New spots among old favorites....

So it's nearing the end of August and I am realizing how quickly time is flying by.  As I sit in the enclosed terrace of my London home listening to the rain pound on the roof I can't help but feel a bit sad thinking that my time here will end temporarily in less then a month.  It also means that I am over half way done with my pre planned travel time over here.  I am going to try not to dwell on it and tell you about all the wonderful bits that have happened this week but the reality of it is I can't help thinking about leaving and I really don't want to.  Alas life moves forward and I must go with it and make the most of every moment.  The weather has been all over the place this week which has made planning a bit difficult but that's London...you just have to go with it and always carry an umbrella and sunglasses.  The days this week have been full of new adventures and

Climbed to the top...St. Pauls Cathedral

strolling through old favorite spots discovering new parts within.  A new great spot was St. Pauls Cathedral.  I know I haven't been here in my last few trips to London and honestly can't remember if I went my very first time here years ago so I figure it's all new this time.  Thanks to a pass from Emma I was able to just walk right past the queue and into this grand building.  Just walking through it seems like just another cathedral.  I know sorry to sound like that but it has a lot of similar qualities to so many others I have seen.  My mind was changed when I went on the guided tour and got to see some of the hidden areas and hear the cool

View from the top of St. Pauls dome 

stories about all the ways it has changed over the years.  The design features...especially about the dome bit which is 3 separate layers...are really interesting.  The most impressive part about it is the 528 step climb up to the top of the dome.  So I don't really have an issue with heights or claustrophobia  however there were parts about this climb that had me a bit nervous.  There are hallways that are so thin my shoulders were almost touching the walls and I am not a big person.  There were guys climbing it that had to turn certain ways just to get through.  I had to not let my mind wander to all the what if situations that could happen.  In the end

Hay Galleria

though the climb was worth it and the views were breathtaking.  I was lucky to have a clear day to take it all in and capture some great photos.  The funny part too about looking at the city from that height is you realize how close everything really is to each other.  I was looking down and found something I had been looking for and realized I had been walking distance from it just the other day.  It has been a great reference map in my brain now.  Thank you St Pauls for my exercise for the day and my new internal city map.
Another new discovery happened when I was wondering around an area that I have been many times...Tower HIll.  I do have a slight obsession with the tower and love walking around it and the surrounding area.  This time I widened my walking perimeter and stumbled into the London Bridge area.  I think a lot of people think that the Tower Bridge is London bridge but it isn't.  As I walked farther away from Tower Bridge I was surrounded by a pop up free theater festival that was going on.  There were tons of riverside restaurants and the lovely Hay Gallery.  With it's beautiful glass ceiling and festive flags it was so inviting.  Not to mention the men in suits playing some sort of game involving balls and a sand pit it was just so alive.

Open up...boat coming through.

On the walk back towards my tube station to head home I was also able to catch a glimpse of the bridge in action.  There was this tiny little wooden boat with a really tall mast in the middle so the bridge had to open up to to let it through.  I always laugh right before the bridge is going to open because you hear the beeping warning people it's going to open and some know what it is and start to move a bit quicker...others don't and just mosey along until they do realize and panic sets in and they take off running.  It's always a sight.  Walking back across the bridge the sun was setting so I had that beautiful light hour.  It is probably 

Beautiful light on a beautiful city

my favorite time of day.  The light it spreads over a hustle and bustle city just seems to give it a calm beauty.  I am thankful that I am starting to feel so much more comfortable being alone out when it's getting dark so that I can absorb this kind of beauty.  

The final big adventure of this week was another theater experience.  Since my first trip I have wanted to go to the Old Globe Shakespeare theater here in London.  It's a thatched roof theater and stays true to the old style of theater acting and with the venue.  There are normal seats but then also there are yard tickets.  Those are the ones I wanted to experience.  It is supposedly just like the plays used to be in the time of Shakespeare where the poor would stand and the upper class had the seats.  The yard would also have lots of interaction with the actors as the would jump down and move about the crowd as the play went along.  I booked the tickets on a whim with my friend John and then he invited another friend Andrew.  John ended up not being able to come unfortunately but I met Andrew (for the first time) and we went into the play.  The venue did not disappoint and neither did the play.  You felt like you had been transported back in 

Millenium Bridge leading to the Globe Theater

time.  The roof was open at the top and the sky looked so blue I thought it was fake.   Yes I did make the comment out loud too...silly me said " I love that the roof is made to look like we are outside"  Andrew kinda looked at me funny and on cue a plane flew over.  Yes that is my stupid statement of the week....everyone feel free to have a good laugh.  Once the play started I was mesmerized.  It was all in old english but was surprisingly easy to follow.  I also knew the history of the play so that helped me keep up with the characters and storyline.  It was so great and I am totally hooked.  Can't wait to go back 

again and see something else.  The new experiences among the old has been great fun and just makes me love the city more and more.  I don't know how anyone could ever get tired of this place.                     

Rollin' with the top down...

Weekend out of the city is what the rest of my birthday week had in store. Helly, Will and I hopped a 7:00 train out of Kings Cross and sped off towards Helly's hometown of Rothbury.  We would be house sitting for her parents and exploring the countryside.  I had not been to Northern England yet so I was quite looking forward to it.  Plus I believe there is a big part of me that is a country girl at heart so spending some time in the countryside was sounding quite great after all my city time.  I do think Will was the most excited out of all of us...he couldn't stop smiling.
We found our reserved seats around a table on the train and settled in.  There was food and wine so start it off right.  We also realized that is was our half month anniversary of me being here (yes we will come up with anything to celebrate).  Kinda crazy to think that I am already half way

North Sea Beachside

  through my time here in London.  Anyway, that is for another conversation another time....let's talk about the trip.  After a 3hour train ride and a 45min taxi ride we arrived at Helly's home.  So quickly...about the taxi ride...there is a specific accent and dialect, I suppose you could say, in the north.  They even have there own words for things that I don't understand at all.  The taxi driver was trying to ask me questions and I only could get about half of it and then Helly had to translate.  Slightly embarrassing but I made it through and as the cabby said...I am a foreigner.  We arrived late so hopped right into

Dunstanburgh Castle

bed to get some rest for our big day out the next day.
The next morning we awoke to sunshine, which isn't a normal occurrence apparently, and got ready to head out on our day by the sea.  Helly's parents had so graciously allowed us to use their car so we walked out front to hop in.  Many of you know about my love of Volvos well this car we would be rolling in was a C70 convertible.  Yep, that's right, rollin' with the top down in northern England.  I did have to chuckle about the whole thing for a moment but it was awesome.  The wind in your hair and gorgeous nature all around.  We parked at

Check out the sheep posing for me!

 the castle end of the walk and headed off.  Now the plan was to get to this pub at the end of the beach before they stopped serving food so as Will and Helly said..."We had to get our shimmy on."AKA...move quickly.  As we started walking I was so happy!!  There was greenery, and beach and the sea all wrapped up into one little location.  As we rounded a curve and the Castle came into view it got even better!  There were these massive castle ruins just hanging out up on the top of the hill.  For ruins though they were pretty intact.  We didn't walk through the castle...no time..needed to get to the pub!  But really just enjoying it from the outside was quite enough.  After we passed the castle we wandered a bit closer down towards the sea and then walked the rest of the way on the sand.  I didn't take my shoes off since we were moving quickly but had plans to get in the water on the walk home.  We made it to the tiny town at the end of our walk and grabbed a table in the pub.  The food was so great and the view was beautiful.  Helly ordered a Kipper which is a smoked fish and is apparently a northern thing

Toes in the North Sea

so I tried some.  It was pretty good but a bit to strong for my taste.   before we headed back onto the beach we grabbed some ice cream for the walk.  The walk back on the beach was super relaxed.  The sun was still shining..the shoes came off and we just played.  It was great.  Now as you can see I put my toes in the water and that was ok.  The water wasn't too cold however there was no way that I would be going in all the way.  Will made the choice to get crazy and wade in then sprint back out.  It was a bit like he was in a triathlon and finishing his swimming

Go Will Go...you can do it!

part of the race.  Helly was cheering just like a good girlfriend should and I happened to capture the moment.  I think this might be my favorite photo I have taken so far this trip.  It just captures the spirit of these two, so fun and goofy together but each others biggest fans no matter what the moment is.
After will dries a bit we finished our walk and headed home to make dinner, drink wine and relax.  The night flowed along through bottles of wine, board games and card games.  There might have been some dance offs and singing but there is no proof so only the 3 of us will know the truth.

Nelly Moss Lake

Unfortunately the next day it rained.  It worked out fine though, we spent the day inside just relaxing and hanging out.  Sometimes a lazy day is just what you need.  We did venture out of the house to go to dinner at the only restaurant in town.  Yep, that's how small the town is....there is only one "nice" restaurant in town. It was really cute though.  It was in an old building with so much character.  Of course, Helly knew our waitress and her family.  I really do love small towns.  There is something comforting about everyone kinda knowing each other or knowing someone who knows them.  Dinner was

and another of Nelly Moss Lake

 delicious.  We walked home in the dark and braved some crazy stepping stones over a river and a small downpour of rain.  There were no horrible slips and I had an umbrella so the night ended well.
Our final day started a bit slow since Helly was a bit under the weather with a tooth ache.  Luckily she is friends with the town GP and got herself sorted and we headed out to another nature adventure.  Cragside was the location and it has a pretty cool story.  It was originally made and landscaped with all sorts of lakes so that the huge house on the property could run by hydroelectricity.  Apparently it was the first one in

Just a bit of how beautiful it is there!

the world to be powered this way.  The grounds were beautiful.  All these lakes with lovely trails around them that you can walk.  The majority of the whole area is very much like you are right in the middle of the forest which I guess technically you are but part of it has been created not just naturally occurring.  There also are driving roads within the area too so we drove to different spots and then would walk the trails around it. There were foot bridges and park benches to walk and relax.  I did love that it wasn't so manicured everywhere that you didn't feel like you couldn't go exploring.  We edged off the trail a bit every once in a while just to see what was out there.  There was a lovely area of the landscape that was created to be the formal garden.  It was planed with all sorts of colorful flowers and succulent plants in fun designs.  In the middle of it was the clock tower that just happened to chime while we were walking through. The formal garden was quite special as was one of the other trails that Will led us down that brought us to the flumes which were the trough like things that carried the water to all the places it needed to go to provided the electricity to the house.  It was a pretty cool spot because you had to

Just making hydroelectricity

    hike down a slightly muddy and slippery bit and then as you turned a corner in this lush greenery you saw the flowing water.  So beautiful!  We walked along it for a bit then decided that we needed to play some serious games of "Pooh Sticks"  No it's not anything gross and you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking that it is.  Anyone who loved Winnie the Pooh as a kid will know what Pooh Sticks is and if you don't sorry you were deprived as a child and you should learn about it.
That pretty much was the end of our adventures that weekend.  There was a small story about half a rabbit that I have left out...if you want that one you will have to ask me about it
I had a great weekend in the countryside.  You forget how much you miss the beauty and clean air of nature until you are back in it.  I love my city time but need my countryside too.

Happy Birthday in London....

Turning another year older is inevitable.  It's going to happen to all of us each year whether we want it to or not.  I personally love birthdays and welcome each one with open arms...It may be also that I was trained early by a very wise woman (my mom) that birthdays are not just the one day....they can last at least a week if not a month!  The one I am having this year is so amazing I am going to drag it out as long as I possibly can.  I think I can make it last the whole month at the rate I am going.
Two days before my birthday Helly and I had planned to take a day trip just outside the city to visit Highclere castle.  Now for all you Downton

Picnic at Highclere castle

 Abby fans you will be insanely jealous of me right now...yep that's right this is the castle where all the filming is done.  I will talk more about that bit later but now it's back to how we got there.  We decided to hire a car for the day and Helly was super excited to drive.  On our way out the door to get the car Helly surprised me by saying this is your birthday present day so it's on me.  Sweetest surprise ever.  The drive was great...relatively uneventful with only minor direction issues.  We didn't mind the detours though because the countryside was so beautiful.  Once we arrived we parked, collected our cooler full of picnic goodies

You might recognize this view from somewhere...

and headed in.  I had tried to book us tickets to go inside the castle but because of the popularity of the castle now it was completely booked.  Our plan was just to walk the gardens and enjoy the view however when we went to get our garden tickets we just asked if they happened to have any extra castle tickets for the day and they did!  Happy birthday to me!!!  So excited to get to see the inside and outside of this beautiful place.  Walking in we were struck by the grandeur of the place.  It really is huge, beautiful and quite elegant.  We found a spot with a view and had a nice little picnic before we took our tour of the castle.  We

Just standing in  field at a castle....normal right?

 weren't allowed to take photos inside the castle. If I had you would have seen something quite unique.  The castle is still a family home which was really cool.  It is only open to the public 2 months out of the year for viewing.  As we walked through we saw beautiful old furniture, gorgeous old family paintings and then mixed in among was current family portraits.  The bedrooms had grand beds and antique side tables then on the side tables there would be a Harry Potter book.  It was such a cool mix of old and new.  I loved to see that this grand old home was still alive and well and being loved and

Just another day at a castle....loving it!

used as it should be.  We also found out while speaking with the lovely little guides in each room that when the filming takes place there they use most of the actual furniture and accessories of the household.  We saw all the rooms that are used and also heard some fun stories about all of it.  I also learned that the show is actually based loosely on the real 5th countess of the house.  I have started reading the book about her life and it is quite interesting.  She actually did turn the castle into a hospital during the war just like they do in the show. The book is written by the current countess of the house who wrote it to dig into the history of the castle.  There is something to be said for the way the english look at tradition and maintaining family heritage.  Just the way this castle is still a home and it's maintaining the family line and passing on the stories from the ones who were there before.  I just love it!  After the castle tour we just wandered around the gardens and fields and took in the views.  It was such a lovely day and I couldn't have ask for a better way to kick off my birthday week.  Day 2 of birthday week was just as good...except the weather has turned a bit.  I spent the day wandering around the Westminster area

Apple Market Covent Garden

 taking in a bit of art and culture at the Banqueting hall and the National Portrait gallery.  By the way....National Portrait gallery is (in my humble opinion) much more beautiful then the National Gallery.  There is something so beautiful and intimate about viewing portraits.  I felt like I was learning about a person and an artist every time I looked at a portrait.  Just felt more personal and special.  After the gallery I met up with Helly and we headed to the Northcote pub to meet up with a few others and have drinks to celebrate my birthday.  It was such a great night.  John, Polly, Will and Helly were there to help me ring in another year in my life.  Will also gave me maybe the best present ever.  He has set up a hunt around London for me that involves challenges and a skipping rope.  It's gonna be amazing!  The envelope with the details are sealed and I can't open it till I am at my first location.  Helly will be coming with me on this adventure and it will be occurring the last day of the month.  That's how my birthday will last the whole month!  I promise there will be a whole blog about it.  The night was lovely and in the morning began day 3 (my actual birthday) of birthday week.  This day was setting up to be maybe the best day

At the Noel Coward theater...The Cripple of Inishmaan

ever involving all my favorite things.  For starters I opened my door to a sweet card laying in front of my room from Sel, Andy and Lola (the cat) wishing me a Happy birthday!   Helly and I headed out in the morning to have a little wander around the covent garden area which was nice.  We enjoyed some lunch and a stroll through a market where we found some fun unique art.  The main event of the day was the theater.  I am a sucker for anything live and I had found some cheap tickets to the play with Daniel Radcliffe (yep...Harry Potter) in it.  It's called The Cripple of Inishmaan and if anyone is in London and has the time go see it!  It was really good.  The irish accent had me worried at the start that I wouldn't be able to understand much but I settled into it nicely and

Mr. Cat and the Jackal....check them out please!!!

really loved it.  Daniel Radcliffe is no longer Harry Potter.  He has come into his own and is an amazing theater actor.  He seems to has found his niche and I hope he sticks with it.  After the theater Helly and I parted ways for a bit.  She had some house viewings to go to with Will and I headed home to check in with my American friends who would be awake and starting thier day.  I was able to talk to my mom which was so great and such a special surprise.  I was also so greatful for all the emails and FB posts....made me feel like home was with me a bit.  After a bit of catch up it was off to the final bit of my birthday celebration....Live Music at the Half Moon.  Helly joined me after her viewings and I had made friends with some South Africans while waiting for her so we all enjoyed music by Mr. Cat and the Jackal together.  There was some dancing...some drinking and a birthday shout out by the band at the end of the show.  Such an amazing birthday!!!  I am so blessed to be here, living with great friends and having life changing experiences.  I can't thank my London crew enough for such an amazing birthday!   My American crew thank you for all the love and wishes you sent over the internet...it's hard when we are so far apart but I love that you are just a Skype call, or email away.  Thanks everyone for a wonderful birthday...can't wait to see what this next year has in store!

London night life....Wandsworth, waterloo and more

This past week has been exceptionally lovely.  It's been a mash-up of exploring, sleeping in, music, markets, back yard BBQ's and nights out.  I feel like I have done so much but still been super relaxed, not rushed and enjoyed everything. I guess I will just start at the beginning and see where this one takes us.
The week began with the discovery of our new favorite local pub....The Cats back.  It was discovered via a random set up and was the best little treasure.  Helly and I had a great evening there just discussing life.  It was one of those nights that began being one thing and ended another even better thing.  So we loved the place so much we decided we needed to go back the next night and listen to the live Irish music.  Our friend Lauren joined us which was so great!  I had not seen her yet since she had been on

Sunset walk along the river in Wandsworth 

 
 holiday when I arrived so it was great to see her and catch up.  At about dusk we wandered our way along the river towards our pub.  The walk turned out to be something absolutely gorgeous.  The sky was beautiful and lit up the river in the most spectacular way.  I kept taking photo after photo to capture all the different moments of color and light.  It was absolutely stunning.  Once the sun sank behind the clouds we arrived at the evenings location.  We walked in and there in the corner around the table was a group of musicians just playing music and hanging out.  It was so great.  So informal and

A little blurry but beautiful....just like the night!

intimate.  It got me really excited about going to Ireland soon and having this experience there.
The bottles of wine flowed, the music played and our night continued along a course of conversation, laughter and randomness.  We ended up hanging out with one of the musicians after they finished and I had chat with the man behind the bar....always a good idea to get to know the bartenders in your local spot.  As the night drew to a close some people hopped into taxis while Helly and I opted for the nice evening walk accompanied part way by the bartender and his bike.  Safety in numbers for the night

My favorite Palace...Hampton.

walks right?
So I have done some stuff during the day too.  On a gorgeous sunny day here I hopped the train down to Hampton Court which is my favorite palace.  It is right on the river so I just spent the morning walking along it then headed into the palace for the afternoon.  They had a cool exhibit about the secrets of the bedroom which was great.  I don't think I realized how much stuff went on in the Palace bedroom....now don't get the wrong idea here...I am talking about political and life stuff.  It was where many important meetings and decisions were made.  It wasn't really about sleeping in there so

Yep...we are that cool.

much as it was a place where major life events took place.  I do love that even though I have been to this palace many times I still manage to find something new about it.  The next outdoor during the day event that took place was Old Spitalfield's Market.  Helly and I dove into the hip Brick Lane / Shoreditch area with expectations of vintage, antiques and street art.  We ended up with bits of all our expectaions filled and also a few treasures along the way like a photo exhibit where they had dug up old negatives...brought them

Concert at Half Moon in Putney

back to life and made up a story about each photo.  It was fantastic.  As you can see from the sweet photo of Helly just like any market there is the amazing bits along with the ridiculous.  I will let you decide which category these glasses fall into.  The best thing about being in the market that day was returning to a store that I had found last time I was here and haven't been able to stop thinking about.  I decided this trip I would go back and make a purchase.  I bought the most beautiful shirt and jacket that are all made from mens suits

Waterloo Bridge....Night out on the South Bank

and ties.  The designer was in that day too so I got to chat a bit with her which was also really cool.  You will get to see the purchases in future photos to come.
The day worked it's way towards night as Helly and I headed home for a quick dinner and meet up with Will to head to a concert at the Half Moon in Putney.  The music was wonderful and so was the company.  Lauren joined us there and we all had a great time.  After the concert we all spilled into the main part of the pub and continued the fun with the best dance party I have had in a long time.  The kind where your drenched in sweat and you don't even care.  Such a great

Absolute beauty....I love this town!

night.  The week ended and we moved into lazy weekend mode.  There was a lot of lounging and just lazing around.  Saturday afternoon did have a little surprise for me when Helly's roommate Sel invited me to come to a food market on the south bank with her and her friend.  I had duck for the first time on brioche with goat cheese, truffle honey and onion chutney.  Words can't describe how good it was.  The girls also introduced me to some fantastic cider that you can buy in 2 liter milk jugs....tasty and fun.  With our milk jugs of cider in hand the girls humored me with a night walk around the south bank and across waterloo bridge.  I don't think any of us realized the gorgeous night sky we were about to stumble into.  It took us hours to get across the bridges because we kept stopping to take more and more photos.  The night ended as well as it began in a bar on the south bank.
It has been such an amazing second week.  I absolutely love living my life here.  I suppose I do have a bit of an unreal life here...no work, amazing friends and gorgeous weather but when you create the world you want to live in and dare to dream big sometime life surprises you a gives you exactly what you dream for!  

London + sunshine = bliss

Upon my arrival in London I was greeted by raindrops and a bit of the normal overcast gloomy weather I have come to expect here.  Some of you may think I was so disappointed but to be honest it was quite comforting.  Also a welcome change from the crazy heat of Spain.  As I worked my way via planes, trains, tubes and busses to my friends home I couldn't help but get that little butterfly of excitement in my stomach that I get every time I come back here.  I don't know what it is exactly, although the lovely accents I hear all around add to it, I just can't help feeling happy and at home here.  After a missed bus stop and a quick taxi drive I arrived at my home for the next 4 weeks...the little red door was opened and London officially began!  Will (Helly's boyfriend) was taking off for the week

Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery

so we were about to embark on "ladies week" which is so much more then "ladies night".  First stop was a bit touristy but a spot neither of us had been...The National Gallery.  It is located right in the heart of Trafalgar Square which I haven't been to in years so it was fun to witness the madness.  Tons and tons of people milling about, your classic Red busses rolling through and the next "One Direction" adorable boy band singing their little hearts out.  They were actually quite good.  The National Gallery itself was just as overwhelming as I expected it to be.  We only did 2 wings and were all arted out.  The coolest bit was the special

Sunbathing in Wandsworth Park

exhibition about the saints in 3d.  It was kinda crazy...you pushed a foot pedal and the saint acted out the fate it had endured in life.  One was pulling out teeth with pliers and the other kept punching himself in the side to feel a wound.  They also had a fortune wheel which if this is true I am apparently going to die in a cave of scorpions.  Did I mention the statues  were about 8 feet tall.  Super crazy!  So after that day the sun came out and it was gorgeous!  Helly and I got in our bikinis, packed a picnic, and headed to the park for some sunbathing.  Wine, cheese, berries and books.....Lovely afternoon!  Friday was a workday for me, and by work I mean picking Rudi up from nursery and hanging with him.  Fun afternoon with a cute kiddo.  I

Polly's home...yep that's a thatched roof.

 headed out after work to meet my friend John at the station in town then we went down by the river for a drink and a catch up.  The place we went called The Ship was full of people on this warm summer night.  It was right along the river and may become one of my new favorite spots.
The next morning Helly, Sel (Helly's flatmate), and I headed to the station to start our weekend in Good Easter.  Their good friend from Uni, Polly has a house there that we were all going to spend the weekend at.  The girls kept telling me how lovely it was but nothing could have prepared me for the beauty of the home, and the

Wide Open Spaces 

surrounding area.  For starters the house had a thatched roof. I have always wanted to stay in one so consider that box checked off.  Also the grounds of the house were immaculate.  Everything was green and dotted with beautiful flowers.  It made you just want to run into the middle of it and spin till you fall down dizzy in the middle of it.  As you can see Helly was trying it out.  Now just past the big wall hedge was a gorgeous walkway dripping in green vines.  Stepping into it you felt like you were going towards a little secret garden.  Just walking through you felt like you were

Secret Garden

 being transported into this magic fairyland where anything was possible.  Now at the other end of the secret garden path way was the place we found some entertainment and relaxing.  To the right was a pool and the left you found a tennis court.  You know I love a good tennis match so all us ladies decided after lunch a match would be necessary then a dip in the pool.  Now this house is Polly's parents place and they were there hanging with us too which was so great.  The were the most kind and hospitable people.  They laid out a gorgeous lunch of phenomenal

Tennis anyone?

food and wine under the spanish style terrace.  We ate, chatted and drank...good conversation and good people.  Doesn't get much better.  After lunch it was time for some serious tennis....well as serious as it can be a little (or a lot) tipsy and in Sels case wearing a skirt.  It was all super fun just hitting the ball around and letting the dogs retrieve the balls that we hit out of the court.  It got tricky when he wouldn't give them back but we worked it out.  After we worked up a sufficient enough sweat to justify hopping in the pool it was bikini time.  A quick change, grabbing a book and pool time began.  With a fully stocked pool

Pool time with the pups

 house, hammock and lounge chairs it also was a lovely spot to just relax and hang out.  I must admit I didn't brave the water...it was a bit too cold for this california girl and I am not too much of a water person anyway.  I did quite enjoy my time in a lounge chair with the two pups snuggled up with me.  All the others went for a refreshing swim before joining me on the relaxing furniture around the pool area.  As day moved slowly towards night we made our way back towards the house to prep for dinner.  Sweet Polly had planned a great dinner for us making sure she didn't make anything concerning any of all 3 of our allergies....yep 3 people 3 different food allergies.  We are just a walking danger zone for food prep.  Polly was

Countryside walk

able to avoid all and made a gorgeous meal complete with berry crumble.  The night was filled with laughter, crazy shadow photos, wine and just all around good times.  As I was sitting in this kitchen with these amazing women I kinda felt like I was in a movie.  You know the one where 4 girls take off for a weekend get away out of the city.  I feel like there is always a scene around a kitchen table with wine and great conversation.  I have had those type of scenes back home with all of my amazing girlfriends for years.  I guess what I am getting at here is that I didn't think I would find those type of moments for quite some time here but I have and I am so grateful!  These are some amazing women doing such great things in their lives and I am so happy they have decided to take in this crazy american girl.  I fell asleep easily that night content and comfortable ready for another lovely

Fields of gold

day to arrive in the morning.
I woke up early and just cozied under the duvet and read my book...happy for a little snuggle time on a lazy sunday morning.  A bit later as we all started to stir the day began.  Breakfast then off for a morning/afternoon walk through the countryside around the house.  The walk was incredible.  Just fields and fields of grain or grass.  It's just all the open space that gets me.  I can't get enough of it.  We took the dogs along with us too which they loved...just prancing along in the fields.  Getting hidden in the tall grass then bounding back out.  Just wonderful.  Upon our return back to the house we took

Polly, Sel, Helly, and me....Ladies Lunch 

advantage of the sun and hit the pool again till it was time for another amazing lunch in the spanish terrace.  Sitting around the table with these ladies and Polly's parents was great.  Again... great food, wine and conversation.  Life at its best!  Lunch ended and we all just kinda tumbled out into the grass for a nice lie down soaking in the sunshine.  We were eventually going to head back to the train but we were getting every minute we could out of this.
As all good things do it came to an end....we bid farewell to Polly's parents and took off on the train.  Sleeping off our lunch on the train ride and arriving home safely to the little house that feels like home to

Good times, good wine and a dog...Weekend in Good Easter.

me here in London (obviously it feels like home to Helly and Sel since they live there so that should go with out stating but there is the clarification if you needed it ) life is good.
I seriously have been blessed in so may ways along my travels.  Gorgeous people have been placed in my path and have become great friends.
As this first week here finishes I am realizing how much I feel like a huge part of my life is now here in Europe and not in the States.  I would miss some of these people when I leave here just as much as I miss some of my friends in the states.  I might not have as much history here but there is quite a bit of future to be had and it feels more and more like home every day.

Back to the heat....

The weather was nice in Germany but nothing compares to the heat in Spain.  I arrived home just in time to take over the afternoon shift with the kids.  As I walked down the stairs I was greeted with a huge hug and enthusiastic "I missed you Sara" from Maxime.  It's those little moments that just make my heart smile and know that I am right where I am supposed to be.  I quickly change back into my uniform...AKA swimming costume...and get back to work.  The next week was going to be a bit full because it was now Ezrah's turn to take a little holiday so I was going to be working quite a bit.  Luckily I would have one day off to get myself settled back in and prepare for the week.  I of course spent that day just relaxing, reading and soaking up the sunshine.  Man I love my life!  The work week was just fantastic...we did all sorts of fun stuff.  One day I took the kids on

Pinecone People and leaf art.

a little nature walk on their property and we collected all sorts of leaves, bark, rocks pinecones and pretty much anything else they wanted.  We put it all in bags and trudged back upstairs with our treasures.  We then got out all our arts and craft supplies and started getting creative.  I let them just do whatever they wanted and it turned out great.  Luis got really into gluing his leaves then coloring them.  This prompted Maxime to do her own version of the same thing but gave credit to Luis for the "great idea" as she put it.  Olivia just kinda colored and played with the glue but she was still getting into it.  My favorite thing we made was the pine cone people.  We drew eyes and a mouth and glued them onto the pine cones. The kids seriously thought this was the best thing ever!  I did too.  We also spent a couple of days at the beach which were just splendid.  We played in the sea, laid on the beach, and made sand castles with the little friends we met by the water.  I really had to pinch myself sometimes to remind myself that this really is my life.  I feel so lucky to be here and doing this....Here are a few photos from our beach time together...

Just lounging...in my shades.

          

Hiking on the cliffs.
 

Maxime and I just cartwheeling down the beach.

Loving our beach time together.

She's so cool she needed my shades at dinner.

Our little friend wanted some Vino at dinner...she only got water though. 

What is a beach day with out a little Ice cream!


 

Needless to say beach days are amazing fun....never a dull moment and the water is so warm it's fun to play in it.  We also had tons of fun around the house just playing and enjoying the resort style home...here are some photos from our time at home....

Bringing back the 90's with friendship bracelets 

Pushing the bike on the bike route on the terrace.

Luis said while doing this.."I'm relaxing like you Sara"  Smart Kid!

I also did leave the house a couple of times to play my new game that I am obsessed with called Padel.  The best way I can describe it is a combo of tennis and racquetball.  It's is really good fun and I can't wait to play more.  You have to use the walls to hit the ball which is super tricky but I am getting it.  On my last day I drove the older 2 kids to camp and spent the afternoon with Olivia. It was such fun to just get to focus on her for a bit and enjoy her little personality that is changing daily.  There was a really fun moment where we were sitting in the grass and I got out my camera to take a self portrait of us and after she saw it she kept saying more, more, more and posing.  I was cracking up.  Below are a few of the results from the photo shoot....

Love this little girl!

  And now it is time to say good by to Mallorca but only for a couple of months because I am lucky enough to get the opportunity to go back in october for another month!  Can't wait but for now it is good bye Spain and hello again to England!  Get ready for a month of holiday time in London where I hear it has been sunny...fingers crossed that holds!