Reid's Weekend in London

I love, love, love London! It is my favorite city on Earth. Every time I go I feel a little more confident with an extra spring in my step. Is it possible to love a city that much?!?! Of course that the spoken language is English helps. It is fun to fit in!

This visit was especially euphoric since not only did we have many fun plans and we were staying with Betty (more on her later), but my best friend from high school and maid of honor, Kate, came to join us for the weekend. Kate is probably my oldest and dearest friend who actually knew me even before I met Kirk! She was in Italy for the week for work (tough life, I know), and she generously flew to London to share the weekend with us. Kirk had exciting plans of his own so we started the day bee-bopping down the Thames to the London Eye. It was a gorgeous, hot day and we melded right in to the tourist scene.

The London Eye is this enormous Ferris wheel. It takes 30 minutes to get one time around. We thought it would be a great way to kick off our British weekend.

I underestimated though how crazy it would be to ride The Eye with Connor. They made me take her out of the stroller for safety reasons. Little did "they" know that taking her out would mean she was loose to cause havoc. I think Connor ended up mopping every last piece of dust and dirt in the pod by lying and sliding along the floors. We were all filthy and exhausted by the end. Not something I would recommend with a busy toddler who can't seem to sit still!

We exited and I think we all breathed a huge sigh of relief. The other passengers didn't seem overly bothered by Connor, but I thought I was going to pull every strand of hair out of my head trying to keep her still, disciplined and in one place. She was not at all frightened of the ride or the height, like we worried. Instead Connor scampered in delight from one end to the other of the glass capsule. We are definitely working on the whole minding mom and sitting still concept. It was a heck of a way to kick off our time with Kate! She got a crash course in the good, the bad, and the ugly of parenting a two year old! Thankfully old friends understand these things and love you anyway.
Connor settled down after The London Eye ride and took a nap. Phew, peace. We walked to Leicester Square to the Half Price Ticket Booth to buy tickets to see a show that night. And then we backtracked to the river and walked along the Thames Path past the Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern and the National Theatre. We were starving and on a mission. Determined to find Borough Market and to seek out some highly-recommended grilled cheese sandwiches.
Borough Market is London's oldest and perhaps trendiest marketplace. It was like a huge scavenger hunt to find the acclaimed sandwiches. But we were completely taken with the market, which must be a foodie's paradise! There were the most gorgeous fruits and vegetables I have ever seen. And plenty of "blue-babies" and "straw-babies" for Connor!

While we certainly enjoyed the mazelike aisles of fresh goodies at Borough Market, we walked from one end to the other trying to find "Bill," the elusive grilled cheese man. Kate recently met and befriended NY food critic Ruth Reichl who is editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. When Ruth found out of Kate's upcoming plans to visit London she insisted we find these sandwiches. Ai, Ai! Who were we to second guess her food prowess?!? Problem was there was no clear marker for Bill. And pushing a stroller across the packed market proved a formidable challenge. Every time we asked someone they pointed us in a totally different direction telling us we would 'smell' Bill's cheese stand and that he was under a red umbrella on the other side of the market.

Hungry, but determined we pressed on until sure enough we smelled and found BILL under the red umbrella! We beelined it to the grilled cheese line with our mouths watering and eyes bulging at the oozing cheesy goodness in front of us. We even found a Ruth Reichl article at the stand. Small world! We felt in with the in-crowd that she had sent us!

We grabbed our sandwiches and joined the crowds picnicking at nearby Southwark Cathedral.The sandwiches were every bit as good as Rachel Reichl promised. Heavenly! And totally worth the hunt! I lived in London for months in college and never heard of this market. Leave it to my cool, metropolitan DC friend to come and point us to a perfect Saturday spot!

By this time we were all three matted in dirt, melon juice and sweat from our day. We went back to Betty's to refresh and shower and then met Kirk at Victoria station for dinner and to hand Connor over. Kirk was babysitting while we went out on the town! Kate is my kindred spirit in loving Broadway musicals. Together we can belt out any theatre tune you throw at us. (Kate is the only friend I have that I can admit to skipping down the streets of the National Mall in DC one 4th of July singing Cats, Les Miserables and Miss Saigon lyrics.) We had tickets this night in London to see "Wicked!" and after a somewhat trying day of juggling friendship and motherhood I was in need of a girls night! We loved Wicked. It made me feel like a teenager again waiting for the curtain to go up and giving a standing ovation. We spilled onto the streets of London full with song and dance as we rode the tube and walked back to Betty's in the moonlight. Can I mention again how much I love London?!!?

Thankfully the next day all was right with the world! Connor was back to her sweet, agreeable, adorable self and we all relaxed. We embraced the London tourist mantra and went to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.

Connor adored the neigh neighs and the "MUSIC!" She is still talking about that music 2 weeks later! It was another scorcher so I couldn't help feeling sorry for the guards in all their getup. And to make things even more difficult they had to navigate their march around tons of horse poop. They must rehearse this though because they didn't miss a beat! Why they don't have a pooper scooper is beyond me!
After all the pomp of the Changing of the Guard we bid Kirk adieu and walked through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens towards the Notting Hill neighborhood. We passed this long corridor with what felt like miles of creative and unique artwork.

We ate lunch at an Indian spot and shopped around Notting Hill. I am not a huge fan of British food per se, but lawsy the ethnic dishes all over the city are cheap and deeeelish!
Living it up in Notting Hill! Just as cute and endearing as in the Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts movie!

This sign is why I adore London! Where else in Europe are the smokers warned and booted to the back? I am always having to dodge them to keep our lungs clean.

I ducked into Starbucks for a major summer indulgence, a Mango Frozen Frappacino (try it!) Kate hung outside with Connor so I was free to maneuver and order without a stroller. I looked out the window and saw them laughing. It was quite a sight - Starbucks (we don't have them in Belgium); the red double decker bus going by; and my sweet friend laughing with my daughter. I am a lucky duck to feel such love!

Cheesy Fun in Gouda!

Karen and Brady were due to return to the States for a couple of months so we planned to say our farewells in cheesy style! That Thursday also happened to be the kickoff of the summer long Gouda cheese festival in the Netherlands. So we just had to go and see what it was all about. The festival started late June and is every Thursday morning from 10-12 into August.

This man was a hoot. We hadn't been there 30 seconds before he came up and asked if we wanted to take his picture. I wasn't about to let him down! Check out all that cheese. They sell it auction-style right there in the market square with an auctioneer and loudspeaker and everything!
Wooden shoes and all!

Connor wasn't sure at first about "Gouda's Beauties" all decked up and passing out cheese, but she warmed right up.

That is a lot of heavy cheese!

After all the initial fanfare Brady and Connor got a little used to the strange concept of so much cheese in the street. It wasn't long before they were beating on the blocks like drums!

And sitting on the cheese! Karen told the kids that they were "wheels" of cheese and they hooped and hollered at that. How could cheese be a wheel? Strange concept, I know.

Connor of course couldn't get enough of the neigh neigh!

Did you know that Gouda (the cheese and the town) are actually pronounced HOW-DA? It doesn't quite have the same ring to it.

I bought a small round of yummy peppered Gouda from the surrounding market to bring home for Kirk. But not before we sampled away. It was delicious! I was a little overwhelmed at all of the choices, but the market lady thankfully spoke good English and didn't rush me despite the growing line of customers.
Hooray for Gouda!

The market square was busy and beautiful. It was definitely a different style than the Belgian Grote Markets. I just love the Netherlands. Everyone on bikes, flowers everywhere, and a carefree welcoming spirit abounds.

We saw this cheese-mobile where they were giving out cheese and you can ride along for a couple of Euros. We tried to take the kids on it after lunch but the horse had stopped for the day. Too bad!We found this great place EET-ZE! to eat lunch. It was cool with great food and plenty of room for our strollers (always key!) It was funny because we were having trouble finding a place to eat and I ran into a girl who looked in the know. When I asked if she had a place to recommend she answered, "Yep, my Mom's place, EET-ZE!" which turned out to be only a couple of blocks away. It was so small town and wonderful!We took one more spin of the town square as all of the market decor was taken away. There was this old-timey street music box chiming away. The kids thought it was terrific and we danced our way out of Gouda to the melody.Yeah for Gouda! It was a long day trip - and if I go again I might consider taking the train just because the traffic is tough. But we were so happy to join in the fun. We hugged our friends goodbye and are counting down the days til their return!

Click here for full album photos of the Gouda Cheese Festival

Paradiso

This post will be my last about Sicily. We just had a ball there and I want to be sure we remember all the special parts. We drove across the middle of the island to get back to the airport. We took a roundabout path that led us to the teeny Sicilian town of Palazzo Adriano way up in the hills. It ended up being several hours out of our way (oops), but that is kind of what it made it even more fun.

Palazzo Adriano is the town that inspired the film Cinema Paradiso and also where it was filmed. Kirk and I saw this movie together back in 1996, the year we started dating. Back then it was playing at the NC Art Museum on the lawn and we loved the Italian film (even with subtitles!) So discovering the film's real town 13 years later was powerful - even if a little off the beaten path! Here is the film trailer in case you are interested in this movie about the movies....
We were driving right along on our way to the Cinema Paradiso town, twisting and turning through rugged mountain roads. Connor was just waking up from a nap and this is what we saw...it definitely snapped Connor awake and had us all in hysterics. We felt like WE were in the movies!

Connor was laughing so hard that she cried! She couldn't believe the cows and horses in the road taking their sweet time moseying along.

We arrived in Palazzo Adriano joyful and giddy from our eventful travel. We hopped out of the car in this town that couldn't have been bigger than 10 blocks. We started to recognize some of the movie spots and found the plaque commemorating the Academy Award winning film.

There was a small city market going on with lots of leather jackets and food stuff. We found a soft stuffed elephant for 2 euros and just had to have him. We named him "Paradiso" and snuggled him close.

There were men everywhere relaxing in the afternoon sun. I have no idea where all the women were in the village. It was a clear omission and I was a little self conscious about being the only lady around. But at the same time the men were just adorable. They spoke not a lick of English, but of course they all had to dote on Connor in Italian.

We were only in our Cinema Paradiso town for a few minutes. But it was enough to breathe it all in. So we turned around and headed back. And wouldn't you know we had sheep escorting us out of town?!?!

Click here for full album photos from our time in Palazzo Adriano

Realmont, Sicily

When we first arrived in Sicily I picked up a local monthly magazine guide and absent-mindedly flipped through it while waiting for our ferry. I did a double take and was blown away by the photos and description of Realmont, Sicily. The small beach town is a tiny suburb of Agrigento and has this titanic white rock mountain emerging from the sea. I knew we just had to find time in our plans to go. It was somewhere I just had to see for myself! I looked forward to it all week.

So after our adventures in Agrigento we followed our GPS to what felt like the middle of nowhere - unsure if we were going to the right place, but eager to see what we could. But there they were - those enormous glowing rocks, just like in the magazine!

What we found was simply awesome. We were the only ones on the beach and the white cliffs against the deep blue sky were breathtaking.

We drove around to the other side after seeing the cliffs from afar - trying to fumble our way since we had no map or directions. Kirk and Connor stayed in the car (this is not a hike for toddlers!) and I bounded down to the beach and over to the great white cliffs.

The closer I got the closer I wanted to be. I had European adrenaline running through me and decided to join the sunbathers on the steep white face above the sea. Probably the most distinctive part about the spot was the way the cliffs made rock stairs as you go up. Makes it a little easier and more enticing to step on up and into the white magic.

This is probably my favorite shot from the ascent. The hues of blue and white are just as they were in real life.

I wanted to be sure you saw my feet to prove I was really there! Up top it was VERY windy and the chalky dust kept blowing in my face. I stayed seated and skidded along on my bum so as to stay safe. But it was still a little nerve-wracking. Realmont cannot be found in any guidebook and probably is only accessible by car, I would think. You have to know you are looking for it.

But being up on top of the white steps in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Maybe I ought to write Rick Steves so he can update his guidebooks with this incredible experience. I was sorry to have to hike solo, but very grateful for this opportunity to feel so alive!

PS - Don't ask me why I chose to wear my little black dress on a day I planned to scale white, chalky cliffs. That's just the way I roll!

Click here for more photos of my hike at the beach in Realmont (full album)

A Cactus Says "OUCH!"

While in Sicily we taught Connor all about the cactus plant. I told her that a cactus says "OUCH!"

She thought that was perhaps one of the funnier things she has heard. She kept repeating "A cactus says OUCH!" and then would break into giggles and laughter. Luckily it seemed to work to keep her busy fingers away from the briers.

There were quite a few cacti in Sicily....so we had plenty of time to laugh and learn about our new favorite plant!

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July!
We are without fireworks and BBQ this Independence Day, but still celebrating our freedom - abroad. I am missing home today especially. I have never spent a July 4th outside of the USA.

We wore our red, white and blue. Connor had a headband that looks like a red, white and blue firework and she kept commenting on her dress with the red stars.

We sang "God Bless America" and "My Country Tis of Thee" to Connor all day. We were very off tune (Kirk and I both cannot carry a tune to save our lives) and we kept botching the words to the part that goes "through the night with a light from above." But we are especially grateful to be American. And to the men and women who have defended our freedom in the past, present and will continue to do so in the future.