Happy Birthday, Matt!

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

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!

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

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

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!

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

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

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!!!!!!!!

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...

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