Amber and Matt's European Adventures

REFLECTIONS

2009-05-10T18:02:00.000-06:00

As we were pulling out of the driveway headed to Heathrow airport, it was hard to believe two years had come and gone. It seems just like yesterday Amber and I were discussing travelling overseas and here we are, been there-done that-back home. As I reflect on the experience, there were many highs and some lows. I won’t dwell on the lows, that’s boring and depressing; besides they were mainly just frustrating adjustments to international life. I will focus on the highs. I think the highs for me were one part professional and one part personal. From a professional perspective, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity that was provided to me and also that my loving wife was willing enough to take the plunge. It was an opportunity of a lifetime to be able to partake in setting up the shared service center and I learned so much from it, met so many wonderful people, and will have many lasting memories. From a personal perspective, the travel was unbeatable and the expanded view of the world is something you will never get in the US. It is so expensive to travel to Europe from the US, takes so much time, and really, until you live there, you don’t know all the secrets to getting around. We were fortunate to be stationed in London with cheap flights and the ability to leave on a whim and travel somewhere new and exciting. I think the most memorable places had to be Italy because it was the first big trip and also the France/Germany trip we took in the summer of 2008. Other memorable experiences were visiting the Youngs in Amsterdam and our parents’ visits in London. I never thought I would be the translator for my parents in an English speaking country. They aren’t even old yet!!! And it was really cool that Amber was able to surprise her Mom and take her to Paris (which was my suggestion by the way). Also, me surprising Amber by taking her to Vienna for her 30th birthday was exciting!

Living overseas also expanded my view of the world tremendously. Sitting in the US, you just never appreciate the differences of the others living on this globe, nor can you really understand. Many things came to life living in Europe. Europe is full of history, many different cultures and customs, languages, and ways of conducting business. While I am truly enjoying being back in the US with all we are afforded here, I am appreciative of the different perspective I gained living in Europe.

Most of all, I am happy to be back with my friends and family, which were too far away while we were there!!!!

~Matt

I can't add much to what Matt said. It was an experience that has changed us forever and we are so grateful for that opportunity. It was tough at times, especially when Matt was away for work and I was on my own in England, but our relationship is stronger for it. There were so many emotions throughout the whole process. I said that if we could make it through that we could make it through anything. I can't imagine seeing the world with anyone else! I look forward to future international adventures - and there definitely will be more! Maybe South America next...!

We want to thank our family and friends for all the love and support they've given us while abroad. We also want our new friends in Europe to know that we will never forget them and hope that our paths cross again in the future!

~Amber

Shhhh…Matt turned 30!

2009-04-27T17:58:00.003-06:00

Shortly after returning to the States, we were on a plane again – this time we would be vacationing in Hawaii for two weeks to celebrate Matt’s milestone birthday.

Yes, for my 30th Birthday, I asked Amber to take me to Hawaii as a gift. It was a nice surprise and was very thoughtful of her to pick it out! No, really, we had wanted to go to Hawaii for some time now and we thought it would be a good time to go during the transition back to the US.

The only downside to our trip was that we were still fighting with various things related to our move back home and my lost golf clubs on the way to Hawaii. Whatever you do, don’t use FedEx for shipping boxes between UK and the US. They will royally (no pun intended) mess up your order from start to finish. Be prepared to get aggravated and spend a lot of time on the phone with various people, though. Okay, moving on to the fun stuff in Hawaii.

We took off on Wednesday for 2 weeks, looking forward to lots of fun! Wednesday was pretty shot with travelling from Denver to Honolulu and then on to Maui, our final destination. We were staying with my Uncle John, so he met us at the airport and took us back to the house up in Kula for a nice dinner with him and our new Aunt Boonta. Kula is located high up in the mountains at about 4,000 feet above sea level, and the views are tremendous. You get a complete view of the North and West shores from the house. The living arrangements were fantastic as we had our own bedroom and bath suite separate from the main house. We spent about 12 days in Maui and then another day in Honolulu before heading back to Denver. We had a fantastic time in Hawaii and thanks so much to Uncle John and Aunt Boonta for the wonderful hospitality and recommendations they provided during our stay!

Some of the highlights of our trip include:

-Helicopter tour: On my birthday, we took a tour of the whole island including the crater area, wetlands, and saw all of the celebrity homes. Amber and I got to sit in the front seats by the pilot and had great panoramic views of the scenery.

-Whale watching tour: We took a boat tour to go and watch the whales jumping out of the water. We were there towards the end of the whale season, though, so most of them had already started migrating back to Alaska. We found out it takes them about 60 days to travel from Hawaii to Alaska and they do it in one full swim, no stopping.

-Golf: I had the opportunity to go out and golf with my PGA tour capable uncle and some of his friends. Unfortunately, I am the farthest from PGA capable and it showed. I played a fair amount in England, but it went out the window. I swear the views caused my swing to mess up, so it wasn’t my entire fault. Meanwhile, they shot somewhere in the Tiger range and taught me some lessons.

-Road to Hana: This is a long windy road that leads from downtown Maui to the little town of Hana. The best thing about the drive is not the destination, but the scenery along the way. We traded our crappy Dodge Caliber rental car for a Subaru and put the all wheel drive to the test. We left Maui about 7am and without much traffic on the road, we ended up in Hana about 8:30am. It was supposed to take closer to 4 hours to get there with summertime traffic. With me driving - and if it had actually taken 4 hours - we would have arrived in a state of divorce, so Amber was partially glad for the shorter drive time, but her stomach was trying to catch up for a while. On the way back, we stopped for lunch at a roadside BBQ and it was one of those meals where you cannot stop smiling because the food was so good. (Matt was literally squealing with delight. ~Amber)

-Mama’s Fish House: For my birthday celebration, we went out to the famous Mama’s Fish House on the North Shore. The food was really good, but a little pricey, and we had great views while eating in the open air near the ocean.

-Parasailing: On our way back to Denver, we stopped in Honolulu for a day and went parasailing. It was a tandem parasail and we were the first to go up, so we didn’t have time to get scared beforehand. It was really fun and you could see a lot that high up. They even dipped us in the water on the way back down before landing in the boat.

-Pearl Harbor: Also while in Honolulu, we took the trip out to Pearl Harbor. It was nothing of what I expected; it turns out I was completely ignorant what to expect. It is a very sombering and moving experience going there. I have said before and will say again, to learn history you need to visit history and this is another point blank case of US history you cannot learn in a classroom. I would highly recommend the visit if you are in Honolulu, it is a must see thing to do. The ship is still buried in the water where it was shot down and a memorial bridge has been built above it to commemorate the fallen soldiers. Every so often you can see little oil droplets coming up from the ship and some say it is the ‘blood’ of the soldiers, a very moving place.

-Honorable Mentions: Haleakala Crater, watching the surfers on the North Shore, laying on the beach, snorkeling, Jazz night with David Benoit (he is incredible)

One Last Visitor

2009-03-20T17:49:00.002-06:00

Our first European visitor was Bartosz...but sadly he was the last in our home abroad.

Bartosz, one of my team members out in Poland, came to visit us for a weekend in London. Bartosz hadn’t been to London before, so it was a good opportunity for him to get out and see the city. And since Bartosz has one of the most brutal jobs on the project team in dealing with all the IT stuff in all the countries, I figured the least I could do is give him somewhere to sleep and introduce him to London.

Dining at Vapiano
In the London Underground

On the train back to Basildon

He arrived on Friday, but we spent the day in the lovely Basildon office. Compared to the Poland office, Basildon looks like it originated in the 1800s, so he wasn’t too impressed. On Saturday, we ventured into London for the day. We ended up splitting up and doing some sightseeing on our own before meeting back up for dinner. I think he got to see quite a bit of London while we were there; he didn’t mess around. While we were in Germany during the project, we ate several times at the Vapiano restaurant, so we decided to eat at the newly opened London restaurant. It is a pizza/pasta/salad type place where they cook in front of you with all fresh ingredients. It is really good and on the cheap side pricewise. I introduced Bartosz to Belgium beer, which is one of my favorites. Then on Saturday, we took him out to Chelmsford to meet up with some of our British friends for lunch at a Spanish tapas restaurant. He got to see some of the countryside of England on the way there. Then it was back to work on Monday. Unfortunately, he had to hitch a ride to the airport with some weird guy named Paul who leaves at 3:30 in the morning for a 6:30 flight when the airport is only 30 minutes away. Sorry Bartosz, that wasn’t my fault! We enjoyed having you and are looking forward to your visit to Colorado in the summer.

Matt

With the Buckleys at La Tasca

Our Dear Friends in Poland!

2009-03-12T17:48:00.004-06:00

So, in Europe they want to say goodbye to you with a big bang. My office sent me off with a bowling party, Matt’s office sent him off with a dance party, and we said our final goodbyes to other friends in England.

Last dinner with my friend Ela

Unbeknownst to me, my ‘Leaving Do’ started out with a Sushi dinner with the Poland SSC leadership team. There was a huge sushi boat platter enjoyed by all! Amber doesn’t like sushi, so when I travel, I love to go out and get my fill. The guys in Poland love sushi and so we always have a good time.

Then afterwards, I was told we were going to a bar to have some drinks (well, something along those lines). It was earlier than normal that evening when we ate, so something didn’t feel right. We ended up parking our car near Sopot (seaside resort town), which has a lot of clubs and bars, and started walking towards the beach. Then we walked into a bar I hadn’t been to before. As we walked in, I noticed the DJ, who was near the door area, was staring right at me. I have always been conscience when walking around Europe, but I couldn’t figure out why she was staring directly at me. Then I took a few more steps and………the whole room erupted. Many of my colleagues had come to dance (with me of course) and party the night away. I had many fun nights dancing (no, I cannot dance, I just pretend and have fun) and partying with the team in Poland and this night was added to the memories. I will definitely miss those guys and I just have to say that the memories will never leave me!!!

The only picture from our Farewell Party

I can never thank the team in Poland enough, especially Mr. February (who asked not to be mentioned in this blog), for the absolutely unforgettable experience I had there over the last two years. It was more than I could have ever imagined and wished for. I am definitely inspired by such a young group of hard working team members and look forward to getting back to visit. Keep up the hard work, stay young, party some more, and remember me when I return. I will need a place to sleep!!!

Amber with Management Team

And for some last parting memories, I wish to leave some messages for my colleagues:

Mr Luty-drink some milk, it will stop your mouth from burning!
Mr Izydorczyk-can I borrow your small software?
Mr Twarowski-we all know you had a baby boy last year…you can stop smiling now!
Ms Rakiej-can you ask them to highlight the numbers and put some footnotes?
Mr Andryszak-Those German footballers are good!
Mr Wanagos-I found the printer receipt in Warsaw, should I send it over?
Mr Lutkiewicz-We are still anxious to meet your assistant!

Matt and Management Team

To the UK team-I still have my VIB membership, wanna bowl?
To the German team-Excuse me guys, but the other residents would like to sleep!
To the Baltic team-You are not invited to bowl with the UK team and me; I learned my lesson!

To all: Dziękuję & Do Widzenia!

Matt

BBWCVS

2009-03-03T17:47:00.005-07:00

I did not mention this before, but I got a job back in the fall. I was volunteering with projects through the Volunteer Centre at Basildon, Billericay and Wickford Council for Voluntary Services (BBWCVS) since the summer of 2007 and had gotten to know the staff pretty well. Last summer they had a couple of people leave and when the new Chief Officer arrived I volunteered to fill in temporarily until they hired someone new or until we moved back. It was great returning to work and what was even better was that my schedule was flexible and part-time, so I was still able to travel and volunteer.

Volunteering at the Basildon Library (taken for the Yellow Advertiser)

Shortly before the end of my employment, a colleague and myself had planned an ‘Away Day’ for staff and volunteers but the day happened to fall during the week of the blizzard. We had planned a day out in London, which would have been fabulous, but had to change the location to somewhere local. We ended up going to Festival Leisure Park for bowling and lunch. It was a great day and we were grateful that the entire staff was able to make it as well as a couple of volunteers.

Some of my BBWCVS colleagues

Staff Members and Chief Officer (l to r)

My last day of work was at the end of February and for my ‘Leaving Do’ we returned to Festival Leisure Park for bowling and dinner. It was such a fun evening and it was hard saying goodbye to my colleagues. I do hope we can all keep in touch – especially since most of us are on Facebook!

Matt in Athens!

2009-02-28T17:51:00.003-07:00

Matt doesn’t get mentioned often on the blog as he is always traveling for work - and about the only thing he gets to see is his office, hotel room, or restaurant for the evening – so we thought he should write a little more about one of those experiences.

Before my European stint ended, I had the opportunity to visit the last remaining country where First Data has major operations in Europe…Athens, Greece. Our actual offices are on the outskirts of Athens, but our hotel was in Athens. I had been reluctant to want to go to Greece for work or pleasure, but was pleasantly surprised on both fronts after being there. Our hotel wasn’t directly in the city centre, but was quite close so we were able to go in each night for dinner. Our first night, we arrived late from London, and ventured out to find a Greek diner that was still serving dinner. I had always heard that Greeks eat quite late, but evidently not on Sundays (other days it was true). We found a lovely diner tucked back off one of the streets, and took the Chefs’ recommendation for a mixed grill platter. Even by American standards, it was a lot to eat, so we ended up wobbling back to the hotel after eating some chicken, sausage, pork chops, hot dogs, and salad. Oh yeah, and the Alpha beer wasn’t too bad either. I had not previously liked Greek salads (b/c of the Feta cheese), but really enjoyed them in Athens as it is pretty typical at dinner. Later during the week, I had the opportunity to eat at two different restaurants overlooking the ‘lit up’ Acropolis. At one of the restaurants (The Filistron in Thissio), we were sharing the main room with a birthday party group and they had a small live singing band, so we got a taste of live Greek music. I got some good pictures at the other restaurant which had better views of the Acropolis, but unfortunately, they didn’t turn out. I just have to say that each night we had something wonderful for dinner; it was very tasty food, well prepared, and lots to eat. And the scenery was excellent!

The Filistron

Acropolis at night

On the business front, our offices in Greece do a lot of printing for various clients. They print anything from credit card statements to electricity statements to gambling tickets. Yes, gambling tickets!!! I think that is the only place in Europe (and the US probably) that we print gambling tickets. It was neat to see. We also got to see some of the up and coming custom credit card statements they were printing where you have targeted advertisements on each statement based on user aspects. Being in accounting, you don’t typically get to see the operational areas, so it was a unique experience getting to see it up close and personal. Thanks to Errikos for the time he took to take us on the tour! And thanks to everyone in the office there for the wonderful hospitality!!

Also, for some of you that don’t know, I used to cook in a Greek/Italian restaurant when I was in high school. The restaurant was partially owned by a Greek family and so I had been exposed to Greek customs a long time ago. It was really interesting to see the resemblance of various things that I saw in them during my visit to Athens. I will just say this - a Greek is a Greek is a Greek. It’s all good though!!!

Oh, and in case it sounds like all I did was eat, that is correct. We were working long days getting a project done, so we didn’t have time for anything else. I had a wonderful time in Greece and hope to go back and take Amber with me. I hear the islands are also wonderful to visit, so something additional to go back for.

Matt

More Visitors!

2009-02-02T18:20:00.004-07:00

Carol, Me, and Liz

January did not pass without another set of visitors. This time Matt and I hosted Liz and her sister Carol. (Liz is my sorority sister and was active in the Denver Alumnae Association before she and her family moved to Wisconsin.) They flew over for a long weekend and arrived in Basildon on a Friday evening. They wanted an authentic British pub experience and we gave them one! Our first choice for always taking guests happened to be reserved/booked for the whole evening, so we went to another good spot that was crazy busy. Saturday they went into London on their own and then we all went in together on Sunday. That is one of my favorite parts of going into London, the train ride. There really isn’t anything special about it, but since we don’t use public transportation often in Colorado it is just a different experience. I love seeing the city come into view!

Liz and Carol had a few things planned for themselves, including a special tour of Buckingham Palace, so Matt and I went to Greenwich to the Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory. We were supposed to meet up with them at Trafalgar Square but their tour ran over and they were quite late. It was freezing cold and started to snow so we took cover in the lobby of a restaurant near one of the underground entrances of Charing Cross. Amazingly, the girls came out right in front of us! The snow was coming down pretty heavy at that time so we decided not to trek out to another restaurant and settled for dinner where we were. On the train ride home we could tell that it was going to be quite a snowfall when it was all said and done. Luckily we made it home because some of the later trains were cancelled.

standing in two hemispheres at one time

Prime Meridian in Greenwich

National Maritime Museum

I woke early in the morning because I was anxious to check the weather for Liz and Carol as they were flying back home that day. The news was reporting about ‘Blizzard Britain’ and stated that parts of the underground were closed as were national rail lines. Well, so much for Liz and Carol taking the train and tube to the airport. They were up by this time preparing to head out with plenty of time to catch their flight. I broke the news to them about the weather and told them that Matt and I would take them to the airport. We really didn’t mind doing this and actually the motorways were quite good compared to other parts of the region. We got them there with hours to spare! The next big question was whether their flight got out, which it did and was one of the few.

First night of snowfall

They thought they left the snow behind in Chicago...

Matt throwing snowballs

Cheyenne loves the snow!

Apparently, this was the biggest snowstorm in 18 years! Businesses and transportation routes were closed down and people were urged to stay home and off the roads. Of course, there was great controversy over the preparedness of the city of London but give them some credit, they only deal with this once every 20 years or so and did their best given the situation!

Kathleen was here!

2009-01-31T21:32:00.003-07:00

January was quite the busy month for me. My good friend, and former coworker, Kathleen was in London recently with her husband Sean. Sean had to travel for work and he surprised Kathleen at Christmas with a plane ticket to join him. Boy was I surprised and excited when she called me up and said “would you like to have lunch next week?” What?! She was going to be in London?! Of course, I had to see her. She and I we were office mates for a couple of years, before I changed jobs in Denver, and became great friends. She and Sean moved from Colorado to Michigan shortly before Matt and I moved to England.

I met her in London one day and we hopped on a train at Waterloo Station to go out to Hampton Court Palace and visit one of King Henry VIII’s palaces. It was a grand site and we enjoyed an official tour and stroll through some of the gardens. Afterward, we savored a Tudor-style lunch in the Privy Kitchen. We ended the day having pizza and ice cream in Harrod’s!

Our delicious lunch from the Privy Kitchen

Two days later Kathleen ventured out to my neck of the woods – about a 25 minute train ride east of the city – for dinner and a drive through the country. After a mix up at the train station that had us both waiting in different areas for 45 minutes, we finally met up and I drove her to one of my favorite Italian places. We enjoyed a lovely dinner and then went to my house. She had a brief time to say hello to Cheyenne and take a look around before we had to get her back to the train station for the last train into London that evening. While I would have been happy for her to stay overnight, I know she wanted to get back to the city.

Kathleen, it was so wonderful to see you! Thank you for including me in your plans during your first visit to London!

It took 12.5 years…

2009-01-22T21:26:00.003-07:00

…but I finally visited my friend Sonja in Berlin! Sonja was an exchange student in my high school when I was a junior. We played on the volleyball team together and became fast friends. When she returned to Germany I vowed to stay in touch with her and one day visit. The two of us moved several times over the years and stayed in contact through letters and emails. I knew that I could not return to the States without visiting her and with only a couple of months to spare I finally made the journey to her hometown. She is quite the busy woman now as she is a doctor, but I appreciate the time she was able to spend with me during my visit.

These pictures were taken quite early in the morning - Sonja had to go to work and I had to head to the airport.

I was graciously invited to stay with her and her boyfriend at their new flat. The first evening we went out with some of her friends, but surprisingly I was too insecure to try my newly learned German language skills on them. What was more interesting is that Sonja’s boyfriend is from Spain, so throughout the weekend she went from Spanish to German to English quite effortlessly. Sonja and Rafa showed me around the city a bit and it was nice to see areas that Matt and I did not visit during our previous trip. It is always nice to experience the local’s way of life too. The visit may have only been a few short days but it meant the world to me to finally say that I made good on my promise. Now, if only I can get them out to Colorado in the next 12 years!

Sanssouci Palace gardens, Potsdam

Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin

Day Trip to Paris

2009-01-10T21:19:00.003-07:00

My great friend, Angela, and I took the Eurostar to Paris for a day! This was my third trip to the city but Angela’s first. I was excited to able to share the experience with her. Cheyenne and I stayed over at her place Monday night and then on Tuesday she and I caught the train from Ebbsfleet around 6:00am. We arrived in Paris just over two hours later. Can you believe the weather high was 16 degrees Fahrenheit that day?! There was ice and snow on the ground, but it was all very beautiful. I can’t lie and say we were snug in our clothes b/c we were not quite prepared for that temperature, but we didn’t let that ruin our day. We did not intend to go into any of the museums or anything since we were only there for a ‘whistle-stop’ but we did make it around the city to see many of the sights. I do feel sorry for the American couple who was turned away at the Eiffel Tower b/c it was closed due to ice.

Sacré-Coeur Basilica

We first went up to Montmartre to see the Sacré-Coeur Basilica and a panoramic view of the city. Near the basilica was Tetre Square – full of street artists where we had our portraits drawn. Of course, we made our way along the Seine River past many of the historic sights to the Eiffel Tower, did some window shopping along the Champs-Élysées, and walked the grounds around the Louvre at night. We wined and dined in a couple of quaint restaurants to complete our Parisian experience. We ended our fabulous day around 9:00pm when we had to catch the train back to England.

Musée du Louvre

New Year’s Eve Masked Ball

2009-01-06T13:52:00.003-07:00

We broke from tradition this year and rang in the New Year with friends at a private bash in Rochester, Kent. Angela and Alan invited us to their members club – The Roffen – for an evening of dancing, drinks, and dining. As most of you know, Matt and I usually go out to eat at a Japanese hibachi steakhouse and then spend the rest of the night at home watching all of the crazy festivities on television. It may not sound like your idea of a fun evening, but it is the perfect way to celebrate the ending of one year and the beginning of another.

We thought that since it was our last holiday in Europe we would go out with a bang. The evening included a dinner buffet, two floors of dancing, cooked breakfast, and masks were provided late in the evening before midnight.

Cheyenne was able to spend some time with her new friend, Jesse, while the parents were partying it up!

Thanks for a great evening, Angela and Alan!

Christmas Day

2008-12-26T15:59:00.005-07:00

Christmas Day was pretty low-key as well. We did not exchange gifts this year, rather decided to go shopping together and buy things on our day out. A couple of weeks ago we bought new Oakley sunglasses. My first pair of sunglasses that were over $50 dollars (way over that amount actually)! But apparently once you get Oakleys you can never wear anything else. Matt swears by them and has had about 4-5 pairs since we were in college. (He tends to lose them on the slopes or in the river or in a foreign country.) We were going to go shopping today to see what bargains were in the stores but decided to wait until this weekend. I'm hoping to pick up a few things off my wish list!

Santa Claus did make a quick visit for Cheyenne, though. Here she is unwrapping her gift!

Matt and I made Christmas dinner, which was the perfect time together. As you can see from the pictures we had Gammon (ham), beans & mushrooms, mash potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and yorkshire pudding (not dessert pudding, but rather british "bread" of sorts made from batter). We filled ourselves silly.

In the evening we went to a friend's home to enjoy sweets with her family. There were a few extra treats for Cheyenne. Her daughters had a gift package waiting for Cheyenne and of course she loved it. (They been trying to talk their Mom into getting a dog, as a companion to their cat.) The treats kept her entertained while we talked and played board games. It was a lovely, stress-free evening. Thank you Sharon, Eric, Millie, and Rosina for having us over!

Christmas Eve in the Outback...

2008-12-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

...Steakhouse that is. Christmas Eve was quite an uneventful day. We lounged around for a bit and then went to the grocery store to pick up some last minute things, since the stores would be closed the next two days. We took Cheyenne on a walk and then started to settle in for an evening at home. Matt was bored and decided to go on a run...but when he came home he got into his mind that we needed to go out to eat. He had run by Outback Steakhouse and said that it smelled so good he wanted to go out instead of make dinner at home. So, we both got ready and headed over there. The funny thing was that we did not end up getting steak or anything you'd really expect at a steakhouse - we ended up with crispy chicken tender salad! Boy was it good, though.

Anyway, I know that wasn't too exciting but hey, it is what it is. The pictures above are when we returned home. We have our paper crowns on, which is a standard item in a British 'Christmas Cracker'. Doesn't take much to thrill us apparently!

Christmas Crackers from Wikipedia:

Christmas crackers or bon-bons are an integral part of Christmas celebrations in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, other Commonwealth countries and Ireland. A cracker consists of a cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper, making it resemble an oversized sweet-wrapper. The cracker is pulled by two people, and, much in the manner of a wishbone, the cracker splits unevenly. The split is accompanied by a small bang produced by the effect of friction on a chemically impregnated card strip (similar to that used in a cap gun).

In one version of the tradition the person with the larger portion of cracker empties the contents from the tube and keeps them. In another each person will have their own cracker and will keep its contents regardless of whose end they were in. Typically these contents are a coloured paper hat or crown; a small toy or other trinket and a motto, a joke or piece of trivia on a small strip of paper. Crackers are often pulled after Christmas dinner or at parties.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-23T06:32:00.007-07:00

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

As surprising as it may be to some of you, Matt and I will be spending the holidays in our home in England. Nope, no big getaway planned. Oh, we thought about it and even thought of driving over to France with Cheyenne for the week, but we just didn't book anything in time. I didn't even put any decorations up because I thought we weren't going to be here. So, thank you to all those who sent Christmas cards because they are the only festive decorations we have.

On a happier note, one of my coworkers invited us over for Tea on Christmas Day. Sharon and I have become quite good friends over the last year and it was very sweet of her to invite us to join her family. We will be having dinner (lunch) here at home first, as traditional as I can get it, and will then go over around 6:00pm. Tea in England usually means the beverage, of course, and cakes and biscuits (i.e. cookies). She has two teenage daughters who are looking forward to Cheyenne coming over and I am looking forward to spending the evening with friends.

On New Year's Eve Matt and I will be joining another friend and her husband at a NYE gala in Rochester, Kent. This will be mine and Matt's first New Year's Eve party, as we usually dine out at a Japanese Hibachi restaurant on NYE and spend a quiet evening at home - our own tradition. Andrea and I became friends last year when she moved from Charleston, SC to join her English hubby in Rochester. It has been great to have another American friend over here to talk about the differences and know that someone else understands what you are going through. (It isn't all fun and games, you know.) She and I will be taking a day trip to Paris via the Eurostar on January 6th to celebrate her birthday, which falls between Christmas and the New Year.

January will be quite a busy month for us. I will be visiting an old friend in Berlin mid-month and a sorority sister and her sister will be visiting us at the end of the month. Matt will be off again to one country or another for work and I will be missing him all the more. After that I am sure the time will fly by and we will be back in Denver before we know it. We still don't have an exact move date, but it should be no later than April. We will keep everyone posted!

We hope to hear from you and see pictures from your holiday celebrations!

Größ Gott!

2008-12-01T14:09:00.027-07:00

I'm sure you are all dying to know where Matt took me for my birthday...if you haven't heard already...It was Vienna, Austria!

The adventure began on the Friday before my birthday when we left our house at 4am to head to the airport. Matt checked us in and I did not find out our destination until we got to the gate. We flew into Bratislava, Slovakia and took a one hour bus ride into Vienna. Matt has been to both Bratislava and Vienna for work but this was my first time in the cities.

After checking into the hotel we headed out to explore the city. As it was raining, we tried to stay inside as much as we could. We toured the Staatsoper and Opern Museum (State Opera and museum), spent time in Starbucks enjoying a warm drink and peoplewatching, and ended the day with a meal in a traditional Austrian style restaurant.

Wien Staatsoper

Over the weekend it was quite freezing, literally, as it snowed both days but all the more to keep us snuggling. On Saturday we went on a self-guided tram tour (thanks to Rick Steves again) and took a ride on the Riesenrad, which is like a ferris wheel, for panoramic views of the city. We also took a bus through the wine-growing area and thought we might end up there for the night as the snow was really accumulating. But, the bus trudged on and we were able to enjoy a glass of wine in one of the many wine cafes. We then headed back to Vienna and stopped by Starbucks before heading to dinner. On Sunday all shops were closed but luckily the Hofburg Palace was open. We toured the winter residence of the Hapsburgs, along with the treasury. It was really cold outside, so we stopped by Starbucks for a hot drink. Following that we walked through the Christmas Market at City Hall. (Leading up to Christmas, many european cities host Christmas markets where vendors from all around sell christmas ornaments, decorations, and gifts.) The main market was at City Hall, but there were many other smaller markets around the city as well.

About to embark on our tram tour

Riesenrad

On the bus through wine region

Christmas Market

Hofburg Palace

On Monday, my birthday, we did a lot of window shopping through the Old Town and around St Stephan's Cathedral. In late afternoon we went on a horse buggy ride from Hofburg Palace, past City Hall, through Old Town, and back. It was very romantic as Matt and I were snuggled up in the carriage, it was snowing outside, and we were riding past all of the old buildings lit up for the holidays. Another special treat was going to the Opera. We heard about standing-room tickets earlier so went about an hour before the show and bought them for 4 euros each, which I think would be around $5. The opera being performed that evening was Strauss's 'Salome' in German. I tried to put my german lessons to use but was not that successful. I think I could put the main story line together, but couldn't get the 'dialogue', if you will. We only stayed for 30 minutes, since it isn't very pleasant in the crowded standing-room balcony. But, what an experience! We can say that while in Vienna, the city of music, we went to the Opera. To end the evening, we had a romantic dinner at a seafood restaurant Matt recommended from one of his previous work visits. For dessert I had the best tiramisu I've ever eaten! And somewhere along the day, we went to Starbucks.

St Stephan's Cathedral

Horse & Carriage

Rathaus / City Hall

Opera, lower balcony is standing-room

On Tuesday, we did a bit of shopping before catching a train back to Bratislava. Unfortunately we got into Bratislave after dark, and had a bit of a time figuring out how to get to the city centre from the train station, but we still managed to walk around the old town and take in the quaint streets and shops. We had a wonderful meal at an Argentinan steakhouse before heading to the airport. Our flight out was around 10:30 at night and by the time we got home it was about 1:00am. I had to be up at 7:30 for repairmen to work on our water heater, but I didn't mind at all as I fell asleep quickly with happy thoughts from my celebratory trip. This day, we forgot to visit Starbucks.

On train to Bratislava

Guy in manhole - not sure why this is special but it is on postcards and everything

I want to thank my wonderful and thoughtful hubby for this fabulous surprise trip for my 30th birthday! I love you, Matt!

Also, in case I didn't mention it enough, we went to Starbucks a lot on this trip. That has become our new ritual here and around Europe, because we never went there back in the States. I like the Chai Tea Lattes and Matt likes the hot chocolates and we just enjoy the peoplewatching more than anything. Plus, it was quite cold in Vienna so we needed something to keep us warm. Otherwise, Matt would have been enjoying the Weissbeer if it was warmer.

Matt with his Weisbier

On a special note, I received a lovely ring from my in-laws for my birthday. When they were visiting us in April we had all gone to a local antique store and I had my eye on a particular ring. However, at the time I didn't want to pay the asking price and was not able to haggle the price lower. Well, Mom & Dad Biviano remembered it all this time and sent Matt to pick it up. None of them could really remember what the ring looked like, but the same guy was there and knew exactly which one it was. When Matt gave it to me on our trip and I opened the box, I knew exactly what it was and felt honored to receive it. Thanks Mom & Dad!

My birthday gift

Happy Birthday, Cheyenne!

2008-11-30T13:18:00.004-07:00

Cheyenne celebrated her 6th birthday on Thanksgiving! What a precious furbaby she is! I wish I had pictures of her as a puppy to post, but they are all back in Denver. When we moved to England we knew we could not leave her behind and so now she is an international pup!

R.I.P. Zachariah Chaplin

2008-11-20T10:53:00.005-07:00

Today I found out that a childhood friend recently passed away. My mother and I moved around a lot when I was younger and even after moving to and settling in Batesburg-Leesville, SC in 4th grade we still held several residences until my graduation. In middle school I lived on the same street as Zach and Amanda Chaplin and even in high school when we moved again to an apartment complex they too were there. Zach was two years ahead of me and Amanda was in the same class. After graduation I lost touch with both of them, but thanks to the wonders of the internet and MySpace I got back in touch with them a couple of years ago.

Zach and his daughter

My prayers are with his family at this time. Even though he is no longer with us here on earth, he will live on in our hearts and memories forever.

http://obit.barr-price.com/obitdisplay.html?id=603859&clientid=barr-price&listing=Current

http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/589178.html

http://www.wistv.com/global/story.asp?s=9088584

Day Out With A New Friend

2008-11-19T14:45:00.006-07:00

Angela and I met through an Americans in London meetup group. We only actually communicated online in the beginning, as she was still in the US but preparing to move to England. She married an Englishman last year and moved over this October. While neither of us actually live in the city of London, we are just short train rides away. Shortly after she arrived and got settled in we were able to get together for some retail therapy and recently met up for a day out in London. It is great to be able to share all of the experiences (and emotions) with another American living abroad. Of course, I am like the mentor now that I've been here a year and a half. I have a lot of observations and such to share. I also love being a tour guide and was happy to show her around London. We covered a lot of ground, but there is still so much more to see!

HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge

We met in Trafalgar Square to attend the Annie Leibovitz exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery. After viewing the exhibit we walked through Leicester Square to Soho and Chinatown. We had lunch at one of the many chinese restaurants, but unfortunately the food left much to be desired. From there we walked to Whitehall and the City of Westminster. Of course, I pointed out the major attractions as we passed. We walked along the river all the way down to the Tower Hill area. I'm sure you wouldn't quite understand the distance if you've never been, but there were so many things to see along the way - the London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, HMS Belfast, the Golden Hinde, Tower of London and Tower Bridge. We decided to stay in town for dinner and wait for the after-work rush to pass (4pm-7pm). We dined at a great Italian restaurant in a little harbor near the Tower Bridge. We had a wonderful day out and I can't wait for another one! (Thanks, Angela!)

Tower Bridge

Our view while sipping on Chai Tea Lattes from Starbucks

Return to Dublin

2008-10-16T09:37:00.004-06:00

Guess I better update this blog, especially since we are going away this weekend for my birthday and I'm sure I'll have lots to tell when we return. Well, I returned to Dublin back in early October to continue my family research. It has been such a special thing for me to undertake. Both sets of grandparents died when I was young and so did my father. So, the more I can find out about any branch of my family tree the better. I am tracing my maternal grandfather's family, whose parents immigrated to Pennsylvania from Ireland sometime between 1902-1910. I have been fortunate to find birth records, one showing that I share a birthday with a great-great uncle (November 24). On this recent trip, I also found land records pertaining to the land my family occupied at the time of my earliest records. It appears that the land on which they lived from the mid-1800s is still in the family today! I even have a land map showing the plots. My dream would be to go to the townland of Fahy, in the parish of Clifden in Galway County, and walk the ground that my ancestors did. I'm sure I share dreams of many family researchers when I imagine going to the "homeland" and meeting people that share the same family ties.

Irish Life Center

Unfortunately, I only allowed myself one day longer than the last trip. I'm sure I can make a couple weeks or more out of it, though. One place and record leads you to another place and then back to somewhere you've already been before, and around it goes. Even though I was on my own, I did not have to spend the evenings holed up in my hotel room. Matt's company has an office in Dublin and I've previously met some of his colleagues from the city. The first night I met up with Vanessa, who is from Denver like ourselves. The second night I met up with Marta, who is from Poland. She and I went to a Cajun-Creole restaurant near the Temple Bar area, for something new and different. On my last evening, Vanessa invited me to her home in Booterstown to dine with her family. Booterstown is basically a suburb of Dublin and just a short tram ride away. I had a lovely time all around and hope it isn't the last time I see them or visit Dublin.

Yummm. Buttermilk pancakes and bacon! (No I didn't eat all of that bacon.)

View from my hotel room - Tanta Zoe's (Cajun-Creole Restaurant)

Arriving in Booterstown

Stratford-Upon-Avon

2008-10-16T08:52:00.007-06:00

On Saturday, September 20th we found ourselves on the road again. We had cabin fever and decided to drive to Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare's Birthplace, for the afternoon. I don't know why we do this, but we end up sitting around all morning debating what to do then finally decide after lunch, which inevitably includes a drive of more than an hour. From there we scramble to shower and such and then jump in the car. Our drive to Stratford-upon-Avon, not to be confused with Stratford, was about a two-hour drive one way. Once we got there we parked near the town centre and strolled through the high street, stopping at Shakespeare's birth home, and continuing to the riverfront.

At the riverfront we decided to hire (a.k.a. rent) a boat for a while. Our options were a row boat or a motorized boat. Feeling adventurous, and wanting to save a bit of money, we chose the row boat for an hour. Our plan was that Matt would row for the first half hour and I would for the second half. Well, it definitely looks easier than it is. Matt did a great job getting us around but when I took over we were still in practically the same spot after five minutes and heading towards moored canal boats. Oops! So, Matt graciously rowed us back to the dock. Unfortunately we only managed to use about 35 minutes of our time, but we had great fun doing it. When stepping out of the boat Matt told the guy "that he ran out of gas"! Haha! Cheyenne enjoyed the ride as she watched all of the swans floating about. Given the chance, she would have jumped out of the boat and swam after them! So, now we can say we rowed the River Avon! You know, it doesn't take much to entertain me and I am a sucker for any boat ride or carriage ride. Whatever new city we go to I always try to talk Matt into one or the other or both. Usually he just responds with " if you've seen/done one, you've seen/done them all". I would disagree, of course.

A Home away from Home away from Home

2008-10-10T05:39:00.003-06:00

You read that right, Matt now has a flat in Gdansk. He has taken on a new role within the company and will be in Gdansk even more often now. Actually, this started back in August/September, but I am just now getting around to posting about it. On our August trip we went flat-hunting and in early September we moved into the flat. I say 'we' only because I was there for the first week (Sept 6-12) and the housewarming party, but it really is Matt's place and I have not been there since. This is a company flat and I believe that they may keep it on even after Matt's departure. It is within walking distance from the office and Matt says that from the time he gets on the elevator at work to the time he is entering the flat building it is 6 minutes.

So, not only do we have a home in England away from our home in Colorado, we now have a home in Poland. (Our heart still lies with the one in Colorado.) It definitely makes those weekly travels easier on Matt because he has his own place to go back to after a long day at work, rather than any given hotel for the week. Plus, it is a pretty nice place overall and is a new build. In fact, the complex is a gated community and is still in development.

Matt has really fallen for Poland. Well, all we've seen really is the Tri-City area, but the people are friendly and happy, the food is wonderful, and he has a great relationship with his colleagues. I think it will be hard for him to leave next year. Hopefully we'll always have friends in the area and can return for a visit.

Okay, it is too early to get emotional about leaving, so I'll talk about our housewarming party. Apparently this is quite a tradition and some of his colleagues were disappointed that he did not have a party scheduled. So, with just a day notice we invited everyone over on a Saturday evening. There are about 100 people in his office, so we had no idea how many people would actually show up. Our flat is very tiny, as you would expect, so that was the only thing we were nervouse about. In the end, I think there were 30 or so people there. It just so happened, though, that it was the warmest night in a while and it was quite warm in the place even with windows and doors open. At about 1:30am when most of the guest were gone, the few stragglers invited us out to continue the party in Sopot. We hailed taxis and went to a bar/club in Sopot. It wasn't what I was expecting, but we ended up dancing and drinking until about 3:30am. Matt and I finally said our goodbyes and went home to sleep. We left all of the cleaning up for the morning!

I flew in that Saturday morning and we had just enough time to do a bit of grocery shopping (quite interesting), tidy up the flat, and prepare the bits of food we purchased. Of course we served Polish Kielbasa! We knew our guests would probably bring lots of vodka and wine, so we didn't purchase much of that. There is still beer, wine, and vodka left in the flat. We'll need to throw another party just to get rid of it! Unfortunately we can't bring it all back with us.

Vacation in France & Germany (+Austria)

2008-10-04T07:55:00.034-06:00

Hello all,

Since Amber has been slacking off lately with the blog, I decided to write something about our trip in August to France, Germany and Austria.

Just to start off, I have to say that I didn't turn my blackberry on the entire time, so I was able to thoroughly enjoy the trip!!!

Train at Ebbsfleet

We started off taking the train from London to Paris; it was an early departure at 6:30am, but meant we had a full day in Paris. The Eurostar travels at about 185 MPH between the two cities, but so smooth that I slept the whole way for the 2 hour journey. After checking into our quaint hotel (with a 'view' of the Eiffel tower.....if you hang out the window far enough), we started by checking out one of the most visited attractions in Paris. We decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator up to the 1st and 2nd levels to avoid the long lines, but the walk wasn't so bad. From the 2nd level, you can oversee much of Paris and really get a good panoramic view of Paris. We had lunch on the 2nd level before descending back for a bus tour of Paris and to head back for a nap before our bike tour that evening. I also stopped by the local grocery store to buy some food for dinner and forgot to weigh the bananas before getting to the checkout. It was one of those embarrasing moments where the clerk was trying to tell me in French that I needed to weigh the bananas while lots of people were behind me in line, but I had no clue what he was saying. Luckily, I figured out the fruit weighing machine and made my way on. That evening, we decided to do a 'Fat Tire' bike tour. It is run by American students and mainly contains only American tourists and they take you all over Paris on beach cruiser bikes. It was 4 hours long, but included stops along the way to look at various sites, a ride on a river boat cruise along the Seine, and also a stop for ice cream at a famous Paris parlor. The distance wasn't very long for me as an avid bicyclist, but needless to say, Amber wasn't able to walk very well the next day due to the stair climb and the bike ride. It was really fun, though, and I would recommend it as a way to see new cities.

View from our Hotel

Eiffel Tower at Night

One of the other main highlights of our trip to Paris was a day trip to the Palace of Versailles. It included the castle of King Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette and also on the grounds was the chateau of Marie and several other homes and a large garden area and ponds. We had lunch sitting by the pond and watching tourists paddling boats around the pond. The gardens were quite large and for the horticulturists out there, I image it is a splendid site to visit.

Palace and Gardens in Versaille

Other stops in Paris included the Louvre (former palace now an art gallery), Champs-Elysées (the famous street mall), Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, and many other sites we saw on the bike and bus tours, and river cruise.

At the Louvre

The next part of our adventure took us off to Berlin. We decided that we enjoyed training so much in Italy that we would train as much as possible on this trip as well, so we took the overnight train from Paris to Berlin. We left Paris at about 8pm and ended up in Berlin the next morning at 8am. We had our own private room with 2 bunkbeds and to be honest, it was really relaxing and enjoyable. I had my doubts about it and it was a little pricey, but I would definitely do it again.

In the train sleeper car

Once in Berlin, we were able to start using some of the German we had learned. Amber and I took lessons for about 8 months and I spent about 8 months travelling to Germany for work, so we know some of the language. Berlin is full of historical sites and quite a unique city. You can also still notice the differences between east and west Berlin. Our visits included the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag/Bundestag (government building), Checkpoint Charlie (one of the entry points controlled by the US), and the Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe. We also did a bus tour and quite a bit of walking around the city. While there, I intoduced Amber to one of the favorite German restuarants, Vapiano. It is really Italian food, but they are based in Germany. While spending my time in Frankfurt, the team I was with enjoyed visiting the restaurant as the food is really good and the atmosphere as well. It is a mix between upscale fast food and casual dining with a custom made pizza, pasta, and salad bar where they make your food to order. Their website says 100 are coming to the US, so I am looking forward to going there when we move back.

Night view of the Brandenburg Gate

After Berlin, we made our way to Munich. This was the part of the trip I was looking forward to the most. Munich is known for their weissbeer (white beer). In a tight race with Belgium beers, weissbeer is one of my favorite beers. They also serve it in 1 liter mugs and so Amber insisted I try at least 1 liter per day, but may days, the 1st wasn't good enough, so I got a 2nd. Munich has the largest beergarden (Hofbrauhaus) in the world and of course we had to visit it. We only had a mug of beer and a pretzel while there, but it was a site nonetheless to see. We also tried German meatloaf, which is really a huge slab of Bologna, which was a disappointment for us considering we were looking forward to 'American' meatloaf.

Litre of beer at the Hofbrauhaus

While in Munich, we visited the memorial site setup at Dachau which was the first concentration camp during WWII. It was a somber experience, but really brought the history we learned into perspective. Definitely something you have to see before you truly have a sense for what happened during the times. The memorial is setup really well and tells the history of what happened through the camps timeperiod, but also some of the buildings are still there on the actual site, and you can go through them.

Entry to Dachau Memorial Site

Also from Munich, we took a day trip to Salzburg, Austria, again by train. Amber wanted to do the Sound of Music tour, so we made our way to famous Salzburg to check out the sites. We took a guided tour of the sites made famous by the movies. We used the Bob's Special Tours and they use 8 passenger vans instead of the big buses, so the experience was very personable. I didn't know this, but the Sound of Music is the 3rd best selling movie of all time domestically (behind Gone with the Wind and Star Wars -- adjusted for inflation), but many Austrians have never seen or heard of it and don't really know what all the hoopla in their town is all about (according to our guide). I like Austria (have visited Vienna several times for work) and have seen the movie, so it was actually interesting for me as well. Oh and by the way, there was weissbeer along the way, so that is all I needed to be happy. The tour not only took us around the town of Salzburg, but also up into the mountains surrounding Salzburg and into the Lake District for some wonderful views of the lakes. We saw the HQ of Red Bull which sits in the middle of a pond on concrete pods overlooking the lakes, what an inspiring view.

Lake District near Salzburg

Other attractions in Munich included visits to the Olympic village from 1972, the BMW manufacturing site, the Chinese Pagoda (with really good bratwurst curry and more beer), the English gardens, and the Museum of Transportation.

Meal at the Chinese Pagoda

Finally at the end of the Munich trip, we had to head back to London to collect our daughter and begin work again. It was a really enjoyable trip with lots of memorable destinations. Our next trip will be for Amber's 30th birthday in November and we are going to............not so fast, it's a surprise, so you'll have to wait and see in November. Be sure to check out the rest of the pictures in the photo books.

View of the Castle in Salzburg

Matt

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR COMPLETE PHOTO ALBUMS FROM THE TRIP! Link to Picasa Web Albums on the left hand side of the page.

Shakespeare Festival

2008-08-28T14:50:00.009-06:00

Matt and I returned to Gdansk the week of August 4th-8th. He was there for work, of course, but I was looking forward to the Shakespeare Festival and Saint Dominic's Fair as well as sites that I did not see during my trip in the spring. We were staying in Gdansk this time, as opposed to Sopot in March. This was a great base for exploring the city and getting around, especially since our hotel was so close to the main train station and main shopping street.

Dominican Fair

Living Statues

This one is for the ADPIs!

On my list of things to see this time were The Roads to Freedom exhibit and the Westerplatte (where WWII began), mentioned in more detail below. I strolled through the Dominican Fair one day on my way to the waterfront. Old town was packed with street stalls, buskers, entertainers, and of course loads of tourists/bargain hunters. At the waterfront, I purchased a return ticket on one of the touristy pirate ships that takes visitors to the Westerplatte. The ride to the Westerplatte was about 30 minutes long and took us along the coast while the captain pointed out the Gdansk shipyard and many other interesting sites. I spent an hour on the Westerplatte before returning.

Entry to The Roads to Freedom exhibit

The pirate ship to Westerplatte

Gdansk Shipyard

Bunker on Westerplatte

One evening I made plans with my polish friend, Elzbieta, to see one of the Shakespeare Performances. We chose Romeo & Juliet being performed by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. We chose an English performance since that was the only language I would be able to understand, although I was never quite sure how old English could translate to other languages. Also, the performance was set outside in a park in Gdynia. It wasn't your traditional stage performance, which made the production even more interesting. After the play, we strolled along the sea to Gdynia pier and then found our way to a Thai? restaurant for dinner. (My memory fails me now and can't remember if it was Thai or Indian or something.) We took the train back toward Gdansk and parted ways for the evening.

Romeo & Juliet stage

Gdynia Beach

Me and Elzbieta "Ela"

It is always a pleasure joining Matt in Poland as I generally get to see his colleagues in the Gdansk office. I have formed a friendship with a couple of them, since they were on the original UK team and training here in Basildon last year. (The Shared Service Center in Gdansk is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month!) Ela is one of those special friends and I hope we can will remain in touch even after I return to the States.

To know more about items mentioned above, please continue reading. Excerpts taken from Gdansk In Your Pocket.

Roads to Freedom exhibit. Charting the course of events that began with the sacrifice of Poland to the Soviets at the end of WWII and leading through to the formation of the 3rd Polish Republic in 1989, this subterranean exhibition does a very good job of explaining the events that influenced and shaped the people of Poland and which resulted in the incredible movement that was Solidarity.

Westerplatte. A large protective arm smothering Gdanks's Nowy Port to its south, the peninsula of Westerplatte first sprang to fame as a popular health resort in the middle of the 19th century, although it's as a military zone and the place where the opening shots of WWII were fired that Westerplatte is more notoriously rememberd. Shortly before five o'clock in the morning on September 1, 1939, the gErman warship Schleiswig-Holstein, supposedly visiting Gdansk on a good-will mission, opened fire on Westerplatte, and the rest as they say is history.

Shakespeare Festival. August sees the annual Shakespeare Festival which has developed quite a tradition and reputation both in Poland and abroad. It begins on the first Saturday of August and is a tribute to England's great bard. In this 12th edition of the festival, artists from different cultures and continents from the UK to Japan, USA, France, spain, Romania, Armenia, Ukraine, Zambia and Poland met in Gdansk. The main events took place in Gdansk, including workshops, lectures and meetings, and as the nights wore on there were further meetings and concerts around the Tri-city.

Saint Dominic's Fair. The Dominican Fair is the largest outdoor trade fair in Oland, and drawing some 150,000 visitors daily it's also one of the most popular in Europe. The event dates from 1260 when Pope Alexander IV granted the Dominican Order the power to absolve the sins of whoever made donations to the church of the poor. This annual event soon became a religious hoiday for the people of Gdansk, and a trade fair soon built up around it.

Woburn Safari Park

2008-07-25T12:47:00.007-06:00

I almost forgot to mention our day out at the Woburn Safari Park! We are always looking for something new and entertaining to do on the weekends and have been considering a safari park. Woburn is about 1.5 hours from our house so we decided to drive there one Saturday in June. The concept is that you can drive your own vehicle through an African Safari (4 miles). Most of the animals are allowed to roam freely and others are only separated by cables. You are prohibited from getting out of your cars and are asked to keep your windows closed at all times. There is an area at the end of the drive - Australian Walkabout - where you can park your car and have a picnic, but more importantly/interestingly walk around and "interact" with some of the smaller animals.

I was very psyched about this little trip but it takes more to impress Matt. He was a little skeptical about it, especially since we heard that when you enter the monkey area that they jump on your car and mess with your antenna and stuff. (You have the option of bypassing that area.) Also, I think he was hoping for more of an authentic safari where you can ride in a jeep among the animals - you know, reach out and touch them. (This is the guy who was upset that we didn't encounter any black bears while camping in Yellowstone.) But, I prefer to stay safe and sound in my car and not rub noses with the bears, lions, tigers, etc. However, it has to be said that you can pay extra to ride in a jeep with one of the rangers and get in closer contact with some of the animals.

Overall, I enjoyed our outing. It was cool to see some of the animals walking right next to the car. My pictures aren't necessarily that great because I had to take them through the window, but I hope it gives you an idea of the park. We happened to catch a lot of the animals during their afternoon nap so there wasn't a lot of action. You have the ability to drive through the trail as many times as you like but we only opted for once. The trail is one-way and there is enough room for two cars - most people got the concept that one side is used for stopping and viewing while the other lane is used for passing. Well, that all worked pretty well until we got into the monkey enclosure. There were two lanes of bumper to bumper traffic. The problem was that the monkeys seemed to be the only ones who weren't down for a nap and were out for a lot of games. They were jumping from car to car. So, basically people were either stopped b/c there was a monkey on their car and they thought it was cute or stopped b/c they were trying to take pictures of one on another car. We just wanted to keep slowly moving through. We were in a rental afterall and didn't think it would be "cute" if a monkey broke an antenna or windshield wiper. So, we are watching all of this happening and were in the lane that was slowly moving and it was pretty much inevitable that we'd have one of the jovial creatures on our car. It leapt from the car in front of us directly onto our windshield! It was staring me in the face! It made it's way across the roof of the car and who knows what it was doing. Matt was having none of this so started honking the car horn for the person in front of us to move out of the way so we could get out. I reminded him that the only time we should honk our horn was in case of an emergency - so I have to say that I was a bit embarassed. Haha! It was rather frustrating how you were "trapped" and at the mercy of the car(s) in front of you. Between that and the "lack of activity" of the other animals, Matt was done after the first drive through. We did both agree that it would probably be a lot more fun with children, though. It was all quite an experience!

PITTSBURGH

2008-07-17T05:22:00.007-06:00

I recently returned from a two-week trip to see my family in Pittsburgh. I haven't spent two weeks with them since I was in college. Matt was not able to join me on this trip due to work commitments and I probably would have stayed longer had we not had Cheyenne back in the UK to pick up from the carers. My family told me the visit went by too quickly and that I should stay for a week longer! Who knows the next time I'll get to stay that long. Most of our visits are 4-6 days long, once every 1 - 1.5 years. My cousin promises to bring her boys out to Denver next summer, if we've returned to the States by then.

with my Mom

with Aunt Rosanne (a.k.a. RoRo)

So, during my stay I spent plenty of quality time (although there never is enough) with my Mom, Aunt, and my cousin and her family. I was hoping to spend a bit of time each day in the pool, but everyone said I brought the rain with me so the weather was quite a bit cooler than it had been prior to my arrival. I hear it is back up in the 90s again.

The DiPippas - Tino, Zach, Chaily, Justin, Adrian

We did quite a bit of shopping, although for me it was window shopping for the most part. We had a big family day out at Kennywood Amusement Park, which I haven't been to since I worked there the summer of 2000 during college. When I was little we used to go there every summer and it will always be my favorite. I have such fond memories of being there with my grandmother and still get a little teary-eyed on the Whip, which was one of her favorite rides. Sappy, I know. Anyway, I took the boys to a pottery painting place for some bonding time. I got to see the two youngest play tee ball and several of us went to a Pirates baseball game.

The Skycoaster! Amber, Donna, and Tino

The family (minus my Mom) at the end of a long day at Kennywood

My cousin, Chaily, hosted a family reunion on the 4th of July. She and her husband, Adrian, have worked very hard on their house over the years. Last year she started home schooling the boys, for a number of reasons, and so they converted their basement from a Steelers-themed game room to a classroom. Also, the week before the party they started building a deck out back. Adrian had all but one quarter of it completed and it suited us well for a group our size. They have been such gracious hosts over the years now, inviting family members over for holiday functions throughout the year. I only wish Matt and I could be there more often to share in the festivities. It was quite a tearful goodbye with everyone as I never really know when I'll see them next. I'm very close to my family and it saddens me to think about all the things that I miss out on, but I have to look on the brighter side of life and hope that they remain in good health and spirits until my next visit.

All of the cousins! It wasn't the best picture, but that was almost inevitable with that many kids.

Many more pictures at

http://picasaweb.google.com/amber.biviano/PittsburghSummer2008

Port Talbot, Wales

2008-07-17T04:21:00.001-06:00

The Friday before our seventh wedding anniversary we decided to go out of town for the weekend (May 10-11). We had not been to Wales yet and decided that might be a good place to go for a short break. I found a hotel that allows dogs and was quite surprised to find that it was right on the beach. We hit the road late Saturday morning and were there in about 3.5 hours. We checked in to the hotel, which was the only one on the beachfront, and quickly set out to stroll the beach. It was not tourist season yet so the beach was quite unpopulated, but I tell you the water was too darn cold to go swimming...although it didn't stop some of the locals. Honestly, there wasn't much to do around the beach, especially with a dog, but it was still a pleasant day. On Sunday we headed home, but not before stopping in Cardiff to pick up a souvenir hurricane glass for me at the Hard Rock Cafe. We also stopped and did some shopping at Outlet stores along the way. On Monday, our anniversary, we ate at one of our favorite Italian restaurants - Ask - in Billericay, near home. I can't believe we have been married for 7 years! And, May 16 marked the tenth anniversary of when we started dating. My how time flies! We were just kids then!

Mom & Dad Biviano

2008-07-16T15:21:00.009-06:00

Mom and Dad, Covent Garden

Matt's parents made their first trip abroad to visit us in April. They were here for almost two weeks (April 22 - May 2), but I'll save you the day-by-day replay. We were really looking forward to their visit and showing them around England. It also helped that their visit meant that Matt would be home for two weeks straight!

Mom, Matt, Amber - Southend

Contrary to popular belief, I did not have their itinerary planned by the minute. They had a few things in mind they wanted to see and do but otherwise were happy to hear our suggestions. We divided up the days by going into London, traveling the countryside, and hanging out at home. Of course, we took them to our favorite pub for fish 'n chips, but we couldn't completely give up the comforts of American cooking and customed Outback Steakhouse and TGI Friday's. (Yes, they have those here.) We went to Southend-on-Sea for a stroll along the coast, to Canterbury to see the Cathedral, and to Portsmouth to visit the historic dockyard. We took the train into London on two days, but split up to do sightseeing. Matt and I had already seen most of the usual suspects, so left Matt's parents to explore the Tower of London and such. We all went to Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace and stayed for the entire ceremony in the rain.

Amber, Matt, Dad in London

Dad's proof we went to church, in Canterbury

One especially nice thing about having his parents with us is that they wanted to take as many pictures during their visit as I did, so Matt could not escape the cameras! After 10 years together you think Matt would learn and adapt, but yet he still runs from a camera or scowls for most of the pictures. I am and will always be a picture taker...but sometimes I want to be in them too! Sadly, out of the hundreds of pictures we took between us we did not get even one with the four of us together.

We truly enjoyed their visit and it was so nice having them to ourselves for a bit. With a large family like the Bivianos' it is sometimes difficult to get quality time on a small, more personal level. Mom and Dad, we are so grateful for the time we got to spend with you. Thank you for making the trip across the pond to see us!

Mom and Dad, Portsmouth

Complete Album

http://picasaweb.google.com/amber.biviano/MomDadSVisit

AMSTERDAM

2008-06-17T04:16:00.019-06:00

Matt and I had the pleasure of meeting up with friends from Denver in Amsterdam, the weekend of April 18-20. Mike and his family were visiting his in-laws for the week and generously volunteered to show us around town that weekend. It was quite a busy week for the two of us, especially for Matt who was first in Poland and then Austria before arriving in Amsterdam.

Hilton Amsterdam

View from our hotel room

I flew out Friday morning and the day started out well because when I arrived at the airport I was very early for my flight, so they offered to put me on the earlier flight (7:45am) which I accepted. After arriving at the Amsterdam airport, I took the tram into town and went directly to the hotel. We were using our points to stay at the Hilton and I was pleasantly surprised on arrival to be told that we were given a free upgrade to an executive room! The room was great and had a fabulous view of the city. We were also given access to the executive level dining room, where we had breakfast Saturday morning. After freshening up, I took the tram into the main part of town and wandered around a bit armed with a trusty guidebook and map. I pre-booked admission online to the Anne Frank House and toured the house later in the afternoon. It was quite an experience to imagine what it would have been like for 8 people to live in those cramped quarters and be hidden away for so long. It is truly sad to think what happened to all of them in the end. After that tour, I met up with our friends from Denver, Mike and Natasha. Natasha was born in Amsterdam and they were there visiting her family. On this evening, the kids were not out but we had drinks with her parents and two of their oldest friends. From there we moved on to dinner at a nice Italian place, after much walking around trying to find the place. During dinner Mike got a text from Matt that he had arrived at the hotel. Since it was around 10:00pm, if I recall, he was just going to stay in and go to bed. I showed up soon afterward.

Anne Frank House

Natasha and Mike

Following breakfast Saturday morning, we headed back into town to meet up with Mike and Natasha. While waiting for them, we watched an interesting street performer. Nothing was too different about his skills, but the language he used was horrendous. I guess that is Amsterdam for you?! Most of the day we spent wandering around and taking in the sites, stopping for beer at several locations. We went to the Heineken Brewery for a tour but unfortunately it was closed for renovations. One of the must-eat items of Amsterdam is the fries. They are served with a great mayo sauce or other toppings, but they are fabulous. We also went on a canal tour and stroll through the Red Light District. At first glance the main thoroughfare through the RLD looks like any other busy tourist area, but walking through you can be amazed by how many windows and doors there are that lead to "sinful pleasures". We ended the day having dinner with Natasha's aunts at a Thai restaurant.

Red Light District

Canal Boat Ride

Sunday morning we decided to have some of the much-spoken-about pancakes at a local pancake cafe. There were so many choices! We had a pleasant breakfast and then returned to the hotel to pack and check out. After checking out we decided to head to the train station to put our bags in lockers and get Matt's ticket to Germany. This was a lot of back and forth travel for us, but we decided to do it this way instead of leaving our bags with the concierge and having to go back once again. We couldn't quite figure out the kiosk at the train station so had to wait almost an hour in line for Matt to purchase his ticket at the counter. Not exactly how we wanted to spend our last few hours, but something that had to be done. Once that was taken care of we walked through the RLD again, which was much different yet still as sinful in the daylight, and went back to Dam Square for me to ride one of the rides I was thinking about since I saw it on Friday (as shown in pictures in my web album, you know where to find them). At around 4:30pm we sadly parted ways at the station. I got on a train to the airport and Matt boarded a train to Germany. Since then he has been gone every week, except the period of time that his parents were in town later in April. We don't like things that way, but it is just something we have to deal with right now. We are thankful for the time we do get to spend together and all of the leisure travel we've been able to do since moving abroad.

Yummy Pancakes

Booster Maxxx! Awesome ride!

Carnival in Dam Square

Girls' Weekend in Germany!

2008-06-16T10:00:00.012-06:00

Oh boy, do I have a lot of time to make up for! Well, I finally planned an ADPI Girls' Trip for sisters living in Europe. I've always wanted to getaway with the girls and am envious every time my Zeta Phi chapter sisters plan a weekend out of town. This trip was especially exciting because those who attended had never met each other until then. So, on the weekend of 11-13 April four of us had a wonderful visit in Mainz, Germany (near Frankfurt). Two sisters, Andrea and Gina, live within an hour away of the city, Colleen flew from Naples, Italy, and of course I arrived from London. It seemed like we were old friends and conversation flowed easily. Ahhh, the bond and joys of sisterhood!

Amber, Colleen, Andrea, Gina

While I arranged the hotel details, Andrea planned most of our activities for the weekend as she has been living in Germany for quite a few years now and is the most familiar with the area. On Friday evening, Gina and I were the first to arrive and dined alone near the hotel. Unfortunately, Colleen had some transportation problems and did not meet up with us until later in the evening. Andrea was finishing up work for her graduate class and did not arrive until Saturday morning.

After enjoying a delicious german buffet breakfast, we met up with Andrea at the Gutenberg Museum Workshop. (The Gutenberg Museum is one of the oldest museums of printing in the world.) We probably spent a couple of hours in the shop creating ADPI prints. I have to say that the children caught on much faster than we did and had many more prints by the end. Afterward we did a quick tour of the Museum to see the Gutenberg Bible and other "treasures". We strolled through the local market before meeting up for a guided walking tour of the city. Our guide spoke in both German and English, but it was obvious that the german dialogue was much more detailed than the one we received in English. Apparently the version given to us was a bit embellished and after deciding our attention was not being captivated we decided to duck out early and see a few sites of our own before moving on to our next "appointment".

Working one of the presses

Our finished product

Andrea very wisely made arrangements for us to join the wine tour (only in German) at Kupferberg Wine Cellar - a specialist producer of sparkling wine ("Sekt"). After a tour of the cellars we were treated to a wine tasting of three varieties of Sekt (again dialogue in german). Needless to say we were all very giddy after that activity. We were released into the gift shop where we all proceeded to buy several bottles of Sekt. Andrea took my bottles back to her place, in hopes that I would come visit to collect! Hopefully I'll make it there before she moves back to the States at the end of the summer! Otherwise, she'll have to mail them to me. Anyway, after getting drunk for "free" we headed to dinner. We went to an authentic Mexican restaurant, for more drinks...and oh, dinner. (I have not seen another authentic Mexican restaurant anywhere in Europe. ) Oh, but the night was not over yet!!! Germany is known for its spas and thermal baths, so of course we had to experience this for ourselves. We drove across the river (thanks Gina!) into Wiesbaden to one of the spas and enjoyed an hour or so in the large "heated pool". Now by this time it is about 10:00pm or so. We eventually returned to the hotel, sadly putting an end to our fabulous day.

Enjoying our Sekt!

Our "souvenirs"

Sunday morning, we took a stroll around the hotel along the Rhine River and said our goodbyes. What a wonderful weekend it was! I will treasure the memories and the new friendships I've formed. I hope I can get in a few more girls' trips around Europe before returning to the States.

Beautiful girls!

ALL Pictures http://picasaweb.google.com/amber.biviano/Germany

P.S. I learned that Andrea and I are only four days apart in age (I'm older) and Colleen and I share wedding anniversaries (I married in 2001, she married just last year in 2007)!!!

April - the Month of Madness

2008-05-07T06:30:00.007-06:00

Okay, not really madness but it was quite busy. I started the month off with visitors from Colorado, as mentioned in a previous post. The weekend of the 11th was my fabulous girls' trip to Germany. That was our first, and hopefully not the last, of our ADPI trips for sisters living in Europe. There was mention of a trip to Naples, Italy later this year! The following weekend Matt and I met friends from Denver in Amsterdam. It was such a great city and I was a little sad that we only had a weekend to spend in the city. Immediately following our Amsterdam trip, Matt's parents arrived for a two-week stay. It was great having them here and showing them around the English countryside.

We are back to "normal" life for now. Matt is in Germany again, a part of his weekly travels. I think he'll be off to Latvia sometime this month. Also, we will be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary on Monday 12th. No big plans for that day as of yet.

More details and pictures of these adventures will follow in the next week!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

2008-04-06T05:10:00.003-06:00

Matt in his new business suit

Matt turned 29 yesterday! However, he's not quite an old man yet, despite what some of your voice messages said! Unfortunately, he was battling a sinus infection and was not feeling well so we didn't do anything big to celebrate. His long working hours and frequent business trips really take a toll on him. When he is home he is either sleeping or working! I made him a steak dinner for a quiet evening at home. He's off again in the morning to Germany and then Poland. We won't get another whole week together until his parents arrive at the end of the month! I'm looking forward to that time!

April Visitors

2008-04-06T04:46:00.007-06:00

Me, Kelsey, and Melissa

I was blessed to have two friends visit me this past week. Kelsey and Melissa were members of the Alpha Omicron Pi chapter I advised at the University of Northern Colorado. They have since graduated and are currently visiting Europe. Their first stop was to see me in England! They arrived on Tuesday and made their way from the London airport by underground and train. I picked them up at the train station on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, they toured the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. On Thursday all of us enjoyed a trip into the city. First, I had free show tickets for the live taping of Loose Women, which is sort of the British version of The View, but much "saucier". Afterwards, we took a guided tour inside Westminster Abbey and then took photographs around the Palace of Westminster. That evening after returning to Basildon, we enjoyed a traditional british dinner at my favorite local pub & restaurant. (Kelsey had "bangers & mash" and Melissa and I had "fish & chips".) Friday they were on their own again, and toured St. Paul's Cathedral and Greenwich. Sadly, on Saturday they headed in to London for the last time - this time to stay over night to prepare for an early departure. This morning they were to head out to Paris on the Eurostar. I can't wait to hear about the rest of their travels and see all of the pictures!

Kelsey and Melissa in the College Garden on the Westminster Abbey grounds

Saying goodbye at the Billericay Train Station

The train arrives to take them away :-(

Long awaited trip to POLAND!

2008-03-23T15:27:00.013-06:00

I finally got to join Matt on a trip to Poland. We were there 2-7 March. The area we stayed in is called the Tricity - which consists of the three cities Gdynia, Sopot, and Gdansk. Matt's office is in Gdansk and we stayed in Sopot at a resort hotel on the sea. The sea I am referencing is the Baltic Sea. Poland is probably best known for two things - Amber and Vodka. Great for me! In fact, Gdansk is known as the world capital of Amber. Sadly, I did not bring home any Amber jewelry as anticipated. Reason for me to return this summer! Vodka is my liquor of choice, so I enjoyed tasting the varieties in the area. We stocked up on a few bottles in duty-free at the airport on our return journey. While Matt and I did teach ourselves a bit of Polish, I was most amused when Matt ended up speaking German to our first taxi driver as that was the only common language between the two.

We flew out Sunday morning and took a taxi from the airport to the main train station in Gdansk. We stored our bags at the station and took a train to Malbork to tour the Malbork Castle. Malbork Castle was built/founded by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century and is listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites today. While it rained on us a bit, we didn't let that damper our visit.

Malbork Castle

We stayed at the Grand Hotel in Sopot. Highlights of the hotel are: free internet, flat screen tv (w/a few english channels), spa, workout room (which I didn't take advantage of), indoor pool, and sauna. The Polish staff was very friendly. In fact, I have to say that the Polish people as a whole seem to be very friendly and welcoming. That is why I particularly enjoyed their visit to London back in the fall. It was very nice to see Matt's Polish colleagues again.

Grand Hotel, Sopot

Beach in Sopot

Each evening we ate dinner with one set or another of Matt's colleagues. During the day, though, I was on my own. On Monday, I stayed in Sopot and went on a self-guided tour using my guidebook. (It is always helpful to do your research before you go on a trip and bring along a guidebook.) It was sunny but very windy, as to be expected on the coast. I walked from the "Opera in the woods" all the way to the end of the Sopot Pier. For dinner that evening, we ate at Sioux Classis on the Monte Cassino in Sopot - which is quite odd being a western-style restaurant in Sopot complete with prairie decor and western fayre (with a bit of mexican and egyptian menu items).

The "Crooked House" on Monte Cassino, in Sopot

On Tuesday, I took the train into Gdansk and my first stop in town was the Amber Museum. It was fascinating to see all of the items made out of Amber. Following that, I took the "royal walk" down to the waterfront. I have loads of pictures of that area, which include many of the medieval port crane. I also hit one of the shopping malls for some window shopping before heading back to the hotel. That evening we went up to Gdynia for dinner at the Barracuda. A delightful seafood restaurant. We ended the day with a nightcap back at the hotel.

Jewelry Box made of Amber @ Amber Museum

Gdansk waterfront

On Wednesday, I kept my day pretty laid back. I got a massage, a pedicure, and a manicure in the hotel spa. It was only slightly more expensive than it would have been in the States, but I did feel a little guilty for pampering myself while Matt was hard at work. I met with one of the Polish employees for appetizers before heading off to dinner with Matt and others.

On Thursday it rained all day. I decided to just stroll around the new large shopping galeria in Gdansk to avoid a downpour of a day. Ending the week, we flew back to London on Friday morning. Overall it was a wonderful trip, for me, and I do hope to return in the summer when the resort is in full swing. Hopefully Matt will be able to have a little fun next time around!

More wonderful pictures can be viewed at
http://picasaweb.google.com/amber.biviano/Poland

Belgium

2008-03-23T14:05:00.006-06:00

Grand Place, Brussels

Sorry for the delay everyone...

We had the opportunity to visit Belgium February 19-23. I say we got to visit Belgium but it is all relative. Unfortunately Matt spent most of that time in workshops. Actually, all of his travels are for business and the only enjoyment he may get out of them is dining out in local restaurants - although I'm sure most of the table discussion is centered around work.

Atomium, Brussels

Triumphal Arch, Brussels

Anyway, back to the trip. We knew a couple of weeks beforehand that he may have to go to Belgium for these workshops. We talked about me joining him, but did not make any definite plans. In fact, the week before Matt booked his travel for Germany as usual. That Monday the 18th he left for Germany. That evening he called me after dinner as usual and asked if I thought I could arrange to meet him in Brussels the next day. Talk about short notice! Luckily, I had previously asked a friend if she was available to watch Cheyenne during that week so I called her up to confirm if she was still willing and able to dogsit. Thankfully she was! I managed to book a flight and rearrange my appointments already scheduled that week.

Canal, Bruges

Town Centre, Bruges

On Tuesday Matt arranged for a car to pick me up at 5:00pm to take me to the airport. I had the early part of that day to pack and to search online to figure out how I was going to get to the hotel. Matt would be riding with a colleague from Germany. I got into Brussels Charleroi airport that evening, caught an hour-long shuttle ride into one of the city's train stations, and then took a taxi to the hotel - arriving at midnight! Matt was waiting in the bar with a couple of colleagues.

So, with the long story being the lead up to arrival, highlights of the trip are listed below.

Evening meals with Matt and his coworkers. One guy was originally from Denver, however he and his family (Fowlers) are currently living in Germany. His wife and young children were visiting as well and were able to join us in the evenings.
City Walking and Bus Tour (Brussels). I was on my own during the day on Wednesday and Thursday. I had a guide book and map with me, which I used to explore the city. I also did one of the bus tours to get acquainted with the area. I did not go into any museums or attractions, but just enjoyed seeing the sites.
Speaking the language. I like to learn a few phrases of the local language of where I will be visiting. For the most part, Brussels is french-speaking. I wasn't entirely sure if I was pronouncing things correctly, but I sure had fun trying.
Day Trip to Bruges. Matt was able to take Friday off and we headed to Bruges by train. It was about an hour train ride from Brussels. I would say that the main language is more Flemish (Dutch) than French. I am not familiar with that language at all, even having the guidebook, so luckily I didn't have to attempt to speak it. This town is much smaller and delightfully quaint compared to Brussels. It is very easy to navigate on foot. I braved a boat cruise around the canals while Matt was on a business call. While in town, we saw the Fowler family pass by in a horse-drawn carriage! We returned to Brussels late in the afternoon for dinner and to pack for our early morning flight home.
Belgian Chocolate and Waffles. Enough said.

View full album here

http://picasaweb.google.com/amber.biviano/Belgium

White Cliffs of Dover

2008-03-16T12:33:00.007-06:00

This was one of the few remaining places on our Must See list in the U.K.

White Cliffs

Back in February Matt and I jumped in the car one Saturday and headed south to Dover. Dover is on the English Channel, where you can catch a ferry over to France and on a very clear day see all the way across. The cliffs are very striking and are the first (or last) sight of the UK for ferry travelers. Behind the cliff face are miles of hidden tunnels that were created during the Middle Ages and later played a role in the defence of Britain during the Napoleanic Wars. The tunnels were later enlarged to become the Secret Wartime Tunnels (WWI & WWII) beneath Dover Castle.

We took the opportunity to tour both the tunnels and Dover Castle during our trip. As always, some pictures are below and the full album can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/amber.biviano/WhiteCliffsOfDover

Entrance to Underground Hospital (we could not take pictures inside the secret tunnels)

Town of Dover

Ferry Port

Inside Dover Castle

Updates will be forthcoming!

2008-03-01T13:41:00.004-07:00

Okay, I have several updates to post but won't have time this weekend because I am off to Poland! Yes, Poland. Matt has to go there on business again and I am finally joining him. Many of the Polish employees (that were training over here in the UK back in the fall) have been asking when I will come for a visit.

Keep checking back for the following updates!

White Cliffs of Dover and the English Channel
Trip to Belgium
Trip to Poland

Volunteer Team Building at Essex Media Workshop

2008-02-15T05:16:00.010-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, the Onsight Project volunteers met at Essex Media Workshop for a teambuilding activity. Essex Media Workshop is a charity that provides training in television and video production. We had a tour of the facility and learned what happens behind the scenes of television production. We were able to put on our own talk show - 'Out and About in Essex' - and each of us took on a role in production (from Director, Stage Manager, Video, Cameramen, and Presenters). Since I was the only female who wasn't shy in front of the camera, I was one of the presenters, along with a gentlemen volunteer. The script was from a show previously produced and it was fun reading from the tele-prompter and cueing to video clips. While our show was recorded, it was only for our purposes. Sadly I won't be on televesion for real. Haha!

The Onsight Project is one of the projects I volunteer with in Basildon. Onsight facilitates community tea afternoons for elderly in local libraries, as well as provides transport and shopping assistance for elderly in the Town Centre.

Courtesy of the Apostrophe Protection Society

2008-02-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Apostrophe Protection Society was started in 2001 by John Richards, now its Chairman, with the specific aim of preserving the correct use of this currently much abused punctuation mark in all forms of text written in the English language.

The rules concerning the use of Apostrophes in written English are very simple:

1. They are used to denote a missing letter or letters, for example:

I can't instead of I cannot
I don't instead of I do not
it's instead of it is

2. They are used to denote possession, for example:

the dog's bone
the company's logo
Jones's bakery (but Joneses' bakery if owned by more than one Jones)

... but please note that the possessive form of it does not take an apostrophe any more than ours, yours or hers do

the bone is in its mouth

... however, if there are two or more dogs, companies or Joneses in our example, the apostrophe comes after the 's':

the dogs' bones
the companies' logos
Joneses' bakeries

3. Apostrophes are NEVER ever used to denote plurals! Common examples of such abuse (all seen in real life!) are:

Banana's for sale which of course should read Bananas for sale
Menu's printed to order which should read Menus printed to order
1000's of bargains here! which should read 1000s of bargains here!
New CD's just in! which should read New CDs just in!
Buy your Xmas tree's here! which should read Buy your Xmas trees here!

Note: Special care must be taken over the use of your and you're as they sound the same but are used quite differently:

your is possessive as in this is your pen
you're is short for you are as in you're coming over to my house

The Apostrophe Protection Society23 Vauxhall Road, Boston, Lincs. PE21 0JB United Kingdom

Grandma turned 90!!!!!!!!

2008-01-31T11:33:00.000-07:00

On January 14th Matt's Grandmother, Helen Biviano, turned 90!!! She lives in Rochester, New York near one of Matt's uncles and his family. There was a small family dinner the weekend before her birthday, but unfortunately we were not able to attend. Grandma Biviano is the only living grandparent either of us has so she is very special to us. We hope to be able to visit with her again upon our return to the States next year.

Grandma and Matt's Dad, Joe

Grandma and 3 of her sons - David, Tom, Joe

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard...and a romantic dinner...

2008-01-22T10:36:00.000-07:00

HMS Victory

In order to avoid another slow and boring weekend, Matt and I decided to take a small road trip this past Saturday. In our usual fashion, we slept in for a bit, ate breakfast and then pondered where to go. We searched the internet for a few ideas and decided on Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Portsmouth is south of London and about a 2-hour drive from where we live. We arrived around 2:00pm and had time to tour two battleships and walk around for a while before things closed around 5:00pm. It is pretty cool to see inside the ships and try to imagine what life would have been like living and working on them for months at a time.

We stopped into the Visitor Centre to see if they could recommend a seafood restaurant in the area. They directed us to Lemon Sole, about a 15-minute walk from the dockyard into Old Portsmouth. What a great recommendation it was! We arrived at 5:30 just as it was opening and were the only customers there for at least an hour. It seemed a little weird at first, but then it was very nice to be on our own. It was a lovely romantic dinner! The owner greeted us and informed us how the restaurant operates. You go to the fish counter and pick out your fresh fish, as well as your starters, bread, etc. We chose the dinner for two "A Fish Love Affair" - a trio of fish (salmon, tuna, swordfish), accompanied by mussels, tiger prawns, and calamari, finished in a cream based mixed herb sauce, served with mixed salad and assorted bread. We were given a special offer at the visitor centre that awarded us with a free bottle of wine from the restaurant, which wasn't so hard to finish because it was so delicious. (They have an extensive selection of wines from all over the world.) What a treat! It was one of the best meals I've ever had, if not the best! I'd really have to think about what might have been better. Although we were quite full from dinner, I just couldn't resist a dessert. Matt and I shared an apple & blueberry crumble which topped the evening off well. The service was even great, so no complaints the whole evening. If we didn't live so far away, I'd probably eat there regularly. (Which would probably not be good for our bank account!) Maybe we'll make a special trip later this year.

More pictures here!

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/amber.biviano/PortsmouthHistoricDockyard

Congratulations, Sailor!

2008-01-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Mom, Dad, Tony, Bridget, Sarah

Matt's brother Tony graduated from Navy boot camp on January 11th!!! He is now living in Connecticut for schooling to be a Machinist Mate. Good luck and best wishes! We are so proud of you!

The DiPippa Boys

2008-01-06T05:55:00.001-07:00

Christmas 2007 - Justin, Tino, Zachary

Introducing you to my nephews! Well, really they are my cousin Chaily's sons, making them my cousins, but they are like my nephews because she is like a sister to me. Most of my life I have been an only child and my cousins Chaily and Malissa were all the only siblings I had. Spending summers with my grandmother, and extended family, in Pittsburgh meant that I got to spend a lot of time with them as well. In fact, they lived with us one summer while we were in Georgia and Chaily lived with us for a while in high school in South Carolina. She was there for me a lot during those crazy middle school and high school years. I was sad when she moved back to Pittsburgh, but in the end it all worked out for her. She is now married with three wonderful boys and a loving husband!

Malissa and Chaily (2005)

In college, Matt and I would babysit Tino when we were visiting during school holidays. In 2001, Chaily was supposed to be in our wedding but found out she was expecting around that time. Justin came early (Jan) and unfortunately was found to have cerebral palsy, among other medical conditions he's living with today. Just months after Justin's birth Chaily found out she was pregnant again. Zach arrived in December 2001. In 2002 Matt and I were honored to be asked to be Zach's godparents.

With our godson, Zach (Dec 2006)

Justin and Tino in their pool

These boys are very important to us. In essence, they are the first nephews we have since Matt's siblings don't have children yet. I am very sad that we don't get to see them very often. We've been lucky enough so far to take a trip at least once a year, but that is not enough for me. At least they are at the age that they remember me, though, because when they were younger they would not remember who I was from one visit to the next. They are growing up so fast and I feel that I miss out on a lot. Thankfully Chaily and I still have a great relationship and she keeps me updated with pictures and phone calls. She now homeschools the boys and has told me they enjoy reading my blog and seeing pictures of Europe. Hopefully they'll get a kick out of seeing their faces on my page!

Daddy Adrian with the boys @ Steeler Training Camp

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2008-01-02T11:00:00.001-07:00

Matt and I were able to continue our New Year's Eve tradition and have dinner at an Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse. We didn't necessarily intend to start this tradition, but it was such a joy that we decided to do it each year. This NYE we took a train into London to dine at Benihana. The meal was superb - with shrimp, chicken, steak, and lobster! The Exclusive Chocolate Cake was one of the best I've ever had! Although, Matt was a little upset that they did not offer fried rice, as the menu was pre-set for the evening. We returned home to watch the celebration on television. There was a magnificent fireworks display at the London Eye downtown, one of the best I've ever seen. It was awesome on television and I bet even more spectacular live. However, I was glad to be home snuggled on the couch for my new year snog (that's British for just a kiss, for all of you dirty minds out there) with Matt. Some of our neighbors celebrated with fireworks as well, but it was pretty calm around here other than that.

Our last picture in 2007

The tradition began when we first moved to Denver in December 2001. We moved the week of Christmas and were on our own for the holidays in a new town. We decided to venture out for dinner on NYE and came across an hibachi (style of cooking using a special grill) restaurant. We waited a long time that evening but it was well worth it. The next year we entertained Matt's brother's who were visiting, so missed out on the dinner. But, when NYE 2003 rolled around we thought of the restaurant again. It is not just eating out but a dining experience. It is nice to go out for a special dinner and then return home to ring in the new year. We usually stay clear of the bars and downtown scene and prefer to celebrate quietly in the comfort of our own home. It may sound boring to some, but it is just right for us. I am glad we were able to continue this tradition in London. I can say that it is one experience that will always put a smile on my face. If you haven't tried it yet, I definitely recommend you find a restaurant in your area!

Christmas Travel

2008-01-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

Matt and I hit the road this Christmas and headed for northern England to the Lake District. The Lake District, also known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a rural area in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes and its mountains (or fells), and its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth and the Lake Poets. It was about a 6-hour drive from our place, including stops for Cheyenne and grabbing a bite to eat. We stayed in a bed & breakfast (Greystoke House) in Keswick, about 5 minutes walk from the small town centre. We stayed three nights in Keswick (24-26 Dec) and enjoyed daily drives, short walks, and a boat trip while there. The place was very quiet around the holidays and everything was closed on Christmas Day. In fact, we had to drive about 30 miles away just to get to a gas station/rest stop that was open. Our Christmas dinner consisted of lunchables, Pringles and candy bars! Not ideal, but what a story to tell! It was a very peaceful and relaxing holiday.

Album http://picasaweb.google.com/amber.biviano/Holidays2007

Before heading back to Basildon, we paid a visit to Matt's boss in Bruton. Bruton is in the Somerset/Bath area, which is south of the Lake District and west of London. So, another long drive for us but no matter because we enjoy our road trips. We stayed with the Saunders family - Mark, Barbara, Theo, and Anna - for two nights. (Thank you for your hospitality!) They treated us to wonderful dinners, traditional English tea breaks throughout the day, a short trip to Exeter, and a fabulous game of Pictionary. Cheyenne enjoyed getting to know their whippet Tiger. Tiger took a bit of warming up, but all was well in the end. Unfortunately on one of our walks Cheyenne was attacked by another small dog, but she came out fine. I think I was more affected by it than she was. Sadly, we had to head back home on Saturday morning. It was nice to get out of town and see more of the English countryside, of which there is a lot. We hope you all enjoyed your holiday celebrations as well!

Cheyenne and her new friend Tiger

YO! Sushi

2007-12-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-12-21T05:21:00.001-07:00

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

2007-12-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-12-06T06:54:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-12-06T05:51:00.001-07:00

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!

Biviano time!

2007-10-29T11:43:00.000-06:00

We had such a great time earlier this month visiting with Matt's family in South Carolina. They are a big and boisterous group...and I LOVE it! We don't all get together that often, but when we do it is wild and crazy times. We had a whole week full of quality family time and bonding with some new additions. I can't forget the dinner Matt and I had with a college friend and his family, as well as an old friend of mine from Batesburg.

Let me introduce you to the family: Deacon Joe & Kathy (a.k.a. Mr & Mrs B. OR Dad & Mom), Oldest child - Bridget, 2nd in line - Matt (and me of course!), 3rd - Maggie, 4th - Sarah, 5th - Tony, 6th - Peter (and new wife, Kelley). Bridget and Maggie have both been in serious relationships (with Gregg and Brian, respectively) for a couple of years now...perhaps leading to more permanent relationships soon. Nudge, nudge, boys! Sarah is now living in Nashville and Tony will be heading off to Navy boot camp in mid-November. Some of us have spread our wings farther than others, but family is always close at heart no matter where we live.

The breakdown of the week (16-22 Oct):

Tuesday - Arrived in Columbia and joined in birthday celebrations dinner with the family. (Maggie and Bridget both celebrated birthdays this month. Dad, Mom, me, & Sarah - as well as Cheyenne - celebrate birthdays in November.)

Wednesday - I went shopping with Sarah, which included getting pampered at a nail salon. Matt and I had dinner with the Moores and Mendenhalls in Columbia. Jonathan Moore and Matt have been best friends since college. April Mendenhall and I were neighbors back in high school, out in the boondocks of Batesburg/Saluda.

Thursday - More shopping! Matt, Bridget, Sarah, Brian and I hung out in Harbison before heading to Peter's for a sibling cookout. Brian wasn't able to stay for dinner, but Gregg joined us. We brought a bottle of Polish vodka to share and it made 8 shots even! Maggie opted to take the picture instead of drinking up. It was awesome!

Friday - The first half of the day was dedicated to decorating the Family Life Center for the reception. With all of us working together I think we were finish by mid-afternoon. That evening was the rehearsal for the wedding party and dinner at the Bivianos. Around 30 people attended and it was nice to have an opportunity to meet Kelley's family and Peter's firemen brothers.

Saturday - The Wedding Day! The groom and boys met for breakfast while the rest of the Wedding Party ran around getting dressed and such. The wedding took place at 3:30 at Kelley's church. The wedding party was then escorted to the Biviano family church by fire engine, with all the bells and whistles and caravan of honking cars. Of course the reception was a blast!

Sunday - Bridget's Surprise Party! Sarah had been planning the surprise since the summer and enlisted us siblings and some of Bridget's friend to keep the secret and make sure the day went smoothly. Maggie hosted the party at her community clubhouse. The weather was wonderful and the birthday girl was definitely surprised. We ended the evening with dinner at Mom & Dad's, before saying our goodbyes and heading to the hotel for a few hours of sleep in anticipation of an early flight back the next morning.

I am not sure when we'll get a chance to go back or when we'll all be together again, but I am looking forward to it immensely.

Have fun looking at all of our pictures from the week! http://picasaweb.google.com/amber.biviano/October2007

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

2007-10-24T04:27:00.000-06:00

On Monday our day started out at 3am in Columbia, South Carolina. We awoke that early to pack and prepare for our flight back to England. We got to the ticket counter around 4:25 and waited until it opened at 4:35. I checked in with minimal problems, but apparently Matt's itinerary was cancelled by the airline. We had a bit of trouble coming out and it appears that whoever was handling that issue dipped into the return arrangements. Unfortunately the flight from DC to London was overbooked and there was no chance Matt was getting on that flight. We were presented with a few options, none of which we really liked, and 45 minutes later we left the ticket counter. Our original flights were a 6:09am out of Columbia to D.C., a two hour layover, and then flight to London which had us getting in around 9pm. What we ended up with was a 9:30am out of Columbia to Chicago, about a five hour layover, and then flight to London which now had us getting in at 6am the next morning (Tuesday). We were not looking forward to that at all.

The customer service agent gave us meal vouchers for the Columbia airport. I decided to use mine at a Bar & Grill for a hot breakfast. Matt passed on the voucher all together. He decided to try to get a bit of sleep on the floor in a quiet seating area. I on the other hand was very uncomfortable as it was very cold in the airport and I did not have a jacket or anything to keep me warm.

We arrived in Chicago around 10:30am. Knowing we had five hours or so until our flight, we were curious as to how long it would take to get into town. We asked a nearby shop attendant how to get into town. She said that it would be about 30 minutes by taxi (and about that in price) or 40 minutes by train and $2. We decided to try the train and soon discovered it was the slow and rickety way into town. It actually took us an hour and the stop we were told to get off at by the shop attendant was no where near where we wanted to be. We had to walk at least a mile and take some wrong turns to get to the Hard Rock Cafe. Of course I had to get a HRC Hurricane glass for my collection! During our walk we came across Maggiano's, one of our favorite restaurants back in Denver. We decided to have lunch there and man did we enjoy it! Too bad we forget about dessert and the wonderful cheesecake they serve in our concern to get back to the airport in time. Unfortunately we did not get to see anything else in the city. We hailed a cab instead of worrying about the train. We arrived in plenty of time for our next flight - which was delayed.

One positive thing about the flight from Chicago to London was that Matt and I had a row of five seats to ourselves, which meant that we could spread out to sleep. It wasn't the most comfortable, but we had it better than others. We arrived to chilly London weather. Our ride home was at least an hour. I was a bit out of it, so wasn't paying that much attention. Within 10 minutes of arriving home (around 8am) we were both in bed and slept until 3pm! After taking showers we went to pick up Cheyenne from where she was staying. She was very excited to see us and even waited by the door while we were talking to our friends. She was a little impatient to get home, if only she knew what a long two days we had. (Overall we were awake and traveling for almost 24 hours!) After falling asleep on the couch, we finally went to bed around 10pm, I think. Matt was up and down the rest of the night between the livingroom and bedroom trying to get some sleep. I tossed and turned due to a headache and body aches. The traveling really took its toll on us.

Matt had to go to work, but here I am groggy and weak at home. It seems as though I can't recover from the jetlag as quickly as before. Hopefully we'll both be back to normal by the end of the weekend. I know this post wasn't that exciting, but just wanted to share the "joys" of our travels. I love flying, but could do without the long delays on top of the long flights. I'll post more about our South Carolina activities later.

ITALIA!!!!

2007-10-14T13:57:00.000-06:00

A few years ago Matt and I decided that we would like to take a dream vacation to Italy. We kept putting it off for one reason or another until we heard that we might be moving to Europe. Shortly after finalizing our move in May I began research for our trip. We decided to go in mid-September, hoping to miss some of the scorching summer heat but still enjoy the weather. I put a lot of time and thought into planning our trip and while some things didn’t work out quite as expected, it was a great journey nonetheless.

We left London bright and early on Sunday, Sept 9th for Rome, traveled through Italy for 10 nights/11 days, and left Venice on Wednesday, Sept 19th to return to the U.K. To make traveling easier we only brought what we could fit into a rucksack on our backs. It was nice to get around that way, but it wasn’t as convenient to do laundry as we had hoped. Also, it limited the amount and size of souvenirs we could bring home. We had some ups and downs along the way (cultural differences), but are so glad we had the chance to explore the places we did.

Below is an outline of our trip. The pictures have also been loaded to our Web Album (about 800 of them), but are not yet labeled. Stay tuned for details of the individual cities and photo captions!

Rome : Roma
Dates: Sept 9-12
Lodging: Hotel Italia
Sightseeing:

City Bus Tour
Vatican City: St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel
“Caesar Shuffle”: Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, Mamertime Prison, Capitol Hill, Pantheon

Cinque Terre (Five Villages)
Dates: Sept 12-14
Lodging: Hotel Suisse Bellevue, Monterosso
Sightseeing:

Cinque Terre Trail hike and coastal boat ride

Florence : Firenze
Dates: Sept 14-17
Lodging: Bellevue Hotel
Sightseeing:

Science Museum
Oltrarno Walk
City Bus Tour, including trip to Fiesole
Accademia (Michelangelo’s David)

Venice : Venezia
OUR FAVORITE CITY
Dates: Sept 17-19
Lodging: Hotel Riva
Sightseeing:

Correr Museum
Doge’s Palace
Gondola Ride
St. Mark’s Basilica
Island of Murano
Cruise Grand Canal

Recommendations before any European trip:

Pick up a good guidebook or two. I highly recommend the Rick Steves collection, as well as his accompanying website, phrase books, planning maps, travel items. While $20-25 might seem a bit high, it is well worth it and will save you much more time, money, and energy if you invest in the right guidebook.
Consult online websites for reviews on lodging, dining, sightseeing, etc. I highly recommend http://www.tripadvisor.com/ for personal traveler reviews and also suggest checking out the websites of cities, hotels, and attractions of which you are interested. Make reservations for main attractions as far in advance as possible. While it may not be your style to create a detailed itinerary, it is important to know when the attractions are open and what days are best for visiting. Some places require advance reservations.
Invest in a good digital camera. We have a pretty decent digital camera for general pictures, but we wish we would’ve had a better one for indoors and nighttime photos.

Adventures in Poland

2007-10-13T02:49:00.000-06:00

Hello all -- As you know from Amber's posts, I have been spending much time in Poland. I am sure you are wondering what in the world I am doing there. Well, for the past 10 months, I have been leading a project to setup an accounting shared service centre for First Data's European operations in Gdansk (see more below). On October 1st, we passed a huge milestone and onboarded our first wave of 25 employees. What a relief to get to this point. I was in Poland for 3 weeks straight getting the office ready for business, doing anything from assembling desks to configuring network switches. Ok, I know my degree is in Accounting, but that goes out the window when you have 25 employees getting ready to walk through the door and too much stuff to get done. Of course, I wasn't doing this on my own, but had a team of people in Poland working hard to get everything in place. What a team effort it was!! We kicked off their employment with 2 intense weeks of training and now the team is coming to the UK to begin their extended training period before we migrate back to Poland in a couple of months. For me, this means beginning the planning of the next country to migrate and more recruitment to get underway. Oh, yeah, and also more travels to another country. Never a dull moment!! Hopefully, though, I can remain in the UK for some weeks leading up to the end of the year before we migrate the team back to Poland. I am sure Amber and Cheyenne would like to see more of me!

About the Town
The office is located in Gdansk, which is a port town on the northern coast of Poland, and is joined with Sopot and Gydnia to form an area called the Tri-City region. For those of you who enjoy the beaches, you would enjoy Sopot, which is a lovely resort town. The food in Poland is really delicious, and the people are very friendly as well. I stay in a hotel in the Old Town and the buildings there are something else. My hotel is right on a river (see picture above) and so there are large boats outside my window...what a view to wake up to each morning! We are currently staying in a temporary office while our permanent office is under development. It will be ready April of next year. Oh yeah, add real estate developer to that list of odd tasks I have had to perform. The office doesn't outfit itself, so someone has to review the space planning.

The Language
I have found the key to fitting into any foreign country is to learn at least some of the language. The reception you receive when you greet them in their native language is quite pleasing rather than greeting them in English. With that, I began a daily ritual of learning a new Polish word from one of our Polish employees in exchange for me teaching him an American phrase. Phrases we say in our daily vocabulary just don't always translate over here, so you have to be careful of the odd phrases you use or they won't get the meaning. The Polish lessons started off with me learning very useful greetings and phrases, but as the project went on and got more stressful, I began to learn my range of rather 'not so friendly' words. Comes in handy when the taxi drivers attempt to overcharge you, but wait, that never happens in Europe. NOT!!!!!

Picture of the Old Town

Changing the Guard @ Buckingham Palace

2007-10-12T11:54:00.000-06:00

On Friday September 28 I took a train into London to Buckingham Palace. Matt was still in Poland and the 28th was the last day that the Palace would be open for tours this year. Unfortunately it rained the entire day, but I did not let that dampen my mood. Haha! I had watched the weather earlier in the week to see which day would be best and Friday was supposed to be a clear day. That is England weather for you, I guess.

When I first arrived at the Palace I staked out my spot for the Changing the Guard. That ceremony began at 11:30, but I got there around 10:45 to get a good position. It was interesting just watching all of the tourists take in everything...and not listen to the guards when they told them to stay clear of certain areas. It is pretty cool to see the tradition of the ceremony and see the grandeur of it all...and know that they do this every day in the summer and every other day in the off season. Magnificent!

Anyway, once the ceremony was over I went to lunch before my 1:15 tour. Unfortunately I could not take pictures inside the Palace, nor did I get to see any of the Royal Family. It is an awesome place, really like a working museum. I mean, there are so many antiques and historical pieces in the Palace. Most of them are still used but in mint condition. If you ever make it to London this would be a great place to check out. However, if I would have to decide between Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, I would choose Windsor Castle. Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837. Windsor Castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. A Royal home and fortress for over 900 years, the Castle remains a working palace today.

CHANGING THE GUARD

The regular hand-over of guards in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace draws thousands of visitors to watch the soldiers and listen to the music.

Known as Changing the Guard or Guard Mounting, the process involves a new guard exchanging duty with the old guard.

The soldiers are drawn from one of the five regiments of Foot Guards in the British Army: the Scots Guards, the Irish Guards, the Welsh Guards, the Grenadier Guards and the Coldstream Guards.

The handover is accompanied by a Guards band. The music played ranges from traditional military marches to songs from the shows and even familiar pop songs.

When The Queen is in residence, there are four sentries at the front of the building. When she is away there are two.

The Queen's Guard usually consists of Foot Guards in their full-dress uniform of red tunics and bearskins. If they have operational commitments, other infantry units take part instead.

Household Troops have guarded the Sovereign and the Royal Palaces since 1660. Until 1689, the Sovereign lived mainly at the Palace of Whitehall and was guarded there by Household Cavalry.

In 1689, the court moved to St James's Palace, which was guarded by the Foot Guards. When Queen Victoria moved into Buckingham Palace in 1837, the Queen's Guard remained at St James's Palace, with a detachment guarding Buckingham Palace, as it still does today.

Waiting on updates...

2007-10-03T08:39:00.000-06:00

I know everyone has been waiting on an update about our Italy trip. It is coming, I promise! It feels a bit overwhelming to try to recap our trip and also the software on my computer seemingly is not transferring all of the photos from my digital camera. I’ll have it finished before October 15, though, because we are going to SC for Matt’s youngest brother’s wedding.

Matt has been in Poland since last Monday and will be there until next Friday. Well, he’ll hopefully come home this weekend to visit his wifey and daughter. So, I’m on my own practically until we leave for South Carolina. Cheyenne is doing well. I think she enjoys me being home all day but doesn’t enjoy the rain. She loved the snow but prefers to stay out of the rain. It was a fairly nice summer and now we are getting into fall, which brings more rain. My volunteer aspirations are going slowly. I’ve got one thing going every other week or so right now. I’m actually thinking of trying to get a part-time job just to pass the time. We don’t need the money, but I need something to do besides my weekly trip into the town centre. The question will be if I do look for one, do I take anything I can get or take something that I can “apply” later when I return to the States. I do want something I'll enjoy, though.

I'll try to send out an email once I have the Italy post finished. Otherwise, check back in another week or so!

Dublin Trip: Part 1

2007-09-08T05:41:00.000-06:00

**More photos in WEB ALBUM on left**

I'm finally getting around to posting about my Dublin trip that took place last week. I had such a wonderful time and I wasn't sure what I wanted to say about it for a while. I was in Dublin the 27-29 of August to begin family research on a branch of my family. (I'll elaborate in another post.) This was the first trip where I was completely on my own - I traveled on my own, did not meet up with anyone while in town, and didn't attend a convention or workshop. It was great! I only had to worry about myself and my own schedule. You all know how organized I am, but I tried to keep it light this trip. The important thing was that I needed to be cognisant of the opening hours for the records offices.

I stayed at the wonderful Albany House Hotel on Harcourt Street. It is a quaint Georgian building with 25+ rooms. It is within a few minutes walking distance of Grafton Street Shopping, St. Stephen's Green (park), and Stephen's Green Shopping Centre. I highly recommend this should you be in Dublin overnight. Everything in the city centre is within walking distance, which is how I got around most of the time. Some of the other main attractions, like the Zoo and Guinness Brewery, are better left to other modes of transportation. Since I was there on a fact-finding trip I did not allow a lot of time for sightseeing. I did get to see a lot of the city through my daily walking and I also took a Hop-on Hop-off bus tour. Instead of hopping off at the attractions, though, I stayed on for the entire ride just to get a sense of the entire city. It was wonderful! The first evening I ate in a traditional Irish pub, of course, and had Irish Beef & Guiness Stew...yummmm! I'm saving the Guinness tour for when Matt can join me.

One funny thing that happened is that I ran into two couples on the bus tour that were on the plane with me from London. I recognized them on the bus and chatted with them for a while before they got off. I found out that they would also be on the flight with me heading back. However, before the return trip I ran into them again in town. What a small world!

Dublin Trip: Part 2 (Family Research)

2007-09-05T10:41:00.000-06:00

A bit of history. My mother's paternal grandparents immigrated from Ireland and my grandfather was a first generation Irish-American. That is very fascinating to me. I've always been interested in my family history, but more recently have become even more interested. Part of it is because I am in Europe and am closer to my roots, partly because I have access to some of the resources over here that I might not have ever had, and another part is because I know so little about my family past my parents' generation. I want to start my research now so that I can find out as much as I can for myself, for my older living relatives, for my children and for generations after me. As far as I know, I am Irish and German but don't ask me the percentage of my ancestry. My father's family is German from what I can gather (Schoming is a German surname). My mother's family is Irish and German. Her father's side is Irish as previously mentioned and we believe her mother's side is Irish & German. Since I have more information about her father's family, albeit very little, I have decided to start my research there. It has been difficult over the years to gather any information as my father died when I was two, his parents shortly after that, my mother's father died before I was born and her mother died when I was 11 years old. I have no other contact with my father's family and very little with my mother's family outside of her siblings and their families. As far as we know, there are no surviving family documents for either family other than civil records I might be able to obtain.

Dublin is the research mecca for Irish ancestry. How fortunate I was to be able to start my research there. From the General Register Office (civil records of births, marriages, and deaths) I found my great-grandfather's birth record (1885) and from that I found his parents' names and the town & county in which they lived (Clifden, Co. Galway), as well as the original spelling of their surname. How exciting! I also found one of his older brother's birth records (1866), which I thought would turn out to be his father's. One very interesting fact about him was that we share the same birthday - November 24! From there I took a trip to the National Library of Ireland to search through microfilm of Church/Parish records (for baptisms and marriages). I was unsucceful during that attempt as the records were very blurry and in some cases rather illegible. I found out later that they were also not necessarily in chronological order. So, I potentially overlooked relevant information. After that, I went to the National Archives of Ireland which house census records among other things. Unfortunately, they did not have census records before 1901, long story. However, from the 1901 and 1911 census records I found out a little bit more about my family at that time. The census shows who was living in the house at that time and what their "recorded" ages were. These ages weren't necessarily accurate, for a number of reasons, but it did list out some other childrens' names. All in all, I found out that there were 8 children born to my great-greatgrandparents between 1864 and 1890. I still need to find records of their marriage as well as the births, marriages, deaths, of their children. From there I can work my way up to present day. Unfortunately, it will be very difficult to work further back than 1864 as civil records are not available before then. So, I have even more reason to return to Dublin before we return to the States. I would eventually like to visit the area where my family came from. You never know who I might run into there!

This will be a project that will last several years I'm sure, as I have other branches of my family to research...as well as the Biviano family! I would like my future children to know what they can about Matt's family tree too!

K9 Capers Fun Day

2007-09-02T08:50:00.000-06:00

On our way to the park today we saw signs for 'K9 Capers'. Curiosity got the better of us and we followed them to another park in the country. Turns out it was a fair for dogs! There were competitions, displays, vendor booths, and an agility course that Cheyenne could just not pass up. She was in puppy agility as a youngster but sadly we did not continue her training. All proceeds go directly to Gemini Kennels for the care of neglected and ill-treated dogs.

The pictures below are from the event. Matt wasn't as quick with the shutter as I was, so during my course with Cheyenne it looks like I'm doing the obstacles instead of her! I wanted to enter her into the Prettiest Female competition, since she just so happened to get groomed yesterday, but we left before it began. She is also showing off her new car harness, which she is still getting used to.

Hallo, Familie und Freunde!

2007-08-18T12:23:00.000-06:00

Guten Tag! Ich bin Frau Biviano. Ich heiße Amber. Ich arbeite nicht. Mein Mann heißt Matt und er arbeitet bei First Data Corporation. Wir haben ein Haus in England, aber wir sind von Kolorado im USA. Wir wohnen in England bis 2009. Wir haben keine kinder aber wir haben einen Hund. Sie heißt Cheyenne.

I am trying out my German. We've learned a lot more than this, but I wanted to give you an introduction. Let's see if you can figure out what I'm saying without looking at the English version below. I'll try to write in German every once in a while for practice and for kicks!

Hello, Family and Friends!
Good day! I am Mrs. Biviano. I am called Amber. I do not work. My Mister (husband) is called Matt and he works for First Data Corporation. We have a house in England, but we are from Colorado in the USA. We live in England until 2009. We have no children but we have a dog. She is called Cheyenne.

Nothing Much New

2007-08-08T04:15:00.000-06:00

Well, there hasn't been much happening since I returned from South Carolina. But, we are looking forward to travels and visitors each month until the end of the year. Matt has traveled for work the last couple of weeks - Germany, Poland, and Austria - but has nothing "fun" to report on as it was all business. We've been taking German language lessons for over a month now. We'll continue to do so through next year, I believe. The company is paying for language lessons and we thought German (Deutsch) might be the best for us to learn as it would benefit Matt professionally while here. German can be a bit confusing at times, but is definitely fun! I can't wait to really use it.

So, let's see...as far as traveling in the future:
• Late August – I hope to make a mini trip to Dublin, Ireland to conduct genealogy research on my mother’s family.
• September 9-19 – Our trip through Italy!!!!
• Early October – Matt will be in Gdansk, Poland the first two weeks and we are thinking that I should join him for a few days over the first weekend.
• Week of October 20 – We will be in South Carolina for Matt’s youngest brother’s wedding (Peter Biviano to Kelley Shirley).
• Late November – My Mom, and possibly my Aunt, are planning a visit during the week of Thanksgiving (and my birthday) for their first trip to England/Europe.
• Early December – Matt is scheduled to be in Vienna, Austria at this time and I would like to make another long-weekend visit.
• Christmas – We are planning to spend the holiday in Paris, France!

Together, Matt and I have traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland and parts of England. His business travel has taken him to Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria with other countries in the future. I hope to travel to each of those places at least once while he is there.

This is such a great opportunity for us and the right time in our lives. We will definitely take advantage of all that we can while in Europe! And remember...there is always a room waiting for any of you that get the travel bug!

Family Dinner at Bridget's New Home

2007-07-23T06:59:00.000-06:00

First Picture: Table 1 - Dad, Mom, Brian, Bridget, Uncle David
Second Picture: From L to R - Brian, Maggie, Bridget, Gregg

While in town for my high school reunion, I was able to attend a Biviano Family dinner at Bridget's new home. It was fantastic to have everyone there...well, minus Matt and Sarah! At the lake last year all of the siblings were there, but not the significant others. This time they were there, including a new addition (Tony's new girlfriend). Even Uncle David was in town and joined us. It was great to have that time with family. Bridget and Dad remodeled this house and it was a wonderful little place for her first home. The full album can be viewed using the link on the left. Click on the pictures here for larger view.

Batesburg-Leesville High School Class of 1997 Reunion

2007-07-23T06:27:00.000-06:00

Me, Jesse Johnson, Melissa Maroney McVey

On the dance floor!

Allison Ray Hall & Tiffany Furtick Fallaw, Event Planners

Becca (my BFF - 16+ yrs) and her man Sean

I recently returned to South Carolina to attend my high school reunion. (10-16 July) I have been looking forward to my 10-year reunion for a couple of years now, even though the planning only began at the beginning of this year. Honestly, I didn't enjoy my high school years that much so for quite a while after graduation I didn't want to have anything to do with my small town. I kept in touch with a handful of friends and that was enough for me. Once we moved to Colorado I started to look back on my life and realized that high school, and Batesburg-Leesville for that matter, were just a small part of my life. Many years have passed and we are all [hopefully] better, more mature people. I wanted to see my former classmates and were genuinely interested in what they had been up to the last 10 years. Whether or not I would be disappointed in the event, I knew that I would regret not attending. Even though we are living in England now, I was fortunate enough to make the trip back to South Carolina for this special time.

Tiffany and Allison did a wonderful job of planning the event. Sadly, there were numerous people from our class not in attendance but that didn't stop us from having a great time! It was nice to reminisce with everyone and catch up on the years. I can't wait for the next one!

Tour de France - Le Grand Depart - Stage 1: London to Canterbury

2007-07-09T03:37:00.000-06:00

Before the race began

The Race Leaders in Tenterden

The rest of the pack approaches

*See the rest of our pictures in the Web Album on the left!

Matt and I took advantage of the opportunity to see a leg of the first stage of the Tour de France on Sunday. We drove to Tenterden for a nice quiet spot to watch the riders. We got into town around 11:00am, bought some things for lunch later, and found a nice shaded spot to set our picnic mat down and wait for the race to come by. At around 12:30pm the Caravan started to come through. The Caravan is made up of 200 sponsors, vendors, and race partners that come through a city ahead of the riders to hand out free stuff. Sadly, they stopped right in the town centre but since we were about a mile out of the centre we only saw them zooming by at about 50 mph. Matt did get hit by a flying body-wash bottle, that a person chucked out at him at a high speed. LOL! At around 2:25pm the first five leaders came through and within minutes the mass of other riders sped past. It was only over in a matter of minutes and then everyone packed up to drive home. We didn't have to deal with a lot of traffic to and from the town and had a peaceful picnic out in the beautiful weather. It may not have been the huge celebration one would imagine but it was our chance to be a part of the Tour. I know that in London/Greenwich and Canterbury there was much more excitement as those towns were the start and finish of the first stage.

Notes about the Tour:

*Stage 1 of the Tour was 126-mile route from Greenwich to Canterbury
*There are 189 riders in 21 teams
*There are 20 stages of the Tour to be completed in 22 days (includes two days of rest)
*The Tour started in 1903 by L'Auto newpapers - keen to use cycling as an event to boost its circulation by staging a race around France
*The Tour de France is the world's most watched sporting event
*In the early years of the Tour the race comprised of just six stages - but the riders were expected to ride through the night, with no breaks for sleep.

Royal Air Force Museum London

2007-06-25T04:59:00.000-06:00

In order to avoid another boring weekend, Matt and I decided to visit the Royal Air Force Museum in London. It is difficult for us to get out and do things b/c everything is so expensive here, but thankfully the RAF Museum is free (something we need to take more advantage of in the states too). After spending two hours at the site we realized that we would not finish touring everything that day and would need to return. There is just so much to see and read. We stayed for another hour and a half and then headed home, looking forward to our next visit. Matt just loved looking at all of the aircraft and learning about the history of flight. Unfortunately most of the pictures didn't turn out quite as well as we'd hoped, but good enough for a memento of the day. (Now maybe he will buy me the fancy digital camera. Hehe.) See our photos in the Web Album on the left.

The Royal Air Force Museum London is Britain's only national museum dedicated fully to aviation. From a total collection of well over two hundred aircraft, over a hundred full-size aircraft (including the legendary Spitfire and Lancaster Bomber) from all over the world as well as artefacts, aviation memoribilia, fine art and photographs are displayed under cover on the historic site of the original London Aerodrome.

Also this weekend we decided to take in a movie. This is our second one since being in the U.K. and we still aren't used to the sticker shock - a movie ticket cost 7.00 GBP per person, which is 14.00 USD! Unfortunately there are no matinee discounts. We keep saying that we have to stop thinking about prices in US terms or we will never do anything. Matt wanted to see the new Ocean's 13 movie. It was funny, intriguing and suspenseful, as expected. At the moment you think you have it figured out, something happens to prove you wrong. We highly recommend this movie.

Our First Visitors!

2007-06-20T03:54:00.001-06:00

*More pictures of these adventures can be found using the "WEB ALBUM" link on the left side of this page.*

Picture 1: Marie & Bob @ Southend-on-Sea

Picture 2: Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (Merchant of Venice performance)

Picture 3: Amber & Matt (Us) @ Stonehenge

Picture 4: Roman Bath in Bath, England

Picture 5: Amber & Quinn with Darth Vader

Okay, our guests have been gone for a week now so I shouldn't have any more excuses of why I haven't updated our blog lately. I was waiting until the end of their visit so that I could update everyone on all that we did. It was very exciting to have Matt's cousins (Marie, husband Bob, and son Quinn) be our first guests. We haven't seen them in a long time, but knew that they were very adventurous so we would have an exciting time. They are perfect guests in that they don't expect much from their hosts. They kept themselves busy each day heading into London, made their own meals, etc. What was exciting for us was hearing their daily stories and also being able to join them on a few excursions, not to mention tasting all of the new beer and cookies they brough home!

I could write a short book about all of the things we did while they were here, but I'll try to save you most of that. The highlights for me were a play at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the Star Wars Exhibition (how lucky we were that it was happening this year), and the trips out to Bath and Stonehenge. Most of you probably didn't know that I was a Star Wars fan, but I am very intrigued by the story of all the characters in the saga - not so much the light saber fights and flying vehicles. However, I'm not a big sci-fi fan in general just of SW. (Matt doesn't share the love, though.) Anyway, I could talk days about all of that. The Star Wars Exhibition is in town until September and the first-ever Star Wars Celebration Europe will be held in London in mid-July to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the release of Star Wars. Unfortunately that coincides with my high school reunion. Wish I could be in two places at once! The play we went to see in the Globe was Merchant of Venice, one of Shakespeare's comedies. It was great! One of the surprising things that coincided with their visit was a Monster Truck Show! Can you believe it? Granted, we are living in a small town (not central London) and it was held at a local farm, but still very interesting. Of course we had to go and check it out. It wasn't the best/biggest we've been to but entertaining enough to say we did it. Haha! Please check out our web albums for more pictures of from our visit. Stay tuned for my next update...

Ugh! Computers!

2007-06-06T16:17:00.000-06:00

So, this past weekend Matt and I went to Wimbledon and to the British Museum which were both great trips. I took lots of wonderful pictures that I was hoping to share with everyone soon. Well, I went to import the photos from my digital camera and that is where it went downhill. I got a new laptop before moving out here and it came with new software. I am not familiar with Roxio but have been using it for my media stuff since it is the "default" software for that stuff. At some point in the process I thought it was importing something incorrectly and hit cancel. Instead of basically stopping everything in its tracks and allowing you to start over, it deleted my photos from my camera's memory card and from the import folder!!! There was some other weird stuff about what few pictures it did actually transfer but that is too complicated to explain. It is late here and I am just so aggravated with it that my thoughts are running together. I just can't believe I lost all of those pictures!!! I'm sure you've all experienced something similar, where the computer does something "wrong" and it ruined something for you. (Insert curse words here!)

Good night everyone!

Southend-on-Sea

2007-05-21T13:04:00.000-06:00

The past two weekends we spent at the shore. Yes, we are very close to the beach - about a 25 minute drive or train ride. Southend-on-sea is a seaside resort and is located on the north side of the Thames Estuary. (The Thames Estuary is a large estuary where the River Thames flows into the North Sea. The estuary is one of the largest inlets on the coast of Great Britain.)

SUNNY DAY OUT

On Sunday, March 20 we drove down to spend a leisurely afternoon on the boardwalk. We passed lots of pubs, small casinos, ice cream stands, and other seaside vendors. The Southend Pier is one of the longest pleasure piers in the world, but we decided against the 1.34 mile walk as you had to pay to enter onto it. We're told that people sunbathe here in the summer, but that is hard to imagine as the beach area is rather rocky. On this day the tide was in, the sun was out, and it was a great day all around. There is a small amusement park, Adventure Island, an aquarium, a performance theatre, miniature golf, and a short walk away is the High Street lined with shops. Matt's company will have a party at Adventure Island in late June and I'm looking forward to the rides!

SOUTHEND AIR SHOW

Over the holiday weekend, there was an Air Show in Southend. One of Matt's coworkers invited us down to meet her and her family on Sunday for the show. Unfortunately the weather was not as lovely as it had been the previous weekend. It rained all day and was rather cold. The tide was out as well, so instead of crashing waves we saw beached boats. Aside from that, the Air Show was fabulous. Although, I do think the schedule was cut back a bit due to the weather. The highlight for us was the Red Arrows (Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team).

It's Our Anniversary!

2007-05-12T16:47:00.000-06:00

Picture 1: Our Engagement Picture - Don't we look so young?!
Picture 2: Day after our engagement (July 2000)

Today is our sixth wedding anniversary! (And, May 16th marks nine years altogether!) So much has happened during that time and what a wild ride it has been. There are definitely many more years full of adventures to come.

We started the day off with some yard work - not my favorite thing to do. We finally bought a new lawnmower and cleared the forest we had growing in the backyard. Cheyenne would disappear out there. After a mid-afternoon nap we freshened up and went out for dinner. We went to a nice Italian place one town over. It was nice to get out of the house and focus on ourselves for a bit. Following dinner we decided to see what was playing at the local movie theatre. We decided on a British film called This Is England. It was set in England in 1983 and gives a lot of insight into the country during that time (fall out of the Falkland's war). Finally we are settling in for the evening around midnight. Matt can get Nascar (FOX) on his laptop through a tv web service, which should be starting soon. While it can mean for some odd hours to enjoy the race, Matt is just excited that he doesn't have to go without it for two years.

P.S. Happy Mother's Day weekend to all of you "Mums" out there!

Night Out on the Town

2007-05-09T02:47:00.000-06:00

Matt and I took a train into London last night to meet up with several of his colleagues. An Account Rep was in town and treated us all to a fantastic evening. We started the evening with cocktails at On Anon Bars & Club in Piccadilly Circus. Then walked over to Beni Hana (yes, we have those in the states) for dinner. Boy, Brits sure do love their dirty humor. Anyway, then we ended the evening with after-dinner drinks at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in Soho. Jane Monheit, from the states, was the jazz vocalist. This was mine and Matt's first experience in a jazz club. Usually, I'm not a fan of jazz (more a blues fan) but it was a delightful performance. At midnight we left the group to head home. Everyone else was staying downtown for the evening (sharing rooms or staying on business), but we had Cheyenne at home and didn't feel it was necessary to dish out the extra expense for a room.

It would have been nice to have a room downtown, though. We could've been to sleep within an hour of leaving. Unfortunately we had a bit of trouble getting home. We took a cab to the rail station and missed one of the trains by minutes. We didn't think we'd catch that one anyway. So, we waited for the 12:50 train. Once we left the station that is where the trouble began. Ten minutes into the ride we stopped abrubtly between stations because there was a train in the station ahead that was having some issues. I'm not exactly sure what the problem was, but our train was stationary for 50 minutes! At 1:50am we started the rest of the journey. Finally, around 2:30 we arrived at our final station. There we shared a cab with two other "blokes" back to Noak Bridge. (One of the guys actually knew someone named Mike Hunt - say that three times fast - and the whole taxi cracked up laughing when he mentioned it.) I think we were sleeping by 3am. What an evening!

Our boxes arrived yesterday so once we get unpacked and organized this week I can finally begin to settle in...just in time for our first guests to arrive at the beginning of June.

A Little English Humor

2007-05-05T18:33:00.000-06:00

An Irishman applies for a job, but the foreman won't employ him until he passes a little maths test. "Here's your first question, the foreman said. "Without using numbers represent the number 9." "Without numbers?" the Irishman says, "Dat is easy." and proceeds to draw three trees. "What's this?" the boss asks. "Haven't you got a brain? Tree and tree and tree makes nine," says the Irishman. "Fair enough," says the boss. "Here's your second question. Apply the same rules using the number 99, this time." The Irishman stares into space for a while, then picks up the picture that he has just drawn and makes a smudge on each tree, "Dere you go." The boss scratches his head and asks, "How on earth do you get that to represent 99?"... ...."Each of da trees is dirty now. So, it's dirty tree, and dirty tree, and dirty tree. Dat equals 99." The boss starts getting worried that he's actually going to have to give the Irishman the job, so he says, "All right, final question: same rules again, but represent the number 100." The Irishman stares into space for a while, then picks up the picture again and makes a little mark at the base of each tree and says, "Dere you go. One hundred." The boss looks at the illustration and bursts out: "You must be nuts if you think that represents a hundred!" Whereby the Irishman leans forward and points >> to the marks at the base of each tree, saying: "A little dog came along and crapped by each tree. So now you've got dirty tree and a turd, dirty tree and a turd, and dirty tree and a turd, dat makes one hundred.... So, when do I be starting the job?!"

2007-05-02T13:37:00.000-06:00

Today is the first day of the next chapter in our lives! We arrived in England earlier this morning and Cheyenne soon followed. Our personal items should arrive by the end of next week. Let me tell you (as if I haven't enough already) it has been a long (6 months) and frustrating process, but one that brings great opportunities. We are looking forward to learning a new culture, travelling throughout Europe, and taking advantage of this time in our lives. It is going to be a big adjustment, but we are trying to go into it as aware as possible and with an open mind. In the end we'll be able to say this was a great experience.

We ask that friends and family keep in touch with what is happening in your lives while we are gone. We'll be missing out on a lot of those experiences with you, so we want to hear from you as often as possible. We'll try to keep this site regularly updated as well. We'll keep a Denver phone number with Vonage, so let us know if you would like that number.

Cheers!

Scotland

2007-04-22T22:12:00.000-06:00

England has a four-day weekend in celebration of the Easter holiday - Good Friday through Easter Monday. So, in our usual fashion we decided to take a last-minute road trip to Scotland. We left on Thursday, since we weren't sleeping in our house after the boiler broke anyway. The first evening we stayed in Cambridge, England. We stopped in York for a quick walkabout and that evening we stayed in Berwick-upon-Tweed, just outside of Scotland. The final two evenings (Saturday & Sunday) we stayed in Edinburgh, Scotland at a wonderful bed & breakfast. While in Edinburgh we saw a number of the tourist attractions including Edinburgh Castle, Palace of Holyrood, and the Royal Yacht Britannia. There were still a number of things we didn't get to visit, like Edinburgh Zoo where they have the only koalas in the U.K. I told Matt he would have to take me back to see them! (Most of you know what a koala fanatic I am.)

We knew that London was pretty costly but had heard how cheap it was to travel around Europe. We haven't been to mainland Europe yet but plan to take many trips in the next two years. Unfortunately, it wasn't as "cheap" as we may have hoped to visit Scotland. We can get away with most of our weekend trips in the states rather inexpensively with little planning. Not so in the U.K. It didn't help that we traveled on Easter weekend, but holidays didn't deter us in the past. Anyway, everything was expensive - gas, meals, lodging, tourist attractions. Remember too, the british pound is basically twice the dollar. So, if a meal is $10 in the U.S. it would roughly be 10 GBP in the U.K. which is about $20 USD. There aren't a lot of chain hotels, so you have to search out vacancies in all of the old hotels and b&bs. While that isn't too bad, the cost can be more than expected, especially if breakfast isn't included. I love the history and character of the buildings, just wish it didn't take such a chunk out of our budget. I really enjoyed our stay at a B&B in Edinburgh, though.

Since I don't expect to work in England, we had always planned for me to be the travel planner. I love doing that kind of stuff and am definitely looking forward to it. However, the trip to Scotland was very last-minute and we thought we'd be okay. We learned our lesson. Initially I'll have lots to keep me busy with getting to know whats around our new town but also trying to visit as many new countries as we can. I might look for a volunteer opportunity or something for my downtime. Otherwise, I guess I'll just have to go shopping! (Just kidding, really!)

We are really looking forward to hosting visitors, so make sure your passport and funds are all in order. The guest room awaits you!

Recent trip to the U.K.

2007-04-22T21:52:00.000-06:00

**Check out our trip photo album using the Web Album link on the left.**

Thought it was about time I posted an update...especially if I want you all to come back periodically to see what's happening. A couple of weeks ago I did type a great update but apparently didn't save the draft and lost it when I was updating. After that I didn't feel like writing again for a while.

Most of you know that I was in England from mid-March to mid-April. Matt and I thought it would be a good idea for me to get out of the house since I was bored and it seemed the paperwork wasn't going to be completed any time soon. He couldn't come back so I decided to fly out there. Admittedly, it wasn't the best trip. This whole process has been very stressful for the two of us, especially Matt, so the conditions weren't ideal. While we were able to get into the house there were a slew of problems to take care of - mainly the radiators and boiler. So, we were going between the house and hotels. The house is furnished, but we didn't send over any of our stuff yet to make it our "home". I sent out an email during the trip saying I didn't have access to cable or the internet for a while. I know, poor me. But, hey when you have to sit in a cold house all day without transportation it gets pretty boring. Anyway, I was definitely relieved to return to Colorado and to see Cheyenne again. Don't get me wrong, I'm still excited about this opportunity but I'm just ready to be settled.

I do have to give props to Matt for picking out the house all by himself. Women can be pretty picky, especially me. Anyway, despite the small problems we had in the house it is a pretty decent place. Compared to most living over there, we are doing really well. We have a detached house with a garage and a backyard. There are 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, kitchen, laundry room (w/a washer & dryer), dining room, livingroom, and small office. We also have a car, but I'm not sure I will drive as planned. It is a manual drive and I don't do well here in the states with one of those, so add it being on the left side and then driving on the left side of the road with all the crazy UK drivers and I think I'd pee my pants at the first busy roundabout! Maybe I'll take driving lessons.

Well, sorry it has been so long since the last time I wrote. I'll definitely try to be better once the move happens.

Girlfriends!

2007-03-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

Picture 1: Some of my Alpha Delta Pi Alumnae Sisters

Picture 2: Two of my former coworkers from the University of Denver (celebrating @ an English Pub)

Picture 3: Some of the Alpha Omicron Pi Advisers for the Epsilon Gamma Chapter @ UNC

Since moving to Denver in December 2001 I have met so many wonderful people and have developed friendships with a number of great women. It was hard for me to move across the country and not know anyone in the area. But my new friends helped me to settle right in. Through a number of other opportunities I was able to meet even more women and am grateful for all of the girlfriends I have in my life now - those old and new! I'll be starting all over again in England but I will never forget my friends in Colorado, or South Carolina for that matter, and hope to remain in touch with all of you just as I have in the past. I will be just an email message away! I love you all! Amber

All I Need to Know About Life I Learned From My Girlfriends

Good times are even better when they're shared.
A good long talk can cure almost anything.
Everyone needs someone with whom to share their secrets.
Listening is just as important as talking.
An understanding friend is better than a therapist; and cheaper, too!
Laughter makes the world a happier place.
Friends are like wine; they get better with age.
Sometimes you just need a shoulder to cry on.
Great minds think alike, especially when they are female!
When it comes to "bonding," females do it better.
It's important to make time to do "girl things."
Calories don't count when having lunch (or any other food) with your girlfriends.
You can never have too many shoes or girlfriends.
GEMS MAY BE PRECIOUS, BUT FRIENDSHIP IS PRICELESS!!!!!

It's official...we're moving!

2007-03-04T00:32:00.000-07:00

We received the official word on February 16th that Matt's assignment has been extended and we will be moving to England later this month. How exciting! The news has been long awaited as Matt left for Europe back in early November 2006. My last day at work was yesterday (March 2) and now the real planning begins. There is so much to do - call the vet and the utility companies, shopping, packing, etc. Not to mention I must try to say goodbye to several friends. Of course, I'm hoping it will be more like "until I see you again" because we do plan to move back to Colorado once the assignment is completed. We'll be abroad for at least two years and hope to travel as much as we can. I'm hoping this blog will be a great way to keep friends and family updated on our adventures. Please keep in touch! Our home will always be open to visitors so we'd love to have you join us in our new place!