Zurich

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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.