Josh and I have been back in America for almost three weeks. In that time we have worked really hard to get our lives here started again. The first two days we were back we went house hunting. By the end of the two days we were pretty discouraged...nothing was quite right. We took a break for a few days and then Josh found a house he wanted to check out. Our Realtor and family friend, Kevin, took us out to the house and we loved it almost immediately. The land was perfect, which was the most important thing to us. The house is on the small side, only 1600 square feet, but still almost 4 times bigger than our flat in London! The house sits on almost 12 acres of land, much of it is wooded, but there is pasture area for our future animals, a very large garden space and fruit trees!
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| The house has a huge front porch, furniture included. I can't wait to rock and watch the sun set! |
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| One of the barns, this one has electric, water, heat and air. the Vines in front of it are grapes and the trees behind are some of the 11 fruit tress on the property (plum and apple) |
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| The view of our property and our neighbors property from the front porch. |
Throughout the time we were looking for houses, we were also looking for a car for me. I knew I wanted a Prius so we did some looking around and test driving. The first Prius I test drove was a 2008...and I hated it! It really bummed me out because I was so set on having a Prius. I didn't like the dash, it was way far in front, the dash was huge and the console was non-existent. It felt very insubstantial. I then started looking at other vehicles but kept coming back to wanting the high mpg of the Prius. I decided to test drive a newer model and found a 2010 in our price range. There was an obvious redesign in the newer model and it made a huge difference, I loved it! Once I settled on the make, model and year, I just had to find the right color combination. I refused to look at anything with beige interior since we were going to be living in the country and I didn't want to get mud and dirt all over such light upholstery. Dark upholstery was a bit hard to come by, but we found a used 2010 Prius at a dealership nearby and a few in Kansas City. We planned on going up to KC to look at the cars there but just a day before we were going to leave we found out that both had been sold! So we high-tailed it to the nearby lot to test drive and eventually buy the Prius that is now my car. I love it!
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| My Prius! I wuv it! |
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| It gets really great gas mileage, now mom wants one too! |
Finding a house and a car for me where two big checks off of our list. Our rental car went back a few days ago, so we were getting down to the wire to find our first vehicle. Josh is still looking for a truck and possibly a cheap car with better gas mileage for going to and from work. Throughout our car search and research I was also looking for a job. I sent off a few emails and resumes and got a quick response from a business called ColorSpot. They are a horticulture company that provides plants to places like Lowe's, K-mart, Walmart, Home Depots, etc. I accepted a job as a Sales Merchandising Representative covering the Home Depots in Springfield and Branson. I've worked four days now and I really like my job. It is physically demanding, I get to be creative and the time goes by super fast. Josh isn't too sure about me working full time, it has been ages since I've had a proper full time job, but I think we will adjust just fine.
Before our move back to America, Sarah and my mom came to visit over the Easter holiday. They arrived super early on the Saturday before Easter. Amanda and I stayed at a hotel near Heathrow so we wouldn't have to wake up at 3am to pick them up! Mom has been to London a few times, but this was Sarah's first trip, so I was really excited to show her around. We drove from Heathrow to Chippenham and had a few hours of rest/cleanup time before heading to La Hogue for a delicious lunch complete with tea, scones, jam and clotted cream...yum!
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| In the car on the way to Chippenham |
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| The best tea accompaniment ever |
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| Show me your tea! |
After our lunch we went back to Amanda's cottage and relaxed and got ready for Easter vigil mass. We met up with my mom's cousins, Traci and Mike and a few of Amanda's friends for an Indian dinner before mass. The Indian food was amazing! We then headed to Mildenhall for the Easter Vigil mass, it was almost 3 hours long and the church was freezing, but it was a really nice and special mass.
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| The English Brocksmiths...Mike and Traci |
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| Ready for Easter Mass |
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| Amazing Indian food at Chequers restaurant |
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| Our group! |
The following day (Easter), us girls dropped Josh off at Epping tube station and then continued on our way to the Chunnel for our trip to Belgium and the Netherlands. The first stop on our holiday was Bruge Belgium. Bruge was a fantastic little town, very quaint and beautiful. Because of the holiday it was quite busy with people. We ate, drank and had a lot of laughs in Bruge! The following day we had a leisurely morning walked around Bruge a bit more and then drove about three more hours to Amsterdam. On the car ride we played games to pass the time, including 'I'm going to Amsterdam and I'm bringing..." and "I never". Here's a helpful tip, NEVER play "I never" with your mother!
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| Ready for our trip! |
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| Into the Chunnel we go! |
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| Mom and Sarah are excited to be in a car, on a train, going under the English Channel to France! |
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| Sarah really love her bed. |
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| Girls gone wild in Bruge |
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| Bruge |
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| Lunchtime in the main square |
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| Canal cruise time |
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| Canal cruise |
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| Pretty buildings in Bruge |
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| Waffles and chocolate and strawberries...oh my! |
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| Amanda and I in Bruge |
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| Drink time! |
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| At dinner this bucket fell onto our table and knocked Sarah and mom's drinks all over our food! |
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| Bruge |
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| Canal boat |
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| We love Bruge! |
I had bought Sarah and mom tickets to see the Anne Frank house for our first evening in Amsterdam. It was a good thing I did too! The line was huge! While Sarah and mom toured the house, Amanda and I had a snack and a drink at a cute little Dutch restaurant nearby. We met back up with mom and Sarah and grabbed dinner then walked around the canals a bit. I showed mom and Sarah the 'coffee shops' where they may or may not have made a purchase :)
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| Space Cake |
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| Running for the train! |
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| Gassing up the car for the next leg of our journey. |
The next day, we drove to Keukenhoff gardens, a huge tulip garden. Amanda had been the previous year, but the weather had been crap so not much was blooming. This year we went at the perfect time, the flowers were beautiful! We spent about 4 or 5 hours wandering around the gardens and taking tons of pictures.
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| Mom and Sarah at Keukenhoff |
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| Amanda and I at Keukenhoff |
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| Rows and rows of pretty flowers |
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| We had a lot of fun! |
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| Mom copying my funny picture from Spain |
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| Pretties! |
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| Sarah looking gorgeous at Keukenhoff! |
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| A river of flowers |
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| Bobble head Amanda! |
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| Windmill at Keukenhoff |
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| I love my SIL! |
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| Mom's giant cotton candy! |
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| And now she has giant shoes! |
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| Row, row, row your boat... |
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| Mom and Sarah overlooking some of the tulip fields |
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| What a fun place to visit! |
After Keukenhoff we headed back to Amsterdam for our Red Light District tour. Our tour guide was fantastic and we learned all sorts of things about the prostitutes...like they have to be at least 21 years old but the customer can be as young as 14! That's bananas! We also learned about how to negotiate with the prostitutes...so if anyone needs some tips before a trip to Amsterdam, just let me know :)
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| Red Light District Tour |
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| Sarah in Amsterdam! |
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| A carnival in the square in Amsterdam |
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| Snack time before our tour |
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| Resting our legs |
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| Street life in Amsterdam |
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| Amsterdam |
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| Our fab tour guide |
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| A 'design your own' condom store! |
We left Amsterdam the following morning for our trip back to England, it took us about 7 hours to drive back to Chippenham. In that 7 hours we drove through the Netherlands, Belgium, France and England. How cool is that? It is a bit crazy to realize how close and small the countries in Europe can be. On our way back from Amsterdam we stopped in Ghent so mom could see a church, St. Bavo's and a famous painting called the Ghent Altarpiece. It was featured in the movie Monuments Men and was stolen from the church by the Nazi's.
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| A cool building in Ghent |
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| Not sure if this is St. Bavo's or not...I don't think it was, I remember St. Bavo's being under renovation... |
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| Ghent |
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| Amanda and I waiting for our lunch |
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| A reproduction of the Ghent Altarpiece, no pics were allowed of the real one. |
Back in Chippenham we had a late dinner and crashed. The next day, Amanda drove us to Windsor so that mom and Sarah could tour the castle. We shopped a bit and had a nice lunch at the Crooked House, a tea room in a very tilted little building. Afterwards, we headed back to London and Sarah finally got her first look at London and her first tube ride.
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| Teehee! "This is a Picadilly line service to Cockfosters" |
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| Tea at the Crooked House of Windsor |
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| Check out those girls in the window! |
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| Our delicious lunch of soup, sandwiches and scones! |
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| The Crooked House of Windsor, where we had lunch |
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| Sarah's first time on the tube |
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| Ice cream on the Queen's lawn |
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| Sarah being fabulous in Windsor |
On Friday, I took mom and Sarah on a train to Highclere castle, aka Downton Abbey. Mom visited last year and I've been too, so Sarah went in by herself while mom and I drank tea and ate scones. It was a very rainy day, so not good for wandering the extensive gardens, but Sarah still enjoyed touring the house and seeing where Downton Abbey is filmed. Later that night we met up with my London family, the Hodgkinsons, for a farewell dinner at a restaurant near Kings Cross. We had a great time, little Rex sat on my lap pretty much the whole time. Him and Isis are just adorable, I'm really going to miss seeing them all the time! Luckily, Sally is American and she has some family in KC, they usually spend about 6 weeks in America in the summer, so we are planning on trying to get together in KC at some point!
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| Downton Abbey! |
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| A foggy, rainy, English day at Highclere |
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| On the train to Highclere |
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| Sarah is excited! |
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| Highclere is huge! |
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| On our way home from dinner with the Hodgkinsons |
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| I love these two! |
Saturday was mom and Sarah's last full day before their flight back to America and it was finally time for Sarah to see London. We took a double decker bus down to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. We then had lunch at Borough Market where Sarah lost her brat and she cried :( She felt better about it after eating an almond croissant! I then took her by Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace and finally - and most importantly to Sarah - to Harrods. At Harrods we wandered around and then had afternoon tea in their cafe. Afterwards we met up with Josh for church at Brompton Oratory and then met our Aussie friends for dinner in South Kensington. We had a fun dinner, mom thought Kieran looked like Prince William...I'm not so sure...but I am glad my mom and Sister got to meet them.
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| London! |
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| I think Sarah loved it |
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| At the Tower |
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| Pub drinks before lunch while waiting for Amanda |
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| Starting the day with Starbucks and the Tower |
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| Sarah and one of my favorite London spots, a view of Tower Bridge |
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| Tower Bridge |
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| Mom on the Southbank |
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| Waiting in line for our brats at Borough Market |
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| Sarah can almost taste it... |
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| Southwark Cathedral...where everybody eats |
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| Sarah's sad sad brat that fell on the ground :( |
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| Borough Market |
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| Borough Market |
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| Amanda will have three dozen brownies please! |
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| Sarah and Big Ben! |
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| Resting my feet at Westminster |
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| Inside Harrods, and ice cream parlour |
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| Afternoon tea at Harrods |
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| Sarah's favorite part of the trip! |
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| Always up for a laugh! |
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| Kieran, Alissa, Josh and I at dinner |
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| Dinner in South Kensington |
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| Our table |
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| Mom and "Prince William"...LOL! |
On Sunday, I took Sarah and mom back to Heathrow via the tube. After bidding them farewell I hopped back on the tube and when I got back to the flat Josh and I rushed to start organizing our stuff. We only had three days to sort, organize, clean and pack before our own flight back to the States! On Monday I got two piles ready to go, stuff to go on the plane with us and stuff that was going to be packed. On Tuesday our movers arrived and within a couple hours our flat was nearly empty, save for a few suitcases and cleaning supplies. Since we no longer had linens or towels we stayed in a hotel. Due to the tube strike and an HR lady in Dallas not doing her job in a timely manner, we ended up getting to stay in the fabulous and expensive St. Pancras Hotel. It was amazing!
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| So long, farewell... |
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| See you in three days! |
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| Amanda and I are sad :( No more Bairdbrook Christmas's or Bairdbrook weekend breaks, or Bairdbrook visits to the country cottage or city flat :( |
On Wednesday I cleaned all day long and finally by 5:00 we were handing our keys over and heading back to St. Pancras to pick up our bags and meet our taxi for the ride to Heathrow. By 10am the next day we were in the air and on our way back to our new lives in America!
There are so many things I am going to miss about London...my grocery store, the friends we've made, the sausages, the scones (and jam and clotted cream!), the tea, the beautiful buildings, the double decker buses, the tube system, the pubs, the markets, walks along the canal, the diversity, the closeness to mainland Europe, the cheap flights, the train system, drinking in public, amazing cheeses, walking everywhere, the fantastic restaurant choices, the variety of accents, visiting Sam and Amanda...the list goes on and on. But there are things about America that I am excited to enjoy again...huge glasses of water at restaurants (without have to ask for it), good customer service, feeling dressed appropriately when wearing yoga pants to the grocery store, driving a car, overly friendly people, personal space, larger living spaces, mixed taps, central heating and air, screens on windows, patriotism, not having to pay extra to 'eat in', free refills, free bathrooms...Living in London was a fantastic opportunity and experience that I am so grateful that Josh and I decided to take. I wish everyone could have the chance to be an expat, there is so much out there to see and do and enjoy. Thank you England, it's been grand!
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| So long Packington Street, I will miss my walks down your tree lined street, our tiny flat and all the memories we made! |
Rachel xo
