The Rhythms of Life

In Indiana, I was used to the daily and seasonal rhythms of life.  The changes in the weather and the subtle changes in smells as the season slowly changed.  The rhythms in Indiana were not always exactly the same, but things were close enough that it was easy to mark the time of year by certain activities, weather and food (especially when the fairs started).

While living in the UK, I have been adapting to a slightly different rhythm.

We arrived to an unusually warm fall or Indian Summer in the UK.  The farmers were busy planting their winter crops of oil seed rape and winter barley.  The weather stayed mild as we went into the winter that included some snow.  The kids were thrilled.  My husband and I were excited because there was no big swing in temperatures and the cold was not as bitter as we have in Indiana.

It is green here, really green here because of the amount of rainfall that the UK receives.  So, when we found ourself in Spring, the added colors of the flowers were really welcome.  The roses are gorgeous! In the UK, they grow rhododendrons and rose bushes to be 16ft or taller!   Wow!   The fields that had been green all winter now surprised as the oil seed rape burst into a wonderful, bright yellow.

The seasons have been blended this year.  Summer has had an on and off relationship with us this year.  I seem to still be waiting for it to really be summer.  Instead we seem to have hot spells peppered with cool downs and cloudy days.  I have been told that it has been a cool summer even by UK standards.

In July, we found some of the fields turned a lovely shade of purple with the Heather that they contained.  Now, we are in August and the winter barley has deepened into a golden yellow and is now being harvested.

It does not smell like fall yet, and the leaves are still on the trees.  But fall is coming.....

Ending things with a 'bang" at the Eiffel Tower

Well, if you haven't gotten it yet.  Drama and excitement finds us.  So, this is the story about our visit to the Eiffel Tower when we 'almost' got blown up!  You know, you always have to make it sound worse then it really happened (the fish was <------------------> BIG).  What is the fun of telling it like it really happened?

So, I saved the Eiffel Tower for our last night in Paris.  We woke up Sunday and it was cool but still a bit sunny.  We started by heading out of our hotel and found the local market.  We wandered down around and found a lovely little lady selling pastries.  My second son was sent to order  4 Pain au Chocolates, he had trouble remembering the French word 4.  Luckily the little lady that he ordered from was very gracious and lovely.  She told him what the number was and then handed him 4 other little pastries, perhaps for his efforts.  It was really cute and she was tickled that he tried.  

I had heard from my husband's aunt to try the roasted chickens with lovely potatoes that were cooked in the drippings.  I had not thought that we were going to be able to eat one as our schedule seemed to keep us out late.  While we were at the market we found a vender that was roasting lots and lots of chickens with the lovely potatoes.  It was close to lunch time.  After smelling the lovely smell and seeing the line at the vender and hearing the recommendation, we decided that we found lunch!  We grabbed a chicken and potatoes and took it back to our hotel for a feast!  Sorry, no pictures the boys literally stripped it to the bone!

We then headed into Paris.  Since it was the first Sunday of the month we could get into the museums for free!  We headed to L'orangerie.  Our visit did not go with out incident.  It was here for the first time I was asked to surrender my backpack.  In other museums I was able to wear it on my front or carry it like a bag.  Not here!  I totally balked though, as I was carrying it around because it had our passports, train tickets, etc.  The girl that I was talking to told me in 'that was not her problem' in her French accent and I found it quite rude!  If her co-worker had not been trying to hand me a bag to put my things in I would have told her off!  Instead I told her in a very sarcastic tone, 'wonderful'.  It was then that the two girls carried on a conversation in French that basically meant they always get the rude one.  Gee, thanks, I am the rude one?  Yes, I really want to leave my passports in a bag that they were forcing me to check now!  It turned out that I had been shopping earlier and I did have a little shopping bag to put the passports and tickets in, I transferred things over and we were on out way.  Guess what I saw minutes after we left the desk?  A woman with her backpack facing forward.  SERIOUSLY?!?!?!  I was peeved, but I was also determined not to let it run my visit!

 L'organerie is a small museum, but they have Monet's big paintings of the Lily Pads.  They are beautiful!   Would I go back again?  Certainly.  Did I complain about the rude behavior of the staff and then seeing the backpack, absolutely.  I sent them an email when I got home.  I very pointedly said that perhaps the staff member was not trying to be rude when she told me that 'it was not her problem' but those words are not very polite ones to say to an American/Brit.  

While we were there it started to rain.  We decided to head back to the Louvre as my youngest two had started to collect the museum coins.  They wanted one from the Louvre.  We did not find them, instead we found wooden swords made in France!  One had the flur-de-lis in blue for France and the other had one in red for the UK.  They also had the coolest shields as well.  Initially I told them no because I did not want to carry it around with me for the rest of the day.  We then headed to find a restroom.  While I was in line, my youngest was so mad about me saying no about the sword that he punched my second oldest son in the stomach, repeatedly.  It sounds awful, I know, but my youngest has such a temper that we all kind of laugh at him when he goes off.  Not the best thing to do I admit.  Even worse?  I caved and bought my youngest two the swords (after a proper apology was issued).  The best thing?  My youngest carried the swords around Paris for the rest of the day with no complaints, he was even cheerful about it!  

The rain seemed to have let up and after some down time getting Starbucks and some sweets, we headed out to the Eiffel Tower. 

Here we are walking up to the tower.  It was lightly raining.  We got to the base and checked out the line.  It was a longer line then I had hoped for.  As we were standing there the police and security forces started to arrive.  They closed of 1/3 of the base all the way to the river and the bridge.  My oldest son started to get a little freaked out.  I told him to relax, that we were in France and they have an excellent police force and army.  

So, while that was all happening, I decided that it might be a good time to heard back to the hotel and change into warmer clothing.  It was going to be a chilly evening.  So, the base and everything was still closed off and we started to head toward the nearest metro station.  We crossed the road and it was then that we discovered that the bridge was closed as well.  We paused to wait for a few minutes and then we heard a small explosion.  So, we figured that they found a package or abandoned bag and took it to a secure place and blew it up.  

Here is a picture of the Army guys.

We finally crossed the bridge.  Note that my youngest is holding the swords.  I did not hear one compliant!

So, we changed our clothes and made it back to the tower.  We were stood in line for a ridiculous amount of time.  I tried to book online, but they had sold the allotment of online tickets already.  So, we were stuck in line waiting at the base.  My oldest only wanted to go up to the first level, but as it turned out, trips were only to the second level and the summit.  So, he ended up waiting for us at the bottom.

I am on the second level looking up as it sparkled.  Every time it sparkled, there was a collective gasp.  

Here are the 4 of us at the top.  We were at the top at midnight and we saw it sparkle again before it shut down.  It was chilly but such a beautiful way to see the city!

After we finally descended the tower we headed off to the metro station and found ourselves with two problems.  The first was our three day passes had expired while we were at the summit of the tower.  The second was that trains were not running anymore!  So, we left and started walking.  We needed to find a taxi.  The kids were all tired and I knew that I had a potentially bad situation on my hands.  So, sounded as positive as I could and we started walking to find a taxi.  Finally after almost an hour we found one.  She got us to our hotel and I gave her every single Euro that I had left and I was still short....  

We always have an adventure!

Back to Paris

Ok, I had to break from our Paris trip to tell you all about the Olympics.  The power of the internet and one girls' blog.... Wow!

So, we started Saturday out with a a visit to the Museo d'Orsay (M'O).

Once we got to the M'O, we proceeded inside.  Just a quick tip, when you reach the M'O don't que in the first line security line you see, walk to the other side of the courtyard to the other security line and you will get though so much faster!

This is one of the last two pictures that I was allowed to take.  I was aware that pictures of the art were not allowed, but I was very surprised that I was not even allowed to take pictures of the inside of the museum.  Of course being the good American that I am I followed the rules.  I wish that I could say the same for some of the others around me. I was so tempted to be a tattle-tale that it was not funny!  But I did remember that I AM suppose to be a role model for my kids, so I did ignore it and I moved on...

This clock is a located in the Impressionist floor.  The clock over looks the Seine.  I was able to take these pictures, surprisingly!  No, those people were not my kids....

My boys were lying on this cool shaped couch!

We went on though the Impressionist floor.  I am a very big Impressionist fan.  It was fantastic to see famous paintings and artists that I have studied and admired!  Liam was also thrilled as he was able to see pointillism and the artists that he had just studied last term.

We had lunch at the M'O.  I had the kids order what they wanted for lunch in French.  It was very sweet when the waiter showed patience and even some delight at my 9 year old's attempt.

After we finished with the M'O, we headed out to find Notre Dame.

The line to get in was long, but we persevered and went in...  I had to promise the kids crepes with Nutella as soon as we were through. We also found a free toilet <gasp> and

We finished our day with a bit of window shopping on the Champs-Ellysee and an iced beverage at Starbucks.  Last summer we were hooked on the Tazo Passion Tea with Lemonade.  We were hoping to have it in Paris, but, alas, while it was good, it was not the same!  Sometimes, I do miss the States, sometimes.... even though I don't usually want to admit it!

Why We Should Be Envious of the UK

Let me preface this by saying I have intentionally focused on the positive things that the royal family adds to the UK especially in comparison of the current political climate in the US.  I know that she is a figurehead and she does not do 'much' for the country besides representation and bring in about $46B in revenue.  (I am not kidding check this out if you don't believe me http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4341491/Royal-Family-is-worth-a-staggering-445billion.html)

"God Save the Queen" is the national athem for the UK.  It is a nice song and we sing it in the US, we know it as "My Country 'Tis of Thee".  I have been in plenty of places plenty of times in the US when we sing our national anthem.  I have also been to plenty of events lately in the UK in which "God Saves the Queen" was sung.

It was the night of the closing ceremonies when I was in a large crowd of people at Hyde Park that I was awe struck.  I had just been successful in my bid for nachos (that do not taste the same I might add, they are crap here with the Mexican flavors) and I was walking back to join my friends.  The closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium had started and the crowd talked quietly and then cheered at the introduction of Prince Harry as the official representative of the royal family and then there was some general talking in the crowd because Kate was there as well.  The crowd wondered where Wills was....

Then the crowd sang "God Save the Queen".  As the crowd sang, it just kind of hit me what the song and the royal family really seems to mean to the UK.  It was an awesome, powerful moment to be a part of, seeing it on TV is nothing.  Let me digress here a bit.

As an American, I have to say that I definitely have a fascination with the royal family.  I watched Princess Diana and Prince Charles get married.  I have watched countless marriages, read many articles and some books and went to the Diamond Jubilee.  I also understand that not everyone finds the royal family as intriguing or as fascinating as I do....

Politics are politics, no doubt and in the US and even in the UK there is a lot of ugly posturing and power plays.  What hit me as I was listening to this massive amount of people singing, is that the HRH Queen Elizabeth II provides the residents of the UK something that we don't have, a unifying figurehead that they can all get behind and be proud of.  She is gracious, kind, and does lots of charity work on behalf of the poor.  She pays attention to the politicians but does not get involved in the nasty craziness (because they do have some of it here), she pays attention to the state of the commonwealth and gives a talk about it every year.  She unites the United Kingdom in a way that nothing else does.

As Americans it is something that we seem to be missing.  Like the citizens of the United Kingdom we share a flag, an anthem, a love of our country but we seem to be missing something to unify us all.  Like in the US here in the UK, there are different political parties, different religions, different thoughts on same-sex unions (which they are currently trying to make legal), and all these people with different thoughts and opinions can all unify behind HRH Queen Elizabeth II.  They can be proud of her, what she has done and what she represents.  She is a positive representative of the United Kingdom, something to be proud of.  So, it makes sense that the citizens of the UK like the royal family.  According to the recent polls 69% of the people polled believed that the UK is better off with the royal family.  This is the highest approval rating in 15 years.  The lowest was the year when Princess Diana died, with 48% of the people polled believing that the UK is better off with the royal family.

It makes me kind of jealous that the United Kingdom has the Queen to unify the citizens.  I strongly feel that we are missing something very vital in our American culture because we do not have anything like it.  We do not have something that can unify us in such a manner.  It seems so important right now during this very volatile time when Conservatives and Liberals are at each others throats and suddenly now a disagreement somehow constitutes hate.  Now we get closer and closer to the election and the campaign nastiness is really starting to heat up.  The UK is also blessed with really short elections periods.  After the government is 'called' there is about 6 weeks until the general election.  (isn't that dreamy?)

  Is it really that much of a wonder why I want to stay here?  Wouldn't you?

Our Crazy Luck Strikes Again, Olympic Style.

So, we got the wonderful, super exciting offer to go to the Olympics....  I swear, I jinxed it all by myself.  Karma, I guess.

So, we got down to the VIP Lounge and I got pulled aside right away.  There were tickets, to Women's Basketball.  Crazy person that I turned them down.  As you know we did end up taking them, luckily I consulted with my family first and they did want to go!

The issue then because was that the tickets were a ways away.  So, my husband left to get the tickets and the boys and I finished eating and then headed to meet up with him at the North Greenwich Arena aka as the O2.  O2 is a big cell phone carrier here in the UK and the venue is typically called the O2.  For some reason during the Olympics they have called it the North Greenwich Arena instead.  

Somehow, I am still not quite sure how, my husband got confused and went to the Greenwich Park instead of the arena.  Greenwich Park is where a lot of the Equestrian events were held and apparently if you are not reading signs closely and aware of where you are going you can make the mistake and go to the wrong place.   By the time he realized his mistake it was 10 minutes to the start of the game.  He made it just before half time.  I cried, I couldn't help it.  Why can't we have a simple life where everything is rosy.  I mean come on seriously!!!!

I am so over things going wrong.  I just wanted to go to the game and to make our Olympic memories.  We have Olympic memories alright.... good ones and crazy ones!  The crazy always seems to find me and sometimes it just gets hard to keep on smiling....

Thank You Chase Visa

 I would like to give a BIG thank you to Chase Visa.  You have won some very loyal customers.

In my failed bid to get Olympic tickets, they have been fantastic!  Words can not adequately express how wonderfully everyone that I have spoken to has been.  

They invited my family and I the Chase Visa VIP Lounge in London as VIP's.  The lounge was staffed with Iron Chef winner (and owner of 8 restaurants around the world) Chef Morimoto.  We sat at table (when most people stood) and we had a delicious dinner.  Chef Morimoto was not in attendance while we were there, he was taking a well deserved break and was out enjoying the Olympics himself.

When we arrived, we found out that Chase was able to secure tickets for us to attend the Women's Basketball match for the gold medal.  We had excellent seats near one of the basketball goals.  It was a dream come true as we watched USA women's team beat France.  Then we saw the girls receive their medals and flowers during the medal ceremony.   It is a memorable moment to watch the US Flag being hoisted in first place and hearing the Star Spangled Banner!

The USA Basketball Team Gold Medal Winners!

Thank you Chase for giving us some incredible memories that we will always cherish.  

All the Bearys with BIG SMILES!  Thank you Chase!

Now, I need to talk to Chase Visa and sign up for a different credit card that will better suit my needs since I am overseas (bye-bye Amex)!  I wish that I would have known about their other options earlier.  As my readers remember, our move was a huge nightmare!  I am sure that our financial end would have been made easier had I only known all of the different options that they provide.  Sadly, when I looked there was nothing on the ex-pat forums or on the internet.  I understand that I can get a card with that chip and pin that does not charge a foreign transaction fee!  Woot woot!  

I am looking forward to a long relationship with Chase. 

Failed Bid for Olympic Tickets

I usually do not put rants up on my page, but I figure now is a good as a time as any to start.  This is definitely one of those times when being an ex-pat stinks.

So, as you may recall, getting Olympic tickets in the UK has been a beast.  The lotto system was a nightmare and many people have left the country in protest.  Then to add further insult to injury, there were empty seats all over the Olympics the first few days.  They have rectified it by releasing a limited number of tickets every night.

Before I went to Paris, I tried for days to get some tickets without success.  Then, I made a phone call to purchase tickets on the phone and talked to a very helpful Ticketmaster employee that told me that in order to purchase the tickets I had to have a Visa card that billed in the UK.  Which, I did not have.  Then we left the UK and headed to Paris and I just let it go.

Today, I went and made the necessary phone calls to change my address to a UK address and tell them that I would be making this purchase so that I could purchase tickets tonight when tickets were released.  I am very aware that making purchases outside the US can get transactions denied.  I called and got all the proper blocks lifted.  I was ready to buy some tickets!  Now, please let the stars align!

I was so excited and my luck was good, I got tickets to go the the Rhythmic Gymnastics!  It was even to see the medal ceremony!  Yipee!  I got all the way through the process and my card was declined.  I was STUNNED.  Then, my phone rang.  It was the Visa fraud department telling me that a purchase was just attempted it asked me to verify that I had tried to make the purchase and then told me after I verified it that I could try again....  Well, no, you see I couldn't.  The tickets were gone and now I am just heartbroken.

I made a call to a live representative and got my account cleared for any other further transactions.  Great.  Who wants to bet I that I will be lucky enough to get tickets again?  Yeah, me neither.  My luck really just sucks....

Thank you Visa (and in case you are confused, I am not really thanking you at all) 

Paris: The Louvre

I learned a few important things before we left to go to Paris.  First, since we are technically residents of the EU, the boys are admitted to all the museums for free!  (Yeah!  More in the budget to shop!)  Second, we were going to be in Paris the first Sunday of the month, when all the museums have FREE entry!  Keeping those in mind, there was no way that we could do the 4 museums that I had on the list in one day.  The boys would have revolted!

I actually felt that the entry fee for myself to all the museums to be very economical.  The most that I paid was 11 Euro, and that was for the Louvre.  I really think that the museums are a great value.  Especially when you consider all the famous works of art that the museums hold.  There is also the niggle that some of the museums in the US can be quite costly (while some are completely free).

So, after our day of Rodin and the Jardin du Luxembourg I told the boys we were headed to the Louvre.  Their reaction?  Well, definitely a bit of protesting.  My oldest son reminded me that I had said we would only do one museum a day.  I had to explain to him that I had too many museums on my list and not enough days, so we were going to have to do two in one day.  The Louvre was open late that night, until 20:45 (8:45), so, we headed over.

A quick tip.  If you are going to the Louvre, enter though the metro.  It is easier, less lines, and there are some cute shops and eateries that you can find in the mini mall.  We grabbed a bit to eat again, heading back to the golden arches (pretty shameful huh?), I HATE McDonalds, BTW, I promise!  It is the language issue.  I admit that I freaked because I do not know ANY French (which is again my own fault).  The McDonalds had a machine that allowed you to order and NOT TALK TO ANYONE!  Also, the McDonald's in France does serve tasty food.  So, we are at McDonalds for the second time, meh!

This was actually taken the next day, my camera died as we were leaving. 

After we ate we headed to the Louvre.  First though we made a restroom run.  If you had a receipt from an eatery, it was free.  If not you paid .80 Eurocents.  Here I need to add that I have a policy about paying for the bathroom.  I detest it.  Again, I am a spoiled American.

Then we headed to grab my ticket.  I also got the Audio guides.  Which was kind of a hit with the kids as it was a Nintendo 3DS.   So, they used them to listen to about various art works while we wandered through the museum.

I had to take a photo of this one just because of all the crazy controversy about breast feeding!  It's art!

The Louvre is HUGE.  We had three different options for our audio tour.  Because we were going into the museum as the last part of out day, I looked at the map and decided that we would do the paintings and then call it a day.  So, we headed first to the Mona Lisa.

After we saw her mysterious smile, we headed across the museum to the German, Norwegian, Danish and other artists.  It was then that I realized that the Italian artists are generally not my favorites.  I think more so because I prefer to see images of real life, not of what an artist has perceived a biblical story looks like.  I am also a fan of the Impressionists, which is a contrast to the Germanic styles of Vermeer.

Vermeer, The Lacemaker

The Louvre is also great because they allow photos without flash.  Some of the museums had a total ban on all photography.  Not that it stopped people.... but that is a story for another post!

We only went though a small portion of the many wonders of the Louvre.  The kids got their fill (and then some) and I am content with the knowledge that I will go back again and see more of the fabulous treasures!

Paris Day 2: Rodin and the Luxembourg Garden

Our second day in Paris we got up and headed out with the Rodin Museum as our first stop.  Rodin was a sculpture and his most famous work is The Thinker.  

We had some fruit that we picked up at Marks & Spencers the night before so we ate them and then headed out to the metro.  We arrived at the Museum, prepared to learn about Rodin!  

The gardens were beautiful, especially the roses!

The Gates of Hell which is an unfinished work.  This one is at his museum, there is another at the Meuso d'Orsay.

Posing!

Look at my Thinkers!

This is the original!

In the gift shop, note the top right hand book.  In France they do not look for Waldo or Wally (like in the UK) they search for Charlie!

Some of us had lunch in the cafe, two kids decided to just eat a pain au chocolate.... they were a tiny bit hungry later, but I made them wait for dinner and advised them to pick better next time!  

We then headed to the Jardin de Luxembourg.  As you can see I loved the flowers!  The mixes are so beautiful and so much more refreshing then the beds of the same plants that we see over and over in the US.  We also spied a ton of bee hives, which was very interesting that they were in a park.  They were behind fences, so they weren't easy to get to, but all the same it was still interesting.  The younger two were thrilled when we spied a playground.  We did not end up going in though as it cost over 2 Euro to go in!  Lots of kids were there, but I was still not wild about paying to pay.  Perhaps we are a bit spoiled?

We spent some time in the grass reading and just having some down time.  It was then that I remembered that the Louvre was open late.... to be continued!

Paris--The Place of This Little Girls' Dreams

While everyone has been consumed with the Olympics, I decided to do as some of my fellow adopted country-mates and leave the country.  I took the kids to Paris.

I have dreamt of Paris since I was a little girl.  I mean, what is there not for a girl to love?  The Eiffel Tower looked magical, the Louvre with all of it's treasures, shopping on the Champs-Elleysee, Arc de' Triomphe....  what's not to love?  Romance, love....

Cue real life and that record scratching sound.  I went with my 4 boys, aged 7, 9, 13, and 15.  My husband was not in sight, he was not even in the same country.  He stayed back in the UK.  Romance was definitely in *short* supply.  Let's be completely honest... I was happy when the boys did not complain about going to things.  In fact my 15 year old posted a complaint about being dragged to Paris!!!  Can YOU IMAGINE????  Yeah, sadly I can do more then imagine, I lived it.

With that said, it was not all bad.  We learned a lot of things and saw a lot of sights!  It was still a dream come true.  In fact, I love Paris, it is my favorite city to visit out of the handful of European cities that I have managed to make it to....


We took the Eurostar over.  We had to first get a taxi to take us to the train station.  Our taxi did not show when we expected and after a quick call to the company everything was taken care of and we were on our way.  After taking the train we got onto the London Underground.  We arrived at the Eurostar station and boarded the Eurostar.

The boys sleeping on the Eurostar.  Thankfully this was not a portent of the rest of the trip!

After we arrived and got settled into our hotel, we headed to Avenue Champs-Ellysees.  We found a Marks & Spencer and grabbed some drinks and snacks.  Further down we found the golden arches... yes we did partake!  :)  Then we walked down to the Arch d' Triomphe! 

My youngest getting photo bombed by my oldest!

So, we had some time to waste as the sky darkened.  So I took some pictures!

Same picture, different lighting!  

The Eiffel Tower fully lit.

Then, it started to sparkle!  How cool!  I was not expecting it to sparkle.  The collective gasp of the crowd on the Arc d' Triomphe was amazing!

This was how our first day ended, it was pretty amazing!  I definitely floated a little that day!