There is only one Sale

This is the tag line for the Harrods After-Christmas sale. And, I think all of England took it literally. A group of 6 of us ladies left bright and early Monday morning after Boxing Day and got downtown shortly after the store opened at 9. It was sheer madness. There was a queue of 45 minutes just to enter the "perfumery"--the room where they had all the marked-down gift sets of perfume and cologne. We fought our way through the crowds in the other rooms, scoring some marked down makeup sets. And then, we went down to the purses. When we were in Paris this summer, I fell in love with this Longchamp purse. I decided I didn't "need" it, and didn't buy it. As soon as we sat down on the train to go home, I was sad and reaized, "I should have bought that purse." I've been thinking about it for the 5 months since. I was browsing, and across the room, saw THE PURSE. It was the only one, and I pounced. It was there, it was on sale, and it is now mine. I was very happy.

The fact that we broke for lunch and went to the Kensington Creperie just added to the perfection of the day!

Christmas 2010

We continued our tradition of getting our Christmas tree at Elveden on Saturday after the Ward Christmas party. Elveden is this great little village with a couple fun shops and a yummy restaurant. Each year, they sell trees with dressed-up Newfoundland dogs that will pull your tree to your car on a wagon. Even though Kent refuses to spring for their services, the kids love looking at the dogs.

This year, we continued a Meldrum tradition of making Gingerbread Houses. It was really fun to decorate them with our friends, the Rays. We had 3 families over for Christmas Day, which made for much craziness (22 people for dinner) and much fun. We got lots of family gifts this year--games and PS3 Move system. We are so grateful for our friends and family near and far that love and support us.

Pantomime and Nutcracker

Kent had the first week of the kids' two-week vacation off work. We wasted no time getting busy! On Monday, we met a couple other families in Norwich for this years' Pantomime--Jack and the Beanstalk. This year was not as riotously funny as last, but still a great time. And, of course, we continued the tradition by eating at Wagamama's. Yum!

On Tuesday, we went to see Chronicles of Narnia Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3D in Bury St. Edmunds. We love those movies!

On Wednesday, we headed back to London to go the National Opera Ballet's Production of The Nutcracker. It was a traditional interpretation, which was good. I was glad the kids got to see it and can now have pictures in their heads when they hear the music each Christmas season. I don't think we'll make it a yearly tradition. Upon leaving, I asked Kent what he thought. His response: "That was great. Let's never do it again!"

Birthdays!

Ethan turned 14 on December 7 and Madeleine turned 12 on the 8th! I cannot believe they continue to get older and time passes so quickly. Ethan is turning into a fine young man; we are so proud of the choices he is making. He has grown so much physically, mentally, and spiritually. We are really grateful he is part of our family.

Madeleine is glad to be in the Young Women's program at church, although she still rejects most things "teenager." I am really thankful for the protections that gives her, but I am also looking forward to her showing some interested in makeup and clothes, so I can take her shopping.

They both had friend parties (back-to-back nights!) and had lots of fun.

Spain

Over Thanksgiving, we wanted to go somewhere fun and warm. We were half right! Southern Spain was not nearly as balmy as I had hoped, but we did have loads of fun. We flew down on Wednesday, just taking the kids out of the last couple hours of school--which unfortunately corresponded to their parties, making the children slightly crabby.

On Thursday, we headed to Granada to the Alhambra, one of the most fabulous sights in Spain. It was a Moorish Palace and was remarkably well-preserved and amazingly decorated.

On Friday we went up to Ronda, which is a "white-hill" town in the Analucian hills. It was a painful drive up; after Colin got carsick, we ended up stopping about every 10 minutes to let everyone get out of the car, walk around, and let the queasiness subside before we went on. We drove up that mountain on switchback curves for over an hour! Crazy. Even worse was the way down, when we drove through a cloud with zero visibility for about 20 minutes. But, the bull ring and the gorge was worth it. The kids had a blast pretending to be both bull and bull fighter, and despite some rain, we had some beautiful views of the gorge and bridge.

Saturday, it poured buckets. I mean, I have never seen so much rain. In Bronwyn's words: "We came to Spain to get away from the rain, and it never even rains this much in England." And, I mean, we were nowhere near the plain, where that rain is supposed to mainly stay, so I don't know what Henry Higgins is talking about! So, we spent that day hiding out in the "Fun Zone" at the local mall and renting a movie to watch back at our condo, where we had dinner and played games.

Sunday, was beautiful. Clear and fine, so we got to go to Gibraltar before we caught out plane back home. It was like coming home to England: fish and chip shops, tea houses, and paying in pounds. We took a private taxi ride who drove us all over the "rock." We went to St. Michael's cave and got lots of time with the monkeys. It was a great day!

I was really glad to turn in our stick-shift 5+2 car (where we either had room for kids or luggage, not both) and get back to our Odyssey!

London Day Out

Since we had seen the Parthenon on our cruise through Greece, we figured we'd better go see all the marbles that should have in the museums there but aren't because they are in the British Museum. Lord Elgin, who was the British Ambassador to Greece when it was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the late 1800s got permission from the Turks to pry off the statues and the friezes and bring them back to England. They have been prominently displayed in the British Museum ever since. Even though the Greeks are politely and firmly requesting the back and built a special museum to house them, the British are not giving in. It was really a unique experience to hear the Greek side of the argument and then come home and hear the British side of the "Lord Elgin Marbles" controversy.

After a yummy Italian lunch at Zizzi in Covent Garden, we stopped by Leicester Square where they were preparing for the Harry Potter #7 part 1 premiere. The stars were not expected for several hours, but the crowds (and dementers) were there in force! It was cool to see the red carpet all laid out and the giant screens getting ready to show the arrivals.

We then made our way to the theater where we saw "Stomp." It was really fun. It is amazing how much "music" you can make with household objects and your bodies! The kids had fun participating: clapping and snapping on cue.

After swinging back through Leicester Square--still no stars but pouring rain--we headed back to the tube.

Halloween 2010

It was a motley crew, but we had a blast going trick or treating on base with several families. It seemed like a snowball--we started with 3 families and just kept gathering friends as we walked. Ethan was out with his buddies (as box-man, I think), Madeleine was Dumbledore, Bronwyn was Hermione, and Colin was Harry Potter himself. Madeleine used that costume for Character Day at school. She won a prize for her costume and letter. Here is the letter she wrote introducing herself as Dumbledore for her "visit" to school:

My dear esteemed colleague Madeleine,

Greetings! It has been all too long since we last got together. Of course, we have both been very busy, you with your schoolwork, and I with my duties at Hogwarts. When you last wrote to me of your new school, I was curious, having never heard of Lakenheath Middle School. In fact, I’m writing to you now asking about visiting the very school you are now enrolled in. After all, being headmaster of Hogwarts, I naturally want to know all about the academic standards of other schools. Of course, at your school, you will be learning things like mathematics, history, grammar, and other Muggle life skills. Oh, and please, for the sake of not alarming your fellow students, and, of course, your teachers, be sure to tell them of my coming. Tell them that Professor Albus Dumbledore, of whom they can read about in my good friend J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, is coming to access your school on November 18, 2010. I do sincerely hope that my visit will cause you no inconvenience. If so, please contact me immediately so I can change plans. In your last letter you told about Black and Gold days. It is because of this information that I have decided to come during Seminar, as I will then be able to visit without interrupting a class. Meet me at the library at 2:15 P.M. or whenever convenient. However, if you can’t be there, again, please contact me, as it will save a lot of waiting.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts

Madrid with the Girls

Just 4 days after arriving home from the cruise, I was off again--Barely enough time to do the mountain of laundry, sort, and repack. This was an official OCSC trip organized by Sarah Hall, aka, The Best Tour Guide Ever. I helped her a bit by arranging our hotel accommodations at the fabulous Hostal Acapulco right downtown and by booking airport transport and a few other things. My working title is Svengali Sherpa to End All Sherpas. (Sarah is a bit dramatic!) Madrid is beautiful--fabulous architecture and sights. The weather was perfect and the company was fabulous.

Venice

We had one day at sea before returning to Venice. We docked early, so we got to spend the whole day exploring Venice. We took a water taxi downt to Piazza San Marco, where we went into the basilica and saw the amazing Byzantine mosaics. Then we went into the Doge's Palace and across the bridge of sighs. We walked around a bit, found a lovely restaurant for some delicious pizza. Walked some more and ate yummy gelato. Crossed the Rialto Bridge, bought some souvenirs, went to the Friari church to see Donatello's John the Baptist, and walked back to catch our ride to the airport. It was an exhausting day, made even longer by a delayed flight. Poor Colin!

Katakolon

We made everybody get off the boat today to go to Ancient Olympia. We had a different guide today, and her name was--brace yourself--PUPI. We all got a giggle out of this.

Anyway, it was amazing to see the ruins of where they had the games almost 3000 years ago. And to see the place where they still light the torch before each Olympiad today.

Mykonos

Mykonos was what I envisioned Greece to be. White-washed buildings set in green hills above blue sea. It was beautiful. We took a boat and a tour out to Delos, which is the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Our guide, Adonis (yes, for real), was very engaging and knowledgeable. It was a great day.

Athens

Our big day was Athens. We had booked a tour with a private companyand hired a large van to seat both families, a driver, and a tour guide to take us around the city. It was amazing to see the Acropolis, the Olympic Stadium, Lybettos Hill, etc. in real life. Our driver,Dmitri, and our guide, Pepe were fabulous. We learned a lot; it was interesting to hear the Greek side of the "Elgin Marbles" debate, especially while living in Britain and hearing the British argument for keeping them. The kids also learned that Greek food is delicious--they loved our lunch stop with Chicken Souvlaki, gyros style!We went to the changing of the guard in front of the unknown soldier memorial.They have a big ritual with some unique outfits! There was an older man there with food for the millions of pigeons--it was another highlight for the kids to "feed the birds."We also got to go the new Olympic Stadium on our way to drive the Lybettos Hill with the amazing view of the whole of Athens. Here is the whole crew--Carpenters and Meldrums enjoying our beautiful day in Athens. Should be memories to last a lifetime.

Corfu

Next up was the island of Corfu. The little kids elected to stay on the boat, which was a good call as it was freezing and rainy and there really wasn't that much to see.We went to the Achilleon Palace, a 19th century dwelling of the Austrian Princess who married into Greek royalty. After the Palace, we went down to Corfu City, where we wandered the crazy narrow and disjointed paths and did a little shopping and exploring. Ethan braved the elements with us and was rewarded with what was quite possibly the most delicious gyro EVER.

First stop--Croatia

Our first port of call was Split, Croatia. We took a bus tour and a walking tour of Diocletian's Palace. The Palace was prettyamazing--really more like a walled village--a motley mix of churches, living spaces, and shops. A highlight was hearing this a cappella group echoing through one of the ruined entrance halls.They werereally good, and it was interesting to hear some native Croatian music. The Dalmatian Coast is stunningly beautiful, but the rest of the town was pretty standard Eastern European. It was a lovely day, though, so we went back to the boat to swim and hang out.

Greek Island Cruise

Our big family trip this fall was on a cruise. We left from Venice on RoyalCaribbeanSplendor of the Seas. We arrived mid-morning in Venice, intending to spend the day exploring, but by the time we got to the boat to drop our luggage, lunch at the Windjammer Cafe was calling and we ended up exploring the boat and hanging out until departure time. We went with our friends, the Carpenters. Their kids and ours get along very well, and it was great to have playmates for just about everyone. (Ethan got gypped and had to hang with the grown ups!)

The kids enjoyed just about everything on the boat.

Kent and I had a balcony room and the kids were in a room just across the hall. The teen program wasn't that great, except for he last day, when they had some fun activities at sea. But, the children's program was a hit with everyone else and we all loved the food.

Colin had more chicken tenders than you can count, but the others were quite adventurous, trying lots of the yummy delicacies and special foods they serve.

Ethan tackled the Rock Wall, making it to the top despite the stiff wind and "gentle" rocking of the boat!

Ramstein Bazaar

Embarrasingly enough, I only have one picture of this adventure, and it is of me and Katrina sharing a plate of some of the most delicious pasta ever. A group of lovely ladies from Lakenheath Officer and Civilian Spouses Club rented a van and trailer to go down to the European Bazaar they have every year at Ramstein AFB. We flew into Frankfurt and were met by our driver who took us to fabulous shops where we could buy things, he would load them for us, and drive them back to England. Sign me up for next year again, please!

Normandy Beaches

The next day, we spent on the beaches themselves. It was really amazing to see what was left. There were the German batteries, some with guns and camoflage netting still intact. There were all the craters left from the Allied bombings before the troops came ashore. We spent some time at the American Cemetary at Omaha, which was very moving. Each of our children wandered until they found a marker which spoke to them in some way. They then thanked that soldier by name for his sacrifice. I hope it helped them understand what had happened there at least a little. We then walked down to the beach itself and splashed and marveled at what had been done. Ethan timed himself running from the waterline up to the treeline--it took him about 1 min 20 seconds, and that was without full combat gear and an 80 pound pack. It is a miracle that the mission succeeded. Kent, Ethan, and I had all read books about D-Day, which helped us understand the 18-month to 2 year prep time of Operation Overlord. Being there and standing on that soil made it very real.

On our final day, we stopped in Bayeux to view the famous tapestry telling the story of William the Conqueror. It is a really stunning achievement. So huge, so detailed, and so clear in the story telling. We took the audio guide which walked us through each panel, detailing the story and pointing out all the handiwork. Madeleine had studied this is Host Nation last year, so it was especially cool for her to see it up close (well, behind glass but close!).

We then headed back across the tunnel and home. It was a great trip.

Labor Day in Normandy

We decided to take the kids out of school for a day before things really got going and drive to Normandy for a long weekend. We drove and took the chunnel train. It was an easy drive. We stopped in Rouen on our first afternoon for a beautiful view of the cathedral. We then continued on to our KeyCamp right near the beaches. The camp itself was fairly nice with lots of amenities (like pools with slides, bounce houses and playgrounds), but the trailer was TINY. I mean, Kent was getting claustrophobic. Still, it was a bargain and the location couldn't be beat.

The next day, we headed to Caen, which was the first larger city liberted after D-Day to the memorial museum there. It was incredibly detailed and well-done, not only about the D-Day landings themselves, but also about pre-war and post-war history to help put the conflict in a larger context. We spent several hours there. The kids were very patient.

We then drove over to Mont St Michel. I had seen pictures of this in every French book I ever had from 7th grade on, so it was a big thrill to be there in person and get to climb up the rock and into the monastery. We loved it.

First Day of School

Even though we never seem ready, the first day arrived. Colin is across the street at Lakenheath Elementary in 2nd Grade with Mrs. LeVay. Bronwyn has a 15 minute walk to Liberty Intermediate in a 4/5 combo with Mrs. Siftar. Madeleine started at Feltwell Base in Lakenheath Middle School in Victoria House 6th grade. She and Ethan catch the bus just up the street. Ethan is in 8th grade in Central House. So far, so good!

Thetford Priory

After our turn cleaning the church, we stopped by Thetford Priory, which is right nearby. We had never been before, but it figures prominently in English History (more later) and are some fun ruins to climb.

Buckingham Palace

Once a year for about two months, when the Queen goes to Balmoral in Scotland, Buckingham Palace is open for visitors to see the State Rooms. It was amazing. I have seen lots of castles and palaces, but I was seriously impressed. We took the audio guide through the palace and the mews to see the horses, carriages, and Bentleys. After a yummy dinner, we finished with "Oliver!" It was a fabulous day!

Framlingham Castle Villians

I will write more about all this later, but just wanted to get the posts up. I took my kids and some friends to Framlingham Castle (about an hour away) to a Rogues and Villians presentation put on by English Heritage. It was fabulous.

Cornwall

We took a long weekend from August 13-16 to drive to Cornwall--a county in southwest England. We made a stop on our way at Dartmoor National Park, where we got to experience walking on a real English moor. We drove somethrough the park, but when the roads got so narrow that our Odyssey could barely fit, let alonepass another car, it got less fun and more scary.But, even sticking to the main roads through the park we saw some amazing things,like thislintel bridge that was almost 1000 years old. Still sturdy enough! We arrived at our cottage(we stayed at a self-catering place with fullkitchen, 2 bedrooms, a big living room,and a pool called "Green Acres") in time for a beautiful sunset.

The next day we drove the short distance to the Eden Project.

This is an incredible set of biodomes set in a reclaimed clay mine. They had elaborate gardens and domes for the rainforest and the Mediterranean climates.

After a full day there, we

came back to swim for a bit before heading to Fo

wey for dinner.

This was a lovely seaside village

with some majorly tiny and hilly streets! We left our minivan outside the town and walked in--good call.

Day three saw us driving around the Cornwall Penninsula.

We made a stop at Pendennis Castle,

which was one of a chain of castles commissioned by Henry VIII to protect England from what he saw as a possible invasion from

the European continent after he broke from the Catholic Church. A sister castle--St. Mawes is located right across the inlet. This castle near Falmouth was also significant in WWII as American GIs trained and stayed here while preparing for the D-Day invasions. After Pendennis, we drove to St. Michael's Mount,

an abbey set on a rock off the coast of Cornwall. There has been an abbey on this island for 1,500 years and was given to Mont St. Michel in France after William the Conquerer (although the English obviously dispute this). The St. Aubry family own it and built a castle there.

In one of the rooms of the castle, there was a cabinet that looks very similar to one a bought at auction in Diss. Mine is taller and has an enclosed cupboard on the bottom, but the shape and the carvings were the same.

Kent was happy to hear that this was an authentic piece from the early 1700s. The walk out to the island is across a pedestrian causeway that gets covered at high tide. It was a beautiful day, and despite the freezing water temps, the beaches nearby were full of swimmers and bathers.

We ended our day appropriately enough at Land's End.

It was a pretty dramatic stretch of coastline, full of businesses proclaiming themselves the "last"

hotel, inn, petrol, etc. Kitchy but fun.

On our final day, we made the pilgrimage

to Tintagel Castle, the supposed birthplace of King Arthur. It was an incredible day. We lost count of how many steps, but there were lots. This castle was intended to be remote and unaccessible, and they succeeded. It was cool for the kids to see "Morgan's cave" and to climb all over things that have been there since the Middle Ages. Cornwall truly was breathtakingly beautiful, and once again we were blessed with fabulous weather!

Woburn Safari Park

Kent took a day off work and on Colin's actual birthday (August 10), we went to Woburn Safari Park. It is about an hour from our house (lots of things seem to be about an hour from us in various directions). We began with a drive through the big safari area. We didn't know what to expect, and were pleasantly surprised when on our first bend in the road, a rhino crossed directly in front of the car. There were plenty of animals of all shades and stripes. The monkey area was a big hit--this one climbed all over the car, wishing he could get in to get some treats the kids were taunting him with--I thinksomeone even had a banana. Cruel. Another highlight was the lions. There were several dozen in different prides all over the area. The keepers came in a jeep and kept moving them around and several of them ran at high speed toward the car and then ran right in front to the other side of the road. Thrilling. We also loved the Lorikeet house, where we bought some nectar in cups and stepped inside. We were immediately swarmed by birds landing on our heads, shoulders, hands, or any perch they could find. (My favorite scene from that day was when another family behind us came to get their nectar pots. The vendor woman handed the boy his pot, and without pausing even for a second, the boy downed the nectar like a shot. The vendor woman yelled "NOOOOO." It was hilarious.) There was a great huge playplace with very steep slides and netting to climb in. All in all, a fabulous day!

Colin Birthday Celebration

Colin wanted to have a couple families over for cake to celebrate his birthday. (Because he has a summer birthday, he kind of forgets that he could invite lots of friends over for a party. I neglect to remind of this.) It was not a Harry Potter-themed event. Many of the kids just consider costumes a prerequisite to fun. He does not acknowledge that he has aged or that he has officially had a birthday until he has a chocolate cake with chocolate frostings with M&Ms in the shape of whatever age he is turning. This has been the case now for at least 4 birthdays. This year, I made a cake from scratch. It was deliciousness itself. We had a fun evening, until Colin got stung by a bee. They were playing in the backyard and suddenly there was screaming. Some burrowing bees had enjoyed building a home in the drains in the brick retaining wall in the backyard. The British pest people were reluctant to fumigate them (they are very into animal welfare--of all kinds) until I explained that my children refused to play in the backyard until the bees were gone, and this was seriously cramping my style. The bees are gone.

Audley End House - WWII

We went with some friends to Audley End House-a beautiful Victorian-era house about an hour from us. English Heritage was putting on a "Time Travelers" program for kids about World War II. They had tents set up on the lawn and presenters dressed in period clothes who taught the kids about gas masks (they got to make a case to hold them), medical care during WWII, the different planes, morse code and semifore signalling. The highlight of the day was when they entered boot camp and were trained to stand at attention, ease, to march in formation, go through an obstacle course and to charge a dummy while holding a wooden rifle. Ethan got in trouble for his hair being out of regs and had to do some extra laps.

After the activities, we toured the house, which has been recreated beautifully. The owners of the house were avid hunters and collectors, so the kids were excited to see all the different kinds of animals they had stuffed and mounted all over the walls and in various cases throughout the house. I enjoyed this part much less, prefering the lovely antique furniture and decor!

Paris with the Girls

On Thursday, July 22, I got up at 3:30 am (yes, that is three and a half measly hours after midnight) to pick up three friends and drive to the train station. We caught the train to Kings Cross from Ely. Well, we actually didn't make it all the way to Kings Cross--there was some problem or other and we had to switch to the tube, but we finally made it to Kings Cross and then literally ran over to St. Pancras to catch our Eurostar train across the Channel to Paris. Here are my beautiful friends, Tessie Snow, Katrina Listello, and Linda Carpenter in front of the Eiffel Tower. We stayed at Hotel Ares nearby (super nice). We had a fabulous and very exhausting weekend! Kent always wonders how we can still have things to talk about after how much time we spend together, but we still managed to stay up until 5 am talking each night!

We dedicated ourselves to great food (chasing Katrina's pastry-chef idol all over town--totally worth it--his recommendations are spot on) and shopping! We did one cultural thing each day to preserve balance :). Day one we went to Notre Dame and took a city walk with a super-cute Parisian guide.

Day two we went up the Eiffel Tower and were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow. After the Eiffel Tower we ate at nearby Cafe Constant. They don't take reservations, but it is worth whatever wait you have. If I am ever on death row and have a last meal request, I know what it will be...

On our last day before catching the evening train, we went to the Louvre and took an English-speaking tour with a French guide. Since it is virtually impossible to see everything there anyway, we contended ourselves with the highlights. It was a great girls trip. Next stop: Florence!

Alton Towers

July 5 was a down day as the base celebrated Independence Day. We decided to take the opportunity to go to Alton Towers Amusement Park. The British kids were still in school, it was a lovely day,and we figured it was perfect. We left early in the morning to get there right at opening at 9. We went with our friends the Rays andmost of the Carpenter family. We rode some of the big rides first--starting with Oblivion, which basically dropped you straight into a hole--CRAZY! We rode that 3 or 4 times each. We moved our way through the best and most exciting. The lines weren't too bad, but we did have to wait a little. But, in the end, we got to ride everything we wanted to at least once. The kids had a great time and it was a fun family day.

Summer Move

Because Kent's job as an OB/GYN has so many time-sensitive components, his superiors supported our desire to move onto the base as soon as possible. This was approved by housing, and after a little negotiating with the assignments team, we were offered a beautiful Field Grade house at #2 Upper Heyford. The move went really smoothly, and the kids have all adjusted perfectly. There are multiple friends in the neighborhood, and it has been a blessing to have Kent's commute to work shrunk to practically nothing. We feel very lucky. And, as an added bonus, the kids and Kent built this awesome fort out of all the boxes!

End of the Cruise

After St. Petersburg, we sailed overnight to Tallinn, Estonia. We arranged a tour with a college student. She took us around thecity, giving us special insight into current events and the ghost stories associated with the oldcity. We started by going through the gates of the city next to the tower they call "Fat Margaret." It is a beautiful city of narrow, cobbled streets and gorgeous buildings. We got to go up bythePresidential Palace and look out over the city, with the good view of St. Nicolas and the old tower walls. We stopped at the Parliament Building ("It's NOT pink...") which was across the street from the only Russian Orthodox church in Tallinn.We stopped at ate at a Pancake Place, called Kompressor. It was so good. A definite must for our next trip to Tallinn!

After Tallinn, we had a full day of cruising on our way to Gothenberg, which was good, because we were exhausted. We had lost a total of 3 hours of sleep as we moved further east. Now was our chance to make up a couple hours and get some extra sleep. We took full advantage!

Gothenberg was another lovely Scandanavian city. There wasn't that much to see as a tourist, but it looked like a really wonderful place to live! As we got off the shuttle from the cruise ship, Kent struck his most "Gustavus Adolphus"-like pose. We took a city bus tour and

also a boat tour on the canals that run all through Gothenberg.

The boat tour was made extra exciting when the guide announced that we would be going through some low bridges and would have to sit on the ground and duck our heads. We thought she was joking at first, but then we caught sight of the bridge!

We spent some time in a museum, tracing the history of the city through Viking times and onward--pretty fascinating.

We took some time to tiptoe

through the tulips throu

gh a beautiful park in the center of the city. We stopped for Swedish Meatballs and headed back to catch the shuttle to the ship for our trip back to England. This was truly a fabulous trip and we feel so blessed to have been able to take it with good friends and to have our kids safe at home with Grandma and Grandpa.

St. Petersburg

From Helsinki, we crossed the Bay of Finland to the highlight of the trip--St. Peter

sburg! We hired a private tour guide from Shoretrips to take us around the city for two days. They picked us up at the boat at 8 am. We started with a drive around the city looking at some of the Landmarks: St. Isaacs, St. Nicholas, the Bronze Horseman, Mariinsky Palace and Theater.

We stopped at the Church of Savior on the Site ofthe Spilled Blood.

This amazing structure, decorated entirely with mosaics, is built on the site where

Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881 by terrorists throwing a bomb under his carriage. He was miraculously unhurt, but as

he came out of the carriage, another bomber approached him and detonated. They have preserved the stones where he fell before he was taken back to the Winter Palace where he died.

After the Church, we took a hydrofoil across the

Bay of Finland over to Peterhof, which was the Summer Palace built first by Peter the Great and then expanded by every subsequent ruler. We explored all the amazing grounds and then were met by our super driver Romer, who drove us past

all the fancy dachas of Putin

and the new ruling class on our way back to Petersburg.

We went to "Stolle,"a restaurant which specializes in amazing pirog pies--both sweet and savory. But, they also had pelmenni on the menu, and I couldn't resist those!

Everything we had was delicious.

Our last stop for the day was at the Hermitage--the largest museum in the world. We had to move fast-we only had a couple hours before closing.

Ksenia, our guide, was amazing. She was very knowledgeable, not only about Russian History, but about all the art held in this amazing

building. We got to see Peter's throne room,

w

ith its astonishing inlaid floors, mirrored by the engravings on

the ceiling. We had such a

wonderful day and went back to the ship completely exhausted!

On Day 2 of our grand St. Petersburg adventure, we headed out first to Tsarskoye Tselo, which was the summer getaway of many of the Tsars. It is also called Pushkin, because it was in this city that he went to school. We put on booties to protect the beautiful inlaid floors and tours this palace

while the rain poured outside. There was an

interesting display of photos from after the bombings during WWII. They are still doing restorations. The highlight was the amber room, which was dismantled and stolen by the Nazis and then taken out of the country. It was never returned, but was recreated completely from photographs and eyewitness

accounts. We then walked around the grounds, stopping at

Catherine's coffee house, near a lake where she would take tea.

There were 5 men singing Russian folk songs. The acoustics were so incredible, the 5 sounded like 50. It was an amazing treat.

in front of Catherine's palace.We took a photo of the three women

After Pushkin, we drove to a

nearby restaurant, Pod Dvore, which is supposedly Putin's favorite. There were folk singers there performing, and we sampled multiple Russian specialities (the borscht was good). And, of course, there was a vodka-toting bear!

After lunch, we headed back to Petersburg through terrible traffic. Romer did a fabulous job of getting us to Peter and Paul Fortress so we could see the burial places of all the Tsars. We had to hurry in order to get back to the ship before it departed. But, we did get to see where the remains of Tsar Nicholas II and his family were laid to rest in the Cathedral on July 17, 1998, the 80th anniversary of their murders.

It was so good to share with Kent this beautiful city that I loved so much. I had such good memories of my times there, and now I have some new memories with Kent!