Billy's Visit

We had our first visitor recently - Cousin Billy!  Molly and Bill spent Friday doing a pub crawl while Matt worked but the three of us got to have some fun on Saturday at the Aston Villa vs. Chelsea match.  Bill's boss owns Aston Villa so instead of supporting our "local" team, we decided to cheer on Villa.  The game was so much fun that it made both of us football fans (not just American football!).  We loved the little differences - the away team fans have their own entrance, there's no drinking in your seats but you can run and down 4 beers at once at half time (actual signs that say you can only order 4 beers at one time), the fans sing the entire game...basically just making fun of the other team.  Thanks to Bill's boss, we were able to get into the clubhouse afterwards and have a few pints with the COO of the team (who we should mention, is only 34). He was really sweet and even let Molly talk about the WNBA while the boys just rolled their eyes.  Sunday we explored the city with Bill....got some really good shots of London.  Along the way, we stopped into almost every pub between the flat and Westminster Abbey...and then back again.  We were sad to see Bill go but both of our livers did thank us!

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London flat

Here are a few pictures of 34 Hornton Street....

We're the door on the right - 2nd floor.

Living room....the flat came furnished.  The couches are a perfect fit for Mols but Matt is just a little too tall for the love seats.  He is happy that we both get our own though!  

Other side of the living room....please notice the mini-fridge in the kitchen.  Apparently this is pretty standard for London.

As good a shot as I could get of the bedroom.

Two bathrooms is also not considered unusual in England....one with a toilet and sink and one with a shower and sink. We're just happy neither of us are overweight - the space is a little tight!

Roma!

We took a 4 day trip to Rome at the end of September and it was as facinating and wonderful as everyone told us it would be!  We stayed near the Termini area and did 4 days of non-stop sightseeing.  We started off by going by the Vittorio Emanuele, otherwise known as "The Wedding Cake", which is a massive white marble building that can be seen from many of the points that overlook the city.  It was built in the late 19th century (so very recently to most Italians) in honor of the first King of unified Italy.  The monument also houses the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier with an eternal flame which was bulit after WWI.  As we walked towards the Roman Forum, we looked up and saw the Colosseum....seeing a structure like that right in the middle of the city was something neither of us had seen and we were amazed.  You can't help but stare at it and think about all of the history in this city.  We then took a tour of the Roman Forum with an audio guide which helped capture what it looked like over 2,000 years ago. Hearing about the kings and queens who ruled there and seeing Ceasar's house was truely mind-blowing.  The next day, we did another audio tour but this time of the Colosseum.  Every modern day stadium runs exactly like the Colosseum did back then - they had concession stands there and sold merchandise of fan's favorite warriors.  The only difference is that after the "game", if a person was still alive, the King would give the thumbs up or down to decide if he lives or dies.  So, we're happy times have changed since then and sports are a little more civilized!

We spent one full morning touring Vatican City.  The Vatican is its own country, run by the Pope with its own currency and army (you have to be Swiss, male and under 30....and wear a less than flattering uniform).  We got to tour the Vatican museum and the Sistene Chapel, which was stunning.  Matt even snagged a photo of the ceiling before being yelled at by one of the security guards.  One of the interesting facts we learned was that after Michaelangelo did the first scene, he got down of his ladder, looked up and realized the figures were too small.  So, you can see the progression in his paintings and how the others are much larger than his first.  We headed over to St. Peter's Basilica and took a tour of where the dead popes are buried.  Molly blessed her rosary beads at the grave of St. Peter and then we headed up to the church.  It was STUNNING.  Words and pictures cannot even describe how big this church is and how ornate and beautiful everything was.  Pope Ignatious is the only Pope who lies in the church...and that's because he is a Saint.  Once Pope John Paul is annointed a Saint (they say it will be soon), they will move his body upstairs to the church too.  We spent a lot of time in the Basilica since neither of us had seen anything like it before.

From there, we headed to the Borghese Gallery which made both of us fans of sculptures.....or maybe fans of having enough money to buy all this art!  This family's collection is really unbelievable and the grounds the house is on are magnificient.  The collection was started by Cardinal Borghese (a nephew of Pope Paul V) in the 1600's and houses art by many famous artists including Bernini and Carvaggio

One other really interesting sight was the Capuchin Crypt.  It contains the skeletal remains of over 4,000 bones believed to be Capuchin friars buried by their order.  The bones are arranged in a very structured and artful way.  It was very freaky and odd but we were both facinated. 

We also got to see the other main attractions - theTrevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, Roman baths, lots of piazzas and churches and of course we ate as much gelato as we could!  We both threw our coins in to the Trevi Fountain so we'll be sure to go back!

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Brussels and Amsterdam

Recently, Matt and I took the train to Brussels and Amsterdam. We spent a quick Friday night in Brussels then were up and out on Saturday morning so we could get to Amsterdam nice and early. The city is really beautiful - it is made up of 100 canals that are all connected. So, we took a boat tour to get familiar with the layout. We walked the city and ended up at a pub that was inside of one of the only remaining windmills in the city. We also took a bike tour which took us through each district of the city. We learned that the size of the windows on a house once stood for how much money you had - the larger the window, the nicer the neighborhood. The houses in Amsterdam are mostly gable houses which have large windows at the top and lean forward - which is how people move their furniture in and out of the house. The houses are too narrow to use the front door and that is because people built their homes up (instead of back) so they wouldn't be taxed on the size of their home. We of course hit up the Red Light District in the evening which was interesting to say the least. Women of all shapes and sizes stand in the windows and literally pull a curtain down when a man enters. And don't think of taking their picture - I got yelled at by one of the prostitues! The next day we visited the Anne Frank house which was one of the most moving experiences of our lives. There is no furniture in the house but the museum takes you through each room where the Frank's lived during hiding and you can really get a sense of the horror that went on during their time there. That afternoon, we packed up and headed back to Brussels....

We arrived in Brussels only to find that it was the one day of the year when they have no cars allowed on the street. That sounds nice but really it just meant that every person who lives in Brussels got to ride their bikes in the middle of the street for a day. So we weaved in and out of the bikers until the sun went down. The main area of Brussels is the Grand Place. The architechture is stunning - very lavish and grandiose. Another main attraction is the Mannequin Pis which is literally a 15 inch statue of a little boy going to the bathroom. And yes, people actually line up to see him. So I can't say there were as many attractions as there were in Amsterdam, but the city was neat nonetheless. We went back to the Grand Place for a nice dinner (where Matt had to duck just to get inside the door) and listened to live music afterwards. We stopped by Delirium for a pint because they have over 2,000 beers on tap...but we managed to just stick around for one.

Bright and early Monday morning, we hopped the train back to London and were there in 2 hours so Matt could get back to work!

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Oxford

Matt and I took our first trip to the English countryside (just an hour from London) and went to visit Oxford University on Saturday. As I am learning, it was in typical English fashion for it to rain during the morning and then turn into a gorgeous day.

38 colleges make up the University of Oxford and each school is an independently run institution. Most of the schools have been around since the 14th or 15th century and some even date back to the 1200's. We got to see Exeter, New College, Christ Church and a few others. Some may recognize the dining hall in Christ Church as it was used as the inspiration for the dining hall in the Harry Potter movies. The rest town is made up of shops and cobble stone streets, all of which are very charming.

We stopped off at a few pubs in town but we either had to sit outside or find a table since Matt was too tall to stand fully upright. Guess the men weren't so tall back in 1300! I, clearly, had no issue and would have fit right in during that time. We finished off the day by going on a ghost tour of the city where we learned about the fate of some of Oxford's old time residents.

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First day of School

I started at the London School of Marketing last week. Matt took a picture of me on my way out the door...just like Mom used to!

South of France

This post is a little late but Matt and I went to the South of France for a holiday the week after I arrived in London. I was clearly feeling stressed out with no job and having zero responsibility so it was good to get away! : ) We rented a flat in Nice and took day trips to Cannes, Eze, Villefranche, Eze, Cap Ferrat and Monaco. It was one of the nicest trips either of us have ever been on. Although who knew we'd like the beaches better in Southampton and the Jersey Shore over Nice - our feet didn't do so well on the rocks!

Here are some pictures:

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