'll get the idea. :)

Florence is a very historic and artistic city. It is the city where Da Vinci and other Renaissance men lived. The architecture and art were amazing. It is a city with massive art galleries, including the one that holds the famous statue of David. We took a tour of the city and watched a leather demonstration. After that sightseeing, I spent most of my day exploring the markets and stimulating the European economy!

Sorrento & Capri, Italy

2008-06-23T13:43:00.009-06:00

OK, well I'm clearly having problems with uploading pictures. It is working differently than normal, so forgive me if they aren't as neatly placed and organized as normal. It isn't being very user friendly :/

Sorrento and Capri were the most beautiful parts of my trip by far! The weather was amazing, the views were stunning and I thoroughly enjoyed every part of laying on the beach, crusing around Capri and visiting the Blue Grotto.

The view of our hotel area from above. Our hotel is not in sight, but we had a private beach and swimming area that we took full advantage of both nights we stayed there.

We had dinner in Sorrento that first night after a lounge on the beach. The sunset was an absolutely perfect dinner time view.

The next day we took a ferry to the Isle of Capri and cruised around the island first thing. Then we had the afternoon to explore (and hit the beach again!). The beaches on Capri are made of big rocks, not sand, so that was an interesting and painful experience. During our cruise, we stopped at the Blue Grotto and switched to smaller boats that we basically had to lie down in to get into the grotto. It was once Julius Caesar's private swimming area and the water reflects the rocks in such a way that makes the water shine bright blue - beautiful!

After our day on Capri, we headed back for more beach time (yes, I'm tan) and dinner at the hotel where we enjoyed another sunset. My roommate and I were lucky enough to have a top floor room that opened onto the roof top terrace. Both mornings I set out there and enjoyed the peacefulness and watched the fisherman. I was sad to leave Sorrento!!

Rome, Italy

2008-06-23T13:12:00.009-06:00

I must admit that I've been putting off my blog for a bit because it seems so daunting to blog a 12 day trip around Italy! But as I know some people are anxiously awaiting an update, I am going to try to make a good start tonight. So here goes!

I started my Italy trip 2 weeks ago on Sunday in Rome. I left London very early and was at my hotel by noon. I set off for sightseeing right away, even braving the HEAT (well, compared to London), humidity and occasional rain shower. The first thing I saw was the Coloseum and the neighboring ruins of the ancient Forum.

The thing that I noticed almost right away in Rome was how BIG everything is. Even the normal, everday buildings are large and the roads are wide and big. This is to say nothing of the Coloseum and other ancient buildings and monuments. Everything was on such a large scale!

After I soaked up some history in the most ancient area of Rome, I wandered through the streets to find the Trevi Fountain. The legend is that if you throw a coin over your shoulder and make a wish, the wish will come true and you will return to Rome. I had to try! I also had to try my first gelato of the trip nearby. After that, I wandered back to the hotel to meet up with my tour group.

That night we had dinner and the next morning we headed down towards the Amalfi coast. But we came back to Rome at the end of the trip so I'll go ahead and show those pictures now.

When we came back, I visited the Vatican (I'll do a separate post), Spanish Steps, Trvei Fountain again (had to make another wish!) and the Pantheon.

Spanish Steps

Making a wish

Pantheon

Life Update

2008-06-03T13:21:00.003-06:00

I realize my posts have been a bit less frequent than they previously were. I'm happy to say that's because more of my time has been taken up with new friends and researching new trips! After the frenzy of summer European travel dies down, I plan to start getting back into my UK weekend day trips and continuing to explore London.

But next on the travel calendar is Italy! I leave Sunday (very early in the morning) to travel to Rome where I will meet up with my tour group. From there we will drive all over Italy - Rome, Florence, Pisa, Sorrento, Cinque Terre, Venice, Bologna, etc, etc and back to Rome! I will have a roommate for the trip (hope she's nice!) who I won't meet until Sunday. I will be gone for 12 days and hopefully 7 MBs of camera memory is enough!!! I am excited to try this new form of travel and especially excited to experience all there is to see and do and TASTE in Italy.

Tonight I just booked a ticket for Athens to go visit friends (hi Jess!) who will be there in July. We're hoping to get out of Athens and experience some of the Greek Islands on this trip and "play in the Mediterranean" as Jess so aptly put it. After Greece I think I'm going to have to stay in or close to London for awhile to save my £££. All of this travel is fabulous and exciting, but it does come with a price tag!

On the work front, I've been busier than ever before this summer. I am working on a couple big and challenging clients. I have learned so much since I moved here and I'm really excited about the rest of this year work-wise as I take on more responsibilities and prove myself at a place that still feels very new to me.

I guess that's about it for now. I just wanted to let you know I'll be pretty quiet for the next couple of weeks, but expect a slew of posts toward the end of the month. Arrivederla!

Budapest

2008-05-30T15:32:00.008-06:00

Last weekend my friend Ben came back to London to visit me and to take a trip to Budapest with me. Ben came with me when I first moved here and loved our travels so much, he decided to come back! We had a fabulous time and since we travel well together and appreciate the same things, we had a great time exploring the city and eating really great food all weekend!

This is the Basilica of St. Stephen, Budapest's cathedral. It was surrounded by a nice square with a few restaurants. The weather was so nice the whole time we were there!

This is the Chain Bridge, which connects the 2 cities of Buda and Pest. There is a lot of political history between the 2 cities, but suffice it to say they are connected now (by MANY bridges), both physically and politically. This is the view from the top of the Siklo (uphill tram-type thing) we rode to the top of the Buda hills.

This is the Buda side as seen from the middle of the Chain Bridge.

Parliament, on the Pest side of the Danube River

This is one of the cafes in Franz Liszt Square. There were so many pretty cafes there and as a pianist I enjoyed the shout-out to Mr. Liszt and the piano playing coming from the nearby Liszt School of Music.

Budapest is especially beautiful at night. The architecture was amazing and even though it's seemingly a bit simpler than other cities I've visited, I liked it so much because there was a constant style throughout the city and it was never overbearing. Just very pretty.

The roof in the lobby of the Scheznyi (sp??) Baths. If you're from Colorado, think Glenwood Hot Springs. There were several of these baths around the city from different hot springs and we enjoyed an indoor and outdoor soak at these to relax our tired muscles. And I slept so well that night too!!!

Another thing we noticed in Budapest was the pride they took in their city. All of the windows were spotless, silverware was polished even on outdoor patios and everyone was friendly and welcoming. We never had a bad meal and we tried lots of things. If you are ever in Budapest, just remember that you can make a hearty meal on soups alone! Another area we went (but I don't have pictures of...) was Margaret Island which is a 2.5 mile long island in the river between Buda and Pest. It is all park and we had a nice long walk around and through it one afternoon.

It's been awhile!

2008-05-20T12:38:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone, sorry it's been awhile since I posted. I guess life has been getting in the way! I have been keeping busy at work, at least busier than I normally am this time of year. And last weekend I had a great time spending time with friends and in the countryside.

Friday night I caught up with my friends Sam and Sarah at their house and slept over in my "old" bedroom (where I stayed when I first moved here) so that we could get up and go shopping Saturday morning. Sarah drove the two of us to Bluewater, which is the biggest shopping center in the UK. There aren't too many American-type malls here, but this is one. The only difference is that it appears out of the middle of nowhere and doesn't have the massive, sprawling shopping centers around the outside of the mall like you would see in the US. But, there was some fantastic shopping! I even got a hat to wear to the Royal Ascot horse race in June...they are more expensive than you would think!

After Sarah brought us back to London (via a long detour because of a closed tunnel), I headed out to a farmhouse in Essex. I rode on a train for about an hour and then took a taxi for 15 minutes to a beautiful farm. It belongs to the parents of a friend of friends and so I hung out with my friends there. The farmhouse was so old and classically English! When you walk in the main door, the flagstones on the floor are sunk in different places and have obviously been there for at least 100 years. We stayed the night and woke up to the sounds of sheep and horses in the barnyard.

This coming weekend I head to Budapest for the bank holiday. My friend Ben is coming from Denver to join me and we are both excited to explore a new place! Everyone have a great Memorial Day/bank holiday weekend and stay tuned next week for pics of Budapest...

Bank Holiday Weekend

2008-05-08T13:18:00.006-06:00

This past Monday was a holiday in the UK. So I made the most of my long weekend by catching up on things in London and taking two short trips. Thankfully the weather has been AMAZING since Saturday, including the whole week, so that makes everything easier.

Saturday I had an adventurous bus ride (only because it was much longer than I expected) to IKEA to get a few more things for my kitchen. I also got my hair cut and went to dinner with friends. But that's all boring stuff.

Sunday I made my way to a small town called Winchester, southwest of London. It was in my day trip book and a smaller town than I had visited before. There were a few sights to see and also some beautiful parks and hilly areas that I spent most of my day in.

Monday I went to Hampton Court Palace, which was used quite a lot by Henry VIII and also several monarchs since his time have spent considerable time and energy (and money of course) revamping everything and adding amazing gardens. The weather was so lovely, I wish I could have stayed all day! Plus the lilacs are in bloom everywhere now so it is a lovely sight and smell (when I'm not sneezing or something from all of the pollen flying around!). I came back to London in the afternoon and met up with friends to enjoy the lovely day together.

I have now been on 5 of the 25 day trips that are suggested in my book!!! Where should I go next???

London Eye

2008-05-02T14:47:00.006-06:00

The London Eye is a big part of the London skyline. I'm glad I went on it with my friends and enjoyed the views. It wasn't quite all I hoped or dreamed and I'm not sure if it was worth the £14...but I've done it! Enjoy the views!!! :)

Lisbon

2008-04-29T14:22:00.008-06:00

Don't believe people when they tell you that Portuguese is just like Spanish - it's not!!! There are a few similarities, but mostly it's different and the pronunciations are VERY different. Just a warning!

Lisbon is similar to Barcelona in some ways - hilly (although Lisbon more so), by the water (although Barcelona on the Mediterranean and Lisbon on a river that flows right into the Atlantic) - and very different in others. For one thing, there are far fewer Americans in Lisbon!

Since I went back to back on the same trip, people keep asking me which city I liked better. I would have to say Lisbon but only by a tiny bit. They are actually very hard to compare. The people in Lisbon were much nicer in general (although the Spanish were very friendly, so nothing against them) and seemed extremely happy that you were visiting and trying to speak their language. In Barcelona it almost seemed as if they expected visitors and were actually somewhat overwhelmed by them. Which is understandable given the sheer number of tourists there.

Tile (like the ones above) are traditional in Portugal. There are whole buildings covered in patterned tiles and sometimes they put them together to make pictures. There is a lot of seafood to be eaten (yummy!) too. My favorite part of this trip was the beach at Cascais (pronounced cash-kish (long i) I think). There are several beaches all strung together with a boardwalk, but our favorite was the first one from the train station.

The city had a broad avenue running down the middle. We stayed right off this, so got to enjoy it every day. It had garden areas in the medians and beautiful sidewalks. I imagine they'd be pretty slippery when it rains, but thankfully we didn't have to find out!

Lisbon has a statue of Christ similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro. El Cristo Rei overlooks the city of Lisbon from across the river and was erected in thanksgiving for Lisbon escaping WW II. We took a ferry across and then a very hot bus trip and then an elevator ride to the observation platform. As in any city with hills, there are lots of great view spots, but this one was my favorite in Lisbon.

We had time for one other day trip to Sintra. There are a lot of palaces and elaborate houses there. Also, the gardens around some of the houses are like tropical forests! I loved wandering through and seeing how dense everything was and so beautifully put togehter. It actually reminded me a lot of Colorado, even though it was manmade.

View of Castelo de Sao Jorge at night

Barcelona

2008-04-29T13:34:00.014-06:00

Last Thursday (almost 2 weeks ago now!) I headed to Barcelona with two of my friends from Denver. Two more of my friends joined us there and we had a great time. The weather was mostly nice, although sometimes rainy. My favorite part of the trip was the bike tour we took. It ended up being a private tour for the five of us as no one else showed up!

Barcelona is a city with lots of beautiful architecture. The most famous architect in Barcelona was a man named Gaudi. He designed many houses, a park and a church. The church is called La Sagrada Familia and has been under construction since 1882! It is not scheduled to be completed until sometime around 2030...or so...

La Casa Pedrera - one of Gaudi's houses which you can tour inside

The roof of Las Casa Pedrera - so cool!

The streets of the Old City are small and cobbled

Biking along the boardwalk

Park Guell - one of Gaudi's parts of Barcelona. There is amazing glass work and tiling everywhere. The park overlooks the city from a high hill - quite a climb!

La Sagrada Familia - I went up in one of those towers. There are a lot of great places for views in Barcelona, but this probably the most fun!

From the top of the tower!

Part of the market

Week in Review

2008-04-13T06:19:00.006-06:00

Well, I've been sick again this week. This time with a sore throat and sore ears. But I managed to have a good time with friends this weekend. I checked out a fabulous brunch place and did some shopping. I am preparing for a trip to Barcelona and Lisbon starting on Thursday as well! Today a couple work friends are running in the London Marathon, but I decided to stay home and recuperate rather than venture out to cheer them on. I'm sure they'll understand.

The weather has been very interesting the last couple of weeks. Generally it is in the low 50s, but it rains at least once a day and often several times a day with sunny periods in between. It doesn't feel very warm, but the clear blue skies are a treat when they peek out from the clouds. The weather report doesn't give any indication of much change in the near future, so I keep my umbrella, scarf and sunglasses close by.

Last night I was able to see some Denver friends who live up in Birmingham (2 hour train ride north of London) and some other Denver friends who are in the UK visiting them. We had a good time catching up! I will hopefully be taking a weekend trip with Chad and Laurie soon. I'm also planning a long trip to Italy in June!

Oh, I don't think I told you about last weekend. After I took Friday to see Windsor Castle, Saturday was back to the normal spring dreariness we've been having. I took a walk to the east and visited Hoxton Market and a random museum called Geffrye Museum. It is a history of English interiors for the last 400 years and basically has displays and information about what a middle class living room would be like during various times and how it has changed over the years. I thought it was very interesting to see how people lived and used their homes and how those things changed so much! After that, I ventured into a Vietnamese restaurant. The pho was very good and very cheap, so it may become a favorite of mine! Saturday night was my birthday dinner combined with another girl at work whose birthday was near mine. We had a great time and it's always fun to get to know people a bit better outside of the office.

Sunday I woke up to giant snowflakes! This is only the second time it has snowed since I've been in London, but the first time it stuck. I decided it would be a good day to stay in and relax - so I did just that! I watched 2 or 3 movies and sat on the couch most of the day. I ordered in Indian food and had a great day. It's great to have some time to just relax and get ready for the week ahead.

My work load has decreased significantly as busy season comes to an end. I spent a lot of time this week tying up loose ends and doing scheduling tasks for this summer and fall. It looks like I'll be staying plenty busy this summer, but of course there will be time for vacations! I'm looking forward to officially ending busy season on Tuesday and then visiting with my friends from Denver and exploring in Spain and Portugal. That means exciting new photo posts in a couple weeks!!!

Windsor Castle

2008-04-06T14:11:00.011-06:00

I took Friday off and treated myself to a belated birthday trip to Windsor Castle. The castle was a really neat experience. Once again, I felt immersed in places and stories from hundreds of years ago. I was learning about things that were going on in this castle before America was even discovered by Europeans! I couldn't take pictures inside the buildings, so you'll all just have to come and see for yourself the history and lavishness that surrounds the royals of this country.

On the inside of the castle, you can tour a room that contains Princess Mary's dollhouse. The dollhouse has fully functioning electricity and plumbing! There is also a smallish art gallery with drawings and an exhibit of the royal weddings that occured from the current Queen Elizabeth II going back 100 years before that. Last year was the Queen & her husband's (King Philip? Prince Philip? See how many things I don't know and/or forget in all of these history lessons!) 60th wedding anniversary, so this exhibit celebrates that. Soon they will be changing to an exhibit celebrating Prince Charles' birthday this year (60? Yet another thing I didn't pay close attention to.)

I also toured the State apartments which are mostly refurbished or kept the way they were about 300ish year ago. These room contain the king's and queen's drawing rooms and dining rooms and also official banquet halls and receiving rooms that are still in use today for state dinners. Across the way are the queen's apartments, which of course you are not able to tour, but you can see the entrance from the quadrangle.

I arrived at the castle in time to see the changing of the guard. There was alot of pagentry involved with that, none of which I understood. But I did find it interesting that the guards guarding the queen carry scary looking semi-automatic guns and not one London policeman carries a gun. Curious...

In another part of the castle area, you can go to St. George's cathedral, which is the official church and saint of the Knights of the Garter, a very prestigious ranking given to special knights. Some of these knights actually live on the grounds of the castle and I guess they do knightly things, whatever that may be. The thing I found interesting about this part of the castle grounds was that you could definitely see how the whole castle would have been a self-sufficient city at one time. You can imagine the cobbler's shop and the butcher and the ladies' rooms and you could see where they could walk on the massive grounds around the castle.

I kept my eye out for royal sightings, most especially the princes. But I had no luck in that front, even though the queen's flag was flying from the round tower, indicating she was there that day.

The weather was perfect - the best day I've had so far! I also wandered around (and shopped!) the town of Windsor and took a short tour of Eton College, which is a posh boarding school for high school age boys. Princes Harry & William both attended there and once again the history and the stories told were fascinating. The boys were on the English equivalent of spring break (Easter holidays or mid term holidays) so the school seemed pretty empty and dead.

I'm very glad I took this trip. I got a special stamp so I can go back to the castle free for a whole year if anyone wants to go!

Inside the castle, walking up to the changing of the guard. That round tower on the right is where the flag flies showing the queen is there. If she's not there, the normal Union Jack (English flag) flies.

Some of the gardens inside the castle - beautiful! There were also extensive grounds outside the walls which had paths, wilderness-y areas and playing fields for rugby or soccer.

Some of the guards leaving during the Changing of the Guard. I bet they were glad to be going to lunch!

St. George's Cathedral, which is inside the castle walls. Again, no pictures inside, but there were some famous people's graves here (i.e. Henry VIII) and beautiful architecture as always.

Looking back at the castle from across the river.

Tonight in London

2008-03-27T15:05:00.009-06:00

Tonight my friends Sarah and Sam took me to Tower 42 for my birthday. Tower 42 is the tallest building in the City (we were at 509 feet up), debatable about all of London since there are a couple big ones in Canary Wharf. Anyhow, there are amazing views all over the city, so I've attached some pictures. We had a tremendous view of the west/southwest of London and Sam managed to get the best picture EVER (you'll be able to tell which one!).

When I was headed home, there was some sort of military parade! There was a band marching along the street and they were dressed in military dress like you'd see at Buckingham Palace - long grey coats, tall black hats. I was struggling to keep up/catch up with them and I was having severe camera difficulties (Sam having changed all of my settings), so I got really poor pictures, but I've attached one anyway.

Our view before the sun went down

Looking down towards Canary Wharf (with the Gherkin poking in on the side)

Our view after the sun went down!!!

Me and Sarah

Really bad picture of random military parade

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T04:53:00.002-06:00

Easter is a big holiday in the UK. Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays and most people take off on a long weekend or head home to visit their family. Because of my work deadlines, I am not able to leave London this year since I still had to work Friday and Monday. I tentatively planned a quick trip to to Windsor Castle for today, but the weather is nasty and I'm not really inclined to trudge around Windsor and Eton in the rain and snow. So I am staying close to home and enjoying lunch with friends and then hopefully a trip to one of the museums where I can sightsee in a heated building!

I hope everyone has a blessed Easter with family and friends, celebrating our risen Lord!

London Weather

2008-03-21T11:25:00.002-06:00

When I first moved here in January, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. It was much warmer than it was back home in January and often sunny - not quite what I expected! It was like that for a few weeks and since then has slowly been getting colder! This last week or two has been how I imagined London to be - bleak and windy with occasional rain.

This weekend is supposed to be the worst Easter weekend on record with snow and sleet predicted in London. It's also very windy and generally dreary today. The wind and rain woke me up early this morning! So I just wanted to share with those of you who heard my initial weather here was amazing...not so much any more. :)

Lazy Weekend

2008-03-16T12:30:00.001-06:00

Well, this is the third time I've typed this entry as my computer seems to have an issue with posting. I've had a very quiet weekend, mostly because I've been nursing a cold and "chesty cough" (cough syrups here are classified by the type of cough you have, i.e. chesty, tickly, rattly, etc.). Plus, it's been cold, windy and rainy, which isn't a huge inducement to go outside!

My new experiences this weekend were all culinary. Last night I had the opportunity to go to Nobu, which is a famous Japanese restaurant. It was very good, but I think overrated, as I was expecting to be wowed with the food (but wasn't). However, I'm glad that I can say I went there and I also enjoy the area of town where it is. However, no celebrity sightings. :(

Tonight I went to a place called S & M Cafe (stands for sausage and mash, in this case). Sausage and mash is a very traditional English meal and has fairly obvious ingredients - sausage and mash (potatoes). At this place, you can choose between 10 or 12 kinds of sausage and a few types of mash to make your meal. Yummy and fun!

My Flat

2008-03-11T16:30:00.007-06:00

Here are some pictures of my flat. My room came with a bed and bookshelf and I bought the other pieces of furniture - some from the girl who lived there before me and some on my own. Even with everything in, it is till very spacious! I have my own bathroom. And the living room and kitchen were furnished by my flatmate.

My bedroom

My closets - biggest in London!

I do my hair and makeup in that corner since there are no outlets in the bathroom

My bathroom

Living room - the blinds are closed because it's dark, but there is a huge balcony out there!

Kitchen - it's pretty short on cupboard space since the fridge, freezer, washing machine and dishwasher are all under the counters where cupboards would normally be

London Symphony Orchestra

2008-03-08T02:29:00.001-07:00

Last night I went with a friend from work to hear the London Symphony Orchestra perform Mahler's Symphony No. 7. For those of you who have known for me awhile, you will know about what I sometimes think of as my "former life" where I was a frequent visitor to the symphony and had some training in classical music. Since my "new" life as an accountant, I haven't had the pleasure of enjoying classical music as much and last night was a welcome return to that. I had forgotten how much I love listening and watching as the music is performed - seeing how much the conductor is immersed in what he loves, musing on how music is the same no matter what language you speak, letting the music tell me its story.

Randomly, we ran into another work colleague and her roommate so we went out for dessert after the concert and had a great time talking. I am starting to make some friends here and am settling into life in London more and more each day. Today I am working, but plan to explore some in my neighborhood this afternoon. I haven't decided what my new London experience will be tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be exciting!

Cambridge

2008-03-02T13:15:00.008-07:00

Saturday I decided to take a day trip to Cambridge. There is a fast (45 minutes) train from London, so it was an easy trip for me. I enjoyed a beautiful, although very windy, day exploring the various colleges of Cambridge University and wandering around the little city. This is the chapel at King's College. It is famous for its boys' choir, which you can hear every night at Evensong (I didn't stay long enough to hear this). This organ was put in by Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn.

Punting on the River Cam is a favorite activity. You can hire a boat with a punter or you can punt yourself. It wasn't something I was going to attempt on my own, but watching was fun!

Cycling is the primary mode of transportation in Cambridge. I saw literally thousands of bikes parked all over the city and by the train station. It is an easy and quick way for students and residents to get around the small crowded streets. And it adds a lot of charm as well.

On the left is the outside of the chapel at King's College. Like I said before, Henry VIII had a lot to do with the completion of this chapel, which I find very interesting since I am currently reading a fictionalized account of his 1st and 2nd marriages. It is so neat to see the history on the page come to life right in front of you - that's been my favorite part of my travels so far!

On the right is Trinity College, which is the largest and wealthiest college. Behind that building is another smaller square with Wren Library on the other side. The architecture of each building of each college is so phenomonal and astounding to think how long these buildings have been around!

Still unpacking

2008-02-26T14:29:00.002-07:00

Well, I got my shipment of boxes yesterday - delivered safe and sound! Only one box was slightly damaged. It's the one that I haven't opened yet, so we'll see what's wrong, but it is full of books and it doesn't seem like anything was destroyed, just maybe a little bent up or wet.

I have unpacked everything except for that one box of books and DVDs. I am very happy that I have so much room here...I actually have extra shelf space in my closet! I did have to order a new bookshelf and DVD stand and some underbed storage, but it was all inexpensive (and a reimbursable moving expense to boot!). I am looking forward to having those things on Thursday and hopefully being all settled in by the weekend. I am going to take some pictures when everything's done so you can see my room and the rest of my flat. It's really not that exciting, though. Looks like something I might have lived in in the States!

Work has been plodding along, but I expect to have a huge influx of work any day now and the anticipation of that is just looming over me. In the mean time, I've been enjoying normal days and the ability to work out and relax in the evening!

I noticed my Bath pics were a bit small. I'll have to go back to the "medium" setting next time - sorry about that!

Bath

2008-02-24T02:36:00.008-07:00

Saturday I took a day trip to Bath, a smaller town west of London - about 90 minutes by train. I met my friends Laurie and Chad there and we spent the day exploring the Roman baths, the Jane Austen center and the rest of the town. It was a great place with loads of history (and some great modern shopping too!) and amazing architecture and scenery.

View of Bath from the train station. There are a lot of churches here - you can see the steeple and spires poppin up everywhere around the city.

With Laurie at the Roman baths. These date from something like A.D. 400 when the Romans settled here and made use of the only hot spring in Britain. The water is full of minerals and was thought to have healing powers in the 17th and 18th centuries. People would travel from all over to bathe and drink the water. There was so much history at these baths - it was amazing to think of all of the hundreds of years of people who have been here to bathe!

This is the Pump Room at the baths. It is a restaurant now and you can drink the hot springs water here. In Jane Austen's day, it was a social gathering place to see and be seen.

We watched a glass-blowing demonstration. This company puts copper oxide in the glass and the way it mixes with the minerals in the water, it makes an aqua color after it cools. All of the things they made were so beautiful (and so expensive!).

Me by the River Avon. In the background you can see one of the many churches. And off to the right, some of the old architecture of Bath.

A view of the outskirts of Bath from the rugby field. There are quite a few hils around so the houses are built in terraces (sort of hard to see here I guess). They also all use a similar sort of stone and the whole town looks the same.

Skype-ing

2008-02-20T13:42:00.002-07:00

Today I finally was able to get Skype downloaded onto my computer. Supposedly we're not supposed to have non-Deloitte software downloaded, but we'll see what happens. Anyway, I signed up for Skype Pro which gives me call forwarding to my cell and a number that I can call in the UK and then connect at my (cheap) Skype rates to the US. Sort of like a calling card. Also, I bought a Colorado number that people should be able to call and text me at.

Currently neither my calling card feature or my US number are working, but I have a question in about that so hopefully it will get sorted out and I can be in better contact with many of you! However, my Skype is working on the computer. So if you want to talk, you can download Skype and we can arrange a time to talk via the computer since Skype-to-Skype calls are always free! Downloading Skype is free too...you just need a headset with mike I think. I just talked to my mom and the connection was very good, better than the cell phone even!

My user name is kathy.vawter if you're interested.

Commuting

2008-02-19T16:01:00.002-07:00

As most of you know, my commute in Denver was a one mile walk down the hill that took me about 17 minutes unless it was snowy or icy. I loved not having any hazards and always knowing what time I would be at work.

In London, I can do a combo of walking, taking a bus or taking the tube. I have experimented with different ways and they all take between 30 and 45 minutes. Today, however, I had a commuting adventure that lasted 90 minutes! The busses were running behind and then they were full. So I had to wait for the 6th bus to come by before I got on. Needless to say, that waiting too about 25 minutes! Then I got on the tube and the train I was on was suddenly shut down at one station. So we all had to get off and wait for the next train which was another 15 minutes of waiting!

So after that adventure, I was glad to get to work and thought I'd just take one bus home to not complicate matters. But wouldn't you know, that bus broke down!!! Just not my day for commuting; I should have stayed in bed I guess!

Weekend Wanderings

2008-02-17T07:00:00.003-07:00

Pretty much "all" I needed to do this weekend was buy some household items - dishes, clothes drying rack, etc. So my task was to 1) find where to buy this stuff, 2) figure out how to get there and 3) figure out how to get it home. Without boring you with the details, it was a very frustrating, long process. Which isn't complete yet. I have dishes, but no glasses and I still need to get out to buy some other things tomorrow.

I did go to a dinner people at the home of a work friend tonight. It was nice to get to know some other people more informally. All of them have had the same struggles I am going through of getting settled and learning the city, so it's nice to take comfort in that.

Moved in

2008-02-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally moved into my new apartment on Sunday morning. My (new) good friends Sarah and Sam graciously allowed me to stay with them all of last week since my corporate housing ran out and I needed somewhere to live while I went to work and waited to move in here. Sarah and I went shopping for bedding on Saturday and Sam drove me and all of my suitcases up here on Sunday. I unpacked and promptly went back down to their house for lunch before church in the evening, since we had planned that 2 weeks ago!

I now live on the east side of Islington, on the border of Shoreditch. There is a park a couple blocks behind me, right in front of me and a canal with a path alongside right behind here. There is a bus stop 5 steps from the front door and a tube stop about a 12 minute walk (or 5 minute bus ride) away. It is close to Old Street and Upper Street (both trendy locations in the shopping/dining world of London) and easy to get to from almost anywhere in London. My flatmate is nice, although we haven't spent much time together. She is an investment banker at UBS and if you think that I work a lot... Let's just say she's not home tonight at 11:00 and I must have been sound asleep before she came in last night.

I'm busy trying to decide where my first trip will be. I'm leaning towards Italy in mid-May. I'd also like to do Spain this summer and maybe choose somewhere else for the fall. Somewhere warmer...Turkey? I have already been invited to Cornwall (on the southern coast of England) for what is Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. We have a bank holiday here, which is when everyone takes long weekends from work.

If you would like my new address or phone number, send me an email or leave me a message here with your email. I enjoy seeing your comments, even if it's just to say that you've been checking in on me!

Paris

2008-02-12T15:39:00.000-07:00

Another load of pictures from my 24 hour whirlwind tour of Paris!

The Eiffel Tour lights up with sparkly lights at night - it was gorgeous even from 2 streets over!

Mona Lisa hanging in her spot in the Louvre. The Louvre was a very cool place to wander around, even for someone like me who really isn't that into art. It is a beautiful building inside and out and houses some of the world's most famous art. Thankfully, we were in Paris on the night that the museum was open late, otherwise we might not have been able to fit it in!

I was amazed at how beautiful the streets and buildings in Paris are. I'm sure these are very pricy apartments, but they seem like they would be fun to live in...

I liked Paris very much. It is a beautiful city with a lot of old style character. However, it is very hard to navigate (much like London actually) and these maps usually told us nothing at all! This is within a couple hours of leaving and I was very frustrated. I'm glad Ben was with me and I didn't try to go on my own the first time!

Eiffel Tower by day. We also saw the Arc de Triomphe, the Bastille, the Marmottan Museum (where a good portion of Monet's paintings hang), ate crepes and had the most amazing meal of our entire trip. Neither of us speak any French at all, but we went into a very traditional French restaurant in an out of the way street (it was recommended in our guide book). We couldn't read the menu since it was all in French, so we asked the waiter to order us the best 2 things from each of the 3 courses on the menu. We had a fabulous meal and each item they brought was so delicious! I will definitely visit that restaurant again...

Not only are the maps difficult to understand and the streets going every which way, all of the descriptions and plaques, etc. in museums are in French ONLY! I enjoy reading about different things and maybe the background to paintings or other things, but there was none of that to be had. We had to satisfy ourselves with seeing the name, artist and perhaps a date. Just goes to show how proud the French are of their culture and language, and rightfully so!

Pictures!

2008-02-08T17:11:00.001-07:00

That is the Tower Bridge at dusk. The first week I was here, Ben's friend Chad came down from where he and his wife live near Birmingham and met us in London for some sightseeing. We did a few of the major spots in central London and the next night we all headed up to Chad & Laurie's (about 2 hours on the train) for dinner. It was nice to have someone show us around a bit!

Me & Ben by the Tower of London. This was the only day that it really rained much in the last 3 weeks.

Chad & Ben at St. Katherine's Docks

Me on the walkways over Tower Bridge - looking down towards Canary Wharf

View of the City from the bridge. The "City of London" is about a square mile of land that comprises most of the downtown business area, but not a lot of people live there and it gets fairly dead on the weekends.

Big Ben

Typical view from the top of a double decker bus

Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace

More London Observations

2008-02-06T14:15:00.000-07:00

Only a couple tonight because I keep forgetting the others!

6. Engagement rings/diamonds here are VERY small. Now that I have noticed this over and over, I remember reading something about in a book about British vs. American culture. I didn't think anything of it at the time. I'll have to find that book to see what they said about why this is. Perhaps it's the cost...but it's not that expensive to fly to NYC and buy a ring there! Probably cheaper than buying a smallish ring here. Anyway, they are small.

7. "Cheers" can mean a number of different things. We as Americans use it primarily in toasts, and might think of it being used in the UK as goodbye perhaps. BUT I have heard it used for the following, somewhat contradictory, things: hello, goodbye, thanks, you're welcome, enjoy (as in a restaurant setting) and as a toast. So it seems to me you can walk into a restaurant, say cheers, say cheers when your order is taken, say cheers when your water is brought (and the waiter will say cheers back to you), when your food is brought, when you pay the bill and when you walk out the door.

Reconnected!

2008-02-05T10:49:00.000-07:00

I finally have a computer again! I began work yesterday with 2 days of induction (or what I would call orientation). We were in an outside venue and it was all of the experienced hire people from the whole UK. It was good to meet people from all over the world (literally!) and UK who are working around here in various parts of the firm. AND I got my computer today! :) So now I can be more connected and begin uploading photos, etc. No promises on when that will happen though, so continue with your patience...

London Observations

2008-02-01T05:38:00.000-07:00

I've noticed a few quirky things about London over the last couple of weeks. They are things I observe over and over every day. I'm sure every city has these, but here are my observations:

1. This city (of 7 million + people) has very few public trash cans! I can grab something to eat or drink and then walk around all day (not joking) without seeing somewhere to throw the wrapping or whatever. There are bus stops and tube stations and train platforms everywhere, which are common places for trash cans in the US, but none to be found here!

2. Needless to say, the city is very clean for the amount of people and the lack of trash cans. The most common piece of litter I see is Red Bull cans. No joke. And evening newspapers too, but only at the top of escalators in tube stops and only after 6 PM. Red Bull cans take the crown.

3. I am happy and surprised when I hear English spoken. London is an extremely international city and you will hear every language in the neighborhoods and shopping districts. The main place to hear English is in the City itself ("downtown" we'll call it). I have usually thought that I can recognize most languages and distinguish them, but here I cannot do that.

4. The TV is mostly American. The British TV is generally bad. Prime time dramas are filmed in a poor manor, very similarly to an old soap opera. Prime time comedies are crass and poorly scripted. I've been watching a fair amount of TV lately and I find myself hunting for cooking shows and old American movies. All American movies and current TV shows are quite easy to find, which is probably good given the quality (generally) of British TV. Oh and they LOVE game shows - mostly of the quiz/trivia variety. Those are British, not American.

5. And the best of all: So far the weather is better than I expected! It's sunny about 1/3 of the time, cloudy but not raining about 1/2 the time and raining or threatening to rain the rest, so really not that bad! And with temps in the mid 40s-mid 50s, I'm pretty comfortable being outside all day. I'm still working on that celcius to fahrenheit conversion though...

Success!

2008-01-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

Good news everyone! I have found a GREAT apartment in a great area with a great roommate. It is on the border of Shoreditch (southern/western Hackney) and Islington Green (southern/eastern Islington) if that means anything to you. It is a very modern place, which is difficult to find in London. It has a doorman (safe and secure so my mom is at ease) and a gym. The apartment is 2 bed, 2 bath with a big common area and extra closets - also hard to find in London. The commute to work should be pretty simple by bus, tube or walking and there are lots of restaurants and shops near by. My roommate is Nigerian and she studied in the States. She is an investment banker at UBS. I met her today and we had a nice chat. Last night I saw the place with the girl who is moving out. There is sufficient furniture for all of my stuff and plenty of room to relax, etc. Yay!!! Thanks for your prayers and thoughts, I could really tell they made a difference as it was about the time people were reaching out to me and saying they were praying that everything worked out...just like I knew it would!

No One Mourns the Wicked

2008-01-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

One good thing about London (in my opinion, anyway) is the plethora of really amazingly good theatre! I have just been to see the show Wicked, which is the prequel to the Wizard of Oz, basically. It's the story of how both Glynda and the Wicked Witch came to be and carries through the end of the story that we know as the Wizard of Oz. It was brilliantly done and so neat to be seeing a show in London! I chose a midweek matinee to cut down on crowds and I was able to scoot over in my seat to a place that was 20GBP more, but unoccupied. Only 10 rows back - a great place to watch any show!

I am in Victoria now, right across from the theatre. This is a small theatre district and there is another big one near Covent Garden/Leicester Square. All of this is collectively called the West End. Well, I might be a bit off on my definitions of areas (in case anyone's checking) but the West End is where you go for theatre. And a lady landlord who drove me around the other day showed me a small theatre in Kilburn where many big shows start before they come to the West End. A good way to get in on the beginning of something big...for a much better price!

Today I got a temporary phone and without even using it yet, I feel much more comfortable. This means I can use the computer and the phone at the same time and hopefully have some better communication with people that I'm trying to contact about rooms. If you'd like to call, get yourself an international phone card with a good rate to the UK (not sure what a good rate is...) and call 00 44 7767 052 654. Remember I am 7 hours ahead of Denver!!!

That's it for now. I'm off to do some more apartment hunting.

Apartment Hunt

2008-01-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much luck yet finding an apartment, which is really discouraging so far. I'm very hard to get ahold of since I only have a land line and since I'm out learning the city, I'm not at home much. I check email 2-3 times a day and send out emails that many times as well, but it seems not very many people get back to me! I have seen many things online that seem promising, but I won't know until I can get ahold of some of these people. Just sharing my frustration with you so it doesn't overwhelm me. I have until Sunday to find a place and I know in the end it will all work out.

Finally in London

2008-01-26T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone, here I am in London! I don't have my own computer or phone, so communication is VERY difficult. I had no idea how reliant I was on those things. But I am having a good (although difficult) time learning London and enjoying exploring different neighborhoods and tourist attractions too. Ben left today to head back to the States, so now I am all on my own. :(

We went to Paris on Weds/Thurs and that was great! I'm very glad Ben was with me, because now I know not to go there by myself! I have lots and lots of pictures of both Paris and London but I will have to wait until I have my own computer (early Feb) to share with you.

I just wanted to update everyone to say I'm here and doing great. Today I am searching for more apartment contacts and trying to get some shopping done. Cheerio!

Wild Blue Yonder

2008-01-16T23:54:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone tomorrow is my last day in Denver. Late tomorrow (Thursday) night I'll leave for a quick (2 day) stopover in NYC on my way to London. By noon GMT (5 am MST) on Sunday I will be in London! The last couple weeks have passed very quickly and I haven't gotten to see or talk to everyone I would want. But I'm not falling off the face of the earth. Shockingly enough, London has email! (That was my sarcasm poking through.) Anyway, I am still available, although temporarily offline over the weekend.

During my first week in London I will set up a new bank account, look at a few apartments...and take a trip to Paris! I booked the train tickets today and am looking forward to that adventure. Stay tuned for some great pics of my first week!

4 weeks of "vacation"

2008-01-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

Friday was my last day at Deloitte in Denver. I had a very nice lunch with many of my friends and then I had a going away party. I had such a great time talking with everyone and was very happy to see so many friends. Some who I currently work with, some who I used to work with and some I've never worked with but came out to support me!

Today was my official last day in my apartment. I had a couple friends help me move the last of the big stuff out and now it is safely in the new owner's garage. I am living with a couple friends for the next 2 weeks while I help them remodel their house and also do all of my pre-move things - doctor visits and seeing friends mainly.

My next day of work (at Deloitte anyway, not counting remodeling!) will be February 4 and I'm looking forward to learning about my new colleagues and my new position.

I'll try to get some pictures from my party posted before I go. Very soon I will be having more exciting pictures of Europe!!!

Living out of Suitcases, Day 1

2007-12-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

Well, my life lived out of suitcases has commenced. I expect it to last about 6 weeks! Last night I sold my bedroom furniture so all of the clothes from the dressers are in suitcases and boxes (and, I'll admit, piles) on my bedroom floor. My room looks interesting...mattress in the middle on the floor and clothes everywhere. In fact, my whole apartment is pretty much a disaster area which my cat finds amusing but I find annoying so far. This too shall pass.

I have buyers for most of my furniture and other sundry household items, so that's nice. I am still looking to sell my VCR/DVD, kitchen table and dishes if anyone's interested. Now just comes the part where I coordinate for people to pick stuff up and PAY me! I have packed, given away, sold or thrown away most of the items in my living room and spare room. Now it's onto the clothes and kitchen.

I also have a plan!!! I will be leaving Denver early on January 18 and stopping in New York City for just 2 days and 1 night with my friend Ben. Then we will continue on to London on the late night flight Saturday night, arriving in London midday Sunday, January 20. Deloitte has arranged a driver to pick me up at the airport and I also have a corporate apartment for 2 weeks while I look for a place and figure out the city. I will be staying in Canary Wharf for those first 2 weeks, so that will be fun.

I am still looking for a more permanent apartment, but definitely leaning towards having a roommate to save $$$!!! I have found some good leads on the Deloitte UK website where employees post openings - a great resource so far.

Another great resource is my new "buddy" Anne. The firm assigns every new hire a buddy to help them get set up and answer questions. Anne has been very quick to respond to every question I send to her and since she just moved to London in September, all of these processes and details are fresh in her mind.

This has been a long post, but a lot's been happening! There are SO MANY details that have to come together before January 18 so my head is just spinning. If you see me and I don't really pay too much attention to you, I'm very sorry! I'm probably thinking about getting medical records, transferring money, finding an apartment and learning to speak "British" all at the same time!

Merry Christmas!!!

Progress

2007-11-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

Some exciting things have happened but rather slowly. I now have a visa! So I can legally stay in the UK and work for 5 years. I have a roommate prospect (friend of a friend of a friend) in order to save money (initially anyway). If that works out, I lose a lot of the stress when I first arrive in London...yay!!! I am starting to sell my US belongings. Anyone need a new living room or bedroom set? TV? (Seriously - let me know...These are the things I'm nervous about now.) I have a work "buddy" - someone who will answer questions for me now and also help me get set up in the office when I arrive. I have a US bank account that will link to my UK bank account.

I'm sure there are other exciting things but that's all I can think of for now. I had a nice Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family and enjoyed spending time with them. I am looking forward to a quiet Christmas with my immediate family, followed by a frenzied two weeks of parties, packing and goodbyes. But until then I am hunting around for things to sell on Craig's List and starting to throw away and pack up other things...such fun!

Mounds of paperwork

2007-11-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well, not really "mounds" but there is some. Most of my paperwork is done electronically. Since my last post, I got my work permit in the mail but it said I was Male! So I sent it back over there and they fixed it and got it back to me. The bummer about that was that if the first one had been right, I could have gone to the British consulate when I was in L.A. a couple weeks ago and had everything for my visa squared away without having to put my work permit and passport in the mail. But alas, things don't always work out the way we would plan for ourselves, right? (Story of my life on that L.A. trip...that's another thing though.) So. Yesterday I sent my visa application, passport, work permit and some other stuff in the mail to the British consulate. Within 5 business days I should have a visa to work and live in the U.K. for 5 years. Pretty sweet deal, huh? Too bad it cost me over $400!

I have started selling some of my household things this week. I have someone coming to look at my bike tomorrow and I have some interest in my golf clubs as well. Next step is my furniture, but I plan to wait until closer to time to move for that. If you would like to lay claim to anything in my apartment (aside from my piano), please let me know and we'll work out a fair deal. Also, my cat needs a good loving home, preferably with someone that I know!

I have to go, but wanted to get an update out there. Things are still moving along and I'm still as excited/scared as ever!

Update on things

2007-10-11T13:05:00.000-06:00

Well, not a whole lot has happened in the last couple weeks as far as London goes. I sent all of my paperwork back and my start date of February 4 has been confirmed. I am considering what day I should leave the U.S. I'm thinking about 3 weeks before starting work to give me time to find a place, settle in, do some exploring in the city and also take a short trip before I head back into busy season.

Today I got an email saying my work permit has been approved for 60 months. Now I need to do MORE paperwork in order to get my visa from the British consulate in Los Angeles. Too much paperwork!!!

Also on the agenda for the next few weeks is to continue to research boroughs and neighborhoods to live in. I have a few contacts in London and so far they have been very helpful in their suggestions. London's suburbs are called boroughs (sort of like New York, only I think they're a bit smaller and there are way more). Each borough then is divided into neighborhoods which is familiar to me from living in Denver with its many neighborhoods with different personalities. I have a couple books that have information on each borough and neighborhood and of course there is always info on the internet! The problem is finding an affordable, decent-sized apartment in a good, safe neighborhood! More on that soon hopefully.

In other news here in Denver, I am finally done with my busy season which has been a very long one this time around. I am ready to enjoy my last fall for awhile in Denver and make some time to spend with friends and family. The next 3 months before I leave will still be very busy, but hopefully in a different, much more fun way than the last few months!

Finally!

2007-09-22T16:32:00.000-06:00

I got my offer this week! After it was in the mail for two weeks, I finally received my paperwork from the London office on Monday. I had a chance to read most of it through, but there is more info online that I haven't gotten to yet. I have a call with my contact in London to discuss the details on Monday. Also, I submitted my information for my work permit so that is in the works. According to some other emails I have gotten, I will also need to submit some more info electronically in order to complete my background check, etc. I also need to sign and send back the paperwork I have. I plan to do that next week after I talk to Robin. So much to do already!!!

I did have to choose my start date this week and send that off to HR. Are you ready for the official news? ... February 4 will be my first day of work in London. I plan to leave the states about 2-2 1/2 weeks before that in order to get an apartment and get situated and spend some time figuring things out. Then by the time I start, it will be just in time for busy season so I will be in the swing of things right away I imagine.

I am still working on researching places to live and finding out about roommates, commutes, etc. I have had VERY little time to do anything about all of this since I've been completely slammed at work. But hopefully in a couple weeks, that will calm down and I can focus more on my move!

No news is good news right?

2007-09-01T19:39:00.000-06:00

I know that I haven't posted in over 3 weeks...but I haven't heard anything in over 3 weeks! I am waiting to get my official package with my offer and other details, which I expect to come any day. But I've been expecting it for a week now.

I've started a very meager search for apartments. I've been trying to get in touch with a couple people in the office where I will be working, but they are proving difficult to catch. I would like to find out if anyone is looking for a roommate or would be willing to upgrade their current living situation and also have a roommate. I've looked at a few places online, but without doing some more research on location, it's difficult to tell if the places would be right for me.

So not much news. I'll keep you posted as soon as I know anything else.

Interview Update

2007-08-11T16:53:00.000-06:00

Well, I had my "interview" on Thursday and it went well I think. Although, I don't think I'd ever like to have a real interview over the phone! You really realize how much nonverbal communication goes into something like that and you get NONE with a phone call. Anyway, I had the call with Robin (the recruiter/senior manager that I've been working with) and Holly (a manager who has been there 3 years). They asked me about the sort of work that I do, my reasons for coming to London and my intentions for how long I will stay and things along that line. They also talked about the sort of work they do, the opportunities they have coming down the road and some of the differences and similarities between their US offices and the UK office. As always, I came up with more questions to ask after we hung up, but I know they are available to answer any questions I have. Robin said that from here she will call my references and then present me to the partners in London for approval. I should hear back from her in 2-3 weeks with more details about how we will proceed. In the meantime, I think I will email a couple people with some more of my questions and continue my search for a good area of London to live in.

Interview

2007-08-08T19:24:00.000-06:00

I have my formal phone interview tomorrow (Thursday) morning with some people in London. It is just a formality, as I have the job, but it's a good way to make sure we are both on the same page as far as the work I will be doing and expectations as far as advancement and other career opportunities. I am excited to be able to talk to a couple other people besides the ones I have already communicated with. Plus, this marks the first official step from the London side! The process has begun!

In other news...I have no other news about London. I have been really busy at work, so I have only had a little bit of time to read my latest book, GenXpat. It's a really interesting look at life as an expat and a gen X-er. Technically, I am one year behind the gen-X crowd since it ends in 1981, but I find it fitting anyway. What's one year, right? Other books I have read are Expert Expatriate, Living in London, Buying or Renting a Home in London, and a few other general books about transitioning to a life in London. I have some others marked to buy and I am slowly accumulating and learning as I go along. It's been fun and interesting!

Hopefully I'll have some more information after tomorrow's call. I need to get going and write down some questions and make my thoughts coherent...

Life in London! (well, almost)

2007-08-03T18:48:00.001-06:00

I thought I would join the masses and start a blog about my new life in London! No promises on how much I will post, but I will try to keep you updated over the next few months as I prepare and make plans and go through all of these crazy logistics. And then the real fun will begin as I start my life in London!

In February, I started exploring the possibility of transferring to my firm's office in London. I am a tax accountant and I do a lot of work with large corporations, not only preparing and reviewing tax returns, but also other consulting and accounting jobs. Our Deloitte London office has a US tax group, which is a perfect fit for me. They do a lot of the same things I already do, but also lay on more mergers & acquisitions work as well as provisions and international tax. Anyway, after speaking with people in the London office and gearing up the courage to speak with my boss in Denver, the process was underway! It took lots of solid arguments and persistent reasoning with my boss on my part, but finally last Thursday (5 months later!!!), he gave me the approval to choose a day to leave Denver and he would approve it. Needless to say, I did not get much work done the rest of the day. My dream had finally become reality!

Since then I have been in touch with my contact in London and she is setting up a formal interview (unfortunately, just over the phone) with 2 people in her office. Then she will check my references in Denver and begin the paperwork process. Thankfully, Deloitte has a solid process and they will take care of all of those details.

I have chosen early January 2008 as my target move date. I hope to be starting my new job by the end of January. That will mark my 3 year anniversary at Deloitte and I think it will be a great way to celebrate!

My next step is to find a place to live in London! I may or may not take a trip over this fall to check things out, but that is still up in the air.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers and I go into this new and exciting phase of my life!