Trip to England: Day 4

We woke up very early the next morning to catch a train to London. We were all tired and already sore from all the walking we had done the days before, but that soon changed when Dawn screamed out "They killed Bin Laden!" from her room. The UK is 5 hours ahead and we were up around 4-5 a.m., which would be about the time that the US announced that they had killed Osama. After hearing the news, we were a little scared of going to London, since terrorist do target that city. But we made sure we had our passports and emergency contacts with us and headed out.

We took a small train from Chester to Crewe (which is apparently known mainly for its railroads) and then caught an awesome Virgin train to London. Amtrak has nothing on these Virgin trains! They are so quiet and fast...I wish Richard Branson could bring some of that to the US.

The train arrived in London right on time...literally, the minute we pulled up was the same minute we arrived (Are you listening, Amtrak?!). We made our way to a McDonald's to grab a drink and snack. It was cool to see their menus. Pretty much the same, but more tea, Cadbury chocolates and brown sauce.

Next we headed to Buckingham Palace and noticed the changing of the guards was about to take place. We got a decent spot, took in all of the royal wedding decorations, scaffolding and media tents that were still up and watched the Queen's Guards march. After the changing of the guards, they open up the streets to pedestrians, so we got to walk around the Victoria Memorial statue and get our pictures in front of the palace and gates. The balcony was still open from when Kate and William kissed.

Luke and I at Buckingham Palace

We walked the Mall and St. James Park and then went to Trafalgar Square to grab some lunch and people watch. After some nice bistro sandwiches we headed turned down on Parliament St./Whitehall St. and I gasped...there was Big Ben—just like in Peter Pan. The enormity of that building was so surprising. It was by far my favorite building in London.

Big Ben and Parliament St. from Trafalgar Square

We strolled along the street, taking in all of the government buildings, including the prime minister's home (10 Downing Street), which was surrounded by a ton of security. We also visited the Horse Guards building...we tried to get a photo of Luke and I with the guard/horses...looks like the horse was a bit of a turd that day.

The guard's horse was acting up. I'm sure we weren't allowed to touch the horse or something...
just call us stupid Americans ;)

Warren also found a couple double-decker buses and suggested we get our photos in front of one. When he saw the bus driver talking to another, he asked if we could get in the bus. Best.Idea.Ever!! As a result of his awesome idea, we got one of our favorite photos from the trip:

Luke and I having fun on a double-decker bus

We finally made our way to Big Ben, House of Parliament and the Westminster Abbey. The Abbey has a massive line wrapped around the entire church of people waiting to see where Will and Kate were wed just a few days earlier. We decided a tour of the Abbey would be a great second-trip option :)

Westminster Abbey. And yes, that is only a fraction of the line to get into the church.

After all that walking, we found a great little park just south of House of Parliaments. We took a breather, had some snacks and planned out our next leg of the trip. We crossed Lambeth Bridge and headed toward the London Eye. As we were walking, we got glimpses of London's financial district. It is cool how the old and new architecture meet in that area. After hanging out around Jubilee Gardens and Waterloo Station, we made our way to Covent Gardens to check into our rooms. We were staying at the Travelodge, which is kinda like the Travelodge in America, but more simplistic. Definitely a place with just the essentials, which was perfect for us. And it was cheap. Dawn and Warren know us so well! :D

A long nap was in order, so we went to our rooms, watched some TV and got ready for dinner. Dawn and Warren had been to Golden Dragon in London Chinatown in Leicester Square before, so we headed over there. After dinner, we strolled around Chinatown and the West End (theater district) and then headed back to the hotel for some good sleep. Even after all that sight-seeing, we still had some more things to see...and places to shop!

Trip To England: Day 3

On Sunday, we decided to take a train ride on the Merseyrail from Ellesmere Port to Liverpool. The city is known for its younger (i.e. more hipster) population, compared to most cities in England; the music scene, made popular by the Beatles; and for being the port of registry for the Titanic.

We first walked around the trendy shops (you can get a foot massage from tiny fish that suck your feet) and then headed over to the River Mersey. The Mersey empties at Liverpool Bay. Ellesmere Port is on the other side of the Mersey, and has long been a dividing line between Lancashire county (Liverpool) and Cheshire county (Ellesmere Port). Along the Mersey are street vendors and performers. It was cool to see how similar/different they are compared to America. The street performers are a little more forward (at least in my experiences) in Liverpool. They actually mock people, which I think in America would ruin any chances of a tip.

The River Mersey

Along the waterfront is the Albert Dock. Built in the mid-1800s, it is the first non-combustible warehouse (made of cast iron, brick and stone). Now it is a great shopping and restaurant center.

Albert Dock

From the docks, we walked west and found the Three Graces: The Royal Liver Building, The Cunard Building and the Port of Liverpool Building. These buildings help define Liverpool's skyline. The Royal Liver Building's Liver Birds is a major symbol for the city, and the mascot for the Liverpool Football Club.

The Three Graces (minus the two modern buildings on the left and right)

From there, we walked to the Cavern Quarter on Mathew Street. The streets were narrow and cobble-stoned and you could hear loud music coming from almost every bar. Every summer, the city hosts the Matthew Street Music Festival, the largest free music festival in Europe. The highlight of the day was visiting the Cavern Club, where the Beatles frequently played before they got famous. The club is about 3 stories underground and held up by old, grafittied bricks. Every 20 feet or so, you go under brick arches, which I'm guessing is what keeps the place from crumbling. The acoustics are amazing and the place was hopping at 3 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon. We saw little kids watch their parents drink a few (Europeans seem to be very open around their kids when it comes to alcohol) and numerous hen parties (aka bachelorette parties).

Luke and I in front of the stage at The Cavern Club

The whole gang in front of The Cavern Club

After a couple drinks, we made our way back to the Merseyrail to meet Warren's sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew. What Luke and I really treasured was getting to hang out with Dawn and Warren and meeting their families. We really soaked in their way of living (PG Tips Tea 24-7!) and culture. Not to mention, we looooved going to their grocery stores!

After a great "traditional English-Indian meal," we got ready for our two-day trip to London!

Trip To England: Day 2

We took the morning to rest, watched fashion critics on the television analyze Catherine and Pippa's dresses from the royal wedding and caught up with Warren and Dawn. It had been about 10 years since Luke had seen them back at University of North Carolina-Asheville. We all got along amazingly, and it really seemed as if we had been good friends for years. Luke and I are so grateful for their wonderful friendship and hospitality. We hope to return the favor when they come visit America!

Luke and I do the traditional tourist shot in Chester

In the afternoon we headed to Chester, an old Roman village south of Ellesmere Port. The town was surrounded by a massive wall built by the Romans. Parts of the wall date back to the year 120! A Roman amphitheater is also located just outside of the walls and dates back to the first century. It is the largest amphitheater discovered in England.

The Roman walls

One thing that I loved about Chester (and England in general) is they never built huge shopping malls for all of the stores. Rather, they maintain the traditional store fronts along the city streets. It was amazing to shop in these old buildings, each unique and stunning. It added so much to the shopping experience.

The shops in Chester

For dinner, we went to the Albion Inn, an old Victorian and traditional English pub and inn dating back to the late 1800s. The decor is reflective of the Great War (1914-1918), which took place just a few steps from the Albion Inn. According to their website, many soldiers visited the bar before heading back out the the battlefield.

The Albion Inn

At the traditional English pubs, you have to go up to the bar to place your order. The waitresses only come by to pick up empty plates (there are no free refills in England). It was odd not having people come by asking how the food was or if we needed anything else. But at the same time, if we did need something, we could always go to the bar.

For dinner, I had a turkey dinner and Luke had an amazing cottage pie. Who says British food isn't good? This stuff was better than a lot of stuff we've had in the States!

Luke enjoying his ale and cottage pie

We strolled along the Roman walls for a bit after dinner and then headed to Tesco to pick up some food for the week. This was one of my favorite parts of the trip! I loved looking at all of the British and Scottish foods and seeing what American foods are popular over there. The chocolates are by far better than America's and their flavors of potato chips (or crisps, as they call them in England) are a little more adventurous. Some of the flavors include: Worcestershire sauce, prawn, roast chicken, pickled onion and beef and onion.

Dawn and Warren were a little surprised at our excitement over a grocery store, but they remembered how excited they were to walk around a WalMart when they were in the States. We enjoyed gawking at all the items for sale. We even picked up a pack of Scotch eggs so Luke could taste a bit of his heritage.

We headed back to their place for the night, had a cup of tea (PG Tips, of course) to finish the night and then it was off to bed.

Trip to England: Day 1

William and Kate picked a great day to get married ... the day that we were to head to England! We made our plans before their wedding date was set, thank goodness. Didn't even want to know what the plane ticket fares were for that week!

Words cannot express just how much we loved England. The people, the history and (dare we say) the food were all amazing. It was one of those trips that you know will always hold a special place in your heart. I hope these blog posts can convey a little of why we feel that way.

British Airways decorations at the check-in counter

We left for the airport early in the morning to catch the 8:15 a.m. flight to London. We took British Airways and really enjoyed the trip (except the part where they lost our luggage even after we received a confirmation that the luggage was on our connecting flight). We arrived at the gate in Boston and were greeted with wedding cakes, pastries, teas, coffees and a cardboard cut-out of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. It was such a great surprise and a wonderful way to start the trip. The flight attendants (who were British) were watching the wedding with us. It was very cool to see their reaction to Catherine's dress and the whole celebration.

Me with the cardboard cut-out of the newlyweds

Luke enjoys some wedding cake at 7 a.m.

This was our first trans-Atlantic flight, so it was interesting flying over the ocean for 5 hours. After landing, we did our best to find our way through London-Heathrow. We had to make a connecting flight to Manchester in a little less than 2 hours. We made it to the gate just in time and it was just a 20-minute flight. Since we didn't have much time in Heathrow, this was our first time hearing mainly British accents. We definitely felt like foreigners.

We arrived in Manchester ahead of schedule and Warren (Luke's friend from college) was there to take us to his and Dawn's (Warren's fiance) place in Ellesmere Port, a cute town just south of Liverpool. Luke and I loved watching Warren drive not only in the passenger seat, but also on the other side of the road. There were a few instances during the trip were I felt like saying, "Look out, you're going against traffic!"

Once we arrived at their place, we grabbed a chicken kabob at a great "take-away" (or fast food) restaurant. I got to pay in pounds and try to understand northern England accents. They had a fun time trying to figure out my pronunciation of "tomato." We spent the rest of the night catching up and watching some good British television. Luke and I eventually passed out around 2 a.m. (9 p.m. Boston time).

One-year anniversary trip to Vermont

So that year went by pretty fast, huh? It has been an awesome year, full or so many adventures and a ton of love. Luke and I decided to celebrate our 365 days of wedded bliss by making the short drive (3 hours) to his old stomping grounds in Vermont. Last week we packed the car and headed north to see the leaves change colors. I have seen an autumn before, but never to this magnitude. The mountains and hills were covered in trees, all with distinct colors of red, yellow, orange, brown and green. It is really something you have to see in person to truly appreciate.

To spare multiple posts, I will give you the highlights and link you to our Shutterfly account so you can see all of the pictures.

Day 1: We left early in the morning to beat the Friday rush hour traffic. In a little less than an hour we were already in New Hampshire. We stopped off in Hanover to see Dartmouth College, or what we could make out with all of the rain. A major storm hit the New England area that day dumping 6-8 inches of rain. After driving by the college, we made our way up to Bradford, Newbury and East Corinth. I got to see Luke's old schools, his adorable old house on top of a hill, went shopping and ate at the Perfect Pear Cafe. The drive was interesting as we drove by the river near Bradford and East Corinth. The river was almost at eye level in some areas, whole trees were floating down the river and we even drove across some water. We had to stop about 500 yards before Luke's old house because a whole chunk of road had been washed away. Despite my concern, Luke was adamant on seeing his old place (I would be too) and hit the gas as we drove over what was left of the road and a muddy ditch.

The big hole in the road about 500 yards from Luke's old house

The foliage, just past Luke's old house.

After visiting Luke's old town, we headed to Montpelier. A mall popped up on my GPS, so we headed there to kill an hour or so before check-in time at our bed and breakfast. This mall was pitiful. It had a fabric store, Bath and Body Works, Maurices and even a Wal-Mart. I love Vermont, but if we ever move there we will be coming back to Boston to go shopping :)

When the clock struck 3 p.m. we made our way to Waitsfield, Vermont to check in at the Wilder Inn Bed and Breakfast. It is a cute farmhouse built in the 1800s and nestled between the bottom of a hillside and the Mad River. The innkeepers, Linda and Luke, were great and so was the breakfast! We loved meeting the other guests and even plan on staying in touch with a couple of them. Luke is also a professional potter and has his own studio called The Naked Potter. We picked up a couple beautiful mugs during our stay.

The Wilder Inn

For dinner, we headed over by the Sugarbush Ski Resort to Terra Rossa. We had a 10% off coupon toward the restaurant and Linda and Luke recommended it to us. Luke and I had a couple of local brews and personal stone made in an authentic pizza oven in the middle of the restaurant.

Day 2: We woke up to homemade wheat pancakes with our choice of pumpkin, blueberry or chocolate chip. Luke went with the pumpkin and I had to go with blueberry. I could have eaten the ginormous portion, but when I saw that I was beating Luke, I decided that I might need to slow it down a little :)

After breakfast, we headed to Ben and Jerry's to see the factory and go on their short tour. The factory is so tiny that the tour only took about 10 minutes, five of which were spent watching a movie and 2 were spent getting a free sample of ice cream.

We then headed west to Boyer Orchard in Monkton, Vermont. We picked apples from rows and rows of apples (11 different varieties), got some homemade jam and baby pumpkins. Since coming home, we've had two of the apples and can say they are the best apples we've ever had. We plan on going up to Vermont next year, even if it is just to get some of these apples. In the afternoon, we headed back over to Montpelier to check out the cute shops and state capitol. The town reminded us of Flagstaff with the original buildings and old-time feel.

Doing some apple picking at Boyer Orchard with my new hat from a cute store in Bradford.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary, we ate at the Millbrook Inn and Restaurant for dinner. The actual dining area of the restaurant is an old living and dining room. The food was amazing and full of local ingredients. For dessert we had blueberry and raspberry pie—so good that the dessert chef wouldn't divulge her recipe.

A covered bridge just outside of Waitsfield

Day 3: The next morning, we had eggs, warm cereal, homemade toast and potatoes for breakfast. We hit the road and I didn't need lunch. Those breakfasts were so filling. :) We decided to stop off in New Hampshire to pick up some tax-free wine. The guy at Hanafords gave our IDs a long look. Probably not every day you get two people in New Hampshire that are from Arizona.

To see more pictures of our trip, go to our Shutterfly page.

Our first Red Sox game

On September 18, Luke and I went over to the Fens to see the Red Sox take on the Toronto Blue Jays. In true 2010 form, the Red Sox lost, but we had a great time and made some new friends.

We met up with fellow Boston Globe designer, Robert and his wife, Jennifer at the Other Side Cafe for dinner. We had a great time getting to know each other over food and beers. After dinner, we headed over to the stadium. This was Robert, Jennifer and I's first ever Red Sox game and Luke's second. Walking through the stadium in worth the ticket price itself. I felt like we had stepped back in time with the pillars, wood frames and old time signage. Even the announcer sounded like he was about to announce Babe Ruth up to bat.

Luke and Fenway Park

Luke and some cool signage in Fenway Park

Luke got our tickets from another Boston Globe designer that was a season ticket holder. We were in box seats along the third base line and right at the end of the row.

The view from our seats

Ortiz up to bat.

Despite the loss, we had a wonderful time with great friends, great seats and great weather. To see more pictures of the game, go to our Shutterfly account.

Jennifer's Trip Home: Part 1

I decided to take a quick trip back to Illinois last month, since, ya know, I had nothing else better to do :) It was a good excuse to head back, and after I eventually get a job, I probably won't be able to take any days off for 3 months.

I got in on a Saturday morning and went to Alexis' in-town softball tournament and immediately got an amazing sunburn. I'm still peeling. Mom took Lexi and I to my favorite pizza restaurant, Monical's and then we went shopping. Mom bought me some cute booties for wintertime and Lexi got me some Sillybandz for my birthday!

Lexi and I's Sillybandz!

Lexi and her pet guinea pig, Sheeba

On Sunday, Lexi, mom and I went to Mom's church and then Dad, Lexi and I went to the softball field to teach Lexi some softball situations. Dad cooked some hamburgers and Lexi and I walked Amanda's new puppy, Piper.

On Monday, Dad, Lexi and I went to Decatur to see Grandma and Grandpa French, Grandma Crose and Aunt Becky. We met Grandma and Grandpa French and Hometown Buffet and then went over to their house to pick some tomatoes. Grandpa gave me a shoebox full of tomatoes to take back to Boston...boy was that fun hauling around two airports, a subway and bus! :) But they were delicious and worth the trouble. After we visited Grandma and Grandpa, we headed over to Grandma Crose's apartment to meet up with her and Aunt Becky. We went over to one of the Crose Family's favorite restaurants, Ted's Garage, for dinner.

Lexi and Grandpa pick some huge tomatoes in his garden

Grandma, Aunt Becky at I at Ted's Garage

Tuesday was full of shopping! Lexi, Amanda and I went to grab Dad's present, visited Mom at work, went to Noodles for lunch and then back to the mall. Amanda got me some snow boots...Bloomington had some good deals on footwear, I guess!

Lexi tries on shoes in Sears and gives her best "Beyonce pose"

More on the trip in the next post...