Sunday, August 31, 2008

Fun Weekend (Aug 30-31)





Rachelle planned out a Saturday's adventure exploring the Cotswalds for the Cohen family. Bright and early, we jumped into the car, excited to experience some new English countryside and villages.

Well...

Actually, Rachelle and I were excited, Liv was mildly interested, and Noah was adamantly opposed. He wanted to stay home and play Legos, 4-square, and Nintendo DS. Unfortunately for me, Noah recalled and bolstered his stance with a true story of when Pam, Giles, and I stood together in opposition to Jerry's tightly packed plan to see every cathedral and castle in Spain during a family vacation when I was in college. Despite Noah's best efforts, we eventually dragged and pushed our grumpy troop into the car and set off.

First, we headed to Upper Slaughter and parked our car in the tiny stone village. Rachelle had read about a walk from Upper to Lower Slaughter (unfortunate names for such picturesque riverside villages). The walk was great, through fields and along a shallow river. Noah even perked up a bit and enjoyed having leaf races in the water with Liv.

Since the walk was only a mile, we continued on to Bourton-on-the-River, a town about 1 1/2 miles from Lower Slaughter. Bourton-on-the-River has a perfect little downtown, and is regularly voted the prettiest village in England. There is a shallow wide creek running through the middle of town, where kids splash about; little cafes and boutiques line the streets; and every little building, store, and house is a delight of stone, ivy, leaded windows, with many of the establishments over 400 years old.

There was one drawback to Bourton-on-the-River...it is a total tourist town. It felt much like Disney in its perfection, attention to detail, and complete infestation of camera-carrying tourists (see my pictures ;) ). After walking about, we headed back up to Upper Slaughter along the same path, which I later found out is an ancient Roman footpath. We stopped in Lower Slaughter for some ice cream. Along the rest of the walk, Liv and Noah sketched out a new version of the Billy Goats Gruff play (see video), inspired by the many unique and antique stone bridges spanning the creek.

On the way home, lucky us, Liv had to use the loo, which allowed Rachelle and me to detour into Bibury, a village we wanted to visit but didn't want to press our luck with Noah. Bibury was a delight. Again, the village had a great wide creek, with swans, ducks, and large trout. Noah pointed out that Grandpa Mike would love to see these 12-inch plus monsters swimming peacefully just below the surface. The town is home to a row of gabled houses built in 1380 and remodeled in the 17th century and a great Saxon church, that might date back to around 700 AD.

Today, I woke up excited and nervous about my first soccer game with Belvedere. Surprise, surprise, it was raining. We heard that this has been the rainiest August since 1912. However, as I reached the pitch it stopped raining, but was blanketed in fog. You could barely see 10 feet in front of you. The fog lifted just at the kickoff, and we had a great match. The other team was well young and fast, and it was clear why they were a Division I outfit. That said, our Division III team, actually dominated most of the match and barely missed 4 or 5 opportunities in front of the net. I had a great game in the defense stopping the forward I was covering, who was half my age. Literally. The hightlight of the game came near the end. We were down 3-2 and had a corner kick. I asked the sweeper if I could run forward for the corner kick. He said 'no', but I had already started forward and kept going. My forward noticed I was going in, started chasing after me, but he was a step slow and I headed the ball into the back of the net. 3-3. Glory. This moment of joy was only partially dimmed when they soon scored on us and won 4-3. All in all, a great showing for Belvedere.

This afternoon, the family went down to Bath's own Royal Victoria park, a 57-acre park, which opened in 1829. The kids' part is a children's dream. There are zip lines, many different structures for kids of varying ages, climbing things, carousels, and ice cream. See the picture of Noah and Liv at the top of some webbed climbing structure.

All in all, a great weekend. School starts for the kids in 3 days!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Just a regular day, but we are in Bath!




Since returning from our Scotland jaunt, we are settling back into a nice routine. School for the kids does not start until September 3, so it is still family time, which is nice, but...we are all four looking forward to school starting.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday and today in the office. Although it is a nice space with a view, the keyboard is slightly different. For example, the @ and " marks are swapped and the shift and returns keys are one key further away on each side. I did pack a good ole U.S. keyboard, which will come in handy in my office. Similar to our home, it is both offsetting and pleasant to have such an empty clean space. I have 1 book on my shelves and nothing in the desk drawers.

Yesterday, the four of us walked downtown and found the local library. We each obtained library cards and checked out a stack of books, which we then lugged to various stores. We bought our kids the plimsoll shoes that all UK kids use for P.E., a map of Bath, and some yummy baguettes (my tuna had peas and corn in it, which I guess is common here). We stopped in a park downtown, which has free access only for residents of Bath (picture). It was nice to flash our library cards and prance right in. The walk home was extra exciting because Noah and I took off ahead and out of site with one of our Walkie-Talkies and Rachelle and Liv kept the other one. Whenever we suspected that Liv and Rachelle were passing other people, we spoke into our Walkie-Talkie ("Hello, I am Liv. HELLO!"). I think Rachelle turned the volume down and foiled our prank.

One other side story, which occurred in a public restroom. As Noah walked out of his stall, a man came in wildly waving his arms, pointing at Noah, and speaking in gibberish. Noah and I veered for the exit, and the man lunged and grabbed Noah's arm. We then realized that Noah had rubbed against a freshly painted wall. The man brought out some turpentine and rubbed it on Noah and his clothes, which did remove the paint, but left Noah smelling quite strong for the rest of the day. As the man spoke to us, I deciphered that he was speaking English, but had a very thick accent. I understood none of what he said.

I had soccer practice last night, which went very well. It looks like I will be starting in our first game on Sunday. Go Belvedere! There is a mandatory team gathering at our pub sponsor (Belvedere) next Friday.

This afternoon, Noah, Liv, and I taught Venu (the 9-year-old who lives next door) how to play 4-square. Whenever Venu makes it to the king square, he always institutes the "body parts" rule because he is better at kicking than hitting the ball. Liv also found time to scurry up a tree or two (picture). This evening, Kevin, Janet, and Kaidyn came over for dinner, which was a treat (picture).

Since we have not been watching TV or reading any papers, we did not find out until today (thanks for the email mom) about Obama's VP pick. Rachelle and I watched the Democratic Conventions speeches online and cheered. We also just found out about McCain's pick (and he claims that Obama is inexperienced!) and watched her speak online (what an annoying accent).

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Stirling and Egg-N-Butter (Aug 22-26)





We headed out of Glasgow caravan-style. Amy and Louis with the 3 wild boys in their rented stick-shift (foreshadow) car, Rachelle and me with the 2 sweet girls (lucky us that a tiny piece of broken glass found its way into the middle seat belt slot meaning we got the pair of angels!). Twisting through beautiful country-side that we were almost taking for granted at that point, we found the adorable stone town of Stirling and our 200+-year-old converted church hostel (see picture of Noah in Stirling). 5 boys to one room, 4 girls to the other one, and we went off to explore by foot. The narrow winding roads are all cobblestone; the buildings are all stone, carved, and intricate; and the incredible castle rising from the jagged cliff above it all. We head up to the castle and Liv and Jill delight in finding tiny rooms, caverns, hiding places, lookouts, and crannies. The boys show a bit of interest in the canons and archery posts, but mostly enjoy each other and a game that they have invented involving foam heads that Amy acquired at the conference (picture). These heads provide hours of amusement and many, many short videos that Noah and Max film with Max’s camera. As soon as these videos are up on youtube, I will post the link. I am sure you are eagerly awaiting with popcorn in hand.

The Stirling castle was truly spectacular, and were I not sharing the experience with our attention-span challenged tots, I would have loved to join the tours and soaked in the incredible stories of English-Scottish battles and occupation and romance that lived in the ancient walls.

After being turned away from one historic and ancient pub (the chef said he only could cook for a maximum of 5 people at a time), we ate fish-and-chips and shared some John Smith and Guiness pints. We then walked over to the graveyard for a ghost story tour. The guide was bald and painted white and stayed wonderfully in character – a mean, violent, medieval member of the inquisitorial board. For example, when Miles (9 years old) walked to close to the guide, he took the “annoying welp” by the ear and asked that his parents “restrain him”. Fortunately, the thick accent and poetic stories were a bit over the head of the kids and they did not lose any sleep from the tales.

Next, we drove to Duone castle (picture), which is reportedly the best example of a medieval castle (most other castles have been expanded over the ages), and the one used for many scenes in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Amy and Louis brought the movie for us to watch in the evening, as well as a knight hat and some coconut shells (if you have seen the movie, you would understand). This castle was great fun because we could pick out where different scenes were filmed and also because it was far less populated by tourists. In fact, for a little while we had the castle to ourselves and the kids could be as loud and wild as they liked, without Rachelle and me fearing we were appearing like obnoxious loud Americans.

We headed off to Edinburgh (also known as "Egg-n-Butter") caravan style, and thank you broken seat belt, Rachelle and I were blessed with Liv and Jill who played quietly with teddy bears in the back seat. Amy and Louis had mixed reports on their passengers' behavior.

Explanatory side story: Before leaving for Scotland, a Scot living in Bath informed us that Edinburgh is correctly pronounced Ed-in-burra with a roll of the tongue and that if we said Ed-in-berg or Ed-in-burrow, we would be promptly tossed off a cliff. Noah noticed that the "burra" sounded like butter so he began calling it Egg-n-butter.

Amy in her stick-shift was able to follow me - with the occasional stall - through 3 or maybe 4 round-abouts in Egg-n-Butter before I lost her. Rachelle and I had Emily as our faithful guide but no cell phone, address, or map; and Amy had the name, phone number, and apartment number of our rented flat, but no Emily and no map. So, together we were a force to be reckoned with, and separated, we were two ill-prepared ships lost in the storm and paddling on the wrong side of the waves. With help from a coffee shop worker and Amy calling the flat owner, we all made it to our 3rd-floor walk-up 100+-year-old apartment. Alas, no internet and no blog posts until now (we are back in Bath).

Edinburgh was amazing, and we were there during the Fringe festival, a huge party involving street artists, theater, music, food, and tents selling everything imaginable (picture). Each day, we walked up the Royal Mile toward the Edinburgh Castle, pausing to enjoy the various street artists juggling fire or knives, climbing poles, doing magic, or performing other acts.

Three times Noah was selected from the crowd (picture). On one occasion, he had to toss large machete-like knives up to the juggler standing on a stack of garbage cans over 10 feet in the air. When Noah's part was done, the performer held up a 5-pound note and had Noah jump for it. After the 3rd unsuccessful jump, Noah pretended as if he was going to kick out the bottom garbage can, which brought a round of cheering and laughter from the crowd. What a ham! Noah did get to keep the 5-pound note. In fact, one of Noah's other moments in the center ring resulted in him "earning" a 5-pound bill. So, Noah earned 20 U.S. dollars! Following one of the acts, Noah asked me if he could give the performer the 5 pounds back. Before I could praise Noah's generosity, Noah said, "And, if I do, will you pay me 5 pounds back when we get home?"

One day, we purchased tickets for "Potted Potter - A Satire of the 7 Harry Potter Books in 70 Minutes". The 2 actors were a hoot, and our group of big and little muggles had a blast. During this show, Miles was selected from the crowd to help out as a Seeker and try to catch the snitch, one of the actors dressed in gold. Miles' full body tackle of the snitch brought howling cheers and laughs.

Edinburgh is an amazing city - gorgeous, historical, and incredibly alive with energy and excitement. We walked miles soaking in the culture and taking skinny alleys and enjoying incredible architecture everywhere we went.

We also spent a large chunk of a day exploring the immense Edinburgh castle, which is really a walled town. Again, Liv and Jill delighted in finding secret passageways and lookouts and the boys amused themselves in their own ways. The adults had a great time while simultaneously trying to keep track of the 5 kids.

Today, bright and early, Amy and Louis and their threesome headed to the airport to fly back to Atlanta, and we popped into our Clio to drive back to Bath. The kids read in the back seat while Rachelle and I took turns following Emily's perfect navigating. We arrived home, glad to be back in our cozy cottage.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Great Scot, Day 4-5

The last couple of days had highs and lows.

I spent 2 days doing the conference, which was great. Excellent networking (e.g., invite to speak in Sweden, request to be on a talk at a conference in Acapulco, offer to use a new colleagues apartment in Paris when we visit France) and learning (e.g., great talk on child pain advocacy).

Saint Rachelle took the kids on culture jaunts (e.g., museums) in the rain, which was met with some protests and whines.

Yesterday, Amy and I cabbed it back from the conference and saw a fight start on the sidewalk between some Northern Ireland and some Scottish soccer fans (the 2 teams played last night). It was an ugly sight.

Last night, Amy watched the kids while Rachelle and I went out with a bunch of my conference buddies, including some of my favorite Canadians (Simon Beggs, Jen Stinson, Bonnie Stevens, Anna Taddio). We had a blast and didn't get home until around 2am.

Today, Amy's hubby, Lewis, and her 3 kids have joined us in the apartment, which resulted in the apartment shrinking drastically in size but growing in sound volume.

The entire group of 9 of us went to a conference-sponsored event, a Ceilidh (pronounced Kaylee) dance and dinner at a very cool old church-like building. The dancing was a blast, the food was mediocre (maybe if you are a meet eater, it was okay), and the kids managed to entertain themselves without causing too much raucous. Liv and Jill danced and the 3 boys played under the table or found their way up to a balcony.

As a coincidence, I saw a guy who looked familiar. Sure enough, he worked at Outback Bikes in Atlanta and sold me my bike. He is doing pain research at Georgia State in Biology and was at the conference. Another grad student at his table and his lab was formerly a Georgia State undergraduate student taught by none other than the fabulous Rachelle. Of course the student loved Rachelle.

As I write this blog at 11:30pm, I am listening to the 3 other parents trying to get the 5 kids to sleep. The 3 new additions are still on US time and acting as if it is 6:30pm and Noah and Liv are keeping right up with them. Maybe they'll sleep in! ;)

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Great Scot, Day 3




Today was truly magical. I decided to play hookey from the conference and go touring with the family. The four of us piled in the Clio (no vandalism this morning!) and headed out. We went to the tiny happy village of Balmaha, situated on Loch Lomond. We grabbed some sandwiches at one of the 2 stores, and went on an hour + hike up the mountain. We crossed creeks, walked with sheep, and enjoyed 360 degrees of breathtaking beauty - purple heather, lush green grass and moss, twisty trees, white jagged rocks, and sheep clinging to crags and crevices. It was spectacular. See the video of the summit. After taking in the view and having our lunch, the wind died down and we were attacked by a swarm of midges (little Scottish flies). By "we", I mean Rachelle.

We skipped, bounced, and slid down the mountain and then headed to the local pub for scones and fish soup. Off to the lake, boarded a boat, and we were deposited on a small island preserve. We hiked around the island, finding an ancient graveyard, and climbed a tree at the summit of the small mountain on the island (see the picture of Liv in the tree). The island had lush jungle with beautiful ferns, gnarly trees, and soft moss and grasses.

A parent highlight not to be forgotten: Each of the kids each spontaneously and separately thanked us for "forcing" them go on the hikes (I didn't mention the complaints and whines we endured when we announced that we were going on a family hike) and they acknowledged having a great time.

It was sunny the entire day until our drive back to Glasgow. The trip back was thrilling because it was Rachelle's second time behind the wheel, and she navigated many round-abouts and only suffered 1 honk the entire 40-minute drive!

After relaxing back in Glasgow in our apartment, Amy and Lindsey headed off to a fancy dinner with Christina Spellman from the Mayday Fund (who is financing a project Amy and Lindsey are running) and Rachelle watched some Austin Powers with the kids and put them to bed.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Great Scot, Day 3 (Glasgo, Glass gone)

So, as I was headed off to the conference this morning, I noticed that someone had broken into our cute little Clio. Bummer. Fortunately, they only smashed the little triangle window on the back passenger side. Also, nothing was taken, probably because there was nothing to take. While I did conferencing, Rachelle and the kids walked to the police station to file a report. They would have called it in, but we have no cell phones and the apartment has no phone.

I came back early, swept out the glass, and used some scissors to pick out the pieces that had fallen into the backseat seat belt slots. We headed off to lunch and the waiter gave us tape and a garbage bag to cover the window before it rained. He was a mighty fine Scottish lad and the food was delicious.

While dialing the insurance company on Skype, I cursed my decision to go with the higher deductible (520 pounds or approximately 1000 US dollars) and wondered whether calling the insurance company might be a mistake if they were to raise our rates.

Upon talking to the RAC insurance people, I discovered that for broken glass, the deductible was only 60 pounds and it would not count against our insurance premium. Also, they would send a guy out in an hour to repair the window. Jolly good for an otherwise crummy situation!

The guy showed up and 30 minutes and 60 pounds later we were back to having a whole car with only some slivers of glass in my hand to show for it.

The kids and I watched some Olympics while Amy and Rachelle picked up take-out Indian for dinner.

After dinner the kids, Rachelle, and I watched some Austin Powers 2. Nothing like a bit of Dr. Evil and Mini Me to put a smile on your face.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Great Scot, Day 2


We left our little hostel and wound and twisted through gorgeous countryside, occasionally stopping to let some sheep cross the road, and found our way to Lanark. In Lanark, we enjoyed a medieval festival, learning about Scottish and English history while watching reenacted battles and trying the local fare (oat cakes, stovies, beet root, and carrot soup). Surprise, surprise, the kids were still hungry so we topped that meal off with pizza.

Back to the Clio and into Glasgow where we found our modern and spacious apartment (picture), which we will share with Amy (she arrived today) and her family (they arrive Thursday).

We walked along the river Clyde to the conference center so Amy and I could register for the 12th World Congress on Pain and check out the reception. The whole family and Amy slid into the reception, which has a great Celtic band playing, buffet tables with food (aalmon, chicken, salad, fruit, some other stuff, and haggis), free wine and other beverages, and a tuxedo-clad Sean Connery celebrity look-alike.

Rachelle, Amy, and I had some wine and talked with research buddies and colleagues. Noah and Liv met many people and announced each time, "We ate sheep intestines!" It was a great time and a wonderful walk back to our apartment through Glasgow.

Family Bonding



Rachelle predicted that we would experience heightened family bonding as we settled in our foreign environment and enjoyed and endured novel situations without our usual social network. She has been mostly right, but we did not expect the tight relationship that Noah and Liv have forged. They play together, talk alone, and block vote against us. So, although we are traveling together and enjoying our family foursome, Noah and Liv are sharing their own perspectives and creating a tight twosome.

Great Scot, Day 1






We packed up our little Clio and took off around 10 in the morning on August 16. 3 hours and 50 round-abouts later, I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable about driving. This was supported by the drop in Rachelle-gasp frequency. I pulled over so Rachelle could practice driving from the right side of the car on the left side of the road. She did well on the motorway (highway) and as we approached her first round-about, the tension rose. She managed it with only 1 short and 1 long honk from angry Brits! With Emily guiding us, we went into a town called Stoke-on-Trent (home of some china-making factories, such as Wedgewood), and had lunch.

Refreshed and back on the road, myself back at the wheel, we wound our way into Scotland. The views were beautiful and pulled off for these pictures on the side of a road. After winding and twisting through gorgeous countryside – hills and mountains with white rocks jutting out of the rich varied greens and purple heather, cows and sheep grazing on the slopes, blue and purple rivers and lochs (lakes) – we entered the town of Minnigaff on the Cree river. We found our 100+ year-old hostel (picture), and the kids ran out on the grass and through a gap in a stone wall and found a small playground (picture).

After the kids selected their bunks and we through our belongings in our room (picture), we walked down the road to the pub for dinner. The kids experimented with potato and leek soup and lime juice, but stuck with the familiar pasta with tomato sauce. The local Scottish salmon was wonderful as was the apple pie with custard.

Exhausted and satiated, we walked back to our hostel and barely noticed the first rain of the day. As Rachelle and the kids sleep and I write this, a long-haired springer spaniel (like Sebo) just came wondering up into the lounge to meet me. Liv will be thrilled to play with this pup in the morning.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Cleaning Routine


Although our cottage is nice and spacious - for English standards - we are making due without some of the conveniences that are commonplace back home. For example, it is much more common to hang clothes to dry rather than have a dryer. Given that the weather here makes Seattle look like a desert, clothes are hung on the radiators around the home.

Dishwashers are somewhat more rare than expected too. So, our kids have chipped in and we have developed a nice assembly line with rotating positions. In the picture you see the washer (Liv), rinser (Noah), and dryer (Rachelle). The putter-awayer (me) stepped off to snap the photo.

We're Mobile!




Yes, we plunked down 1600 pounds for a 1999 Renault Clio with 34k miles (picture). It is quite cute and automatic, which is rare over here but critical when you want to devote most of your attention to staying on the left side of the road. We bought the car last night and immediately had a long overdue family trip to the grocery store. Being the designated driver, I had the pleasure of having 2 backseat drivers. One was the sweet Brit Emily who directs me through the narrow, steep, and twisty streets of bath. If you haven't met her, Emily is our Garmin Nuvi GPS navigator. The second is my dear and lovely wife Rachelle who periodically reminds me to "STAY ON THE LEFT! STAY ON THE LEFT!" and gasps when I am too far to the left.

After our last night driving trip, today I spent several hours on the phone with auto insurance companies to purchase comprehensive coverage. It was made more difficult because my credit cards were suspended because of suspicious activity (using the card in England), the insurance company could not enter my billing address in the U.S., the credit card companies would not let me change my address to one in England, and so on. Of course, each call has to start with me - as always - convincing the agent that I am in fact a male "Lindsey".

We drove to the town of Box to try on purchase Noah's and Liv's school uniforms. Sweatshirts, polos, P.E. tees, trousers (not pants), hats, and cardigans. All with the St. Stephens School crest.

One of the highlights of the day: I turned on the tele and on popped a premier league game, with Liverpool squaring off against Standard Liege. Fun, fun, fun. See picture.

We had Kevin, Janet, and Kaidyn over for dinner. The Vowles family has been our lifesavers. They lent us 550 pounds (double to convert to US dollars) cash to buy the car when Wachovia froze our ATMs cards for suspicious activity (using ATMs in England), drove us to Bristol to check out the car, and have offered loads of advice and support on everything Bath. We would not have made it this far without their help. It was Janet's b-day, so Rachelle, Noah, and Liv made a cake and we managed to light the candles off the electric stove as we did not pack matches.

We are finally getting adjusted to the time zone. However, I did wake at 3:30am dreaming of driving recklessly on the wrong side of the road. In my dream I was driving backwards and using the rear view mirror to watch where I was going.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Lost Weather


Although we have only been in Bath for 5 days, we are noticing a pattern to the weather. Each day there will be some sun, some clouds, some rain, and some wind. Each of these conditions will come on go quickly with almost no buildup or warning. It is not unlike the weather conditions on the show Lost.

Today we went for another family run around the many fields on campus. We happened upon a soccer match, and Noah and I stopped to watch. I am including a picture of Noah with the game in the background. Notice the blustery weather and Noah's English grimace.

Liv and I had a bike ride around campus and stopped in a grocery store. While checking out, a group of Spanish students (a language school is in session now) who spoke no English were attempting to communicate with the store clerk, who spoke no Spanish. I served as the translator, which was great fun and duly impressed Liv.

Later Liv and I played Venu and Noah in 2 on 2 soccer in our front yard. Some Italian students stopped to watch and clapped when Liv scored.

Tonight we are having Venu and his parents over for dinner. Rachelle is making her signature Gypsy soup and Venu's mother will bring something, maybe blood pudding or some other local dish.

The guests just arrived, so I am off.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Car Shopping

We are on the lookout for a car. The simple life can be okay. For example, as we have no dishwasher, Liv loves drying the dishes we wash after meals. It is easy for the kids to keep their rooms clean when they only have about 2 toys and a very limited wardrobe. However, hauling groceries in bags on the bus home is going to get old quickly.

I have found that shopping for a car without a car is challenging. So, I am using the internet to search. There are a ton of cars on www.ebay.co.uk, but you cannot test them or have a mechanic look them over. A little too risky. As craigslist.com has not caught on here, I have found a site called gumtree.com, where folks advertise cars. Now the problem is trying to figure out whether a Citroen Xsara, a Seat Ibiza, or any of these popular European cars are decent vehicles. There do not appear to be as many or as easy to navigate car review websites in Europe as back home.

On Monday we are going to meet up with a woman to look at her Renault Clio. I guess it really only has to last us 12 months, so that is not asking too much. Surprise, surprise, the cost of used cars - unlike many other items in Bath - is not too bad. Of course, gas is roughly 12 dollars a gallon, so a car will be costly no matter how you slice it.

Rainy Saturday

Today was a fun day, despite the constant rain. The whole family tromped out in the wet for a run around the campus. Although the kids did put up a squabble when we dragged them away from playing Legos in Noah's cozy room, once they were outside they had a good time playing some imaginary jumping, jogging, laughing game.

We took a tour of the University's new recreation center and we were quite impressed. We are debating joining because it is just down from our cottage, but it is pricey. Darn Bush for killing the dollar.

This afternoon, we grabbed out backpacks and walked in the rain downtown. Although it is only a couple of miles, it is a nearly hour walk for some reason. Even in the rain, it was beautiful. The kids were troopers and played a game where they earned points for saying "cheers!" to strangers we passed on the street. The Brits in Bath are not as social as U.S. Southerners and rarely respond even to two cute kids.

We managed to do our grocery shopping even though our familiar brands were not available. How can they not have Nestle Quik chocolate mix or Silk soymilk? How do you choose when there are 4 different types - not brands - of oatmeal?

We caught the bus back up the hill and Venu, the boy who lives next to us, was waiting to play. He joined the kids for tea and cake.

All in all, a jolly good day.

Side note: Rachelle and I received an email from cousin Doug Baker wishing us a happy anniversary last night. As we have done nearly every year, we both forgot it was our anniversary on August 8. You would think that we would remember with it being 8/8/08 and several people joking about the date. We were even out to dinner and out for drinks and it never crossed our minds. Maybe we'll remember next year!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Day 2

The family is still adjusting to the new time zone, but having fun when awake. Yesterday, Rachelle and Liv took a little walk, got lost, and had a nice hour and half walk in the woods. Since our home is on campus, Noah and I explored the grounds. We walked around the duck/cod pond, saw lots of little bunnies, and explored the soccer fields. We popped into the rec center and I met someone who organizes a men's soccer team, and I will come to tryouts next Thursday. The 20-something kid said that they were looking for a new player or two because they have a couple of guys who are old. I nodded and smiled while trying not to expose too many 40-year-old smile wrinkles around the eyes.

We caught the bendable bus downtown to meet Kevin and some of his colleagues at a pub. Noah is thrilled to be able to tell his friends at home that he went into a pub. This is his highlight of the trip so far.

At noon there was an Esther Parkin celebration at our residence in the communal area. It was nice with beverages and food and toasts. They announced me as the David Parkin Professor, and I was able to thank the trust members who voted on my appointment to the post. As we spoke, one of the trustees happened upon the topic of trying to talk Michael Goldfarb (My cuz) to come to Bath on sabbatical. Small world.

This evening, we walked downtown to meet Kevin, Chris, and some other at a pub for some room-temp beers. On the walk, Liv suffered her first bee sting ever, but was able to shake it off. We had dinner with Chris (my new boss) and Zoe (his wife). Chris and Zoe lit into Noah for supporting Manchester United (Chris and Zoe are Everton fans).

Another favorite of the kids: Tea time and cake. They have had this each day thus far. I am not sure how long we will keep up that tradition, but it is fun so far.

Two things I have learned today: 1) The English refer to pants as "trousers". So, when I complimented Kevin on his pants, he informed me that "pants" in England refers to underwear. Oops. 2) They do not tip. So, when you spend 4 pounds (8 US dollars!) on a pint or 10 pounds (20 US dollars!) on pizza, they do not expect a tip. What a bargain.

The weather has been beautiful. Sunny and cloudy mixed and cool. Jeans or other trousers, shirt, and maybe a jacket. Nice, but this is as warm as it gets here!

One highlight for Rachelle and me: The town and hills are so beautiful that even Noah stopped on our way downtown and said, "Wow!" All of the buildings are tan stone - one person describe them as like hot buttered toast - the hills are incredibly green with wonderful gardens, trees, castles, and rocks. Gorgeous.

Come visit!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

We have Arrived!


Our day of travel proceeded with very few hitches. We left Atlanta on Tuesday, Aug 5 at 1p arriving DC around 3p. We left DC at 6p and arrived London at 6a (their time; 1a EST). Fortunately, Rachelle and Noah slept for about 3 hours, Liv for about 3, and I think I tucked in 30 min. I might have slept more if the 4-foot tall elderly Spanish woman behind me had stopped pushing and kicking my chair. After several hours, she leaned forward and asked if I would raise my seat. I noticed that her seat was leaned all the back as was the person in front of me. Did I mention she was about 4 feet tall? I pulled my seat up about 2 inches, sat in a huffy mood for about 5 min, and then I leaned it back again. Fun, fun, fun. I probably would have slept more if they hadn't been showing 'Leatherheads' and 'Prince Caspian', which both demanded my attention.

Upon arriving in London, we found that we could fit all of our luggage on 3 push carts. We packed for a year, so we had 6 large suitcases that had been checked, 2 bikes in boxes, and 5 or so carry-ons. Needles to say, the carts were put the test. Upon first inspection I was pleased with the carts: they were free, they were not much bigger than a grocery cart but much stronger, and - best of all - the wheels were not locked allowing them to roll in any direction. If you have ever pushed an Ikea cart, you get the idea. They can spin, be pushed sideways, as if you are pushing a box on ice.

My second inspection was that we had 3 carts each weighing roughly 300 pounds (I know this because each of our checked bags weighed up to exact maximum allowable weight of 50 pounds and our carry-ons, which have no weight limit, each weighed a ton; this is pretty exact including me having to divide up a pair of shoes between cases because 1 shoe tipped the case over by 2 ounces) and we had only 2 adult drivers, who were both sleep-deprived.

We had a little scare when the customs officer asked me for my work permit. I knew exactly where it was - sitting on the 2nd to top shelf in my brother's old room in my father's house in Atlanta. As the customs officer stared expectantly at me and Rachelle stared at me with an odd expression consisting of a mixture of hope and fury, I realized that our trip had just hit a major pothole. I meekly admitted that I thought the work permit was just necessary to procure the Visa. The officer said that was probably true and ushered us on our way. Phew. Bullet 1 missed with Rachelle's lingering anger leaving only a minor flesh wound.

We started off with me driving 1 cart with the 2 bike boxes and several cases, Rachelle driving another cart, and Noah on the 3rd (which annoyed our sleep-deprived Liv to no end). At first Noah managed to steer the cart okay. He made it from baggage claim toward the exit door. Yes, toward the door. As I and then Rachelle passed through the door and saw it close, we realized he should have been between us. Rachelle and I looked at the closed door labeled in American and British English "NO ENTRY. DO NOT ENTER", we looked at each other in horror, and then Rachelle turned and ran back through the door.

Just to clarify, it is post-9/11, Rachelle just ran from the open-to-the-public-water-bottle-carrying part of the airport through the customs exit door into the secured-screened-allowed-to-buy-duty-free part of the Heathrow airport. Yes, London, Heathrow, 3rd busiest maybe top on terrorist hit list airport. While I considered screaming but not wanting to draw attention to the situation and watched the door close behind her, I thought to myself that Liv and I had 2 of the 3 carts and could still have a grant time in England.

A few heart-beats later, Rachelle emerged with Noah...and the cart! No bobbies or alarms! Despite that she did not stop in and buy a bottle of Bailey's from duty-free, I was quite impressed. Bullet 2 dodged.

So, our journey through the Heathrow airport (3rd busiest behind Chicago and of course Atlanta) to the National Express bus station. Although the bus station is technically 'on-site', we had to walk a country mile, take an elevator, and maneuver through a series of hairpin ramps. Fortunately, the carts had brakes, which slowed the pace of the cart a bit before it smashed into the walls of the ramps. The kids - now both controlling the 3rd cart - found this fun and bullets 3-5 were dodged as they smashed their way through Brits.

At several points, such as the elevator and some of the particularly steep ramps, we used our sleep-deprived brains to figure out how to get from point A to point B. It was not unlike the riddle where you must get a dog, cat, and mouse across a river with 1 canoe and you cannot leave the dog and cat alone or cat and mouse alone. If you have 2 kids who are sleep deprived and both trying to control the same cart, you can imagine the gravity of the situation.

So, I would push Noah and a cart to a location just out of eye-shot. Leave Noah and the cart, sprint back to Rachelle and Liv and then I would push cart 2 and Rachelle and Liv on cart 3. Smooth.

We found our bus and the driver saw us coming. He shook his head, pointed at the bikes, and say, "I don't have room for them". He waited a few harrowing seconds before admitting that this was just a bit of the Brit humor and tossed our luggage under the bus.

On the bus ride Rachelle and Liv slept an hour, Noah 30 minutes, and I grabbed 20 minutes of shut-eye.

We arrived at the Bath bus station! Upon helping us unload the baggage and bikes, the bus driver told us that there were no cabs and not luggage carts at the Bath bus station. Rachelle and I waited for him to grin. And waited. As we stared, he told us that he was not kidding. As he headed back to the bus, he suggested we phone a taxi. I told him I had neither a taxi phone number or a phone. He read our pain and called a taxi for us. As he headed off, he told us to wait across the street. The area was about 30 meters (I was in England now) away and through a fence and across a busy street. As we now no longer have the death-carts, and it is starting to drizzle, Rachelle and I push our half-asleep brains to the max to figure out the situation.

Once again the dog-cat-mouse solution. I tote a bag and usher Noah to the spot. Leave Noah to guard the bag and head back. You keen blog readers might recall that I have thrown out my back. I had been popping Aleve since leaving Atlanta. Carrying 50 pound bike boxes was not the most fun and Rachelle and I could not both carry a box without leaving our bags unattended.

The taxi driver showed up, took us up to campus and the accommodation office. After a phone call, the office Brit found our key and pointed us and our cab to our new home.

We are living in a 2-story 4-bedroom unit on campus. It is fine. Pictures to follow. The kids played with the neighbor, a 9-year-old name Nezu, I walked in search of information technology to initiate our internet access, and Rachelle unpacked. All was good.

The new neighbors are great. They are from India but have lived in Bath for 7 years. The father is in charge of student residence and takes the job very seriously. He had to leave twice on apparent emergencies. As he pointed at the student housing around us, he mentioned that if we take student partying and noise in stride, we might love living there. If we are annoyed by the undergraduate mayhem, we might look into moving. Given that it is summer and students are away, I reserved judgment. His wife, Angela, brought over some wonderful homemade Indian food. Yum. Kevin came by and took Rachelle and me on a walk around campus. All was good except we hadn't slept and our brains were turning to mush.

Upon putting the kids to bed, English time around 10p (5p EST Wed, Aug 6), we learned that they had mixed reports on their new neighbor. I hoped they were being overly critical/sensitive because of being so tired, but Rachelle did pass on to later that night that Angela said her son has social skills deficits. As I write this, I am hoping that I didn't just foreshadow some horror show.

It is now 4:30a Bath time (11:39p on Aug 6 EST) and I did sleep for 4 hours or so before I woke with a start and the thought, "We made it to Bath!" I will now get back to bed in hopes of falling into a deep sleep.