Yesterday was such a beautiful day that I was sure we were on a weather upswing--WRONG. I didn't even need to glance outside to know that it was pouring rain. Most people walked around without an umbrella, which you may think is crazy, but is actually quite smart. The wind factor made the umbrella more of a bothersome task than a helpful accessory. As you'll see in the pictures though, we weren't ready to ditch our cover from the rain, but we've definitely learned to wear hooded jackets for next time!
We got ready despite the rain (mainly because a commercial on TV mentioned that we'd see rain 300 days out of the year) and headed out for our first train ride since arriving. The kids did really well taking the 10 minute walk to the rail station...until Dorian decided he was over it.
We weren't brave enough to make a trip to London city center, so we decided to visit the Queen's weekend home, Windsor Castle. Windsor is one of the beautiful towns where we are looking to ultimately settle down and find Audrey a school. The train ride to Windsor was quick and easy, the shopping was awesome, and the opportunity to do super touristy things were aplenty!
T-K-Maxx reminds me of a store back home for some odd reason... (ha!)
One of the coolest things about visiting Windsor Castle today was that the Royal Standard (the flag only used by Queen Elizabeth II) was flying--meaning she was actually staying at the castle as we took our tour! Here's Dorian and the Royal Standard flying high:
"Hello? May I speak to the Queen?"
We didn't actually hang with the Queen as the title of the post might have suggested, but it's probably the closest we'll ever get!! Seeing the staterooms of the castle was amazing (St. George's Hall was my favorite), but taking a picture with one of the Queen's Guards was even more fun (see picture above).
Back when Audrey was going to Kindergarten at Delaine Eastin, I became friends with some parents who had recently moved to the US from England. Paul and his wife Lucy were kind enough to give me a crash course in British life and I am forever thankful. Paul recently emailed me this picture of himself...he was one of the Queen's Guards!! Thank you, Paul!
Left: Lucy & Paul at Eastin; Right: Paul, The Queen's Guard
Well, our first weekend in England is coming to an end and we're wrapping it up by doing some laundry. I will end with a picture of the washer/dryer and some pros and cons.
Pros:
- Washer and dryer combined in one unit (whaaat?)
- Located right next to the dishwasher in the kitchen
- Lots of things to press and turn
Cons:
- Located right next to the dishwasher in the kitchen
- Fits approximately 2 bath towels and two hand towels (seriously, that's all that will fit)
- Has 3 compartments to put laundry detergent in--without clear instructions as to which one you use for the detergent
- One load (wash only) takes 3 hours and 15 minutes (SERIOUSLY?!)
- I'll likely be doing 7 loads of laundry...daily
- Our water bill will be enormous
yeah, I was gonna say that in the comments to enjoy the nice weather that previous day..enjoy those days like they are Christmas and Thanksgiving. You will soon realize that the weather is indicative of the British outlook on life...gloomy and dismal.
ReplyDeleteBtw, forgot to mention that you should still practice American English at home since after a while your kids will be using British English at school and with friends. This is what foreigners do in the States...speak their native tongue at home because they can't control the influence over their kids using the country's language out of the home. ((Yes, this is tongue and cheek and for those who families that speak two languages they will get the joke.))
oh yeah, btw, my wife brought up a good cultural point. In England probably as in Japan, the concept for washing clothes is daily. Totally makes sense in Japan since they re-use the previous night's bath water (they take baths every night) and it is funneled/pumped into the washing machine. At any rate, since you do laundry daily, your loads are much smaller. The same concept for buying groceries to make dinner. In the States, we load it up and do it once or twice a week.
ReplyDeleteJor, good points. I'll try to remember not to let my cockney accent kick in ;) As for the laundry, I'm still flabbergasted at the insane amount of time it takes to do one load. I'm fine with smaller loads, but with the washer/dryer combo, I can't load the next wash until the entire wash/dry cycle is over. It's been 3 hours and that one load of towels is still not done. ((slowly losing my mind))
ReplyDelete3 hours only for washing and not drying seem inordinately wrong.??
ReplyDelete