London 2012 Goin' for the GOLD

We went to our second Olympic event last weekend at Eton Dorney which is about 15 minutes from our place. Everyone thinks its weird they are calling it Eton Dorney because its on Dorney lake which is at Eton college. The crowd was getting really into it, more than at the volleyball match we went to. 

The races were over so fast, but it was so exciting to see a medal ceremony live. The first ceremony we saw was for a Team GB for the Gold which was pretty intense. Everyone was really into it! 

The Prime Minister was there to see the races too. We're starting to miss OUR sports though, with Football season starting its making us homesick for our American sports! 

A Night at the Museum...

No Ben Stiller here... just Big Ben 

Nick and I made a date out of it a few Fridays back. We went into London to the British Museum. Where I learned not to allow Nick to take pictures of me. He has no patience for the right angle/moment etc. Which is why you only get pictures of Nick today :)

Most of the museums in London are free to the public. The British Museum has some amazing exhibits. First thing I wanted to find was the Rosetta Stone. They have the actual stone on display, as well as a replica in a hands on exhibit. Seeing how detailed the carving on the stone is was pretty awesome. 

They had some of the medals for London 2012 on display that we checked out

We saw some of the statues from Egyptian tombs.

We mostly went through the Egyptian exhibits and saw all of their mummies. They have Cleopatra's mummy on display which I thought was the coolest part.

The detailing on the caskets and mummies was absolutely amazing

They had a mummy that had been unwrapped. Pretty creepy looking if you ask me!!!

After the museum closed we hopped on a bus for about 10 minutes and went to see Big Ben.

The British Museum is HUUUUGE so we only got to see a small portion. Its definitely one of those you need more than one day to explore! I'm already planning a trip back :) 

London Bridge is NOT Falling Down...

Ignore all the rumors. 
(and my ridiculously Red hair)

OK so this is the more impressive "Tower Bridge" but its much more interesting to look at than the "London Bridge"

WOW I'm a big slacker... I can't believe I haven't posted at all this month.

I think its safe to say we're feeling more and more settled, and missing home more and more!

We're starting to get more accustomed to the British ways. I catch myself saying things like "mum" or calling potato chips "crisps" and fried "chips." I drink tea most of the time in the mornings, and even tried my hand at Fish N Chips (First meat I've had in over 9 years!!!)  When in Rome (or England...) right?!

Best of all, I can actually UNDERSTAND people now! No more walking away from conversations looking at Nick and going "Do you have any idea what they just said?"

I went exploring in London a few weeks ago and visited the London Bridge area, I wanted to make it out there before the Olympic Rings came down off the Tower Bridge. I walked across the London Bridge but didn't get any photos of the bridge, its actually quite plain.

It was an awesome little neighborhood with loads of walking paths and photo ops like the one above. If London does one thing right its tourism. Compared to places I've been in New York where all the tourist hotspots (Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building etc) are all working buildings that people operate out of, so far the places I've been here have been easy to get to, and not too crowded to stop to enjoy the view and take a few photos. 

The neighborhood is full of little "dungeons" or haunted houses, so I have plans to drag Nick back in October! Nick LOVES haunted houses..... ok not so much but I do! 

This was a sign outside of the WWI Museum which I didn't have time to go into...maybe next time though. 

I have loads more photos to share, I'll make another post with some tomorrow!!!!!  We went to the British Museum and to see Big Ben a few weekends ago and also to another Olympic event... I have us booked for a nighttime cruise of the River Thymes (pronounced Tims) coming up as well so look forward to some amazing pictures then!

London 2012

WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!!!!!

We said all along that going to the Olympics would for sure be a once in a lifetime experience and oh was it! We took the train into London on Friday to meet up with one of Nick's friends from High School who was in town for a layover on her way back stateside from Sweden. It was our first time on the tube. Compared to NYC the tube train is much more comfortable than the Subway. We watched the Opening Ceremony at a pub just about a mile from the Eye. It was so exciting to be in London for it! During the ceremony the street which was pretty busy before the ceremony started was all but silent during it! Our bartender was so nice and gave us all sorts of insight to the monarchy and how the queen operates. When the queen (who is 86 years old) then Charles will take over the throne even though he will be well into 60's if not nearing his 70's even though the popular choice would be for William to take over, it won't happen until after Charles passes.

On the way home, we had a short wait for our next train in Paddington. We rushed to use the restroom before finding our train to find a charge to use the toilet! We were both shocked at the charge! Though I guess its common.

We ended up missing our train and had to wait over an hour for the next one! During our now long wait, we saw a woman in costume on her way back from the ceremony. She was part of the opening ceremony!

We finally made it back home at around 230am. The next day we slept in and woke up with just enough time to get ready and head back into London to see our Volleyball match! 

Outside of Earl's Court! Ready to watch the Olympics. I was wearing my USA Flag scarf which came in handy for waving as well as wearing!!! 

Nick gave in to my demands for millions of pictures while there. We found this silly little mascot guy (Do they show them on TV in the states? He's everywhere around here!) 

When we finally made it to our seats, he thought he was done having to take pictures but I wasn't about to give in quite yet!!

When the USA v Korea match finally started the crowd went absolutely insane. We really enjoyed the match and by the time the fourth set came up we were both really into the game! USA won which is all we could have asked for!!! What an experience!

All in all it was quite the experience!! We have tickets for the single canoe sprint finals two Saturdays from now! It will be quite the experience to see a medal ceremony too! 

We are starting to get homesickness and miss everyone at home so much!! 

"When you arrive overseas, the first person you meet is yourself"

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!!! 3 WEEKS AND COUNTING!!!!

Well Ladies and Gents, the countdown is officially on! Three weeks and counting! This last week has been absolutely insane.

I had my last day at work on Thursday. It was to put it lightly bittersweet. As excited as I am for this adventure it all got real knowing that I won't be returning to Windsor anytime soon! The girls who worked for me there are hands down one of the best teams I could have imagined building.

My girls and I went to dinner tonight as a farewell at Buca Di Bepo (YUM!!) We decided it would be fitting, family style dining for our little Windsor family.

This week Nick had a two hour cultural training phone call that I sat in on. We learned A LOT of information, an absolutely overwhelming amount. We spoke with the guy a lot about slang and what to expect as far as social activities. We're both looking forward and nervous at the same time to get there and really dive in to the new culture and language. While they do still speak English of course, there's lots of little differences between the two countries.

We learned about the cockney rhyming slang, one of the things I'm honestly looking forward to experiencing in person, but feeling slightly overwhelmed by at the same time. The slang started with criminals in South London selling items on the street. To hide what they were selling from the police they would use a rhyme and it has adapted since then. Our trainer was telling us about his first experience with the rhyming slang and told us that he went to the market and heard a gentleman selling "Teddies" for a pence, meaning pears. The way the rhyming slang works is they take the word they want to say "pear" and use a rhyming phrase "Teddy bear" and they usually just drop the rhyming word so "teddies" mean pears. Crazy right?!

The trainer left us with a thought that really stuck with both of us. "When you arrive overseas, the first person you'll meet is yourself."  

This trip has already started to help me realize how much I've missed out over the last two years, and I'm so excited to spend the next six months really just focusing on myself, and finally getting the chance to define myself by something other than my job.

I think at this point Nick and I are both ready to just get over there and get this whole adventure started. I'm going to start packing tomorrow and try to get everything ready so that we can just relax and enjoy seeing our friends and families that last week we will be in town!

How crazy is it that in literally just 3 weeks we will be in a different country?! ahhh!!!!

First Post, Preparing to Leave

As we prepare to leave, Nick and I have had a lot of hard work (and money) spent on getting the house, and ourselves ready (and wardrobes too, of course).

Even with Nick's common travels, luggage for our six months is going to be necessary. I found some 30" bags that will hopefully have enough room for all of my clothes and shoes (and purses, and earrings......) My biggest struggle will be meeting the 50lb weight restriction!!!!

Hopefully I can manage to pack 6 months of our life into these bags!!

For those who don't know the background on how this adventure came to be for the two of us, Nick works for Perceptive Software, which is owned by Lexmark. They have expanded his division into the UK and asked Nick to help train the workers in the UK. His first reaction was essentially "hell no I'm not doing that" but we've realized that this is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for the two of us to get to see the world and really experience a different culture.

I have quit my job, and will be having my last day of work this week! Having this amazing opportunity has really made me realize what else there is to life aside from my job. I'm looking forward to having six months to really focus and reflect on myself, who I am now, and who I want to be.

We will be living in Maidenhead which is about 20 minutes west of London, in Berkshire, England in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

We are both full of nerves and excitement to experience this adventure together. We can't wait to share it with all of our friends and family at home via this blog!

Please share with friends and family, and leave a comment below to let us know your thoughts on our departure.

xoxo
Ash