You take the high road and I’ll take the low road and I’ll be in Scotland before ye! And if you didn’t sing that, why are we even friends?

After our visits to the German Christmas markets, we were not only prepping for our next trip to Edinburgh, but we were also prepping for a slew of guests. Now, one thing I can say for sure is that through this entire process, from the decision to come to England, all the way through now (and I can confidently say even until we return), one thing that we have never felt was an absence of love and support from our loved ones. And, that truthfully, has what has made this entire thing possible and worthwhile!

But enough of that sappy crap. The reason I brought it up was because between December 22-January 20, we had quite a few visitors, and it was awesome. The first to arrive were our friends Kim and Drew. When we decided to move, they decided they were coming for Christmas so we wouldn’t be alone. It was sweet and they kept their promise, so obviously they’re really good people. Anywho, Brian picked them up from Manchester airport on the 22nd (quite hungover from the Christmas party the night before, but that’s another story), and then that same day, we drove from Harrogate to Edinburgh, which was only a measly 3 and a half hours away. 

Now, why on earth would be torture two people who were showing us so much love by making them get off a red-eye flight, and into the car for 3.5 + hours, to a vacation spot? Cause we are mean. Nah, just kidding. Since they were here for the holidays, we wanted to make sure that we went to Edinburgh (their biggest request) while things would still be open, so it was then or not at all. So, they were troopers, especially Kim since she was in her first trimester of pregnancy at the time (woof, you want to talk tired—and yes that’s public now so I can say it—yay!) and made it all the way to Edinburgh with minimal napping. 

So, we’ve been told Edinburgh is a really neat city and well worth the visit. Admittedly, it was never on my must see list; however, I’m certainly glad we made time to visit and I can guarantee we will be back for other events in the summer since it is so close to us now. Edinburgh is a very picturesque city with loads of history. We were also fortunate enough that their Christmas market was still going on as well, so we even go to experience that as well. So, want to know what you can cram into a 36 hour visit to Edinburgh? Here goes!

We arrived in Edinburgh in time for dinner. We had made a few stops on the way down for various reasons, so we decided that we didn’t need a full blown sit-down dinner and that we could grab a bite at the Christmas market. We wanted to get to the market at night, because if you read my last post, you’d know, that Christmas markets are really neat to see at night with all of the lights, decorations, etc. So, we parked the car at our Airbnb which was about a twenty minute walk from downtown, and headed towards the market. 

The Christmas market was pretty impressive with all of its lights and rides. If Asher were a couple of years older, he would have never wanted to leave, so lucky for us, he was still in the stroller taking it all in! You could only enter the Christmas market from one side of the park in which it was held and they were clearly counting the number of people who were inside the park; however, we’re not entirely sure why. Normally, you’d think crowd control, but that did not appear to be a thing since it was super busy. When we arrived, we quickly realized that the market was a bit pricier here compared to the markets in Germany because a mulled wine (which is glühwein) cost 5-6 pounds (so equivalent to 7+ USD) in Edinburgh whereas glühwein in Germany cost 3-4 euros (so equivalent to 4-5 USD). But, when on vacation, right?

We strolled through the market taking in the sights and window shopping the various merchants before ordering Asher a sausage and ourselves a delicious treat. I will say we have been really lucky with Asher so far and eating most things that are given to him. It makes traveling much easier, especially in situations like this. That being said, he also can put some food away (he is my son!) and he ate an entire sausage here (and many other times in Germany too…) Kim, Drew, Brian and I saw these delectable looking cheese fondues that we ordered which came in a bread bowl. Kim and Drew got the standard cheese and Brian and I got the garlic cheese. And you can’t go wrong with cheese, right? RIGHT. It was DELICIOUS and I want more as I’m typing this, but obviously that can’t happen, but in all seriousness, it was the perfect treat that truthfully was enough for all of us for dinner. It took us about half an hour to go through the remainder of the market, where we purchased a couple of ornaments and Kim got some fudge, before heading back to the airbnb. 

Kim and Drew were champs and made it all the way past 9 p.m. which is impressive, before calling it quits. Brian and I, however stayed up to watch the Eagles/Dallas game since it was a big deal. Now, as avid football fans, it has been really annoying watching from over here because if the games are 1 o’clock games, you’re fine because they start at 6 here, which is totally reasonable. However, if they are 4 o’clock games, like this one was, they start at 9 p.m. here, which is fine for the first half, but not the second! And if it’s an 8 p.m. start, forget it. We just wake up and look who won. So this game happened to start around 9:25 p.m. and we did manage to watch it until the end—and thank heavens they won, or we would have been SUPER cranky the next day!

The next day we woke up and walked to the Bakery behind the Airbnb. We grabbed some treats and coffee before driving over to the entrance of the hike up Arthur’s Seat. Arthur’s seat is in Holyrood Park in the middle of Edinburgh and its an ancient volcano which sits high up (800+ feet) so it gives you some of the best views of the city, which is truly did; however, you do have to walk up it! We were actually pretty lucky with the weather (really the entire time we were there) but in general with the hike because when looking at the radar, it didn’t look promising, but we pushed on because we have learned you can’t let a little rain stop you in the U.K. There was a brief moment where it started to sleet about three quarters of the way up, but it quickly went away and because the rain made a brief appearance, we also saw beautiful rainbows from the top as well. It took a bit to get to the top, but once there, it was worth it. The view was gorgeous. However, the wind was so brutal, that I actually wouldn’t go near the edge since Asher was attached to me, and forget about getting a group picture. The wind even took the rain cover for the diaper bag right off and blew over the side of the mountain. Let me make this clear, if I was the one carrying the diaper bag and not Asher, that bag would have been history; however, Brian, being Brian, chased it somewhat down the side, where it luckily got caught in a crevice, so we still have the bag. I’d like to hike it again when we go back in hope that the wind is less abusive, so we will see!

After our morning hike, we headed back to the Airbnb to drop off Brewski and park the car before heading into the city for exploration and grub. We decided to walk the Royal Mile up to the castle and to find a place to eat there. For those of you who don’t know what the Royal Mile is, it’s essentially an old picturesque street that leads to the castle full of shops, etc. Other than for the pretty views, I wouldn’t declare it a must see in Edinburgh; although admittedly, it would be difficult to miss if you wanted to see the castle, which is a must see. So ignore me.

We originally tried to grab lunch at an old, popular pub; however, it was jam packed so we went to a local restaurant instead. The beer was good and the food was okay—but let’s be clear, you don’t visit Scotland (or all of the UK for that matter) for the food. After lunch, we walked the few hundred yards to the Castle. The castle is a pretty impressive fortress standing from the outside. I was surprised that the admission was almost 18 pounds; however, once inside, it is important to note that it is far more than just a castle—it’s also home to military garrisons and museums, prisons, chapels, etc. so you do really get a decent amount for your money. You do need a few hours here if you want to explore it all. We decided to be smart and head to the top of the castle first, and work our way down. The castle is far from wheelchair, a.k.a. stroller, friendly, so we took turns going in and out of the buildings. 

The castle is full of rich history dating back to the Iron Ages, but offers a wealth of information in regards to the Scots getting it back from the English in the early 1300’s. In its history, this castle has been the most besieged in all of England—and if there’s one thing you need to know about Britain is that it has ALOT of castles.  The oldest dwelling at the Castle is the chapel dedicated to St. Margaret, who died there in 1093—she was originally a queen who lived there. It’s still a functioning chapel, but very small in size. The Scottish Jewels are also housed there, which are the oldest Crown Jewels in Britain. They were first used for Mary Queen of Scots in 1543 for her coronation—which she then had to give up the crown to her 13 month old son because she was a woman. Stupid gender laws. Throughout the castle there were also prisons which were created there, and proved to be quite formidable in housing many prisoners of war. There is also a museum of military history on site. As I said, there was tons to see and explore, and we saw what we could in our limited time, but I do look forward to visiting again for the Military Tattoo in August!

After touring the castle, we decided to give the Scotch Whiskey tasting experience a try. Brian has been testing out all different types of Scotch here as he goes once a month to a whiskey club. I have not been because I don’t fancy Scotch enough to go; however, when in Scotland, right? And I’m really glad I did because I learned a lot about the making of Scotch as well as about the different types. The experience starts with a barrel ride through some history and through the scotch making experience, then continues with a scratch and sniff part to determine the most popular ingredients in the different areas where Scotch is made, shows you a video of all of the areas of Scotland to break down the different areas (which makes you want to go explore all of Scotland and its breathtaking beauty) and then ends with a tasting and explanation from a tour guide. I decided to try a lowland whiskey which was tasty and smooth—but one dram was certainly enough for me. Drew and Brian got a flight too, to try the various kinds of whiskey ranging from the lowlands, to speyside, to the highlands (sounds like I know what I’m talking about, huh?!). Poor Kim, who actually loves whiskey, went without because she is already sacrificing for her child—so worth it as we Momma’s know, but I’m sure that was hard on her. I would actually recommend doing the experience because it was really informative and fun to experience, and it only took an hour and half tops. 

After that, we decided to meander to the pub where JK Rowling wrote much of Harry Potter because I just needed to see it, and think that maybe some kind of muse worked for her there, so maybe some muse could work for me? Nah. But I did see the quirky place, and I’m glad I did. We then took a different route back to the Christmas market to explore that one more time, grab some grub, and some beer before heading back to the hotel for the night. It was a quick visit to Edinburgh, but it was fun, informative, and well worth our time. It just goes to show that even if something isn’t a must-see on your list, you never turn down an opportunity to explore somewhere new because more than likely, you will be pleasantly surprised.

We headed home to Harrogate for the Holidays and for Asher’s first birthday for a brief “break” before heading back to Deutschland and exploring the city of Munich with Brian’s parents in early January. So mar sin leat (goodbye) for now Scotland, and get ready as Germany was preparing to say willkommen zurück (welcome back) to the Garbutts!

Brian and I have always lived our lives as after-Thanksgiving people. Meaning, you cannot celebrate the Christmas spirit until Thanksgiving has come and gone. However, it definitely was different for us this year since we live in a country who doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving at all. As soon as Halloween was over (which also isn’t fully adopted here like it is in the States), the Christmas lights were up and the carols were playing. Now, don’t get me wrong, stores all over the States do this as well; however, there isn’t, in my opinion, a clear feeling of Christmas spirit until after Thanksgiving back home. But here, October 31st is over and BAM! It’s Christmas time. 

So, the weekend after we celebrated our Friendsgiving at the Castle, the Christmas market was set-up in Harrogate. I’ve been to “Christmas markets” before back home, but the Harrogate one put them all to shame. There were tons of vendors selling a variety of items from sheep wool blankets to beef jerky. Brian and I also tried roasted chestnuts for the first time, and they were actually pretty good. We visited the market a few days in a row since it was right around the corner from our house. 

But while the Harrogate Christmas market put all of the ones I’ve been to in the States to shame, the German Christmas markets made the Harrogate Christmas market seem like a joke. The Christkindlmarkt originated in Germany centuries ago, so needless to say, they do them right. Brian and I have talked about going to the Christmas markets since we knew we were moving over here, so we didn’t waste anytime to make our way to Deutsche Land over the holiday season.

Our friends Jayson and Jami live in Wiesbaden, which is outside of Frankfurt, so we had multiple reasons to visit Germany. They were gracious enough to put us up for a few days and take us around to four different Christmas markets. Frankfurt is a direct 1 hour and 40 minute flight from Manchester, so it was easy enough to get to!

We flew out on Wednesday, December 11th and arrived in Frankfurt around dinnertime. The first night we just relaxed and caught up with our friends. They, like us, are living overseas away from family, so it was really nice to commiserate with good friends in similar positions; although, they admittedly have it harder since they live in a country with an entirely different language! 

Thursday morning we woke up with Asher super early cause that’s what he does now. He’s a 6 a.m. riser, ladies and gents (although, I shouldn’t complain since most of the time he will sleep 10 hours through the night…). Anywho, Brian and Jayson walked to a local bakery and picked us up some delicious treats for breakfast. Brian and I have a local bakery in England that we visit most Saturdays to grab some pastries or flapjacks (which are not pancakes by the way), and they’re good, but no where near as good as the pastries we got in Germany. Brian picked up two different treats for us, one being a cherry treat which was SO GOOD.  It was a pretty relaxed morning around the house.

As soon as Asher woke up from his morning nap, we decided to head into Wiesbaden for some lunch before exploring their market. Now, as stated in my previous post, and multiple times before, we had made it clear to Jayson and Jami that one food we did want was a good burger. So, they took us to a local restaurant that was called Das Burger for some burgers and beers. They promised that they offered really good burgers, and they truly did not disappoint. Brian ordered a spicy burger and I got their burger of the day which included a variety of cheeses and truffle mayo. 

A side note here. When we arrived, Asher was particularly fussy (for him). We are incredibly lucky because Asher is the most flexible baby I’ve ever met and he takes all of our traveling in stride, so it was weird to see him this way. It didn’t take long to see he was really hungry, which we quickly came to see was a bit of a growth spurt, so I shared some with Asher, along with the food we packed for him and he seemed to cheer up a bit. But he ate a significant amount of food for him, which made me grateful their food portions were generous! 

After lunch, we headed over to the Christmas market. Now, when walking into the market, it’s impressive to see all of the wooden structures and decorations they put up just for the brief Christmas season, but I was so grateful they did. If you go to a German Christmas market and don’t feel the holiday spirit, then you are simply a grinch. 

The Wiesbaden Market was spread out, so despite the fact that it was relatively busy (particularly for the middle of the day on a Thursday), it didn’t feel that way. Prior to heading to Germany, we learned from friends here that each Christmas market has their own mug. So when you buy a glühwein (the traditional hot drinks of the markets), then you also pay a fond (deposit) for the mug. If you return the mug, you get the 2-3 euros back, or you can simply keep the mug as a souvenir. So, when we got to the market, one of the first things we did was buy some glühwein and the Wiesbaden mugs. Jayson and Jami explained that they preferred weissglühwein, or white wine, compared to the traditional rötglühwein, or red wine. So we followed their lead and we learned that we too prefer the weissglühwein. 

We meandered through the market looking for things that we may have wanted—we truly were keeping our eyes peeled for Christmas decorations over anything else. The market itself has tons of food and drink stands, shops, and rides. We spent an hour or so there before heading towards Frankfurt by train to check out their Christmas market.

On the way, Jami explained that she thinks Christmas markets are fun, but that she believed they were definitely better at night. Having arrived in Frankfurt towards dusk, I can see why she says that. There is a bit more magic at night with all of the lights on top of the already ornate and magnificent decorations. Frankfurt’s market was spread out within a section of the city, so this also helped make it feel a little less crowded; however, it was clear that this market was much busier (which was probably a combo of it being in a bigger city and that it was dark and after work hours). We meandered through the market with our glühwein before grabbing a kaiserwurst, a.k.a cheese filled sausage (SO GOOD). We purchased a couple of ornaments, but most of our time in Frankfurt was spent taking in the wonders of a Christmas market at night!

The next day we had a later start because Asher had a really rough night, meaning so did Mommy and Daddy. I think, in hindsight, it was the growth spurt mixed with being somewhere new, but woof, it was brutal. Because of this, we hung around Jayson and Jami’s house so Asher could get in a good morning nap before heading to a local restaurant for lunch. They said their German food was good, including their Schnitzel, but did recommend saving the schnitzel for the next day. After perusing the menu, Brian and I ordered the Chicken Cordon-Bleu and a peppercorn schnitzel to split, and share with Asher. Both were delicious and Asher ate them up too. 

After that, we walked to the train station to catch the train to Rüdesheim. This is a quaint, quintessential German town on the Rhine River and the Christmas market was sprawled along the old streets along the river, making it a breezy, crisp night indeed. This market was spread out, but a bit tighter than the others, but mainly because this market was held on their small, old town streets. We had some glühwein here, as well as glùhbier. Warm beer sounds gross, but it was actually delicious. It tasted more cherry-esque, but wasn’t too sweet nor was it sour tasting. Brian tried a smoked salmon dish at the market, but I was still so full from lunch that I couldn’t even eat dinner. I did nosh on a pretzel so that I wouldn’t wake up hungry in the middle of the night, but that was all I needed. We purchased a cute wreath decoration and an adorable gnome here as well. This market was really cute and probably the most aesthetically pleasing market we visited! We left the market around 7 to get back to get Asher to sleep, especially since he had such a rough night before.

Asher’s night went better than the night before (but that’s not saying much). He had a bit of a rough night again, but it was significantly better than the night before. He was waking up pretty early (which seems to be something we haven’t been able to shake since—SEND HELP)! On Saturday, we decided to visit the Kloster Eberbach, which is a monastery and winery. When I think of Germany, I think primarily of beer because, well, it’s me, but Germany is also known for its wines, particularly Rieslings. We just so happened to be in the wine region, so we had to make a stop. This place was both beautiful and neat. We didn’t tour the monastery for many reasons, but mainly because we had lunch reservations that we didn’t want to miss; however, it was an interesting place for sure. It was originally constructed in 1136 by the Cistercians, and functioned as an Abbey until the 1800’s, when it eventually came into the state’s hands. In the 1940’s, it was sold to a winery, and has evolved from there. We went into the tasting room to try some of their wines, which was absolutely free as long as you purchased one bottle, which is crazy to me! We tried a few different wines, including a few Rieslings, a rose, and a red. Their one wine was really good, so we purchased a couple of bottles before heading to lunch!

For lunch, we went to a restaurant that Jayson and Jami explained was a place they visit weekly because it’s too good. This is where we were told to get Schnitzel, so we did. I ordered the Wienerschnitzel and Brian ordered a goulash dish. We also ordered a cheese and onion appetizer to start that was very pungent, but it was delicious. This was definitely the best meal we had while there. It was crispy and delicious. This restaurant was also on a vineyard property, so on the way out, they had a box with bottles of wine that you could purchase on the honor system, for 5 euros (how cheap!). Brian wanted the halbtrocken, which is semi-dry Riesling, which of course wasn’t in the box, but a man in the tasting room went to grab us one. It was pretty good, especially for 5 euros! 

After lunch, we drove about an hour and a half to get to our final Christmas market in Traben-Trarbach. This market is unique in that the market is held in various wine cellars in the town. That’s right, the market is underneath the town! There were five different sections of the market—the first two sections were shops, the third was predominantly food, the fourth was shops, and the fifth was all drinks. It was definitely a different feel, and unique market that offered some neat things. We purchased as couple of decorations here and some of them truly were steals. We had sausages here as well (so German, and some more glùhwein too!). 

Side note: something that I’ve found to be particularly interesting about our explorations in Europe is how different codes, etc. are. For instance, the final market we went to would never fly in the states because there was only one way in and one way out, so fire marshals would shut that down. Also, the lack of accessibility to many places for those with special needs was also astounding—but I guess that’s what happens when you have to preserve things built in the 1100’s!

Anywho, that ended our Christmas market experiences in Germany for the year (or so we thought—more on that later), but we already promised Jayson and Jami we would meet them in Cologne (pronounced Köln in Deutsch) next year as we’ve heard great things about that! This was my first time in Germany and it certainly did not disappoint! This was admittedly a more relaxed vacation for us because we were spending time with friends and shopping, but it was still busy enough! 

Germany is a neat country, so we decided to go back three weeks later—no joke, but this time we went to Munich. But, in true Leslie and Brian style, before we did that, we visited Edinburgh with friends from home, so our next stop will be in Jolly Ole’ Scotland!

Thanksgiving–America’s quintessential holiday. As ex-pats living in the UK, we knew that our Thanksgiving celebrations would be different, and not just because we are 3,000 miles away from our families. 

So, in order to come to terms with the glaring absence of our families, and to embrace our temporary home, we decided to go all out and rent a castle for a Friendsgiving. When in the UK, right?

Thanks to a friend, and his ability and love of researching travel opportunities, we found Thornmead Castle, which would become our home for the weekend. We celebrated Thanksgiving a little early over Veteran’s day weekend since others already had travel plans for the actual holiday, which ended up working out nicely.

Brian, Asher, and I decided to make a little trip out of it. Brian took the opportunity to complete a training class at another base called Mildenhall so that we could hit the road early and work to see other sights before meeting the others in Weston-super-mare at the castle. Although, it became clear after he booked the training that Mildenhall wasn’t exactly “on the way” to where we were headed, but we made due and were able to check out some local sights.

Our first stop on this mini-get-away was in Oxford. After Brian finished his training, we drove the hour and a half to Oxford just in time for dinner. Now, I know I’ve written about the Brit’s inability to make a good burger. Seriously, they really are not very good. Your first warning should be that they never ask how you want it cooked. Brian and I have ordered a few burgers over here, but we quickly realized that we should just give up and let it go. But, when looking for a quick place to grab a bite so that we could get little man down at a reasonable hour, a restaurant called C.R.A.F.T. Burger in Oxford popped up and they were on the way in to the city. They advertised themselves as “American-Style” burgers, and they also paired their burgers with beers. Sounds like our kind of place, huh? So we said, alright, we’ll give it one more go.

The conclusion? These burgers were actually delicious and might be the only place in the United Kingdom that you should ever order a burger. Brian got the Oxford Bleu burger which came with gorgonzola,  their house Mayo, a Cajun relish, some caramelised onions, tomato & rocket (a.k.a. arugula). I ordered the Sergeant Pepper which came with cheddar cheese, deep fried onion strips (like a cross between blooming onion and French’s Onion), a peppercorn sauce, their house mayo, Tomato & Lettuce. Both were quite tasty (we split them, which is what we usually do!). We got Asher some Chicken goujons (so chicken tenders) and he seemed to enjoy them as well! Anywho, no regrets about that meal. You can tell I miss burgers when I dedicate a whole paragraph to them, huh?!?

We checked into the hotel for the night, and waited to tour the university until the morning. Now, don’t get me wrong, I was interested in exploring the prestigious Oxford Colleges and Universities, but I was more excited to see the inspiration for much of Hogwarts’ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Sorry, not sorry. Many places in Oxford serve as the inspiration or the actual places where scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. So, of course, that was the main motivation for our visit. But HP aside, Oxford truly is a spectacle to see with beautiful architecture and landscaping, let alone the rich history. 

A brief note on the University itself. Oxford University is made up of 38 different colleges, so most students belong to both a college within the university as well as Oxford University itself. So, when visiting, you go from college to college, which comprise all of Oxford University. It’s like HP with the individual houses, but they all make up Hogwarts (except a bit different because if you attend one college most of your classes are only with those in your college, but you get my point). The University was started in the 13th century and has educated some of the world’s greatest minds. 

So, it was a daunting place to visit in that you had to pick and choose what you wanted to see, or you’d be there forever! So what better way than to use Harry Potter as a guide. The first place we visited was the Bodleian Library, which cost a small fee.  The Divinity Hall of this library was built in the 13th century and is one of the oldest functioning halls on the campus. It is called Divinity because its original purpose was the study of Theology and this is where the classes were taught and the exams were taken. There were many carvings in the gothic build which are religious in nature, but today is used as part of the libraries. It is clearly recognizable to HP fans as the infirmary at Hogwarts which can be seen sporadically throughout the films. Right above this hall is a library called Duke Humphries Library, which is very much so a functioning library, that was also used in Harry Potter as the restricted section. Unfortunately, because it was a functioning library, children weren’t allowed in, thus we did not go in! 

Next we went to Christ Church College which provided a great deal of inspiration for HP. Christ Church, while home to the famous Oxford Cathedral, is not a religious college by any means, but its origins were (obviously?). It was founded in the early 14th century by Cardinal Wolsey, who was the advisor to King Henry VIII and its original purpose was to educate young men in hopes that they would work in the church and the state, as they were so deeply connected. Since times have changed, it still works to improve the education for all, but is not grounded in the Christian religion. 

Anywho, there were quite a few places in Christ Church that were used in the films, as well as places that served as inspiration in the HP films. The first pretty basic place used in the films that we saw was the Christ Church stairway. This was used for the entrance into Hogwarts, mostly shown in the first HP film when the first years are waiting on the stairs to enter the Great Hall to be sorted. The second place we saw was the Great Hall. This was more of an inspiration, but it really does resemble the Great Hall in HP. The hall itself is stunning and it’s hard to believe that students eat meals here every day!  The hall clearly demonstrates the Renaissance architecture, with its beautiful woodwork and stained glass windows. Finally in Christ Church, their cloisters are also used in HP when Hermione reveals Harry’s father’s Quidditch trophy to him so that Harry knows he was destined to play himself. 

The final place we stopped in Oxford was the New Hall Cloisters which looked like all other cloisters; however, this was opened up to the courtyard where Harry confronts Malfoy in the 4th film and Malfoy is turned into a ferret. This courtyard also had the tree. Oxford was a beautiful place to visit and was full of rich history, and there was so much more to see, but it was Asher’s nap time so we decided to hit the road!

From Oxford, we drove about an hour and a half to Stonehenge, which mind you, really is in the middle of nowhere. As people who live in the UK, let alone people who travel here, many people say Stonehenge is a must see. Don’t get me wrong, Stonehenge itself is a really fascinating artifact of human intelligence dating back over 5,000 years ago; however, it legitimately is just a bunch of big rocks in the middle of a field (which you could probably see by car driving by!). Am I glad we went? Absolutely. It was interesting to see and not too far out of the way for us; however, I wouldn’t recommend going out of you way to see it, other than maybe on Solstice days because that’s probably fascinating. 

Perhaps the most interesting, and maybe infuriating, aspect of Stonehenge is that it is still arguably a mystery to all of us as to what its original purpose was. The most commonly accepted, and most discussed, is that it was a way of keeping track of time, a calendar for example, by tracking the solstice with the sun’s rays through the rocks. However, after unearthing many bones around the site, it is also believed to be a holy place where people went for prayer and healing, or a place to bury the dead as memorial grounds. However, since it was never documented, we may never know. Needless to say, while the history is interesting and mysterious, it is also amazing to look at how it was built and to think about how people moved those gigantic rocks without modern technology. Obviously it was massively important to them, if only we knew why!

We grabbed a quick bite at the Stonehenge shop before making the two hour trek to Weston-super-mare and our castle, just in time for Asher’s second nap. It’s like it was planned or something!

We arrived second to the castle, behind our friends and their three children. The owners of the castle knew why we were coming and they graciously flew the American Flag from their turret. It was a kind gesture. The castle was quite large, but not Buckingham palace big, thank heavens since it was a bit of a maze upstairs as it was! When you first walked in, you entered an external foyer with all the space in the world for your shoes and jackets, etc. Then, once you entered the main entrance, there was another foyer with a wood-burning fireplace. To the left was a grand room with a snooker table, another fire place, and a large seating area. If you kept walking in, there was another comfortable room that was a library with another fireplace and couches. If you went to the right past the foyer, you could walk straight into the massive dining room, right into two different kitchens (yes, I said two kitchens), or left into another room that was like an office with a small bar. If you went up the stairs and to the left, you were in the bedroom quarters, and if you went up and to the right then you were in the game room, the entrance to the turret, and another area for coffee in the morning. It was pretty large and pretty easy to get lost in the first day. 

Brian and I ended up taking one of the smaller rooms because it was the closest room to the stairs and allowed our monitor to at least reach the hallway downstairs. How did people take care of babies before monitors!?! The only downside to having that room is the door to the bedroom quarters was pretty loud, so we tried to keep it propped so Asher wouldn’t wake up. Anywho, we planned the weekend ahead of time where different couples would take different meals and we all worked together on the Thanksgiving meal. 

Friday night we all arrived. Our friends prepared chicken pot pies for that meal, which was perfect for all of us as our arrival times were all scattered. Friday was a low key night where we all relaxed in the library room and hung out. Saturday was the day we dedicated for the big meal so that we had leftovers for the following day. We had delicious waffles for breakfast and didn’t really plan lunch since we were planning on eating our meal around 3, but things took longer than expected…

Side note: we purchased our fresh turkey from a local butcher ahead of time and smoked the dark meat before leaving, so all we had to cook was the white meat, but like all holiday meals, it took a bit longer to cook than we thought it would.

Side side note: when I picked up the turkey from the butcher he asked if it was for Thanksgiving to which I responded yes, and then he asked me if Thanksgiving was just a practice Christmas dinner, which I thought was pretty amusing. And somewhat true, plus all of the thankful stuff…

So Saturday we hung around our castle, because why wouldn’t we, and slowly cooked our Thanksgiving meal. Brian enjoyed quite a few games of snooker, and we all enjoyed the beer, wine, and snacks. For dinner, we had all the staples, and then added some Yorkshire pudding because we were in an English castle and it only seemed right. The food was delicious, but more importantly, the company was perfect. Many people warned Brian that it would take roughly six months to settle and feel “at home” over here, and now that we’ve reached that point, I can honestly say it’s true. There have been things that happened at home, both happy and sad, that Brian and I wanted more than anything to be there for, but it isn’t realistic, which can be a bit upsetting. However, sitting around the table with our new friends who we are getting closer to every day, did really stop and make me reflect on how blessed we truly are, to be surrounded by people, both here and at home, who love and support us. (Hey, it’s time to be Thankful, right?)

Needless to say, Saturday night was a night full of food, laughter, and drinking—the epitome of the best kind of holiday festivities. 

On Sunday, we woke up and took our time around the castle. We then decided to meander towards the coast and hike to one of the National Trust’s sites called Brean Down. It is a natural pier, which sits about 320 feet high, giving really pretty coastal views across the Bristol Channel to Wales. On the coast, there are also ruins of an old Palmerston fort, built in the Victorian era (a.k.a. late 1800’s). It was a relatively relaxed hike, perfect for the day after eating so much you could explode.

Sunday evening was our last evening in the castle. If we were smart, we would have just eaten leftovers for dinner; however, we took the opportunity to have a taco night (because just like burgers, Mexican is another cuisine you simply cannot get well-done in England). We had delicious tacos and homemade margs to celebrate our final evening together. It was a repeat of eating, drinking, and laughing from the night before which was exactly what the doctor had ordered for us all!

On Monday, we spent the morning packing up and cleaning the house before heading home. On our way home, we stopped in Stratford-upon-Avon, to visit Shakespeare’s birthplace and to grab a quick lunch on the way home. As an English teacher, it was something I had to do, right? It was pretty cool to stand in the room where the literary genius that is Shakespeare was born, and it was really interesting to learn facts about his leather-making and tavern-owning father as well. I’m glad we made the pit stop to check out the legacy of Shakespeare (aside from his literary works, of course)! 

So there you have it. Our mini-friendsgiving and random UK must-sees in one post! Next up is saying Fröhliche Weihnachten (a.k.a. Merry Christmas) in the German Christmas markets!

Riportami in Italia! If Google translate has done right by me, that means, take me back to Italy! If not…hopefully it’s not something offensive?!?!

Florence, Italy was an absolute treasure. I feel like Italy is always on people’s lists of places to go because the country has so much to offer between the delicious foods and wines, the history, the scenery, and the romantic culture, and it certainly did not disappoint. And to think, we only had a small taste of Italian culture!

For this trip, we flew out of the more local airport (Manchester is about an hour and a half away), so we were able to get a decent price out of Leeds Bradford to Pisa, Italy. Leeds Bradford is only about half an hour from our house so that was really nice; however, smaller airports come with different quirks too. Check-in was pretty simple, especially since we had checked-in and printed tickets prior to arrival at the airport (because Ryanair charges you if you don’t…yes, again, they nickel and dime you!) so all we really had to do was drop off our checked bag. Why did we check a bag for a long weekend you ask? Well, first of all, Ryanair’s carry-on bag dimensions are somewhat laughable, but also because we have a child who requires a lot of different things. Plus wine. You don’t go to Tuscany, Italy without the intention of buying some wine. 

Anyway, our hiccup came at security. So, I’m still breastfeeding Asher and I bring a little bit of frozen milk each time we go somewhere so that we have it if need be. Traveling with breastmilk is always interesting, but a necessity. So, we get in line, and then they separate Brian and I after telling us that baby milk/food has to go down a different line. I take Asher and the diaper bag to the other line while Brian stays with all of our other stuff. The nice security lady offered to hold Asher while I broke down the stroller and put it on the security belt, which was appreciated. I give her the cooler with milk, and then take Asher through security myself. Now, in the States, you can travel with a reasonable amount of frozen milk; however, our experiences in the UK have been that the milk cannot be frozen, but obviously can be cold. So each time we’ve travelled, we thaw it the night before in the fridge and travel with ice packs. However, apparently at Leeds Bradford, ice packs aren’t allowed. The security officer was somewhat apologetic and said that she needed to take the ice pack. Now, I am the last person to fight anything or anyone in security. I recognize that everything they do is for our own safety; that being said, we’d never had this problem before and breast milk spoils if it gets warm, especially if it’s been frozen. So I politely ask how I’m supposed to keep it cold then. She then reports to another superior who was NO HELP and was basically like “yea, you can’t have it back, so if you want to keep it cold, you have to check it.” Yea, no. Breast milk stays with me. The lady knew I wasn’t happy either, but there wasn’t much I could do, so we frustratingly gathered all of our items and left. We figured someone around the airport would have ice and might help us out (which we did!). 

Our flight was a bit delayed, but nothing too terrible and soon we were on our way to Pisa. Navigating through the airport at Pisa was really simple because the airport itself is quite small. We quickly got our bags and headed outside to find a taxi. Now, I will say, never in our lives, have we walked outside an airport and not been greeted by lines of taxis waiting, except in Pisa. We wandered a bit before we found the taxi stand, which we were standing in a line about 5 groups deep waiting for a taxi. Later in Florence, a tour guide explained that in Florence it’s illegal for taxis to just pick you up outside of a taxi stand or through a pre-ordered call. Perhaps this applies in Pisa too? We didn’t have to wait too long and our taxi got us to our hotel pretty quickly since Pisa itself isn’t large!

We stayed at the 4Rooms Bed and Breakfast which was right around the corner from the Leaning Tower. The owner, Luca, was incredibly warm and welcoming. He took us up the stairs and showed us our room, which was really spacious for a European hotel. He had the baby cot ready for Asher and was happy to give us some recommendations for food, etc. The room itself was set up really well for us, and the only down side, which we found in both of our hotels on this trip, is that the pump for the plumbing in the bathroom was really loud, so it was hard to shower and even use the toilet without fear of waking Asher. However, we really rate hotels on cleanliness, location, safety, and the courtesy of the staff and this B and B was really nice. 

Now, since Italy is an hour behind us here in the UK, it give us an additional hour with Asher, which is helpful! We didn’t get to the hotel until 7, so we knew it was going to be a bit of a late for Asher since we needed to eat, but per usual, he was a champ. We left our stuff at the hotel and meandered towards the tower and the main area of Pisa for some grub. Now, you see all of the touristy pictures of the Leaning Tower and expect it to be this grand thing standing by itself, but it’s totally not! We walked through some of the remains of the city wall to be greeted by stunning buildings. In the Piazza del Duomo, or the grassy area surrounding the tower, there was also San Giovanni’s Baptistry and the Cathedral of Pisa, which were both stunning pieces of architecture. Now, of course the Leaning Tower of Pisa is cool to see as well. It’s only on a 4% tilt, but it certainly looks significantly more than that (more like 20%). Yes, we took the typical touristy pictures of us holding up the tower itself, because, you can’t not, right?

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We headed towards the town center to find a bite to eat. We tried to go to the place Luca recommended but it ended up being closed, so we went to a restaurant that a friend of ours recommended called Peppercino’s. This is where we quickly learned that Italians LOVE their babies. Asher was a hit. The owner and our server both doted on him, ignoring what we call Personal Space, but not in an uncomfortable way. The restaurant itself appeared to be a family operation. Now, when in Italy, you plan on eating all of the pasta and pizza you can fit because they’re so good. So, for our first meal, we ordered a pasta dish and a pizza to split. We ordered gnocchi with walnuts in a gorgonzola sauce and then a pizza with prosciutto and mushrooms. Both were delicious. Asher really enjoyed his pizza too. Asher’s had enough pizza to last a year (but, we’ve already had pizza once since we came back because we can’t help ourselves…)

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at a gelato place to grab some dessert. Gelato actually originated in Florence, so when there, or even in the surrounding region, you eat it. Or, if you’re us, you eat it whenever because who doesn’t like gelato?! I got a scoop of ginger and cinnamon, and a chocolate hazelnut. Both were really good. The ginger cinnamon flavor was really different, but I liked it! The chocolate hazelnut was simply delectable. Brian got a scoop of the peanut butter gelato and the Italian Cream one. He also enjoyed both of his. Asher didn’t get any this time because it was way past this bed time and sugar was the last thing this boy needed! 

In the morning, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. Luca made us a delicious espresso and we ate what we would equate to a continental breakfast. We then walked to see the tower during the daylight and to get the picture of Asher with the tower. It was amazing to see the difference in security during the day versus at night. At night, there was hardly anyone there; however, during the day, it was packed and there was a heavy police presence. It was definitely a different viewing experience. Aside from that area, there is not much to do or see in Pisa, so we grabbed our stuff and walked to the train station, which was roughly a fifteen minute walk. The train ride from Pisa to Florence was only one hour and cost us 17 total euros. It is amazing how efficient train systems are over here! I was hoping Asher would sleep a lot on the train; however, he really only took a half hour nap, so we were a bit apprehensive how the rest of the day would go, but spoiler alert: he was awesome. Again. 

In Florence, we walked to check in to our hotel from the train station which was about 15 minutes as well. We stayed in the Florence Dome Hotel which was in the same entryway as the Michelangelo Museum. The hotel was pretty nice, and the staff was really welcoming. They had a fridge (just like the room in Pisa), which is nice because many European hotels do not. We were able to check in early (around 11:30) which was really helpful since we had booked our wine tour that day.  

On our way to catch our tour busy of the Chianti wine region, we grabbed a quick sandwich from a place called Sandwichic. Holy guacamole was it good. We walked up to the deli-like place and it was packed, so we were perusing the menu so that Brian could go in and order while I waited outside (it was pretty small inside). As we were talking about what we wanted, this old Italian woman stopped to admire Asher because, as I said before, they love their babies, and she was trying to talk to us in Italian, which obviously we couldn’t follow, but we spoke together for a few minutes in different languages, getting by. The most memorable part of the conversation is when she kept pointing to Asher and asking latte? Latte? At first, I of course was thinking about coffee, and was super confused, but then I caught on that she was asking me if he was breastfed. Needless to say, it was an entertaining conversation! Anywho, Brian got two sandwiches, which were pretty big, with local Italian meats including prosciutto and salami. They were really good and sufficed to keep us full until our snacks on the wine tour itself. 

The wine tour was a big tour, but took Asher with no fee. When we first started looking for wine tours, many wouldn’t allow people under 16, and then the first one we did find charged 50 euros for him since he took a seat, which while logical, seemed ridiculous. So, when we found this one and it had decent reviews, we jumped on it. The first stop was the medieval town of Greve in the Florentine side of the Chianti region in Tuscany. It was a cool, old town with a neat big square that is named after the river which runs through it. Until recently, it wasn’t a high tourist area since it’s off the main roads; however, it is among the top visited places in the Chianti region now as it is the biggest town between Florence and Siena. Here, I took advantage of the opportunity to feed Asher since we hadn’t started drinking any wine yet, and I was hoping he’d fall asleep, but no such luck. 

Our second stop was a family run winery called Tenuta Riseccoli. They only make 10,000 bottles per year, which there were some wineries in the region that make 8,000 bottles a week. The winery itself was on a stunning property overlooking the vineyards and beautiful fields of the Chianti region. We tried four wines here including their traditional white, a Chianti Classico, a Chianti Classico Riserva, and Super-Tuscan. Now, let me take a moment to explain how this wine region works. The Chianti region of Tuscany is obviously most well known for their Chianti wines, specifically Chianti Classicos. In order to be deemed a Chianti Classico, the vineyards must follow 200-some rules, including vines must face sun south East or west, the wine must be made from at least 80% Sangiovese grapes, the wines must ferment at least six months (1 year for Riserva), etc.. If the vineyard follows all of these rules and their wines meet the demands of this type of wine, they are then labeled a Chianti Classico and given a sticker with a black rooster on it. This is the sign of a good wine. 

Back to the vineyard, their wines were okay. I enjoyed the traditional Chianti Classico but it was on the drier side, so it wasn’t Brian’s favorite. The Super-Tuscan was good but not 40€ good. Also while there, we also tried their olive oil and vinegar with some breads, cheese, and meats. Both were pretty good too, but nothing to write home about. The host also explained how the year 2016 was one of the best years they have ever had for wines in the region. So, armed with the knowledge, we purchased a bottle of Chianti Classico from 2016, even though the one we tasted was from a different year.

Our 3rd stop was Castellina, a medieval town from 1300’s and it was really charming. The town very much so still functions like it did during medieval times and you can walk through the towered walls. There is an old castle downtown which currently serves as the town hall. As you walked inside the fortress walls, they had windows (which one can assume was originally for lookouts to protect) but now show the beautiful picturesque views of the Siena side of Chianti. Asher FINALLY napped here, only to be awoken after thirty minutes by a screaming child. But, it’s all good because sometimes a power nap is all that boy needs. Or any of us really need. 

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The fourth and final stop before heading back to Florence was another small family run winery called Poggio Amorelli. This winery is a bit bigger than the previous one in that it distributes 25,000-50,000 bottles of wine each year. The tour guide for this winery was incredibly personable and humorous, and as Brian so eloquently stated, “this guy could sell a turd.” The first wine we tried was a prosseco, which normally is not for me at all, but it was actually pretty good. It wasn’t too sweet, which most of them are, and it would be a nice glass to cheers an occasion to. We were then given some bread with their own olive oil as well. This olive oil was really good, but our tour guide for the overall day told us that this time of year is the worst time of year to buy olive oil because it is a year old—the new oils are made in November. The second tasting was a Rosé wine, which was a bit too sweet for my tastebuds. Here, we were given their own truffle oil to try. If you had never smelled truffles before, you were in for a surprise. As people who like truffles, it was really tasty, but super strong. There would be few things you could cook in it, such as fries, because let’s be honest, who doesn’t like truffle fries?

The third tasting was their traditional Chianti Classico, which they abided by the 200+ rules and made a banging a** wine. It was tasty. They paired this with their own balsamic vinegar, which was really tasty too. Then, our final wine was their Chianti Classico Riserva, bottled in 2016. Remember what the previous vineyard had sad about the year 2016? Yea. This was definitely the best wine we had on the tour—really, on the entire trip. They also paired this with an aged balsamic which was DELICIOUS and like 50 euros for 2 ounces (that’s an exaggeration, but you get my point). They closed out with offering us an Italian Whiskey (random,  right?) made from the grape skins. I was not personally a fan, so Brian finished mine too. We purchased one of their traditional Chianti Classicos and one of their Riservas before getting back on the bus to head back to Florence. And guess who didn’t nap for the entire hour back?! That’s right. Brian. Just kidding, Asher. That boy barely slept all day and he was a serious trooper.

Since Asher hadn’t napped, we decided to find a dinner place close to the hotel (it was actually next door) that had pretty good reviews because Asher FINALLY fell asleep while walking back from the train station. The restaurant was called Trattoria and we ordered a spaghetti pesto dish, a gnocchi and tomato sauce, and a traditional beef stew. Now, let me settle one tiny detail so you don’t think we are just fatties who ate pasta every time (even though we totally are because if you don’t when in Italy, unless you have a gluten intolerance, then I’m not sure what’s wrong with you). Italians eat pasta as their first dishes, then have their main dishes. It’s truly genius and I’m not sure why we don’t all adopt this (well I know why, but you know what I mean). Plus, pasta is an easy finger food for Asher, so it was a win-win for us. Anywho, the meals were delicious, per usual. 

On Sunday, we woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel before heading out to our tour of the Accademia, a.k.a. Michelangelo’s The David. We purchased a guided tour ahead of time because everything you read says to at least purchase “skip-the-line tickets” but admittedly, Brian and I know nothing about art. It’s not that we don’t appreciate and value art in our society, it’s just not our interest. Make sense? So we really needed someone to explain it to us, and it was worth the time and money. Even with our pre-purchased, tour guide tickets, there was a separate line where we had to wait roughly 15 minutes to get in. The line for people who didn’t purchase the tickets ahead of time was ridiculous! 

Anyway, here is your history alert. The next paragraph is entirely about the David and its history, in case you’re interested, but if you’re not, feel free to skip!

I expected the David to be large, but he was massive and impressive. The David was built in 3 years, finished in the year 1504 by Michelangelo himself, and no one else. He was commissioned to sculpt the David to sit on the buttress, along with other statues from the Old Testament, of the Duomo building itself, which may explain why the head and hands are disproportionate to the rest of his body—they were meant to be viewed from far away. However, once the 26-year-old artist finished his masterpiece of marble, it was clear that the David was too beautiful (and likely too massive) to sit atop the Duomo and originally was moved to the Palazzo Vecchio where there are many other famous statues, but then it was moved to its current museum for safe-keeping. Michelangelo chose to depict David prior to his battle with Goliath as opposed to after his victory like the many artists before him, and he also chose to make the slingshot barely visible making it clear that David won the battle thanks to his wits and not his weapon. David become a symbol of freedom for their Republican ideals in Florence, especially since the council who had asked Michelangelo to construct him had just defeated the Medici family dynasty (only to be taken back in 1537, but small detail). During World War II, they did everything they could to protect the David from damage. According to our tour guide, there was some sort of agreement between nations to protect the cultural and historical pieces of historical significance, and Americans, Brits, etc. all played fairly, but one country did not. Care to guess? That’s right. Stupid Nazi’s. Luckily, Florence was pretty much untouched by air raids and bombings with the exception of the bridges, which the Nazi’s took out (more on that later). Nazi’s ruin everything. Except for the David, thank heavens. 

After our tour of the David, we headed back to the hotel to grab the stroller, etc. Asher luckily slept most of the tour, which was good because he needed it. At the hotel we had a mini-hiccup. I had fed Asher and next thing we know, he vomited all over our bed, his clothes, and my clothes. Luckily we were at the hotel, but you know, it was unpleasant to say the least. We were able to clean him up, me up, and request new sheets, etc. before heading out. We weren’t entirely sure what was going on with him, but he was a bit off. Not sure if it was something he ate, or perhaps something I ate? But, he was a bit fussy for the afternoon, which is very unlike him. I should put this in perspective though—my son’s fussiness is still really chill, but we knew he was off and we felt a little bad about it.

For lunch, we wanted to try a traditional Florentine steak. Now, when you order a steak in the UK, they don’t always ask you how you want it cooked, and often offer you sauces. Not exactly how we like our steaks…but the Florentine steak—it’s a massive porterhouse steak cooked with seasoning and is supposed to be served rare. Now, I’m a girl who likes her red meat medium, so rare is tough for me. If I wasn’t still breastfeeding Asher, I probably would have gone for it, but they do offer it medium-rare, which is what we got because I still have to look out for my boy—who already wasn’t feeling too hot. But was that steak DELICIOUS. It was really well seasoned and yummy. We went to a restaurant called Fettunta and they were packed, but we only waited about 15 minutes for a table. They couldn’t give us a seat for Asher, which only was a problem because he was a bit fussy, so Brian and I ended up taking turns eating and cutting meats, while holding Asher. We also ordered the cheese and olives salad as our side and they were also really good. I love me some olives. We ordered a side of veggies, which wasn’t needed at all, hoping Asher would eat some, but he wanted nothing to do with them, so we did our best to finish it all. Of course, we both had our glasses of Chianti Classico to go with the steak and overall it was a phenomenal meal. 

After lunch, we meandered around Florence. First we walked the streets to check out the Palazzo Vecchio with many original statues (only three of them in the plaza are not original, including a replica of the David). The plaza itself is pretty massive and the sculptures are all impressive. We then perused some of the markets. Florence is known for its art, history, wine, and leather. The markets are full of leather vendors, so as you walk through all you smell is leather. I needed a cross body purse and Brian wanted a new wallet, so we decided to buy one there. You can haggle, which my husband loves and makes me seriously uncomfortable, but we got a good price and walked away happy. 

We then decided to walk across the Ponte Vecchio bridge, which is the only bridge that the Nazi’s didn’t wipe out during the war, as mentioned earlier. All of the other bridges across the Arno river in Florence are more modern, and quite frankly, lame, but this one is really neat. This bridge was the original bridge over the Arno river in the 1200’s and then was rebuilt after a flood in the late 1300’s. There are shops on both sides of the bridge, mainly for jewelry, and it was packed with people walking, shopping, eating, etc. When you were walking towards it, you didn’t really know you were on a bridge because of its appearance when crossing, because it simply looks like a street with shops, but it is really charming to view from the sides of the Arno river. 

We crossed over the Arno river via the Ponte Vecchio and stopped in a quaint courtyard to feed Asher before heading towards the Piazza Michelangelo. On our way, we stopped for some more gelato. I got a scoop of coffee and a scoop of chocolate. Brian got a scoop of crema and a scoop of apple. Brian really liked the crema, but not so much the apple. I really enjoyed both. We decided we had to let Asher try gelato at least once since we were in its birthplace. I gave him a small taste of the chocolate. At first, I think he was confused because it was so sweet and cold, but he did obviously like it. So while my kid won’t eat peanut butter and bananas, he at least likes ice cream and pizza, so we are ok. Back to the Piazza Michelangelo, it was once a quiet plaza, but is now one of the most visited spots in Florence for its beautiful views of the city. My sister told us to check it out at sunset, so we went over to see if we could find a spot to sit down and enjoy some wine while watching the sunset. Since it was 75 and sunny the entire time we were in Italy, it was logical that this plaza was PACKED, so we ended up going to a cafe located there to have a glass of wine and a snack while we waited. The views were pretty magnificent, but it was a bit hazy. The sun set off to the side, but did leave pretty views.

For dinner, we had made reservations at I bastion Di San Niccolò trattoria since we were eating after 7:00 p.m. because of the sunset. We ordered a buffalo mozzarella and basil pizza, pasta bolognese and spaghetti carbonara. Let me reiterate how much we love pizza and pasta. We also ordered the house red wine and finished dinner with a tiramisu. Admittedly, it has been nice to order food out knowing Asher can eat it because it makes packing to go out a little less hectic. He did enjoy the pasta bolognese and the pizza. After dinner, we started the twenty minute walk back to the hotel. We stopped to grab some beer to watch the Eagles game with (let’s not discuss how that went) while Asher slept. 

On Monday, we woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel before going to see the Duomo. Entrance into the cathedral is free, and the line does move pretty quickly. We didn’t book tickets to climb the Duomo in advance, so we did miss out on that. 

Side note: Brian was just telling me about an article he read about how hard it is to spontaneously travel nowadays because of all the necessary tickets that people are ordering well in advance (such as the Duomo and David) and it’s kind of true. It’s an important lesson to learn—if you want to see something when you travel, do your research and book in advance!l

Anyway, the Duomo opened at 10:00 and the line was already wrapped around the building when we arrived at 9:30. We stood in line for about 35 minutes after it opened before getting in, so it wasn’t too bad. As we were waiting, we saw that you can’t wear tank-tops into the Duomo, which of course I was wearing one. But have no fear, Asher’s blanket became my shawl. It also said no shorts, twice on the sign, which was weird. Brian was in shorts, but so were quite a few other men in front of us. The shorts on the sign appeared to be shorter—like female shorts—but it was unclear if they would be allowed in. None of them were stopped, so it worked out well. You had to go through security to get in, and Asher had fallen asleep in the carrier at this point (just like he had at the David) so I was nervous they’d make me take the carrier off and take him out, but they were truly great. Both at the Duomo and the David, they pulled me aside, didn’t make me move Asher at all, and let me through. Lifesavers those Italians are.

Inside the Duomo, it at first looks like a traditional cathedral with the big ceilings and stained glass windows, but there were two really cool aspects of this cathedral. The first obviously being the big dome, or the Duomo. The ceiling was painted stunningly and you could really stare at it for a long time. The other cool part of the cathedral was the clock on the back wall which was a clock based on sunlight, not traditional time. It’s the only clock in the world which still functions this way. The hand on the clock moves counter-clockwise and tracks the sunlight—one can assume it was originally used for liturgical reasons like when to pray, etc. It’s neat looking and really doesn’t make sense when you first look at it!

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After our visit to the Duomo, we had time to grab a quick lunch before heading back to the hotel to check out. What do you think we had? You’re so smart! We ordered pizza and a gnocchi dish to finish out our Italian eating adventures! We then went back to our hotel, checked out, walked to the train station, and headed back towards Pisa for our flight home. Our flight was delayed here as well, but we were in the lounge which made it a bit more comfortable. Asher fought napping—yet again—but did really well on the 2 hour plane ride back to Leeds. Needless to say, Italy was awesome and we will definitely be going back to check out other parts of the country, but our first taste was delightful!

Our next adventure isn’t too far away now where we will turn Royal for a weekend and rent a castle with some friends to celebrate Friendsgiving in Cornwall! Until then, your highness is out!

Brian and I were talking the other day and we had an epiphany. Brian pointed out that back home in the States, we normally dedicated one weekend day to friends and the other to whatever we needed to get done around the house; however, since we are back to renting a home here and I normally can try to get the laundry and other miscellaneous chores done throughout the week, we have had more leisure time. While I miss our beautiful home in the States, I can tell you I certainly do not miss mowing the lawn, gardening, or vacuuming the pool. 

With all of our new-found time, and being in God’s Country, we have been given plenty of reasons to spend time in the great outdoors. Brian and I have always enjoyed a good hike, and we normally only really got to enjoy that when on vacation before, such as in Yellowstone National Park last year. But now, it’s basically on our back door step. Now, before I go on, I feel like I must explain English time. When we are getting ready to go somewhere in England, we always have to take the length of time we expect to go a certain distance and essentially double it. You can not get anywhere directly in the U.K. For example, to drive from our house in Sykesville to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore takes roughly 35 minutes to go about 30 miles. Logical. However, here, to go the same distance, takes anywhere between 50-60 minutes. So, when I say it’s on our back door step, I am being serious, but sometimes we do drive upwards of an hour to get to these places.

I’ve talked about a couple of hikes we’ve done already, like Aysgarth Falls and Pen-y-ghent, but we’ve done plenty more. We also have become good friends with a group of people who seem to enjoy the hiking like we do, so that is helpful! My friend Justin introduced me to this app called Kamoot, which is great for logging hikes, etc., but it also takes your history/interests in hikes to help you find local trails to explore. It’s a really neat app. So, if you like hiking and have a smart phone (who doesn’t at this point?!), you should check it out. Anywho, using Kamoot, we found a local hike, which ended up being a popular hike, called the Ingleton Waterfalls. The hike itself is about 4.5 miles and hosts 6 different sets of falls. We meandered through the wooded trails to explore the various views of the falls. It was a pleasant hike on a warmer day, but since we were in the shade, it really was nice. We got there earlier in the morning, like around 9:30, and we were grateful we did because there were people waiting for others to leave so that they could park their cars when we were complete. We saw quite a few people coming in with their swimsuits, etc. to take a dip in some of the wading areas around. There was also a downed tree where people started putting coins into the decaying bark, and now it’s known as the money tree. It seemed similar to a wishing well type thing, or at least that’s the connection I made. Other various tree stumps throughout the hike seemed to host some coins as well, but nothing as intricate as this tree. 

This is the only hike so far where we had somewhere to be after the hike, but we did give ourselves plenty of time. We had to be home in time, or at least to place in service in time, for our annual Higgins Family Fantasy Football draft. Priorities people. Our other friend Matt also had his draft, but his was earlier and in person so he and Katie had to skip lunch to get back. So, that left us and our friends, the Griepentrogs, to grab some grub. We took a tour of the Dales through Brian’s work and were told about this store/restaurant called The Courtyard Dairy, which has been voted one of the top ten cheese shops in the world. They had me at cheese. So obviously we went there for lunch as it was only a twenty minute drive, in the right direction, from the hike. And boy was it GOOD. Brian and I split a blue cheese and apple salad, a raclette, and sandwich and it was all soooo good. Like, not a crumb left on the plate good. Unfortunately since we were on a bit of a time crunch, we didn’t shop around the store, but you can bet we will be going back, more than once. Probably more than twice. 

*Side note: because we were on English time, we ended up drafting using our smart phones in the car, but it all worked out. Go team Easy Breesy! 

Aside from using Kamoot to find our hikes, another way we determine where to hike is via a book entitled “30 Pub Walks Through the Dales.” Sounds right up our alley, huh? We had seen the book when we went to Aysgarth Falls, thought it was cool, but it seemed a bit overpriced and we figured we could find it online; however, when we went on the tour with Brian’s work, we saw it again, except this time it was like $12, which was significantly cheaper so we figured, why not? The same weekend we hiked Ingleton on Saturday, we decided to do our first hike from the book because it was so nice out. We also did the math, and figured we needed to do one of these a month from here on out so we could finish them all before our time is up. Yea—we know, we’re crazy. 

Anywho, Brian, Asher, and I set out to hike the first trail from the book in Embsay, a town about 30 minutes from our house. Each hike begins and ends at a neat English pub. So, we hike the hike and reward ourselves with a beer and a snack. Sounds fair to me! This hike was 3.5 miles and took you up to see the Embsay Crag with some great views of the Dales and the Reservoir, and then back into the small town of Embsay for a pint at the Elm Tree Inn. The walk was pleasant, but a bit warm as the sun rose higher in the sky. You see, in the Dales, there isn’t a lot of cover, so you are taking direct sun most of the time, but there was a considerable breeze which made it a bit more feasible. This books gives directions like “cross two fields going through a final gate and swinging left towards a lane.” How British is that? For this hike, the directions were pretty clear; however, that isn’t always the case. We strolled through various farmers fields and walked by numerous sheep before clearly making our way up the Crag. The views from the top were really pretty and the breeze in particular was really nice. We hiked back down the Crag and into to town for a pint and snack before heading back home. It was a quick morning outing with some awesome views.

We did this hike the week before our two week visit back to the States because we figured it might be the last time we had really nice weather. We were wrong about that; however, not too far off. The weekend we got back here was still pretty nice (68 degrees and sunny) so we had to take advantage of that for hiking as well. However, there was a bit of a hiccup there because we needed to get our car out of Harrogate, which was impossible since the UCI World Cycling Event shut down our town for a week. Brian and I chose our house for the location in that you can’t really get more downtown than we already are; however, since we live downtown and the cycling race had a downtown circuit, our car was stuck for the week. Luckily our friends wanted to hike too, so they gave us a ride. Brian, Asher, and I walked from inside the circuit to the outside for the ride, and headed towards Hardraw and Hawes, to complete two more of the hikes from the pub book. We decided to complete these two hikes as they were among the furthest away from our house and we wouldn’t be able to get back in town till later in the afternoon anyway, so why not? These two hikes were only a five minute drive from one another and they were only two-to-two and a half miles each, so it was feasible.

The first hike we completed was the Hardraw hike, which also included a waterfall. This hike had a bit of a rough start between a car-sick kid, inconveniently timed bathroom breaks, and confusing directions about crossing fields and gates; however, once we got going, it turned out to be a pretty nice hike. The views of the Dales were again really pretty. We crossed a few fields before climbing a larger hill to look out over Hardraw. We didn’t end up seeing the waterfall because the tearoom/pub acquired the access to it and were charing a pretty penny to go in and see it. After some deliberation we decided against it since, honestly, the Waterfalls in the Dales, while pretty, pale in comparison to other waterfalls we’ve seen, out west, etc. It was also fun because our friends recently acquired a drone which we tested out. Although, Brian was nervous as it was flying in the wooded area (I didn’t witness this as I was feeding Asher), but he said he thought he was going to witness a pricy purchase slam into a tree. Luckily, the drone and all of its operators went unharmed. The pub at the end of the first hike was called the Green Dragon and it may be the coolest pub I’ve seen in England so far. The ceilings are really low and the rooms were all sectioned off with various fireplaces throughout. One fireplace was operating because it was pretty chilly inside from the night before. It was a real wood-burning fireplace and smelled lovely. It definitely was the type of pub you wouldn’t mind spending time in on a cold winter’s night for sure. The food was also pretty good.

The second hike was in Hawes, a five minute drive from the Green Dragon Inn. This hike was the easiest hike we’ve completed so far and didn’t require much energy at all. It was a nice hike through some fields, little elevation, and pleasant views. The drone was much easier to use and operate out here in the wide open country-side; although, we quickly learned that the sheep do not like it at all. The hike was pleasant enough with friends, and the pub at the end was a traditional pub. We had our pint before heading back to Harrogate. 

Now, like I said, the UCI Cycling Championships were held in town and events were happening all week because of it. On the day we went hiking, the 

UCI Bike Races kicked off with the para-cycling races. Then, throughout the week, there were time trials and junior racing, etc. The atmosphere was cool, but admittedly, the weather turned typically British and was relatively atrocious. So between the weather and the actual races, we were quarantined to our house. That being said, it is a pretty neat thing to see, and since we had already seen the Tour de France this year, why not see the UCI championships as well? So, on Saturday, the women’s race was held, which ended with 3 laps around the Harrogate circuit. Our friends live right on Ripon road which was a race street, so they had a bbq and we all hung out. There was one woman who was well ahead of the other women racing, so it wasn’t that exciting to watch, but neat nonetheless. The weather on Saturday was rather cooperative, for what seemed to be the first time all week, with some sunshine and a comfortable temperature. We went to the same friends house the next day to watch the men race in incessant rain. We hung inside most of the day, but did go out for the last few laps around the circuit. The men had a much tighter race, and the US was in second for quite some time, but by the second to last lap, he had fallen way back. As we were walking by the racers on the way to our friends house, we thought for sure the peloton (big group of racers in the middle) were going to wipe out on the bend because it was so wet, but since they were all professionals, they managed to avoid it. Denmark didn’t win that one until the last minute, but overall, it was impressive to see. A highlight of the day, aside from good food and drinks with friends, was we interacted with Andrew Ridgeley. What? You don’t know who that is? Don’t worry, we didn’t either until someone was like, the guy from Wham? (Ear worm alert!) In case you don’t think you know who Wham is, you do. They sang “Wake me up before you go go” and most famously, “Last Christmas.” You’re welcome.

The weather is certainly changing here in the U.K. with shorter days and a bit more rain than we’ve had since our arrival, but nothing too terrible (fingers crossed!) We are soaking up as much outdoor time as we can before it gets too cold to enjoy it that much. We’ve got a few busy months ahead of us with planned trips and friends and family visiting, starting this weekend with a jaunt to Florence, Italy! Ready for some delicious Italian grub, fantastic wines, interesting history, and beautiful views! Not to mention, the weather is looking like mid-seventies and sun—what more do we need! I’ll be sure to post and share our experiences there soon! So, ciao for now!

There are times when it feels like we are on a really long vacation. I mean, it certainly feels that way to me (probably not Brian since he goes to work daily). But seriously, I’ve been working since I was 14. So, to not have to go to work, and to be living in another country, is kind of a like a vacation to me. Don’t get me wrong. Ash cash (I call him that a lot) keeps me super busy and most days around 3 p.m. I still hit my wall and want a nap. But, not having to grade copious amounts of paper slewed with terrible grammar and not having to develop lessons daily makes it feel vacation-esque. On top of that, you add the really cool local places to see and our mini-vacations, it really does feel like we are off on a three year adventure. 

Since Belgium, we’ve seen quote a few local tourist attractions and went on a mini-getaway to Scotland. When we started settling in and meeting new people, many of Brian’s colleagues hinted at trying to get away at least once a month. While this is quite ambitious, we are going to try and stick to it. So, with that in mind, we’ve booked a few trips, and planned outings to meet those demands.

Not too long after Belgium, I met up with my friend Sherry and her family in York. Brian was supposed to come too, but silly him for catching a cold. Having been to York, I just went around with the Hibbard’s because I really just wanted to see them. Although, this time I did go into York Minster, the largest Cathedral in Yorkshire. It was really stunning and the historical influences were interesting. The stained glass windows were very intricate, and some of them had so much going on they were hard to follow. The crypts were also really interesting to see. We ate lunch in the Shambles district and the food was tasty and the beer was good. We also walked along the Wall and grabbed a beer on the water. All in all, it was nice to see some friends from home and the weather was great too!

Towards the end of July, our friend Carrie came to visit. She was our first guest in our new home! She grabbed the train from London and spent the weekend here with us. When she first got here, we picked her up at the train station and went straight to a pub for some beer and grub. It was nice to catch up and, since I’m always hungry, I was down for some food. On Saturday, we took Carrie to see Fountain’s Abbey. The weather was messing with us a bit, but we thought we could beat the rain. So we drove the 25 minutes to the Abbey. When we got there it was raining, but as we’ve been told, you can’t let the rain stop you in England. Brian got out to set up the stroller for Asher. As soon as he stepped out, it was like the skies opened up and buckets of rain started to fall. Carrie and I looked at each other and decided that perhaps a day at the breweries was more appropriate. So, yelling over the rain to Brian, he packed it back up, got in the car, and off to Black Sheep and Theakston Breweries we went. Now, of course, Brian and I had been to these two before as they are well known local breweries, so we were excited to return. Theakston has been around since 1827 and Black Sheep since 1992. The owner of Black sheep is a member of the Theakston family; however, when Theakston decided to sell to a national brewery, he decided to be the “black sheep” of the family and open his own independent brewery. Obviously, that worked out well for him. Anywho, we got to Black Sheep and parked, but when we went in, it was clear that we weren’t going to get a table since everyone else had the same idea for a rainy day, so off to Theakston we went. Theakston Brewery is really neat and has the traditional English pub feel. Their beer of the month was a Schwarzbier (black lager), which is right up my alley, so we were happy to have a pint there before going to grab some lunch. After lunch, the weather looked to have turned in our favor, so back to Fountain’s Abbey we went. We roamed around the ancient ruins and then headed towards a look out point that Brian’s co-worker suggested as one of the better views of the Abbey. The walk was nice, but the view was ok. The construction and tree coverage didn’t help. As we were walking back, the skies began to look more and more ominous and sure enough, the skies opened up on us. Fountains Abbey has ZERO cover, so needless to say, we looked like a bunch of wet fools by the time we made it back, but despite that, it was an enjoyable outing. 

The next day, since Carrie is an avid Harry Potter fan like me, we decided to venture to Malham Cove. Not only is this a beautiful site in the Yorkshire Dales, but it is also home to the scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 where Harry and Hermione apparate after Ron gets all bent out of shape after wearing the horcrux too long and ditches them. Malham Cove itself is a beautiful limestone formation in the Dales. It was originally formed by a waterfall roughly 15, 000 years ago; however, they recently found limestone they believe to be older than 50,000 years old. It is quite the hike up hundreds of steps, especially with an additional 18 pounds in the carrier, but well worth the views. To get to the Cove itself, you hike through farm fields where you literally cross paths with cows and sheep. You follow a little creek to the cove before tackling the steps. The weather was much more cooperative here, and it ended up being a lovely outing. After Malham, we grabbed lunch at the local pub before heading to Skipton Castle. Skipton castle is a well-maintained medieval castle. It withstood a three year siege during the civil war and was last owned by Lady Anne Clifford who maintained the castle and worked to preserve its history. It was neat to walk through the battlements and the individual rooms to see what life was like. On our way back to town we stopped at the Queens Head Pub for dinner. We went here one of our first days in town with our sponsors and discovered that the Garbutt family owns it (maybe a relation?!) but their steak and ale pie is the best we’ve had so far. Their sticky toffee pudding is also right on point so we had to give Carrie the proper Sunday roast experience here!

A few weeks after Carrie’s visit, we went to venture to a local town call Pateley Bridge. It is a quaint little English town at the bottom of a dale (which by the way, essentially means valley). We were told to try some local pies there. There are two butchers in town, and it depends who you talk to, which one is best. There is Weatherhead’s and Kendall’s. When we first arrived, Weatherhead’s was the first one we stumbled upon so we grabbed a pork and apple pie and a traditional pork pie here. They were freshly made and boy were they delicious. We walked through the small town and on our way back we tried Kendall’s pies too. The winner? Weatherhead’s. They were tastier for sure. There isn’t much in the town itself, but it’s adorable and offers good pies, so well worth the visit. If you haven’t caught on, Brian and I tend to judge places we visit on three things: food, beer, and aesthetics. Pateley Bridge offered all three. 

That same weekend, on Sunday, we decided to take a hike with some friends. So, in the Yorkshire Dales, there are three peaks you can hike which are the tallest peaks in the Dales. We decided to hike up Pen-y-Ghent. This is the lowest of the three tallest peaks in the dales. It’s roughly 2, 300 feet, so not exactly a mountain. My anxious self was worried about the pending storms that were forecasted because there aren’t exactly places to hide in valleys if that were to occur, but luckily the weather held off. It didn’t help that you could see for miles so the ominous skies were hovering; however, it did help make it not so hot! The hike was perfect in that it was a little over 6 miles, the incline wasn’t terrible or too steep, and minimal scrambling was necessary which was doable even while carrying Asher. (Side note: I know I’m often seen carrying Asher, but that’s because I told Brian once he hits 25 pounds, that’s all him, so it’s only fair that I take the load now. He does offer, I’m just trying to be “fair” because Asher will be 25 lbs before we know it and Brian will be on permanent carrying duty for hikes, which I know we will continue to do a lot of!). The views over the Dales were spectacular and the pictures really don’t do them justice! After our hike, we all decided to visit a relatively local famous pub (40 minutes away) for dinner. The Craven Arms is one of the only places left in the Dales with a thatched roof. The ambience inside was really neat. The food was pretty good too, but admittedly, it was so talked up that I didn’t think it was as good as people made it sound, but it also doesn’t take much to please me 🙂 

When Brian and I were discussing if we were going to go anywhere in August, we almost decided not to. Since Brian is taking two weeks off in September to head back to the States to participate in some cool peoples’ weddings, he didn’t really want to take time, which I totally get. However, if we didn’t go somewhere, we were already messing with our going somewhere once a month. So, I did a little research and looked for places within a four hour radius that had decent hiking that we could get away to. The hard part of this is that August is prime vacation time for pretty much all of Europe since kids are out of school for six weeks, so the price of everything is a bit inflated. After a bit of research, we landed on a place called St. Abb’s in Scotland. It’s only about three hours from here on the eastern coast of Scotland. Another thing we had to consider was we needed a place that was dog friendly because all of the kennels were booked solid, so Brewski was coming on our road trip! That being said, it’s really not hard AT ALL to find dog friendly places because they love their dogs here. When looking at hotels, we were trying to find reasonably priced, dog-friendly place, but the only places coming up in our budgets were the traditional inns of England and Scotland. That’s right, the one’s above the pubs! You never know until you try right? We found a place with good reviews in Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is in England just south of the Scottish Border. Before booking, Brian called to see how much more it would cost with a dog. Here’s how that conversation went:

B: Hi, yes. I’m calling to see how much more it costs a night to bring a dog?

Man: What kind of dog is it? Is it normal sized?

B: Umm, yes. He’s a husky mix. Medium sized.

Man: Oh, ok. It doesn’t cost any extra. We only charge for horses and bears.

B:….ok, thanks.

No joke, that’s how that convo went. Now, was the man joking or was he serious? Who has bears? What? Anywho, we booked the hotel. But, there were no bears there when we went, which was admittedly, a bit disappointing. 

Brian took Friday off, so we got up Friday and hit the road right around Asher’s nap time. On our way up, we decided to stop in Durham to go see the Durham Cathedral, and mainly the gardens, because guess what they were in? DING DING DING, you got it right! They are in Harry Potter. The gardens of Durham Cathedral were used for the courtyard scenes in Harry Potter, so Brian appeased me a bit here. However, driving in Durham was a bit confusing. There are places, who knew, that actually charge you a toll to simply drive through town. Luckily Brian saw the sign and called to pay the 2 pound fee, because if he hadn’t, we would have received a 50 pound ticket in the mail! We had lunch in Durham at the Shakespeare pub which is in a 12th century building. It’s a very traditional English pub and is also one of the most “haunted” places in Durham. We mainly chose it because it had good reviews for food and was dog friendly. We enjoyed our meal there before heading towards Berwick. We wanted to stop at Alnwick Castle too, which is also from Harry Potter (it’s Hogwarts!), but it wasn’t dog friendly, so we will have to go back! 

Our hotel wasn’t far from the Holy Island, which is only an island during high tide. There is a Pilgrim’s Walk to the island, but it’s three miles and was still very wet, so we drove on to the island. We tried to visit on Friday, but we got there around 4:10 and everything closed around 4:00 so we decided we’d go back. We had dinner at our hotel. It was pretty good, but pretty traditional. The inn was clean and for the most part, pretty quiet. For our first experience in an inn above a bar, it really wasn’t bad; however, it was somewhat in the middle of nowhere. While this worked to our advantage as far as noise level was concerned for Asher, it did not have much for us to do. Anywho, on Saturday Asher woke up super early so we headed out. We drove to Eyemouth, Scotland which was only about fifteen minutes from our hotel. Eyemouth is on the coast and was a pretty town. Most of it was still closed as it was only 7:30 in the morning, but we found a bakery and got some coffee and breakfast to eat on the coastline. After that, we drove to St. Abb’s. The weather was forecasted to have a bit of rain, which isn’t uncommon by any means, but we were prepared. The hike around St. Abb’s is a little over four miles. We drove to the parking lot, paid to park (which we later realized we didn’t have to because we are National Trust members, silly us). When we parked, we could see a video crew. Brian kept insisting that they were shooting something bigger here because it was super expensive equipment, etc. He was a bit obsessed with trying to figure it out. I didn’t really care. 

Anyway, we set out on our hike. As we made our way up the coastline, a man told us that it was possible they’d ask us to wait if they were shooting at the time. We said that was fine and kept walking. Sure enough, a man did stop us and pointed to the group of people on the side and said “they’re finishing up shooting, can you wait a few minutes please?” Brian asked him what it was that they were shooting and the guy was very nonchalant saying he didn’t know, perhaps some advert or something. At this point, we could see a pretty expensive drone off the coast line too. Then, a mom and her son came up. The son, who was probably 12ish,  was clearly in costume of some sort (looked like 70’s attire with bellbottoms, flower power shirt, etc.) A few minutes went by and they let us walk through. There was no one famous to be seen and Brian and I carried on. As soon as we were far enough away, Brian was adamant that they were not shooting an advertisement, it’s something bigger. He continued to obsess about it all day. Thank god for google because we later learned that it was seemingly Harry Styles’ new music video (not yet released). I don’t think Harry Styles was there at the time, but truthfully, if he was, I’m not sure we would have known who he was!

Anyway, the hike itself was stunning. We started out and it was a bit dreary, and even started raining a smidge heavier than we would have liked. There was a brief moment of contemplation as to whether we should continue on the hike, but we decided to power through and boy were we glad we did. The rain lasted maybe fifteen minutes, and before we knew it, it was sunny and beautiful. The sights at St. Abbs reminded us of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. The green landscape meeting the jagged, rocky edges against the North Sea were stunning. 

After the hike, we headed back towards the Holy Island. We parked the car, again looking at the threatening skies, and ventured towards the Lindisfarne Castle and priory ruins. It started to rain, but nothing more than a heavy drizzle. We walked to the castle first, as it was the farthest out on the island and figured we would make our way back. The castle itself was built in the 1550’s and originally served as a fort for soldiers watching the English boarders; however, in the early 1900’s, Edward Lutyen transformed the castle fort into a holiday home, which is how it appears today. There are still remnants of the fortified castle; however, most of it appears to be the holiday home that it ultimately became. After exploring the castle, we ventured back towards the town and to see the Priory ruins. These are similar to those of Fountains Abbey; however, they are much smaller. We walked towards the old chapel on the island and were able to hear a choir practicing. Sometimes, there really is nothing more peaceful than choir music in an old stone chapel. After meandering through there, we went to town to grab a pint at the local pub called “The Ship Inn.” It was a very traditional English pub and the beer was good.

The next day we woke up and started to head back towards Harrogate, but made a quick stop at Cragside, another National Trust site. Cragside is the first ever home to be lit on hydro-power. It’s a beautiful Victorian manor and estate on the outskirts of Northumberland’s National Park. Lord Armstrong, a man far beyond his time, was an inventor and he created this home and supported it via hydroelectricity. There are also numerous other gadgets of his creation in his home. The surrounding woodlands and gardens are also stunning, even on a cloudy day. It was well worth the stop! Overall, our mini-vacation to Scotland and Berwick went really well and offered us some beautiful views and neat history. 

Admittedly, it took me a long time to get this post out, so I apologize. Our two week venture to the states, plus other commitments, did slow me up a bit, but I promise to be better. I’ll write another post soon about the new, local hikes we’ve done as well as some really cool happenings here in Harrogate. Then, before we know it, we will be heading to Florence, Italy for a weekend jaunt! So, hopefully you’ll hear a lot from me! 

Cheers until then, my friends!

Belgium. The land of chocolate, beer, waffles, and fries. What more do you want from a vacation?

For our first big adventure out, we decided to explore Brussels and Bruges Belgium. Well, the cheap airfare helped make our decision, but it was a good one! We decided almost a year ago that we would take a trip for our 30th birthdays because they both came about at chaotic times in our lives. Brian turned 30 less than a month after Asher was born, so it was a struggle to even get out of the house let alone celebrate the occasion. Mine came less than one month from moving our family overseas, so needless to say, we didn’t have a lot of time to celebrate! So, we jumped on all the websites to scan for good deals and find a good trip to celebrate our 30th over the 4th of July holiday weekend. Sure enough, Brussels via Ryanair won the bid!

Let me take a moment to discuss Ryanair. Do they have the best deals? Yes, almost always. But they are cheap for a reason and like to charge you fees for EVERYTHING. Their carry-on bag allowance is one small back-pack. You can pay for an additional carry-on, but they have obnoxiously small bag requirements. You can also, obviously, pay to check a bag. It was around $15 dollars more a person to bring the additional carry-on bag, so we paid the additional fee and took the chances with measurements. As we’ve been told by many people, we were lucky not to get pulled. We were carrying on an additional duffel bag that if asked, I could make fit the requirements, and one small suitcase that was all the right sizes, except in depth. We also had our two backpacks, and Asher’s diaper bag. Let’s also not forget we had the stroller and car seat. So, I think what happened is that the clerks felt sorry for us as we meandered through the airport at the ass-crack of dawn (our flight was at 7:30 a.m.) dragging all of our belongings with a very-wide awake baby at the time, and they just let us go with all of our stuff. That being said, we’ve done some research and will be either checking a single bag next time, or buying suitcases that fit to avoid all stresses related to baggage on the planes. 

Also, Ryanair typically flies into airports that aren’t necessarily downtown. For example, they fly to Brussels Charleroi, which is a 50 minute drive from Brussels. Also, their flights aren’t typically timed the best. So we had to be at the airport at 5:30 a.m., which the airport was an hour and a half from our house, so we were leaving our home at 3:45 a.m. The benefit to the early flight times is that you get almost the entire day when you arrive; however, you’re also really tired. That being said, as new parents, we are pros at running on empty at this point! All that aside, Ryanair will courtesy check two items  for Asher (so we checked the stroller and carseat), as well as give you an additional carry-on for the baby, so his diaper bag went “free.” I say “free” because Asher cost $30 to sit in your lap (so really, we paid for that bag!), but still, it’s much cheaper to travel over here.

Back to the vacation. As I said earlier, we had to leave our house at 3:45 a.m. to get to Manchester Airport in time. We drove and parked our car at one of the car parks near the airport. Our plan was to try and move Asher from the crib and into the car seat without waking him and pray he slept until we go to the airport. Well, that didn’t happen. Asher had a TERRIBLE night sleep. After the fifth time of getting up, and it was 3 a.m., Brian and I just made the executive decision to get ready and go. We changed Asher’s diaper, got him in the car seat, loaded the car, and off we went. Asher stayed awake for about half-an-hour before he fell asleep, and then he slept until we got to the airport. Once at the airport, we checked in and headed to security. Security was tedious before a baby, but with a baby, UGH! I will say, the people behind us were quite patient, but we put everything in separate bins as requested. When I asked the security personnel about my breast milk, she asked me if it was less than 3 o.z. I knew right then this would be interesting. I was like, “No. There are 8 containers at 5 oz. each. It’s my babies milk.” I expected them to treat it like they did in the States. They take your breastmilk, and under your supervision, swab the outside of each container to check for radioactive material. They then hand it back. However, in Manchester, they appeared to be confused about how to handle the breastmilk  and they put a few bags in a bin and sent them through the conveyor, then they took some bottles and put them on the other side where the stroller was, and then the rest one of the security personnel members took to the end and handed to Brian on the other side. It made security last much longer than anticipated (not that we didn’t have the time). Some nice little old lady was helping me get all of our belongings off the conveyor belt because, since I had Asher, I walked through a metal detector whereas Brian had to wait in the line to walk through the machine. Anyway, after that, we went to the lounge and grabbed breakfast before heading to our gate.

The flight wasn’t bad. Brian and I didn’t pay to sit next to each other since the flight itself was only an hour, but we were lucky that the woman behind me offered to switch with Brian so we could sit near each other. Asher fell asleep immediately after take-off because he was so tired and slept most of the flight. Upon our arrival in Brussels, we were able to get off the plane quickly and grab everything we needed. We quickly changed because the weather was warmer in Brussels than it was when we left England early in the morning. Our friends Jayson and Jami were picking us up at the airport. They are currently living in Germany and it had been a little over a year since we saw them, so we were really excited to spend time with them. We walked out with all the people before we quickly realized there wasn’t a location for a car to pick you up. How does that work at an airport?! It took us about forty-five minutes to find each other. Jayson and Jami ended up having to pay to enter a parking garage to find us. It was a nightmare! It was the strangest airport and I can’t say I’d fly there again. 

But, now that the getting there is over, the vacation could begin! We stayed at the Meininger Hotel in Brussels. The hotel is a converted old brewery. It was described as Urban and I’d say that fits the bill. The hotel was clean, the staff was nice, and the rooms were pretty spacious for European rooms. They also provided us with a baby cot for Asher at no additional charge. The beds were comfortable, but the only downside was the pillows. WORST hotel pillows I’ve ever had, especially since they only gave you one. I’m sure we could have asked for more, but we didn’t. Overall, I’d stay there again. After we checked into the hotel, we headed to lunch because we were all hungry. There was a restaurant called Bel Mundo close to the hotel we decided to check out because it had good reviews. This was our first experience being in a country that speaks a foreign language we don’t know at all. Belgium technically has three national languages, but most of it speaks French. Then, some of the areas speak Dutch, then a very small area speaks German. In Brussels, it is almost all French, but most speak English as well. So, as we read the menu, we had to look up what many of the items were. What we came to learn was the Bel Mundo was vegan. It ended up being fine because the food was actually quite good and their beer was good as well. I ate a Pesto pasta dish that was really tasty and Brian had some sort of grain dish that was also very good. 

After lunch, we headed down towards Brussels City Center. After we booked, we discovered that the same weekend we were going to be in Brussels also was the kick-off of the Tour de France in Brussels. As we walked downtown, they were setting up the race course and you could feel the excitement in the air. We arrived Thursday and the race wasn’t until Saturday, but there were streamers hung and people were all prepping for the race. I didn’t expect to care, but it was a cool experience. We walked towards the Grand Place, and when we arrived, there was a huge stage and concert going on. We presume it was in preparation of the Tour de France. We then grabbed some Belgian fries (or so we thought). Don’t get me wrong, I love me some fries, but Brian and I agreed that there wasn’t anything so special about these fries (which we later learned why!). We then walked towards St. Michael Cathedral, a beautiful gothic cathedral Downtown. We then headed to the Parc de Bruxelles and meandered through as we made our way to the Royal Palace of Brussels. The city itself, while big, is easy to navigate through and has many beautiful and picturesque areas. 

Then, we decided it was time for dinner. We decided to head to Fin de Siecle, which was a top rated restaurant for authentic Belgian food. Their menu was on the big chalkboards on the walls inside, so Jayson went in and took a picture. Obviously this was written in French so were were trying to break it down, but then a waiter came out and explained what each dish was for us. I ordered bacon and cabbage wrapped sausages with mashed potatoes and Brian ordered carbonnade flamande, which was a beef that was so tender it fell apart in your mouth in a delicious sauce. We both tried local beers here as well; Brian’s was a dubbel of some sort and I had a pale ale. We really enjoyed our meal here and would highly recommend!

The food and the restaurant were great; however, we did have a run-in with an older, angry man here. We were sitting outside because it was gorgeous out. Asher had already eaten, and true to his nature, was being awesome like he had been all day. By the time we went to grab dinner, he was tuckered out and was napping in the stroller as we ate. As we were sitting there waiting for our meal, this old man walked by and stopped. He started speaking in French to us and was pointing to Asher’s head, and then to his own bald head. We immediately said we didn’t understand what he was saying. He then did it again, and we thought he was making a joke about his lack of hair, so we laughed a bit and that just made him angry. He then started speaking louder, really yelling, in French. We again apologized and said we didn’t know what he was saying. Finally, the table next to us (also American), started speaking to him in broken French, and then said to us, “He’s mad your baby doesn’t have a hat on. He’s saying something like it’s too hot not to have a hat on.” The man finally got frustrated and walked away. We were shocked at what just happened, and people around us were making light of the situation. Why do people think that if we can’t understand you, that the louder you get, the more likely we will understand you? Silly old man. Also, I don’t think it’s ever ok to tell someone how to parent; however, it was only 70 degrees, Asher was not in the sun at all, and he was perfectly content (as demonstrated in his ability to sleep through the angry man’s yelling!). We didn’t let it bother us, because we know everyone has opinions that they want to share and went on with our meal. We called it an early night after that since it had been a long day and went to sleep.

Asher had a bit of a rough night that night as well, but it could have been worse. He traveled like a champ and he was in a new cot, so we couldn’t be frustrated with him. The next day we got moving pretty early so we could catch the train to go to Bruges for the day. When we got to the train station, we tried to purchase our tickets via the credit card machines, but they wouldn’t let us because we needed to sign, so we had to stand in line. This ended up working in our favor though because when we tried to buy the tickets via the machines, it was going to charge us 110 euros (for all four) for a round trip ticket; however, when we got to the teller, he hooked us up. He gave us this write-in ticket for ten trips (this would take 8/10 trips for all of us) and it was only 83 euros. So cheers to the nice Belgian man for saving us some dough. The train ride was only an hour and fifteen minutes. It gave me the prime opportunity to feed Asher before we went out and about. We also had a bit of weird run-in here. There was a pleasant couple who sat across from us on the train. They didn’t interact with us much throughout the trip, but they did smile at Asher often (because, c’mon, how can you not?!). As we got closer to Bruges, the older man asked me if it was ok to take a picture of Asher. It took me a second to respond because I was caught off-guard. Obviously I said no because why does he need a picture of my son? But hey, at least he asked, right? Anyway, we arrived in Bruges around 10:30 a.m.

We walked all around Bruges, which is not very large, so it was easily done. We had been told to visit the De Halve Maan brewery not just for the beer, but for the views as well. So we walked over there first because according to our research, the tours booked up fast. The brewery opened at 11:30 and we got there right in time. We were able to book ourselves on the 12:00 tour. To kill the thirty minutes, we decided to grab a little bite because we were all hungry. We found this cute little waffle and pastry shop around the corner that offered a variety of foods. I grabbed a sausage and tomato baked pastry and it didn’t disappoint!

De Halve Maan brewery is the only brewery that still makes their beer on site in Bruges, and it is really very good. The tour was really awesome (and it only cost 12 euros and came with a full pint!), and it definitely gave you the best views of Bruges since you climb to the top. Our tour guide, Marie, was informative and funny. You start in two very warm rooms where they explain the process of brewing (you know, yeast, malts, hops, water, yada yada yada) and then you climb some stairs where they finish that explanation. You then get into the story of the Maes family who has been brewing there for centuries. Another neat factor about the brewery is that the beer is brewed at this location, then sent 2 miles underground in pipes to the bottling plant. What a good idea! Marie did warn us though that the pipes are deep enough that the average Joe or bars can’t dig down to tap it out! The tour itself is 220 steps and the further along in the tour you go, the more steep these steps get. I’m grateful Jayson and Jami were with us because we basically played pass the baby when it came to these steps. It got to the point that all the people on the tour would clap for us when we all got down with Asher safely. I’m grateful for all the patient people who appeased us, and more importantly, Asher throughout the tour. Overall, the tour was interesting and informative. At the end you get a pint of their Brugse Zot, an unfiltered blonde. It was really good. We also grabbed lunch here and everything turned out to be really good.

After leaving the Brewery, we walked around Bruges more including the famous Markt. This is the plaza in town with the beautiful colored buildings. That plaza was packed since it was a gorgeous day and there were all sorts of people there ranging from tourists like us to a local dance team trying to collect money. We also strolled through the Ten Wijngaerde Béguinage, which is home to many nuns (but not a nunnery) that was founded in 1245. It is medieval looking still, and we did in fact see a nun quietly go from her home (I’m assuming) to the chapel. It is a very quiet place, and I was irritated when people weren’t following the rules (no walking on the grass or speaking too loud), but it didn’t seem to bother the nun, so I guess I shouldn’t let it bother me!

We didn’t take the canal boat tours or a horse and carriage ride since the town was small enough to walk around, but we were told the canal rides are more scenic and the horse and carriage rides are more informational in case you ever go! As we walked, we saw the historic center of Bruges, which is a UNESCO world Heritage site, we walked by the Belfry (we didn’t climb it since we already had the 360 view from on top of the brewery!), walked by Minnewater lake, and took in the beautiful sites and architecture around the canals and city streets. We did stop at the famous Beer Wall, which was cool, but nothing too spectacular. We may have enjoyed it more if we could have stopped and had a beer on the canal, but it was packed! We also really enjoyed some FANTASTIC waffles at Chez Albert. We split a waffle with strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate drizzle. It was really good.

We stopped and had a pint in a little bar that was definitely for the locals. It was quaint and the ambiance was really neat. The beer was good, but there were definitely way better Belgian beers. For dinner, we went to a more modern place called Jilles Beer and Burgers. Seems random, we know. But I will tell you this. Unexpectedly, you cannot get a good burger in Harrogate (where we live, in case you forgot). When you ask around town who has the best burgers, Five Guys is everyone’s answer. Now, don’t get me wrong, everyone loves a good Five Guys burger every now and then (particularly after an evening of too many drinks), but that’s not  what I would describe as a GOOD burger. So when we saw this place in Bruges had good reviews, we jumped on it. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. We got an order of wings to split for an appetizer and they were good. Their burgers were all paired with a beer that would help bring out the flavors for both, and mine sure did. I got a burger called the Lucky Luciano. It was a burger that had sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, rocket (a.k.a. arugula), parmesan flakes, with a light pesto dressing. YUMMY. It was paired with a beer called Wipers Times which was a local blonde brew with four different grains and hops, that had a pale ale taste to it. I liked it so much I took a picture to try and recreate it. We’ll see! The only downside to this place was all the beer was bottled, not draft, but it didn’t bother us that much. We also stopped at a grocery store on the way out to grab ice (our hotel didn’t have a fridge and we needed to keep Asher’s milk cold!) and some beers for the train ride home.

Side note here. The beers in England are delicious and often low in alcohol, which has been great for me since I’m still breastfeeding. I can have a beer or two and not worry about feeding Asher in due time because they are often less than 4%; however, in Belgium that is not the case. They are often much higher, like 6-8% so I was lucky to have a great supply of bottles for Asher (and smart enough to bring them!), so no fear, I know I talk a lot about beers, but my kid wasn’t drinking them with me. He’s got many years before he can do that!

Saturday was the day we parted with our friends since they were driving home to Germany, but it was also the day of the Tour de France. Jayson and Jami hung around to grab breakfast and see the start of the race. For breakfast we went to this place called Chicago Cafe. I’m still not entirely sure why it’s called that, but it had good reviews and was listed as family friendly, which ended up being a good thing since I had to feed Asher. For those of you that know me, it’s shocking that I’m willing to feed in public, right?! (Obviously I cover up to respect the people around me, especially my friends who never need to see that much of me!)  It was really good and had a good variety, but lots of their food appeared to either have a Mexican influence (like juevos rancheros, etc.) or seemingly be completely random. In a way, that was good because there was something for everyone. I enjoyed my coffee and French toast that was made with honey and bananas. As we headed back towards the hotel, the race was about to begin. We were able to stand on the street right where all the riders of the Tour de France were going to ride by to get to the starting line. There was a parade of all the sponsors before hand where they through random items, such as pens or keychains, to the crowds. After the parade, there were many cars clearing the routes and cops were posted all around the race route to keep people off the streets. Brian caught a video of all the racers going by us (not even really racing yet) and it only took 13 seconds for the 176 riders to go by. It was a neat thing to see and I’m glad we were able to witness it.

After we said our goodbyes to Jayson and Jami, Brian and I decided to continue to explore Brussels. We walked in the other direction to see part of the old Castle Gates. We also walked to the Musical Instrument Museum because a man on the plane over told Brian it was worth it to go there and grab a coffee or a beer at the restaurant on the top for the views. He was absolutely right. The museum itself is near the Royal Palace, so the views from the top of this were great. The museum itself was also at the start line of the Tour de France so we got some pictures there too! We walked back towards the Grand place to get more pictures there with the stage down and saw the famous Mannequin pis statue/fountain (a little boy peeing). They occasionally dress him up and he was this time with the yellow jersey for the Tour de France. We stopped at a restaurant called Au Brasseur which had an extensive beer list. We both got a beer called La Corne, which was a light lager, and given to you in a horn. It was refreshing and fun to drink out of. We also grabbed a waffle here from one of the best places in Brussels called Maison Dandy. It was good, but the waffles from Chez Albert in Bruges was better! For dinner were grabbed some mussels because apparently Mussels in Brussels in the thing to eat. Typical mussels here are not extremely fancy so you shouldn’t spend too much on them. It was a light treat, but note ridiculously tasty. I think the Belgian beer and mussels place in D.C. was much better (St. Arnold’s if you’ve never been—highly recommend, worth the $$). 

Sunday was our final day in Belgium (we left really early Monday morning). We booked a beer and chocolate tour called the Brussels Journey for the afternoon which we were really looking forward to. For breakfast, we walked to a place called Charli’s. It was a small pastry and coffee shop. We both got a pan au chocolate and split a hazelnut snack. We thought the pastries at our local bakery were good, but boy were these delicious. Where we were sitting at the breakfast bar,  we could see two men making the pastries and breads. The one man kept making faces at us and Asher. The staff was friendly and the pastries were a treat! After that, we walked over to a place called Corsica which had great coffee. Again, England doesn’t do coffee well, AT ALL, so this was a nice change. Corsica had 15 different beans to choose from, and you could select the bean and then the type of drink. Many of them were espressos, but Brian and I both got beans that could be made into lattes. Both were really good, but admittedly I had coffee envy because Brian’s was a bit better! We walked through parks and took in more views. We also packed up so that we didn’t have to worry about much Sunday night after our tour. For lunch, we grabbed pizza at Nona. It was Neapolitan style pizza. Brian had a n’douja and cheese pizza in a red sauce and I had zucchini, basil, and cheese (white). They were both pretty good and we were good sharers!

We have arrived at the tour. I will tell you now, it was one of my favorite parts of the trip! The tour was broken up into parts, where the first part was visiting 4 different chocolatiers and the second part was visiting three different pubs. Our tour guide was Daniel and he was hilarious. Along the walks, Daniel also gave us history of Brussels. We all met at a store called Chocopolis. Here, we got the history of chocolate for Belgium, in that it started as a medicinal thing and has since grown into one of its biggest industries. We tried two different chocolates here. The first was 70% dark, and it was really good. The second was made with peppers. When you ate it, you didn’t taste it right away, but then you could feel it in the back of your throat. We then walked to the next chocolatier, which was one of the most famous in Brussels (I didn’t write the name down because I suck). We had five chocolates here with some choice. The first everyone had which was a chocolate made from cocoa beans from Ethiopia (I think?!). It was very good and had an earthy taste to it. We then had another chocolate made from another country (India, if I remember correctly) and this one tasted sweeter, almost fruity. It was interesting to see how different soils where the cocoa beans grow really do change the flavor! Then we got to choose. The first time would choose a chocolate from different fillings. Some were fruity, others were caramely. I went the caramel route and it was delicious. Brian got one that was spicier and he enjoyed it as well. The second choice was one that was made with rums and whiskeys. Brian got a whiskey flavored one and I got the rum flavored one. Both were pretty tasty, but this admittedly wasn’t my favorite. Finally, we tried 100% dark chocolate. It was really bitter, but I love dark chocolate so I actually really enjoyed this. We then went to the third and fourth shop, both located in the Royal Galleries of St. Hubert. The first place had a variety of chocolates that were sweet. The one I liked best from here, Daniel (our tour guide) described as an off-brand kit-kat. It did have a similar taste. The second shop here had my favorite out of everything we tried-it was a coffee chocolate and it was delicious. I also had an off-brand snickers type chocolate here as well. I will admit, I was chocolate-d out because while I like sweets, the richness was getting to me. It was definitely beer time! Brian and I decided not to buy any because we don’t need that in our lives, especially since they only stay fresh for about three weeks, and we shouldn’t eat that much chocolate in such limited time. Good thing we plan on heading to places like Switzerland to try more 🙂

As we headed off to the beer part of the tour, we stopped and saw a few sights and grabbed some fries to share. We visited the Mannequin Pis statue again, saw remnants of the old wall of Brussels, learned some history of the many times Brussels was conquered, and learned about how certain guilds who have prospered in Brussels across times are the ones who built the ornate homes in the Grand place (such as the Brewers Guild). Then we went to a place called Georgette’s for real, authentic Belgian fries. As Daniel explained, most fry places around town are not real Belgian fries. Real Belgian fries are cooked in beef fat and double fried. Daniel bought two rounds of fries to spilt amongst the group and finally we realized why Belgian fries are a thing. They were so good. He had two sauces, one of which was a truffle mayo sauce. HEAVEN IN MY MOUTH. I don’t even remember the other sauce because this one was sooo good. Brian and I didn’t even have to discuss that we would go back there after the tour and get our own. 

We then went to a more modern bar where we tried more of the craft beers of Belgium today to start. The first beer we had was from the most successful craft brewery in Brussels called Brussels Beer Project. Brian and I had a pint there previous to this, but it was good. We were served their Pale Ale. It was well balanced with hops and malts. This can be proven in that even Brian liked it and he’s not a fan of the hoppier beers (I’m working on it; although, in England that’s hard since they don’t really have hoppier beers!). We then tried another local beer that was mediocre at best. If I learned one thing, it’s the Belgians have mastered the Trappist beers and they are delicious, so perhaps they should stick to them! We then walked to a really old bar called Toone. This bar is as old as Belgium itself and had a really neat ambiance. Here, we first had a tripple. It was very good in flavor and roughly 9%. We then had a traditional lambic beer, which means sour. I am not a big sour beer fan; however, the Belgians have made them right as well. I actually enjoyed this lambic beer because it was balanced with a slight fruit flavor. I should also note that the beers they gave us were all half pints, which was plenty since their beers are pretty high in alcohol content.

We finally went to the last bar, which is also one of the oldest bars in Brussels called Au Bon Vieux Temps. It’s got a great gothic-y vibe to it with beautiful wooden carved bars and decor in conjunction with stained glass windows. Here, we had our new favorite Belgian beer. We were given Westmalle Dubbel (roughly 7%), the first ever dubbed brewed in Belgium and it is quite good. We were also served a quadruple here (roughly 11%). It was also tasty and didn’t taste as high in alcohol as it was, so in a way, quite dangerous. Daniel also explained to us here the rules that all Trappist beers must follow in order to be labeled “Trappist.” They must be brewed only in the walls of a monastery, monks must be involved in the brewing process, and all the money from the beers (aside from the upkeep of the brewing) goes to a charity designated by the monks. So, we are giving back when buying Trappist beers, right? Here is where the tour ended. It was really interesting, and obviously quite delicious, and well worth the money. On our way back to the hotel, Brian and I picked up our own orders of fries and truffle mayo from Georgette’s, cause who doesn’t want a snack after drinking a few beers!?

We finished packing while Asher slept and set our alarms for our ridiculously early flight again. We woke up and took an Uber to the bus station, and then took the bus to the airport. This time we were successful in transferring Asher to the car seat where he slept all the way to the airport. We are lucky that Asher is a champion traveler. We hope it continues as we plan on many more adventures! All in all, Belgium was a really cool place to go. The history, the beer, the chocolate, the fries, and the food were all awesome and I can’t say I won’t go back! In fact, friends are trying to convince us to go to one of the biggest Belgian beer festivals in Bruges in February, so who knows! Maybe we will be back!

We are ex-pats living in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. When we decided to move here and discussed where we’d be living with our friends and family, my great aunt, who has been to England too many times to count, told me that we were moving to the prettiest part of the country. Obviously I can’t say for certain that’s true as we haven’t seen much of the country yet, but I will tell you, it is quite pretty.

Let me first get this straight. We do not live in London or any where close to it.  So no, Asher and Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor do not have play group together (which with all that drama now, who wants it!) London is approximately 3 and a half hours by car if there isn’t traffic, which would be a miracle. We are north of London in North Yorkshire County, which we have been told time and time again is “God’s country.” 

In the last two and a half months, we have had some time to explore our new town and its surroundings (although admittedly, we have yet to actually take the tour of Harrogate-we’ll get around to it, I’m sure!). Harrogate is a spa town, and is nowadays described as posh. Have no fear (because Brian and I certainly did), posh does not mean hipster. No offense to hipsters, it’s just not our scene. The only thing we share in common with some hipsters is our love of craft beer. Posh means stylish and luxurious. Everyone warned us how expensive it was over here, but really, it’s not that drastically different from the States, especially because tipping culture is quite different. Here, they pay servers decently and there is a service fee added most of the time, so you don’t need to tip. That being said, their customer service is not what we’ve come to expect in the States. You may wait a long time for your bill, or even to order. Everyone is pleasant, just not necessarily in the mentality of instant gratification which we are so accustomed to in the States. 

Anywho, Harrogate is a spa town that originally became popular due to the baths in town, which were recognized for their medicinal qualities. So, really, if you were sick, you came for holiday in Harrogate to experience the magic of the baths. That’s how it started to thrive. Nowadays, it has one of the biggest convention centers in the country and brings in various conferences, etc, as well. It also has a famous strip of land (200 acres) known as The Stray, which is protected by Parliament so it will always be there (or at least until Parliament doesn’t care anymore). On the nice days, The Stray is packed with people who are picnicking, playing games, grilling, and drinking. That’s right. There are no open container laws in England. It’s crazy to just see people walking on the street with their beers and gin and tonics (cause gin is BIG here). Supposedly, I could even be drinking a beer while Brian is driving—a bit insane when you think about it! Don’t worry Mom, we haven’t tried it.

Nowadays, when people come to Harrogate, it is most well known for Betty’s Tea Room. It’s a bit pricey (roughly $28 for an Afternoon Tea), but it is good and the ambiance is nice. Brian and I have been twice. We enjoyed the English Breakfast Tea the most. We also enjoyed the tea sandwiches which are comprised of 4 different types. The first was a cucumber and dill (quite refreshing), the second was a smoked salmon (not for me cause anything slightly raw in the form of fish is unappetizing, but Brian liked it!), the third was a cumin chicken salad (also quite tasty), and finally a ham and rocket (which is arugula). While the sandwiches were tasty, the scones and the deserts take the cake (haha, get it?!). The scones, which are more reminiscent of Irish Soda bread than the traditional scone, were delicious, particularly with the butter and homemade jam. Then, the mini desserts were YUMMY. My favorite was the lemon tart, which made me think of lemon meringue pie, hold the meringue and put inside a delicious crust. Brian loves chocolate so their chocolate treat was his favorite. It is quite rich, but very tasty. 

On the topic of food, we have tried a ridiculous number of restaurants and pubs. When we first got here, we were given stipends for food because we didn’t have an official place to live, so we took that time to figure out what we like in town. I will say, we didn’t feel the need to eat out for a few weeks after we ate out every day for a month! If there is one thing we can say for sure is that there is certainly no shortage of food options in Harrogate, and the options are quite diverse. I am not going to describe every restaurant we went to because, well, I don’t feel like it, and it would get quite boring, but I will tell you our favorites. 

If you’re looking to spend some money for good food, I have two recommendations for you. Sasso’s is a great Italian Restaurant. We went twice and enjoyed our meals both times, and their antipasto appetizer was amazing. We also really enjoyed Tanin Level. It’s what they call “upscale” British food. Sounds a bit like an oxymoron, huh? But it really was quite delicious and their wine selection was fantastic. Their sticky toffee pudding was also on point. For pubs, we of course, have explored our fair share of them. A traditional English pub doesn’t have TV’s, which I appreciate since my husband’s a bit ADHD when a tv is around. Our two local favorites are The Fat Badger and The Old Bell. Both have great casque beer options and the food is good. The Fat Badger has more variety and is a bit more pricey, but Old Bell has a pie of the day (no, not apple, more like Shepherd’s) and every time we’ve gotten a pie, they’ve been really good. 

For breakfast, we do love a local bakery called Manna. They have delicious pan au chocolates and my favorite, flap jacks. No, these are not pancakes, but more like homemade granola bars. And they’re delicious. We also like Tilly Peppers. Really family friendly and down to earth people, and their food is consistently good. Brian went in once to grab breakfast for take away and she asked how far he was going. He pointed across the street and she said, here take these proper plates and bring them back when you’re done. And that breakfast was delicious. 

Our local “happy hour” place, despite that not being a thing here, is called Little Ale House. They always have six casque beers on tap and they are always rotating; however, they always have the same types (bitters, pale ales, stouts, etc.). We haven’t had a beer we didn’t like there yet and the owners are awesome. They’re a young married couple who decided they didn’t want to work in London anymore and moved here and opened this bar. If Brian and I were risk takers, that would be what we would do, just instead of a bar, we’d open a brewery, but you know, we like to play it safe. So we’ll do our fair share by supporting Dani and Rich! 

My favorite place in Harrogate that doesn’t involve food or beer is the Valley Gardens, which we are fortunate enough to live ridiculously close to. They are beautiful gardens that cover about 17 acres of land. There is also a great playground for kids, which I’m sure Asher will love come a few short weeks time! It’s a great place to walk Brewksi, go for a run, listen to music, drink some coffee, you name it. On the days where it isn’t raining hard (cause people go outside when it’s light rain here, because if they didn’t, they might not go outside for days on end!), Valley Gardens is packed with people and dogs. They also host concerts each Sunday in the summer and hold a variety of festivals in town too. We went to the festival called 1940’s Day. It seemed pretty random to me at first, but as Brian explained, the 1940’s were a pretty big deal over here with the World Wars and all. People came dressed in 40’s attire, and there were loads of old military cars and weapons, live music from the 40’s, food trucks, and drinks. It was a beautiful day too, so it was a neat experience. 

Harrogate does have a great deal to offer, and even more so, it’s in a fantastic location. We’ve been able to explore various towns and sites close by, and we still have so much left to explore. We first ventured about 35 minutes away to York, which is a pretty touristy town in that many people stop between London and Edinburgh. We had to go there for some paperwork, but it was a neat place to venture around. We didn’t explore too much of the touristy things because know we will be back many times with visitors, but we did enjoy walking around the city, particularly the quaint old parts of town. The Shambles were really cool to check out. It felt like I was walking around Diagon Alley from Harry Potter with it’s low, Tudor style buildings. They market to that as well as there were many Harry Potter shops there, so I did have my first HP fan girl experience. I’m sure there are plenty more of them to come! We also enjoyed two breweries in town. Shocker! We stopped and had a drink at each and the beer was pretty good. We definitely enjoyed York Brewery more. They also gave us a free bar towel for our bar when we get home, so that was really nice of them! We also went into the York Castle museum. It was…interesting… The museum itself had loads of cool information, but it did feel like someone went into the museum and just puked up random factoids all over the place. When you first start walking through, it’s a timeline of the history of York. This was very helpful since I can’t say I’m well versed in British history. Then you walk into a room which shows what homes would look like from different centuries and from different social classes. Aside from real stuffed dogs (I know, right?), this was really neat to see as well. But then, you walk into rooms filled with toys across the centuries (all the way from racially inappropriate dolls to Nintendo 64), rooms representing the fashion of different decades, etc. Then, on the other side, there is an exhibit on World War I. This part was really interesting as well and seemed pretty organized, until in the middle of the exhibit there was another exhibit on romantic break-ups. The first thing you see in this exhibit is a pair of fluffy handcuffs. If that doesn’t scream WWI, I don’t know what does! The museum itself is in the old female prison of the time, but very little information is given about that. It’s quite an eclectic museum to say the least. Everything else in York we walked around to see such as a massive, beautiful old cathedral in town. It’s quite stunning. There is a big part of the castle Tower still standing which you can explore as well as parts of the old city wall which you can walk on. It’s a neat old town to explore with plenty of food, drink, and tourist options available!

Our second venture out was to a town called Knaresborough. We first went on Mother’s day weekend for a beer festival which was a fundraiser for the local special education school. The festival was neat with many local breweries, but what was most shocking to us, was that the festival was held on school grounds. Beer on school grounds? That’s something I could have lost my job over back home! After we went to the festival, we explored downtown Knaresborough a bit. It’s a beautiful old town built on the river. We went back for the famous Knaresborough Bed Races, which I had never heard of, but Brian had seen them on ESPN in his youth, so he was stoked. We took the train three stops over and went to watch the race. One of Brian’s co-workers told him to go to the Pub “The Worlds End” to watch because you could see the parade on one side, and the race on the other. We got there about an hour before the parade, but there were no seats left outside. We grabbed a table inside and just waited. As we waited, the skies looked more and more ominous, so a table left the edge of the patio outside and we jumped on it, just in time for the skies to open up. You know those umbrellas we use on patios in the States for some shade? Yea, well the Brit’s use them to block the rain! Asher stayed dry and that’s all we cared about, so we drank our Carlsberg’s and watched the race. The theme this year was Yorkshire, so they had floats of all different kinds decorated with all the sights of Yorkshire. Truthfully, I didn’t see much of the parade because of the rain. I was a bit too focused on Asher, but the actual race ran right by us and I saw that. They strip down the floats to the beds and run through these ridiculously tight streets and even across the river that runs through the town. Each team is made up of six adults (they had an all male category, all female category, and mixed gender category) and then one child. The child had to sit on the bed throughout the race. Sign me up for that job! It was definitely unlike anything I’ve ever seen, but I don’t think I’m going to go sign up to run it. It’s definitely a spectacle sport for me!

We’ve also had the chance to visit Fountains Abbey and Ripley Castle, which are two local attractions which are pretty cool to see. Ripley Castle is still a family dwelling for descendants of the Ingleby family who have owned the castle since the late 1200’s. You can take a guided tour of the castle and explore the parts that aren’t used frequently by the family. It was an interesting piece of history, the most memorable part being about Oliver Cromwell. Oliver Cromwell came to the castle to find a member of the family that he knew was fighting against him, but the sister had already helped her brother hide, so Cromwell set up camp there for the night. The sister sat with Cromwell in the room, with a gun underneath her skirt ready to shoot him if he went looking for her brother. She could have changed the entire course of history had Cromwell acted, but instead he slept by the fire, and in the morning, killed all the guards of the castle and bid the sister farewell. You can still see the bullet holes in the caste walls where Cromwell killed the guards and you can presumably see the area of the castle where the brother hid. It was a bit eerie to stand in the same spot Oliver Cromwell did centuries ago. Fountains Abbey is the remains of an old monastery from the 1100’s. It’s amazing to me that something so grand was built that long ago, let alone that much of it is still standing. The grounds of the Abbey are beautiful as well. 

Harrogate is on the outskirts of the Yorkshire Dales, which are gorgeous. They are beautiful green rolling hills, with cute and quaint little British towns scattered throughout. We will be taking a tour of the Dales soon, but we’ve explored some of them. We visited Wensleydale, which is known for its cheese. We didn’t know that at the time, so we will be going back since cheese is its own food group in my opinion. On the outskirts of Wensleydale are the biggest waterfalls in The Dales known as Asygarth Falls. They aren’t big in that they drop a great distance, rather they are spread out. It was a nice little walk through the Dales to see them and they were pretty to see. We also ventured over to Brimham Rocks, which are another famous set of rocks like that of Stonehenge. Brian says they remind him of Devil’s Den in Gettysburg if you’ve ever been. They were pretty cool, and it is amazing how wind and water create such unique things. We took a geological tour of the area which was interesting; however, our tour guide was a bit long winded. The most famous rock from Brimham is the Idol, which has a massive rock sitting on a rock the size of an iPad. As the guide said, it will fall someday, and hopefully not when he’s giving a tour! Nature is a pretty miraculous thing. 

If you’ve made it this far, sorry for the long post! Between getting all of our belongings and unpacking, grad school, and Asher, it’s been hard to get time to write! When you come to visit *cough, cough*, you can be like, I remember that thing you wrote about where people were shot against a wall…can we go there?!? Needless to say, our new home has lots fo offer and I’m excited to share it with you either in person or digitally through my mediocre writing!

In other news, I will write about our jaunt to Belgium shortly, I promise!

Adjusting to motherhood in and of itself is quite the task. You have those moments where, in the middle of the night after you’ve just fallen asleep after a feeding, you wake up with a start because you think you’ve fallen asleep on top of your baby. You’ve counted endless hours listening to the incessant sounds of the breast pump which you’ve grown to resent, but know that it’s a necessary evil. You’ve listened to many people say “I think you should…” and you’ve questioned every decision you’ve ever made. Let alone the anxiety and worry you feel every time your baby makes an unusual sound or you’ve ventured out of the safety of your own home into the world of germs! 

So, we thought, why not just make our entrance into parenthood super stressful by moving across the Atlantic Ocean so that if and when we decide to have another child, it will be easy! Just kidding (kind of).

But moving with a three and a half month old to Britain certainly has had its struggles. As I type this, we still don’t have most of our stuff from the states, including lots of Asher’s things. We won’t get it until later this week. It will have been 8 weeks since we arrived, and 9 weeks without our belongings. That’s a long time to go without your bed. Hopefully Asher remembers that he liked to sleep long hours in his crib and brings that back to our reality!

Prepping to come to England for Asher was difficult. At three and half months he already needed so much from us that the task of adding additional duties and stresses to our plate to make this transition for Asher as seamless as possible was exhausting. There was a long list of things to consider and figure out before leaving.

1. Breast milk. I did not spend countless hours, partially awake, at all times of the day and night pumping my milk to let it go to waste. I was blessed with a great milk supply. I either had to donate it or bring it with. I preferred the idea of bringing it with because that does give us the freedom to do things without the need to whip my boob out every few hours for our son, particularly on those travel days. But how can I get frozen milk to stay frozen for essentially 24 hours!?! Brian and I both did copious research on flying with frozen breastmilk, and believe it or not, there was NOTHING out there to help. Luckily, I have a husband who reads articles (never books, reading is for research alone in his opinion *breaks heart of his English teacher wife*) about how to do things. So, in case you were wondering, most airlines will allow a small amount of dry ice on board in a breathable container. So, we bought a cooler that could hold most of (not all) my breast milk and the 5 lbs. of dry ice and paid to check it on the plane. That $50 was worth all my time and energy. 
2. Vaccinations. You’d think two advanced countries in the medical world would follow the same vaccination schedule, with the exact same vaccinations. But no. Luckily, we were given a sheet breaking down the differences from Brian’s employer. Hepatitis B is a common vaccine in the states; however, it wasn’t given over here until recently. Babies don’t get the meningitis vaccine in the states, but they do get doses of it here. The chicken pox vaccine is commonplace in the states, but unavailable here through the National Health Care System. Oy. Luckily, Asher was able to get his four month shots just shy of leaving due to the incubation period timeline working in our favor so we didn’t have to stress right away; however, what I’m now realizing is that the Brit’s timeline is quite different. I called to make an appointment to get his 6 month shots and that’s not a thing in Britain. They asked me how many weeks he was (I had to count because I count in months now) and I told them , and they were like we aren’t due to see him until he is one-year-old. Excuse me? I then asked to come to the surgery (that’s what they call the doctor’s office) to sort it out. My kid needs his vaccines and I will see that he gets them. I also talked with a health visitor (these are really nice people who come to your house to check on the baby—I know, right?) and I think we’ve sorted out what he needs. Needless to say, I will be calling the surgery to set it all up!
3. Traveling/Air Travel. It’s not recommended for babies to fly until they’re at least three months old. Now, in my head, I wouldn’t normally fly until after that because the words AT LEAST are present, so you know, my anxious self would probably have waited till he was at least 6, 8, 12 months old. But, we had to do it. And planes are nasty. Like, filled with germs. If it were up to me, Asher would have traveled in a bubble, but Brian said no (only partially kidding). So, on top of worrying about every cough around me, I also had to focus on ensuring Asher’s ears were ok and he was comfortable on the plane. We were able to buy him a seat on the way out, so that was really helpful because we had the car seat for him to sleep in. And, true to Asher’s awesome self, he flew like a champ! I made sure to feed him at take off to help with his ears, and then he fell asleep. AND HE SLEPT THE ENTIRE FLIGHT. I know we flew overnight which helped, but it could have been terrible. I then had to wake up him to feed him at landing. He really did amazingly. We are so lucky. Hopefully he has the same reaction on our flight back to the States at the end of August?!?!?
   1. Side night: Brewski also traveled like a champ. The hardest part about getting our dog here was all of the paperwork and the stress of making sure everything was filled out correctly so that he didn’t get held in quarantine upon arrival. Oh, and don’t fly into the U.K. on a bank holiday. There is always a surcharge of astronomical proportions to do their jobs. For example, we flew in on Good Friday and they charged us an additional four hundred pounds to process Brewski (which they didn’t tell us until less than a week before arrival—they said re-consider flying in that day. Because you can totally change all of your moving plans in less than a week). Anyway, not many people were willing to pay that much so at least his processing only took 2.5 hours as opposed to the 8 they said it could take. Look at the positive, right? 
4. Sleep. Aside from us having to wake Asher up to eat to get rid of jaundice in in his first few weeks of life, he has truthfully been an amazing sleeper giving us almost four hours stretches from the start. He’s been in his own crib and room since about two months. Right before we left our home, he was giving us 9-11 hours stretches each night. He’s awesome right? But, if you’re looking for a way to totally screw up a kids sleep schedule, move them to a different time zone. Preferably one that’s 5-6 hours ahead (depends on daylight’s savings!). It’s hard to determine WHY his sleeping is regressing, but it has. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still normally only waking once, maybe twice, a night, but that’s a regression for him and normally it’s not a brief wake. He’s up for 1-2 hours. Now, the hardest part about babies is that they can’t talk to tell you WHY they’re awake. Is he suffering from the thing called the 4-month baby sleep regression where babies begin cycling through sleep like adults? Or is he teething and it’s waking him up (he’s got all the signs except the actual tooth)? Or does he have gas? At this point, he should be adjusted to the time difference; however, the sleep thing has not been great lately. Hopefully he sorts that out. 
5. Baby Culture: In America, pregnancy and babies are viewed as wonderful. Random people come up and touch your belly (and then later, your baby) to say how wonderful it is and then proceed to give you advice. I admit, don’t really miss that. Although, it appears to be just human nature for people to touch babies (not really a fan of that!). This is somewhat true in Britain; however, we’ve had quite a few Brits more excited to meet Brewski than they are to see Asher. It’s cool. Brewski is a pretty awesome dog. Don’t get me wrong. Lots of people have googly-eyed Asher and talked with him. One local establishment that we came to frequent a lot prior to having any ability to cook would simply just take Asher and walk back to the kitchen to say hi to everyone (we could see him the entire time). Of course, the second he would cry or fuss, they gave him right back to me. Funny how that works huh? But there were also places that simply state: “No children allowed.” There really have only been two pub/restaurants that we tried to enter that said that (one other place said it, but had a side of the bar dedicated to people with children), but I’m sure there are more. Brian and I talked about how we understand why some bars would feel that way, but why not put a time limit on it? Like no children after 7 p.m.? That seems reasonable to me. We got over that fast since many places are totally fine with you bringing your baby in; however, what really caught us off guard is when we were looking for houses. We did expect some places to say no pets—that’s true in the States in many places. But we also saw many places that said No kids or pets, sorry. I thought it was hilarious they said sorry in the listing! But, how crazy is that? That would NEVER fly in the States, but sure enough here, no children is an ok thing to say when renting your home. We saw four bedroom homes listed as no children. What person is renting a four bedroom home without children? Crazy. Obviously we found a nice place which allowed both Asher and Brewski, so we’re good to go. Also, in the states, having your 5-6 month old in bed around 7:30 is normal. Bedtime routine should start around 7. If you were going out to eat with a 6 month old and you left for dinner at 6:30 p.m., you might get some nasty, judgmental stares (you do you!), but here, it’s not like that. Brian and I have worked hard to establish that routine for Asher, specifically in hopes of helping with sleep, so we would go out to eat early, at like 5:00/5:30. There were quite a few times where we were the only ones in the restaurant for almost all, or all of, our meal because people don’t eat that early. I started to think that maybe people don’t bring their kids out to eat, but one day walking back to our temporary housing I saw 5 tables eating outside with highchairs. It was already 7:00; we were running late that day! So it wasn’t that people don’t take their kids out to eat, they simply keep them up later. Since Asher’s witching hour hits around 7:00, we’ll keep to our schedule (for the most part, there are always exceptions!) to spare everyone that side of him! But how American of us to adjust our schedule for Asher, and how British of everyone else to have the kids adjust to theirs. Who knows, maybe we will have to reconsider when he’s a bit older.

While we had to consider all of these changes, it does appear that it hasn’t really phased Asher all that much, which was the objective. While it’s certainly been an adjustment to the expectations of our parenting, it’s been an enlightening experience already. What I have already recognized about myself is that there are certain things (like vaccinations) that I feel pretty strongly about for my kid, and I will ensure Asher gets what we deem as necessary; however, I also recognize that living in this culture can teach us new things like how to help Asher with his ability to be flexible while stressing the importance of routine. It will hopefully be beneficial to him in the long run!

Also, as many of you have requested, I’m working on getting Asher in a few peer groups to work on that English accent, even though even if he gets it, a few years in the states and it will mostly, if not all, disappear! His babbles aren’t quite British yet—I’ll keep you posted!