Jean and Jeff’s European Adventure

Having agreed that our first Christmas should be one ripe with European tradition, we decided to hit Denmark for a Scandinavian Yule.

We were scheduled to leave on Dec. 22, and up until that morning were not sure if the heavy fog that had been around for a few days would allow it.  It was unreal..very cool at night with all the muted lights and shadowy streets and London chimneys etc.   Here is an idea of what we were in for 3 straight days..

London Fog…

and more fog…

British Air was hit with heavy cancellations..fortunately we were flying a low cost carrier Easy Jet and only had a two hour delay out of Stanstead Airport.

We learned a lesson to pass along, hit the Christmas markets in Europe the weeks before Christmas, NOT the week of… Most places/museums/breweries we wanted to see were already closed. We did know that the famed Tivoli gardens would be open our second day. Had a fun evening there and enjoyed warm mugs of Glug to remove the chill.  As you will see in the pictures, it was gray and rainy most of the days there.  Next year we are going to Dubai for some fun in the sun.  We really enjoyed the exhibits at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek Museum Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek  The best section was the permanent collection of Danish works - landscapes, portraits etc.

Having a Danish Dad, I know what they eat and have never been a huge fan of the cuisine (crepes and aebleskiver aside!) so our dining experience was not the highlight.  We found extremely good Kebab houses on the main Stroget (pedestrian walk), I believe we had 3 meals of shwarma burgers!   We did however, have a stand out meal for the location alone, upon our arrival the first night.  I had previously booked a pre Christmas candlelight dinner at the world renowned Sankt Gertruds Kloster.  Skt. Gertruds Kloster  Our friend Lauren’s English Cousin had said we MUST dine there.  It is set in a 700 year old monastery, and they have a wine paired candlelight dinner in their cavernous wine cellar…the food was perhaps not so memorable, but the experience and hospitality will not be forgotten.

Since so much was closed for the holiday week, we left our hotel each day armed with the pro cameras for serious picture taking.  We stayed at the The Palace Hotel, a Starwood Le Meridien.  Read so much about the renovation, we were not in the renovated part.  Tiny room, with no closet. Great location, but we recommend you check first to see within which section you are booked!

On the main Stroget.

The gardens of Tivoli

In the port of Nyhavn

and of course, the famous mermaid..who has had a few heads over the years..

We woke up at 7:45am this morning to the sound of horses’ hooves on our street that suddenly grew louder and louder. We ran to the window to see a huge line of horses 3 abreast with a rider in the middle, guiding the side 2 horses there must have been 60 or so, just clomping down our residential side street… A definite London moment!  We figured they were probably on their way to a Christmas paegent or something!?! 

Turns out months later we found out that they were part of the Metroplitan Police Mounted Division being exercised and on their way back to the stables in Swiss Cottage. London Police Mounted Division

We went to our first big fundraising party early on in November. We went with our new friend Lauren (husband away on business unfortunately) to a wonderful party at the Reform Club, the venue alone made the evening. I still can’t believe they rent this gorgeous private club for events. I kept envisioning red wine all over the carpets… We went to a pre-party at a friend of Lauren’s who was one of the event chairs, met folks from a good smattering of European countries, fitting as the theme was unofficially “Come dressed as your favourite country”….

Jeff, Jean and Lauren

We were just kind of “ethnic”…

The revelers below

Jeff’s favourite “country” is Hawaii???

I had the opportunity to photograph a great charity event that included Tom Aikens, one of London’s celebrated chefs. He is the youngest Chef to receive 2 Michelin stars at age 26. We have yet to eat at any of his local restaurants, but are looking forward to it! Tom Aikens The Association of Junior Leagues International, has a great program to help children learn about nutrition/exercise etc. in an effort to combat childhood obesity. Kids in the Kitchen is an effort undertaken by many of the Leagues around the states, Canada, Mexico and London. Kids in the Kitchen The London league had our first participation in November of 2006, and I was fortunate to be able to cover the day…it was great. Here are a few shots from the day…

Tom Aikens

Learning about healthy foods…

2 twin sisters trying cherry tomatoes for the first time, NOT happy!

Exercise for the lad!

To celebrate finding a great flat and so quickly (we saved our relo agent a whole lotta work!) we booked the Eurostar 2.5 weeks after our arrival and took a long weekend to Paris.  Oh, we were also celebrating our third wedding anniversary that was a total bust as that was the day the movers came in San Francisco. Spent the night with room service, tv and passed out by 9pm in the hotel room!

We booked a room through our Starwood points at Le Meridien Montparnasse.  We wanted to be on the left bank, as it was both of our’s favoured area from previous separate visits.  Hotel was fine, but the area of Montparnasse we were in (rue de commandant mouchotte)was a bit ratty, not so great at night.  Had the best food we had had in weeks…mais oui!  We actually had the best caprese salad ever as well…the mozzarella just MELTED in your mouth..

Toured the Basilica Sacre Coeur in Montmartre, lovely blue sky day to see the city below..

France goes smoke free (Yay!) in January 2008. That remains the only downside to a visit to cafes and restaurants…Click on photos to enlarge.

Autumnal colours on the Seine

Sacre Coeur in Montmartre

Jeff in St. Sulpice church in Saint Germain.

When we first found out we were moving to London, we ran out and bought an appropriate book for incoming ex-pats. After reading through all the descriptions of the neighbourhoods most likely to appeal to ex-pats, we both thought that Hampstead sounded a whole lot like our beloved Bernal Heights in San Francisco. Far end of the city, on a hill with amazing views of the city, amenities - but not in the thick of things. Late June, Jeff went to India on business with a 3 day stop in London to chat with his soon to be new boss and do a little neighbourhood search. He covered a lot of ground in 2 days of tube to tube searching. When he stepped out from the Hampstead tube stop onto the High Street, he told me he thought to himself..Jean is going to LOVE Hampstead. I watched the little movie he took on the point and shoot we he returned and yes, I did. Our second day here, we visited Hampstead and I did the same thing as I stepped out on the High St. What is there not to love here. It is utterly charming. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it. Hampstead, London

Sting used to live on one street over from us, as did Charles De Gaulle and Kate Greenaway. I still get a kick everytime I hear a Sting song and think of the proximity! We found our flat on Chesterford Gardens. It is a 2 story period conversion, with a ground floor flat - Brent, 1st floor flat - B and her daughter Catherine, and we occupy the top(white washed front). In the winter when the leaves have died off, we have a super view of central London from our kitchen window, and if you stand on top of our bench in the hallway, you can see the London Eye or Millenium Wheel. Can we say we have a view???

Here are a few pictures from our first party in November.

Lauren and Todd

Jeff in the living/dining room

neighbour, Jeff’s co-workers

the kitchen

The adorable fox, that lives in the back yard!

Having left San Francisco on Tuesday, the 26th, via New York, Jeff and I were more than ready to land at Heathrow.  About an hours time away, a general announcment broke through the just starting to wake up cabin. “Is there a physician on board?” Immediately all I could think of was a darkened theatre with a figure rushing on stage “Is there a Doctor in the house”?  of course that would be with an American accent and not using the word physician!  After a second appeal, it became apparent from overheard flight attendant conversations that an elderly woman was having heart trouble and would need to land now. I turned to Jeff and said “looks like we are landing in Edinburgh”. As we landed I took in the greenery and the drizzle and thought welcome back to the U.K.!

We arrived later and perhaps more jet lagged, but in good humour and moved into our 30 day corporate housing flat in Westminster.  Having been completely dilatory in writing in the blog, I am trying to remember those first images of London and being “stuck” in Westminster.  The neighbourhood shuts down by 8, and lacks in the amenities.  Being on an expense account for 30 days helped immensely. One does not know the most efficient ways to get things done, so getting stuck with a horrendously expensive cab ride home a few times was not our problem : ) 

Our first meal we knew was going to have to be fish and chips and a great beer.  Fish and chips here come with mushy peas.  That is one authenticity neither of us have found in the US equivalent.  They rock!  basically mushed up cooked peas, with some secret flavouring. I of course had a Guiness and Jeff of course had to try the local ale.  Back in the flat we thought how cool it was the we could hear Big Ben from our window.  It became less cool in the early hours when we heard it strike every 15 mins.  Charm was completely gone by the next night when we had to finally close the windows and suffer in the stuffy, un-airconditioned (welcome to England) flat.

Jeff started work the second week. Conveniently the bus ran right past our flat and dropped him off a few blocks from the Yahoo! office in Covent Garden.  I began the furious search for a flat online.  Our relo company gave us some great links, and within 2 days I found something perfect.  Our criteria were: top floor, lots of light, close to the High Street and tube, but far enough off to be quiet and at least 2 bedrooms for all the visitors we knew were coming.