oui oui! we are in paris! warning: if there are odd characters or poorly spelled words here blame it on the keyboard!!
we arrived to paris yesterday around 4.30pm and took the metro to our hotel in porte doree. bit of an adventure finding the right metro line and then our hotel, but now we are more aquainted with the system. we checked in to our teensy hotel room and then crashed for a couple hours...no sleeping on the train as there were 3 "chatty" children in our car! our hotel sits above the metro so we hear it rumble by every 5 minutes; similar to a place we stayed at in london a few years ago!
anyhow, we got ahold of our friends from san francisco (seth and cara) who are also here for new years and met them at notre dame, then went for dinner at a random italian place and ended up closing the place down. they just got engaged while here - hurrah!!
this morning i headed downstairs to have breakfast with our other friends (erika, heidi, and tony) who are here from seattle and staying at this hotel too. then wandered the streets to find a drugstore and boulangerie for baguettes and pastries. my french is awful and i keep lapsing into spanish, but so far we have managed (though we now have 3 types of cold and cough medicine as i couldnt figure out what we really needed...!)
poor nate is still not feeling well, and i fear i may be getting something too, but we will try to rally onward into 2008!! our plan is to meet up with the SF folks again tonight and see where the evening takes us - probably to the champs elysees.
xoxoxo and happy new year to all!! can,t wait to see you all soon!!!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
48 Hours in London, 44 in Paris
The last 2 days in London have been great! Nate's not feeling well, but he's a super-rallier and rolled with the punches yesterday as we had a very full day: breakfast x2 (first for a hot brekkie for me, then to Sbux for something a little ligher for Nate!), then a bit of shopping for me, off to White Hart Lane to watch the Tottenham Spurs win a thriler (6-4 over Reading), and then hopped back on the tube into the theatre district to catch a whirlwind dinner (with a nice Glaswegian couple we met in line while waiting for dinner -- we opted to merge tables with them to get seated faster), then to see "History Boys." Phew!!!
Now we're in the Hilton lobby getting ready to leave Islington and off to Paris to meet up with some friends to ring in 2008...Looking forward to catching a few winks on the train as we haven't been able to sleep well in this hotel (the walls must be made of paper...)
XO!
*A & N
Now we're in the Hilton lobby getting ready to leave Islington and off to Paris to meet up with some friends to ring in 2008...Looking forward to catching a few winks on the train as we haven't been able to sleep well in this hotel (the walls must be made of paper...)
XO!
*A & N
Thursday, December 27, 2007
On the move again
Heading into London tomorrow! Hoping to stroll around the city, find some good meals, and maybe get to a Tottenham Hotspur match on Saturday if all works out. Then off to Paris to meet up with some dear friends for a festive ringing in of 2008!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Boxing Day - Working off the Christmas Pudding
Hi all!
Today is Boxing Day, Dec 26 -- another holiday in the UK. We slept in a bit, then walked down the lane to Elise and Tony's for tea. Elise and I then went on the 4.5-mile Boxing Day walk through the village. We traipsed through many fields and forests -- and it felt so nice to move my legs after 2 wks of doing nothing but eat.
Had a nice lunch and now we're watching some James Bond flicks on tv -- feels like vacation!
Having a great time catching up with the family. Little cousin Amelie is quite a dear!
Tomorrow we're off to lunch at the pub up the road, and not sure about the rest of the day. We'll head in to London on Friday.
Hard to believe the trip is going so fast -- we left 2 wks ago today! Missing you all!
*A & N
Today is Boxing Day, Dec 26 -- another holiday in the UK. We slept in a bit, then walked down the lane to Elise and Tony's for tea. Elise and I then went on the 4.5-mile Boxing Day walk through the village. We traipsed through many fields and forests -- and it felt so nice to move my legs after 2 wks of doing nothing but eat.
Had a nice lunch and now we're watching some James Bond flicks on tv -- feels like vacation!
Having a great time catching up with the family. Little cousin Amelie is quite a dear!
Tomorrow we're off to lunch at the pub up the road, and not sure about the rest of the day. We'll head in to London on Friday.
Hard to believe the trip is going so fast -- we left 2 wks ago today! Missing you all!
*A & N
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Happy Christmas!!
Well, the 25th of December is upon us -- happy Christmas to all!
We're here in Stoke Row, near Henley on Thames, enjoying a relaxing day with Nate's aunt and uncle and grandmother. We arrived to London Heathrow last night, just about 30 minutes late despite leaving Cape Town over an hour late! (Lucky us, we'd awoken at 4.30 a.m. to get to the airport in time -- only to get to there and hear that our flight would be leaving late for no explicable reason. I suspect it's due to the fog that delayed outbound flights in the UK, where our plane originated...Anyhow, it was quite amusing to sit in the airport and see the cabin crew show up at 8.15 -- the time we were originally meant to depart. I wonder what time they got the phone call that they could sleep in on Christmas Eve day! Wish they'd called us!)
Anyhow, only 41 people were on our flight -- a huge 747! And with approx 20 crew members (some no doubt heading home for the holidays and 'dead heading' the flight to catch a ride back to the UK), it was a good ratio: basically like flying first class, without spending the cash! We had lots of leg room and were well attended to.
Tony picked us up at the airport and drove us back to their houes in Stoke Row, where Elise and Nana had a lovely meal prepared for us -- bless them for waiting to eat with us (unnecessary)! They've arranged for us to stay at a house up the road (some friends who are out of town for the holidays) -- quite lovely! This morning we went to Christmas Mass at a nearby church, and are now awaiting to eat what smells like a delicious Christmas lunch.
Missing you all, and warm hugs from across the pond!
Merry Christmas!
*A & N
Friday, December 21, 2007
Lots of catching up: Lions, Snakes, and Vacation Brain...
So we've found a net connection for today. Of cousre the place is closing in 30 minutes - until Jan 7 - for the holidays...so again, not sure how much we'll have time to type here!!
Port Alfred's bridge-lighting was...intertesting. For a small town, I'm sure it was quite something! But it didn't strike us as much of anything. Just a few lights on the bridge, which change color every few seconds or change pattern...Sort of like our favorite light show @ Grand Coulee Dam! In any case, we ate at the braii -- some pretty awful sole (fish) but some good salads and more of this delicious malva pudding that is a ZA tradition (much like bread pudding, with an amarula - mulberry - cream sauce atop).
So a quick rundown of the last few days:
We left CPT and headed into Knysna ("nize-na"); halfway there, as Nate was in the gas station grabbing some candy, I panicked. Oh *NO*! The passports are still in the Cape Town hotel safe!!! We called and they'd found them, locking them in their own safe until we could return to collect them -- which will be this weekend. Case #1 that we're really relaxed.
Case #2 came the next day, when we left the Knysna hotel and got all the way to Plettenberg Bay beach -- about a 40 minute drive -- when we realized we still had the key to the Knysna B&B...We phoned, and of course they didn't have a spare. So we sunned at the beach and frolicked in the waves for about an hour or two, then backtracked to Knysna to drop the key. We picked up some veg burgers @ Wimpy (like Burger King) and then back thru Plettenberg and along the Garden Route until we got to Jeffrey's Bay the famous surf spot. Not much of a town, as I know our dear friend Elisa had mentioned! But the waves looked nice. Of course, at this stage we also looked again at our map and realized we had more than 100 miles yet to drive -- we thought it was only about 30... So off to the car to punch it toward Addo.
(Incidentally, before we move on to Addo, we saw on tv yesterday that 14 swimmers had to be rescued from Plett Bay due to high rip tides. Fortunately we missed this opportunity!)
So, off to Addo for our animal experience. We checked in to our hut, made from dung and mud with a thatch roof (E, it was "an astounding thatching job!"). I admit I was a bit concerned with the spartan hut at first, but it turned out to be quite lovely - and so very relaxing. We had a nice dinner @ the facility, in the open air, and met an interesting couple from London. She, Camilla, a former music-biz manager who toured with Zappa and Tina Turner and quite a few others. He, Tim, a former teacher and current writer -- had a lot of inteeresting tales to tell.
Off to sleep, awoke to breakfast, then were picked up around 10 for our full-day game drive. First, in a van, to Addo Eleophant Park, where we saw approx 100 of the gentle giants, mostly drinking from the watering hole. Also saw some darling, yet hideous-looking, warthogs bandying about. Had a nice lunch, then they drove us to Schotia Game Park where we transfered to an open-air jeep with a canopy top -- this is what we envisioned for our safari, for sure!
First off to see the antelope species, more warthogs, and loads of gorgeous giraffe. Had a quick stop for tea, then entered the gated portion of the park -- where the lions live. There are 5 in total, and we found 4 nearly immediately. We didn't search for the 5th, as she is suspected to be pregnant and has been aggressive toward vehicles lately -- attempting to climb atop! The 4 we saw were very regal, and frightening...I will never forget the look of locking eyes with them, very clearly knowing who's boss. Mostly they snoozed in the sun and left us be, though one younger female hissed as we drove nearby -- and then our guide parked the Landy right in front of her...I was not too comfortable! We also saw another cape cobra -- I say another because our guide looked at the picture of our first snake sighting on Cape Point and ID'd it as such...What luck?! Shot some excellent pictures at the game drive, which we'll post to Flickr at some point. After the lions, we saw some subumerged hippos, then had a nice braii at the 'lapa' or gathering place. Approx 200 people (I think?) in total, and we sat with the 10 who wre on our jeep. Saw a few more animals at night, including the elusive nyala, then driven back to our mud hut amongst the stars. What a day! I couldn't sleep at first, over-stimulated by all that we saw.
Drove to Port Alfred, and that's where you find us now. Tomorrow off to the Little Karoo to a town called Oudtshoorn, then to Stellenbosch (wine country) for our last night in the area. We've heard British Airports may be striking, so could have an interesting trip back to London and then home on Jan. 1...
What is happening at home? We saw that Jamie Lynn Spears is preggo, and Amy Winehouse was released from jail - why was she there? And dear Seattle, what are we going to do without the Croc?!
We keep forgetting that it's nearly Christmas, but we do wish you all the best for the upcoming holidays!
XOXO and Merry Merry!
*A and N
Port Alfred's bridge-lighting was...intertesting. For a small town, I'm sure it was quite something! But it didn't strike us as much of anything. Just a few lights on the bridge, which change color every few seconds or change pattern...Sort of like our favorite light show @ Grand Coulee Dam! In any case, we ate at the braii -- some pretty awful sole (fish) but some good salads and more of this delicious malva pudding that is a ZA tradition (much like bread pudding, with an amarula - mulberry - cream sauce atop).
So a quick rundown of the last few days:
We left CPT and headed into Knysna ("nize-na"); halfway there, as Nate was in the gas station grabbing some candy, I panicked. Oh *NO*! The passports are still in the Cape Town hotel safe!!! We called and they'd found them, locking them in their own safe until we could return to collect them -- which will be this weekend. Case #1 that we're really relaxed.
Case #2 came the next day, when we left the Knysna hotel and got all the way to Plettenberg Bay beach -- about a 40 minute drive -- when we realized we still had the key to the Knysna B&B...We phoned, and of course they didn't have a spare. So we sunned at the beach and frolicked in the waves for about an hour or two, then backtracked to Knysna to drop the key. We picked up some veg burgers @ Wimpy (like Burger King) and then back thru Plettenberg and along the Garden Route until we got to Jeffrey's Bay the famous surf spot. Not much of a town, as I know our dear friend Elisa had mentioned! But the waves looked nice. Of course, at this stage we also looked again at our map and realized we had more than 100 miles yet to drive -- we thought it was only about 30... So off to the car to punch it toward Addo.
(Incidentally, before we move on to Addo, we saw on tv yesterday that 14 swimmers had to be rescued from Plett Bay due to high rip tides. Fortunately we missed this opportunity!)
So, off to Addo for our animal experience. We checked in to our hut, made from dung and mud with a thatch roof (E, it was "an astounding thatching job!"). I admit I was a bit concerned with the spartan hut at first, but it turned out to be quite lovely - and so very relaxing. We had a nice dinner @ the facility, in the open air, and met an interesting couple from London. She, Camilla, a former music-biz manager who toured with Zappa and Tina Turner and quite a few others. He, Tim, a former teacher and current writer -- had a lot of inteeresting tales to tell.
Off to sleep, awoke to breakfast, then were picked up around 10 for our full-day game drive. First, in a van, to Addo Eleophant Park, where we saw approx 100 of the gentle giants, mostly drinking from the watering hole. Also saw some darling, yet hideous-looking, warthogs bandying about. Had a nice lunch, then they drove us to Schotia Game Park where we transfered to an open-air jeep with a canopy top -- this is what we envisioned for our safari, for sure!
First off to see the antelope species, more warthogs, and loads of gorgeous giraffe. Had a quick stop for tea, then entered the gated portion of the park -- where the lions live. There are 5 in total, and we found 4 nearly immediately. We didn't search for the 5th, as she is suspected to be pregnant and has been aggressive toward vehicles lately -- attempting to climb atop! The 4 we saw were very regal, and frightening...I will never forget the look of locking eyes with them, very clearly knowing who's boss. Mostly they snoozed in the sun and left us be, though one younger female hissed as we drove nearby -- and then our guide parked the Landy right in front of her...I was not too comfortable! We also saw another cape cobra -- I say another because our guide looked at the picture of our first snake sighting on Cape Point and ID'd it as such...What luck?! Shot some excellent pictures at the game drive, which we'll post to Flickr at some point. After the lions, we saw some subumerged hippos, then had a nice braii at the 'lapa' or gathering place. Approx 200 people (I think?) in total, and we sat with the 10 who wre on our jeep. Saw a few more animals at night, including the elusive nyala, then driven back to our mud hut amongst the stars. What a day! I couldn't sleep at first, over-stimulated by all that we saw.
Drove to Port Alfred, and that's where you find us now. Tomorrow off to the Little Karoo to a town called Oudtshoorn, then to Stellenbosch (wine country) for our last night in the area. We've heard British Airports may be striking, so could have an interesting trip back to London and then home on Jan. 1...
What is happening at home? We saw that Jamie Lynn Spears is preggo, and Amy Winehouse was released from jail - why was she there? And dear Seattle, what are we going to do without the Croc?!
We keep forgetting that it's nearly Christmas, but we do wish you all the best for the upcoming holidays!
XOXO and Merry Merry!
*A and N
Thursday, December 20, 2007
still here - dodgy internet connections!
hey everyone!
just a quick note to let you know that we are ok -- had a great trip to addo elephant park and the schotia game reserve for our animal experience. we'll post more about that soon, once we can get to a place that has more internet availability!
tonight we're in port alfred and about to go to a braii (bbq) and watch the lighting of the town's bridge as part of some 365-day project to light a new bridge every day...apparently this one is the first in the series. not quite sure why, but there you have it.
we're surviving ok w/ out our passports (chuckle chuckle...we've been quite relaxed and forgot them at the cape town hotel).
more soon!
xo!
*A & N
just a quick note to let you know that we are ok -- had a great trip to addo elephant park and the schotia game reserve for our animal experience. we'll post more about that soon, once we can get to a place that has more internet availability!
tonight we're in port alfred and about to go to a braii (bbq) and watch the lighting of the town's bridge as part of some 365-day project to light a new bridge every day...apparently this one is the first in the series. not quite sure why, but there you have it.
we're surviving ok w/ out our passports (chuckle chuckle...we've been quite relaxed and forgot them at the cape town hotel).
more soon!
xo!
*A & N
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Penguin PDA and Partytown
We spent yesterday (our Saturday) driving down the peninsula toward the Cape of Good Hope. Our first stop was Fish Hoek beach, a gorgeous crescent of sand in False Bay with turquoise waters. Gorgeous, but bloody windy! We lasted for about an hour before the fine covering of sand on our skin took its toll.
Next up was Boulders Beach, known for the colony of African penguins (aka "jackass" penguins, though they don't like to use that name any longer. Can't imagine why). There were at least 300 of the little wadlers sunning themselves on boulders and "mutually preening" each other. It looked like necking to us -- frisky little penguins!
From there we drove south to the Cape of Good Hope and shot some pictures of the Cape , kite boarders whipping around the sea, a snake (likely a boomslang) and an ostrich (yes, it was as out of place as it seems). Also saw a Chacma baboon and steered clear -- apparently if they see food, they find a way to get it (opening car doors and windows and ransacking). Also saw De Gama's cross, marking his landing on the Cape in 1497.
Then headed north again, winding along the Atlantic. Stopped at a roadside market and bought a few trinkets and wend our way up through Chapman's Peak Drive (road and tunnels carve out of the rockside). Stunning.
Made our way to trendy Camp's Bay for an early dinner-- We coined it the Laguna Beach of ZA as posh cars and well dressed beautiful people were everywhere, with a main beach sitting in front of the strip of restaurants and shop fronts. After dinner we went in one boutique where the 3 young sales gals showered me with attention, trying all kinds of variations of dresses and jewelry on. We had to buy something, they were just so funny (plus, the clothes were super cute). I landed on a green dress (thanks Nate!) "Now you must go out and party!!!!" they squealed. Not sure the party scene is our cuppa tea ("Mmm-tz mtt-tz mmm-tz techno beats blasting)!
Today it is raining (guess we brought a bit of Seattle with us) but we intend to go to the market and maybe to a jazz club for dinner.
Until next time (mmm-tz mmt-tz mm mmm mmm-tz!)
XO!
*A & N
Next up was Boulders Beach, known for the colony of African penguins (aka "jackass" penguins, though they don't like to use that name any longer. Can't imagine why). There were at least 300 of the little wadlers sunning themselves on boulders and "mutually preening" each other. It looked like necking to us -- frisky little penguins!
From there we drove south to the Cape of Good Hope and shot some pictures of the Cape , kite boarders whipping around the sea, a snake (likely a boomslang) and an ostrich (yes, it was as out of place as it seems). Also saw a Chacma baboon and steered clear -- apparently if they see food, they find a way to get it (opening car doors and windows and ransacking). Also saw De Gama's cross, marking his landing on the Cape in 1497.
Then headed north again, winding along the Atlantic. Stopped at a roadside market and bought a few trinkets and wend our way up through Chapman's Peak Drive (road and tunnels carve out of the rockside). Stunning.
Made our way to trendy Camp's Bay for an early dinner-- We coined it the Laguna Beach of ZA as posh cars and well dressed beautiful people were everywhere, with a main beach sitting in front of the strip of restaurants and shop fronts. After dinner we went in one boutique where the 3 young sales gals showered me with attention, trying all kinds of variations of dresses and jewelry on. We had to buy something, they were just so funny (plus, the clothes were super cute). I landed on a green dress (thanks Nate!) "Now you must go out and party!!!!" they squealed. Not sure the party scene is our cuppa tea ("Mmm-tz mtt-tz mmm-tz techno beats blasting)!
Today it is raining (guess we brought a bit of Seattle with us) but we intend to go to the market and maybe to a jazz club for dinner.
Until next time (mmm-tz mmt-tz mm mmm mmm-tz!)
XO!
*A & N
Friday, December 14, 2007
Arrived safely!
All,
Thanks for checking in! We arrived safely in Cape Town on the morning of Friday, December 14 (+10 hours PST). The trip was strenuous (22 hours in the air), but bearable. The sky was clear and temperature was 80 degrees, so we decided to harness what energy we had left and head to Table Mountain straightaway. We took the cablecar up to 1085m (3500ft) and watched the tablecloth (the famous mountain cloud cover) set in. Very beautiful. This was followed by a 3-hour nap and we're now off to sample the local cuisine. We promise to update further once we're rested and acclimated! Much love,
Nate & Amy
PS - Token celebrity sighting: Probably our best "b" celebrity sighting yet. After coincidentally exchanging a couple "Office Space" quotes at Heathrow, Amy mentioned that she saw a character that looked like Michael Bolton whizzing by on an airport cart. Lo and behold...it was. (For anyone unfamiliar with the film, a key character begrudgingly shares the same name).
Thanks for checking in! We arrived safely in Cape Town on the morning of Friday, December 14 (+10 hours PST). The trip was strenuous (22 hours in the air), but bearable. The sky was clear and temperature was 80 degrees, so we decided to harness what energy we had left and head to Table Mountain straightaway. We took the cablecar up to 1085m (3500ft) and watched the tablecloth (the famous mountain cloud cover) set in. Very beautiful. This was followed by a 3-hour nap and we're now off to sample the local cuisine. We promise to update further once we're rested and acclimated! Much love,
Nate & Amy
PS - Token celebrity sighting: Probably our best "b" celebrity sighting yet. After coincidentally exchanging a couple "Office Space" quotes at Heathrow, Amy mentioned that she saw a character that looked like Michael Bolton whizzing by on an airport cart. Lo and behold...it was. (For anyone unfamiliar with the film, a key character begrudgingly shares the same name).
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