A Month Has Passed...

It has been the lazy days of summer around here:
We had our first family visitors: Bob and Linda came for a week after their two week river cruise through East Europe.
We toured:
Prague Castle.
The Jewish Quarter.
Prague Underground Dungeons.
Castle Gardens.
Old Town and Charles Bridge.

Drove to Strakonice (where Bret's Great Grandmother was born).

The boys and I went swimming at the US Ambassador's residence.

Drove to Poland and shopped for their famous pottery.

Played at an indoor water park.

Attended Bret's company's Grand opening ceremony.

Finally got to see Madagascar 3 in 3d.

What we've been up to lately.

It has been kind of crazy around here with the end of school coming up and gearing up for vacation time.

Things we've done:
Peyton was in the all school concert.
Planted bunches of flowers around the house.
Put pictures of our travels on the wall.
The boys had a track meet with other Praha International Schools.
Peyton playing baseball.
Caleb playing soccer.
End of year dance.
Hosted middle school volleyball players.
Hosted Yale Alley Cat singers.
Gone to farmer's markets.

Still carrying on!

A few more details on our trip to London. Bret and the boys actually rode the Eye of London. It was a little slow for them. I think they were looking for a thrill ride but it allowed for some great views and photo ops.

Caleb, Bret and Peyton across the River from the Eye.

Left: Peyton and Caleb in a car on the Eye.
Above: A view of Big Ben and Parliament.

We had great seats at Wicked and the boys said, "I love this play". We ate at a little Italian place across the street an hour before the play. It was so great being able to walk in and to communicate that we needed to eat, pay and leave in less than an hour. Never would have happened in CZ.



Here are a few pictures of us at London landmarks. The boys enjoyed the changing of the guard. They were able to see because they sat on our shoulders. I had the assistance of a stone pillar but I was still supporting them on my shoulder. Oh my, they are getting big!!! NBC was there with their London correspondents about to do a news story on the Today show. Peyton stopped and started talking to them about what they were broadcasting. I got behind the camera and they took a picture of me on their monitors. I tried to get Peyton to do it but he was suddenly shy. Go figure?!?

Bret and Peyton
Trafalgar Square

Big Ben

Olympic Countdown Clock
in Trafalgar Square

These three pictures were taken at or near
 Buckingham Palace.
The Top Left is the one of me on the NBC
monitor screen in their satellite van.
The bottom left is the four of us in front of the
Palace just after the changing of the guard.
The right photo was taken outside the
Bag 'O Nails Pub where I ate all by my self in
London almost 20 years ago.



Peyton and Caleb under the Marble Arch.

Only one bad spot on our London tableau. We stayed near the Marble Arch which is at the edge of Kensington Garden. Many Middle Eastern restaurants and Hookah lounges were in the area.
Hookah lounges are clubs where you can smoke "exotic" forms of tobacco in large water pipes.
We had to walk past many of these lounges to get to our hotel every night and the smell was horrible. The boys hated it and tried to cover their faces as we hurried past.

Morning coffee.

I love:
Coffee
Coffee in the form of a Latte
Latte in the morning
Latte in a coffee shop in the morning
Latte in a coffee shop in the morning with my husband!

This last event doesn't happen too often and that is why, I guess, I love it so much. Bret is definitely not a morning person. During the week he drives to work an hour away and does not have any free time. His weekends are sacred and he practices the time honored ritual of sleeping late. But this Friday morning we stole 45 minutes and indulged at our little coffee shop in our village. It is such a sweet place and sells fresh Czech breads, pastries, and pasta. The owner, Milu, has become a friend and her husband owns his own gallery and creates iron sculptural chairs which I love!

It seems like we have great conversation in a coffee shop. Sometimes we are silly and fun, sometimes serious and heartfelt but it is always nice to sit and visit with my husband.

Keep Calm and Carry On...

This is a phrase that was coined by the British Government for morale boosting propaganda posters at the beginning of WWII. The phrase has now become public domain and is being printed on everything from coffee mugs to boxer shorts. I caved...I bought a mug when we were in London. Couldn't resist. The phrase is really perfect for almost any occasion.

Anyway, we had a blast in London. We arrived on Good Friday and stayed through the following Wednesday.

Some stuff we did:
Walked down the Thames
Saw Parliament,Big Ben, and the London Eye
Watched the famous boat race between Oxford and Cambridge.
Participated in the world's biggest Easter egg hunt.
Shopped in Covent Garden, Harrods, and on Portobello Rd.
Saw Trafalgar Square, National Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral.
Watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
Saw the play Wicked.
Ate fish and chips at the Bag O' Nails Pub across from the Palace.
Found THE blue door in Notting Hill. (Movie reference)


It was quite a week! The race was exciting because of several mishaps and the atmosphere was similar to our tailgating at the OU games. Big crowds of people along the river parks, tents of food and beer and huge screen TVs to watch the race after it passed by your viewpoint. Bret indulged in local beer and I had a Pimm's Cup. A very British cocktail made with Pimm's No. 1 cup (a gin based fruit liqueur) soda and fresh fruit. It was like drinking punch.

The race was interrupted once by an elitist protest swimmer in the water. He was arrested and later charged. And then after a restart Oxford broke an oar and struggled to maintain which then resulted in the collapse of their anchor rower. Much excitement but an empty win for Cambridge. Here are the boys in front of the big screen.

The Easter egg hunt was too cool. Sponsored by Faberge, it consisted of over 200 eggs hidden throughout London. These eggs were 2.5 feet tall and decorated by various artists and designers. London was trying to break the world's largest egg hunt record and succeeded with over 12,000 participants. And we were a part of it. The eggs were going to be auctioned off for charity and the boys tried to get me to buy one but I thought a 2.5 foot egg in the living room might be a bit much. Below  are some of our favorite eggs.

Will add more pictures and details on next post.  Don't want to overwhelm!!!

An iPhone revelation!!!!!

Blogger has an app for your phone! You may be seeing more posts from me.

What I can now do all on the go:
Take a picture
Upload to blog
Blog

Although, I shouldn't confess this because now y'all know I don't have any excuses for my sloggin'!

So here's a post:

We are at a pub in Nebusice on the patio while the boys are inside bowling with their friends. Lovely evening!!!

The Twins in London

We are spending a week in London over Easter. More details to follow.

More Stuff from Spain

I had to share more from our trip.  On one of the tourista days the boys allowed me to plan we drove thru the Serranía de Ronda (The Ronda Mountains) to Ronda. It is a beautiful city on the edge of the deep ravine, El Tajo.  What we did:

Ate at a tiny little Tapas bar with only 6 little tables.  It was decorated with a large picture of the Rat Pack which spurred a conversation with some other American tourists.

This is the oldest bull fighting ring in Spain.  We were told it is where bull fighting was "invented".  It is still used today in the fall.

Walked around the town of Ronda and had coffee on the edge of the ravine.

This is the the Puente Nuevo or "the new bridge" completed in 1793

 that crosses over the ravine into Ronda.

On the drive back to the condo we drove through several "White Cities".  Small towns with all white buildings scattered throughout the mountains. Some date back to the 1200's.

And one more thing I have to share is the best salad we have ever had.  That evening we went to an Italian restaurant that was recommended to us and ordered the Chef Salad.  The kind of Chef Salad we are familiar with has turkey, ham, cheese, boiled egg and blue cheese dressing.  This restaurant's idea of a Chef Salad is the Chef's Choice!!!  And what a choice:  thin zucchini ribbons, mixed greens, truffles, shaved Parmesan cheese, tiny croutons, and a truffle dressing! Peyton got the recipe from the Chef!

Costa del Sol, Spain

We just returned from Marbella, Spain.  We visited there during the boys' winter break.  You would think that would have been the break at Christmas but they get another week off six weeks after the New Year. Who are we to complain???
Here is a list of the top ten things we did or saw:

1. Drank sangria on the beach.
2. Toured the Royal Palace of the Alhambra in Granada.
3. Caleb and Peyton practiced their newly learned Spanish with the locals.
4. Drank sangria on the beach.
5. Drove through the "White Cities" nestled in the mountain range of the Serrania de Ronda.
6. The boys ran around the ring of the oldest Bullring in Spain.
7. Drank sangria by the pool overlooking the beach.
8. Ate the best salad that the four of us have ever had! 
9. Had coffee in Ronda over looking the sheer-sided Tajo Gorge. 
10. Had quality time with the family!

Touring the Alhambra was especially thrilling.  The boys are learning Spanish and their Spanish teacher asked them to find out why the throne room of the palace was significant to the USA.  We found out that this is where Columbus went to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to ask for support to explore the New World.  Can you imagine?  We stood in that same room. The ceiling was amazing and its design is said to symbolize the "divine power of the Sultan".
All three of my "boys" asked me not to schedule too many touristy items on our agenda.  They all wanted to rest and relax but they told me that the Alhambra was "better than we thought it would be".

Peyton on the wall overlooking the courtyard of the Nasrid Palace.

Caleb under the arches leading into the throne room.

A corner in the Throne Room.  You can see part of the ceiling and the carving on the walls. Very intricate.

The "stalactite" ceiling in the Nasrid Palace.

The Boys at the Alhambra.