Christmas in London

We had a busy December after getting back from Prague.

John has a new InterVISTAS colleague in the UK; Ian and his wife Sarah, who joined us in Prague and live in Bristol. So for the InterVISTAS-EU Christmas party, John and I went to Bristol and we all went out for dinner at a bangers and mash restaurant (very English). We stayed overnight with Ian and Sarah and they toured us around Bristol the next day. Parts of the city are really beautiful and grand. It is on a breathtaking gorge and the old buildings took me back 100 years. Where were the horse drawn carriages and men in top hats? We also went to the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum and learned all about the good and bad of Britain taking over the world.

We froze our butts off playing in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament on Sunday the 9th, and then counteracted any benefits of the physical activity a week later with a big Christmas lunch with the team.John’s parents arrived on Dec 14th and his grandma and uncle four days later. They roamed around London and England at record pace. We have managed to cross a few London things off our list with them – the Natural History Museum, a historical walking tour of the square mile of the London City and the Museum of London.

A highlight for me was on Dec 23rd when Jess, Lindsay (John’s mom) and I went to St Paul’s Cathedral for a carol service. It was an incredible experience. The Cathedral is so impressive but not excessive. We lucked out and got seats up in a gallery so we could over look the proceedings. The boys choir paraded through in their traditional robes and sang with heavenly voices. It certainly wasn’t like carol services I had been to in the past; it was much more traditional. The carols were ancient, the program quoted composition dates hundreds of years old. The only carol we knew Hark the Herald Angels Sing. I knew the words to O Little Town of Bethlehem but the music was from the 1500s.

On Christmas Eve day, John’s parents and grandma kindly got to work for me in the kitchen – coffee cake, nuts and bolts, xmas dinner prep, xmas eve dinner. Thank you! What a treat!On Christmas morning we opened our stockings, beautifully made by John’s grandma, and ate a hearty breakfast. John’s family did a lot of shopping at the London markets and they found some really lovely gifts – I was impressed by what they found. Our friends Andrew and Jess brought the turkey over midday and we all went for a walk through the local parks. We spent the afternoon reading, playing games and visiting and then sat down for some more eating.

Thank you to all our guests for making it a special day. I was exhausted by the end of the day, and I had lots of food help. I have much more appreciation for all of our family members who have put on Christmas in the past.
John and his family were off early on Boxing Day to catch their flight to Portugal. I worked a few extra days and joining them on Saturday.

Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/weatherills/sets/

Mitchell Family in London

It all started at Christmas time when Kevin, my brother in law, surprised my sister Sarah with a trip to London and Europe as a Christmas present for their family (including their new son, Cole). After that, Mom and Stan booked their visit timing it with an animal welfare conference in Berlin and with Sarah, Kevin and Cole’s visit. My aunt and uncle in Denmark, Carla and Poul, thought it would be a good chance to see everyone and meet Cole so they booked tickets to London. And then, Carla suggested to my aunt Barbara that she bring her family (uncle Bruce and cousins Eleanor, Margot and Hugh) to London – and they booked tickets too! I couldn’t believe it, all this family converging in London! Needless to say, I was over the top excited.

Barbara and her family arrived on Monday, May 7th and spent the week in Central London visiting all the sights. Carla joined them on Wednesday. Of course the weather had been hot and sunny prior to their arrival and then it turned to rain. On Thursday night they all made their way to the Ealing Ramada in West London, about a 10 minute walk from our flat. I joined them for a late dinner and then walked Carla, Barbara and Margot to our flat in the pouring rain so they could check it out.

John and I were up at 5:30 Friday morning to go to Heathrow to pick up Sarah, Kevin and Cole. I barely slept the night before and the car couldn’t move fast enough to the airport. S&K have discovered the benefits of a traveling with a baby, namely skipping the queues. They made record time getting through Heathrow: they were last off the plane but were ushered right by an hour long wait at Customs and then their bags were waiting for them on the carousel! We made it there in time to greet them as they walked through the gates. Cole had a big grin on his face, he was carried by Sarah in the Baby Bjorn and Kevin had the video camera getting Cole’s arrival in London on tape. I was so happy to see them all.

The sun shone as we drove them to Ealing. Sarah and I were in the back seat with Cole and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. S&K made an adorable baby! We got them back to the flat and settled in for a nap, and I made it to the office in time for my 8:30 Friday morning meeting. It was tough to leave, the flat that is.

When I walked in the door from work later that afternoon, I was greeted to the pleasant sounds of S&K, Cole, Mom and Stan, and John chatting in our living room. I’m usually pretty happy when I get home from work but never as much as on that day. We just hung out for a few hours enjoying each other’s company until the aunts, uncles and cousins arrived from their day of sight seeing. The 14 of us went for a lovely dinner at a local Italian restaurant. As we were leaving, a guy at the table next to us asked Stan about his belt buckle. He was from a ranch in the interior of British Columbia and now lives in Ealing – small world!

We all rendezvoused at the flat on Saturday morning. Mom and the Aunts kindly went grocery shopping for our dinner that night, and then they went to Osterley Park and Manor for some sister bonding. John went to play in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament for the day. The rest of us all went in to Central London to do the London Eye. I thought it was amazing that we were all able to stick together in the crowded tube stations and the crowded streets of London. London is not wheelchair or stroller friendly so it was nice having all the family members to help S&K with Cole’s stroller. At the London Eye, the men stood in the long line to get us our tickets. We pulled out Cole when we got to the line up to get on the Eye, and all 10 of us got to skip it! I really enjoyed the slow ride on the huge Ferris wheel overlooking London. It gave me a good overview, reminded me that London is not very big, and it was neat to see the sights from above.

After the Eye, we walked along and over the Thames River, and had a bite to eat near Embankment and Charing Cross. We had plans to do a quick walking tour until it started to pour rain. So, we ran into the nearest tube station and headed back to Ealing. From there, Kevin and Poul went exploring in Ealing (and by exploring, I mean finding a pub and having a beer) and Bruce and Hugh went to the temporary amusement park set up in Ealing Common. When the ladies got back from tea at Osterley, Barbara took Margot shopping, Carla, John and Sarah met the boys at the pub, and Mom and I looked after Cole and started making dinner.

John’s 30th Birthday was on Monday, May 14th, so on Saturday night with all of the family present, we had a big birthday dinner and celebration. Our friends Andrew and Jess joined in the fun. We all crammed into our little flat and everyone contributed to the dinner. It was a fun night of eating, chatting, playing games and hanging out together. Of course there was birthday cake and present opening. John thanks everyone for all of the thoughtful gifts.

We did most of the goodbyes on Saturday night but left a few for Sunday morning. SK&C, John and I were leaving for a week in Spain and everyone else was headed back home.

I had such a wonderful time with everyone and still can’t get over what a unique experience it was. Thank you all for coming to London. It made me really happy but of course really sad to say goodbye.

Sawks & Joy!

We just had our first visitors from home, Kristian and Joy! They made the big trek across the pond to have a couple of weekends in London with us and a jaunt to Venice. After a wonderful few days with them, we were very sad to see them go yesterday. Having them here made us feel like we were back home in Vancouver.

K&J arrived on Saturday, March 10th, our six month anniversary of being in London. It was a bright sunny day in London, and it stayed that way for the week. We picked them up at Heathrow and drove them through Northwest London to our flat in Ealing. They were jet-lagged but we were very impressed with their stamina. After some brief down time we took the tube into Central London. We walked through Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and daffodil filled St. James Park, and then past Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben and the Thames.

After an early dinner back in Ealing, we took K&J to the classic local pub behind our place, the Kings Arms. A lot of the pubs in London have been renovated and modernized, and in doing so have lost of bit of their charm. The Kings Arms is true to form. We walked in at 7:30 and headed into the back. Just as we sat down, a man sitting on a stool at the bar passed out, fell backwards, hit is head on the table right beside us and then hit the ground with a thud. He lay there in a heap, a trickle of blood running out of his head, and the waitress returned to the room with a resounding “Oh, for f*** sake…” with a perturbed tone, like this was an everyday occurrence. Welcome to London K&J!

On Sunday, John and I had an Ultimate game and K&J did some exploring/shopping along Oxford Street. They met us at the field as the game ended and we had a beer with the team on a pub patio overlooking Clapham Common. We had a casual dinner at home that night and the evening was filled with great conversation. With good friends, it is always easy to pick things up where you left off.

On Monday, K&J headed to Venice for four days. They lucked out with great weather and they picked a good time because it wasn’t too crowded yet. They had a wonderful, relaxing time exploring the city and we are very inspired to go there after looking at their beautiful photos.

K&J left very early for Venice and arrived back late on Thursday night (exactly six months away from their wedding day!). They were so quiet on both departure and arrival that we woke up worrying that they didn’t leave in time or didn’t make it back.

On Friday, K&J visited family friends in Ascot while John and I worked. We met up for dinner at the Grange Pub on Ealing Common and then went to see the movie Hot Fuzz. It’s a British comedy starring the British equivalent of Will Farrell/Vince Vaughan/Wilson Bros. Needless to say, it had us laughing.

Saturday morning, John whipped up crepes for breakfast (he is becoming a pro at making them). After indulging in several different crepe toppings we drove to the local B&Q (the British Home Depot), so K&J could buy some wallpaper. They bought an awesome new house in Vancouver last year and have a few walls left to uplift. Joy, the decorating pro, wanted to take advantage of the UK’s extensive wallpaper selection and the cheaper prices, compared to Canada. It brought back fond home reno memories for John and I and it felt weird going there and not having to buy anything.

In the afternoon, Joy and I went shopping. First we cruised the Marylebone High Street and browsed The Conran Shop, Cath Kidston and a few expensive clothing stores. Then we went to Kensington High Street to some more affordable shops: Accessorize, Monsoon, Zara… We both had success at Zara. Meanwhile, the boys went to Lilywhites at Piccadilly Circus to buy sport wear and then to a pub to watch football and rugby. We all met back up for a beer at the Price of Wales pub on Kensington Church Street which is where John and I had our first dinner in London.

K&J treated us to a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant in Ealing and more great conversation. We headed back to the flat and enjoyed some Venetian prosecco before hitting the sack.

We had so much fun hanging out with K&J and we are so grateful that they made the trip. As described above, we did a lot of eating, drinking and visiting – just what we wanted. It gave us an excuse to try more local restaurants and explore more of London. We look forward to our next visitors so we can go back to the good spots and find new places.

We were all up early on Sunday. K&J were packing up their new clothes and three rolls of stylish wallpaper, for their midday departure. John and I were getting ready for a full day of Ultimate. We left them with a set of keys to deliver to our next visitor, Mike, in Vancouver. He arrives on Thursday, so we won’t be homesick for long.

Thanks Sawks ‘n Joy for coming to visit! We look forward to more good times together. The six month wedding countdown is on…

Note: Sawks & Joy photos have been added to our London set in Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/weatherills/sets/).