June 22 - Tuesday
Our day at Wimbledon was perfect. The weather had finally warmed up to near 80 we had a day of sun and clear skies. Wimbledon is one of those places where the build up does not exceed the actual experience! The moment we entered the complex you sense the prestige and tradition. Our invitation included cocktails and lunch in a private suite. The pre-lunch cocktails were either champagne or Pimm's which is a refreshing drink that Rick likes to call "British Sangria." It is actually a gin based drink which looks like iced tea and is mixed with lightly carbonated lemonade, spices, and chopped fresh fruits such as apples, oranges, cucumber, and mint. The actual Pimm's base is a highly guarded secret recipe....much like Coca Cola!
After lunch we took our seats in Centre Court to watch the action packed match between Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori which you probably know was won by Nadal. We then returned to our suite for tea and the traditional strawberries and cream....quite the "proper" midday treat! Rick and I returned to Centre Court to watch our hometown boy, Robby Ginepri struggle against the powerful serve of Robin Soderling. You may also know that Soderling won the match in straight sets.
We totally enjoyed our Wimbledon experience and as I type this blog, England and the United States have both just won their World Cup matches with the US finishing at the top of their group...yeah!
See our Wimbledon photos: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/alysehirsekorn/Wimbledon?authkey=Gv1sRgCOODioyE8sWcrQE&feat=directlink
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Monday, 21 June 2010
Bodiam Castle
June 21 - Monday
I had a wonderful trip to Bodiam Castle with four other women. We boarded a train at Charing Cross Station at 9:00am and arrived in Robertsbridge, East Sussex at about 10:15am. We walked a few blocks into the village and stopped in a sweet little flower shop where two women helped us by calling a car to drive us the 5 miles to Bodiam Castle. Bodiam Castle is one of the last remaining moated castles and it is a thrill to see it set apart from the village in the rolling green park and farm land. Completely surrounded by its wide moat, the external walls remain entirely intact, and the entire effect is the castle you have always imagined! The roof is gone and most of the interior walls are in ruins but enough remains so that you can see how grand it once was. We spent a lovely day exploring the castle, climbing the tower stairs and enjoying the stunning views.
See my photos of Bodiam Castle: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/alysehirsekorn/BodiamCastle?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuO-pGp4rmIbg&feat=directlink
Tomorrow we go to Wimbledon.
I had a wonderful trip to Bodiam Castle with four other women. We boarded a train at Charing Cross Station at 9:00am and arrived in Robertsbridge, East Sussex at about 10:15am. We walked a few blocks into the village and stopped in a sweet little flower shop where two women helped us by calling a car to drive us the 5 miles to Bodiam Castle. Bodiam Castle is one of the last remaining moated castles and it is a thrill to see it set apart from the village in the rolling green park and farm land. Completely surrounded by its wide moat, the external walls remain entirely intact, and the entire effect is the castle you have always imagined! The roof is gone and most of the interior walls are in ruins but enough remains so that you can see how grand it once was. We spent a lovely day exploring the castle, climbing the tower stairs and enjoying the stunning views.
See my photos of Bodiam Castle: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/alysehirsekorn/BodiamCastle?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuO-pGp4rmIbg&feat=directlink
Tomorrow we go to Wimbledon.
Week One - Living in London
June 14 - 20
My first week of living in London was actually interesting and uneventful. Here is the week in numbers:
joined 1 gym
attended 2 exercise classes
cooked 4 meals
rode 6 Tube lines
explored 7 neighborhoods
learned 8 coins in the UK currency
looked at 15 rental properties
visited 30 shops in The Silver Vaults
walked many...many...many miles
As you can see, it was a week of adjustments and learning the routines of life in London. One of the more interesting moments was standing in the grocery store and suddenly realizing that the measurments of ingredients in my recipe had to be converted into grams & liters!!! This is when you give up on the recipe and just go with what looks about right. Another "ah hah" moment came when I realized that the Brits are very clever when it comes to conserving space in their teeny tiny kitchens...no such thing as those lovely cartons of chicken broth that we have in the US...theirs is a product called Stock Pot and comes in a gelatin form about the size of an ice cube. My final revelation came when I went to cook dinner in the oven and realized that the temperature ranges from 50 - 250...again...it's all guess work.
As I said...not very exciting but even the routine has some unexpected surprises!!! Just walking the streets and exploring the neighborhoods reveals exciting and inspiring architecture! There is something delightful and unique around every corner and I love having adventures in this city!
Hope all the fathers had a lovely Father's Day Weekend.
My first week of living in London was actually interesting and uneventful. Here is the week in numbers:
joined 1 gym
attended 2 exercise classes
cooked 4 meals
rode 6 Tube lines
explored 7 neighborhoods
learned 8 coins in the UK currency
looked at 15 rental properties
visited 30 shops in The Silver Vaults
walked many...many...many miles
As you can see, it was a week of adjustments and learning the routines of life in London. One of the more interesting moments was standing in the grocery store and suddenly realizing that the measurments of ingredients in my recipe had to be converted into grams & liters!!! This is when you give up on the recipe and just go with what looks about right. Another "ah hah" moment came when I realized that the Brits are very clever when it comes to conserving space in their teeny tiny kitchens...no such thing as those lovely cartons of chicken broth that we have in the US...theirs is a product called Stock Pot and comes in a gelatin form about the size of an ice cube. My final revelation came when I went to cook dinner in the oven and realized that the temperature ranges from 50 - 250...again...it's all guess work.
As I said...not very exciting but even the routine has some unexpected surprises!!! Just walking the streets and exploring the neighborhoods reveals exciting and inspiring architecture! There is something delightful and unique around every corner and I love having adventures in this city!
Hope all the fathers had a lovely Father's Day Weekend.
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Weekend in Edinburgh
June 12 & 13
Edinburgh was wonderful and magical! There was beautiful scenery from the window of the train. Throughout England there are rolling green hills full of sheep and lambs and as we got into Scotland we were able to see the coastline with its cliffs, crags, and monolithic rock formations. Train travel is wonderful for catching up on conversation, reading, and snacking (we are going to have to watch that habit as they feed you better on the trains than on the airlines and the snacks are really yummy....double chocolate dunking bars, fruit and oat soft bars just like homemade oatmeal cookies, and Walkers Shortbread cookies!!!)
From the train station we made our way down the main road to our hotel in the original Caledonian Train Station. Our room looked out at the Edinburgh Castle which dominates the skyline as it sits upon Castle Rock and is completely majestic! That is were our tour began and we spent the next few hours exploring this amazing fortress that had its beginnings in the 12th century. From the Castle, we made our way down The Royal Mile which is jam packed with kilt shops, art galleries, pubs and eateries, souvenir shops, and best of all the medieval cobble stoned walkways (wynds and closes) that lead to gardens, tiny shops, smaller museums, kirk yards (kirk = church) all on the way to the 12th century Palace of Holyroodhouse.
We saved our tour of The Palace for Sunday and were greeted by a drizzly day so as we made our way there we stopped at an art gallery that we had seen the day before and spent some time choosing black and white drawings to begin our collection of UK artwork. The Palace is quite impressive and full of history. As you exit The Palace you are in the ruins of the Abbey which was the original structure on this site. Once outside, it stopped raining and allowed us a walk through the gardens where we were able to view the ruins with the peak of Arthur's Seat in the background.
Lots more beautiful scenery from the windows of the train and the ticket-taker on our return trip looked liked he belonged in a children's storybook: short and squat with white hair and mustache and his train uniform was complete with a hat!!!
See our photos: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/alysehirsekorn/Edinburgh?authkey=Gv1sRgCJjootWu1oymPQ&feat=directlink
Edinburgh was wonderful and magical! There was beautiful scenery from the window of the train. Throughout England there are rolling green hills full of sheep and lambs and as we got into Scotland we were able to see the coastline with its cliffs, crags, and monolithic rock formations. Train travel is wonderful for catching up on conversation, reading, and snacking (we are going to have to watch that habit as they feed you better on the trains than on the airlines and the snacks are really yummy....double chocolate dunking bars, fruit and oat soft bars just like homemade oatmeal cookies, and Walkers Shortbread cookies!!!)
From the train station we made our way down the main road to our hotel in the original Caledonian Train Station. Our room looked out at the Edinburgh Castle which dominates the skyline as it sits upon Castle Rock and is completely majestic! That is were our tour began and we spent the next few hours exploring this amazing fortress that had its beginnings in the 12th century. From the Castle, we made our way down The Royal Mile which is jam packed with kilt shops, art galleries, pubs and eateries, souvenir shops, and best of all the medieval cobble stoned walkways (wynds and closes) that lead to gardens, tiny shops, smaller museums, kirk yards (kirk = church) all on the way to the 12th century Palace of Holyroodhouse.
We saved our tour of The Palace for Sunday and were greeted by a drizzly day so as we made our way there we stopped at an art gallery that we had seen the day before and spent some time choosing black and white drawings to begin our collection of UK artwork. The Palace is quite impressive and full of history. As you exit The Palace you are in the ruins of the Abbey which was the original structure on this site. Once outside, it stopped raining and allowed us a walk through the gardens where we were able to view the ruins with the peak of Arthur's Seat in the background.
Lots more beautiful scenery from the windows of the train and the ticket-taker on our return trip looked liked he belonged in a children's storybook: short and squat with white hair and mustache and his train uniform was complete with a hat!!!
See our photos: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/alysehirsekorn/Edinburgh?authkey=Gv1sRgCJjootWu1oymPQ&feat=directlink
First Day Living in London
June 10, 2010
I arrived in London yesterday and after being greeted by Rick before he left for work, I took a 3 hour nap followed by food and a shower so that I felt almost human. Yesterday was uneventful and was spent mostly unpacking, walking around to get oriented and reading up on Edinburgh for our weekend trip.
Today was equally uneventful as I slept until almost 11am and can't even remember the last time that happened!!! Walked up to Oxford Street to Rick's favorite all-purpose store, John Lewis where I bought hangers and a shoe rack for my closet...yes, I do have a closet of my own thanks to my dear husband being willing to rearrange his stuff!!! I do not recommend walking home with a shoe rack in tow...even one that is unassembled, however it did force me to find a few shortcuts and I didn't even get lost!!!! This store also has a lovely foodhall/grocery and I was very tempted to buy some yummy fresh produce and other food items but luckily I remembered that we are short on space and won't actually be home til Sunday night again so I limited myself to fruit (also had to be carried home...see...I am learning) and will make some practical meal plans next week now that I know what is available.
Rick keeps reminding me that I don't have to do everything at once and that I am allowed to take it easy for a while so I am enjoying the slower pace. Monday begins my search for a larger flat so even though the invitation has been made for any and all visitors, if you plan to visit before mid-August, please only bring one change of clothes!!! Also beginning tomorrow or Monday, I will look into creating a blog which my dear cousin Sandy has said is simple to do through Google....of course everything is simple to Sandy!
I will try to keep you updated weekly and should have more exciting experiences to share next week since tomorrow night we attend a Black Tie affair at The Old Billingsgate Fish Market (with Rick's joint venture companies) and Sat. and Sun. we are in Edinburgh.
I look forward to hearing from all of you and hope that you are enjoying your summer.
I arrived in London yesterday and after being greeted by Rick before he left for work, I took a 3 hour nap followed by food and a shower so that I felt almost human. Yesterday was uneventful and was spent mostly unpacking, walking around to get oriented and reading up on Edinburgh for our weekend trip.
Today was equally uneventful as I slept until almost 11am and can't even remember the last time that happened!!! Walked up to Oxford Street to Rick's favorite all-purpose store, John Lewis where I bought hangers and a shoe rack for my closet...yes, I do have a closet of my own thanks to my dear husband being willing to rearrange his stuff!!! I do not recommend walking home with a shoe rack in tow...even one that is unassembled, however it did force me to find a few shortcuts and I didn't even get lost!!!! This store also has a lovely foodhall/grocery and I was very tempted to buy some yummy fresh produce and other food items but luckily I remembered that we are short on space and won't actually be home til Sunday night again so I limited myself to fruit (also had to be carried home...see...I am learning) and will make some practical meal plans next week now that I know what is available.
Rick keeps reminding me that I don't have to do everything at once and that I am allowed to take it easy for a while so I am enjoying the slower pace. Monday begins my search for a larger flat so even though the invitation has been made for any and all visitors, if you plan to visit before mid-August, please only bring one change of clothes!!! Also beginning tomorrow or Monday, I will look into creating a blog which my dear cousin Sandy has said is simple to do through Google....of course everything is simple to Sandy!
I will try to keep you updated weekly and should have more exciting experiences to share next week since tomorrow night we attend a Black Tie affair at The Old Billingsgate Fish Market (with Rick's joint venture companies) and Sat. and Sun. we are in Edinburgh.
I look forward to hearing from all of you and hope that you are enjoying your summer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)