Wednesday, November 26, 2008
we're heeeerrrrrreeeee
We landed safely back in Atlanta today, coming home for Thanksgiving. Our trip started out badly since the first two trains to go to the airport were cancelled. After that train got going, things started to go good again and we didn't have any more problems. Now we're getting ready to eat lots of turkey and spend times with family and friends.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Oxford Street - A Magical Place
On Wednesday, November 12, 2008, Greg and I head to Oxford Street. But, tonight was not a typical night on Oxford Street. Tonight was the night they would light up the streets and buildings with the thousands upon thousands of Christmas Lights. I was so excited but had no clue what I was about to encounter. Not only were the lights being turned on but there was a mini concert, including Chase Crawford from Gossip Girl, the cast of the West End show Mama Mia!, 4 of the X Factor finalists (like American Idol), and the Sugababes (a UK female singing group).
Chase Crawford from Gossip Girl:
Cast of Mama Mia!
We gathered in a small area on Oxford Street that had been shut down to traffic (there were a couple thousand crammed into 1 small block) to watch the show. Seeing Chase Crawford was good, he plays Nate for those of you who don't know. Mama Mia cast was good, but we had seen them perform the same 3 songs at West End Live in the summer. The X Factor contestants were great to see, since I really enjoy watching that show. Daniel, Rachel, Ruth, and Alexandra all performed. I wish that Diana had been well enough to have been there, Eoghan was at his famililies to see his new sister, and not sure where the group JLS were, they would have been good to see as well. They sang their #1 single, Mariah Carey's "Hero", and then the Christmas Song "All I want for Christmas is You". It was so much fun. Then the Sugababes came out and sang a couple of songs before doing the countdown for the lights. The lights were so pretty and there was even a fireworks display.
Ruth of X Factor:
Daniel & Rachel of X Factor:
The Sugababes:
The lights on House of Fraser:
But, that was not the best part of the night. We had gotten some tickets to see Katy Perry. It was a publicity tour, so not a full concert but she did perform 3 songs accoustically and then signed autographs. It was good to talk to her, she was pleased to hear an American accent as well. She is a great performer, and I think she sounds even better without all of the extra stuff. She is an entertainer, I will say that.
Me & Greg at the show:
Lilli & Dean joined us at the concert:
Katy on stage, she reminds us of Carole:
A horrible pic of me, but the only one with Katy Perry:
After that we stopped in a sushi place for some dinner, and then back home for some sleep.
Chase Crawford from Gossip Girl:
Cast of Mama Mia!
We gathered in a small area on Oxford Street that had been shut down to traffic (there were a couple thousand crammed into 1 small block) to watch the show. Seeing Chase Crawford was good, he plays Nate for those of you who don't know. Mama Mia cast was good, but we had seen them perform the same 3 songs at West End Live in the summer. The X Factor contestants were great to see, since I really enjoy watching that show. Daniel, Rachel, Ruth, and Alexandra all performed. I wish that Diana had been well enough to have been there, Eoghan was at his famililies to see his new sister, and not sure where the group JLS were, they would have been good to see as well. They sang their #1 single, Mariah Carey's "Hero", and then the Christmas Song "All I want for Christmas is You". It was so much fun. Then the Sugababes came out and sang a couple of songs before doing the countdown for the lights. The lights were so pretty and there was even a fireworks display.
Ruth of X Factor:
Daniel & Rachel of X Factor:
The Sugababes:
The lights on House of Fraser:
But, that was not the best part of the night. We had gotten some tickets to see Katy Perry. It was a publicity tour, so not a full concert but she did perform 3 songs accoustically and then signed autographs. It was good to talk to her, she was pleased to hear an American accent as well. She is a great performer, and I think she sounds even better without all of the extra stuff. She is an entertainer, I will say that.
Me & Greg at the show:
Lilli & Dean joined us at the concert:
Katy on stage, she reminds us of Carole:
A horrible pic of me, but the only one with Katy Perry:
After that we stopped in a sushi place for some dinner, and then back home for some sleep.
Friday, October 31, 2008
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Just wishing everyone a Happy Halloween. Wanted to share some pics of costumes and pumpkins with you. Dan & Rebecca had never carved a pumpkin, we had them come over and we showed them the way.
Here is Greg and his skull:
Me and my witch:
Rebecca and her oh so cute heart pumpkin:
Dan and his very happy pumpkin:
All 4 pumpkins lit up for the night:
Ready for Halloween:
Daisy Adair wasn't too fond of wearing a costume:
Chewy was tolerant:
And Willow, well, she loves it:
My pumpkin dressed up herself:
Here is Greg and his skull:
Me and my witch:
Rebecca and her oh so cute heart pumpkin:
Dan and his very happy pumpkin:
All 4 pumpkins lit up for the night:
Ready for Halloween:
Daisy Adair wasn't too fond of wearing a costume:
Chewy was tolerant:
And Willow, well, she loves it:
My pumpkin dressed up herself:
Thursday, October 30, 2008
American Football in London (but no werewolfs)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Finally, we had been waiting for a very long time for this day, nearly 6 months. It was the 1 day of the year that the NFL comes to London to host a game. Last year was a very boring game between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins. This year however was going to be a much more exciting game between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints, both teams not having a good season and having just lost their last games. As ALL of the reports said, it was a "critical" game for both teams. Whatever, we were just ready for some good football (and not soccer).
Greg at Wembley Stadium:
The stadium ready for the game:
Before the game there was a tailgating party going on, New Orleans themed. The Saints were to be the home team so everything was geared toward them. We arrived at Wembley Stadium around 11 am to pick up our tickets and head to the tailgating. When we got in it had been going for about 30 minutes, but still not too many crowds. It was however raining :( We expected the rain, with it being football season and all, and had a good time anyways.
Me, taking a run with LT:
Greg as a NY Giant:
Me and my new car:
Mardi Gras style performers at the tailgating party:
We walked around to the different tents to see what all they had, and even grabbed a drink. Poor Greg, the event was sponsored by Coors so Coors Lite was the ONLY beer in the tailgating party. I had a cider instead. We headed up toward the stage area and watched some of the live entertainment and even watched the small Mardi Gras style parade that they had, complete with 3 floats. They even threw out beads, which we did manage to catch some. After the parade and a bit more live entertainment we decided to brave the lines for some jambalaya. They were expecting roughly 20,000 people at the tailgating party, so 6 small food vendors was not really enough. I waited in line for about 20 minutes for a measly helping of jambalaya (looked more like paella than any Cajun food we had ever seen) while Greg stood to get a couple more drinks. I also picked up a Pecan tart for Greg.
Me with the Saints mascot:
The 1st float in the parade (NFL):
The 3rd float in the parade (music of New Orleans):
Once done with that we walked around a bit more, saw people playing the games they had and ducking into the retail shop to have a brief look before going to get me a hot dog. No lie.....we stood in this line for over an hour. I don't think anyone there knew how to work one of these events. Oh well. I got a hot dog, Greg went ahead and got a hamburger since we had been there forever, and we shared some fries.
It was now close to 3, which is when they were going to open the gates, so we left the tailgating party and headed into the stadium. We found our seats and watched the teams warm up before venturing out to the corridor to buy a few souvenirs. Damn Lines everywhere! We stood here for about another 20 minutes before being able to get up to buy my teddy bear and other small things. We then went to grab a little bit more food (another hot dog for me and pizza for Greg) and another drink. This time however, the stadium only serves Carlsberg. Well, Greg quickly found out that he preferred another Coors Lite over Carlsberg. Guess if you really want a beer you will drink anything, I just had a coke.
Inside the stadium:
Drew Brees warming up:
The game was a blast, always moving and something going on, the stadium was packed, every single team jersey was represented, and the atmosphere was so alive. The best part was that the stadium was completely sold out. Greg nor I were really rooting for either team, but if we had to pick one it was the Chargers. We were more rooting for particular players on either team, trying to help our fantasy points along. The pregame show was Stereophonics performing with the Saints cheerleaders, the Saintsations, followed by Ne-Yo singing the American National Anthem, and then Joss Stone singing God Save the Queen. Half time was the same 3 Mardi Gras floats going around the stadium.
Pregame with Stereophonics:
Me and Greg at the game
The game was pretty close but the end was the best part. With less than a minute left, Drew Brees ran back into the end zone for a safety. This made the game 37 Saints to 32 Chargers. The Saints kicked off, Chargers returned for about 30 yards, and the clock went to 0. The people started to flood out of the stadium but the referee came over and said to put 1 second back on the clock, time for 1 last play. The Chargers were at about the 50, hail Mary time. About 8 guys jumped and had the Chargers actually managed to catch the ball they would have won. Everyone was holding their breath, but the ball bounced off someones hands and landed at about the 2 yard line. Game over, Saints won, but it was a fantastic game to watch.
The stadium at night:
Finally, we had been waiting for a very long time for this day, nearly 6 months. It was the 1 day of the year that the NFL comes to London to host a game. Last year was a very boring game between the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins. This year however was going to be a much more exciting game between the San Diego Chargers and the New Orleans Saints, both teams not having a good season and having just lost their last games. As ALL of the reports said, it was a "critical" game for both teams. Whatever, we were just ready for some good football (and not soccer).
Greg at Wembley Stadium:
The stadium ready for the game:
Before the game there was a tailgating party going on, New Orleans themed. The Saints were to be the home team so everything was geared toward them. We arrived at Wembley Stadium around 11 am to pick up our tickets and head to the tailgating. When we got in it had been going for about 30 minutes, but still not too many crowds. It was however raining :( We expected the rain, with it being football season and all, and had a good time anyways.
Me, taking a run with LT:
Greg as a NY Giant:
Me and my new car:
Mardi Gras style performers at the tailgating party:
We walked around to the different tents to see what all they had, and even grabbed a drink. Poor Greg, the event was sponsored by Coors so Coors Lite was the ONLY beer in the tailgating party. I had a cider instead. We headed up toward the stage area and watched some of the live entertainment and even watched the small Mardi Gras style parade that they had, complete with 3 floats. They even threw out beads, which we did manage to catch some. After the parade and a bit more live entertainment we decided to brave the lines for some jambalaya. They were expecting roughly 20,000 people at the tailgating party, so 6 small food vendors was not really enough. I waited in line for about 20 minutes for a measly helping of jambalaya (looked more like paella than any Cajun food we had ever seen) while Greg stood to get a couple more drinks. I also picked up a Pecan tart for Greg.
Me with the Saints mascot:
The 1st float in the parade (NFL):
The 3rd float in the parade (music of New Orleans):
Once done with that we walked around a bit more, saw people playing the games they had and ducking into the retail shop to have a brief look before going to get me a hot dog. No lie.....we stood in this line for over an hour. I don't think anyone there knew how to work one of these events. Oh well. I got a hot dog, Greg went ahead and got a hamburger since we had been there forever, and we shared some fries.
It was now close to 3, which is when they were going to open the gates, so we left the tailgating party and headed into the stadium. We found our seats and watched the teams warm up before venturing out to the corridor to buy a few souvenirs. Damn Lines everywhere! We stood here for about another 20 minutes before being able to get up to buy my teddy bear and other small things. We then went to grab a little bit more food (another hot dog for me and pizza for Greg) and another drink. This time however, the stadium only serves Carlsberg. Well, Greg quickly found out that he preferred another Coors Lite over Carlsberg. Guess if you really want a beer you will drink anything, I just had a coke.
Inside the stadium:
Drew Brees warming up:
The game was a blast, always moving and something going on, the stadium was packed, every single team jersey was represented, and the atmosphere was so alive. The best part was that the stadium was completely sold out. Greg nor I were really rooting for either team, but if we had to pick one it was the Chargers. We were more rooting for particular players on either team, trying to help our fantasy points along. The pregame show was Stereophonics performing with the Saints cheerleaders, the Saintsations, followed by Ne-Yo singing the American National Anthem, and then Joss Stone singing God Save the Queen. Half time was the same 3 Mardi Gras floats going around the stadium.
Pregame with Stereophonics:
Me and Greg at the game
The game was pretty close but the end was the best part. With less than a minute left, Drew Brees ran back into the end zone for a safety. This made the game 37 Saints to 32 Chargers. The Saints kicked off, Chargers returned for about 30 yards, and the clock went to 0. The people started to flood out of the stadium but the referee came over and said to put 1 second back on the clock, time for 1 last play. The Chargers were at about the 50, hail Mary time. About 8 guys jumped and had the Chargers actually managed to catch the ball they would have won. Everyone was holding their breath, but the ball bounced off someones hands and landed at about the 2 yard line. Game over, Saints won, but it was a fantastic game to watch.
The stadium at night:
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Snow in October, who would have guessed
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
It is about 10:30 pm here and has been snowing for roughly an hour and half. It so beautiful, more beautiful than any falling snow that I have ever seen before. The largest snowflakes that I have ever witnessed with my own eyes. It makes for a spectacular scene. It is predicted to snow until roughly 3 am but wanted to share some of the wonderful scenery that we already have.
Chewy and Greg in the snow
A car in front of our place covered in snow
A plant in our backyard
No lie, the flakes were so much larger than a quarter....
The bushes out front:
I still just can't get over the fact that it is only October.
A few videos of our snow:
It is about 10:30 pm here and has been snowing for roughly an hour and half. It so beautiful, more beautiful than any falling snow that I have ever seen before. The largest snowflakes that I have ever witnessed with my own eyes. It makes for a spectacular scene. It is predicted to snow until roughly 3 am but wanted to share some of the wonderful scenery that we already have.
Chewy and Greg in the snow
A car in front of our place covered in snow
A plant in our backyard
No lie, the flakes were so much larger than a quarter....
The bushes out front:
I still just can't get over the fact that it is only October.
A few videos of our snow:
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Something is dull in the state of Denmark
We never thought we would go to a place that was less eventful than Cork, but we did.
The weekend of October 10, 2008, we took a mini cruise across the North Sea to Esbjerg, Denmark. The cruise was only 2 nights, but was supposed to be a wildlife watching cruise. Let me tell you how sorry we felt for the girl running the wildlife portion. We barely even saw birds, which normally you see thousands over the North Sea. The day we left it was so warm and calm, there wasn't even breeze on the Sea that no birds came out to see us. On Saturday, she had said there is a sand bar coming into port where the seals always hang out. Well, low and behold, for the first time, the sand bar was under water, so no seals. We did see about 2 or 3 wading birds. On Sunday, our return to London, we happened to see a couple of birds, but due to the heavy fog, you could barely see your hand in front of your face. Oh well, we still had a good time.
This was pretty much all the wildlife we saw:
On Friday, we met up with Dan and Rebecca and took the train to Harwich, to catch our boat. Once on the boat we got settled in and then immediately met back up in their room for some dinner and drinks. We hung out, listened to music, and had a few bottles of wine, and just relaxed. It was so nice not having to actually go anywhere. It was also Dan's birthday weekend so we bought a cake and celebrated. Greg and I headed back to our room around 11 and went to bed, we were quite tired for no reason at all.
The sunset when we were leaving Harwich (outside of London):
On deck, leaving Harwich:
Dan and his birthday cake:
We woke up the next morning and met up for the breakfast buffet before going on land. We also took some time to go hang out on the deck and watch a balloon animal show. I had a pink bunny made for me. The guy who does most of the entertainment on the ship is very interesting, and very friendly with Dan. He does magic, balloon animals, and impersonations. His main impersonation is Manuel from Fawlty Towers (which we have never seen and have no idea either).
All four of us in the captains area:
The impersonator, making my pink bunny:
We ported around 1 pm to have 5 hours in Esbjerg, which we were excited about. When we were leaving the ship and heading to passport control Dan and Rebecca realized that they had left theirs on the ship. They went back and met up with us, at that time Rebecca realized that she forgot her ship key so we had to talk to the people of the cruise line, since that was your ticket back onto the ship. Finally, we were off to see Denmark.
Well, that was the most excitement I think we had. We found the main shopping area and set off. We were starting to get hungry so we couldn't decide what we wanted to do. We found out that all of the shops close at 2 pm (SERIOUSLY, On a Saturday...are you kidding me???) so we thought we should shop for the 30 minutes or so that we had left to shop. Dan had done some research and found a good Italian restaurant, so made sure to duck into a shop before it closed to get directions. So, the town closes, and I mean it closes. I felt like I was in a ghost town, and we kept cracking jokes about waiting for the tumbleweeds to roll by. We barely saw anyone around at that time. We found the Italian restaurant, and it was closed, until 5 pm. Our boat leaves at 6 pm, so had to come up with something else to do.
Greg killing time in Esbjerg, since there is nothing else to do:
McDonald's was open, but we were not up for that. We did finally find a decent looking restaurant in the main square. We stopped in there to grab a bite and ended up staying for 2 hours. It was one of the most amazing meals we have had on a trip thus far. Greg had a wonderful steak (the first since leaving home) that came with a peppercorn sauce. He also had mushroom soup, that I even thought was good. I wasn't wanting something as big as a steak so I got a club sandwich with chicken that was even better than most. Afterwards we decided to stop into the grocery store to grab food to take back onto the ship for dinner, since the food is so pricey. We killed about 30 minutes at least grabbing groceries and then decided to go see the Four White Men Sitting......
About the only attraction in Esbjerg is a very large modern art scultpure just outside of port, you can actually see it when you are coming in on the ship. As the name suggests, it is 4 very large men, who are completely white, sitting. It had started to rain so we actually called a taxi to take us out there (as it is about a 45 minute walk) and then she took us to port. We spent about 10 minutes taking pictures at the statues before going to wait to get back onto the ship.
The Four White Men Sitting statue:
Me and Greg in front of 2 of the 4 white men:
The rest of the evening was pretty much the same, we hung out and ate and drank in Dan and Rebecca's room before heading to our own for bed. Sunday we got up, had breakfast, got to Harwich, traveled back to London, and ordered take out food for dinner, that was our day.
Me & Greg on board the Serena, on our return to London (notice how foggy it is):
The weekend of October 10, 2008, we took a mini cruise across the North Sea to Esbjerg, Denmark. The cruise was only 2 nights, but was supposed to be a wildlife watching cruise. Let me tell you how sorry we felt for the girl running the wildlife portion. We barely even saw birds, which normally you see thousands over the North Sea. The day we left it was so warm and calm, there wasn't even breeze on the Sea that no birds came out to see us. On Saturday, she had said there is a sand bar coming into port where the seals always hang out. Well, low and behold, for the first time, the sand bar was under water, so no seals. We did see about 2 or 3 wading birds. On Sunday, our return to London, we happened to see a couple of birds, but due to the heavy fog, you could barely see your hand in front of your face. Oh well, we still had a good time.
This was pretty much all the wildlife we saw:
On Friday, we met up with Dan and Rebecca and took the train to Harwich, to catch our boat. Once on the boat we got settled in and then immediately met back up in their room for some dinner and drinks. We hung out, listened to music, and had a few bottles of wine, and just relaxed. It was so nice not having to actually go anywhere. It was also Dan's birthday weekend so we bought a cake and celebrated. Greg and I headed back to our room around 11 and went to bed, we were quite tired for no reason at all.
The sunset when we were leaving Harwich (outside of London):
On deck, leaving Harwich:
Dan and his birthday cake:
We woke up the next morning and met up for the breakfast buffet before going on land. We also took some time to go hang out on the deck and watch a balloon animal show. I had a pink bunny made for me. The guy who does most of the entertainment on the ship is very interesting, and very friendly with Dan. He does magic, balloon animals, and impersonations. His main impersonation is Manuel from Fawlty Towers (which we have never seen and have no idea either).
All four of us in the captains area:
The impersonator, making my pink bunny:
We ported around 1 pm to have 5 hours in Esbjerg, which we were excited about. When we were leaving the ship and heading to passport control Dan and Rebecca realized that they had left theirs on the ship. They went back and met up with us, at that time Rebecca realized that she forgot her ship key so we had to talk to the people of the cruise line, since that was your ticket back onto the ship. Finally, we were off to see Denmark.
Well, that was the most excitement I think we had. We found the main shopping area and set off. We were starting to get hungry so we couldn't decide what we wanted to do. We found out that all of the shops close at 2 pm (SERIOUSLY, On a Saturday...are you kidding me???) so we thought we should shop for the 30 minutes or so that we had left to shop. Dan had done some research and found a good Italian restaurant, so made sure to duck into a shop before it closed to get directions. So, the town closes, and I mean it closes. I felt like I was in a ghost town, and we kept cracking jokes about waiting for the tumbleweeds to roll by. We barely saw anyone around at that time. We found the Italian restaurant, and it was closed, until 5 pm. Our boat leaves at 6 pm, so had to come up with something else to do.
Greg killing time in Esbjerg, since there is nothing else to do:
McDonald's was open, but we were not up for that. We did finally find a decent looking restaurant in the main square. We stopped in there to grab a bite and ended up staying for 2 hours. It was one of the most amazing meals we have had on a trip thus far. Greg had a wonderful steak (the first since leaving home) that came with a peppercorn sauce. He also had mushroom soup, that I even thought was good. I wasn't wanting something as big as a steak so I got a club sandwich with chicken that was even better than most. Afterwards we decided to stop into the grocery store to grab food to take back onto the ship for dinner, since the food is so pricey. We killed about 30 minutes at least grabbing groceries and then decided to go see the Four White Men Sitting......
About the only attraction in Esbjerg is a very large modern art scultpure just outside of port, you can actually see it when you are coming in on the ship. As the name suggests, it is 4 very large men, who are completely white, sitting. It had started to rain so we actually called a taxi to take us out there (as it is about a 45 minute walk) and then she took us to port. We spent about 10 minutes taking pictures at the statues before going to wait to get back onto the ship.
The Four White Men Sitting statue:
Me and Greg in front of 2 of the 4 white men:
The rest of the evening was pretty much the same, we hung out and ate and drank in Dan and Rebecca's room before heading to our own for bed. Sunday we got up, had breakfast, got to Harwich, traveled back to London, and ordered take out food for dinner, that was our day.
Me & Greg on board the Serena, on our return to London (notice how foggy it is):
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