Time to 'fess up. I gained weight on the trip. :( I came back seven pounds over my "top out" (goal) weight, but actually I started out two pounds below so that's nine pounds, even in spite of the massive amounts of walking and biking we did. Oh, the horror!!! I'm currently kind of in a holding pattern with it. I got a little off then it bumped up again, and now I'm back down a little so I'm at five pounds over. Sigh.
It was worth every bite.
But now it's back to business. I definitely notice a big difference in how I feel, so somewhere along the continuum of that nine pounds I hit a tipping point. DH says I'm snoring again and I don't get cold as easily as when I weigh less, which is neither good nor bad unless you look at our electricity bill. I'm having more bad days with the fibromyalgia so my energy level is down and my aches and pains are up. My clothes aren't as comfortable. Maybe I'm being hyper-aware, but when I gained weight the first time I was in total denial of any negative effects along the way, so hopefully awareness will work to my advantage. ;)
On the plus side, I've continued my (almost) daily walks and I've added bike rides a few times a week. Sometimes I only bike, which is easier for me when I'm having a flare up of the fibro. Probably doesn't burn as many calories, but it's getting out there and sometimes it's more important to maintain the exercise habit than it is to burn the calories. I don't keep a food diary but that's because I know how much of each category of food (fats, carbs, dairy, protein, and produce) I'm going to eat at each meal and over the course of the day. I have breakfast (usually a cup of Kashi Go Lean Crunch, and I keep a one cup measure in the cereal container, a scoop of frozen blueberries, a few dried cranberries, and milk to fill the bowl), lunch with not more than two servings of carbs and 2.5 oz of protein plus some kind of produce, a snack which is usually a repeat of breakfast, and dinner which is usually a repeat of lunch. (Not the same food, just the same amounts of protein, carbs, etc.) (Although my snack is usually Kashi and fruit just like breakfast.) If I want an additional snack I usually eat fruit. I might munch on a few peanuts or nuts; I've started keeping a bowl of nuts in the shell on the kitchen counter. (You eat fewer if you have to crack them open; see "The Blue Zone" book review.) As for fat, we mostly cook with healthy fats like olive or canola oil in reasonable amounts. For dairy and protein I go for no or low fat, except for cheese which I use sparingly. We eat a vegan meal at least once a week, sometimes more, and I'm keeping an eye out for more vegan/vegetarian meals we can incorporate into our regular menus. We try to eat seafood a few times a week.
A couple of other things that really help me are keeping a journal about my weight where I've written about why I gained weight in the first place, my struggles with getting my eating under control, what I think went wrong when I let my eating get out of control, exercise challenges, and so forth. This post is similar to something I would write about, only when I was losing weight the first time around I wasn't blogging. I also WEIGH MYSELF EVERY DAY OF THE WORLD and record that weight in a little book I keep by the scale. I figured I gained the weight by burying my head in the sand and pretending I wasn't getting fat, so if I do nothing else but weigh in on a daily basis I'll stay aware of what I'm doing to my body and make healthier choices.
That's my diet plan in a nutshell! It worked to help me lose 45 pounds in 2007, so now I'm going to get focused and get back to it and lose the extra pounds I gained on my trip.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Grandmother
My grandmother died a year ago yesterday. I still feel the loss so deeply; the oddest things remind me of her. We've been getting a lot of rain lately and she used to call me if there were reports of thunderstorms on the news to make sure we were OK. I have so many of her things still to sort through piled up in my house. As the closest relative I was responsible for clearing her home and it's so sad to see 50 years of living in her house narrowed down to one pile in my dining room and one pile in my hallway. Of course a lot went to various relatives, but to have a lifetime boiled down to two piles just doesn't seem right somehow. I guess it's good there's not more really, I mean what would I do with it all, but it's still sad.
My grandmother was the most amazing woman. She lived through so much, starting with the Depression. Her family went through it with a minimum of hardship thanks to the ingenuity of her parents; they were farmers in Alabama. Her dad also ran a barbershop on the weekends, did some veterinary work, and built houses later in his life. They had 12 children together. She's told me so many stories of her childhood, some happy and some not so much. From her accounts her mom was stoic and could be cold at times, but she says she always knew how much her mother loved her. Her mom died when my grandmother was 13 then she lost a beloved older brother shortly afterward in a traffic accident. The older girls married and moved away so she was left with the weight of the household on her too young shoulders. She had to quit school to take care of the family, including two little ones. She told me once she shuddered to think what those kids must have looked like when she sent them off to school in the morning. Her dad turned to alcohol for several years after losing his wife so she lacked any support that she might have otherwise found in him. She left home once or twice and lived with relatives to get away from her home life, but she went back until she got married.
She married my grandfather and went through times when they really struggled to make ends meet. She worked in a cotton mill for a while and has told me how physically demanding that work was; it took a horrible toll on her. She also worked in a rocket factory briefly during WWII but she had to leave when the paint fumes made her nauseous since she was pregnant with my aunt. She was a real Rosie the Riveter, even if it was for a short time! She had a rough time of it with my aunt, too; she's told me several times how difficult that birth was for her. She thought she was going to die at one point from loss of blood but she pulled through. She had my mom first, then my aunt close behind, then several years went by and she had my youngest aunt. They made a move to another state when my youngest aunt was a toddler, I believe, and established a new life away from Alabama and the cotton mills. My grandfather became a plumber and their life revolved around their family and their church. They bought a house, always had a decent car, and got their girls educated on a blue collar salary. My grandmother worked on and off over the years, one time as a pharmacy technician and several times as a salesperson and cashier for local stores.
My grandmother was the family matriarch in so many ways. She was the glue that held us all together with her big family get togethers. I remember Christmas at her house when everyone would be there. My family, my aunts, cousins, even a few friends would join us. She cooked for days before these events, sometimes longer than that if you count the cookies and desserts she would freeze weeks ahead of time. (And she LOVED her freezer; we would shudder sometimes at what she would pull out of there as she got older since it could have been in there since the Dark Ages. The desserts were always good but there were some other things…) I asked her to write down all of her recipes for me one time in one of those fill in the blank books and she did; that book is one of my most treasured possessions. I’ve tried to replicate her feasts a few times but it’s too much work! It leaves me utterly exhausted; I don’t know how she did it, but she did, and thrived on it. She would let me bring a side dish a couple of times, but mainly she wanted to do everything herself so she could bask in her well deserved glory. ;)
She was a story teller, too. I spent so much time with her when I was younger listening to tales of her childhood, frequently with my head on her lap while she rubbed my hair. She was a comforting presence for my childhood, too. I loved spending time at her house. Some of my memories include sleeping over on Friday nights and waking up to the sounds and smells of her cooking her big Saturday morning breakfast, bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, the works, and coffee perking away in the percolator. I would luxuriate in bed listening to her moving around in the kitchen until time to get up. I remember watching Sesame Street at her house when she was babysitting me and my brother. I made a city once at her house, cutting it out of paper like paper dolls and making all the buildings stand up. I also read a lot since my youngest aunt kept all of her books on the bookcase in her room, Bobsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys among others. When my grandfather arrived home he would park in his recliner and watch the news or read the newspaper until time for dinner, which was always so good since she was a fantastic cook. The drink of the house was tea. She made it with sugar when I was little but when they came out with the artificial sweeteners she would leave the sugar out and everyone would sweeten their own glass, a definite change for the negative in my mind. She never called it “sweet tea”, like you hear in the south, but that’s what it was by default.
I went on a trip with my grandparents when I was 12 to visit my aunt in college in Illinois at a school near Chicago. It was the longest trip I’d ever been on and I felt so lucky to be able to go, just me, not my brother. (Sorry kid.) We went by car and stopped to visit relatives in Alabama. We saw mountains as we drove through Tennessee. We went to the top of the Sears tower and saw the elevated trains. I went up to my aunt’s room when we visited her and felt so cool to be in a college dorm. I loved being with my grandparents no matter where we went.
She stopped traveling as she got older since she developed agoraphobia. She was able to get out around her neighborhood but wouldn’t go more than a few miles from her home. My grandfather passed away when they were in their mid sixties; she would go on to live another 20 years or so without him. He passed away after I met my husband but before we got married; I’m glad DH met him before he died. My grandmother carried on and did quite well, all things considered, for a long time. She was my rock when there were problems with other family members. She didn’t take sides, she just continued to love us all. Absolute unconditional love for everyone in her family. Oh, there was friction between her and her daughters on occasion, but the love was always there. She was always there. I don’t know how I’ve gotten through this past year without her; I miss her so much.
My grandmother was the most amazing woman. She lived through so much, starting with the Depression. Her family went through it with a minimum of hardship thanks to the ingenuity of her parents; they were farmers in Alabama. Her dad also ran a barbershop on the weekends, did some veterinary work, and built houses later in his life. They had 12 children together. She's told me so many stories of her childhood, some happy and some not so much. From her accounts her mom was stoic and could be cold at times, but she says she always knew how much her mother loved her. Her mom died when my grandmother was 13 then she lost a beloved older brother shortly afterward in a traffic accident. The older girls married and moved away so she was left with the weight of the household on her too young shoulders. She had to quit school to take care of the family, including two little ones. She told me once she shuddered to think what those kids must have looked like when she sent them off to school in the morning. Her dad turned to alcohol for several years after losing his wife so she lacked any support that she might have otherwise found in him. She left home once or twice and lived with relatives to get away from her home life, but she went back until she got married.
She married my grandfather and went through times when they really struggled to make ends meet. She worked in a cotton mill for a while and has told me how physically demanding that work was; it took a horrible toll on her. She also worked in a rocket factory briefly during WWII but she had to leave when the paint fumes made her nauseous since she was pregnant with my aunt. She was a real Rosie the Riveter, even if it was for a short time! She had a rough time of it with my aunt, too; she's told me several times how difficult that birth was for her. She thought she was going to die at one point from loss of blood but she pulled through. She had my mom first, then my aunt close behind, then several years went by and she had my youngest aunt. They made a move to another state when my youngest aunt was a toddler, I believe, and established a new life away from Alabama and the cotton mills. My grandfather became a plumber and their life revolved around their family and their church. They bought a house, always had a decent car, and got their girls educated on a blue collar salary. My grandmother worked on and off over the years, one time as a pharmacy technician and several times as a salesperson and cashier for local stores.
My grandmother was the family matriarch in so many ways. She was the glue that held us all together with her big family get togethers. I remember Christmas at her house when everyone would be there. My family, my aunts, cousins, even a few friends would join us. She cooked for days before these events, sometimes longer than that if you count the cookies and desserts she would freeze weeks ahead of time. (And she LOVED her freezer; we would shudder sometimes at what she would pull out of there as she got older since it could have been in there since the Dark Ages. The desserts were always good but there were some other things…) I asked her to write down all of her recipes for me one time in one of those fill in the blank books and she did; that book is one of my most treasured possessions. I’ve tried to replicate her feasts a few times but it’s too much work! It leaves me utterly exhausted; I don’t know how she did it, but she did, and thrived on it. She would let me bring a side dish a couple of times, but mainly she wanted to do everything herself so she could bask in her well deserved glory. ;)
She was a story teller, too. I spent so much time with her when I was younger listening to tales of her childhood, frequently with my head on her lap while she rubbed my hair. She was a comforting presence for my childhood, too. I loved spending time at her house. Some of my memories include sleeping over on Friday nights and waking up to the sounds and smells of her cooking her big Saturday morning breakfast, bacon, eggs, biscuits, gravy, the works, and coffee perking away in the percolator. I would luxuriate in bed listening to her moving around in the kitchen until time to get up. I remember watching Sesame Street at her house when she was babysitting me and my brother. I made a city once at her house, cutting it out of paper like paper dolls and making all the buildings stand up. I also read a lot since my youngest aunt kept all of her books on the bookcase in her room, Bobsey Twins, Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys among others. When my grandfather arrived home he would park in his recliner and watch the news or read the newspaper until time for dinner, which was always so good since she was a fantastic cook. The drink of the house was tea. She made it with sugar when I was little but when they came out with the artificial sweeteners she would leave the sugar out and everyone would sweeten their own glass, a definite change for the negative in my mind. She never called it “sweet tea”, like you hear in the south, but that’s what it was by default.
I went on a trip with my grandparents when I was 12 to visit my aunt in college in Illinois at a school near Chicago. It was the longest trip I’d ever been on and I felt so lucky to be able to go, just me, not my brother. (Sorry kid.) We went by car and stopped to visit relatives in Alabama. We saw mountains as we drove through Tennessee. We went to the top of the Sears tower and saw the elevated trains. I went up to my aunt’s room when we visited her and felt so cool to be in a college dorm. I loved being with my grandparents no matter where we went.
She stopped traveling as she got older since she developed agoraphobia. She was able to get out around her neighborhood but wouldn’t go more than a few miles from her home. My grandfather passed away when they were in their mid sixties; she would go on to live another 20 years or so without him. He passed away after I met my husband but before we got married; I’m glad DH met him before he died. My grandmother carried on and did quite well, all things considered, for a long time. She was my rock when there were problems with other family members. She didn’t take sides, she just continued to love us all. Absolute unconditional love for everyone in her family. Oh, there was friction between her and her daughters on occasion, but the love was always there. She was always there. I don’t know how I’ve gotten through this past year without her; I miss her so much.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Book Review: Blue Zones
It's been a while since I've written up a book review but that's not because I'm not reading! My latest read is a non-fiction, "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest" by Dan Buettner. I first heard the author on NPR then again when he was featured on Oprah, both times talking about his book and the ways we all can maximize our life span. I had it in my Amazon shopping cart for the longest time then finally ordered it for my Kindle. I plowed through it pretty quickly since it was fascinating!
When talking about this book, it helps to know what Blue Zones are. Longevity researchers coined the term while looking for areas where a larger percentage of people live to older ages than is statistically expected. One prominent researcher circled possible areas on a map with a blue marker, thus the term Blue Zone. (I thought it had to do with blue hair as a reference to older women who dye their hair blue, or something, but no.) ;) So they found four blue zones to focus on for the book, and the author went with teams of researchers to each place to find out why and how these folks lived so long, and for the most part with great vitality to the very end. He found many, many things they do naturally that we can incorporate into our lives to maximize our own good years.
It's the PERFECT book for the semi-health nut I'm turning into lately. It reinforces some of the good practices I've developed since losing weight and even has a few new things to try that you wouldn't automatically think of. I have The Eldest reading it for science and she went on a bike ride with us yesterday with no grumbling, so it's making an impact with her as well. An example of one easy change I've incorporated is putting a nut bowl out in the house. That's nuts in the shell, thank you, which makes portion control more natural. It's easy to over-do it when you can grab a handful and throw them in your mouth but this way you have to get them out of the shell first. The kids enjoy it although there's more sweeping up to do!
As a mom, it's so important to me to set a healthy example for my kids. I want them to live long, healthy, happy lives and taking care of their bodies is an important component to achieving those goals. I hope everyone will read this book and the entire world will go on a health kick! :)
PS: Maybe we can all aspire to be like this guy.
When talking about this book, it helps to know what Blue Zones are. Longevity researchers coined the term while looking for areas where a larger percentage of people live to older ages than is statistically expected. One prominent researcher circled possible areas on a map with a blue marker, thus the term Blue Zone. (I thought it had to do with blue hair as a reference to older women who dye their hair blue, or something, but no.) ;) So they found four blue zones to focus on for the book, and the author went with teams of researchers to each place to find out why and how these folks lived so long, and for the most part with great vitality to the very end. He found many, many things they do naturally that we can incorporate into our lives to maximize our own good years.
It's the PERFECT book for the semi-health nut I'm turning into lately. It reinforces some of the good practices I've developed since losing weight and even has a few new things to try that you wouldn't automatically think of. I have The Eldest reading it for science and she went on a bike ride with us yesterday with no grumbling, so it's making an impact with her as well. An example of one easy change I've incorporated is putting a nut bowl out in the house. That's nuts in the shell, thank you, which makes portion control more natural. It's easy to over-do it when you can grab a handful and throw them in your mouth but this way you have to get them out of the shell first. The kids enjoy it although there's more sweeping up to do!
As a mom, it's so important to me to set a healthy example for my kids. I want them to live long, healthy, happy lives and taking care of their bodies is an important component to achieving those goals. I hope everyone will read this book and the entire world will go on a health kick! :)
PS: Maybe we can all aspire to be like this guy.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A Wedding!
The Middle Child is going to be in a wedding in the fall. She's so excited; we went to the bridal store so she could try on her dress tonight. She fell in love with it, especially because, in addition to being lovely, "it's really comfortable". ;) Her only complaint was "it's heavy", but that didn't seem to bother her too much. She's ultra picky about her clothes so I was kind of worried about it, but now I'm breathing a sigh of relief about that aspect of things anyway. I'm a little nervous about the delivery, though. They had to order the dress and it's not coming until a few weeks before the wedding, then it will have to be altered. If anything is wrong, like they send the wrong color or something, we're up a creek. The people at the bridal shop were freaking me out about it, too- they were telling tales of mis-ordered flower girl dresses past. When we were placing the actual order for her white dress with apple trim the guy was reading off the computer and said "that's white and banana, right?"
Oh, how I hope he was joking!
Oh, how I hope he was joking!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Middle Child
We had a lovely afternoon with The Middle Child and her Girl Scout troop yesterday. We went to a local attraction and toured that for about an hour then went to a nearby park for her end of the year ceremony. It's been raining non-stop for a month or so now but it held off for us, thank goodness, although we did hear the lightening detectors a few times; yipes! The girls were able to participate more in the ceremony this time; it wasn't all me standing in front of everyone gabbing. The less I do and the more they do the better! :) I made "hobo bags" out of bandannas and dowels, which we call s'more sticks in Girl Scouts, to hold the patches they earned throughout the year. They were cute as a button and the girls got a kick out of them. This was a family event so all three kids and DH were there. (The Niece is home with her parents for a few weeks.) The families were all supposed to take a dessert to share with everyone; we took a watermelon. DH cut it up on the spot and was amazed that the kids all went for the melon over the sweets, doughnuts, cookies, and brownies, that the other families brought. Oh, they went for the sweets too, but the watermelon was a definite hit.
Even in homeschooling families we still have our end of the school year events to participate in. We follow a lot of the same rhythms everyone else follows, it seems. The Youngest's soccer party, The Middle Child's Girl Scout ceremony, then next week The Eldest has her Girl Scout ceremony, which are all start of summer markers for us. We slow down a bit and the kids wind up in the pool more. It's nice; I look forward to the change in our routine.
Even in homeschooling families we still have our end of the school year events to participate in. We follow a lot of the same rhythms everyone else follows, it seems. The Youngest's soccer party, The Middle Child's Girl Scout ceremony, then next week The Eldest has her Girl Scout ceremony, which are all start of summer markers for us. We slow down a bit and the kids wind up in the pool more. It's nice; I look forward to the change in our routine.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Trip Calendar
I took a "vacation purse" with me on our trip. My regular purse wasn't roomy enough or secure enough to brave the pickpockets around the tourist traps, thus the need for a special one for the trip. (And we have the pickpockets here around our tourist traps, too, mind you, but I don't go to those places very often.) Anyway, I just cleaned it out and put my regular purse back together...sigh. One thing I pulled out was the calendar I took with me where I noted what we did each day. Here are my entries, with a little bit of elaboration:
Monday, May 4: Leave for London; wind up spending the night in Newark, NJ ~:-P
Tuesday, May 5: Spend the day flying; arrive LATE at night at London Heathrow; take a taxi (a really cool British taxi, mind you) to Pax Lodge with stop at The Sea Shell for fish and chips along the way; wound up with two dinners since the lovely girls at Pax Lodge set aside plates for both of us; (the fish and chips were really heavy since we don't normally eat fried food so we ate about half of each meal)
Wednesday, May 6: Participated in a WAGGGS flag ceremony after breakfast at Pax Lodge; Double Decker Bus hop on/hop off tour, stopping to see the Changing of the Guard; hang out at Trafalgar Square where we watched the Barcelona fans party and the street artists draw on the sidewalks; eat at the National Gallery and go through the museum; finish the bus tour (fell asleep due to jet lag; didn't mean to insult the tour guide!); picked up ham and cheese croissants for dinner from The Euphorium Bakery (We ate a few more times at the bakery, ahem.)
Thursday, May 7: The Eye, tea and shopping at Harrod's, La Cage Au Folles; picked up Chinese take out at the Wing Wah House for dinner
Friday, May 8: Tried to go to St. Paul's before lunch but it was closed to the public due to military services WHICH INVOLVED PRINCE CHARLES AND CAMILA, saw a parade when the military services let out; lunch at The Swan (not my fave); saw first part of Romeo & Juliet at The Globe; had to leave R&J to get to St. Paul's before closing, where we went ALL THE WAY to the top; shopping at the soccer store Lily White's
Saturday, May 9: walked to the post office in Hampstead and fell even more in love with the area; found a farmer's market and bought strawberries fresh from Kent; went to Westminster Abbey where we had a 3 hour wait due to a flower show; while in line we ate the strawberries which were the best I've EVER eaten; went to Camden Market where we ate Indian food for lunch and The Eldest bought stuff and she fell even more in love with the area; left for Paris on the Eurostar; checked into Le Meridien Montparnasse. (Thank you to my friend Lorena who works for the hotel parent company for getting us really good rates!!!)
Sunday, May 10: Took a bike tour of Paris and went up in the Eiffel Tower
Monday, May 11: We went to the Louvre but Abi got sick and we left early; called it a day and holed up in the hotel room where we ordered an extravagant room service dinner
Tuesday, May 12: went to the D'Orsey museum which we both LOVED; went to Notre Dame and went ALL THE WAY to the top; went to Shakespeare and Company book store where The Eldest fell in love all over again; ate at a cafe across the street from Notre Dame; went on a boat tour of the Seine
Wednesday, May 13: Marathon Day!! Went to The Orangerie where I was blown away by Monet's Water Lilies; had a FANTASTIC lunch at the Cafe Musee outside the Rodin Museum; toured the Rodin; went to see Napoleon's tomb at the Dome Church; managed to squeeze in a short nap at the hotel before heading BACK to the Louvre; ate really good paella at the food court in the shopping area next to the museum
Thursday, May 14: Versailles Bike Tour; took the bikes on the train to Versailles where we shopped at the market, then biked to the grounds for a short tour followed by a picnic lunch at the end of the Grand Canal; toured the palace which smelled of cat pee and had lots of gilding and portraits of dead French royalty; ate dinner at Bistrot du 7, which was recommended by the bike tour staff
Friday, May 15: walking tour of Montmartre, ending at Sacre Coeur; went ALL THE WAY up into Sacre Coeur; hung out on the steps where a musician was performing and The Eldest sang during open mic; walked around the tourist area near S.C.
Saturday, May 16: Giverny bike tour, which was similar in set up to Versailles. Rode the train to Vernon, a town near Giverny and picked up the bikes there; went to the market; picnicked on the banks of the Seine; rode to Giverny and toured Monet's gardens and house
Sunday, May 17: went to the Grand Palais to see the Warhol exhibit and a second exhibit about duality in art; (we liked the duality exhibit better than Warhol, especially the Arcimboldo paintings on loan from the Louvre) but it was so darned crowded!); Arc de Triomphe where we went, yep, ALL THE WAY to the top- help, the stairs!!; walked along the Champs Elysses; dinner at a cafe on the Rue Cler
Monday, May 18: HUNTED down La Maison du Chocolat; Pompidou Center; leave Paris on the 8:30 train
Tuesday, May 19: check into Hotel Gotico, eat, nap, freshen up and head out for the Barcelona bike tour
Wednesday, May 20: Walk up part of Las Ramblas to La Boqueria to buy a picnic lunch; took the bus to Gaudi's Parc Guell where we ate our lunch on the bench overlooking the dragon fountain
Thursday, May 21: To Figueres where we toured Fort Castell Sant Ferran, (very cool), the Salvador Dali Teatro-Museo, and The Toy Museum of Catalonia where we bought caganer figures; walked around Figueres before catching the train back to Barcelona
Friday, May 22: shopping; Picasso museum; took a hop on/hop off bus tour where we hopped off to eat lunch and then again to tour Gaudi's Casa Mila; finished the tour; had a snack at Cafe Zurich then walked the entire length of Las Ramblas ending at the Columbus Monument to view the revisionist history; stopped at the internet cafe; did a little shopping across the street from our hotel; saw a classical guitar performance in an amazing old church; ate at a tapas bar we discovered a few days prior
Saturday, May 23: Long taxi ride through Barcelona to the airport, where we finally headed home
Monday, May 4: Leave for London; wind up spending the night in Newark, NJ ~:-P
Tuesday, May 5: Spend the day flying; arrive LATE at night at London Heathrow; take a taxi (a really cool British taxi, mind you) to Pax Lodge with stop at The Sea Shell for fish and chips along the way; wound up with two dinners since the lovely girls at Pax Lodge set aside plates for both of us; (the fish and chips were really heavy since we don't normally eat fried food so we ate about half of each meal)
Wednesday, May 6: Participated in a WAGGGS flag ceremony after breakfast at Pax Lodge; Double Decker Bus hop on/hop off tour, stopping to see the Changing of the Guard; hang out at Trafalgar Square where we watched the Barcelona fans party and the street artists draw on the sidewalks; eat at the National Gallery and go through the museum; finish the bus tour (fell asleep due to jet lag; didn't mean to insult the tour guide!); picked up ham and cheese croissants for dinner from The Euphorium Bakery (We ate a few more times at the bakery, ahem.)
Thursday, May 7: The Eye, tea and shopping at Harrod's, La Cage Au Folles; picked up Chinese take out at the Wing Wah House for dinner
Friday, May 8: Tried to go to St. Paul's before lunch but it was closed to the public due to military services WHICH INVOLVED PRINCE CHARLES AND CAMILA, saw a parade when the military services let out; lunch at The Swan (not my fave); saw first part of Romeo & Juliet at The Globe; had to leave R&J to get to St. Paul's before closing, where we went ALL THE WAY to the top; shopping at the soccer store Lily White's
Saturday, May 9: walked to the post office in Hampstead and fell even more in love with the area; found a farmer's market and bought strawberries fresh from Kent; went to Westminster Abbey where we had a 3 hour wait due to a flower show; while in line we ate the strawberries which were the best I've EVER eaten; went to Camden Market where we ate Indian food for lunch and The Eldest bought stuff and she fell even more in love with the area; left for Paris on the Eurostar; checked into Le Meridien Montparnasse. (Thank you to my friend Lorena who works for the hotel parent company for getting us really good rates!!!)
Sunday, May 10: Took a bike tour of Paris and went up in the Eiffel Tower
Monday, May 11: We went to the Louvre but Abi got sick and we left early; called it a day and holed up in the hotel room where we ordered an extravagant room service dinner
Tuesday, May 12: went to the D'Orsey museum which we both LOVED; went to Notre Dame and went ALL THE WAY to the top; went to Shakespeare and Company book store where The Eldest fell in love all over again; ate at a cafe across the street from Notre Dame; went on a boat tour of the Seine
Wednesday, May 13: Marathon Day!! Went to The Orangerie where I was blown away by Monet's Water Lilies; had a FANTASTIC lunch at the Cafe Musee outside the Rodin Museum; toured the Rodin; went to see Napoleon's tomb at the Dome Church; managed to squeeze in a short nap at the hotel before heading BACK to the Louvre; ate really good paella at the food court in the shopping area next to the museum
Thursday, May 14: Versailles Bike Tour; took the bikes on the train to Versailles where we shopped at the market, then biked to the grounds for a short tour followed by a picnic lunch at the end of the Grand Canal; toured the palace which smelled of cat pee and had lots of gilding and portraits of dead French royalty; ate dinner at Bistrot du 7, which was recommended by the bike tour staff
Friday, May 15: walking tour of Montmartre, ending at Sacre Coeur; went ALL THE WAY up into Sacre Coeur; hung out on the steps where a musician was performing and The Eldest sang during open mic; walked around the tourist area near S.C.
Saturday, May 16: Giverny bike tour, which was similar in set up to Versailles. Rode the train to Vernon, a town near Giverny and picked up the bikes there; went to the market; picnicked on the banks of the Seine; rode to Giverny and toured Monet's gardens and house
Sunday, May 17: went to the Grand Palais to see the Warhol exhibit and a second exhibit about duality in art; (we liked the duality exhibit better than Warhol, especially the Arcimboldo paintings on loan from the Louvre) but it was so darned crowded!); Arc de Triomphe where we went, yep, ALL THE WAY to the top- help, the stairs!!; walked along the Champs Elysses; dinner at a cafe on the Rue Cler
Monday, May 18: HUNTED down La Maison du Chocolat; Pompidou Center; leave Paris on the 8:30 train
Tuesday, May 19: check into Hotel Gotico, eat, nap, freshen up and head out for the Barcelona bike tour
Wednesday, May 20: Walk up part of Las Ramblas to La Boqueria to buy a picnic lunch; took the bus to Gaudi's Parc Guell where we ate our lunch on the bench overlooking the dragon fountain
Thursday, May 21: To Figueres where we toured Fort Castell Sant Ferran, (very cool), the Salvador Dali Teatro-Museo, and The Toy Museum of Catalonia where we bought caganer figures; walked around Figueres before catching the train back to Barcelona
Friday, May 22: shopping; Picasso museum; took a hop on/hop off bus tour where we hopped off to eat lunch and then again to tour Gaudi's Casa Mila; finished the tour; had a snack at Cafe Zurich then walked the entire length of Las Ramblas ending at the Columbus Monument to view the revisionist history; stopped at the internet cafe; did a little shopping across the street from our hotel; saw a classical guitar performance in an amazing old church; ate at a tapas bar we discovered a few days prior
Saturday, May 23: Long taxi ride through Barcelona to the airport, where we finally headed home
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
My Son
Soccer season is over. It was kind of a bust; the last game was canceled due to standing water on the fields and they can't offer a make up day since the fields are undergoing renovation as of yesterday. I didn't want The Youngest and his team mates to be disappointed so I called the coach and offered to have everyone from the team come over to our house for an impromptu end of the season party. I had cupcakes, after all. I managed to call everyone (and actually reached a live person for most of the boys) and they came over. The coach picked up the team trophies and brought those. I set up a table and a bunch of chairs out under a tree next to the lake and all of the snacks (another parent brought goodies too) and we had a party! Coach handed out the trophies by calling all of the boys one by one and giving out high fives and we took loads of pictures. At that point the storm clouds and thunder threatened so everyone took that as a cue to leave. Only one boy fell in the lake so I consider it a huge success!
The Youngest is too cute for words with his trophy. It's his very first one and he is so proud of it. He cleaned and polished it thoroughly before placing it next to all of his dad's trophies in the computer room window. I could just burst with how much I love my kids.
The Youngest is too cute for words with his trophy. It's his very first one and he is so proud of it. He cleaned and polished it thoroughly before placing it next to all of his dad's trophies in the computer room window. I could just burst with how much I love my kids.
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