Twas the day before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring...cause they were all in London, baby! We decided to spend our first Christmas Eve here going to London to see Les Mis.
Ethan and Madeleine had read the book in preparation, Bronwyn did some last-minute cramming
on the tube, and Colin insisted that he wanted to "be surprised." The show was in the Queen Theatre in the Soho district. We had originally booked tickets in the upper balcony in the second row, as that was the best available when we booked, but when we got to the theater, we were informed that our seats had been changed: to row J in the stalls (about 10 rows from the stage). That was a nice Christmas present. The theater was fairly small compared to previous theaters where I had seen Les Mis, so we were a little worried at first, but it was fabulously done. The leads were very talented and the story is just so affecting and beautiful. It was really gratifying to see the kids connecting to what was happening on stage and loving the performance.
After the show, we walked to Trafalgar Square, where one of the largest trees in the world stands. The tree is a gift each year from the people of Oslo, Norway to thank the Londoners for their support during WWII. We were expecting to be wowed, but as you can see in the pictures, it isn't superbly decorated. There was a bagpiper in full
Scottish regalia, which added nicely to the mood. Things in London shut down early on Christmas Eve; in fact, we had to do lunch instead of dinner, as all the restaurants shut down at 5 pm. So, we caught the tube before it started running half-time and were treated to some Christmas mice who were stirring, right on the platform!
erailed her trip with Megan and Peter in
October. I picked Mom up from Gatwick on November 13, and we began an intensive round of sightseeing and eating! We went to all the sites she missed out on from Megan and Peter's visit, including a mother/daughter trip to Bath and surrounding sites. The Christmas market was on in Bath and we (and most of England) were there. It was a traditional German market with the chalet style stalls and lots of handicrafts. We also made a trip to Stoke-on-trent with some other friends from the base and I got some beautiful English pottery and china. I attacked Burleigh first and got our new every day dishes from their blue and white lines--calico, felicity, arden, and bluebird. I LOVE THEM! Then, we went to Royal Doulton, and I found some beautiful Monique Lhullier china, but they only had the bread and butter plates. But, thankfully (yes, says Kent, thank goodness!) they had dinner plates and the accent salad plates at Harrods--which was another great day in London with Mom. All in all, a fabulous trip! 
In case you can't tell from the picture, that is water. EVERYWHERE! Apparently the little switch in the washer that tells it to stop filling up and start washing the close malfunctioned, and the washer never got the message to stop pouring water into the drum. It flowed into the kitchen and then because our house is so delightfully sloped, flowed into the hallway and down into the lounge (aka living room in American, or "English" as my kids say). It totally squished over your shoes when you walked. I called some friends and the landlord's handyman who rushed over and got everything out. There is just a concrete slab underneath, and since we were so quick to get everything out, the slab was fine. As was our furniture (and to Kent's dismay, our tv that he would really like to replace). The only things that were unsalvageable were two 8x10 wool rugs (including my favorite one from Pottery Barn that they will not ship here) and a runner. We had to live with the concrete for about a week while it dried and then they laid new carpet. I was chastised by some for leaving the house with an appliance running. Sorry, but if I never left the house while some sort of cleaning or drying appliance was going I would never go anywhere. Ever.
