YO! Sushi

Today Matt and I had a new dining experience. In fact it is quite a cool, yet simple concept. It is a Sushi Bar but there are also other dishes on the menu. The fun part is that all of the food revolves around the restaurant in dishes on a conveyor belt. The color of the bowl/dish indicates a particular price, so you have to be careful of what you pick up because it could get kind of pricey. I think there might be a few of these places in the US, but none that I've ever come across myself. Obviously it doesn't take much to excite me. I love to try new restaurants!

Thanksgiving in Paris!

Yes, that is right. I spent Thanksgiving in Paris with my Mom! My Mother visited us the week of Thanksgiving (and my birthday), which was her first trip overseas. I was so excited to share that milestone with her! Also, she has always wanted to go to Paris since taking french in high school. Unfortunately at the time her family could not afford to send her with the french class for study abroad. Matt bought us train tickets and offered his Hilton points for our stay (as my birthday gift). It was quite a short trip for us. We took the new Eurostar from London's St Pancras station about 8:30am Thanksgiving Day. Upon arriving in Paris we were told that the train workers were on strike and we wouldn't get very far on the subway. That turned out to be a good thing b/c we would have missed a lot of the city if we would have stayed underground. Despite having to walk several miles to the other side of the city to our hotel, we had a fabulous time taking in all there was to see. We didn't have time to go into any museums or other important buildings, but we did enjoy views of the Eiffel Tower, an evening boat cruise on the Seine River, and a casual dinner in a french restaurant. We were laughing all the way back to the hotel because of the price of our dinner. While most of the items were reasonably priced, my soda cost 8 euros (which is about $12 USD)! That was a shock. We stayed at the Paris Hilton Eiffel Tower. As you will see from our pictures, we had a fabulous view of the Eiffel Tower from our room! What a dream come true for my Mom and a lovely time for us to share. We had to leave the next morning, but will cherish our Mother/Daughter time together in the city.

Enjoy the rest of my photos at

http://picasaweb.google.com/amber.biviano/November2007!

Paris is definitely the City of Lights and the City of Romance. I hope to go back there with Matt to take advantage of all that the city has to offer. I would like to climb the Eiffel Tower for its incredible view, take a romantice boat cruise, and tour one or two of the museums. I would also like to take a day trip to Versailles to view the Palace. Matt isn't up for the museums, but would be happy hanging out at a cafe watching passers-by while I get a 'bit of culture'.

During my Mom's visit, we also took a bus tour of London, went shopping in a few of the local malls, and had a delicious Italian dinner at the coast for my birthday! I can't explain how happy I am that she was able to visit and make this trip of a lifetime!

Our little family, on my Birthday!

Kurt's Visit

In November Matt and I were blessed to have two guests visit us, in back-to-back weeks. Kurt, Matt's friend from grad school, arrived on Monday 12 November. We didn't really get to say goodbye to Kurt before we left Denver, so it was nice that he could come for a visit. He took it easy on the first day and then on the second day I joined him in London for a bit of sightseeing. I think he needed the day after that to recover from the jetlag, as he slept for most of the day. On Friday and Saturday of that week, all three of us went to London both days. One of the highlights of those days was a traditional English Tea in Fortnum & Masons (one of the first department stores, established in 1707). My how time flies when you are having fun. His visit came to an end that Sunday. We went to one airport to pick up my Mom that morning and then we dropped Kurt off at a hotel near another airport. He was going to get another day out in London before flying out the next day. Thanks for the good times, Kurt! See you when we return to Denver!

A Polish Day in London

As Matt previously mentioned, he has been traveling to Poland for several months now. Well, since mid-October the new Polish employees have been traveling back and forth between England and Poland for training. During the first weekend they had to stay in England (3-4 Nov), they were treated to a day in London. For a lot of them, this training travel was the first time they've been out of Poland much less into the great city of London. Matt and I had the pleasure of escorting them into London that Saturday. There were 22 of us altogether! Thanks to GroupSave discounts, we were able to take the train into town for a reasonable price. Our first stop was the Tower of London. Once we got through the entrance gates everyone went their separate ways. Matt and I decided to take a guided tour, since we've previously been to the Tower on our own.

After lunch, we all met back up in front of the Tower to head to our next attraction. We had tickets for the London Eye and were able to get all of us in one capsule. This gave us awesome views of London in all directions. I hear it is equally fascinating, if not more, at night when the city is lit up. Following our ride on the Eye, we split up again for the rest of the evening. Matt and I joined a few fellows for walks through the Westminster area and Leicester Square before stopping at a Chinese buffet in Soho. On the way back to the train to return home we stopped at a jolly good pub. What a wonderful day!

Even though I've only met the group on a few occasions, I feel a connection with them. We are both in a new country learning the culture and how to "survive" away from home. They are a rather young group (around my age) and are very friendly and fun-loving. Every weekend they are in town, I ask Matt if the group has any plans in hopes of joining them again. This past weekend I met a handful of them in the town centre for a bit of shopping before a late lunch. I will truly miss the group when they return to Poland for good (later this month). Many of them continue to ask when I will join Matt on one of his trips to Poland and ensure me they will take good care of me once I am there. I do hope I can join Matt after the first of the year. I look forward to visiting the Tri-City (Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia) area in Poland and seeing my new friends again!

Rubbing elbows with the Stars!

Matt and I got to mingle with the Stars...at Madame Tussaud's in London! After waiting an hour to purchase tickets, we were finally admitted into the "grand attraction". It was very crowded, but we tried not to let that stop us from getting up close and personal with some of our favorite actors and personalities. The figures were amazingly life-like. Everyone seems much taller on television so it was surprising to stand next to some of the actors. Ha, some of the figures looked much better than the real-life versions we see on tv! I had a bit of trouble immediately recognizing a few because they appear much different. Overall it was a very cool experience - not only feeling like you were really with these people but also seeing the result of the great talent and skills that are put into creating the figures. The staging ranged from figures in the middle of your walking path to arranged areas for particular personalities. There were hundreds of figures, I wish I could tell you about them all and show pictures. But, the pictures don't do enough justice. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Madame Tussaud's (Las Vegas, New York, D.C.) I highly recommend it. It is generally a bit expensive, but quite an experience.

Please enjoy the slideshow of some of the famous faces we encountered at Madame Tussaud's!