tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42233376520532082172024-03-13T16:09:27.499+00:00No Place Like HomeA Texas gal and her guy livin' in LondonChristina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.comBlogger233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-89979717409634720932015-03-19T10:00:00.000+00:002015-03-19T13:15:35.967+00:00Freakin' Infertility! <i>Hello, world. I wrote this over a year ago, and chickened out when it came to publishing it. Now that I am nearly 17 weeks along in my pregnancy (with a little boy!), I wanted to share this instead of a big announcement. 1 in 8 couples struggle with infertility, and it is just terrible. I am so thankful that we aggressively sought help with Dr. Hickman at Houston IVF (didn't even need IVF!) once moving back to Texas, after over 3 years of trying. If you are one of the unlucky people that deal with this overwhelming pit of despair (you think I am being dramatic, until you actually deal with it yourself) then get help- you might be surprised that some insurances will cover treatment. </i><br />
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This is something that I have been contemplating writing about for awhile now. It is very personal, and something I don't like talking much about, but I am writing it in hopes that maybe it can encourage somebody today.<br />
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Here is a conversation I had with the adorable little (now 8 year old!) boy I nanny:<br />
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<b>Him</b>: If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?<br />
<b>Me</b>: I like what I am doing right now, living in London, being with you, and getting to travel!<br />
<b>Him</b>: No, it has to be something that you aren't doing right now. What is something you really want to do or have?<br />
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I just half smiled, shrugged my shoulders, and told him what I think he already knew the answer would be: have a baby.<br />
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Sometimes I think there has to be some sort of universal balance scale for each person with blessings on one side, and trials on the other, and one side can't outweigh the other (although I will sill say that my blessings far exceed my trials). I feel like maybe, since I was lucky enough to find Daniel so young and live such a wonderful life together so far, the world would be out of sorts if we didn't have some sort of hardship, and having a baby seems to be one of those hardships.<br />
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But with that being said, I want a baby terribly.<br />
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I want the joy of finally seeing a positive symbol and getting to hug Daniel triumphantly, I want the excitement of telling friends and family, I want the feeling of oneness with a life growing inside of me, I want to be able to graze my hand expectantly over a baby bump, I want to be able to hold and smell and talk to a wrinkly little lump of love, I want to be able to read books with him before he goes to bed every night and sing "You are my sunshine" to her as I rock her to sleep.<br />
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Unexplainable infertility sucks even more, because there is literally nothing you can do to try and fix it (without paying thousands of dollars). Believe me, I've tried.<br />
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Eating more vegetables. Eating more fat. Eating less meat. Drinking less caffeine. Drinking less alcohol. Drinking more juice. Drinking more wine (because how many people tell you it happened once they just relaxed?!). Doing more yoga. Lifting less weight. Running more. Running less. Sleeping more. Resting more. Taking prenatal vitamins. Stressing out less. Not thinking about it. Thinking about it. Tracking it. Not tracking it. Going on vacation. Ovulation tests. Clomid. Blood tests. HSG tests. Testing him. And anyone else who has tried knows what I'm saying, when I say doing this until your legs are pale and bloodless:<br />
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With infertility, you go through many different emotions.<br />
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First, is hope. When you are really trying for a baby and tracking ovulation in order to time everything perfectly, you get REALLY excited during what is called the "Two week wait" (time between, well, trying for a baby at the right time and finding out if you are, indeed, pregnant). "I think I'm feeling sick? Maybe my breasts are sore? I just feel soooo tired all of the time. I should Google when I can take a pregnancy test. I should Google if having a cold might mean I'm pregnant." and near the end of that waiting period (no pun intended), you have begun spinning every single cough, soreness, and craving to mean you are pregnant. You begin planning how you are going to tell people. You begin looking up houses in the 'burbs online. You begin pinning nursery ideas.<br />
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And then, you realize that the symptoms that you THOUGHT might mean you are pregnant are REALLY just your uterus shedding it's lining. Because no, silly, why would you be pregnant this time?<br />
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And with that, hope leads to anger. You know what is fun to scream? F*cking infertility. That somehow makes the anger more bearable. Anger that something that was supposed to be so easy, actually isn't. It was really hard working at my first school, where unplanned pregnancy was rampant amongst the community. These people are eating all of the foods I avoid, lots of them smoke, they never exercise or take care of themselves... and here I am, eating my organic apple and I can't get knocked up for anything.<br />
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The anger, inevitably, leads to an empty, hopeless, black hole of despair. You feel it in the pit of your stomach- this intense pain, this lack of control, this realization that you cannot have what you want so, so badly. You begin to think that what you grew up practising for your whole life, all of those baby dolls you swaddled and pets you nurtured, will have been in vain. It is such a shock to think that a part of life as simple as being a mom might not ever even happen to you.<br />
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And if you try to be positive, hopefully the pain in the pit of your stomach can subside a bit and you can find ways to laugh about it. You know what's funny? The amount of money we spent on birth control. How I REALLY thought I would get pregnant if I accidentally took a pill at a different time. But really, you have to be able to laugh about it. When I'm feeling down, I just google "infertility humor" and find gems like this:<br />
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I guess, through the past few years of infertility, I have learned these two things:<br />
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1. You cannot plan your life around something that hasn't happened. We married young and thought we would become parents when we were 25 (Ha! Now I am grateful that we have gotten to experience things we wouldn't have if we would have had a child by now). I didn't quit a job that I no longer enjoyed because I thought I would hold out until I had a baby. When we were offered years ago to move to London or Paris, we didn't, because we knew we'd have a baby soon. There were countless times when we nearly moved out to the suburbs because we really thought we would have a family shortly after. Then, thank God, we figured out that we cannot just wait around and make choices for something that might not ever happen! I quit my job and went to a school that I loved working at, and then we made the bold decision to move here! It is a great feeling taking control of your happiness when you CAN'T control having a baby.<br />
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2. You cannot let your own challenges make you unhappy for others around you. Not going to lie- it is very, very hard when people close to you have no problem becoming pregnant. But you have to be happy for them. Some people are just blessed with getting pregnant with no troubles, just like I was blessed to find my husband at an early age, just like others are blessed with finding a job that they love, just like others are blessed with great health, etc etc. I have to daily be grateful for everything wonderful in my life, and that makes the whole infertility thing seem not that bad and allows for me to truly, honestly, be so happy for others who are pregnant!<br />
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So, to end this long post, let me tell you how the conversation ended with my little friend.<br />
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<b>Him</b>: Then you need to go to the doctor. You know, doctors can fix that and give you a baby.<br />
<b>Me</b>: I know and I have and I will again, but it is very expensive (and lots of times doesn't work)!<br />
<b>Him</b>: That doesn't matter. If having a baby is your dream, then it is worth it.<br />
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When people can't get pregnant on their own, "What to do next?" is a very tough question to ask. I know before we realized we had this problem, it seemed so easy to tell couples to "just adopt" or "just do IVF" or "you're young- just keep trying". But really, it is SUCH a personal decision and really, no body has any right to tell an infertile couple what they think they should do next and when they should do it. With that being said, our plan is to keep enjoying this season of travelling for as long as we can, and when we move back to Houston if it STILL hasn't happened yet (statics show you have a 2% chance of getting pregnant on your own after 2 years of trying), then we will pull out the big guns and seek the more expensive fertility treatments.<br />
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Okay, that was very cathartic and I thank you for reading my story. I hope, if you are experiencing this same monster, you now know that you are not alone and I would love to hear your experience, too. Also, let me just note that I recognize it could be worse. Some of you reading might have had miscarriages, might have endometriosis, might have complications making a pregnancy absolutely out of the question, and just know that I think that really sucks and I am very, very sorry. And please, if you were lucky enough to not have to go through this struggle, don't do this:<br />
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<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-24205045158868733222014-08-15T13:41:00.001+01:002014-08-15T13:41:50.667+01:00Austin Girl's WeekendOh my! It sure is hard to blog with a full time job :-P I have been trying to find the time to sit down and write about my last weekend spent in Austin, but between work and overbooking my week, I have barely had time to check Facebook, let alone blog!<br />
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Since going to Galveston last week, my life has been gogogo and I have definitely broken in my new car. Last Friday, I went straight from work to Lindsay's house right outside of Austin. She is near and dear to my heart. In the past year, she has moved from the Heights to Austin, gotten pregnant, and now has a 2 month old son named Jack!<br />
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Baby Jack is just so "chill"and was such a good boy! He rarely cries and mostly just smiles, sleeps, and looks around the room with his big baby blues.<br />
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I had found this beer at Specs that I LOVED in Amsterdam called Choffee. I brought some for Lindsay to try, and we ended up having her husband, Andrew, take dorky pictures of us consuming it. I really just wanted to spend time with Lindsay and not do anything too crazy, and that we did! A little poker, some good food, a swing on the hammock, walk to the pool, and of course copious amounts of wine made for an awesome 24 hours together.<br />
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I left Lindsay's around 2 to head off to one of my other BFF's, Anneke's house. We were going to be each other's date to our friend Lauren's wedding, because let's face it, we knew we would have more fun with each other than our husbands at a wedding!<br />
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It was SO nice getting to see so many old faces at Lauren's wedding. Cannot believe that it has been nearly 6 years since we graduated! It made my heart so full to see how great everyone seems to be doing and getting to catch up.<br />
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Anneke and I had talked about going out after the wedding, but I really just wanted to sit in her house and talk in our PJs! I really wasn't up for doing anything Austin-y while in Austin. I just wanted to talk to two friends I hadn't seen in a long time. You don't realize how important it is to have people that really, truly know you until you are an ocean away and don't really have that at your fingertips.<br />
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Before heading back to Houston on Sunday, Anneke and I went to "Sandy's" aka Sandra Bullocks little bistro and had the BEST french toast in the history of all breakfasty foods. Then Anneke showed me her office- it is in the heart of Austin and has panoramic views of the whole city. Very Fancy. </div>
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It was hard leaving Austin, but I am thankful that seeing some of my bffs is only a 3 hour car ride away! Love you girls! </div>
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<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-79276919153238078622014-08-07T14:05:00.001+01:002014-08-07T14:05:48.524+01:00Galveston Girls Gone Wild- Curry Edition <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Everyone has a little town they grew up going to that brings them so much nostalgia. Mine is Galveston. We went to this little island an hour outside of Houston every single summer and often times spring growing up, and memories just come flooding in every time I go back. The same restaurants and shops I went to as a kid are still there. The people of Galveston are the same as people were from back when I can remember, with neon tank tops, tanned leather skin, Texas flags standing proudly in their yards. If you aren;t from Texas, you would probably go to Galveston and declare it a crap town. But people from Houston especially have a special fondness for this coastal town. </div>
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My mom's sister Mary has a STUNNING, HGTV worthy bay house in Galveston and invited all of us gals over for a girl's trip. My mom is one of 5 sisters, and they were all there, plus the head of the roost, Gigi, and most of my girl cousins (although we really wished Hailey and Tiffany could be there). I was so excited because A. I hadn't seen them since Christmas! And B. I start work today and this was the perfect little fun getaway I needed before getting started. </div>
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We met at a cute little restaurant called Farley Girls on Tuesday, and then walked the strand for a bit before heading to Mary's house. We immediately put on our swim suits and became sunbathing beauties, before us younger chicks tried out the paddle board.<br />
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Cousin Kayla was the first to give it a go and she made it look so easy! She was our coach, since she'd done this before.<br />
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At first, it was a bit harder than I thought it would be keeping balance, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy peasy. You also have to get over any fears of falling in the water- it'll probably happen or almost happen a few times until you get the balance.<br />
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I was more into trying to headstand on the board after seeing cool shot of this online. I fell my first try, but got it my second. Holy abs, they are still sore from trying this.<br />
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My younger sister Madeline gave it a go, but wasn't quite ready to stand up yet. I'm proud of her for trying!<br />
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After our swim, Mary took us on a golf cart ride around her neighborhood. Are there any golf courses in this neck of the woods? No. But does everyone drive around in a golf cart? Absolutely. And Mary's golf cart is like none other- it fit almost all of us! </div>
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Keepin' it classy with my glass of Rose on the back of the golf cart.<br />
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We got home, Mary made some delicious crab cakes, and we talked and looked at old pictures until close to midnight. </div>
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The next morning (I SOOOOO wish I took pictures) Kayla, Madeline, and I rode bikes. Madeline's had a baby seat on the back, mine had flat tires, and Kayla got the cool bike. We rode on the beach, which is easier said than done, and we ALL fell over into the sand a few times before Kayla declared "Ima Walker! I'mmmm a walker!"</div>
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We had some scrumptious pasta salad and shrimp thai salad courtesy of my mom and sister before heading out to a friend's pool. </div>
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At the pool, I realized I only had one pad in my bathing suit top (and it happened to be all wonky and folded over), so I discretely took it out and left it on the table. We kept hearing the rest of the time there "Who's pad is this? Is someone missing a pad?" When I admitted it was my pad, my family kept trying to find the other pad. We thought we saw it on the way home, but it was a false alarm. Oh well!<br />
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For some reason when we gals get together, we end up being about 500x hungrier than normal and eat snacks all day. I'm not complaining! </div>
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We found this HILARIOUS picture of me looking at Megan's booty. I wish we could go back in time the 24 years ago this picture was taken and figure out what the heck we were doing!<br />
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My trip had to end Wednesday night after dinner at the marina, since I work today! I'm sad I had to leave early, but thankful for the time we got to spend together. Too many laughs, good eats, and drinks. I love my Curry girls!<br />
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My mom, sister and me :-)<br />
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Cheers to a fantastic girls trip! Love you ladies!<br />
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<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-85000371260709646412014-08-05T07:00:00.000+01:002014-08-05T07:00:03.559+01:00Herbalicious! Last week, I had my mom, Mimi, Aunt Lydia, and Aunt Dianne over for an easy lunch. Everyone brought something as a small hosting gift...like wine (gone), panties (my mom- don't ask), and strawberry pie (halfway gone).<br />
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My Aunt Dianne, along with some beautiful handpicked flowers from her garden, also brought a bagful of herbs.<br />
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The herbs were intended for everyone to share, but I somehow ended up with all of them! I didn't want them to go to waste, so I quickly went to cooking...and I think I came up with some pretty yummy concoctions!<br />
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<b>Rosemary and Basil Chicken</b><br />
Handful of basil<br />
Handful of Rosemary<br />
Squirt of mayo<br />
Squirt of Mustard<br />
Juice of a lemon<br />
Couple of gurgles of olive oil<br />
Chicken breasts<br />
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This was literally me just throwing random stuff together. In a food processor, I pureed the herbs, mayo, mustard, lemon juice, and olive oil. I salted the chicken, put the paste on top, and cooked it at 400 for 40 minutes. Easy peasy!<br />
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<b>Mint Chocolate Ice Cream</b>- from <a href="http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2010/05/mint-chip-ice-cream-recipe-chocolate/" target="_blank">David Lebovitz </a></div>
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How I loveeeeee mint chocolate chip ice cream. It is my favorite! And side note- I do like it to be that pretty pastely green color. But, when making homemade mint ice cream with actual mint leaves, it is just an ever so slight green-yellow color. Not so pretty. But really good! </div>
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Holy COW was this stuff worth all of the fuss. First I had to heat up the cream, sugar, and mint. Then I had to let it sit. Then I had to squeeze the mint to get all of the juices out. Then I had to mix it with egg yolks and heat it up. Then I had to refrigerate it. Then I had to churn it. Then I had to melt dark chocolate and scribble it into the ice cream. Whew! </div>
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Side note- ice cream made with actual mint leaves does taste different than store bought mint ice cream that is usually flavored with mint extract. It really does have an herbal, almost wood-like after taste. Think of eating an actual mint leaf, vs a peppermint. I loved it, Daniel was weirded out by it though. More for me! </div>
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<b>Basil Watermelon Popsicle </b><br />
Few sprigs of Basil<br />
Watermelon (I used probably 1.5 cups)<br />
Optional- Deep Eddy Cranberry Vodka<br />
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I impulse bought some popsicle molds the other day at World Market- I blame it on all of these enticing popsicle recipes I keep pinning on Pinterest! I simply pureed the watermelon, basil, and about a cup of vodka. Poured it in the molds and froze for a few hours. This recipe is so versatile....you could omit the basil or substitute mint instead. You could use any fruit you have on hand. Watermelon is so watery, that it doesn't actually need a liquid to be mixed with, but if you were using berries, I think hibiscus tea would be a good base. </div>
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I love my husband. He usually raves about my kitchen creations, but when he doesn't like something, he really let's it be known, often in a hilarious way. After his first try, he told me it tasted like a salad popsicle. He wanted to give it another go, then proceeded to wash out his mouth and declare that it tasted like watermelon pasta. So, yes, this is interesting. I liked it, but it's not for everyone. I think next time I'll use less basil :-P </div>
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All of this herb cooking has really made me want to start growing the herbs that I use nearly daily for my cooking- dill, chives, oregano, parsley. I've heard countless times that it is so easy. I'm starting with cilantro, and if that goes well, I'll buy some more seeds. If you have any pointers, feel free to give me some advice! </div>
<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-61880811211954330992014-08-04T14:50:00.000+01:002014-08-04T14:51:42.057+01:00White Linen Night This past Saturday was the 8th annual White Linen Night in the Heights. It's described as a huge neighborhood block party...shops have their doors open late, restaurants close their parking lots and put extra tables outside, there are bands playing on the street corner. It has the potential to be great, but usually it is SO crowded (over 30,000 people!) and so hot that I yearly ask myself, "Why am I here?!?"<br />
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Before we even knew White Linen Night was scheduled for that weekend, we had bought tickets to see Ben Kweller at Fitzgeralds (our neighborhood music venue). I actually wasn't planning on attending WLN, but since we were going to one of the main streets anyway, we decided to partake in the festivities.<br />
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We were headed to White Oak (6th street) and live on 16th street, so decided to walk there. Coming from London where we walked everywhere, we figured 10 blocks wouldn't be too terrible. About 3 minutes in to the walk, we were complaining that we had barely made a dent in our walk (how can we only be at 14th street?!?! I totally felt like orphans in Annie walking the 45 blocks from the orphanage to Daddy Warbucks). And then Daniel got pooped on by a bird. It was more like a bird explosion. We blame it on him throwing away this maggot-infested baby bird that a street cat left in our flower bed to die, instead of giving the said bird a proper burial. We took that as a sign we were supposed to drive, turned around, changed clothes, and drove the mile like the lazy Houstonians we are.<br />
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I say this every year, and I'll say it again. I DON'T GET WHITE LINEN NIGHT! Maybe it's because the Heights is my home, but why go out on this one scalding, packed night when I can go to Onion Creek any other night and actually sit at a table? I do 19th street once a week...I am not going to even think of going into one of those shops when I am pretty sure 300 fire code violations are being broken. I'm going to sound like a Heights snob, but I kinda miss the days when we first moved here and people thought the Heights was a dangerous no man's land. I didn't need a reservation anywhere. Didn't have to wait at the 11th street light for 3 go's before getting to drive through the green. Didn't have young fratty neighbors playing the drums at midnight. With that being said, I am happy that the Heights is the place to be, with so many new shops and restaurants popping up because of the extra attention given to it.<br />
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We ended up eating at Taco Nut food truck because every other restaurant was either jam packed or not even serving food. Fitzgerald's was awesome. I hadn't listened to Ben Kweller in about 10 years, but he and Austin's Amy Cook put on a great show.<br />
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We ended our night going to 16th's street Alice's Tall Texan. It is a 40 year old hole in the wall, cash only, beer joint where they only serve Shiner or Lone Star in a frozen goblet for $2.50. We could actually sit at a table and I think we were the only English speakers there, let along the only people dressed in white linen. At least Alice's hasn't been touched by the fancy shmamcy (yet).Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-24533423140805485442014-07-29T16:06:00.001+01:002014-07-29T16:06:06.133+01:00Prague with the Bro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello! Last vacay post....then I don't quite know what I will write about any more! </div>
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My brother arrived in London while I was still in Santorini. Thankfully, Daniel was there to meet him at the train station and show him the ropes of London. I got home from Greece on a Tuesday night around midnight, and the next day at 11 am we were off to the airport for Prague! I could pretty much navigate the airport with my eyes closed at this point! </div>
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We got some yoga bunny detox drink (basically ginger ale...but the name had us sold) and were off without a hitch!<br />
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Our flat in Old Town Square was odd but great! We each had our own bedroom and shared a bathroom...and only paid $40 a night! Prague was dirt cheap which made it all the better. But I say our flat was odd, because it kind of smelled like cats and we didn't have normal pillows- I had throw pillows, and Gregory had what I call bean bag pillows.<br />
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We were a cartwheel away from the astronomical clock, so we knocked that out first thing. Every hour when it goes off, the little doors open and figures of the 12 apostles come out and circle around the clock. It was neat!<br />
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All of the churches in Prague were over the top. Most of them had nightly classical concerts and we went to one featuring a organist, violinist, and vocalist. It was an incredible experience listening to Beethoven and Mozart in a church older than the USA.<br />
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Probably our favorite thing about Prague was their Viennese coffee. It was delicious- half coffee, half whipped cream. We were only in Prague for two mornings, but you better believe that was the first thing we did once we woke up! </div>
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For our full day in Prague, we walked over the Charles Bridge to tour the castle. When you hear "Castle", you probably think palace. But actually, a castle includes much more than just that- we got to see the cathedral, the homes where workers used to live, old shops, and the actual palace.<br />
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I believe the cathedral was around 1000 years old. I've seen more cathedrals than I can remember during our stint in Europe, but they are always impressive.<br />
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The castle is on a hill, so we had the best views of all of the red roofs. So pretty! I think I have to give Prague the title of being the most beautiful city I saw while in Europe. It was definitely the cleanest- not any graffiti or litter in sight! The buildings are all so colorful, too- you have a pink building next to a green next to a yellow next to a blue. It didn't even feel like a real city, it was so beautiful and clean. We kind of felt like we were walking around Disneyworld!<br />
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For some reason, I didn't take any pics of the rest of the castle...but I do have a ton of pictures of the statue with a golden package. It was in front of the palace, and since being around your sibling makes you suddenly have the maturity of a 12 year old, we couldn't stop laughing at it!<br />
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Gregory likes sneak attacking people with the camera when they aren't looking. I was caught being a tourist, trying to figure out where the infamous peeing fountain is located.<br />
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Found it! It is so much better in person. They are standing in a pool shaped like the Czech Republic. And their hips AND weewee moves while water comes out of it. Gosh, I feel dirty just typing that. And I have mentioned a man's nether regions way too many times in this post!<br />
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When we weren't drinking Viennese coffee, we were drinking beer. It was cheap and good! You could get a beer for around $2 at most places.<br />
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Marionettes are a big thing in Prague. Puppet shops are everywhere! They are all beautifully hand painted, but a bit creepy for my taste.<br />
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We later took a river cruise. It was meh and I wouldn't recommend taking one, although it was nice sitting down for a bit.<br />
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There was also tons of music, which I can always appreciate. Not only would people play on the streets, there were also lots of jazz cafes. And if you go towards the end of the band's set, you don't have to pay a cover charge.<br />
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We absolutely loved Prague and I will treasure the memories of my first vacation with just my brother. There wasn't tons to do there, but it was a great city to walk around in, enjoy a lazy lunch, and shop around.
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Happy Friday! Here are the pics from Santorini....so pretty!</div>
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From Athens, we took a highspeed ferry to the island of Santorini. It was still a 4 hour ride, but much better than the 9 hour ferry! Daniel's travel extravaganza had to end in Athens, so he flew back to London while we floated our way to the island. </div>
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We were really surprised with how nice the ferry was. It was very spacious and even had a little store in it. <img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uIOLJnG-mqE/U81C9GQU0DI/AAAAAAAAJFw/r0syDIgPCBM/s1600/santorini3.JPG" height="426" style="text-align: center;" width="640" /></div>
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We were able to walk around, but unfortunately could only go outside when the boat was stopped. We had one stop before Santorini, so we went outside to take pics of the lil island. <img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iaR84etfFD0/U81C8Uq8cSI/AAAAAAAAJFs/7md5crM46cY/s1600/santorini26.JPG" height="478" style="text-align: center;" width="640" /></div>
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Once we arrived to Santorini, we had to pick up our awesome clown car. It's a good thing Daniel wasn't with us- there's no way he could have fit! And the roads were so narrow, I don't think we would have been able to drive a larger car! Our host rented our car for us, and it was only 25 euros a day! We were so happy we had a car. Santorini is a small island, but too large to walk everywhere. We literally saw the whole island with a car! <img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JrGXUGMaRIg/U81C9ip8pvI/AAAAAAAAJF4/Xv8ug1d0l8k/s1600/santorini4.JPG" height="426" style="text-align: center;" width="640" /></div>
Considering there were NO street signs, NO addresses, NO maps, we found our flat relatively quickly! We stayed in the village of Pygros, and I think we were really happy we stayed there versus the more popular Fira or Oia. There were enough restaurants and shops to keep us busy, but it had a very local feel.<br />
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Our house was crazy nice. Like, it could have been on MTV cribs. It was a newly restored house meant to look like a cave house, and it just felt so...Greek! <img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rBCYOKpx55E/U7EeqGXL-hI/AAAAAAAAIA0/7cZ9VUBzTAg/s1600/IMG_20140621_104708" height="480" style="text-align: center;" width="640" /></div>
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This is from our rooftop terrace. We could see the WHOLE north side of the island. It was truly incredible. </div>
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The sunsets were worthy of applause. We had a great view from our hot tub (that we could never manage to get hot!). Side note- Santorini was warm during the day, but downright chilly at night! </div>
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Donkey tours are a thing in the main villages, but in Pygros, they were just a part of the culture. This (barefoot) man was moving rocks up and down the windy streets in Pygros. We glared at us when we took his picture. </div>
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There were SO many beaches, and all of them beautiful. The majority of them were black sand/ stone beaches. And that sand was scorching! But the water was cool enough to keep us from getting too hot (and it was crystal clear).<br />
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There was also a red beach there. But it was a hike down, so we just took a picture then left! </div>
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And ohhhh the wineries. They were just great. The first one we went to was family owned and over a century old. Those barrels were I believe 80 years old. And to try wine, it was only 90 cents! This one was our favorite.<br />
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You stomp on the grapes where the table is, then is flows out into the well. It gets filtered through the woven basket. And if we would have come later in the year, we could have stopped by and helped them stomp! I have a new dream: to work at a winery in Santorini. </div>
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Grapes were all over Santorini- they grew wildly. I tried one, but it was super sour. Give it a couple of months, and I'm sure it would have been delicious! </div>
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This picture cracks me up. Nanette is REALLY contemplating the complexities of her Visanto (a really delicious sweet wine only in Santorini) and I....I don't even know what I'm doing. Nearly every place we went to for a drink or to wine taste would give us a snack to go with it, which is really surprising when you think about how inexpensive a drink was. I believe it was 4 euros a glass of wine at this place, and it came with greek yogurt with a fruit compote over it and bread. Yum! </div>
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This winery was probably our second favorite. It was also family run and nearly 200 years old! The grounds were stunning as well. </div>
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They gave us 7 full glasses of wine to all try as a group. And guess what- I'm the only one who really likes wine. So I had A LOT of wine at 11 in the morning. </div>
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This winery also sundried their own tomatoes and then make it into tomato sauce. They let us try some, along with their home grown cucumber (sweeter than the variety we are used to- almost tasted like honey dew). All of the wineries were just so quaint and accommodating to us! </div>
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And if you are like me and need more than just a sip of wine, you go to the grocery store and fill up a 1.5 liter plastic water bottle with your cheap wine- straight from the barrel! Every large grocery store had something like this. We REALLY need to bring this concept to Texas. </div>
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As I said previously, the restaurants and bars really treat their patrons with utmost respect. They are all family run- the papa is at the door greeting customers, the children are your waiters, and the momma is the cook! At this restaurant, they brought us a whole bottle of some sort of liquor they made themselves to start us off, and then when we were done, brought us ANOTHER bottle of the liquor, along with brownies. That stuff was strong and pretty gross. But we didn't want to be rude! So we mixed it with diet coke that Nanette had stashed away in her purse. Towards the end of the meal, we were taking shot left and right of this liquor. I am cracking up just thinking about it!<br />
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The shopping was fantastic in Santorini- so many locally made items, and it wasn't too pricey. After a winery, we stumbled across a little leather shop. It's a man and wife business, and the husband was hand making shoes as we walked in. I think we all ended up with leather shoes, belts, or bracelets. </div>
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I regret not buying one of those wind chimes! ARGGGG! </div>
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There's also an archaeological site on the island. The ruins are from a village that was destroyed by a volcano in 2000 BC! The ash from the volcano preserved the ruins perfectly. Those vases are all still intact- some were found with old food in it. Because they didn't find any people, they believe that the villagers escaped...most likely to have gotten killed by a tsunami that came after the volcano.<br />
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I really, really loved Santorini. It was the perfect place to go to for relaxation. Although it seems like we did so much, there really wasn't much to do on the island other than layout, shop, and drink wine- my personal paradise!<br />
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Also, I was pleasantly surprised with how non-touristy Santorini felt. Don't get me wrong, everyone there treated us so nicely....but the island just had an authentic feel to it, and I was expecting more of a resort island.<br />
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And that concluded our Bond family travels! We had an unforgettable 2 weeks together, and I'm thankful we were all able to explore Europe together! OK, next update will be about Prague with my brother....stay tuned!<br />
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Hi everybody! I hope you are ready to sit back and look at my Athens pictures...they turned out amazing! Much better than my normal cell phone pics (these are almost all pictures that David took). </div>
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Athens was not quite what we all expected it to be. Well, Daniel and I went with somewhat low expectations. We'd heard that Athens was a bit rougher than most other cities we'd been to. If you go to Athens, just know it is a modern yet economically disadvantaged city that, yes, has ruins, but also has loads of graffiti, beggars, stray dogs, etc. With that being said, our pictures make it look like a beautiful city, and parts of it were! But I think it was a shock going from beautiful, picturesque Rome to Athens. </div>
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The first day, we checked into our awesome flat (love airbnb!) and then walked up Filopappos Hill to get an incredible view of the acropolis.<br />
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There were tons of stray dogs in Athens, yet they all seemed to be taken care of. I later learned that the government vaccinates and I believe neuters the stray dogs in Athens. So at least they are somewhat cared for! They were all really sweet and would follow us around everywhere. I wish I could have brought one home!<br />
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The next day, we did the whole Acropolis and all of the ruins that are included with your ticket. Towards the end of the day, we were definitely ruined-out! It all started to look the same. Not to mention, it was pretty hot there!<br />
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The acropolis is constantly under construction. In fact, the majority of it is actually a model. Most of the real stones are in the British museum!<br />
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At this building, there were tons of security guards and several nicely dressed Chinese people being filmed. We later found out it was the Chinese prime minister! And he was staying at a hotel on our street, so we had lots of police and security guards around our area. </div>
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We loved the shopping in Greece- it wasn't too expensive, and it was easy to find souvenirs that weren't generic and tacky. We walked around the little neighborhood of Plaka and the flea market, looking at handmade leather goods, jewelry, and foods to take back with us. </div>
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OH! And Kristen and I got our feet eaten by fish. I felt totally fine about it before getting started, until I had my feet over the water and the lil fishies were swarming the top, jumping out in excitement to gnaw at my feet. And then the feeling of them nibbling was pretty creepy. But after awhile, we got used to it and enjoyed! But no, my feet weren't as smooth as I hoped for them to be. I'll stick with a pumice stone.<br />
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More ruins......I think these were the last we saw and I was over it at that point.<br />
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We had a really nice restaurant near our flat called Smiles. We ended up eating there two nights in a row! They had the best gyros we had ever had, and it was all really inexpensive. They also had little white rocks that you could decorate while waiting for your food. It was a nice place to sit outside, enjoy the breeze, and watch the world cup.<br />
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Really, the food and drinks were very tasty and inexpensive in all of Athens. Like Rome, you could get a liter of wine for 6 euros or less. And I loved the Greek wine (really, I like all wine)! </div>
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A sweet kitty became our friend while eating lunch one day. We quickly learned why you don't feed the stray animals in Athens! Towards the end of our dinner, she was nearly sitting on the table trying to eat off our plates. Yuck! </div>
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We had a great time being together in Athens, but it's definitely not a place I need to go back to. We were there for 3 nights, and by our 2nd full day we were running out of things to do. Next post will most likely be about Santorini....and then I need to write about my brother visiting! </div>
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<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-65331796827424611362014-07-21T13:53:00.000+01:002014-07-21T13:53:03.146+01:00Rome take 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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You're going to read this post and think, "Wait, didn't I already see these pics?" The answer is kinda sorta. We went to Rome for Valentine's Day, stayed in the same area, and saw very similar things. We both really love Rome, though, and didn't mind seeing the city again with Daniel's family. But yes, even though we already took pics 4 months ago of all of the ruins, food, and architecture, we couldn't help but pull out our cell phones to take pictures of the impressive sites. <img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1YYyb-AhsiI/U7EdDoQRKAI/AAAAAAAAH7Q/utJI2So85jI/s1600/IMG_20140617_105740" height="480" width="640" /></div>
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Since we had already done the main tourist things, we mostly wandered around aimlessly, gelato in hand, walking in to random shops and churches. </div>
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Also, it rained a bit while we were there, which actually turned out to be a blessing as it cooled everything down from the normal 100 degrees to about 75. </div>
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Our flat was literally 3 buildings away from the Pantheon. Under our flat was a little restaurant that actually had some pretty good food and wine. Daniel chose to get a beer the size of his head! We probably ate there everyday, just sitting outside and watching all of the people! </div>
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We walked with the family towards the Colosseum, even though we weren't planning on going in again. Even though I had seen these sites before, they were still just as impressive!<br />
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We also devoted a day to just go into churches in our neighborhood. After about 5, they all started looking the same!<br />
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And of course, we have a strong belief that when in Italy, you must eat gelato at least once a day. But it is perfectly acceptable to have it both after lunch and dinner.<br />
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And the food was just extraordinary! Carbonara, pizza diavola, focaccia, ravioli, lasagna...everything was delicious! Not to mention you can get a liter of wine for less than 6 euros at most of the restaurants. My kind of place!<br />
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I think Rome was our favorite destination during the Bond trip extravaganza and it was hard for Greece to compete with it. I'll post next time about Athens!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cedar Creek, not Rome. But close! Just switch out pasta for fried pickles and limoncello for St. Arnould's beer.</td></tr>
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Welp, I had plans to blog about Rome, but after looking at my pictures, I realize that the BEST photos were the ones David took and I haven't received many of those yet. So I think Rome will have to wait!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guard dogs on our fancy new chairs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New sofa is Dakota approved!</td></tr>
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I cannot believe I haven't even been back in Texas for a week. Although I guess the fact that I am still waking up at 5 am proves that I haven't been out of London for too long, we have accomplished so much in the past several days! Lots of unpacking, furniture buying, and home repairs. We still have a longggg way to go, but we sure did make a dent!<br />
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Speaking of repairs, our dishwasher broke today. I was SO looking forward to no longer hand washing dishes, too. Oh well!<br />
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Also, today is Daniel's birthday. He bought himself a projector for his man cave, but I have been busy whipping up some homemade vanilla bean ice cream and peach cobbler (wish fresh peaches). Aye! A labor of love indeed, and I hope that he likes it!<br />
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And now for something completely random...I spotted this little guy in the tree outside my window this morning while I was (hand) washing dishes. Can't really decide if I think he is cute or completely disgusting. As long as he doesn't make his way into my house, I think I'll stick with cute.<br />
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On second thought, look at that tail. EEK! Disgusting.</div>
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OK, that's enough fun for today. Everyone have a great Thursday! </div>
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<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-82129300840969410062014-07-16T15:19:00.001+01:002014-07-16T15:19:10.972+01:00Bonds Do London<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have a lot of backtracking to do! Daniel's parents, brother, and sister came to London on June 12...Can't believe it was over a month ago! We were SO excited for them to visit and I think we woke up around 6 am that morning and waited outside for their car to drop them off. It is a red eye flight to London from the Houston and it is nearly impossible to sleep on the plane, but surprisingly, they didn't seem too jetlagged! We hooked them up with some coffee and crumpets and we were off to explore! </div>
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Side note- these pictures are a mix of my cell phone, Nanette's (Daniel's mom) camera, and David's (father in law) camera. David is a really great photographer, so it is probably obvious which ones are his and which are ours!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us in front of our flat. David I think took this picture right when they arrived</td></tr>
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They were only in London for a few days, but we did SO much. It all kind of runs together! The first day, we walked around Picadilly Circus, to Trafalgar square and St Paul's Cathedral. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Cider! Yay for an 18 year old drinking age! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bad choice to break in new shoes that day. </td></tr>
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I had to leave to go nanny, and I came home around 6ish to everyone passed out on the floor and couch. They were running on 36 hours of no sleep! I'm really surprised that they were able to last as long as they did. Everytime I come to London from Texas, I physically cannot function for at least a day. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I cooked dinner that night since I knew everyone would be way too tired to go out</td></tr>
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The next day, Daniel had to work so I was the main tour guide. I cannot believe how much we did! We went to Buckingham Palace, met Daniel at Borough Market, went to Greenwich, took the boat from Greenwich to Tower Hill, and then walked to Tayaabs to meet Daniel for dinner. I'm tired just thinking about it! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I saw the changing of the guards for the first time! Not impressive, but it was a beautiful day and fun being with family!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We needed a jumping picture. Kristen gets bonus points because she was able to manage while eating ritz crackers. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LOLOLOL My face looks like an evil scheming child's. This is in Greenwich, overlooking the naval college and Canary Wharf</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boat ride rocked! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone loved the Indian food! Tayaabs is the bomb.com</td></tr>
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The next day was our last day before Rome! We went with the family to Westminster Abbey and then to Tower of London. I had never been to the Tower before and I'm really glad we went! The building is 1000 years old and there we saw old dungeons, the crown jewels, and where traitors used to get beheaded!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearly the girl behind me didn't enjoy the Tower as much as I did! Oh and Mason is photobombing</td></tr>
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If you go to the Tower of London, you absolutely HAVE to take one of the tours with the beefeaters. It is included with your entrance fee and I think they run every 30 minutes. We learned so much about the history of the building and the tour was the highlight of our time there. </div>
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That's all for now! Next post will hopefully be about Rome! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, that isn't melted orange plastic. It's QUESO!</td></tr>
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I am writing to you from my beautiful, noise-free, spacious (and empty) home in Texas! It is good to be sweating my bum off, getting attacked by mosquitos, and eating disgusting amounts of Texmex here in Houston. </div>
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It has been so hard not blogging this past month, especially because I had so much to share with you all. Six cities (5 countries!) in the past month, with 6 different visitors. Be prepared, because I will be bloggin allllll about it. But first, I just want to share with you some thoughts I have with being back in Texas after a little over a year in London.<br />
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- First of all, we are both just so grateful that we took the opportunity to live abroad. Believe it or not, we were really hesitant at first to move. There were a lot of small steps that seemed like huge obstacles at the time that needed to be taken care of before moving. Figuring out what to do with our house, my new car, our dogs. Missing family, friends, milestones. What it meant for our life and our future. It was a bit scary, but now that our London season has come to an end, those huge "what ifs" just seem silly to me and I get sad to think that those small technicalities nearly prohibited us from experiencing all that we did. London was just a short chapter of our life, but made a huge impact. The benefits outweighed the cost, and if anyone has the opportunity to go live somewhere else for a spell, I say GO! Everything will fall into place, and even if you hate it, well...it's just a short part of your life.<br />
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- I learned that the world is as big as it is small. There were times when I felt like I was in another dimension, and other times when I felt like I could very well have been in my backyard back home. I think the factor that always brought me back to the notion that the world is small is the interconnectedness of humanity- the need for a smile, for connection, for kindness. Granted, I didn't go anywhere too crazy, but all of the places I did go to had more in common with each other than differences.<br />
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- Being in a new city where everyone is a stranger made me realize how important friendship is, and I had to really put myself out there to meet people. I am just so tickled when I think of the friends I made while in London, because lots of them were friends that I wouldn't normally have come across while in Houston, and yet I feel such a strong emotional connection with many of them. I read something about how we tend to become friends with people just like us- there is an attraction that initially brings us to befriend like-minded people. But when we befriend people with different energies and life paths, we learn more about ourselves and the world around us. I had friends ranging from 8- 70 and from all over the world. My heart is just filled with so much love and gratitude for all of them, and they truly made my experience in London THAT MUCH better.<br />
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Ok, now on to lighter things I have thought of while living in Houston these past 2 days...<br />
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1. We are LOUD. I mean, wow. Waiting in customs, I could hear about 5 different conversations going on at once. No one knows what an inside voice is here in Texas.<br />
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2. We are informal. I am having to change the way I speak to be less formal, because I think I am coming off as rude. Here, people really do speak to you like you are their best friend...even if you just met. And I love it.<br />
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3. We are so friendly. My driver was a no show at the airport. This sweet man saw me freaking out, and asked if I needed to borrow his phone (I didn't have a US phone yet). Another example: Daniel and I were looking for a recycling box to throw away our cardboard boxes in. We went to Walmart and asked a young worker outside. They didn't have one for the public, but she offered to take our boxes and put them with Walmart's boxes. Their kindness really made our day, especially because in London, everyone is in their own world and people usually wouldn't stop to help others.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new car! 2014 Ford Escape...really love it so far!</td></tr>
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4. Driving is awesome. I just have to keep repeating "Right side. Right side. Right side"<br />
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5. Why, oh WHY, do we feel like we need so much "stuff"? I never realized just how much I had until unpacking. Really? 25 wine glasses? 16 everyday place settings AND fine china place settings? 8 pots? 4 skillets? 10 towels? 5 sets of sheet? It's strange going from having 6 place settings and 2 towels to this.<br />
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6. And I have a new appreciation for space. I have more cabinets in my master bathroom than I had in my whole London flat. And my drawers have 7x the volume as my ones in London. Heck, my closet is probably larger than my UK kitchen. We left TX thinking our house was so small, and now we don't think we will ever need anything larger than our 1920's, 3 bedroom bungalow.<br />
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7.Cornball alert: There really is no place like home. It is just so comfortable walking through Target with Daniel, meeting my family for lunch, taking the dogs to the park, waking up in my cozy bed, drinking Shiner, etc. etc. We truly are thrilled to be back!<br />
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So, that was very indulgent and wordy. In fact, so wordy that I couldn't bare to do a proper proof read. Next posts will be more pictures, less chatting. Thanks for reading!<br />
<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-59373455582414233912014-06-11T09:16:00.000+01:002014-06-11T09:16:03.397+01:00Lasts <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite mug that I drink my coffee out of every morning. </td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The sun has been shining brightly for about 18 hours of the day. It sure is hard to leave London when the weather is this perfect and the city seems to be so infectiously alive. </span></div>
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It's funny comparing this time last year to this time now. The year has flown by, and we are both so thankful we made the choice to move here, even if it did end up being only for a year. All of the sacrifices (moving is very stressful, not to mention I quit a job I loved and we had to be apart from family and friends) that we had to make to spend a year in London were definitely worth it, and the idea of us saying "no" when the question to move here first arose makes me sad to think about.</div>
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What keeps coming to my mind is how everything just seems to fall into place- there is no need to worry or bust your butt to force things to happen. Last year we were so stressed out about moving- would we find renters for our house? What would it be like losing my income? Will we hate London? I see how having those worries didn't help anything and made for some unneeded anxiety. Remembering this is keeping me sane while preparing to move back to Houston, knowing that what needs to get done will get done and everything will just work out. </div>
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So, that's where my mind has been recently. Reminiscing on this past year and legitimately excited to find out what will happen in this next chapter of our life! Also, I don't tend to be a sentimental person, but I find myself lately being one of those people that starts every activity with "This is the last time I'll ____". </div>
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This weekend was my last weekend to be alone with Daniel in London, as his family arrives tomorrow!!! And my brother comes in a couple of weeks!!!</div>
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We were blessed with sunny 80 degree days, so on Saturday we went up to Hampstead and enjoyed some beer gardens. </div>
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Unfortunately I forgot how to smile, and look derpy in ever single picture. We also went to a new burger place that just opened and followed that with dessert from Louis, a Hungarian Confectionery. So good! </div>
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On Sunday, Daniel went to see a movie with a friend while I did some chores around the flat. Then, we did one of my favorite things- walked along the canal to Regent's Park. The Queen's Rose garden in Regent's is blooming in full force and has been something I have been wanting to walk through for awhile. It is only blooming a few months out of the year, so I'm happy we got to walk through there one more time. </div>
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Speaking of blooming flowers, the Hydrangeas in our front garden are beginning to bloom! So exciting to see that some beauty has come from the past 8 months of cold, dark and rainy days. The parks are so lusciously green and it's like the streets are lined with different flowers.<br />
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This week has been my last week to nanny for my little loves, too. I am pretty sad about that one. I have bought them each their own stationary set, complete with gel pens in every color and stickers. I also went ahead and stamped/ addressed some envelopes to myself to ensure that they'll write me!<br />
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On a lighter night, I am also counting down the days until I can say "This is my LAST TIME to have to hand wash dishes!" Cannot wait to have a dishwasher again, along with my large kitchen and oven. Because my kitchen is an overwhelmingly disaster of grimy dishes every night that I cook.<br />
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<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-10811601389400872882014-06-03T09:32:00.000+01:002014-06-03T09:32:00.035+01:00Primark If you go to London, you will undoubtedly walk by a huge building with bright blue lettering called Primark. You might be curious to check it out, but before you do, here is my experience with it. It ain't for everyone.<br />
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What is Primark? Imagine the dingiest Ross in Tijuana, and then combine that with Walmart the day after Thanksgiving, and add 3,000 foreigners all dragging rolly carts literally packed full with random things like 13 pairs of baby shoes, 4 sets of sheets, and enough underwear to keep a small country commando-free, and you have Primark. I hate myself and everyone in it when I go, but it is dirt cheap. Bra's for £4! Shoes for £6! Dresses for £10! The two big Primarks are along Oxford street and it's inexpensive goods might be a welcomed surprise after walking through Selfridge's and Liberty.You just have to handle staying in line for 40 minutes and dodging obstacles, like women trying on clothes in the middle of the aisles or screaming children running through clothes racks.<br />
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I've successfully been twice. The first time, I bought a bra, hangers, coco butter, gummy bears, and a £24 puffer jacket. Last week, I bought another bra, towels, and pink wedge sandals that I at first thought were cute, but then later on realized they screamed "Made in a sweat shop by a 4 year old in China", so I took them back. When I took them back, I attempted to try on clothes for the first time. HA, that was fun! I nearly ripped the paper thin fabric of the first dress I tried on, and I kind of felt like I was getting closer to catching a rare but serious disease with every new garment I tried on. I nearly bought this as a joke, but then came to the realization that no amount of bleach could kill the bacteria living in it, so I passed it up.<br />
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I say, if you're curious, poke your head in, but don't waste more than 30 minutes there (which you will if you plan on buying anything. I swear I've waited longer in line at Primark than at Disney World). Going to Primark twice this past week has given me a new profound appreciation for Target. </div>
<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-82187717346786208772014-06-02T09:12:00.001+01:002014-06-02T09:12:25.710+01:00Lately...Happy Summer to most of my teacher friends! Here, there are a lot of breaks during the school year, so summer is only from July 18- Sept 1 for kids. I think I prefer the longer summer and less breaks. There is something so nice about knowing you have a solid 2.5 months of watching Live with Kelly, drinking margaritas at 4 pm, and reading the day away.<br />
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I have been keeping myself very busy, and I've been bad at documenting everything with photos. These past several days, I...<br />
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--Saw 1984. I loved it. My pal Erica slept through all of it. Literally, all of it.<br />
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-Ate delicious tapas with the other Xtina and complained about terrible landlords in London.<br />
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-Ironically enough, the next day, I had a call from the realtor showing our flat. Side note, it sucks living in a rental property and having to leave for the flat to be shown to other potential renters. Daniel likes scattering ear plus around the flat in an attempt to warn them all, but I want everything to look perfect so that new tenants can be quickly found and I can stop worrying about leaving the flat at random hours for it to be shown. So, anyway, realtor calls and says, "We have found someone who is interested in moving in! I just want to make sure that you are moving out June 21st. That is what the owners listed as your moving date."<br />
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I could feel my blood boiling at this point. We have our flat until July 21, not June, although I move out a few days before then. NOT ONLY is this in our written contract, but I verbally told our landlords AND our relocation agent sent them an email reminding them of this a few weeks ago. Especially because we have a rental property, I just cannot believe their stupidity in making a pretty big mistake. So, these past couple of weeks, I have been leaving the flat for absolutely no reason, since the people seeing the flat wanted a June move in date. And if the realtor wouldn't have double checked with us, there would have been new renters trying to move in while we were out of town with Daniel's family.<br />
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We have had so many issues with our landlords this past year, and I cannot wait to be in my house again. Did I tell y'all about the time, after 4 crazy days in Madrid, we came home so excited to sleep...we walked in to our flat, and ALL of our stuff was out of our laundry room, scattered through out the flat (including my lacy underwear!) and there was a strange man painting the inside of the laundry room (because of all of the repairs that need to be done, I suppose they thought the color of a closet was the most important thing)?!? When I called the landlords, they apologized, saying that they figured we'd be gone longer, totally missing the point that it is the coming-in-to-our-flat-while-we-aren't-home-without-telling-us-and-then-moving-all-of-our-crapthat was not okay! Ok, moving on!<br />
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-Saw Fatal Attraction with Sadia. Fun sitting up close and seeing Charlotte from SATC and Karen from Californication!<br />
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- Met Daniel at a pub. Also ate dim sum at Yauatcha until we felt sick.<br />
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-Went on lots of runs to calm my moving anxiety and renter rage. Plus, it has been sunny and 70 degrees. Love it!<br />
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Ok, I think that covers all of what's been going in. Have a great week, everyone!<br />
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<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-20424724799731865502014-05-28T11:03:00.000+01:002014-05-28T11:03:00.074+01:00Texas Excitements People have a bad habit of constantly looking forward to the next big thing, instead of appreciating what they have going on in the NOW. However....I need things to look forward to in regards to moving back home, or I get a bit depressed that I am leaving London. So, here are the top 10 things I am looking forward to in Texas!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister and brother </td></tr>
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1. Seeing family and friends, of course! One of my best friends will have just had a baby boy and I cannot wait to meet him. Already looking forward to getting my nails done with my sister, roadtripping to Austin to see friends, and being less than an hour's drive from family.<br />
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2. My new job! I will be a PK assistant at Kinkaid, and I am ecstatic to work at such a prestigious school. I think this will be the perfect job to help me transition to being back in the classroom after a year off.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cannot wait to be back in my bed- no more springs digging in my back, fighting for space with Daniel, and sleeping to the sound of stomping landlords above us! </td></tr>
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3. Being back in my house. Lord, how our perspective has changed since living in this dark, tiny, loud London flat. I cannot wait to be back in my beautiful Heights home. We laugh how before we moved here, we thought our house was too small, too old, too much of a handful. Now, it seems like paradise compared to London living.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://theinspiredroom.net/2011/08/01/backyard-ideas-not-just-a-housewife/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Great way to add some interest to my very boring fence and get some herbs too!" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/b7/76/62/b77662287cfbde51200c5f23c6677c05.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can easily do this to my new fence! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://apprenticeextrovert.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/diy-outdoor-day-bed-reveal.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea.... For my dream porch! Perfect for large country porch overlooking woods or lake" src="http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/cc/28/6d/cc286dbe50aa4d061af09b9297095613.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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4. Speaking of being home, I have a lot of Pinterest projects to complete in the month before starting work. Before moving, we built a patio and while we were in London, we also had a new fence built in our backyard. I am excited to spend time in our yard (after a year of having a wet, rainy, cold cement patio in London).<br />
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5. Still not done with home excitements- buying new furniture for our house! We gave away our old living room furniture, so I am busy planning and pinning away different bungalow living room ideas.<br />
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6. No longer having to convert dollars to pounds! I can afford to shop again...Hello, outlet malls!<br />
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7. I don't look forward to driving, but I do look forward to having the option to drive instead of riding my bike in the rain, or waiting 15 minutes for the bus, or walking the mile to the tube station.<br />
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8. These babies to cuddle with. But I am NOT looking forward to the endless amounts of shedding that comes with them. BTW, Cole is wearing a diaper in the first picture because she was in heat before we were able to get her fixed! We called it her "big girl panties" and I actually had to put a maxi pad in her panties for her. Fun times!<br />
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9. Brisket. Fried pickles. Queso. Dos XX. Taquitos. Trader Joe's. A big juicy steak. Cheez its. Annie's Bunnies. Freebirds. Chickfila. Lupe's. Cedar Creek. $6 pitchers of Shiner at Bingo.<br />
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10. Starting new adventurers in Texas. Someone told me that "the adventure is over", but I don't look at it that way. London has changed our perspectives and I think we will view Texas in a whole new light. I think we will take more weekend trips, spend more time with loved ones, and enjoy more of the culture that Houston offers. I think we'll take the time to walk instead of drive, see a play at the Hobby Center instead of staying home, and be more inclined to try new things.Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-19670390112654203912014-05-27T10:00:00.000+01:002014-05-27T10:00:14.785+01:0036 Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hi! So, I guess it's time to announce on here that in 36 days, Daniel is moving back to Texas, and I am to follow him 10 days afterwards. It's bittersweet- I don't feel "done" with this London chapter yet. But, I am thankful to have had this time here and maybe one day we will get to have an experience like this again. And if not, well, I really don't think Houston is that bad anyway. I am excited to eat Tex Mex, be around family, and live in my old house again.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plus, I am excited to not have 24/7 rain any more. Daniel and I had a picnic planned for yesterday, but had to cancel it due to rain. It just isn't the same having a picnic inside. </td></tr>
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Plus, it's hard to feel sad when we have SO much going on these next 36 days. Here's a countdown...<br />
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16 Days: Daniel's family comes to visit and we will have 6 people in our tiny one bedroom/ bathroom flat (which is hilarious, because our flat is also being shown right now...people are going to think we run a brothel with the amount of air mattresses we will have scattered around our flat).<br />
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19 Days: Back to Rome, this time with Daniel's family. And all Daniel and I are planning on doing it eating gelato and pasta.<br />
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23 Days: Athens with the family.<br />
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26 Days: Daniel's back in London, I go to Santorini with The Bond's. We are in walking distance of several wineries, so I am pretty excited for that.<br />
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27 Days: My brother comes to London from Paris. Daniel will pick him up from the train station.<br />
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29 Days: Back in London for a hot minute before...<br />
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30 Days: Prague with Gregory! It'll just be the two of us<br />
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31 Days: The Bond's return to Texas<br />
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36 Days: Daniel goes home...<br />
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40 Days: Gregory goes home...<br />
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46 Days: I go home!<br />
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And in that time, we need to pack, sell/ get rid of a bunch of random things we have bought in London but don't need back home, cancel utilities here, start utilities in Texas, etc etc. I'm not that stressed about it because I know leaving London will be much easier than leaving Texas was last year. It'll all get done!<br />
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I'm really excited to share our day trip to the Cotswolds with you. The Cotswolds are near Oxford, starting about 70 miles north of London and a 100 mile trail of little picturesque, thatch-roofed villages. It's somewhere that I really wanted to see, but it always seemed like so much trouble, because you need a car to get around. I refuse to drive here, and Daniel has once before and said he'll never do it again. SO, when our friends Bailey and Tristan told us that they wanted to take a daytrip and didn't mind driving, we jumped on the opportunity tag along!<br />
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We rented a car through zipzar- you can either pay an hourly or daily rate, and it really wasn't too shabby when being split amongst two couples.<br />
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They picked us up around 8:45 and we were off! First stop was Bibury, about an hour and a half from our flat. Bailey and I had both read great things about the village, but it was SO small and we couldn't find any shops or pubs. I think we just didn't look hard enough? The houses were cute, though!<br />
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Next stop was unplanned- it just looked like a cute town, so we decided to have a look! Bourton-on-the-Water, also known as the Venice of the Cotswolds. It didn't even look real, and I think it was really built up to look old. Everything was a bit too perfect. </div>
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The next town was all of our favorites- Chipping Campden. We spent a lot of time there, and if you are going to the Cotswolds, I highly recommend this town. It was just touristy enough, but mostly full of people that actually live there. There were a handful of pubs, ice cream shops, and little antique stores. </div>
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We went to two pubs- The Red Lion....and I can't remember the other one. We had a cider at each, and lunch at the second one. It was actually pretty good, for being pub food! And cider is always the perfect compliment to a warm day (the hottest of the year in the UK!). </div>
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The NEATEST church was in Chipping Campden that we truly enjoyed exploring. There was a wedding going on, and it seemed like the whole town was there! As we walked to the church, it seemed like every little cottage's door was opening, with a little old lady hobbling out, shouting at her neighbor to come along so they don't miss the ceremony. </div>
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There's something about old English churches and cemeteries that I just love. There's such a feeling of peace and you feel so small when reading the tombstones of people that have died 500 years ago. </div>
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Next, we were able to find a walking map and took a 5 mile hike into the countryside. First, we got to pass some old cottages. They don't ever get old to me! I really want to stay in one, one day.<br />
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The hike was incredible. Gorgeous views, wild flowers, and LOTS of sheep. Plus, it was so sunny and warm out. </div>
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Our sheep story:<br />
We were sitting down, watching the view, and there was a sheep next to us chowing down on some grass. There was another sheep baaing in the distance, and every time the sheep next to us kept baaing back to it. She started to sound angry, and then we turn around and see it was her baby she was baaing to! The baby runs full force to her momma, baaing hysterically. Bailey goes "AWWWW, we are about to see a tender moment!" And then the baby sheep head butts the momma in the groin, making her stumble, and then starts going to town on her nipples for some milk. It looked painful! And then after baby got her fill, she started rolling around happily in the grass. It was really freaking cute.<br />
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After our hike, we got some ice cream and asked the shop owner for another good town we should see. He suggested Broadway, and we went, but I think we were too tired at this point to enjoy any more sights. We had heard of a pub called Falkland Arms, deemed to be the "best pub in the UK" and decided to drive there, before heading home for the night. </div>
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The pub was really old and in the middle of nowhere. I think there were more dogs than people there. We were so, so tired that we just stayed for a bit before going back to London.<br />
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Fun, fun times. I'm so thankful we got to go with Bailey and Tristan!<br />
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Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-85148895141626040262014-05-19T14:18:00.000+01:002014-05-19T14:18:10.255+01:00Sick GirlHello all,<br />
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I had plans for a nice long post about our trip to the Cotswolds over the weekend, but I have come down with an evil flu that incorporates a nasty stomach bug with extreme lethargy and headaches. Fun! And I just don't have the energy today to do much more than drink chicken broth and lay in bed without falling asleep every 10 minutes. So, here's some random pictures and I promise I'll write a longer post once I feel better.<br />
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Last week I took the kids to Cafe Rouge (a french chain here in the UK) for dinner and we got to sit outside and enjoy the gorgeous sunny weather. They always want me to take pictures to put on my blog :-D</div>
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Miranda wanted you readers to know that she recommends this book, called Wonder. It about a boy who has some physical deformity, but the reader never really learns what it is. Each chapter is a different character's perspective. Sounds pretty good!<br />
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My family friends Carol and Jim came to London, along with their friends Teresa and Pat. We went to have some ciders at a cute pub by where their hotel was, and then had some delicious tapas. A great lunch!<br />
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On the way home from dining with them, I rode by Kensington Palace. Had to stop and take a picture!<br />
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Ok, sorry for the random post. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better!Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-63411329910877906422014-05-16T10:37:00.001+01:002014-05-16T10:37:35.031+01:00Barcelona: Tapas, Montjuic, and other various Catalonia <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hi, all! This is going to be my last post about Barcelona...I'm ready to move on and write about different things! I'm fitting a lot into this post, so be prepared! </div>
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On our last full day in Barcelona, we slept in pretty late and then went to Quimet & Quimet for a tapas lunch. I didn't realize this, but it was featured in one of the episodes of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. It was hands down my favorite place we ate ate while there! </div>
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It's a 100 year old, family run LITERAL hole in the wall. It is tiny and standing room only. There's a little 5 foot long bar where all of the tapas are made before your eyes. All of the montaditos (a little bread with various toppings), glasses of Sangria, and most of the wines were under 3 euros.<br />
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The montaditos we had were so exquisitely simple. We had: yogurt with smoked salmon and truffle honey (took the whole salty sweet thing to another level), goat cheese and sundried tomato, pate with mushrooms, and mussles with caviar. Plus two glasses of really tasty Sangria, all for only 20 euros! If you go to Barcelona, you HAVE to go to this place. No, really. I insist. And if you don't know what to order, just ask the waitress to make whatever she feels like- that's what I did, and it didn't disappoint. </div>
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Some of these pictures were actually from the day before, but I am already forgetting what we saw on which day. We walked to Montjuic (a park in west Barcelona that offers panoramic views of the city), and on the way saw some interesting sights. This is why we prefer walking to taking the bus or subway when we go out of town- we are able to stop and see so much. There was a parade going on (we are unsure what it was for, but it featured wine barrels).<br />
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We were able to take cable cars to the top of Montjuic- such a nice rest for our feet! The views were stunning and truly, you could see the whole city from the top.<br />
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There's a castle on the very top that used to be a prison and execution grounds, where 4,000 prisoners were shot here during Franco's reign.<br />
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It was a very relaxing, quiet area. There was a little trailer selling coffee, beer, and other beverages. Really, the perfect spot to go and soak in a beautiful day in Barcelona. This was probably my favorite attraction.<br />
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We sat in the grass, admiring the views and talking for a good part of the day. A great way to end our vacation.<br />
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We took the cable car back down about half way, then walked the rest of the way down the hill and back to our flat to (of course) chill on our terrace until dinner time. </div>
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To end our last night, we had paella and then went to what Daniel calls the "secret sangria bar". It isn't secret, but not exactly what you would find in a tour book. All locals there. I love Sangria in Barcelona- I only had it a couple of times, but it isn't too sweet. It's made with MARTINI vermouth and a splash of fanta, plus some orange slices.<br />
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The next morning, while walking to catch the bus back to the airport, I took this picture because I was in shock of the amount of pigeons. I was too scared to get closer, in fear that they'd all fly off and poop on me.<br />
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In a nutshell, I loved Barcelona and I'm glad we got to go!Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-58116938387609282062014-05-15T09:31:00.000+01:002014-05-15T09:31:11.919+01:00Barcelona: Sagrada, Picasso, and Magic Fountains<div style="text-align: left;">
I wish I had a pedometer on during our second day in Barcelona- we must have walked around 7-10 miles. I'm exhausted just thinking about it!</div>
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We started our morning with Barcelona's most famous attraction- La Sagrada Familia. We decided to walk the 4 KM there, since we wanted to see more of the city, anyway. I had purchased tickets to see Sagrada Familia about a week before we left (I learned my lesson in Amsterdam with being unable to see the Anne Frank House) and I'm so thankful I did that- the line must have been over an hour long! </div>
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The old front vs the new back look like they belong to entirely different churches. The front almost gives the illusion of things melting. The back is very geometrical. Daniel gave the back, geometrical nativity the very artistic term of being "Jesus blockheads" because, well, their heads are all block shaped! </div>
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It's taken over a century to be built and is projected to be complete in 2026. I guess there are bound to be several different styles if it takes that long to be built, but it is still strange- it seems like nothing really belongs together! </div>
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In the back was an old school house. Gaudi had it built to school the children of all of the builders. </div>
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The inside all had an incredibly modern feel to it. It didn't look like your typical Catholic church, that's for sure! I loved all of the stained glass- it was just a mosaic of color, there were no depictions of biblical scenes. It gave the impression that there were different colored light bulbs in the church, as the whole area by the window would be illuminated in green, red, or blue. </div>
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It literally looks like Jesus is ascending into heaven on a parachute. Or I guess if he's on a parachute, would he be descending to Earth? Hanging around the parachute were grapes and candles. It was stunning.<br />
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After the church, we walked to a tapas bar and had a Spanish beer, along with tuna, eggs with chorizo and potatoes, padron peppers, and tomato flat bread. It was good, but I was disappointed at this point that we couldn't find as good of food as we did in Madrid. I needed Ashley and Kiko to help us navigate!<br />
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Afterwards, we walked to the Picasso Museum. It's free on Sunday afternoons, so we had to wait in line for about 30 minutes. It wasn't bad, though- there were a couple of men playing their violin and accordion, and they were actually quite impressive.<br />
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I think I'm just not a museum person. I rather be walking around a city than stuck inside a museum. I've also seen a ton of museums at this point, so maybe that's why. The museum was beautiful and in an old gothic building. However, I wouldn't go back if I had to pay (London's free museums have spoiled me). If you want to go to the Picasso museum when it's free (starting at 3 pm on Sundays), go around 2:30. The line gets REALLY long after then and you end up having to wait even longer. </div>
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We took a little afternoon break and went to our flat to enjoy the terrace. Around 8, we headed to Plaza de Espanya for a free "magic fountain" show. Sounded quirky to me, but our host insisted that it was really cool! In typical Spanish fashion, it didn't start until 9:30 PM, so we ate first and then walk the 3 KM there. </div>
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It was crowded, but enjoyable! I'm not sure if it just runs during the summer months, but it is a 15 minute light, music, and water show that runs on repeat from 9:30-11:30 PM Fri-Sun nights.<br />
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A very, very full day! I think I have two more Barcelona posts in me, and then I'll get back to normal life in London!Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-70566664002798994642014-05-14T11:57:00.000+01:002014-05-14T11:59:35.843+01:00Arriving to Barcelona<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We're back, a bit more sunburned than we left and with very, very sore feet. We were in Barcelona for the past few nights and loved it! We took hundreds of pictures and managed to do so much that I am trying to figure out how to best organize my blog posts. </div>
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First, our flat. I always look forward to checking out our flat once we arrive. They have all been so different and give a little taste of what it is like to truly live in the city. Our Barcelona flat truly did not disappoint. What it was lacking in size, it made up for with perfect panoramic views and design (Seriously, I want this chick to come decorate our house. She had awesome taste). </div>
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We had a small studio, with this winding staircase that led to our rooftop terrace. We would go to the market, buy some jamon, manchego, and cava, and spend hours on the roof everyday. It was definitely my favorite thing about our trip to Barcelona!<br />
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Other than simple cheeses and meats, the market also had pigs head, tongue, and lots of questionable meats. We are adventurous, but decided to pass on the heads. </div>
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I thought we'd spend more time on the beach, but we only checked it out on the day of our arrival. It was warm but windy! And so crowded! We enjoyed walking around, stopping at beach bars, and people watching. <img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SMQQ-3WTnok/U3JDzG_e2zI/AAAAAAAAFz4/ckim5gR5On4/s1600/IMG_20140510_160924" height="480" width="640" /></div>
Sangria made with Cava. Was a little too sweet for my liking, but still refreshing to sip on while on the board walk.<br />
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Lots of musicians in Barcelona! This was one we listened to for a bit while on the beach. </div>
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Other than checking out the beach, we also explored the Gothic Quarter once we arrived, since it was where our flat was situated. It was interesting just meandering through the narrow, winding streets. Although we weren't looking for it, we found the Barcelona Cathedral and decided to take a peak.<br />
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True story: I didn't even try to go into the cathedral. I was wearing shorts and figured it wouldn't be appropriate to go in (and honestly, kept seeing other gals in shorts get turned away from going inside, and didn't want to face humiliation). So Daniel went in while I stayed outside. So take note, if you are going to Europe and want to check out churches, make sure you are not in shorts or a dress that is above knee length. It sounds like a no brainer, but when it is 85 degrees and you're spending your whole day walking around in the heat, you don't think about wearing your Sunday best!<br />
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In front of the cathedral was a full on band playing what I am guessing to be traditional Catalan songs. People, mostly local seniors, would get in circles and dance to the music, placing their purses and backpacks in the center of the circle. The dance consisted of them just slightly moving their feet while holding their arms up. I'm sure their arms got tired!<br />
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So, that was a very full half day in Barcelona! I'll write more in the next couple of days about Sagrada Familia, Picasso, the best view in Barcelona, and, of course, the FOOD (because what is a vacation post from me without a detailed account of what we ate?!). </div>
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<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-65252547738465009542014-05-07T09:23:00.001+01:002014-05-07T09:23:46.524+01:00Brighton Beach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This past weekend was a long weekend for us, as we had a bank holiday on Monday. We knew that we wanted to take a day trip somewhere, so we ended up going to Brighton, a beach town about 50 minutes south of London. </div>
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I was skeptical about what to expect. Local Londoners like Brighton, but I think it's how a local Houstonian would view Galveston- there's nostalgia there, but would you recommend it to a tourist? Probably not. Like Galveston, Brighton is known to be a little seedy, and to be honest, Rick Steves doesn't even mention Brighton in his England tour book, so I went with a bit of doubt. </div>
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One of the main attractions is Brighton Pier. It's kind of like Kemah, but much older and ricketier. Daniel wouldn't go on a ride, in fear that it would malfunction and he would plummet to his death. </div>
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Brighton is known for its "Brighton Rock" candy. I'm sure it's delicious, but I didn't try any. I was for some reason expecting poprocks or those rock suckers.<br />
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After strolling around the pier, we walked along the pebble beach. It wasn't nearly as crowded as we thought it would be, considering it was a bank holiday weekend. It was so relaxing hearing the waves and seagulls. I am a beach bum at heart.<br />
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Although the rocky beach was a bit annoying to walk on, it was very smooth to sit on. The rocks were nice and warm, and we could have sat on the beach for hours. But thankfully we didn't, or our skin would have melted off.<br />
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We walked past two weddings, and one was in the pavilion in the above picture. We spotted some traditional British fashion-woman with huge fascinators, men wearing kilts, gentlemen wearing top hats and velvet blazers. <img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HngO7uUU-RE/U2nh1rwRQeI/AAAAAAAAFs0/ZLR_Zrns07U/s1600/brighton3.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></div>
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The water was freezing! I don't know how these people could manage to go in. Really, the day was a bit cold. Warm sunshine, but a bighting wind made it about 55 degrees. That's why we didn't feel our skin burning.</div>
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No, I'm not "Double Fisting" (which, side note, never say that term in England. It means something completely different and horrifically sexual. I learned that the hard way). I'm just holding both of our Kronenbourgs while Daniel takes pictures.<br />
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On our way back to the train station, we walked by The Royal Pavilion. King George began building it in the late 1700's. Its Indian style makes it stand out in the mostly Victorian city, but I like how unique it is for English architecture.<br />
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I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Brighton, but I wouldn't recommend more than a day there unless it is warm enough to really lay on the beach for awhile. And go, knowing this is a town where the Brits go for an easy vacation, but not necessarily where a tourist would go (I'd go to Bath or Cambridge before Brighton if I only had a short amount of time in England). It's gritty and not as well groomed as other English cities, but it has a beach, so I'm sold! </div>
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When Daniel and I moved her in July, it seemed like the sun had absolutely no effect on our skin here. The weeks leading up to the move, we were at the pool, beach, or river and our skin had a healthy amount of color. In London, we could be outside all day long in the sun and our skin color wouldn't even get a shade darker (or redder). </div>
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Well, fast forward through months of virtually no sun to about 4 hours of sunshine, and you get this:</div>
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Sighhhhhhhh. It was 55 degrees. I had to wear a sweater, for God's sake. We were outside for probably 4 hours. And now my neck and face are redder than a lobster.<br />
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Ironically, we had been making fun of all of the beet-faced English people outside getting burnt so easily. And little did we know, our skin was just as burnt as theirs.<br />
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I almost wish my arms and chest got burnt, too, just to even the color out a bit. I currently look ridiculous in anything other than a turtleneck.<br />
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The best part is, I wasn't wearing any make-up other than a dab of concealer on a pimple I was trying to hide. No hiding it any more- there is a pale ring proudly highlighting my lovely zit now!<br />
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And now I am terrified at the prospect of what will happen to my skin once we move back to Texas. EEK!<br />
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<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4223337652053208217.post-52355975781380748732014-05-02T10:00:00.000+01:002014-05-02T10:00:48.692+01:00Pissed as a PirateI'm writing to you with my tail between my legs and sad, sad puppy dog eyes. I'm sorry I've been such a bad blogger. I really don't have any excuses other than I just haven't felt like writing. I hope this post will make up for it!<br />
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Since I don't really have any pictures to go along with the story I'm about to share, I hope these random pics of my stroll in Golders Green Park will do. Imagine me basking in the sunshine, slurping down a cone full of dark and mint chocolate gelato (as opposed to going for the run I was prepared to do) all whilst telling myself that I'll be a healthier person after _______ (it keeps changing. I think I'll just settle on being a healthier person once we move back). <br />
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OK, on to my story that has nothing to do with the previously shown pictures.<br />
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On Tuesdays, I take Michael to Tae Kwon Doh and have an hour to kill while he's kicking, punching, and hiy-ahing. There's a cute, trendy little boutique nearby called One Seven One. Picture old wood floors, exquisite Parisian silk tops, and snooty, skinny sales ladies.<br />
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Despite fearing a Pretty Woman type moment happening to me at the shop (I'm a hot, just-biked-up-hill-and-no-my-hair-is-wet-with-sweat-not-rain mess), I go in and try on some overpriced, flowy tops and try not to do the pound to dollar conversion in my head.<br />
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These sale girls put a whole new meaning to the word snooty. Dressed in head-to-toe black, hair perfectly straightened and in place, wearing 4 inch heals. They don't even bother to look up from their cell phones when I walk in (I am now thinking that they probably thought I was homeless or something). When I do ask for help, they look up from their phone and in a barely audible, upper class London accent, give me a one worded answer.<br />
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Here's the thing about the English. Despite being sometimes snooty, they are always quietly polite. They simply ignore weird behavior. It's an unspoken rule. You don't make conversation with strangers. Someone could be threatening to kill everyone on the tube, and still a British person will quietly mind their own business and pretend like they hear nothing.<br />
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SO, my arms are full of impulse buys that I'll regret the next day when this bear of a woman come stumbling into the shop.<br />
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She's wearing oversized, highwater green pants with a too tight shirt that is also green, but not the same shade as the pants, but also not enough of a contrast to really go together. Her hair is all over the place and smells to high heaven. She makes me look like I could own this hoity toity shop. And actually confuses me with sales girl.<br />
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"Ex...ex....exchuse me, Ay need...ay need...some shoes," the lady slurs to me, leaning her sweaty body on a rack full of $100 tops.<br />
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I just stare at her. The sales lady just stares at her. Finally, because it is simply against their DNA to be outright rude, the sales lady walks up to her and asks, "What kind of shoes?"<br />
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"Nah, nah, not shoes. AY need...ay need....(she looks around store and spots the jewelery case) some jewels!"<br />
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So the sales lady walks her to the jewelry case. And this is the conversation that continues, as the drunk tries on random baubles.<br />
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"But...but....ish it shtretchy?"<br />
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"Yes, it stretches to fit your wrist."<br />
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"But....can I shhhhh stretch is?"<br />
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"Yes"<br />
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"But...but...how...how ishhhh it shhtretchy?"<br />
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"The material."<br />
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"Oh. Will....wiillll....will I be...alllllergic to the shttretchy?"<br />
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"I'm not sure. Other people react to jewelry in different ways. Are you sensitive to different metals?"<br />
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"Yeshhhhh! Yesh I'm sensitive! I'm very sensitive!"<br />
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"To certain metals?"<br />
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"Ohhh....(falls over jewelry case). That one. I like that one. Give me that one."<br />
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The high class sales lady pulls out this ugly, fake gold ring displaying a massive, knuckle covering green crystal. And she actually proceeds to let this crazy lady try it on.<br />
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At this point, I'm just sitting on a chair, watching the show, holding my purse close to my side. I think the lady is going to drunkenly run out with the ring on her finger, but no, she stumbles to a mirror and admires her newly adorned finger.<br />
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"I like thishhh ring. I'm buying thishhh ring."<br />
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Then, her eyes fall on me, and to the other staring sales ladies, and she says, "I'm so sorry, girls. I'm simply pissed as a pirate right now", starts to gag, recovers without puking all over the store, buys the ring, and stumbles out to the next high end boutique.<br />
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I look at the sales ladies with huge eyes, just waiting for something to be said. But nope, they act like nothing out of the ordinary has just happened, just ask me if that'll be all, and ring up my blouse. Because the English can never be anything other than polite.<br />
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I laugh thinking about the pissed as a pirate woman waking up the next day to an itchy finger, confusedly staring at the green rock weighing her hand down, wondering if it is simply a figment of her alcohol-induced imagination, and then going back to bed, all while wondering where in the hell did she find this bauble at?<br />
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The people of London will never stop being entertaining.<br />
<br />Christina Bondhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08480812624894266027noreply@blogger.com0