Christmas Time

The Christmas season is really huge in London. People like to go all out with their celebrations. The women's clothing shops are stocked with party wear. It is really nice!

Early in the season, my friend organized a Christmas pub crawl. We all dressed festive with some of the girls actually wearing Christmas themed skirts. For work, we had a Christmas lunch. We had a 3 course meal. Afterwards we pub hoped. All in all, the celebration lasted from 2 - 11p.m.

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. This year I really wanted to capture some of my great memories of Christmas pasts from back home. One of the first things I did was buy an artificial tree. I tried getting a real one last year but it just sat in my lounge and dried out. It was a small tree and I am not really into small trees.

My 6'6"slim tree arrived and it was great fun to decorate. I rearranged the furniture in my flat. Most of my decorations were bought from the pound store. It was difficult to get to a DIY (aka Home Depot) store to buy anything because of the distance and the weather. Now I was ready to host a few gatherings.

I had two Christmas gatherings at my flat. One for my book club friends and the other for my neighbhorhood and close friends. For one of the parties, I choose a more British menu. I cooked a roast ham with green beans and au gratin potatoes. Cooking a ham is a big ordeal. You have to soak it to remove the salt, then boil it and then bake it. Nothing is ever easy here...In the end, it came out fabulous! I brought some leftovers into work for my colleague. She had some and gave it to her daughter and she loved. It was great to have my cooking validated by British people!For my second celebration, I cooked my famous chicken chipoltle dish however I made a new dessert - Italian bread pudding that I saw on the food network. It was really easy to make and again came out fabulous. We had traditional Christmas crackers with a crown hat and a joke. Elaine got to pop her first cracker. We also had a Secret Santa.


The finally to wind down the Christmas season, I attended a Christmas concert at the Royal Albert Hall. The Kings College Choir from Cambridge and the London Symphony Orchestra performed. At one point in the show, we were able to sing along with the Choir. It was lovely!
I love that I am making new traditions here and building strong friendships. I can only see every year getting better!

My first Christmas in London

This year I spent Christmas in London....Not by choice but by an unfortunate series of weather related events. A week prior to Christmas, the UK was hit with a really bad snow storm. See the pic below taken in my neighborhood of the snow a few weeks earlier that also disrupted travel. While this is not the actual snow that caused the delays, it wasn't much worse than this.
The UK is not used to getting snow nor were they prepared. Heathrow had severe delays and was operating with one runway. The travel delays had a ripple effect on Christmas travel and European travel overall.

Lately, when I've gone back to Chicago, I fly on standby because my friend works for the airline. Getting on a flight is dependent on the available open seats. Because of the delays, flights were canceled and passengers were pushed to other flights. My flight that had been wide open for the last month suddenly was oversold.

My friends and I were mentally preparing ourselves a few days prior for the possibility of spending Christmas in London. My friend Holly actually choose to stay in London so we all said that we would spend Christmas at her flat.

My other friends had delays but eventually were able to get home. Like it or not, I was spending my first Christmas in London. I have to say that it was not the worst thing. While I missed seeing my family, I didn't miss the stress of traveling from house to house and being on a schedule to visit this family and then go to that house.

For three days (Eve Eve, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), I'd wake up late and take nice long relaxing baths. In the early evening, I would walk 10 minutes to my friend Holly's house. Our other friend Maria Ann flew in from Milan and we all celebrated together. Holly would serve me a nice glass of cava or something fizzy and we'd eat then sit and relax on the sofa watching the endless Christmas movies that were showing on the Tele. Christmas tele is really good compared to the US. They play popular movies. I watched Elf, the Grinch, Muppets Christmas Carole, Santa Clause the Movie, Fred Claus....See how much time I had on my hands.

On Christmas Eve, I cooked chicken mole and rice to keep my Mexican tradition alive. We went to Midnight Mass. It was absolutely beautiful. The mass opened with everyone holding candles and singing religious Christmas caroles. It was kind of funny to hear a Catholic sermon given in British English. After mass, we bumped into some really drunk guy on the street. Apparently, people get really pissed on Christmas Eve....Kind of like our Black Wednesday.

On Christmas Day, Maria Ann cooked homemade Italian meatballs, lasagna, and sauce. It was great. I usually have lasagna on Christmas Day so while it was different, it was still the same. Later in the evening, I came home and caught up with my family and friends.

London in general was a ghost town. Everything shuts down. There were maybe 5 shops open. Mostly convenient stores. On Christmas Eve, the supermarket was flooded with people stocking up on food for Christmas and Boxing Day. Taxis are double fare on Christmas Day. Even today, there are still not that many people in town.

I am not sure if I would want to spend next Christmas in London but it was a good test for me. It showed me that I really do love London and can be okay with being far away from my family around the holidays.

I'm back!

Gosh, I can't believe it's been this long since I last blogged. In the New Year, I resolve to be better about writing as this is what I love to do.

So where to start as I resurrect my blog.....

To sum it up, the last 5 months have been filled with more traveling, building friendships and becoming more settled in London. It took a few trips back to the States and several wonderful experiences to make me realize that I really love living in London. Life in the US suddenly seems ordinary compared to living in a foreign land. Until my curiosity wanes, I will remain in Europe. I've realized that I can come home quite often and the 8 to 9 hour flight really doesn't bother me. When I visit home, I get my fix of shopping, family and friends, and food...enough to get me through my next visit.

I am taking steps to become more settled here. I currently have a company sponsored visa. In January...(if I ever stop traveling long enough), I am going to switch my visa to one that will allow me to remain in the UK without working for my company. This gives me a bit more flexibility. I can even start my own business or do contracting work under this new type of visa.

I am working to build my credit history here. It's really, really hard to get a credit card which is a good thing. In the US, they give credit cards away like free candy....Not here. You have to have lived in one residence for at least a year. You are also unfairly judged if the previous resident had credit issues...and is nowhere to be found. Your acceptance is sometimes based on geography....Anyway, I finally got my first credit card through my bank. Lovely!

I've started investing in household items for my flat and have been thinking about shipping my personal belongs from the US. I recently bought a whisk, roasting pan, a soup pan, serving dishes, and a Pyrex casserole dish. It sounds funny but my mom's friend Betty refers to it as nesting...I think I'll wait another year to determine if I want to ship my other things. Since I'm renting, I don't want to lug this stuff from flat to flat.

Most importantly, my family and friends have been very supportive. For their own unique purposes, they would love for me to come back home. The reality is that we probably wouldn't see each other more or less. They understand that I am very happy here and we continue to make the distance work.

Another Tick off the List

In my attempt to assimilate into British culture, I've learned to play tennis. For the last two weekends, my friend Krishna and I have booked the tennis courts in Clapham Common and she has been so gracious to teach me a few things that she knows.

Last weekend, I was really good at my backhand. Probably because I was trying to workout my triceps so I made sure those muscles had a good workout. This week my forehand was better. However, sometimes I hit the ball thinking I'm trying to hit a home run or playing golf! Krishna definitely has patience for me. After a 20 minute warm up, I get into a stride and we can actually have a good rally.

This week I felt like I got the true British experience when I was playing tennis. There was 3 men and 1 woman playing doubles next to us. They were all in their 50s to late 60s. The banter between the men was hilarious. They would make fun of themselves in their English humour. When I missed the ball, I cursed, "Shit" or "Fuck" or "Maaaaan". Kind of ghetto. The English men on the other hand said, "Bugger" or "Bloody ball". When Krishna and I were in the rhythm of rallying, we'd say "Awesome!" My colleagues and non-American friends always tease us about this word. It's truly American. On the other hand, the British men would say, " Well played" or "Well done," in their proper form.

After the games, Krishna and I have been going out for brunch. This week we explored Abbeyville Village. It's a little residential area within Clapham that has a small town feel. Very family oriented. Stanley's vet is there and coincidentally, we were there on Saturday. I couldn't explore too much with Stanley. On Sunday, we checked out the farmers market that is open every Sunday. The market has fresh fruit and veg and great baked goods. They were also selling plants and flowers. I bought a small goat cheese tart. After the market, we settled on a small French cafe. Breakfast was fantastic. The French never do a bad meal. The waiter was so nice and charming. We promised him we'd be back next week.

I am really starting to settle into my neighborhood and I'm taking advantage of all it has to offer.

Portugese Love - Algarve

In May, I asked the universe for more "girl" friends to hang out with that were local to me and in my neighborhood. Well the universe hasn't failed me yet. While my sorority sister was here for work, she introduced to me to her co-worker who introduced me to her friends that live in the area. Mostly Americans expats (and a Canadian and Brazilian) of course because it's almost impossible to meet British friends outside of work.

On a night out, they mentioned that they were renting a villa along the south coast of Portugal and invited me along. Of course, I couldn't pass up a holiday - a warm one at that and the opportunity to get to know these women better. Since the holiday was planned for the 4th of July weekend, I knew I would also be homesick if I stayed in London. I quickly booked my ticket for the Algarve.http://www.algarveuncovered.com/

It was my first beach/sunny weather holiday in Europe. It was awesome. Most of the girls had been there the entire week. Gabi and I arrived during the last weekend at the villa. Upon our arrival, we had a quick bite and then headed for Karaoke. We were not received very well. Becky, who ran the Karaoke machine, had very strict rules. Probably a bit jealous of all us girls. Nonetheless, we had a great time!

Saturday, we lounged by the pool. This was the first time I had tanned since Anna's wedding last August. I was feeling a little pasty. Spiritually it felt good to be there. I starting to get my balance back. I read by the pool (my attempt to finish a book I've started 4 months ago), took short naps, and then cooled off in the pool. One of the girls brought a copy of People Magazine. It had been ages since I read this magazine. Apparently they sell it in the UK but it's about 4 pounds!

In the evening, we went into town for dinner and then to the main strip for dancing! The town - Albufiera is a popular destination amongst the British. There were not that many locals but load of people on Stag and Hen dos aka. Bachelor and Bachelorette parties. The funny thing is that the British are really into dressing up or what they call fancy dress. So there was this group of girls on a Hen do dressed up in skimpy Sailor suits. There was this mechanical bull that the girls were having fun with. The men didn't mind either. We also headed to an outdoor club that had a Miami-esque feel to it. We came home to find that the villa had been broken into. The robbers took some cash from one of the rooms, a few blackberrys, and an iPod. I was fortunate that nothing was stolen from me. I am not really surprised because Amber's purse was stolen in Lisbon. It's just something that I've learned time after time when I travel. You have to be really careful with your passport, money and personal belongings.


On Sunday, it was the 4th of July. Holly's mom had sent over decorations so we brightened up the villa (including ourselves) with touches from home. For dinner, we made some typical staples we would have usually had for a 4th of July BBQ. On the menu - BBQ chicken, potatoe salad, corn on the cob, guacamole, watermelon, fruit salad, chocolate cake, and wine spritzers. There were no fireworks but it was nice to be in the company of fellow Americans and create our own celebration.





Monday we headed to the beach. It was lovely. Beautiful people, all colors, shapes and sizes. People just enjoying life....I was introduced to a world of European sunbathing. Yes, women sunbathing topless. It's not entirely new to me but the reality of it is shocking at first. People in Miami do it all the time. Only in Miami, I think the women try to show off who has perky and better implants. I told my manager about it when I got back. Like everything new I learn here, he laughed at me. He said that his mum sunbathed topless when he was young and that Scandinavians are very big on nudity. Kind of gross hearing that from a 35 year old man. Then my French colleague jumped in to say that her dad still prances around naked in front of them. I guess Europeans are more open with their sexuality and nudity. It's cool but I have to draw the line with children being naked in public spaces. Maybe on my next beach holiday, I'll muster up the courage to take my top off!


While at the beach, I did something quite unusual for myself. I actually went into the ocean without being forced to. My childhood ear problems have left me scarred about going under water but I couldn't let this moment pass. The water was so warm and refreshing and it just felt good.

Beach holidays always help me find my balance. It reminds me that I need to slow down and it definitely helps me clear my mind.

World Cup Fever Has Officially Ended

I've been really bad at posting regular updates especially as they happen so I thought I would write about the World Cup as it has come to an end.

It was very cool living in Europe as the World Cup was going on. World Cup fever was everywhere. Flags hanging from people's cars, on construction equipment, and from flats. The local high street stores selling England bikini's and tank tops. The excitement and the build up week after week, the countless office chatter about which players did well and who they thought would win. Employers letting their staff make up hours to watch a 3:00p.m. game because historically productivity was low when Europeans were not allowed to watch the World Cup games. Drunk English men chanting their team's songs on the Tube. Patriotic souls also parading around my neighborhood with their flags, bullhorns and vuvuzelas.

I participated in my share of the fun. I joined a sweepstakes (a fancy word for pool) in which I drew two countries from a hat. I picked Germany and really stuck by them...well except when Australia was playing but then Germany whipped major Aussie butt...In the end, I won 6 pounds because of Germany. I partly did it just to mess with my colleagues. Here I am, am American girl that doesn't know a thing about football and I end up winning....Can you see the gloating??? We were actually nice to our colleagues when the US advanced and England lost. I have to admit, England was a little quieter and more humble.

I attended a few of the England and US matches. I was particularly interested in attending an England game. When England and the US played, I was in a posh pub in Nottinghill so there wasn't too much craziness, aside from two drunk guys punching each other in the chest. My friend invited other Americans and when USA scored, we gave each other low high fives. We feared what could happen in a pub full of English. For my next game, my Manager, Director and I had just come from Paris after a business meeting. There was no way he was missing the England game. Straight from the Eurostar, the plan was to roll right to the pub. It was one of the hottest days in London so I had to get my bearings and I joined later. Like a trooper, my manager was there and happy to have made the start of the game. The fans really have true spirit and are really passionate about their team. Even at the replays, they'd still have the same intensity - the "Ohhhhsss"...and "Yaaaasss" in unison. One weekend as I was coming home from Dublin, my taxi driver even commented that the reason he thought business was slow that Saturday was because England lost to Slovenia. Hmmm...interesting how a match loss could contribute to the economic downturn of London...Did the British really decide to stay home because they were so upset by the loss??

Each country has it's patron pub. My fellow Americans found refuge in Bodeans. Bodeans is an American style BBQ joint that shows all the US sports. It's also the best BBQ you can get in England that makes you feel close to home. There is about 5 throughout the city. It was quite strange to be in a pub with all Americans. One of the guys even had an American vuvuzela. That day, USA lost to Ghana. The only two Ghanians that were there had the guts to cheer when they won and the US lost. My English friend who was with us said that there was no way he would have gotten away with that if England was playing. He'd get his face kicked in by the English fans. He also said that we shouldn't be sad that we lost. Americans can't be good at everything.

Yesterday, as I was watching the match, a sadness came over me. This was the last game of the World Cup. Kind of like the Olympics coming to an end.

I was a rebel and cheered for Holland. As we know, Spain won. The Spaniards celebrated until the wee hours of the night. They climbed the historic statue in the palacio. They were proud to be called the best team in the world. Perhaps Americans don't feel as patriotic when our team wins the Superbowl or the Stanley cup. It's been great seeing the live coverage and reading about the World Cup in the newspaper. I am definitely happy to have witnessed it.

Two Ticks off the List

Two weeks ago, Mari returned for an encore visit to London. This time she stayed for 12 days. During her visit, we had a picnic in the park, cooked Mexican food and did some local things in London. Mari's been here several times so it was cool not to do the usual touristy things and give her a taste of what London life is for me.

When Mari arrived, it was one of the hottest weekends in London. In true form, everyone was camped out in the Common for sunbathing, people watching, and Pimms. Yes, Pimms, the summer spirit. I was introduced to Pimms in April by my friend Rob. It is a liquor that almost tastes like Red Bull. You mix it with Lemonade (aka Sprite) and add apples, oranges, strawberries, cucumbers, lemon, lime and a sprig of mint. Almost like Sangria. Since its introduction to me, I have also adopted this as my summer drink. Mari was amazed at how many people where out in the Common. While it nice that it was really hot, it wasn't so nice being stuck on the Tube or in an un-airconditioned flat. Luckily, I have a split level flat and my bedroom downstairs was really cool.

I also ticked off two of my 'To Dos' while in Europe. We went to a friendly football match - England versus Mexico and the Sex and the City 2 Premier.

The football game was pretty cool. I had high expectations that all the Mexicans I haven't seen in London would turn up. I was disappointed when I saw the biggest concentration were in the Mexican fan section. I came to the sad realization that there are not many Latinos in London. Most of the Mexicans that were at the game had come from other parts of Europe (From what I am told it is easier for Mexicans to get visas to other parts of Europe like France.) They didn't go out of their way to say anything when it was obvious we were paisas.



We had our share of comic relief with Englishmen being obnoxiously drunk. One guy was so drunk, he almost grabbed my friend as he fell to the row below us. He also passed out and his mates left him. The England fans were also dressed up in mustaches and Mexican hats! It's okay because we learned a phrase from the Mexican fans. When the England goalie throws the ball back out Mexican fans scream - Puutttoooosss! The Mexican fans used it freely even after the game. At the end of the match, we got to see Mr. Hottie, David Beckham, as the England team walked the field to thank all the fans for their support as they go to the World Cup.




I'm glad I went but I am not sure I'd do it again. Wembley has weird British snacks and they ran out of ice for the soda 10 minutes into the game. You can only drink alcohol at half time by the concession stands. After the game is over, you have about 80,000 people trying to get back on the Tube. While the police do an excellent job at crowd control, it takes forever to get out of Wembley Stadium. But I've experienced it...so on to the next one.



Mari and I also went to the SATC2 movie premier. We got to see Sarah Jessica Parker, Mr. Big, a glimpse of Kim Catrall, Cynthia Nixton, and Kristen Davis. We also saw other American and British celebrities as they made their way down the red carpet to the movie theater. I always get star stuck. We were like crazed fans, screaming their names and snapping photos.




While I am making my way through the list, I keep finding more To Dos. Stay tuned!