flat 26 and beyond

roma...

2007-05-20T17:47:00.002Z

we are in rome, "borrowing" internet from a neighbor in trastevere. so many blogs to post. so little bandwidth.

fyi:

the best gelatto is in perugia.
the film location for 'under the tuscan sun' is as beautiful as it looks.
venice is still romantic, but get it while it lasts, folks!
may seems to be the perfect month to visit italy.
photos and more words to come.

our last day

2007-05-11T09:22:00.000Z

It's our last day and I just can't bring myself to pack that carry-on and throw away our old tooth brushes. We have one last European adventure and then we're back in Baltimore.

last minute finds

2007-05-09T14:01:00.000Z

Two nights ago Jason and I had dinner at a place called The Big Bang in Jericho, a neighborhood in Oxford. All they server is bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) in a dizzying variety of flavors. All their sausages are organic and local and the menu suggests both good beer and good mash pairings. Jericho seems to be the place to go for food. We had already found our favorite lebanese place, Al Shami, which is right around the corner, and last night at Jason's going away pub trip, several other places were suggested to us that are right around the other corner.

And for dessert-not to be missed on a trip to Oxford- G+D Cafe for ice cream. Not the best ice cream we had in the UK (see post about Wales) but incredible nonetheless. Thick and creamy. Jason had super &^*! chocolate and i had heath bar crunch (but it was called dime bar crunch). Mine was as vanilla as the most vanilla bean and his was really super &*^! chocolate.

Tonight we are off to the home of one of Jason's consultants but there is always Thursday, Friday, and next time.

our boxes are gone

2007-05-09T09:08:00.000Z

Today Walker Freight came to take our boxes away and send them back to BWI.

We are off to Italy on Saturday and home on the 22nd. There are still a few posts to post and pictures to take.

It's gone by so fast...

May Day disappointment

2007-05-01T11:20:00.000Z

We woke up at 5am today to got to the May Day singing of a medieval Eucharist Hymn from the top of the Magdalen College tower in Oxford. Unfortunately, the bridge on which people gather to view the spectacle was closed and we watch from the town side with all the drunken college kids from the other university (Oxford Brooks University).

Presumably, the bridge was closed to stop the annual leap from it into the River Cherwell where, in 2005, 18 people leapt to find the Cherwell had only 18" of water. One person was paralysed. Notwithstanding, this morning the news showed three very wet tuxedo-clad boys. Ah Darwin...

picnic in the beautiful weather

2007-04-29T15:30:00.000Z

The nice thing about Jason working nights is that, after his nap, he's free for picnic lunch/linner/dunch in the park.

nationalised health care

2007-04-25T15:26:00.000Z

Jason had to go to the dentist this week.

This is him in the waiting room.

This is the waiting room.

sending prayers towards home

2007-04-21T09:27:00.000Z

A few days ago my granduncle passed away. We wish, more than ever, that we could be home now to hug and grieve with our family.

manly kleenex

2007-04-17T15:34:00.000Z

So we were at the market and we saw this. I'm not sure if it's made it to the US.

It's Kleenex for men. I put the normal sized Kleenex on the side for comparison. The box is more than a foot long and a little more than half a foot wide. What is it, exactly, that men are wiping?

Jason said the box had to be so big so it could fit the whole shirt sleeve.

sunday at the oxford canal

2007-04-17T14:11:00.000Z

After documenting the pub we took a walk along the Oxford Canal.

spring weekend at home

2007-04-17T11:05:00.000Z

As taxes loomed and tummies got back to normal we decided to spend this past weekend at home. There is a pub in Old Marston called the Victoria Arms on the banks of the River Cherwell. We've been eyeing it from across the river, but have never had the chance to go. On Saturday, after wading through our extension forms and writing checks, we drove out to the "Vicky," it was called in a review. With apologies to Lauren, who has read some of this before..

I'm not sure if it is the pub culture or a history of living in villages that makes the free houses and pubs in this country so lively and inviting. Perhaps we have analogous natural phenomena in America, but I don't think the planned community or even the neighborhood is a proxy for the 'country' village and certainly most bars, while they may serve grub, are not pubs as we've come to experience them. Maybe it's the 1000 years of mostly homogeneous human development (Oxfordshire celebrates its thousanth birthday this year) and America will come around once it grows out of its awkward stage.

everyone was lying on the grass with their ciders. some had punted from oxford and moored at the lawn. kids were playing tag. a herd of cows waded into the river for a drink. a new daddy made faces at his daughter on his lap. spring has become fragrant and comfortable and as the sun set and the cherry blossoms floated to the ground it was spring at its pinnacle.

(we didn't have our camera with us on Saturday. These photos were taken on Sunday when we returned to document.)

just silliness

2007-04-12T15:07:00.000Z

and this too...

2007-04-11T17:25:00.000Z

Did you know there was a medical center in Terminal 2F at Charles De Gaul airport? Neither did we.

He's fine. Just a little viral gastritis.

Ah Paris...

2007-04-10T18:57:00.000Z

This is way out of sequence as we went to Edinburgh before Paris, but I love this photo and had to post it before I got around to reflecting on the Scots Independence movement or the French.

a note on advocaat

2007-04-06T23:00:00.000Z

The Choco-Late festival also had a number of other booths related to food and drink. There was a spice booth that smelled otherworldly and a booth selling dutch genever and advocaat. I mention this only because my opa was a gin and tonic man and my oma loved a small jewel-like crystal glass of advocaat. I missed them.

chocolate chocolate and chocolate

2007-04-06T16:45:00.000Z

I just couldn't put all the photos of Brugge on one page. Outside the train station a large bunny handed us a flier announcing the chocolate festival going on that weekend. We think, however, that this is maybe where we picked up our little stomach bug.

beer chocolate and mussels

2007-04-06T15:58:00.000Z

not necessarily in that order....

While Bunny and George went on a tour around the city and to Versailles, Jason and I went to Brugge. The small, quaint, slightly touristy city is a quick three hours away by speedy TGV train.

In this little church they have, what they say is, a few drops of Jesus' blood. If you are so inclined, you can touch the plexiglass sneeze-guard that covers the vial. After each person the priest wipes the cover and hands out a little pamphlet.

the rest of Edinburgh

2007-04-05T21:00:00.000Z

Edinburgh (pronounced "edn-BURR-ah" see/listen Krulwich on Science) was vibrant and dirty and alive. We loved it.

The castle, and heart of the city, seemed to be chisled from the rock from which it reigned. Perhaps it was the weather, brisk and bright during the day and cold and clear at night, that made the city feel so alive. Perhaps it was the steep slopes, like an Escher drawing, with people in constant motion. or the deep gash of Princes Street Gardens, only just beginning to bloom but teeming with fribee players, readers, loungers, walkers.

Off the 'Royal Mile' are narrow passageways and small closes with interesting names and intruiging architecture. The pleasure of walking down the street doesn't come from windowshopping for yet another tam o'shanter with fake red hair, but from venturing down these alleys- sometimes down stairs sometimes into cavernous 16th century courtyards.

The View to Calton Hill from the castle was beautiful and the view from it towards the Forth of Firth was crystal clear.

For dinner we met Bunny and George in Leith. It felt a bit like a fledgling Harbor Place with an American-style mall and everything. The mall has, as one of its anchor attractions, the old royal yacht (cruise ship) Britannia. Jason and I were going to visit it, but we decided to save our money and, instead, had a little snack and some cake overlooking it in the cafe and a cruise around the gift shop. The souvenir book had lots of great pics and a handy map. Felt like you were there.

We had dinner at fisher's bistro. We sat in the bar, but it was still very good and came recommended by guide books and local alike. According to Bunny and George, also a great place to sit by the water and have a beer or a chardonay. There was also, what looked like, a good wine bar The Waterfront and its sister restaurant on the water. Maybe next time.

your father smelt of elderberries....

2007-04-05T16:39:00.000Z

On our second day we went on a "West Highlands Castles and Lochs" tour with Rabbies. Not only was our tourguide, Tony, capable and funny, but he could do a dead-on Sean Connery. You may recognize this as the castle defended by the insulting Frenchmen in Monty Python's 'Holy Grail.' The lady at the gift shop has a basket of coconut shells for fan photos.

etymology note: Tony suggested, and I'm not sure if this is true, that it was at this location, on the banks of the River Teith (pronounced 'teeth') where the lairds of the castle used to require men to leave their swords and knives and from where we get the phrase "armed to the teeth."

Hello, Dolly!

2007-04-05T16:37:00.000Z

We arrived in Edinburgh having flown from Birmingham Airport. Our train tickets from Oxford to Birmingham International on Virgin Rail were twice as expensive as our tickets to Edinburgh on BMI Baby. Not living close to London we have not had occasion to use RyanAir, but the phenomenon of cheap air travel in this country is amazing. Our tickets cost £10.99. Tickets at a slightly earlier time cost £7.99, but I thought it would be better to sleep in and not rush.

We had just enough time for a walk around the National Museum of Scotland before it closed. They are "two iconic buildings one great museum". On one side is the complete history of the country in seven stories- including the formation of the earth and the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. On the other is a Victorian light-filled nave of science and industry. On this side we found an exhibit of Art and Industry that spoke directly to my heart. It was a small exhibit, one large room, filled with objects that typify the height of design and industry of their age.

It is unclear whether or not this is the real Dolly of cloned fame. I believe it is. Jason disagrees. Either way...she is on a strange rotating plinth complete with a few pebbles of sheep poop (not pictured).

After the museum, but before the sun set and subzero temperatures set in, we had our usual walkabout. We split up from Bunny and George for a little while, walked up the many stairs to the castle and met for dinner, in its shadow, at The Lot. The food was comforting and the wine was better. I'm disappointed we didn't get to hear any music tat night. It is also a great venue, or so I've read, for jazz and traditional Scottish music.

Snowshill Manor

2007-03-29T17:47:00.000Z

A man, Charles Paget Wade, and his collection, Snowshill Manor.

Photographs weren't allowed inside the house so I can't bring you images of the figures meticulously carved out of bones from rations received by German POWs, antique toys, or vast collection of bicycles. After inheriting a small fortune Mr. Wade amassed a collection of craftmanship. He travelled far, but mostly near, to find interesting and beautiful things made with care and by hand.

His manor is a museum almost, but not quite, cluttered with uniquities where nothing is labeled. Rather, each object must be sought out and discovered. We learned from a guide that he and his friends, who included luminaries like Virginia Woolf and Graham Greene, would come to stay and stage plays wearing Wade's seemingly limitless costume collection.

quaint villages quiet lanes

2007-03-28T17:23:00.000Z

These photos are sort of "a dog's breakfast" a lovely little phrase we learned on our tour outside of Dublin. They include several villages with wonderful names like Northleach, Painswick, Chipping Camden and Upper and Lower Slaughter.

There are about a million things to be learned and observed in this part of the country. The scenery is, while not breathtaking then, daydream provoking. I can't get enough of the creeping flowering vines and, like toddlers, we call out each new sheep! pony! and swan! There is a footpath- there are many footpaths- that meander through the land, both private and public. One wishes one had time, a backpack, and a good pair of shoes.

First stop Woodstock

2007-03-28T16:30:00.000Z

The Sicklicks have arrived! They spent the latter half of the week getting used to the jet lag and the apartment noise, visited Bath and had a tour of Oxford. Jason joined us on Saturday for a weekend in the Cotswolds- and thank goodness, because he was driving.

The Cotswolds are so named because they are wolds (a range of hills consisting of open country overlying limestone or chalk) where there are cots (A small inclosure for sheep; a pen; a fold). These sheep belong to the Duke of Marlborough and reside at Blenheim Palace. Blenheim Palace is, even if you are palaced-out, as you tend to become when making driving tours of the English countryside, not to be missed. They have more authentic period French furniture than Versailles (and they don't hesitate to tell you as much) and grounds that would turn any Vanderbilt green with envy, as I'm sure it did when the 9th duke married one (for her money) in 1895.

It reminded me of Biltmore. I suppose Olmstead had to get his ideas somewhere...

I love the smell of hops in morning...

2007-03-26T16:03:00.000Z

On our last day, we took one of those hop-on-hop-off double-decker bus tours of the city. Like good tourists we took a photo of Molly Malone and went on a tour of the Guinness Brewery. I must admit- it was very cool. The interior atrium is shaped like lateral cross-sections of a curvy Guinness glass, and down on the first floor of the exhibit, where they introduce you to the ingredients, you walk underneath a glass-topped beautifully loud and crashing waterfall.

loughs of wickow county

2007-03-26T15:47:00.000Z

We got out of town on Saturday and took a day trip of Wicklow County. Even though Ireland wasn't as green as I'm sure it gets in later months, it was celtic-ly picturesque full of sheep, brooks, and round towers.

These are the tower and one of the chapels at Glendalough, (pronounced "glen-da-lock") a 7th century monastry.

gaelic or sicklick?

2007-03-26T08:22:00.000Z

We travelled to Ireland this weekend and learned a host of new Gaelic words. 'Sally' means 'willow' and 'beg' (pronounced bey-og) means 'small'. 'Tay,' not surprisingly, is 'tea' and 'baile' (anglicized as 'bally') means 'city.' Hearing it spoken on the grounds of Trinity College and in the streets of the Temple Bar like stanzas from a Tokien novel made me want to read a language geneology, if there is such a thing.

It was, perhaps, not the best weekend to travel to Dublin. The plane flight was, as Jason put it, a "sausage fest" as Ireland was playing Wales in a World Cup Qualifier. Large groups of men were, some of them already smelling of the bar, loud and all dressed alike in the check-in line at the Birmingham International Airport.

Jason took the day off on Friday and we arrived early, for us, in Dublin, checked in to our swanky hotel, and did our usual apres lunch recon city walk. We had dinner at, of all places, an Indonesian place that was almost, but not quite, completely tasteless.

On Saturday we took a day tour to Wicklow County.

sometimes it snows in March

2007-03-22T10:14:00.000Z

We woke up to snow again this morning.

Groaty Pudding

2007-03-17T20:22:00.000Z

A few weeks ago, when my parents were in town, I was going to cook dinner for the four of us. I checked online to find some possible recipes that included some of the ingredients we already had in our fridge from the veg delivery and found a recipe for kasha with toasted walnuts and onions. Jason loves kasha and I thought it would make a good side to roasted fish and fennel. I got up early and left to check the markets around our flat for kasha. There was not one kernel of barley to be found. Not at Sainsbury's not at Harrods2 not at Holland and Barret, a healthfood store, not at Marks and Spencer. Turns out I was looking in the wrong place.

This afternoon, post call, we were flipping around on the television and settled on Saturday Kitchen a show on BBC 2 about, you guessed it, cooking. One segment showed Keith Floyd in the Black Country learning how to make a dish called groaty pudding. Groaty pudding is a dish made with meat, onions, leeks, beef broth, and groats or kasha, as they're (apparently erroneously) called in America. They've been making this dish for hundreds of years. You put all these things in a pot and bake them, at a very low temperature, for 16 hours. Okay, so you're asking yourself, "Self, why is she telling me this?"

The most important thing I learned from Mr. Floyd...turns out the place to buy groats here in England?

The pet store.

Carfax Tower

2007-03-15T15:22:00.000Z

This weekend we had a little car trouble- our car wasn't using all the gas and instead sending fumes into the body of the car making us dizzy and sick. So instead of driving to Wales, as we had planned, we got the car fitted for an immobiliser and took it to the VW dealer for an overhaul. It was a beautiful weekend to walk and Oxford was teeming with people.

Mallard royalty

2007-03-15T14:55:00.000Z

Every afternoon the Duke and Duchess Duck join us for tea.

This is not Spinal Tap

2007-03-06T22:30:00.000Z

Our trip to Stonehenge and Avesbury was amazing. Not really amazing in a Celtic otherwordly put on your cloaks and dance around the bonefire amazing, more like our tour guide was incredibly knowledgeable and we learned a whole lot about an ancient and mysterious place kind of amazing. And the day could not have been more beautiful.

Those stones in the middle photo- Stones of Fertility.

Guests

2007-03-06T15:02:00.000Z

For the past two weeks we have had guests, or rather, they have had us as I have been staying in London in their flat. My parents have come for a visit to a somewhat soggy city and the four, sometimes three of us have toured, visited, watched, and enjoyed. All photos of London and environs were taken by my talented father.

The flat was in a perfect location in Knightsbridge three blocks from Harrods

and between two very close tube stops.

Being in London was a welcome change to the quiet and, sometimes, solitude of Headington. I suppose you can take a girl out of the city...

kooking kvetch

2007-02-13T15:55:00.000Z

We got another veg box today. It a bit larger than the last one. We nixed the potatoes because Jason doesn't eat them, but pretty much everything else is the same plus some leeks, carrots, and a big turnip or (swede as they're called here). I, not thinking ahead, I suppose, did not bring a blender (or any ricing implement) or a roasting pan or a cutting board or a soup pot. I'm sure there are more things I didn't bring, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind. We have purchased a soup pot and a cutting board- worth it if only for the amazing apple sauce that is both condiment and dessert.

Recipes that include root vegetables, like those that have been delivered to our door, but do not include a roasting pan or a blender (or a dutch oven I have found) are hard to find. We eat a lot of soup. Big Thick Meaty Lentily Root Vegetabley soup. This is due in large part to the fact that, in addition to the acquisition of our soup pot, I now have a mastery of the stove top. I am, however, still working on the ovens.

The grill, on the right, is easy enough to understand. Its temperature is measured in Celsius and it acts like a broiler. It is not connected to the little red light below, so I have no idea when it is actually hot save sticking in my hand. Since, for some reason, it only works when the door is open, this is very simple. We use it primarily for the inexact science of toasting bread and making our frozen pizzas (2 for 3 pounds) brown and bubbly on top. The fan oven, on the left, is connected to the red light. This would be very handy if I had any idea to what temperature the STUPID NUMBERS ON THE DIAL corresponded. We have learned, through burned crusts and black vegetables, that the '6' is in fact the least hot while '1' is the most hot (opposite of the stove top).

So, if anyone has any good recipes for soupish or sauteed root vegetabley dishes with leeks and turnips please send them along.

Oh...and tomorrow I am going to my first Coffee Morning with the wives. I can't wait!

look kids...big ben, parliament

2007-02-13T15:19:00.000Z

This past weekend we had planned a driving trip to Wales. Unfortunately, it snowed in Wales and, seeing as Brits have a hard time driving in weather (see funny thing happened on the way to Sheffield) we decided on a day trip to see "classic" London.

This, of course included.

Parliament

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey (which we didn't enter because, as one wise gentleman said, "eye ain' piein' ten quid to gow innoo ah chuch.")

and the Tower Bridge (with the "erotic gherkin" in the background).

We took a long meandering walk along the Thames past museums and sites to which we'll return when we're doing our "museum and site" London day trip. Jason said, "Lets go this way," and we came upon the Borough Market. It was teeming and aromatic and crowded and wonderful. We found coffee worth standing in line for and brownies made from "O" chocolate. (that would be chocolate that makes you groan "oooooohhhh" when you bite into it)

In the evening we walked around Covent Garden and through the theater district. In keeping with the theme of the day, we went to a pub for dinner and each had a beer and a pot pie.

to round or not to round...

2007-02-11T12:36:00.001Z

Getting to know the British NHS (National Health System) has been intriguing. We start late, take coffee breaks during rounds and prioritize. Ward rounds can take a back seat to more pressing issues. We are not lacking in patients or work. Over the last week we admitted more than 40 new patients to our firm. We start seeing patients each day at 8.00 (vs 6 back home) so, ward rounds can often linger late into the morning.

On Friday our firm gave grand rounds so we started ward rounds a little late. At 9.30 we mosied up to the floors to start. Intermittently the consultant (equivalent of an attending), Mr. Maynard, would split off to check a computer on the floor. He wasn't interested in lab results, radiological studies, or email...he was checking the score of the England versus Australia cricket match. Come 10.30, even though we still had four patients to see, Mr. Maynard was done. It was much more important to enlighten me about the nuances of cricket and its many points of superiority over American baseball. The entire team (Mr. Maynard, the house officer (intern), three medical students and myself) promptly left the wards to watch the match in the Doctor's Mess.

By the time the last few bowls were left for the English, it was a four point game. More and more teams poured in to watch. By the end, there were at least 30 people crowded around the tele cheering and commentating. Having lost every game in Australia last month at the 5 day cricket Test Match, the mere promise of a victory kept the room hopping. With three bowls left, the English won! The room errupted and then reluctantly drained back to work.

Back home, the World Series or the Superbowl wouldn't be enough to stop rounds!

fahst and furious

2007-02-11T08:54:00.000Z

Interesting note on the alarm/immobiliser front. I called and e-mailed and it turns out that we DO have an immobiliser. Phew! However, because it was not fitted by a VSIB authorised fitter, Norwich Union will not insure against theft. We have to take it to an audio store (what I wouldn't do for a Best Buy right about now) and have them stamp a little sheet of paper indicating that it was fitted properly.

When I inquired,"Are people regularly in the habit of stealing 13-year old cars?"
The agent replied, "Well, no but the Golf GTI...it's...em- a boy racer car."

Who knew??! Now I can finally learn how to do the Tokyo Drift. (See The Fast and the Furious part (I-can't-believe-we-made-another-one-of-these) III)

Or, if you know him...just ask Derek.

The bakery we found

2007-02-09T12:09:00.000Z

Have I mentioned the bakery we found down in Cowley? It is literally the front room of a woman's house in the middle of a residential street. I opened the front door and she came in from her den, the tv was on and her son was asking for help drawing some letters in crayon. The counter was still covered in warm white and brown bread in several varieties. She wraped a 'cowley crunch' for me, said, "thank you, my love," and returned to help her son with the drawing. It's really wonderful.

okay...

2007-02-08T16:46:00.000Z

I was running a couple of days ago and took a side street and I came across this painted on the side of a semi-detached house off the park. I don't know if you can read all of the writing. It reads:

Before the last tree has died.
Before the last river has been poisened
And the last fish has been caught...
Will he realize that we cannot eat money.

In the place of George Washington there is a likeness of George Washington Bush.

I was nonplussed at first, being a little bit frightened of living in the midst of such anti-American sentiment. But I can't really dissagree...

pretty pretties...

2007-02-08T16:41:00.000Z

These are just some photos I took on my way to the bakery this morning. Thought they were cliche ahem... picturesque.

what a difference a day makes...

2007-02-08T16:05:00.000Z

here we go now to the hardware store...

2007-02-08T15:48:00.000Z

Last week we blew out the extension cord that powers our washer and drier. While Jason was working, I walked the mile or so to our version of Home Depot. I can't, for the life of me, remember the name because we just call it 'home depot' even though its not. My point here is that this...

is my walk. Not that it is particularly pretty in winter, but it is refreshing that there are marked public footpaths (as well as bike routes) which bypass busy streets and cut unobtrusively through small groves of trees, marshy fields and, in our case, a bucolic golf course. It's a brilliant way to discover the nooks and crannies of our neighborhood.

good bye and thank you!

2007-01-31T11:44:00.000Z

Okay, when is it appropriate to say, "cheers!"? and how long before I feel as though I have earned the right to use it (and not sound like a silly poser)?

organic

2007-01-30T16:11:00.000Z

Our organic fruit and veg came today along with a litre of milk, some garlic, organic soy milk (for me) and some porrige oats. I got the small mixed box that had four veg and three fruit. This was our choice this week:

The brown bag has "conversion apples" in it. Those are apples from a farm that is in the process of becoming organic. Sadly, I made apple sauce yesterday (and it turned out deliciously, thank you). But many of the recipes for parsnips seem to have apples in them as well. We'll have to hone our choices on the web and see what comes in the next box.

Put down that spoon!

2007-01-30T09:52:00.001Z

As I lay on the couch yesterday listening to This American Life podcast and eating Nutella with a spoon I thought, thank goodness I'm not still in my pjs at 2.47 pm or this could really be pathetic.

I also was wondering if my little study break treat and those tasty little digestives were filling my body with transfats. So, as always, I turned to Google. It turns out that McVities, the makers of digestives, in a response to public outcry has removed transfats from their biscuit dough. Less than a week after the release of a study confirming the evils of trans fats in August of last year Sainsbury's, maker of tasty aforementioned Indian dinner for two, as well as Tesco, another major supermarket chain, pledged to remove all trans fats from all of their products by the beginning of this month.

Why haven't our markets jumped on this bandwagon? More importantly, why haven't our citizens taken up this battle cry? Trans fats have been proven to be evil and yet most processed products, which means most products in the US, contain them. Good for you, Michael Bloomberg, for stepping up.

The internet is not so consistent about Nutella. Some sites say that it is amazingly trans fat full. One page cites a study of 50 processed foods whose authors listed Nutella as in the top ten. But seek and ye shall find...A story published just a few weeks ago in the the Columbia Spectator indicates that Nutella passes the NY ban on trans fats. Is Mr. Bloomberg's ban incredibly weak? Either way I should probably put down my spoon.

shopping on the left side of the aisle

2007-01-29T09:37:00.000Z

I am a nuisance at the market. I realize that they drive on the left side of the road, and ergo, I suppose, they must conduct all locomotion in the same fashion. I still find myself in head on collisions with grocery trolleys in the 'teatime' section of the supermarket.

Yesterday, we did a little shopping and discovered, among other things a full indian meal for two in a box. See below:

It is the supermarket generic brand, our supermarket of the weekend having been Sainsbury's, and it was amazingly good. Not only was it tasty and a little bit spicy (of course not nose-runningly spicy preferred by Jason) but it was also less than $20. And there is more than enough for dinner tonight.

As we put our dinner in a box on the conveyor belt Jason dryly said, "happy anniversary." We've been married for 8 months. And just in time to celebrate, we should be receiving Jason's replacement wedding band that he misplaced on the plane on our transatlantic flight.

our "new" car

2007-01-27T10:57:00.000Z

Our "new" 1995 Golf GTI resplendent in the mottled sunshine of Saturday morning.

We bought this lovely car for about $3000. It runs better than the old one and it isn't crashed, which is a huge plus. Strangely, the insurance company won't insure it unless it has an alarm and an immobiliser. In addition, its a "more powerful" car (thanks GTI) so the insurance has increased.

curses to you Alexander Grant!

2007-01-26T13:19:00.000Z

I will weigh 400 lbs when I return to America. The chocolate digestive biscuit will be the death of me.

form doesn't always follow function

2007-01-26T10:02:00.000Z

recon

2007-01-26T09:13:00.000Z

I took a walk into town on this cold but beautifully clear day.

This is a big park between our flat and the city center. I'm sure it has a name, but I don't know it yet.

I was actually looking for an organic deli I found on one of the websites we discovered in a chinese take-away place. Its low-tech, but extremely informative. It has list of places to shop for food and the locations of lcoal farmers' markets. On Tuesday of next week we are going to try organic veg delivery. It isn't more expensive than the supermarket and it requires neither the gas nor Jason's consternation with driving (at which he is excellent). I will let you know how it goes.

I am struck daily by the growing insistence on sustainability. (I learned about the Eden Project , built by Grimshaw, at a sustainability conference back in May...I'd like to visit) Interspersed in the media among all the stories about "Celebrity Big Brother" are stories about the harm Britain's dependence on air travel is doing to the environment or the number of large corporations that have pledged carbon neutrality in the coming years. Every morning show has a guest speaking on the benefits of locally grown produce. Even in the big supermarkets there are Union Jacks on UK products. It is clearly typed on the package that these mushrooms were grown in Somerset.

Incidentally, see then little green '5' in the corner? That is a label indicating the one serving of mushrooms fulfills one serving of the "five a day": servings of fruits and vegetabls one should get every day. The lentils I bought last week had a logo telling me they were good for the lower GI.

If we had slept at all last night I would have some lucid observation to make about this. When the constant Stomp-like banging of the pipes stops and the building next to us decides to open the windows when they cook instead of setting off the fire alarm from 7-9.30 pm I might have something to say that is pithier than- I think we are way behind.

first snow

2007-01-24T08:32:00.000Z

we woke up to snow this morning.

Paris whirlwind

2007-01-22T15:19:00.000Z

First class all the way..

2007-01-19T13:19:00.000Z

our first course

We have to leave the country so that Jason can come back into the country with his new visa. France is easiest and Jason has never been to the top of the Eiffel Tower so we boarded a train in Oxford to London and took the tube to Waterloo to try and buy tickets on the Eurostar to Paris. Not having reserved in advance we were holding our collective breath. Turns out the only tickets left were in first class, go figure. They were half the price of the 2nd class tickets and thank goodness because it was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable train rides we’ve ever had. Facing eachother with a little table between we shared an amazing four-course meal with wine and chocolate.

Funny thing happened on the way to Sheffield

2007-01-19T12:30:00.000Z

Jason’s visa finally came through! Thursday morning a woman called for Jason regarding the visa. I spent a frantic 20 minutes figuring out how to bleep him thinking that something else had gone wrong. It turned out that the paperwork was done and we could pick it up- in Sheffield

The DfES, Department for Education and Skills, closed at 5.00 and the train got us there at 4.38. Thinking it would be a long but potentially pretty drive we decided to drive. Turns out, either way we were screwed.

Storm Kryill lifted roofs off of homes, turned lorries on their sides, and blew down brick walls. There was footage of Dutch people being blown off their bicycles and stranded boats being blown out to sea. It was the worst windstorm to hit Britain in a decade with winds up to 100mph. It was on this day that it took us 7 hours- 7 HOURS – to drive 147 miles to Sheffield. We didn’t make it by 5.00.

The traffic was unfathomable. At one point the entire highway was shut down in both directions. No idea why. It just was. At another point we were stop-and-go for 2.5 hours for no reason that we could discern. It was pouring in Sheffield and, as luck would have it, there were conferences. Three hotels later, drenched and without toothbrushes, we got a hotel room at the swankiest hotel in town.

By 8ish we had borrowed toothbrushes from the front desk and gone in search of dinner. On a seemingly deserted street we found an Ethio-Cuban restaurant.

Did you know there was such a thing? It was surprisingly good. BUT the BEST part of the day. I found my new favorite tv show. Its “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” meets “Who’s Line” meets “Daily Show.” Mock the Week- the best show on BBC 2. Ever wonder where John Oliver came from????

In the morning we walked to the DfES and pretended not to know eachother because it is illegal for Jason to have any dependents. At 9.05 they came downstairs to have him sign his shiny new visa and, wait a second, wouldn’t you know it..the passport number was incorrect. At 9.45 Jason finallysigned off and we were able to go home.

The drive home took 2.5 hours. That’s it. No traffic. No closures. Nothing.

blustery day

2007-01-18T09:56:00.000Z

(this was written before we got he phone call from the woman in Sheffield)

From: Winnie The Pooh and the Blustery Day
Written by: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Performed by: Sterling Holloway [Pooh]

Hum dum dum ditty dum
Hum dum dum

Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily
And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it's rather safe to say
That it seems that it may turn out to be
It feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today
It sounds that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
Looks like a rather blustery day today

Boxes!

2007-01-12T08:28:00.000Z

Our boxes finally arrived today. 11 boxes full of clothes and things from Cosco. and peanut butter.

TEN pots of peanut butter.

2007-01-07T13:34:00.000Z

Jason's paperwork has been delayed again because of incorrect signatures.

a warm shower

2007-01-04T08:41:00.000Z

We got hot water today.

the first day of work

2007-01-02T15:11:00.000Z

Jason was supposed to start working today, but just before we got here the HR dept. at the hospital was informed that he needed a visa. The paperwork has been started and signatures are being gathered, but until such time as he gets a visa, Jason is a "Nonclinical Observer" and can only shadow people and figure out where in the hospital has the best tea.

On another immigration note. If you ever come to live in England for 6 months don't bring your new bike. It cost me nearly $300 to import my bike because I hadn't owned it for more than 6 months. Strange rule that I don't understand. I think I could have bought a used one here for less. Live and learn.

the Zurich Flughafen

2007-01-01T15:08:00.000Z

So, we are sitting in a dark terminal waiting for our gate to open and watching the tourism tv over and over again. I suppose we should have read the guidebooks maybe, but it seems that we were supposed to wait out in the mall until an hour before our flight and, only then, venture to our gate. The lights are off and the only people around are two cleaning women and some little girls who are playing in the playground at this gate.

Did you know that Switzerland has four official languages? I had never even heard of Romantsche. Romanish?

Cold Whooping Swiss

2006-12-31T15:06:00.000Z

On New Year's Eve Day we went to Lucerne and it turned out to be one of our favorite cities. We took a short tour of the glacier garden. It was interesting, but not terribly well curated which is strange because it has been a museum for over 100 years.

We lunched on the banks of Lake Lucerne on food we had pilfered from breakfast. Especially creative, Jason made dessert of open-faced Nutella and banana on challah sandwiches.

We walked over the Kapellbrucke a 14th century wooden bridge and saw crazy swiss people jumping into frigid water austensibly to celebrate the new year. They were whooping and sharing champagne. We weren't sure if they were whooping in celebration or chill.

The city is ringed by a medieval wall with sporatic watchtowers. We walked along the wall, but the towers were closed for the winter. High on the top of the hill there was an amazing view of the city. I can't figure out how to post video so when we film one I'm going to upload it to YouTube.

Most of the stores were closed for New Year's Eve, but the window shopping was still good. People in Switzerland must have a lot of liquid capitol. There are more collectibles stores there than anywhere else that we've been. There were philatelist's shops, numismatist's shops (yeah, just wanted to use those words), art galleries, shops that sold music boxes, musical instruments, doll house furniture, antique maps...

I feel sorry for the bears

2006-12-30T15:06:00.000Z

Berne is a lovely city, but whats up with the fat caged bears? It made me kind of sad to see the bears sitting in their little habitats catching carrots in thier mouths. I didn't want to take a picture because somehow that was, in itself, supporting this sad spectacle.

Mostly we walked around the city and along the river. We tried to see Einstein's House, but it was closed for the winter. For lunch we had the most expensive street tacos in the universe. I think three tacos were something like $10 or $12. Perhaps we hadn't dressed warmly enough, but by the midafternoon we were freezing, literally. I don't think either of us could feel our toes. At one point we stood in the foyer of a modern art exhibit just so we could defrost our feet on the baseboard heater.

On the train ride home, while reading all the tourist flyers, I realized we had missed what could have been the highlight of our trip. The Paul Klee Museum. Live and learn.

Zurich

2006-12-29T14:31:00.000Z

We got to Zurich between noon and one, found our hotel and discovered the city. On the train to St. Anton we met a couple, Jeff and Claire, from Houston who lived in Zurich. They had just returned from skiing and gave us a bunch of great recommendations of places to eat and things to do. For dinner we found the brat stand they recommended across from the Bellevue tram station and it was awesome as advertised.

Jason was nervous the entire afternoon until we figured out the exchange rate. The dollar is very close to the Swiss frank, but things are insanely expensive. A soda is SFr 5. It seems as though there are sex shops everywhere. Maybe its just where Jason and I happen to hang out, but the posters are nasty and plentiful.

On top of the city, at Lindenhof on a site that used to be a Roman fort, are a bunch of chess boards and old guys playing chess.

a little Calatrava train station

The wonder of a good bubblebath....

2006-12-28T13:22:00.000Z

our hotel with the mountains in the background.

Jason skied in the morning and in the afternoon we walked and took pictures. As I mentioned before there isn’t much snow. I can imagine how beautiful this place is when it is covered in a thick blanket of white. It would also be incredible in the summer. I think we will take a spring trip to the lake region. We’ll be able to see the Alps in green and the lakes on our way to Italy.

Shaken but not stirred

2006-12-27T11:13:00.000Z

Jason and I went skiing in the morning to ascertain whether or not it would be prudent for me to get a lesson or if I was truly not as bad as I thought, and later turned out to be. I haven’t skied, I think, since my mother and I went to Whistler for a day in high school. Jason skied 5 years ago. Granted, it was in the Poconos, but he skied nonetheless. Due to an unusally mild winter here the slopes are icy and new snow is being made all the time. This snow is wet, compact, and it sticks to your glasses as you ski by.

There are three levels of sane skiing here and two levels of insane skiing. Blue is beginner, red is intermediate and black is black-diamond. These are ski runs. There are also ski routes, red-diamond and red-diamond with a black outline marked by a dotted rather than solid line. These trails are neither patrolled nor avalanche proof. There are also Alpine routes marked by a dashed dotted line on the map. They require an authorized guide. I believe there are also three helicopter drop places. Beginner doesn't necessarily mean easy. Nevertheless, lines of little kids in jumpers and vests slalom down the slope making long helmeted snakes, jumping over moguls and crashing into eachother. No fear.

The first time down the hill was fine. One section (blue run 4) was scary, because it was narrow, steep, and icy, but there were only a few people on it. The second time, people were perched at the top, afraid to go down. It was peppered with beginners who were sliding down sideways taking all the top man-made snow with them and leaving even more ice for those hesitating at the top. I am afraid of ice, but I am more afraid of people who stop for no reason right in front of me. I am no Pekabo and I can neither turn nor stop on a dime. But Jason, who (have I mentioned) is awesome, was waiting for me at the bottom of the narrow death trap so I tried actually skiing on my skis, instead of my butt, down the hill. That was my first mistake.

About half way down I hesitated (second mistake), slipped and fell- tips uphill ass downhill- and proceeded to slide. I threw out my hands like grappling hooks in an attempt to slow or even stop. Icy snow came away like nothing and I continued to slide over the edge, head first, into a snowy 15 foot ravine. Parts of the rocky side peeked out and in a moment of clarity I thrust my arm out in front of me figuring a broken arm would be far better than a broken head. Luckily, I hit neither arm nor head and came to a stop at the bottom. I had left only my pride and one pole on the hill above. A woman who had seen me fall brought my pole to Jason as she skied past. Shaken, but not stirred, I walked back to the run and we skied down the mountain. At the bottom we signed up for an afternoon lesson.

St. Anton

2006-12-26T11:39:00.000Z

The village is concurrently quaint and kind of macho. The excitement of sweat and athleticism pervades the air as bands of fleece-clad people swagger past still in their boots carrying their skis or boards. Not only the ski instructors, but also all kinds of other people wear uniform-like outfits of bright colors and stripes that make them look fast even in clunky ski boots. Of course, I just looked out the window and a guy clicked by in a Packers jersey and yesterday there was a group of skiers in cow costumes. But, when we checked in Brigitte Falch, the owner of the hotel, was suggesting restaurants to us and, in response to my comment that we weren’t dressed for a fancy dinner, said that we were in a ‘sport resort’ and that it was generally come-as-you-are. Sport resort is a phase that captures the feeling of the place. Everyone is here to do something. It feels the way I might expect an Olympic village to feel only muted- and I don’t think there are little kids with tiny little skis and bright yellow vests making their serpentine way down those slopes
.
The hotel is gorgeous. It is all wood and glass and clean rectilinear surfaces with sliding walls and sliding glass doors and deep white bathtubs that slope on both sides and fill in the middle. The ceiling in the lobby is plywood and our beds are modern planes of goose-filled cream puffs. After all the problems and wasted money and self-deprecation about this trip, this particular waste of money was well worth it.

Nosebleed seats..still a good deal

2006-12-25T23:30:00.000Z

The Opera House was premiering a ballet that night so we decided to go and check out the nosebleed seats. Not a bad view and we learned a new trick. I took the aisle space. I could sit down, as long as my feet weren't on the stairs, and watch down the aisle.

After the show we had Sacher Torte at the Sacher Hotel. Where else?

an evening with Napoleon

2006-12-25T22:30:00.000Z

The Christmas market was abandoned, but behind the stalls in front of the French consulate was this whimsical staue. In fact, there were whimsical statues throughout the old city. There was one of a man with a hardhat emerging from a manhole. We didn't photograph any of the others as there was often a line to do so. But this one, secreted behind the silent stalls seemed like a find.

The Fruits of Communism...

2006-12-25T21:15:00.000Z

Across the Danube, stretching to the horizon, lay rows and rows of, dare I say, ugly mid-rise something. Is it housing? It is office space? Is it industry? We don't know.

And on this side something was on fire. We had to take a picture. We're American tourists.

Christmas in Bratislava

2006-12-25T18:29:00.000Z

Have I mentioned how difficult it is to travel around Christmas? I used to travel on Christmas Eve with my family. On our way to Taos or Palm Springs I remember thinking how it was probably the only night of the year that there was a 45-minute wait at Denny's.

On Christmas we went to Bratislava. It was closed. I don’t think it would been such a disappointment except for the fact that it was really cute. Or at least, I think it was really cute. It appeared to be really cute. The only places that were open to eat served salty fried tourist food for twice the price of real food. The restaurant Lauren suggested was insultingly closed. The weather didn’t cooperate and kept us from going to Devin castle (Hrad), the one castle that Lauren said was worth the trip. Each day presents a new opportunity to begin again and enjoy the adventure of the day. And sometimes it feels as if each day I fail miserably at making the most of it

Half Days

2006-12-24T17:51:00.000Z

Perhaps the key to touring on Christmas Eve is to experience a culture where they open presents on Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve. Austria closed early on Christmas eve. We walked around a bit, visited a castle or two, walked around the Museum Quartier (most of which was unfortunately closed), spent an hour or so perusing the Ancient Egypt and Hellenic section of the Natural History Museum (until they kicked us out), and then spent a good portion of the evening trying to find dinner. We ended up going to Weinerwald. Thank goodness for Lauren.

Vienna Nacht Streetscape

2006-12-23T17:28:00.000Z

Scarves only!!!

2006-12-23T17:12:00.000Z

There are some super secret double probation methods to getting a good standing room space at the opera. We learned them the hard way (Jason with constant elbows to the ribs from some woman who was sharing a space with her friend) and I will share them with you now.

1. Go early with at least one friend.
2. Bring something, NOT a sweater, that can be tied to the railing to mark your place. NOT a sweater. You may bring a string, a scarf, a hair extension but NOT a sweater. And you may NOT save more than one space with one hangy item.
3. Once you have chosen your price range (2.50 or 3.00 Euro- 3.00 is for the floor and 2.50 is for the nose bleeds) give your coat to your friend. You may not take your coat into the house. Have them check it in while you run dont walk to the location your space.
4. Be "Filene's Basement on wedding dress day" tough.
5. Push your way to the best seat possible. Tie your scarf, string, hair extension onto the railing at your given space and then wait.

Best thing about spending less than $5 on an opera ticket: you feel absolutely no compunction about leaving at halftime.

Heisse Maroni

2006-12-23T10:55:00.000Z

Our hotel was perfect. It could not have been better situated. It was half a block from the Naschmarkt (where Jason and I ate dripping donner kebobs (gyros) while standing at the end of the block before the concert the night before) and no more than 5 minutes from most everything in downtown Vienna.

Today we went to the Schoenbrunn Schloss the winter palace of the Hapsburgs.

In the courtyard we sampled the most traditional Christkindlmarkt in Vienna but by no means the largest. I am almost embarassed to say that the entire time we were in Austria we never sampled the punsch. We aren't really big drinkers but given Jasons love of Manishevitz I think he might have really enjoyed a mug or two.

Later that afternoon, both in order to defrost a little and to learn a thing or two, we took a tour of the Opera House.

The stage is only dark two nights during the season: Christmas Eve and March 26 (something to do with Mahler- neither the anniversary of his birth or death though. I should have been listening more closely during the tour). They produce a different opera or ballet every single night. Jason and I decided to buy standing room tickets, the best deal in Europe by the way, later that night. They were doing Romeo and Juliet and we thought it was worth 2.50 Euro.

We stayed close and went only a block or two to the Albertina because our guide said that people start lining up for standing room seats at least an hour before the show. There was a Warhol exhibit and a strange Picasso exhibit of, what I can only describe as, his pubic hair and asshole period.

Nacht im Vienna

2006-12-22T17:34:00.000Z

Our first night in Vienna we saw "Christmas in Vienna." Yes, I know we are Jewish, but I thought seeing the Vienna Boys Choir do their thing in the season and the city where they most appropriately do it, would be a cool experience....and they didn't make us pray.

We should have known

2006-12-22T12:43:00.000Z

We had to leave at 3.15 in order to catch our 7.15 flight to Vienna. The news was reporting that 90% of flights within the UK were being cancelled because of the fog, but Lufthansa assured us that our flight was going to board. The news was creating, as much as reporting on, the FRENZY at the airport. Police were guarding all the terminal doors and only admiting people one hour before their flights even though the airlines were telling people to arrive at least 2 hours early.

The entire island was fogged in, the 3.45 airport bus was full. FULL...at 3.45 in the morning. The bus driver had no sympathy and mentioned that there would be another bus "soon". His nonchalance was annoying. I wish we had taken a photo of the MAYHEM that was Terminal 2. There were lines snaking back and forth six or seven deep going the length of a very long room. People with skis, people with children, people with frowns and gnashed teeth. Every-so-often a uniformed person would yell a flight number and 15 people would jump out of line. There were German people and British people and Irish and Georgian people...

and I had an idea.

I swerved and ducked and "excused" my way to the e-check-in terminal and checked us in. It was as easy as that- a total V-8 moment. All we had to do after that was que up in a much shorter line to check our luggage. Piece of cake!

we arrive in Vienna.

Our trip to the GMC

2006-12-21T17:23:00.000Z

Before we go away we have to visit the General Medical Council so that Jason can get 'registered.' It has taken lots of paper work and furrowed brows, but we get to see a little of London along the way.

This is the car that Dave crashed...

2006-12-20T12:42:00.000Z

This is the car we inherited: a 1998 Fiat Brava. Unfortunately, David had a little accident before he went back to the states. It drove fine except for the flat tire and the strange noises, but the insurance company wouldn't insure it. So, when we get back we'll look for a new one.

We arrived!

2006-12-19T16:48:00.000Z

Our flat, flat 26, is on the first floor. We live on the hospital grounds right across the street from the back of Churchill Hospital. The hospital was built in 1940 to serve as Emergency Medical Services for air raid casualties. In 1993 Churchill merged with John Radcliff Hospital (the JR) to become Churchill John Radcliffe Hospital. It is at the JR where Jason spends most of his time.

We have no hot water but thankfully we are going on a little trip before Jason starts and we'll only have to take cold showers for a few days.