We opted to stay in town this weekend, giving our Clio a rest. It was a short rest. On Saturday, our little red car groaned under the weight of our 3 bikes (the neighbor gave Liv his old one and a football mate of mine loaned us a bike rack) and headed to a bike shop the size of a closet. We rented a bike for Rachelle and found our way to one of the bike paths in Bath. Bath hosts a number of bike paths along canals, rivers, and through the country, and we were eager to explore the rare flat areas in Bath.
It was sprinkling and the kids were complaining when we first started out, but soon the rain stopped, the sun came out, and the kids cheered up. The path followed a river and for long stretches the trees reached across over our heads and created a tunnel of forestry. Peaks between the trees gave us views of sheep, cows, horses, green land, and lush hills. We pedaled along until we came to a pub called the 'Bird in the Hand' and stopped in for a scrumptious lunch. We headed back to the path nicely satiated and rode until we happened upon a playground where the kids romped around for a bit.
We turned and headed back to the Clio after our 10 mile loop. We were especially proud of Liv who was riding a small-wheeled, single-speed, rusty kid's bike. We are now determined to keep our eyes out for a used bike for Rachelle and a used bike rack that can hold 4 bikes.
Saturday night found Rachelle and me heading out to dinner at Chris (the head of the Pain Research Centre where I work) and Zoe's house. We dropped off Liv and Noah in the good hands of Kevin, Janet, and Kaidyn. Rachelle and I were giddy at having a grownup night out, and Chris and Zoe are splendid hosts. We had a delicious meal of parsnip soup and risotto then enjoyed a long talk about politics, our impressions of the UK, family, and football. Tipsy with adult-only company and ginger-beer and vodka drinks, we soon found ourselves gaping to discover it was midnight. After snapping a quick picture (see above), we hustled back to pick up our kids discussing how to pay back Kevin and Janet for such unplanned generosity. We carried the sleeping dynamic duo to the car and headed home to get some shut-eye ourselves.
Early Sunday morning we woke to Noah singing and dancing around the house despite the lack of sleep. Mirroring Rachelle and my excitement of our night out, he was giddy about his upcoming play date with one of his favorite school chums. Liv was tucked into the 5th Harry Potter book and decided to stay home rather than accompany me to my football match.
FC Belevedere were facing a young, skilled Tramways team. Our heroes were up to the duel and played with high spirits and skill. In the first half, the good guys were quickly up 3-0. The game ended FC Belvedere 5, Tramways 2. The big news, at least in my book, was that I scored another goal. I snuck into the box unmarked on a corner kick and slammed a header into the back of the net. Glory. For the full report, see http://www.webteams.co.uk/MatchReport.aspx?team=fcbelvedere&mid=match9.xml
After some time bonding with the team at the pub, I headed home to help Rachelle clean-up and fix dinner for the Curran clan. The Curran family lived in Atlanta and the 3 girls attended Paideia. Rob had lived in the U.S. for 13 years, married American Karen, and he and the family moved back to his hometown in Cornwall 2 years ago. They were in visiting Bath and we were delighted to get a chance to see them. We enjoyed a great Rachelle meal with Rob, Karen, and their daughters Megan, Lacey, and Jessica. Although the 5 kids were fairly quiet at dinner, once they left the table, they found their voices, and the noise from upstairs competed with our neighboring partying university freshers. Venu from next door came over and the 6 kids chased each other around outside while the grownups caught up. See the picture of some of the kiddie action outside.
Although technically not part of the weekend, I am including the Monday festivities in this post. After a day of sightseeing, the Currans joined us for dinner 2. Connected to our cottage is a common space shared by the other 3 families in our residence. We used the large table in this space so that the 5 Currans, 4 Cohen, and 3 Vowles could all dine together. See the picture of the American feast in England. There is also a large room that allowed the 5 girls (3 Currans, 1 Cohen, and 1 Vowles) plenty of space to chase and pile up on Noah. They kiddies took a brief break to Skype Bryson (see picture), who was in class with Megan and Noah a few years ago. The meal of Rachelle's famous gypsy soup, challah bread, Indian beans (thank you to our neighbor Anjula), pasta, salad, and excellent Cornwall beers (thank you Rob and Karen) was delicious and the company was delightful.
On Tuesday (okay, so I am no where near the weekend now), Rachelle joined the Currans sight-seeing around Bath (costume museum, the circus, the crescents, downtown). That afternoon, we were sad to see the Currans head back to Cornwall, but we are excited to explore their region of England in the near future.
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