"Holiday Energy" in London

I (Jason) would like to be able to say "Christmas Cheer," but for more reasons than one, the holiday decorations and festivities here don't quite exude that. (Some aren't Christmasy at all -- in the deep or the familiar sense. And some -- like those in the Harrods window displays -- are more bizarre than they are cheery.) Since the Brits don't observe Thanksgiving, their holiday cycle shifts immediately from Halloween to Christmas. So there's lots to see already. As Erinn says in her post below, we recently took an evening stroll from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus via Regent Street. In doing so we also happened upon Carnaby Street, which was the probably the coolest and most festive of these areas (a rock band was playing in the store front of a Lee jean store!). This entire area of the city is pretty decked out in holiday decorations. The next day we went to Harrods. On the one hand, it's an extraordinary and impressive show of opulence. (In the area of an Egypt-themed elevator bank, an opera singer in a formal gown was belting out a beautiful song while hanging out of a balcony -- see the video below.) However, it's hard not to think about all the money that's wasted there -- 23 British pounds (about 37 US dollars) for fish and chips, for instance. It's frightening to the think about the mark up on more expensive items! Anyway, I took a lengthy video of the window displays at  Harrods, which have a winter/holiday/Peter Pan theme, and which I know some of you would enjoy seeing. Unfortunatley, after many attempts, I was unable to upload it to the blog. Well, Happy Thanksigiving and a Merry Christmas a bit early!

Regent Street had Narnia decorations, apparently in anticipation of a Voyage of the Dawntreader movie?

The decorations at Carnaby Street ...

Lily watching the Ambassadors of Morocco (anyone heard of them?) on Carnaby Street.

E and the kids outside Selfridge's on Oxford Street.

Lights on Oxford Street.

The opera singer at Harrods.

Lying Low & the Baehr Barf-o-rama

Well this is one of those weeks in our Novembery November where there's not much to report- no exciting travel, no momentous occasions. I'd say the first half of the week was just recuperating and doing our normal routine of homeschool and visiting the familiar haunts: Natural History Museum, Science Center, British Museum. We did, however, get out to see some fun Christmas lights and displays via Regent Street and its shopping and then Harrods on Sunday. I had never been to Harrods and it is, indeed, spectacular. The extravagance and attention to detail makes you feel like you've stepped into a movie production. Photos and video to follow with J's next post.

As far as this week goes, it would be easy enough to bypass Thanksgiving altogether, since the Brits are, but we are taking Jason's students to a dinner on Thursday at a barbecue joint up the road. It should be a healthy reminder of American goodies.

So, we've got about 4 weeks left and that sounds amazingly short. I know it will whizz by, which is both good and bad. I will be very ready for home, but I know I'll miss this strange little world we have developed here. This is, I'm sure, the most isolated we've ever been as a family. We've moved a lot, had plenty of transitions, but in each scenario we plugged into something, had some interface with others (well J does with students, but...........).

We have this rain shield for Oliver's stroller that rolls down and velcros at the bottom. It's incredibly handy and we call him the boy in the bubble. I think in some ways we are actually the family in the bubble, just traveling around in our own orbit, insulated from the outside world: enjoying, observing and reflecting but not connecting and knowing other people and that is so very weird to me. I definitely need some warm bodies to engage with. I guess I'm more of an extrovert than I think sometimes. Again, this is a unique "sabbatical" with the family, but not a sustainable life. (I haven't given up, but with the weather changing it will be even harder to meet people at parks, etc.)

One thing, one little tiny way I see some connection, some penetration of this anonymous traveler syndrome is our little Oliver and his relentless pursuit of the gaze of strangers. I kid you not, the little guy, on EVERY train ride and EVERY endless and crowded "lift" ride, locks eyes with some unsuspecting (and usually seemingly uninterested) person, tilts his head and grins the yummiest smile he can conjure up. Without fail, they are disarmed and smile back and continue to play a little "footsie," so to speak. It's pretty sweet and it gives me a reason to smile when I'm otherwise wanting to find the escape hatch in those tight quarters.

Oliver had an icky flu spell the lasted 24 hrs. and it's now spreading like wildfire. Brendan had his "moment" today and is passed out beside me. The creepy little guy really does sleep with those big beautiful eyes at half mast- sometimes I think I've imagined it. Lily, our strong Lily, had only said she felt a little off. I guess it should have been painfully clear when she actually walked away from the movie, but she was just hanging in her room and then I heard the horrid sound of another one biting the dust. She just dealt with it herself, safely got to the toilet and was pretty mellow about it. Let me just say that holding puke bowls for 2 kids is REALLY hard with a (now recovered) toddler chasing you around, ever so interested in what's happening. So, Jason's now saying he's feeling something and I am pretty sure this mama is going to need to run away for a day or so in the week ahead.

Oh, but, as an aside- and maybe a long one at that- when Oliver started this whole fiasco, he literally laid around on the floor, on a bed or on the couch all day, looking both pathetic and adorable. His cheeks were flushed and his body was steamy. Before bed, I saw Brendan sitting next to Oliver (who was draped across a pillow) writing in his notebook and looking at Oliver off and on with a very pensive expression. I joked that it appeared that Oliver was his muse (it was like that scene in Titanic, but without all the sexual tension :)) Anyway, Brendan said he was writing something but I couldn't see it. In the end, he shared it with Jason and later me, and it was this amazing poem all about the beauty and wonder of Oliver. Blow me away.................. this "art" was brewing inside my wonderful 9 year old. I could certainly never have assigned that in "homeschool" or cajoled him to get that........ (he'd kill us if we posted it, but it was precious).

Well, here's to health and better days........... either way we are blessed (though a little barfy).

Blessings to you this week!
Erinn

Stratford-On-Avon-On-Empty

We arrived home from Paris one week ago. We’d had a wonderful time, but we were spent. The next morning, Saturday, my (Jason) parents flew back to Arizona. Later that afternoon Brendan came down with a fever/aches/chills. The rest of us (mostly) followed like dominoes: I was hit with the same symptoms on Monday morning, Oliver by Tuesday, and Lily by Wednesday. (Erinn, while battling a cold, has a remarkable ability to avoid most of our more acute family illnesses.) We had plans to go to Stratford-Upon-Avon from Thursday to Friday for a quick visit to Shakespeare’s home town and to see a new musical production of Roald Dahl’s “Matilda” put on by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Train tickets, a hotel, theater tickets -- all prepurchased. Fortunately, the worst of the bug was lasting only 24-48 hours. Lily rallied on Thursday morning and we walked to one tube station in the rain and wind and from another tube station to the train station in more of the same. We were a sorry sight. Though the fever/aches/chills didn’t last long, other symptoms persisted. I’m sure we set a family record for collective mucus excretion.

The two-hour train ride turned out to be much better than we expected. The previous week’s train trip to Paris was *hard* -- a very crowded train and Oliver was very restless. En route to Stratford we had an entire train car to ourselves, so Oliver could roam freely. We checked into our hotel, The Falcon, which was also a very pleasant surprise: nice and cozy with traditional Tudor architecture and design. When we got into our room and opened the curtains, we were greeted with a beautiful rainbow! A salve to our weary souls!

The ensuing 24 hours were kind of a whirlwind. Brennie, Oliver, and I had a great pint/scones and cream/bangers and mash in the hotel restaurant while Erinn and Lily took a snooze. We walked around the quaint little town and along the river. It was windy and chilly but mostly sunny. I stayed home with Oliver while Erinn took Brendan and Lily to see “Matilda.” All reports were glowing. Next morning I got up early with Oliver and strolled him around the river as the sun was rising. It was breezy and cold but quiet and peaceful. The sunrise stopped me in my tracks (see pic below which unfortunately doesn't begin to do it justice). Once everyone else was up, we walked into town again, did some window shopping, visited Shakespeare’s birthplace (very welld done, actually), then visited his final resting place in Holy Trinity Church (also very cool). Mind you, during all of this we are *dragging* -- we’re tired, queasy, coughing, sniffling, dripping, and sneezing. But we're soaking it in and having a truly rich and enjoyable time.

This is, in fact, a nice image of what much of our life here is like. Day to day living is often difficult, stressful, and exhausting. But the history is enthralling! The art is endless and spectacular! And the beauty is staggering! I'm proud of my little family for embracing this experience with such gusto and very grateful to be living it with them.

The Falcon Hotel.

Brendan in the lobby.

The rainbow from our hotel window.

A purfect pint.

 

Scones and cream and cake.

The Avon River in the late afternoon.

 

Matilda!

The Avon River early the next morning.

Sunrise across the street from our hotel.

Shakespeare's grave in Holy Trinity Church.

Paris: The Varnished Truth

See below for Erinn's more "comprehensive" and "unvarnished" account of our recent trip to Paris. I'm going to catalogue our main activities with a few highlights interspersed.

We had three nights/four days there and given that we had two children, one baby, and two senior citizens (love you Mom and Dad!) with us, we hit the city pretty hard.

Day 1. Not much happened the first day. We arrived, checked into the hotel, got situated, and walked around the neighborhood (East Paris, not too far from the Bastille). Had a good Italian dinner near our hotel with some incredibly good gelato.

Day 2. The day began with some *amazing* pastries and a heavenly quiche (for me). Eventually we made our way to the Musee d'Orsay, which (typically) has a very impressive collection of Impressionist paintings. It turned out that their Monet works were on loan to another museum. Bummer. But they did have some really great Van Gogh paintings, including his self-portrait and the one with two laborers resting in the sun on a haystack (all yellows and blues). Next we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. We hung out there as the sun set, then went up the tower just after dark. The kids were impressed, as were we. I had forgotten what a massive and impressive structure this really is. Finally, we made a quick visit to the Champs Elysees, where we grabbed a bite to eat at a cafe.

Day 3. This was our Louvre day. The place, of course, is ridiculously large and the signage is not great (not to mention that it's in French!). Though we were there for several hours, I felt like we only saw bits and pieces. The Mona Lisa was a highlight. It's not very accessible (you can't get right up next to it; and it's enclosed in glass). But it was very cool for me to see how wowed Brendan was at getting to see it. I could tell that something was really clicking with him. Some other highlights were the Egypt collection and various works illustrating French history, including the famous "lady liberty" painting and some of Napoleon crossing the Alps in the snow and exiting a burning Moscow. The biblically themed art was also amazing. I think I mentioned this before, but it's remarkable what the kids can recognize and get excited about in Medieval and Renaissance art given their basic knowledge of the Bible -- lots of John the Baptist severed heads, several more or less gory depictions of David and Goliath, Samson and Delilah, various scenes with Jesus and his disciples, etc. Anyway, after the Louvre, we went to Cathedral of Notre Dame just as the sun was setting (see pix below). It was beautiful. Mass was being celebrated in the cathedral. Got to hear the pipe organ and smell the incense. Got a great view of the "flying buttresses" from across the River Seine. Eventually it got dark. We grabbed some food at a nearby cafe and ate in the plaza before the illuminated cathedral.

Day 4. Today was Lily's sixth birthday! We started with a little celebration in the room (as Erinn describes below). We then made our way to the Musee de l'Orangerie. This impressed us all. This museum is much smaller than the others, but it houses an amazing panoramic collection of Monet's Water Lilies. It also has some great works by Cezanne, Renoir, Picasso, and others. The weather was mostly sunny and incredibly mild. So we spent some time hanging out in the beautiful and colorful Jardin des Tuileries. From there we went for a quick look at the Paris Opera House, the geographical setting and inspiration for Phantom of the Opera (which the kids saw, really liked, and have been listening to a lot on CD). Then it was time to catch the train back to London.

We didn't get back until after 9 PM (10 PM Paris time), but Lily was up for a birthday dinner at wonderful little Italian restaurant near our flat. So my parents, Brendan, Lily, and I went for pizza and pasta (Erinn stayed home with the babe). A major highlight of our trip thus far (for me) was when all the lights in the whole restaurant were dimmed, music began, and the whole wait staff and all the other patrons in the restaurant began clapping and singing  Happy Birthday to Lily. Lily just lit up. The Italian waitresses were incredibly affectionate with her. It was a precious time. Lily felt pretty special.

Overall, it was a very rich and enjoyable experience. One disappointment is that we didn't get to eat much French food beyond the bread, pastries, and ice cream. We'll have to do that when we're there with no kids! But the pastries and ice cream actually exceeded our expectations -- and these expectations were very, very high!

B and L at the Louvre.

Notre Dame from the Seine.



ND at night.



The "flying buttresses."

Papa Ted gazing at water lilies.



OKB hammin' it up.



The junior photographer at work.



Sister Baehr on the Seine.

That ambiguous look.(Lily's interpretation is that she's proud.)



Eiffel Tower from a distance.

Gay Paris?

So, this is entirely my (Erinn's) perspective. Jason will have his own take on it all. I think, had this wonderful opportunity to visit Paris come at a time when I was a little more energized and jazzed about travel, that this would have been a completely different experience. I'm just at a point in this adventure where I'm a little spent, a little done with being flexible and easy going, so any little challenge is ripe to set me on edge. We really did have a great time in Paris overall. I think I had my few moments of "transcendence," but the moment to moment living, ah, not so transcend-y.

It started with traveling way too early on Tuesday morning, and that is always a sure fire way to summon my teenage self. I was taking the chunnel with my wonderful in-laws and the 3 kids (J came later in the day after teaching). If anyone could ever cause me to let my better half win, it would be these benevolent people. Ted and Tori, aka Tutti and Papa, are truly full of goodness and mercy towards our little family and it really is life giving to, ahem, receive, receive, receive.............. c'mon we've been out here on our own, in a foreign land- it's ok, right?

I think the best way to capture the experience is to once again completely exploit the use of semi-colons and parenthetical expressions and do my stream of consciousness blathering about highs and lows. Here goes:

Highlights:

 Seeing Brendan's giddiness at entering Paris (noticing French signs, etc.); eating countless nutella filled pastries, croissants and baguettes; observing French people: their dress, their mannerisms and mostly their beautiful language/accents; seeing a patisserie/boulangerie every 20 feet or so (where we would have a mere Starbucks); enjoying perfect fall weather with turning leaves and beautiful architecture at every turn; watching Lily "sketch" in front of famous paintings; seeing the Eiffel Tower at night (riding to the top and enjoying the spectacular view); hearing Lily say "for free??" every time a Nigerian salesman approached her with some piece-o-crap trinket; seeing Notre Dame at sunset and eating so-so hot dogs and fries while sitting on a curb, watching a flame-thrower and delighting in the sweetness of a new walker; surprising Lily with balloons, silver streamers and a candle in a croissant in our hotel room on Friday, her 6th birthday; having lunch at a tacky American style restaurant and seeing our kids delight in its familiarity while watching (so bad they're good) old 80s music videos; and, finally, the chunnel ride home: I got to sit on the other side of the aisle, and Oliver kept calling out for "Mommy" but most certainly meant Daddy :)

Lowlights:
 Sweating bullets as I tried to walk the teeny tiny aisles of the chunnel while carrying Oliver and continually bumping into seated passengers; navigating a new metro, one that has no plan for strollers and that is, for me, way more confusing than the tube; getting completely lost with Tori hours after we arrived in Paris. I'll spare you the details, but, despite their lousy reputation, we encountered some of the NICEST French people ever. They completely went out of their way to help us, and we were a sorry crew who couldn't even remember the name of our hotel. (As a side note: Tori completely embodied the British mantra "keep calm and carry on.") I, on the other hand, was considering just crumbling there on the sidewalk and pitching a fit. My IQ was dropping minute by minute and that is about all I could dream up. And finally, now, being home with a house full of wet laundry- this is a bit of a high and a low. Being in Paris has made me appreciate London more, appreciate where we've come from and the fact that we are somewhat settled here. Coming home really felt a little like coming home- that's the high. BUT we don't have a dryer (the low). We have a drying rack (it does hold a lot, but, yes, it is as primitive as it sounds). This, before coming to London, was my chief objection to the whole thing: "Oh, my, you get to live in LONDON for a semester- how amazing that will be?" "Yes, but I won't have a dryer." I swear those were often my first thoughts and words, crazy girl that I am. Now that we're here, I hardly think of it. It sort of feels right that laundry should involve some blood, sweat and tears, or at least patience. Yes, things are a little "crunchy" and the smell is a little off, but overall it's ok, until today when I have mountains of laundry. Today the whole flat feels damp. Oh, and lastly, J's parents left today. We are now on our own for the final 6 weeks. It's been so great to have these visitors to look forward to, and now it's over. Bittersweet. We miss the community, but it's a rare opportunity to slow down and really focus on one another.............. or kill each other.......... prayers for the former, pretty please.

Glad to be home but also really looking forward to our Long Beach home..............

Erinn

Fall in London (and Paris)

We've been loving the fall colors here in recent weeks. (To some of you, they'll be relatively unimpressive; but having lived most of our lives in seasonless west or southwest, they're pretty impressive to us.) A favorite thing of mine (Jason) since we've been here has been walking through various parks on cold, clear days soaking in the sun and beautiful spectrum of reds, oranges, and yellows. I'll attach a few pictures. (A few are from our recent trip to Paris; we'll let the discerning viewer identify which are which.)

Halloween in London

We weren't sure what to expect, but the kids weren't going to let the holiday just slip by. While our street didn't have much activity, there were several well-decorated houses just a few streets away, with lots of trick-or-treaters milling about. It was quite the experience walking through black wrought iron gates and up marble steps to these these gorgeous, multi-million dollar single residences bordered by gleaming white columns. (Needless to say, we don't live in one of these residences; rather, we're in one of the very modest residences that has been subdivided into several small apartments.)

Lily was Elphaba from *Wicked* and Brendan was the phantom from *Phantom of the Opera.* We found a cute little skeleton costume for Oliver but he had to stay bundled up and didn't get out of the stroller.

Also, yesterday we went to a "Wicked Day 2010," a "free day of family fun" at the St. Pancras train station -- see the poster below. It was a bit too crowded, but still fun.

The first picture below is of "Tiger Lily" from our recent trip to the London Zoo, where some master face painters were working their magic.