Here and There and Everywhere

The last few weeks have been full of flitting from here and there around London.  There is always so much to do around here!  We took a tour of Windsor with Sam and Amanda, took in the Chinese New Year with Kieran and Alissa, and spent a day walking around Greenwich.  In between work and weekends out, I have been volunteering at a local community garden and an organic gardening center.  I have really been missing my big backyard and garden back in Missouri so it has been fantastic to get my hands in some dirt!

Amanda, Sam (AKA Blueberry Boy) and Josh listening to the Audio Guides

Josh taking a break in Windsor

A garden and the Round House at Windsor

The Queen's Guards...these guys freak me out a bit.  I think it is the huge hairy hats.

Josh and I at Windsor Palace

Amanda and I in front of the Crooked House where we enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea!  

Sam's amazing looking pancakes, yum!

Mmmmmm....scones with jam and clotted cream!  After I ate this I had a British accent for 15 minutes!

The weather was miserable the weekend we went to Windsor...and it didn't get any better at the Chinese New Year festival!  Wet, cold and rainy...blah.  We made the best of it and spent most of out time indoors have a delicious Chinese feast.

The main stage in Trafalgar Square.  The Chinese New Years celebration in London is the largest outside of China!

Wet and rainy Chinese Lanterns.  

Making our way to Chinatown for our lunch.  

There was a kitchen fire at the restaurant across from the one we ate at.  I'm not sure how they got that truck in!  

I heard a statistic that there are now more English speaking people in China than there are in the United States.  Crazy!  

A glimpse of the dragon through the crowd.  

This past weekend, Josh and I visited Greenwich.  I've been there before (three times), but this was Josh's first trip.  We did come across a film being made while at the Royal Naval Academy to see the Painted Room.  It was fun to watch.  I'm not sure what they were filming, it seemed like a small production, so probably not something that will be seen on the "big screen".  We didn't hear any dialogue, it was just people walking, a few bicyclists and some cars.  It looked like the movie was set in the 70's.

We also have a visitor for the next couple weeks.  Flat Stanley is visiting us from Quincy via my cousin Niki's little boy, Jack.  Stanley and I have been having a good time visiting some of the London sites.  Next weekend he'll be coming with us to visit Samanda.  I'm hoping to get Stanley into the cockpit of a KC-135!

Josh at the prime meridian.

The movie "set"

Stanley and the Cutty Sark!

Until next time :)
Rachel x

It is Snow Cold!

The big chill has arrived in London and the snow has been flying!  Josh and I have been mostly enjoying the snow from the comfort and warmth of our flat...but we have managed to venture out a few times.

My brother Sam's birthday is on the 13th, so we had planned on going up to Chippenham to visit and take in a football match.  The first indication that the weekend was going to be anything but normal was my SIL Amanda's facebook post about have "no hot water or heat"...uh oh!  The second indication was a phone call from Amanda about 10 minutes before Josh and I had to leave to catch our train.  In this call we found out that Sam had been bumped up to a sort of "emergency" status, which meant he had to be at Mildenhall and ready to fly within one hour of getting the word to go.  The word was, that he should expect this call around 6:30 am the next day...which put a total crimp in our "Sam's Birthday Weekend" plans, which included drinking, a football match, cheesecake and sushi!  It was decided that I would go up to Chippenham to be with Amanda and Josh stayed back in London since we didn't think Sam would be around.  I finally arrived at the cottage pretty late, but we stayed up to quickly celebrate Sam's birthday.  We Facetimed mom and dad while Sam unwrapped his presents (he got some awesome Norwich football team swag from Amanda) and then sang Sam "Happy Birthday" which quickly evolved to eating Sam's birthday cheesecake (yum!).

 Happy Birthday Cheesecake made by Amanda on the left and Happy Birthday Apple Pie made by Rachel
on the right!

The following morning I woke up expecting to see Sam gone and Amanda to be huddled up with Hercules and crying (this would have been Sam's first deployment).  Instead, Sam is in the kitchen trying to fix the boiler (there still wasn't any heat or hot water)!  After some discussion, Amanda and I decided to try to find a way to sell the football tickets for that day (180 pounds worth!)...Sam just couldn't risk being in Norwich if he got the call from base.  The night before, Amanda had posted the football tickets on her facebook page, to see if anyone local was interested.  At about 10:30 in the morning, Sam got a call from one of his superiors asking about the tickets.  Turns out, the wife of one of the superiors saw Amanda's post and told her husband about how Sam was going to miss his birthday football game.  Sam's superior gave him permission to go to the game and changed his status to something like "not urgent".  Yay!  I quickly called Josh and told him to get his butt up to Chippenham...and quickly...so we could make the game.

Norwich Vs. Newcastle

I think the Newcastle uniforms make them look like they all work at Foot Locker!

Amanda and I trying to stay warm at the game!

The football match was a bit of a bummer...not a lot of action.  Final score was 0 to 0...so not very exciting! We did enjoy hearing the fans chant, Newcastle seems to have the better ones in my opinion.  I was disappointed in the stadium at Norwich.  For what we paid for the tickets (equivalent to about $68.00 each) the stadium was really run down and while we had a good view of the field, we also had a good view of the roof that slanted down and blocked out the rest of the stadium...sort of felt a little like a coffin.  I am hopeful that the next time we go to a game, it will be warmer and at a better stadium!

After the game we all walked to a cute little Italian restaurant that Amanda had booked for us.  We had some great food and conversation and then finally headed back to the cottage in Chippenham.  It was so cold in the house when we arrived!  I could see my breath!  Luckily, Sam got the fire going and we sat in the living room for a while before heading off to bed.

The next morning was Sam's birthday.  He spent the morning watching the boiler so we could all have hot showers before church.  After church we did a little shopping and then headed back to Samanda's to make Sam's birthday lunch and dessert.  Amanda fried up some tempura shrimp and veggies while I made a delicious apple pie and gobs of sushi!

The delicious sushi and sides.

Happy Birthday Sam!

Josh and I left later that day to return to London.  We had a great weekend celebrating Sam's birthday!  I'm glad Sam actually got to celebrate it with us too!

The cold from over Sam's birthday weekend stuck around and then we got reports of snow to come!  I love snow, it is so magical!  It started snowing in London on Friday and then seemed to stick around all weekend.  On Sunday it snowed all day so Josh and I took the opportunity to walk around London and enjoy the weather.

Josh and I  along the Thames

Little tiny snowman :)

Snowing in London

Me in St. James Park

Josh near Parliament 

Snowy Big Ben.

Other than our 3 hour walk in the snow, Josh and I had a pretty lazy weekend, just enjoying the warmth of our little flat.  I enjoy the snow, but now I'm ready for warmer weather, please and thank you!

Rachel x

Christmas, New Years & More

For whatever reason...maybe it is just laziness...but I am so far behind in blogging!  Luckily, my favorite sister-in-law Amanda is not as lazy as I.  Therefore...here are the links to her Christmas and New Years Blogs, in which, Josh and I are heavily involved!

Christmas  via the Wild Newlywed Yonder

Our Christmas with the Holbrook's in Chippenham was super fun and as British as we could get!  We played games, took some funny yet slightly inappropriate pictures, ate and drank and just generally had a great time.

Feeding the horses (feeding Hercules to the horses?) on Christmas Day in Chippenham

Amanda checking out a hedgerow.  

Josh and I on Boxing day in Bury St. Edmunds

New Years via the Wild Newlywed Yonder

For New Years, Samanda, Josh and I, and our friends Sveta and Daniel had some appetizers at our flat then traveled down to the Thames for dessert and drinks at a pub, then jostled our way through the crowds for a viewing spot on Lambeth bridge.  We saw the fireworks really well!

Sveta, Amanda and I on Lambeth Bridge

Josh and I, NYE 2012

Josh and Sam with their cigars :)

The day after NYE, Samanda, Josh and I  went to a rain exhibit at the Barbican Centre.  The rain installation is pretty cool.  The concept is that when you walk through the rain, a device senses your movement and it stops raining where you are, but still rains around you.  It was pretty neat actually!

Samanda on the bus (mom and dad's favorite seats!)

Josh and Amanda in the rain room

Josh, getting mostly not wet.  

Since Sam and Amanda left, Josh and I have been busy working and planning upcoming trips.  I finally joined a gym over here and I'm excited to start some classes.  I'm really looking forward to 2013 and feel like it is going to be another great year for the Baird's!

Rach xoxo

Our 1 year Londonversary!

Josh and I officially celebrated our one year Londonversary on December 9th.  Funnily enough, that is the same day that we arrived back to London after our three week visit to the States!  Being in England has been a blessing,  Josh and I have met some really wonderful people and have had the opportunity to see and do some pretty amazing things.  Here's what we have been able to cross off our bucket list...

1. Visit Scotland

2. Eat Haggis

3.  Celebrate Hogmanay (New Years Celebration in Scotland)

4. Be a bridesmaid at my little brother's wedding!

5. Conquering my fear of heights!  Maybe...

6. Eating white fish bait...never again btw...

7.  Eating ice cream in Paris!

8. Kissing my husband on the top of the Eiffel Tower

9.  Riding the Eurostar through the Chunnel!  

10.  Visiting Stonehenge!

11.  Drinking Lambic beer in Brussels!

12.  Eat a real Belgium waffle in Belgium

13.  Take a Canal Ride in Amsterdam

14.  Do other stuff in Amsterdam that I will neither admit or deny...

15.  Visit the Anne Frank House

16.  Visit the Rhine river valley in Germany

17. Eat currywurst

18.  Ride in a cable car!  Very scary for me!

19.  Ate Kangaroo!

20.  Ate a scone with clotted cream and jam (much yummier than Kangaroo!)

21.  Swam in a sea of grass

22.  Visited the white cliffs of Dover

23.  Watched tennis matches at Wimbledon!

24.   Visited Venice and its surrounding islands.

25.  Swam in the Adriatic Sea

26.  Learned how to be a Gondolier! 

27.  Attended the Olympics, London 2012!

28.  Celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss!

29.  Enjoyed the Brighton shore.

30.  Attended the paralympics and visited Olympic park.

31.  Climbed a mountain in the Australian Alps.

32.  Sang "the hills are alive, with the sound of music" in Austria

33.  Ate a pretzel in Salzburg

34.  Celebrated Oktoberfest in London with our favorite Aussie's!

35.  Welcomed my brother and sister-in-law to England (and Hercules too!)

36. Visited the beaches of Normandy with my parents.

37. Went punting in Cambridge

38.  Used a hedgerow as a wind barrier!

39.  Rode on a car ferry!

40.  Visited Cornwall and Wales

This past year has been full of wonderful adventures and we have made some amazing memories.  I can't wait to see what the next twelve months will bring.  We have friends and family planning visits and Josh and I have a few "must see" places to travel this year!  Next up is the Holbrook/Baird Family Christmas at Samanda's in Chippinham.  I am beyond excited about going to visit, hopefully lots of fun and hilarity awaits us.  See you in 2013!

Rachel xoxo