Hampton Court & Wimbledon

The weather is finally tolerable around here, it has been averaging about 68 to 72 degrees...it even got up to 82 the other day!  Summer is here!  I'm really glad that I made it back to the States in early June since the Midwest is suffering through a major heatwave.  I think I can finally say that the weather here in London is better than back home!

We have officially lived in London for six months and I am still happy that we made the choice to move over.  There is so much to do and so much to see in this part of the world, I am grateful that Josh and I had the opportunity to live in England!  

A couple weeks ago, Josh and I went to Hampton Court Palace, the favorite palace of King Henry the VIII.  Josh and I watched (and loved) the Tudors series and it was really great to be able to see the real history of his life...and those of his unfortunate wives!  

Me in front of Hampton Court Palace

Josh and I in the gardens at Hampton Court Palace

Courtyard

Josh being a statue :)

One of my favorite parts of the palace was actually the kitchen area.  Not really that surprising considering how much I like to cook.  It amazing me the conditions that the cooks had to work in and the number of people it would have taken to run a royal household. 

Slaving away at the stove!

I adored this massive fireplace...and the real fire they had burning!

Beautiful gardens at the palace.

The next week, Josh had a work function in which he was in charge of food...which automatically meant that I was in charge of food, since the only thing that Josh knows about food, is how to eat it.  It wasn't anything special, but much better than the usual work function food of popcorn and Doritos.  I also baked homemade cookies, about 200 of them!  It took all day in my tiny London sized oven.  I was able to meet a bunch of Josh's work colleagues and one of them tipped us off on how to get into the Wimbledon Championship games.  So, the following Monday, Josh took off of work a little early so that we could make the trip down to Wimbledon to "queue" up for tickets.

It only took about 30 minutes to get through the queue and we were in!  Our tickets allowed us to watch any match except for what was playing in Centre Court and Courts 1 & 2.

We actually got a guide on how to queue correctly :) 

So exciting to be inside the grounds!

The tournament board.

The first match we watched...Petrova vs Camerin

Ready to serve.

 The atmosphere was the Wimbledon Championships was really great.  Josh and I had a picnic dinner then hopped around to a few different courts to watch the action.  The crowds were really into the games and it was fun to join in the excitement.

Josh and I are now getting ready for our next trip.  We booked our flights and hotels in Venice for next week and I am so excited!  We are staying on Lido, which is a popular beach area in Venice.  I can't wait to soak up the sun and explore a part of Italy!

Rachel

Surprise, Surprise!

My mom had been trying to get me back to the States this summer, using all sorts of guilt inducing tactics.  Yes, I did want to come home, but the cost of the flight was holding me back!  After talking it over with Josh, we decided if I could find a flight at a certain price, I could go back to Missouri.  I found a decent deal and bought my ticket about two weeks before my flight, so I decided to make my trip home a big surprise for my family. 

I had to leave my flat at about 3:00 am on the day of my flight so that I could catch a bus to the airport.  The bus ride took about an hour and a half and, lucky for me, I sat next to a creepy guy for the majority of the trip.  I sat practically on the edge of my seat the entire ride, reading a book.  "Creepy Guy" kept trying to touch my leg.  At one point I glared at him and with clenched teeth said "Do not touch me".  I know, I should have just moved, but the bus was insanely crowded and there was really no place to stand.  After about 30 minutes "creepy guy" asked if I would read to him out of my book.  Ugh.  In my meanest mean girl clenched teeth voice I told him "Do not talk to me and do not touch me".  After that he seemed a little scared of me and didn't try to inch his fingers over to me for the rest of the trip.  Hallelujah!  Isn't London fun?

My first flight seemed to go by pretty quickly and I landed in Chicago early on Friday morning.  Unfortunately, I had a long layover - about 7 hours.  I had planned ahead though and used the time to exercise at the Hilton attached to the airport.  After my work out, I took my time cleaning up and then used the free wifi available in the Hilton lobby.  Doing this ate up a lot of the time I had to wait AND I got to feel "fresh" after my long flight from London.  It worked out great!

My flight from Chicago to Springfield finally took off and I was so excited to see my family.  "Aunt and Uncle" Cathy and Kevin, our fantastic family friends helped me set up the surprise for my family.  Cathy and Kevin had invited Mom and Dad and Sarah, Tom and Hazel over for a BBQ.  Kevin faked an emergency with one of his tenants and left the get together to come pick me up.  After we arrived back at his house, Kevin went inside and I waited a few minutes, donned a queen Elizabeth mask and rang the doorbell.  Here is a short clip of the surprise!

Needless to say, my family was pretty gobsmacked that all of a sudden, I was there right in front of them!  We had a fun night catching up, and a lot of fun with the Royal family party masks I brought along.  A big "Thanks!" to Kevin and Cathy for helping me plan the big surprise!

The Royal Family

The next week was a whirlwind of shopping, eating, talking and visiting with my family and friends.  I spent the following weekend in my hometown of Quincy doing more of the same shopping, eating, talking and visiting!

My sister Sarah, little Hazel and I at coffee!!!  Oh how I miss our coffee mornings!

The best Aunt and Uncle a girl could have :)  Thanks for helping me with the surprise Kevin and Cathy!

Qdoba chicken mexican gumbo...oh yeah!

I went to visit our old house.  Josh and I made so many good memories there!  So glad to see it is being well taken care of!

Having fun with my niece Hazel!

She is really getting big and is a good girl when she isn't in the car :)

I visited my In-Laws on Saturday and got to see my doggie Harley!  Mary Ann and Jeff are taking such good care of our little pooch, Josh and I are very grateful for all they do!

Sarah and Hazel having Andy's Frozen Custard...the best Custard in the world!

My Granny T. and I on my visit to Quincy!  She makes me look like a giant :)

Thanks to all my friends and family who made the time to see me while I was back in the States.  It meant a lot to me and it was amazing to see familiar faces and catch up with everyone!

Rachel