Cheerio!

Hard to believe it, but there are 9 days left in what has been one loooooonnnnnnnnng year.  For us, this means not only enjoying all the events of the 'festive season' here in England, but also marking the end of our 2 1/2 years in London.   So in addition to everyone's favourite Christmastime tradition, the Unilever "fancy dress" Christmas party...

(This year's theme was 'Chicago')

... we also had our very own 'leaving do'...

(The theme was: Drink as much beer as possible with no food)

... and of course, birthday drinks, friends' Christmas parties, final book club of the year, not to mention the ridiculous night of karaoke with my advertising agency.  Thankfully, no pictures of that one (that I have been made aware of). 

But, all good things must come to an end, and so today 3 gents came along and packed up our stuff and hauled it away.  Mom & Dad, here's what you can expect arriving in a few weeks' time: 

Not too bad, eh?

And so, I'm sitting here in an apartment which is empty of all except the landlord's furniture, one turkey pot pie, oh, and a room full of 'don't pack it, we'll take care of it later' stuff ... some to be lugged to Colchester (Jason's mum's) tomorrow, and the rest of which to be lugged around the world!

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Possibly one or 2 more updates to come before we take off on 2 January, but we hope to be actively blogging as we circumnavigate. Fingers crossed that we don't get another inch of snow that cripples the airport, and we'll be off a week from Sunday!  As they say, watch this space.

Merry Christmas to all!  

-Jess & Jason

Longing for a Return to Summer and Traveling

While summer has long past, if it ever really arrived in London, the talk of snow later this week made it seem like a good time to revisit our summer holiday to Slovenia. For a second straight year we spent our primary summer break in the former Yugoslavia. While Slovenia has more of a western European feel than many of its Balkan neighbors, it retains the charms of a country still largely undiscovered by the average holiday maker. Add to this a geography that is often, and rightfully so in our opinion, described as Europe in miniature. What makes it even more impressive is that such diverse landscape and culture is packed into a country roughly the size of New Jersey with a population barely breaking two million.

Our eight days/seven nights consisted of stays at two tourist farms separated by all of a 2 1/2 hours but in completely different settings. Our first four nights were spent on a farm in Triglav National Park, which is nestled within the Julian Alps in the northwest of the country. From this base we visited Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj, hiked to several waterfalls and walked along the amazing Vintgar Gorge just outside Bled.

Vintgar Gorge

Lake Bohinj

Our final three nights were in the Karst region in the southwest staying on a farm/vineyard. We spent a day exploring the Primorska wine region, including an excellent tour/tasting at Simcic, another day relaxing along the Adriatic in picturesque Piran and our final day at the Skocjan caves. On top of all this we found the time to meet a number of really friendly people, eat excessively and drink plenty of wine. Hopefully the pictures can do the trip and this fantastic little country some justice.

Piran

While it isn't possible to pick favorites between the huge variety of place we've visited over the past 2+ years, Slovenia is definitely somewhere we hope to return to one day and is definitely near the top of the list of our favorite trips.

- Jason

ISO Sunshine

I mentioned earlier that a few of our trips over the last few months have been in search of some sun.  Unfortunately, this was the worst summer in England yet.  In fact, in England, they don't actually call summer "summer" flat-out, they call it "English summer".  As-in, "Enjoying the English summer?" No, not really, thanks. 

When the temperature hits 70F for more than 2 days, they start making announcements on the Underground: "During this time of extreme heat, it is advisable to carry bottled water with you.  If you feel unwell, please do not get on board train."

Anyway, in early July as days went from grey and tepid to moderately spring-like and occasionally blue-ish, and I watched half of my wardrobe go unused again, we looked at the calendar and realised we had 5 free weekends upcoming, and so we booked a flight back to Lisbon.  We've been to Lisbon a few times, so I won't dwell on it other than to say Jason nearly cried tears of joy when he had the opportunity to get into his swimsuit and get in the Atlantic: 

Look at all that blue-ness!

Swimsuit pictures are sometimes unappreciated

Then in October, in search of a real beach vacation, we booked a bargain-basement priced end-of-season flight & lodging to Corfu, a northern Greek island situated west of Albania.  Well, we knew at booking that there was a risk was that we would be approaching the beginning of the rainy season.  Out of our 5 days, we managed to get 2 decent ones, 1 great one, and 2 wash-outs.  Still, nice to sit & read, with absolutely nothing to do.  

Corfu is not one of the more glamourous of the Greek islands, yet (perhaps owing to this?) it is a favourite of the English.  Fortunately given the season the crowds were thinner, so while we were surrounded by Brits or others, they didn't press in from all sides and we were alone most of the time - dining, hiking, boating, etc.  We spent a relaxing few days in solitude, eating lots of Feta cheese, drinking loads of wine, and getting away from it all!

Really getting away from it all

Concentrating on the Classics

So, a moderately-climated beach vacation, which was still a big improvement over the local weather. But the English summer is certainly finished here.  So at least they're not making ridiculous Tube announcements.  Well... that's a lie.  There is, after all, a good service on all London Underground lines. (Except when there's a strike, planned engineering works, signal failure, and/or an individual under a train.)

Full album links are at the right!

4 Weddings - Part 3 & 4 (Belgium & PA)

Continuing on from the last post...

Julien & Laetitia: 18 Sept, near Brussels
Who? Julien is Jason's second cousin once removed - if I understand these things correctly!  He is the son of Jason's mom's cousin Nigel.  We had Laetitia and a friend of hers as a houseguest for about a week when we lived in NYC; she was studying medicine in Canada.

Where? As it says, near Brussels!  Actually about an hour outside of town, in the town of Court-St-Etienne.  The ceremony was at an unassuming church, but the reception was at a beautiful chateau that held one of the most magnificent reception rooms I've seen in all my wedding-going days.  Brick pillars supported a high wooden ceiling, and the room was accented down its lenght by chandeliers hanging with dozens of votive candles.  A very elegant effect.

What was unique? Well, the ceremony was easily the longest wedding ceremony I've been to - but that's because it was a 2-in-1 ceremony!  First came the Orthodox Greek ceremony (the bride's family is Greek), followed by the Catholic ceremony.  I suppose if you can't pick one, combine!  The 2 officiants did not conduct the ceremonies together, but rather they came & went for their turn.  So - combine 2 1-hour ceremonies and you get... 1 2-hour ceremony in Greek & French, except for the reading done by an English relative in the last 10 minutes of the event.  The mix of cultures and languages made for some very touching moments during the speeches at dinner, as various members of the family aimed to reach out to the other in their native tongue.  And - the traditional Greek dancing during the reception was a sight to behold, for sure, with all generations really getting into the fun!

Word. The word of this night was family.  We met many relatives of Jason's who I certainly didn't know, and whom he had met only once or twice before, and not since he was at least a teenager! 

What else? As usual, we took a little extra advantage of being somewhere different.  Jason and his mum took the Eurostar to Belgium on Thurdsay and spent a night & day up in Antwerp (pictures in the album) before coming back to Brussels where I met them on Friday.  And before we left on Sunday, we met for brunch with our friends Willem & Matthias, who we know from London (Willem works for Unilever), but who returned to their native Belgium earlier this year. Always nice to see familiar faces in a foreign country!

From the Greek part of the ceremony (note the symbolic headgear)

Carole & Jason enjoying the cocktail hour

Setting off Chinese lanterns (we are not sure if this is a Belgian tradition!?)

Hayle & Monica: 16 October, Skytop PA
Who? Hayle and Monica are both friends of ours - I met them both in my first week at NYU Stern (business school) as they were in my block.  I have traveled with them around the world - Brazil, Croatia, and Korea to name a few of the places I've been with one or both of them.  Hayle is also one of my fellow Curlers, from back when I did that sort of thing :)

Where? Skytop Lodge in the Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania.  Hayle grew up in nearby East Stroudsburg, and the setting was resplendent with autumn foliage.  Luckily the weather cooperated at the last minute, after threatening not to up to about an hour before the ceremony (the skies turned from the past 48hrs grey into bright blue, and the whipping chilly wind died down mercifully for the outdoor ceremony).

What was unique? Hayle and Monica had a Korean ceremony at their rehearsal dinner on Friday night - complete with the piggy back riding and date throwing to predict offspring which we remembered fondly from Jed & Jenny's wedding Seoul a few years back.  This was followed by BBQ - both Korean & American style... I have to say I stuck with the Korean food, which is always a treat!  What else?  Well other than capping the night with several hours worth of karaoke (a favourite amongst both Koreans AND the NYU crowd), during Hayle and Monica's traditional ceremony we were introduced to the concept of the 'truce bell'.  Evidently an Irish tradition, they were both asked to ring the bell several times during the ceremony, and to keep it in their home.  If an argument arises, one of them is supposed to ring the bell and they should recall their wedding vows.  What a nice tradition!  Someone suggested that Hayle may be well off just wearing it around his neck tho...

Word. If the last one was family, then this one should definitely be friends.  Of all the weddings this year, this was the only one in which we were a part of the (very) vocal majority - one of the big party contingencies present!  We had a blast catching up - and partying - with many old friends & classmates. (Although notably missed were Hal and his wife Lisa, with Lisa having just given birth to their first baby 2 days before the wedding!)

What else? We were graciously hosted in New Jersey, driven to / from the Poconos and to/from Newark airport, and joined as roommate by our good friend Jill - who has just decided to move to Chicago!  I'm so sad Jill won't be in NYC anymore when we get back, but it was awesome to spend so much time with her before she left.  Thanks Jill - see you in Chi-town sometime soon!

Beautiful setting

Veronica, me, and Jill

The Kind and Queen, being serenaded by their court

4 Weddings - Part 1 & 2 (Italy & NH)

2 months away from blogging makes all the Jills in my life (save one) say 'are you still blogging? how come you never blog anymore?'  So here we go.

This summer was filled with -- you guessed it -- lots of traveling!  Some trips were in search of sunshine, some were to meet friends who were over this side of things, and some were to witness the nuptuals of friends and family.  Once a month from July to October, we hopped on a plane or a train an headed off to celebrate in a variety of styles.  The ceremonies ranged from 10 minutes to 2 hours, the locations from a Tuscan villa to New Hampshire farm, the temperatures from a sweltering 90 degrees to a crisp 50 (all with sunshine, though!).  Each very sweet in its own way, and each with a very different feel.

Elisa & Stefano: 10 July, Tuscany
Who? In 1994, I spent 6 weeks in Florence on the back of an invitation from my mom's cousin Joanne. During this period I spent most of my time with 2 girls named Elisa, with whom I have kept in contact over these 16 years.  My 5th trip to Florence was for Elisa Paladini's wedding to her beau Stefano. 

Where? While the ceremony was in Florence, we traveled out to the countryside for the reception to a villa with a stunning view.  It was hot even inside the marble building, so we sat as still as possible during the Catholic ceremony (in Italian, of course). 

What was unique? 2 things I got a big kick out of a this wedding: 1) the celebration on the church steps immediately after the ceremony - the ceremony musicians played a ditty while E & S danced and guests drank champagne from plastic flutes.  Refreshing!  2) the parading of the pork - during dinner, the waiters paraded 2 very large legs of ham around the tables prior to taking it back to the kitchen and preparing it for service (see pictures in the album).  Elisa & Stefano's friends and siblings also made the most comprehensive 'a day in the life of...' video parodying the couple that I have ever seen - I only wish I could have understood it!

Word. The word of the night was 'lingering' - lingering over cocktails, lingering over dinner, lingering under the stars. 

What else? We made a long weekend of it, staying at Elisa Marchi's place (she very generously moved out for the weekend), and doing all we could to keep somewhat cool.  July in Florence can get steamy, and this was the sort of heat where it's even too hot to sleep. We pretty much took it easy, doing some lazy wandering around the city, making dinners requiring as little cooking as possible, and driving to little villages in hills in search of a breeze and enjoying the air conditioning of Elisa's car.


The happy couple, just married!



Francesco & Jason, keepin' cool



Elisa M, Elisa P, and me

Laura & Dave, 21 August, Lebanon NH
Who? Part of The Big Chill: 2nd Generation, Laura Franklin is the daughter of my parents' college friends.

Where? Laura & Dave got married on the Franklin family farm, where Laura & her 2 sibs grew up. It's on the border of NH and VT, on the NH side of the border river (that's the east side, for those of you who can't keep the 2 states straight).  The ceremony was up in the orchards and the ceremony in a tent next to the barns.

What was unique?  There were so many personal details so perfectly done.  Over the past year, they grew flowers in the orchard to create a natural aisle, a very tasty gin concoction that they created was on offer at the bar, and they brought up their favourite piano man from New York to entertain during & after the reception.  This is just a smattering of the details that Laura dreamed up to make the day uniquely hers & Dave's.

Word. The word of the night was homemade.  Everything had Laura's personal touch on it - from hand-labeled jam jars to the larger-than-life 'scarecrows' modeled after the wedding party in the maize maze to the wooden dancefloor made by (I assume) the father of the bride, possibly with the groom's help.

What else? I flew to NH the weekend before the wedding, taking the chance to spend a little time with my family in Portsmouth.  As things went, my aunt Eleanor lost her admirably hard fought battle with cancer the Saturday before the wedding, and so the week was spent with cousins, aunts and uncles, and my unbelievably strong Grammie, in the often somber and occasionally celebratory events that followed.  Spending the week in this way made the wedding a much appreciated chance for the LeMays of Portsmouth to let their hair down!

Laura the bride, Linda the JP, and Dave the groom, in the maize maze

Laura, Linda, and Dave in real life!

Me, my bro, the bride, and Zac (late nite)

Cultural Slips & Trips

*13 Aug 2010*

I’m sitting here at one of my favourite watering holes – Huxley’s at Heathrow Terminal 5. Have just hoisted myself up on a barstool and ordered a pint of Stella. The bartender replies ‘Nice to hear that order from a lady…’ Me, quizzically: ‘Why’s that?’ Barman: ‘It’s just not that often you hear a lady order Stella.’ I think a moment, then: ‘Well, I suppose Stella’s got quite a different reputation here than at home.’

I always forget this. It doesn’t bother me too much, but in England, Stella Artois lager is colloquially known as ‘Wife Beater’ – due to its high alcohol content & light taste. Therefore also possibly a bit chavvy. Meanwhile at home it’s a choice that no girl would hesitate to order yet guys would think twice about in an effort to protect their manly personae.

It’s amusing to me that, 2 years on, some of these silly cultural things continue to trip me up. The biggest one I cannot get my head around is the business kiss. Over in these parts (Europe generally), kissing your business colleagues – or at least those you don’t see daily – is as commonplace as a firm yet friendly handshake is in the US. Each country has its specific custom: In France & Germany, for instance you do the double-kiss (one per side). In Italy I noticed on my last trip that, although it’s the same double-kiss, custom dictates you start by going right, then left, which is opposite of the northern countries. In Holland, you start left but kiss 3 times – L-R-L – also in Switzerland. In Belgium I’ve been told they sometimes just keep going til it gets ridiculous, but generally it seems to be the same 3 times as Holland.

This is all fine, once you learn and therefore can be prepared. The problem is, the UK is confused. They don’t know whether they’re coming or going. You might shake hands, you might kiss once, you might kiss twice. It’s always a surprise and thus always slightly awkward. I can never remember exactly what I have established with a given person, and so often I end up with a stick-out-the-hand while they lean in for the kiss so I lean in for the kiss and then go to kiss twice while they’ve already moved back because a single kiss does it this time.

As you might imagine, I tend to take this chance to babble on in my loudest most American voice on how awkward this all is, what’s wrong with a simple handshake, I feel like a fool, and just go on making matters worse until no one knows what exactly we’re talking about anymore. This makes business meetings all that much more fun!

Sounds from Home

After what seemed like a long hiatus, but was actually about six weeks, we took in a couple of concerts in the last week. While it sometimes feels like we see way too many American bands and not enough local stuff, one benefit of being overseas is seeing some up-and-coming US bands in really small venues. We're definitely going to miss going to shows here when we move back home.

First up last week was lo-fi/garage rock Best Coast, which I ended up attending on my own thanks to Jess having to work and not really being very interested anyway. The band has gotten a lot of hype and I like several of their songs but having listened to some of their live stuff I was not expecting much. While they ended up sounding better than I expected, they didn't have much energy and too many felt like throw aways. Probably didn't help that it was about 110 degrees in the venue. Overall I can't say I loved the show or really understand all of the attention they are getting, but I’m glad I checked them out (especially after trying unsuccessfully to see them in NYC in early April).

http://www.myspace.com/bestycoasty
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/best-coast-cargo-london-2044603.html

Last night we (this time both Jess and I) went to see Fool’s Gold at another small central London venue. Despite a little bit of skepticism from someone who will remain nameless (not me) the show was amazing. While not a band I would rush out to purchase their album, the energy and enthusiasm with which they delivered their unique blend of African/Caribbean influenced indie pop, often sung in Hebrew, made for a unique but fantastic performance. It was impossible not to get into the music and they're definitely a band I would go see live again.

http://www.myspace.com/foolsgold

- Jason

Jason and Carole’s trip to Florence and Pisa

Florence is proving to be one of those places that I seem to enjoy more each time I visit. Despite being full of tourists it manages to retain an amazing charm with so much history/culture while still feeling like a place where people actually live and work. Even though it was my third trip, so much still felt new. Not too surprising I guess given all of the sights it has to offer. Just wandering the streets a little bit away from the centre could provide a trip in and of itself. It was the first time my Mom had been so we visited the two major museums, and much like visiting the Met in NYC or Louvre in Paris, the Uffizi has such an overwhelming collection it is impossible to even begin to take it all in during a visit.

Add all of the great Italian food and wine, which we sampled in abundance, to the museums, churches and architecture and I have to put Florence near the top of my list of must see European cities. I will admit it is tough for me to pass judgement on great Italian cities having not yet been to Rome or Venice. However, I find it hard to imagine either could match Florence’s for its ability manage the crush of tourists without losing any of its quaintness and that great relaxed feel that makes visiting Italy so wonderful. I am eagerly awaiting my trip back with Jess in early July!

Oh yeah, we also visited Pisa, which somewhat to my surprise is well worth at least a day on any trip to the region as the city itself deserves exploring beyond just popping in to see the tower and amazing Duomo.

- Jason

A Northern Voyage

Over Memorial Day weekend (here, the 'second May bank holiday'), we went to Tallinn, Estonia and Helsinki, Finland.  I completely acknowledge that this must make it seem like we've reached the end of normal things to do, but Estonia is not nearly as off the beaten path as it sounds.  In fact, Tallinn has risen to glory as a popular 'stag do' (bachelor party) destination in recent years, probably because it's relatively cheap compared to other European capitals, and it's easy to get to/from/around.


We spent most of our late May weekend bundled up against the chilly early-Spring weather, wandering the Tallinn old town and out off the tourist track into a pretty little park that also housed the KUMU, the modern art museum, where we spent a few hours.  We enjoyed some of the local brew and made 'friends' with one very drunk Finnish man, who wanted to know that we were welcome to his house if we ever found ourselves 2 hours north of Helsinki.

View of Tallinn from Oleviste church tower

Creepy room at the KUMU

We spent 2 days & 3 nights in Tallinn before taking a ferry - actually a retrofitted cruise ship that was pretty retro-feeling itself - to Helsinki for a one day / one night visit.  We enjoyed some local grub at the seaport before heading out to Suomenlinna island, an important part of Finland's defense against Russia.

On Suomenlinna Island

See the rest of our pictures here!

A weekend in Dublin

We haven't really been living up to our 'World Wide' moniker lately, with in the first four months of the year having traveled to Tunisia in January (okay that was pretty cool) and then back home to the States in April. In an effort to make up for the dearth of travel lately, we've got some trips lined up for the coming months - some officially scheduled, some scheduled only in our heads.

To kick it off, we took a quick jaunt to Dublin the weekend before last - arriving late Friday and leaving mid-day Sunday. We had been once before, which was nice because it meant we already had our bearings and didn't need to do the first-time tourist stuff. It was a decent enough weekend - sunny but chilly - which was better than it had been in London for the weeks leading up to it (mainly cloudy and chilly). We headed out to the Kilmainham Jail and took the tour there. Interesting mix of Dublin history - especially as the jail played a prominent role during both the potato famine & the 1916 uprising - and jail theory, the latter of which we are becoming knowledgeable in given our recent visit to the Eastern State Pen too.

Afterwards we wandered around looking for a cafe that either doesn't exist anymore or we had bad directions to, and in doing so passed by Trinity College green where a cricket match was on. So we pulled up a patch of grass and took in the game. This was the first time I've watched live cricket, and I have to say I didn't think the players were very good.

In the evenings we drank lots of Guinness (obv.) and tried to seek out some smaller, more local haunts. We had some luck and enjoyed time with the Dubliners - or, at the very least, near them. We don't have many pictures from this trip - just from the jail and the cricket match - but have a look, the link's at the right.

USA! USA!

(Title in homage of upcoming World Cup events!!!!!)

I've been delaying writing this post, though I'm honestly not sure why. I think I was looking for something profound to say about our 11 days in Philly / New York at beginning of April, but when it comes down to it, it was simply a fantastic trip that felt about twice as long as it actually was (and when does that happen?!). It might have been that it was in the mid-70s and sunny the entire time, or it could have been the fact that we got to see bunches of dear friends and even some dear family too. Probably a combination.

We started with 4 days in Philly, where we stayed at a B&B a couple blocks down from Greg & Kaity's place (they're on Rittenhouse Square), which was also one door down from Jason's old place on Pine. Who says you can't go back? We spent our days wandering down to the waterfront and up to Penn, hitting some old haunts like Mad Mex & Roosevelts, and even grabbing a New Deck Chicken Sandwich with Geoff & Shanna and their 3 frighteningly clever kids and taking a wander up Locust Walk to see what's changed... and what hasn't. The mom & dad came into town for the Easter weekend, which we spent eating cheesesteaks, perusing the Italian Market, and checking out the Eastern State Penitentiary. Greg & Kaity made a delicious Easter eve dinner and we all went to brunch at Parc before going our separate ways.

On Sunday we took the Amtrak up to NYC. Monica & Hayle were gracious enough to let us crash in their spare room in their northern-facing Chelsea apartment for the entire week. Heck, they even left us the place to ourselves when they jetted off to Mexico on Wednesday morning! We did work at our respective offices during the week, but made the most of all our evenings. We enjoyed catching up over drinks & dinners out and were treated to a couple dinners in (a special thanks to Ed for hosting his last dinner party in his now former apartment while we were in town - themed 'Upscale Trailer Park', and to pregnant Lisa for putting together a delicious meal while Hal stood by continuously opening new bottles of wine for the rest of us).

Finally on Saturday, we took a bus out to Brian & Jamie's in New Jersey for the first (annual??) Penn '00 and Friends mini-reunion. This was great because we made our entire mom & baby tour in one stop. It was a very chill event, with yummy burgers & dogs, one hotly contested poker game, and a good time catching up with old friends & seeing their little ones getting bigger and bigger. This happens to be the 10-year reunion year for most of us who were there, but oddly enough no one mentioned sitting in the rain on Franklin Field, listening to an incomprehensible Irish poet give our commencement address, so I'm doing it here. Memorable in its own right.

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, wraps up my account of our trip home. We left wishing for more time and realising that we really meant it when we told people we plan to be back for good in about a year's time. The reality check, though, is remembering it's not always 75 & sunny, and we're not always going to be a novelty to have around.

AAdvantage me!

In the name of social media, I thought I'd share...

American Airlines' AAdvantage frequent flyer program just sent me the following email:

From the American Airlines AAdvantage® Program

Dear Jessica Willey,

We know you have a choice when it comes to air travel and we appreciate the business you have given us over the years. Today, we'd like to extend a special thanks to you as you celebrate your 10th AAdvantage® Anniversary.

Since we launched the world's first frequent flyer program in 1981, we have worked hard to provide great value whether you earn your miles by flying or through products and services offered by the wide range of companies participating in the AAdvantage program. And now, your miles are redeemable for award travel on more than 20 participating airlines to over 700 destinations worldwide.

Thank you again for your business. We look forward to seeing you on an American Airlines flight soon!

Rob Friedman
President
AAdvantage Marketing Programs

To which I replied:

Dear AA Customer Relations,

I'm writing in response to an email I received, titled 'Happy Anniversary!' and notifying me that I have been an AAdvantage member for 10 years.

As a Marketing professional, I am disappointed that American Airlines fell so short here with such a self-serving campaign. If you really want to thank a customer, you should consider offering a gesture of goodwill, something of value - the obvious in this case would be 10k bonus miles for 10 years.

As a customer, I am annoyed that AA populated my inbox with email that offered me no value - be it useful information or an offer of some sort. Annoyed enough that I decided to send you this note.

Thank you for the refresher lesson in CRM. I do know I have a choice of airlines, and while American is usually in the top 2 or 3 of my list, my esteem for it has slipped slightly.

Kind regards,
Jessica

Into Africa

We're nearing the end of the first quarter of 2010, and alarmingly we've only done one weekend away so far this year! We deliberately didn't plan anything for end Feb / early March, which has lived up to expectations of being a very crazy time at work. But now, we're overdue for a vacation! Thankfully we've got a trip to the States coming up - including a nice 5 1/2 day break over the Easter weekend holiday that we booked within days of our return after Christmas.

When we did manage to get out of dodge, we ventured south to Tunisia - our first trip to Africa. For those who have as little idea of where Tunisia was as I did before booking the trip, it is on the north coast of Africa, nestled between Algeria & Libya, and on googlemaps appears to be a stone's throw from Sicily & Sardinia. Known as one of the most moderate Muslim countries, there is little to no English spoken (Arabic & French), and for these westerners it was definitely one of the most 'foreign' places we've traveled. (Notably, it's also where Star Wars was filmed, but we didn't make it to the deserts in the middle of the country.)

We chose Tunisia because it promised to be warmer than London at the end of January, and because I won a beach vacation in a bet with Jason, having beaten him in our Fantasy Football league finals (the wager was: loser has to take me on a beach vacation). Jason thinks this counted - see evidence below:

From Tunis - January '10

The picture above was on our day trip out to the resort town of Sidi Bou Said and Carthage, where we walked amongst Roman ruins from the area's hey-day. Please note that, while the view was beautiful, I was not dressed in anything close to a bathing suit.

Back where we stayed in Tunis, the capital, there were a few things we found particularly notable:

• While we found plenty of interesting things to look at (mosaics, mosques, market stalls), Jason appeared to be the most interesting thing for the locals to look at.
• As definitive 'outsiders', we found that when we did have the opportunity to interact with the locals, we found them to be warm & welcoming -- and even more so when they found out we are American.
• It's not a place that gets many tourists (hence the 2 first points) - but that was very nice. Unlike Istanbul (where we've visited) or Marrakech (where we haven't), we didn't feel like someone was out to rip us off at every turn. We encountered some entrepreneurial sorts, but very little pushiness or swindling to be found.
• It is nearly impossible to find a place to sit and have a beer or other drink. We did manage to find a hotel's rooftop bar, 'Bar Jamaica', and ended up going multiple times. It is possible to find restaurants serving beer or wine, but never in view of the public (in fact, one place we went had the windows papered over).
• Women and men socialise in different circles, which was brought home to us when we went for dinner on our first night, and I was the only female in the busy, rather large restaurant ... for the entire evening. This also made it seem a little strange that I was the only one to speak directly with servers during our trip, given French was required. I should note, though, that I encountered absolutely no hostility.
• So as not to appear out of touch or offensive, we kept PDA to a minimum (even more so than normal) - meaning not even any hand-holding while walking down the street. This proved remarkably, surprisingly difficult.

Overall, it was a delighful and eye-opening couple of days in a completely different culture, and we definitely recommend brushing up on you French (or Arabic) and checking out Tunisia! Meanwhile, be sure to check out our pictures!

Tax Season (File under: British Humour)

Based on the subject, this could be the driest post ever. I'll try to keep it short & colourful.

As you may be aware, the English like to do things in their own quirky way. Exhibit A: left-side driving; Exhibit B: warm beer.

Following tradition, the tax year here ends on April 5, naturally, and submission date is January 31. I will spare you all the details of the incompetencies of Ernst & Young (especially those hired by S&P; Unilever's were okay), but suffice it to say that Jason pretty much ended up doing our taxes even though the world's #1 tax firm were on the case.

But this is not about Ernst & Young; it is about the lovely people at HM Revenue & Customs, from whom Jason received this notice, dated 17 Feb 2010:

Dear Mr Willey

Thank you for your Tax Return for the year ended 5 April 2009 which we received on 28 January 2010.

I will treat the form for all purposes as though you sent it in response to a notice from us which required you to deliver it to us by the date we received it.

Yours sincerely,
S Watson, Revenue Assistant

WHAT!?!?!?! 10 points to the first person who can translate the above.* Personally I'm a little concerned that they haven't yet let me know if they'll treat my form in the same way. Or maybe I'm relieved. I'll never be sure.

*I will have no idea if you're correct.

Festive Season Parts II-VI

Before this gets to be too much more of a distant memory, I'm posting pictures and a few tidbits about the rest of the 2009 Festive Season, which kicked off with our Alentejo trip and continued straight up to and through New Years in California.

Festive Season Part II: We rounded up our friends (Jocelin & John) and made a proper Thanksgiving feast. Sure, it was the Saturday after the real turkey day, and sure, we didn't have any Ocean Spray canned cranberry sauce with those delicious ridges, but we did manage to stuff ourselves silly and play a solid Trivial Pursuit game. I will graciously say I can't remember who won.

From Festive Season 2009 - Nov-Dec '09

Festive Season, Part III: The following weekend, Jason & I headed off to Munich, Germany, to visit the Christmas Markets. We chose Munich for no reason other than flights to Munich were cheaper than any other Christmas market town we could find. We spent a glorious weekend eating and drinking our way through town, taking breaks from mulled wine and beer to enjoy various fried greasy breads or sausages. It certainly cemented my previously lacking Christmas spirit; I returned ready to face the rest of the Festive Season.

From Munich - December '09

From Munich - December '09

Festive Season Part IV: The weekend following our trip to Munich, 2 visitors from a wonderful land arrived on our doorstop: Carlo & Paola Marchi, my surrogate Italian parents, ready for their first-ever visit to England. They arrived with a seemingly sensible amount of luggage, only to reveal that one of their two baggagli was stuffed to the brim with food! In addition to fresh pasta, homemade pesto, tomato sauce, tartes, fresh cheeses, and breakfast biscotti, which you arguably might not find here, they had also packed garlic, chicken breasts, a packaged pouch of grated parm, bread, and dried spaghetti. England may not be known for its food, but these precautions seemed a little unnecessary. I told my Italian work friend Max about it. He wasn't at all surprised. We ate like kings during their 4-day stay, and slightly regretted already having plans one evening. With this bounty of food, the language barrier I was worried about disappeared.

During this weekend, I also carried on the tradition of personalized gingerbread folks, which went over very well down at the Unilever ranch.

From Festive Season 2009 - Nov-Dec '09

From Festive Season 2009 - Nov-Dec '09

Festive Season Part V: After the Marchi's departure, only 2 events remained before our trip back to the States. The first was the annual Unilever UK Christmas Party. Last year's was the famous 'Posh & Becks' Christmas' ... this year, 'Cirque Noel', complete with acrobats, jugglers on stilts, bumper cars, and a carnival ride which somehow defied the likelihood of being a very dangerous combination with the copious amounts of alcohol being consumed. Not quite as good as last year's, but a good time all the same.

And finally...

Festive Season Part VI: The first of many family events to come, we spent a snowy weekend in Colchester with Carole, keeping warm with a roast dinner and mulled wine, and exchanging the first of the gifts. A cozy end to the Festive Season!

From Festive Season 2009 - Nov-Dec '09

New content

So, how about those New Year's Resolutions? ... ... ...

Anyway, we expect we've got more or less one year remaining in our Great British adventure. Putting this down on paper feels like a 'famous last words' situation, but 1 1/2 years in, we're becoming more & more confident about the things we'll miss and those which we certainly won't when we do ultimately get off this island.

So, we started a list at right. Well, 2, actually. In our first go, I can't believe our 'things we'll miss' outnumbers 'things we won't', but I wager that's bound to change.

Also opted for a facelift of the page while I was at it. Hoping to get some more pix & stories up this weekend... stay tuned!

The Festive Season - Part I

Jason was just admonishing me for not keeping my New Year's Resolutions, but I'll have you know that I finished Georgetown Ladies' Social Club today, so at least #1 is still in effect. I'm improving on (not) working at home, although that doesn't mean I haven't done any work at home. And, well, it's been a little over a week since blogging. Well, you can't win 'em all.

Here in jolly ol' England, they call the period spanning December-ish through the New Year the 'festive season'. This isn't meant to be PC, as far as I can tell, but instead it's descriptive & inclusive. Personally, I can tell it's the 'Festive Season' because at no other time of year am I certain to encounter someone's vomit from the previous night on my walk to the train station every morning. I wish I were kidding. (Did I mention this country has a bit of a drinking problem?) I digress...

As they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, we've had to create our own start to the 'festive season', given in the States it's pretty clear when you're supposed to start overindulging at every turn. It wasn't intentional, but our mid-November 5-day weekend to Portugal marked the start of our festive season, since we ate tons of cheap, delicious fish, cheeses, pork, lamb etc., and drank bottles upon bottles of cheap, yummy red wine nearly constantly over our trip... and didn't look back until these past 2 weeks of our return to reality.

We stayed in the Alentejo region, inland from Lisbon and north of the more well-known Algarve that marks the country's southern coast. We rented a car in Lisbon and drove 2 hours to our lodging on a cork tree farm, a family business whose primary industry is cork (naturally), but which has diversified into wine and livestock.

Here are a few pictures:

From Alentejo - November '09

Jason inspecting the cork tree (marked '9' as it's harvested in years ending with 9)

From Alentejo - November '09

Free range acorn fed happy pig (although here, rather damp pig).

During our stay in Alentejo, we drove through the area to visit a number of small villages, many of which have a ruined castle or fortress on a hilltop. The region is broadly known for cork, marble, tiles, olives, and these bizarre rock formations. We went in search of the latter and only found one. Among the highlights of our trip were:

A visit to the Bone Chapel in Evora - constructed entirely of monks' bones (fascinatingly grim):

From Alentejo - November '09

Visiting the JM Fonesca winery on a set-up from my wino-friend Hal:

From Alentejo - November '09

And traipsing around church rooftops and fortress walls which, if anything this old and decrepit existed in the States, would be guarded with railings and fences or more likely you would be allowed to look at from a distance of 20 feet:

From Alentejo - November '09

Naturally you can see more pictures at the link on the right! And stay tuned for more Festive Season adventures, less than a week a way (but you've heard that before...)

New Year's Resolutions

Greetings and Happy New Year!

Now that the 'Festive Season' is over (more on that later), it's time to move on to 'New & Improved Season', i.e. January.

For my part, my resolutions are (as far as I can figure):

1. Keep reading! I read at least 25 books last year (a big jump from the 3 per year or so I has been reading), far outdoing my resolution of 1 book per month. So far I'm in the middle of 2 books: Georgetown Ladies Social Club (for next Tuesday's book club) and the latest John Irving.

2. Bring work home less (figuratively). Start by bringing work home less (literally). I'm aiming to keep the work computer OFF when I'm home, unless absolutely necessary (i.e. no 'catching up' in front of the TV). I hope this will mean I do more with my evenings & weekends. Already, my evenings are improving: playing Guitar Hero, baking Banana Cream Pie (someone's got a birthday tomorrow), and blogging!

Which brings me to...

3. Blog more! I hereby pledge to myself that I will post at least once per week. Since it's the 7th, and the other 2 resolutions are going well so far, I would have hated to let that drop already :)

Of course there are loads more things I'd like to do this year, but I think this is enough to 'officially' declare.

So, expect more soon! (And let me know what you're resolving, I want to know!)