Our Recession Adventure

Peanut Butter. Pea-Nuuut buuuutter

2010-05-05T08:34:00.001-07:00

It is a generic brand from a company I have never heard of in New Jersey. We found it tucked into a corner of the top-most shelf amongst the Asian specialty foods. There are triple the required number of ingredients including several that eliminate a peanut butter from my consideration: corn syrup, preservatives and two types of hydrogenated oils. I had to cross Budapest to get it, taking 2 trams, a bus and a lot of walking with kids in tow. The corner markets have none and are not likely to ever stock it. No one I asked had any idea what I meant. But yesterday, I saw a sign for Tesco. This British chain store would have not only peanut butter but better deals on all the food staples we could carry!

Problems began when, tracing our steps back to where I saw the sign, we hopped off the bus and headed to the arrow pointing to "Tesco here!" and noticed the small "3 kilometers". Okay, no problem, walk a bit, grab another bus, consult GPS, walk a bit more. Of course, all the walking and switching will have to be repeated to get home so this limits how much we can buy due to the need to carry it. That explains why I am eating peanut butter on a bran muffin; bread did not make the cut for items unique enough or discounted enough to warrant lugging home. It is the best peanut butter I have ever tasted.

Wars

2010-04-22T11:44:00.000-07:00

Maddy:

Today we went to Omaha Beach landing sites, the American Cemetery and the Bayeux Tapestry. Mom sniffled and coughed all the way through the Omaha Beach memorials and Bayeux Tapestry. Also, we ate lunch at an unbelievably delicious crepe restaurant. Me and my brother ordered ham and cheese crepes and mom ordered a salad and omelet. To top it off, we enjoyed a caramel crepe for desert. The tapestry was long and beautiful, almost 70 meters and made a thousand years ago to tell the story of the Saxons and Normans' war. It was I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E. We arrived home at 8:00 and ready to take a nap.

Chris:

Today we went to the American Memorial at Omaha beach, and it was very saddening. We also saw the exhibits of world war two and who died in it, they were so courageous. But before that we read of the war of 1066 between england (King Harold) and france (William the Conquerer) on the Bayuex Tapestry, plus watched it on imax. Then for lunch we went to a Creperie. We had picnic dinner of chicken, eggs, apples, and bread on the way home.

AdventureMom:
The kids summed it up pretty well. The day was fairly intense and full of emotion. The Cimetiere Americaine is incredibly well done with tasteful exhibits, access to the landing sites, German fortifications, excellent short films at different points and thoughtful information throughout. Maddy is right, I cried through a lot of it. I cannot get my mind around those men, some just boys, saving the free world. They KNEW the enemy was ready and waiting for them but they still got on those little boats and stormed that beach. If they had failed, the planet would be so different and I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

But no crying at the Tapestry, I was just having cold/flu symptoms. Moving as it was, 1000 years is a bit too long ago. The woven history lesson is as much art as it is a record of significant events and I hope the kids remember it always. We wouldn't have gotten so far today if we hadn't taken advantage of the wonderful French health system yesterday. The pharmacies here are staffed with the equivalent of a physician's assistant. We were seen instantly, diagnosed quickly and accurately, charged nothing (!) and bought the right medications on the spot for $4 each.

Marathoners and the Mona Lisa

2010-04-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

I am still amazed by the very cool fast trains in Europe, and by our specific route that took us under the English Channel to France. Zipping from London to Paris takes 2.5 hours to get from one town center to the other traveling at 210 miles per hour. I am embarrassed to admit that the scent of stale sweat that hit us upon boarding was filed in my mind as the first hint of the French-ness we were fast approaching. But no, very soon after departure my neighboring seat-mates admitted with apologies that it was them. This unusual introduction led to a really interesting conversation.

They were headed to Paris for their first marathon. Between work, school and training they had left too little time to prepare properly for the train trip. Hence the odor. So while the kids (seated behind us) looked out the window, played games and enjoyed teacakes and fizzy waters I talked with these interesting boys who turned out to be from a part of Greenwich that we had just walked through the day before. Of the three, only one had run a marathon before and even he had only done one. They were nervous but excited and it was fun to listen to them. Our own adventures and plans interested them as well so the journey went really quickly.

Arriving in Paris at Gare Du Nord station, we were easily able to avoid a con man selling fake Metro tickets and find the line to buy our real ones. The price is decent if you get a pack of ten (une carnet) that work on all buses and the city lines of the Metro system. I just would NOT recommend arriving on a weekday right when everyone is getting off of work. I thought we had smooth sailing; tickets in hand, route mapped, correct line found, train en-route BUT it (and the next one) arrived already jammed overfull. When everyone around us crammed inside regardless I decided that, next train, we would too. Which we did, luggage included. Problems really started at the next stop, when dozens of people needed to get off but we, in the doorway, did not. Poor Chris was knocked around, we all got separated and I was terrified. But no one was hurt, we all stayed on the train and made it to the right stop where all was peaceful once we got off.

The hotel was a pleasant surprise, especially since it was a bargain for the area. The walk from the Metro station was closer and easier than Google showed it, the bank I needed was right there as were several shops and everyone we saw was cheerful and friendly. Checking in was nice with everyone speaking English and French all mixed together and welcoming us warmly. They even gave us the internet code free of charge, and new ones again each time the kids went back down because we used up our allotment quickly from watching news, videos and mapping the plans for the next day. About all we had energy for at that point was a quick stroll through the neighborhood and a friendly restaurant with the best pizza any of us had ever tasted.

Choosing walking and buses over more Metro made sense for our sightseeing day. An early start let us enjoy a bright morning with pastries from the boulangere and coffee au lait in the cafe with cocoa for the tweens. The coffee and cocoa stop cost more than anything else that day because we picked a fancy place on a tourist street that had a rare public restroom. It would be hours of sightseeing before we got another opportunity, and then only because the nice girl in the sandwich shop near the Eiffel Tower let us use the tiny spiral stairs down to the basement where their staff WC hid.

We had a picnic lunch in the shadow of the Tower, listening to the musicians and watching families from all over the world take pictures. I overruled the kids' desire to go to the top. Up there it was windy, cold, extremely crowded and expensive while the experience at ground level was wonderful. Several of the runners for the big marathon went by while we were there, but not our boys from Greenwich. Hopefully that meant they were already well past.

Bus 69 from there goes slowly through the prettiest parts of Paris and along the Seine, leading to the Palace, the Louvre and beyond. We rode around, walked cute neighborhoods and eventually got off at the Louvre. I let each of us choose one must-see and the rest would just be enjoyed accidentally in between. Maddy picked the Venus de Milo, Chris wanted to see Mona Lisa and I chose the Victory of Samothrace but we saw so many more pieces while looking for each of those. The collections are stunning and the sense of history is overwhelming.

On the way home to the hotel we picked up a whole roast chicken, strawberries, potatoes in olive oil and herbs and some juice from street vendors. The chicken was so good that we stopped by the next day to tell him, which gave us the chance to see that he was now roasting rabbits. This looks so much like cats that we had to ask.

I will be processing the sights, sounds and flavors of Paris for a long time to come. The crowded areas were a real challenge with the kids and safety concerns but that happens in any large city. The river, architecture, food, history and people here are wonderful.

Kids' thoughts on Paris

2010-04-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

Maddy:
Yesterday we had ridden a 2 hour bullet train from London to Paris. Then we found our crowded metro to our hotel. The hotel was uphill and had a view of the tippy-top of the Eiffel Tower, but sadly, we had a view of the building next door. We went have a lunch of sandwiches under the Eiffel tower and go to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo and other pieces of famous works of art. The views are great and the people are kind. I'm so happy that we are here.

Chris:
In Paris, everyone is happy because there are so many different things to do and try like if you want to eat snails or take a rowboat down the river. But we haven't done those things yet. All in all though Paris is great and I'm glad we got to come here. My favorites thing so far is just how beautiful the whole city is.

Thames, Greenwich and a Play are too much for one day!

2010-04-09T05:05:00.001-07:00

I blame the perfect weather and my lack of sleep. We had a couple of nights of noisy neighbors and even with sleeping in, my mind was a little foggy yesterday morning. Then the gorgeous day lured us all astray. I do think our misadventure last night highlights how safe London is, or at least feels to me, for such a large city. All turned out fine and we had fun, but due to mistakes on my part the kids and I got home after midnight and completely exhausted.

The original plan was to explore the manuscripts and historical papers in the British Library, return to the Natural History Museum to get the kids off my back about the parts we missed and finish with Trappist Monk style dinner at Belgo Centraal . Not one of those events happened. Our late start and slow breakfast put us out the door at 11:00 without my usual double check of the train route, weather, traffic and news. Overconfidence played a part as well, since we were retracing familiar steps. Or at least we planned to, until we stepped outside to the most perfect bright blue sky and realized that indoor activities were OUT. And with the day half missed already we certainly must not go back inside to adjust the plans, oh no, we would.....wing it!

The first bus we saw was heading to London Bridge, perfect! The nearby London Eye attraction had been bumped off the schedule last week due to gloomy skies and a chance for an extra (indoor) swim day. So on we jumped and after a quick sideline to buy a replacement charger for the Nintendos so they will work from tomorrow when we switch to EU power for the next 7 weeks, we were at the Thames. And so was everyone else. The line for the Eye was 90 minutes at least, with grumpy crowds and crying babies. The heck with that and the huge ticket cost too! While we walked along the Thames I remembered that the transport system included clipper boats that extended the public transit onto the river. Finding a boarding point, we discovered that our prepaid Oyster travel cards would work and we could ride as far as Greenwich!

The lovely boat ride led to a big beautiful park, fantastic little museums and a cute town all on the Greenwich Mean Time Meridian. Thank goodness for the trusty backpack with its sunscreen, camera, transport passes, GPS, snacks and room to put the unneeded jackets.

It wasn't until 3-ish that we started looking around for a meal. That is when the kids noticed the little theatre and reminded me that we still hadn't seen the promised live play. Everything available on the West End had turned out to run at least $150 for 3 tickets, so I had tried and been defeated in finding a good alternative until now. They not only had an appropriate play (Volpone) on tonight, but it was being broadcast so they were charging only 10 pounds each! This was too perfect to worry about little things like the late start (7:30) or the length of the play (turns out 3 hours) or distance from our flat or the time of the last direct buses home (still don't know, but we missed it).

With hours to wait and tickets in hand, we ate pub grub, paddled boats, combed the Thames banks and wandered the astonishingly pretty campus of the Royal Naval Academy. Curtain time found us still excited and not too tired. Halfway through the play, however, I wished for an eject button. The kids were troopers though, following the performance really well and whispering questions. I think they understood the writer's intent and enjoyed the performance but what followed has ruined live theater for them for years, I am afraid. I know I won't want to do it again anytime soon!

We came out; I was shocked to see it was nearly 11pm and what I expected to be a quick trip home wasn't going to appear. We headed back to the boat docks, which oddly run really late. But the quiet and dark creaky pier was too much for the kids, so we headed back up the main street into town hoping for more information...and light. Not much luck, there would be a bus soon but it went the wrong direction and there wouldn't be a guarantee of good connections from there. So, back down to the pier just on time to grab a public transit boat.

The staff on this Thames Clipper were amazing. They sympathized and helped. The stop I would need was determined by the nearest, soonest overground train going directly to the part of London our flat is in. They called to check that we could make it from the dock to the departure platform on time and made me a map from point to point. And we would have made it, too, except that the entrance point machine was faulty and at that time of night the staff was few, far between and not useful. By the time I got the machine to read each of our passes to let us through and we ran for the platform...our train had gone. And we couldn't find anyone to give our ticket money back to us.

It was the last train going our way until morning. And the night bus map confuses better navigators than I. But the kids trooped on and we found a bus from which we could transfer to another and reach our stop out in the suburbs. That last one was surprisingly full and most of the people seemed perfectly sober, normal and nice. They shielded us from the rude party kids in the back.

Well after midnight we came in and fell deep asleep with this morning bringing another slow start. I am trying to convince the tweens that this last afternoon in London is perfect for the Library and an Evensong service....

More Tween input

2010-04-07T05:59:00.000-07:00

Maddy:
Trafalgar Square has lions that are a blast to climb around on. At Covent Gardens we saw a sword swallower and an acrobat. All very cool. Then we watched the movie How to Train Your Dragon and walked around a bit, looking at stores and stalls for dragon jewelry. I ended up getting a beautiful statue of a green and gold dragon. After a few hours of that we when to a restaurant that served ostrich, kangaroo and all sorts of things. It was deliciously nommie. We went home and I slept the whole way.

Chris:
Today we went to Trafalgar square and had a great time. first we watched street performers, one even swallowed a sword! Then we went to get food, first we had afternoon tea in the crypt of an old church. Later we went to go get Gelato after a cool movie. We walked all over then for dinner I got ostrich at a restaurant that served wild animals. That was the best part of the whole day.

More on the Food :)

2010-04-07T04:03:00.001-07:00

We really have been good about cooking most meals at "home" for the trip and enjoy it a lot. Yesterday I decided to go hog wild by not even packing snacks to carry in to the city with us, just eating an English breakfast before we set out. In order to cook it, I had my own adventure finding the fuse box for some pre-dawn electrical repairs. Raawrh!

Part of the point of eating-in so much is to save up the budget and health costs for really special experiences. This was a day full of memorable ones. After much great site seeing, we refueled with a late lunch/early tea time in the Crypt Cafe of St. Martin-in-the-Field Church. The tweens went for soup-and-sandwich 'real' meals followed by samples of tea cakes. I had the full plate of scones, treats and tea. The headstones nearest us were from the mid 1700's.

Later, following lion climbing and street performers in Trafalgar Square, we popped into a French bakery for croissants, Apple Snapple and espresso. Then a cool 3D movie (How to Tame a Dragon) with no junk food had to be rewarded with delicious Italian Gelato eaten in chaotic Covent Gardens. More people watching and a little shopping prepared us for the LONG walk to a special dinner.

I had planned and pre-purchased a voucher for this event long before the trip. Some resources I used for reviews, cost-savings, ideas and research: Tripadvisor, My City Deal, Money Saving Expert. These were the most useful coupon and idea sources for museums, transportation, free coffee, free grocery delivery and movie discounts too.

But for this once in a lifetime experience at Archipelago, I found the idea and reviews on tripadvisor and a 20 GBP (about $30) coupon on mycitydeal. The restaurant is hidden far out of the way, is very tiny and very beautifully decorated and serves VERY ODD food. We were semi-cautious and went with Kangaroo for me, Ostrich for both tweens and shared exotic cheeses and chutneys for dessert. Take a look at the other options: http://www.archipelago-restaurant.co.uk/

Lions, paintings, dragons and swords

2010-04-06T23:03:00.000-07:00

Hokey tourist stuff can be SO cool. The kids loved the lion statues in Trafalgar Square and were right up there climbing them with the other visitors for a long while.

The National Gallery was less of a hit, for us it may have been one museum too much? The paintings are world class and I am glad we walked through. The building itself is amazing. Next door and equally beautiful is St. Martins-in-the-Field where we were lucky to catch the end of a concert and then take tea in the Crypt!

Most of the day was spent roaming and people-watch, mainly in and around Covent Gardens with its street performers. Everyone should have a day of this at least once!

Breaking up all the fun chaos, we took in a 3D movie: How to Train Your Dragon. It was actually really cute and we had the theater nearly to ourselves. The only thing left after that was an exotic dinner at Archipelago and the long ride back out to the 'burbs.

Easter at the zoo

2010-04-05T03:23:00.000-07:00

I hope Kraft, the evil corporate giant of crap food, leaves their newly purchased subsidiary Cadbury unchanged. We had a fun day at the zoo in Battersea Park following the trail of clues and winning the Cadbury egg prizes.

It is a cute little zoo, fun and not overwhelming. We could get up close to everything and could even feed and pet many of the animals which I don't think I have ever seen at a zoo before. The Meercat exhibit even had tunnels under it where the kids could pop right up in the midst of the critters. There were also little playground areas scattered around just for fun. If it had been warmer the day would have been perfect and lasted much longer.

Chris: At the zoo we had a great time. Not only were there prizes at end but there were loads of great animals to see and play with. It is pretty small but big enough for me. It was fun to use clues to find the eggs hidden in the exhibits. My favorite part was the meercats, they are cute standing up and playing. My favorite monkeys were the yellow ones.

Maddy: We saw so many cool animals. My favorite was also the adorable meercats, I loved them. We enjoyed the egg hunt (painted stones in the cages) with the chocolates at the end. The petting areas and feeding the animals was really awesome.

Town Weekend Market and small local Pub

2010-04-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

It is hard to pick a favorite part of today. This is our first Saturday here, so we stayed local and did the town's Weekend Market. The kids had luck, finding a vintage Lego set and a cute ring for Maddy, both bargains. I wanted everything and got nothing due to lack of luggage space. I'll hit eBay when the trip is over.

We followed up the exploring and shopping with a simple lunch in the very cute local pub called Whitehart. The old building is warmly decorated with fabrics and cushions and couches. Their music selection kept me giggling, especially when they alternated Beach Boys with Akon. And my attempt to request root beers for the kids resulted in an accidental attempt to serve them mildly alcoholic ginger beer. The Tweens made new friends when we got back to the flat, a family with boys was checking in upstairs. Great stuff, all around.

Chris:

Earlier today we went to the weekend market and bought cool things then went to a pub and had really good hamburgurs for lunch then we went home and relaxed. We had a very good day.

Maddy:

Another really nice time today, we went to the weekend market to buy rings and antique legos. After that went to a pub to have fries and burgers. Yummy in my tummy!

Homeschool and Leisure Center Pool

2010-04-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

We had fun today despite having to catch up on tons of homeschooling. We broke off for long enough to walk through town and find the community pool. The place is massive with 3 indoor pools but we only had an hour to swim so stuck to the little one. Back home in the US there are no big community supported Leisure Centers but some areas have a semi-private similar system called YMCA. It was well worth the cold walk home and I am glad we visited this one. The large wide-open changing room was a bit of an awkward surprise for these dull Americans though. I didn't realize until it was too late that I had sent Chris in alone to what must be a male version of the same setup. The smart boy turned right around and brought his clothes into the WC he had noticed in the hall where he dressed without embarrassment. Now that we are prepared it won't be as uncomfortable if we go back. Hopefully.

As for the school work, both Tweens kicked butt, getting several days' worth of assignments done. Maddy even wrote a play about the Reformation featuring Henry VIII. Poor Chris is having to slog through endless fractions.

Foodie stuff, the good and the ugly

2010-04-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Thinking we were getting a bright, dry day in London I had the kids choose between Covent Garden and Borough Market for activities today. Both were foodie destinations that appeal more to me but they DID get to tear up the Science Museum all day yesterday. Their choice came down to the restaurant options for the dinner/bribe at the end of each. I had gift certificates for sushi near the Borough Market so there we went.

Even though the day changed to cold rain interspersed with grey drizzle, the market was fantastic. It has existed as a food-buying center since at least 1014. The stalls were beautiful and varied from organic vegetables to exotic fruits to wines to whole animals and everything in between. We sampled fresh soup, turkish delights and hot drinks. I can't guess how many languages were spoken all around us. When I tried to practice my French at one shop the gentleman laughed in a nice way and asked in English were I was from.

To make all of it up to the kids I had to tear myself away and head for the sushi. Unfortunately they weren't serving dinner yet, so we popped over a few blocks to Tate Modern. I hadn't planned to tour this one because it would bore the Tweens. It exceeded that expectation. I could barely stand to spend an hour there myself and enjoyed the view of the Thames from the 5th floor more than anything else. A helpful guide did point us towards 2 exhibits that were interesting: a VW bus surrounded by WW2 era rescue sleds and a pair of "trees" carved from huge blocks of wood. The vast majority seemed like pure nonsense to me. Maddy liked a few of the sculptures but not nearly as much as she liked the classics in the other museums.

Finally, time to run through the rain back to the restaurant, Tsuru. The waiter who earlier pointed us to the Tate had saved a nice table for us with a cool little place card. The Tweens ordered edemame and a huge platter of various sushi and sashimi while I wimped out with katsu curry. They finished the tray of RAW ugly fish, squid, lobster and god knows what else before I was done and were still hungry. Since my certificates covered more than we had spent so far I let them reorder. We are back in the flat, warming up and relaxing. Their full bellies are putting them to sleep faster than I can write this.

Laundry Challenge

2010-04-01T13:30:00.000-07:00

Our flight from Budapest to Venice will be on a small regional carrier that is very affordable but charges outrageous fees for luggage. Their free allowance is for a smaller than normal (20x14x9) carry on with no added objects other than a coat. So I decided to try to get through the whole trip with the children using that size bag and mine being not much larger so we only have to pay one penalty. The clothing that fit in these small bags has lasted nicely for this first week but it was important to get some wash done today.

Waking up to a sunny sky was a great start. Going down stairs to the washroom and looking at the tiny European sized unfamiliar washer was a bit daunting but with the kids help I figured it out. Luckily I had packed little sheets of paper-soap made for washing machines. Problem? Less than half of the laundry would fit in the little thing. And with a nice sunny day ticking by I decided not to waste more than one load's worth of time. So we triaged the dirty items, shoved in what needed it most and rushed on with getting ready for the day.

It finished spinning right as we finished eating breakfast, dressing and packing a cheese, cracker and fruit picnic. The kids helped me drag the wet clothes out and drape all of it on ourselves to carry to the clothesline. We improvised and struggled, learning how to hang everything to dry. Not much was dropped. After running back inside to hang the underthings more discretely indoors and double-check the bus transfer number we were off. Just in time for the clouds to roll in and rain to come pouring down.

Science Museum and IMAX

2010-03-31T14:10:00.000-07:00

Maddy:
Today we went to the science museum. Mom's foot feels much better and my feet didn't hurt until the very end. Go rubber shoe insert things! The museum was cool and had many hands-on activities. We saw a dinosaur IMAX film. Sooooooo cold today also. Makes my hair frizzy and my toes ache. But all-in-all, London is AWESOME!

Chris:
I had such a wonderful time at the museum. My favorite part was the IMAX movie. But first we went to the LaunchPad where we did everything on our own. It was pretty great because it was all really doing things for science. I already knew a lot of it, like about sound waves, magnetism, electricity generation and so much more. Last thing was the dinosaur IMAX, it was a little scary but mostly about fossils and history.

2010-03-31T02:20:00.000-07:00

Chris:

Today was a relaxing day except I found a spider in the bathroom. Now we saw that tomorrow it's going to rain again. But hopefully mom's foot will heal and we can go to the science museum because I really want to do the LaunchPad activities and then see the evolution of life . Today we ate a British soup with rutabega, chicken and cheddar that mom made. It was one of the best I ever had.

Maddy:

Today was a resting day. The Tesco guy came, he gave us a London newspaper and, well, food. We also got some rubber shoe insert things to help Mom's feet, as well as mine. For dinner we had a delicious chicken, cheddar, leek and rutabaga soup. Mmmmmmmm so good. Tomorrow we hopefully will be going to the science museum which looks SO fun. I really hope Mom's foot gets better, so we don't have to leave there too early. London is great and full of surprises!

Cooking in a holiday flat

2010-03-30T07:28:00.000-07:00

I have had plenty of time today to prepare for the week, get some food delivered from the local grocery and familiarize myself with the kitchen in our studio. Why so much down time on holiday? Well, it was always part of the plan to travel slowly and give the Tweens ample time to do school assignments most days. But at the moment I have a sprained foot giving us extra rest. Last night I scoured the Web for a coupon and created the list for a delivery of groceries (plus shoe inserts and foot brace) that arrived just as expected and at a great price.

This dish was made last night from easy ingredients from the corner market. The veggies are presliced and mixed together but still fresh and crisp. Boil the linguine, steam veggies, toss with butter and garlic then top with cheese. Much healthier and cheaper than always going out but still simple in the mini kitchen with no oven or much of anything really beyond kettle, one burner and microwave.

It will be even simpler to feed us now that I have had a lay-up day to plan and prep after the nice driver brought all of these easy to fix ingredients:

Tweens day 3 & 4

2010-03-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Maddy:

Yesterday we went on an overground train, and saw platform 9 3/4 (it didn't look like it was supposed to). It took half an hour to get to our flat in Foxhill. There we meet the owners and they showed us around. They also said that we couldn't go a week without seeing a fox in the garden. No foxes for that day. Today I woke up at eight something. I turned over and looked down on none other than a ladybug. I know it's lucky to find a ladybug in your house, but how much luckier if you find it on your pillow? I woke up Chris and mom to tell them and set the ladybug free and we saw not one, but two foxes in the garden! London is beautiful, and the flat is wonderful!

Chris:

We came here by train yesterday and it was hard because of the luggage and the stairs. The apartment is great because it is in somebody's house and they made a business from it. Today we watched two red foxes play in the yard right out out window. There are also a lot of pigeons and they actually flew in our tree which I did not know they could do. Turns out in Britain they show movies on TV. Last night we watched part of Harry Potter and The Wild West. Our dinner was quiche from the Sainsbury store with veggies, the food here is fantastic! All day today we just did school.

Crystal Palace

2010-03-28T06:27:00.000-07:00

Last night, after trekking from the city center on the afternoon train to our flat in the quieter suburbs, we had our first UK grocery shopping adventure. I love their prepackaged food that has so few ingredients all clearly listed, especially since I have a limited kitchen for these 2 weeks, without all the ingredients needed to cook fresh. The simple quiche for dinner and this morning's farm-fresh toasted bread and butter with fruit and tea were either all really high quality or we are just easily impressed. I have to go back to the store today because the kids miss the "full English breakfast" of beans, eggs, potatoes and sausage that the hostel served both mornings we were there. Personally I couldn't eat it but they are hooked and it keeps them fueled for hours.

It was lovely to get a full night of deep sleep with no church bells, sirens, traffic or other city noises. The tweens woke me up with squeals this morning. They opened a window to release a ladybug and saw not one but two red foxes in the garden. This flat is wonderful. It is on the edge of a huge park, Crystal Palace Park, in what used to be the Great North Woods of Winnie the Pooh fame. This beautiful Tudor house is on a hill with great views all the way to London and it is visible in Pissaro's painting "Fox Hill". All of those clues should have prepared me for the wildlife but it was a great unexpected surprise.

We are spending the day catching up on school work and getting settled in to our temporary home.

The input of the Tweens so far

2010-03-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

Maddy London Blog

Day 1, 3/25

Today, we drove to LAX. We had to wake up at 2:00 am, arriving at 5:00 am. The plane ride was 2 hours, landing in Dallas, Texas. Mom doesn't like Texas, I can only guess why. Then we had to wait 5 hours for our next flight to arrive. We ate at the busiest TGI Fridays ever. When our flight came, it really freaked me out. It was SOOOO big and had three rows of seats. The flight took 12 hours. I didn't sleep a wink. When we arrived in London, we went on the stupidest tube train ever. It was cramped, full of loud people, and stopped every 30 seconds, if we where at the station or not. The loudest people where three teenage girls telling storys of crushes and asking each other for money. Finally we came to the hostel and dropped of our luggage. It was quiet and had too many stairs. We rode around in a two story bus and looked all over London. Even though we sat down, our feet still hurt. We finally got to the hostel and fell asleep.

Day 2 3/26
Today we went to the Natural History Museum and saw dinasaur bones and the timeline of life on Earth. It was cool. Then we walked around Kensington to get to the Diana memorial park. The best part there was the Peter Pan ship. But before we left the hostel we talked for hours with some very fun and interesting people. So by the end of everything we were really tired again. It took a lot of walking to find the Wagamama restaurant that we wanted for dinner. When we got there, it was DELICIOUS. Mom bought chocolate bars and they are so much more awesome here in England!!!Chris

Chris blog Day 1 London 3\25

Today, I learned the starting parts of England. Like that there are many trollies and underground stations, many of which contain trains and food stands. Also we rode a bus through downtown and saw so many things, like the Royal Court of Justice and some Palaces, pubs and a lot of churches .

day 2 london 3/26

Today I went to the Natural History museum and learned the history of earth, sience and all. Then I went to the Princess Diana memorial playground in Kensington Gardens. Dinner was great, I had duck gyoza and real ramen with chicken and vegetables at Wagamama. My favorite part of the whole day was the playground.

Short update, day 2 in London

2010-03-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was like magic. The Tweens helped me pick the activities: Natural History Museum, Kensington Gardens for the Diana playground and carved Elvin Oak then Wagamama noodle bar for dinner. The highlight of the day was the many people we met and conversations shared. It took us 3 full hours to get going after breakfast as we stayed in the lounge of the hotel talking with new friends.

Physically, we are all getting past the jet lag and accustomed to the Cathedral bells waking us up through the night. But there is an odd and deep kind of tiredness that comes from being so aware of my surroundings at all times while navigating unfamiliar situations and places. So I am not writing enough, but I will! Today we head out of the city center to our studio flat in the suburbs where I am sure things will calm down. But within the chaos and difficulty there is so much joy and I love London!

And we're off!

2010-03-26T02:54:00.000-07:00

I've decided the Brits I met today are the first real ones I have encountered and will therefore represent their entire nation as the great adventure begins. Previous aquiantances were either expatriots, tourists or temporary Americans working in the horse industry in Kentucky. These British Airways personell and fellow passengers were (although currently in Texas) working and living in their natural English habitat. The kids and I were in luck with these nice people who were probably having a much harder day than we were yet still treated us very kindly.

The labor dispute was announced last week but I didn't worry because while they had threatened, British Airways employees had not walked out in 13 years. There was no possibility the union would pick this particular time and economic climate to have the first work stoppage in 13 years. Right? So as this impossibility began to occur, I monitored the cancelations and changes without much recourse. By the evening of the 22nd I was sure my flight would be spared. The next morning I woke to an email that it was canceled but that I could call to arrange alternatives that would still get us to London on the 25th. The lady on the phone was wonderful dispite the chaos they must all be experiencing. She was able to route us from LAX on American Airlines through Dallas with a long layover then onto an unnaffected British Airways flight into Heathrow. My dilema now was whether or not to accept this convoluted oddessy that would start with a much earlier than planned and rush hour embattled departure and end in an exhausting 20 hour journey. We would arrive on the expected day but several hours too early for our reserved check-in or I could decline and risk further difficulting trying to fly later in the week. The prospect of having to rebook each sleeping arrangement with possible lost deposits decided matters.

By the time we boarded the last leg of the journy we had been on the move for 10 hours. The 8 hour flight to London was comfortable and we met great people who were wonderfully interested in our plans. The flight attendants struck me as experts and seemed to be plentiful so it was weird to hear them apologize repeatedly for the low standards of service due to the “current unfortunate events”. They made announcements to that affect and gave copoiuos amounts of really nice free wine to any and everyone. Between exchanging travel stories with interesting passengers and talking a bit with some of the crew we didn't get much rest. It didn't help that there were tiny televisions in each seat back with a variety of choices to boggle the minds of two Tweens who have lived without TV for a few years.

All of my smugness at having pre-purchased Oyster Cards online to use for travel on the Tube, buses and local trains flew out the window while trying to clear customs. Fuzzy eyed and cranky kids had to follow me through huge crowds while I struggled to find the right office to pick the cards up. Success! But then we had to continue on and use them on an unfamiliar subway system on a workday morning in a busy city. With luggage. Maddy actually fell asleep leaning on her suitcase holding onto a pole about halfway between the airport and downtown. And Chris had a very hard time not wandering off while we had to switch from the blue to the red lines.

But we arrived safely at St Paul's where we are booked for a few days in a cozy room that used to be part of the choir dormitories. It now holds three beds, built in a futuristic angled stack with clever storage cubbies. Our shower and WC are down the hall and our view is of the great Cathedral next door. They were kind enough to let us leave our luggage here this morning so we could wander around until check- in time. About all we could manage was lunch in a little deli and getting onto a double deck red bus. We literally got onto the first one and went wherever it was going, pointing to the marvels out the windoow and asking locals what we were looking at. Eventually we got off at a Tube station and got back into a crowded train that brought us back to the Cathedral. Lovely! And now for a nap.

Traveling off-season and off-the-beaten-path really CAN cost the same as staying home!

2010-01-21T21:01:00.000-08:00

Scheduling on to the continent, weeks 2 and 3 are booked and the cost is staying in control! We will spend 2 days in a simple hotel in the heart of Paris ($180) and then 12 days in a converted barn/cabin in Upper Normandy near Honfluer ($425). That makes the whole first month including taxes, fees, parking and whatnot total $1405. Less than at home....but of course also MUCH less space. We will be compromising and adjusting but not as much as I was prepared to. I haven't yet had to give up a nice kitchen, my own bed and WiFi to get a great deal.

For these bookings in France I again used a broad range of tools for searching and gathered email addresses as I went. I narrowed choices down to those that were attractive, convenient, could sleep 3, had a useful kitchen and WiFi with free parking for the car (more on that in a minute). Out of dozens of inquiries looking for the best deal, several responded positively for each location and we negotiated from there. To get there from our first stop in London, we are crossing the channel by Eurostar train where the competitive frequent crossings put the cost at $70 for all 3 of us.

In Paris I knew I wanted specifically the center city near the river but could only afford the high cost of metro lodging for 2 nights. I was surprised to see the fair price on the many private residences that have really nice guests quarters to rent by the night. Breakfast is included in some of these and you can find them from www.tripadvisor.com or just general searches.

Our off-season timing is really working in our favor in France, where I have booked a Normandy coastal cabin for $35 a night. No one wants a beach vacation in the early spring. Nor do I, except to bundle up and stroll the pretty coastline once or twice. But the bus we can catch in the nearby harbor gets us to Paris cheaply in a scenic 1 hour and 45 minutes. I wish it were closer, but everything else is perfect and we will only go in for 2 or 3 day trips. And how great not to worry about parking or driving or toll-paying while touring Paris! Other days we will use a rental car to see the many castles, landmarks, farmers' markets and festival days that are near our temporary home. Some days we will stay put and rest, cook, study, blog, read and relax. The cottage is a section of a thatched-roof 1700's farmhouse that was divided up decades ago and renovated in 2009. I found it here: http://topsun.co.uk/ They squeeze a family into 34 square meters by putting the beds in a loft above the kitchen/dining/living room, which works fine for me. They don't include linens so we are stopping at Ikea on the way. We could have reserved the place all month but I declined, knowing Italy and Hungary are next to plan!

The only holdup so far has been with the vehicle. Yes, there are plenty of late-model, low-mileage, fuel-efficient used cars on the market. But as I get more responses from seasoned travelers and inquire of more local experts I am getting discouraged. It is harder and more costly than I thought to register and insure a car over there. So I wait for more information from the several international corporate giants that I finally contacted today (it hurt to give in but small companies haven't been able to do it). We may be traveling by rail after all. Or using local public transport options everywhere except this rural cottage in Normandy where we will need to rent a car.

More to come....jump in and comment!

French sauce cheating

2010-01-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

Planning for France has reawakened my interest in the art of sauce making. For last night's dinner of roasted chicken, carrots and brown rice I made a simple (and hopefully really French) glaze to drizzle over everything.

Set aside about 1.5 cups of the juices and drippings that result from cooking the meat. In this case, I was using chicken that had brined (soaked in a flavored salty water bath) with tumeric and a bay leaf so after cooking the liquid had those infusions on top of the usual "salty poultry" flavor. To this broth I added a crushed thread of saffron and simmered for 1 minute in the microwave. The idea is to add any good combination of flavorings to create delicious liquid with a slightly overseasoned taste.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan use a tablespoon of good butter to cook 2 rounded tablespoons of pastry flour. If you don't have pastry flour, use the most finely ground soft white flour you have. Unfortunately this is a case where healthy whole wheat won't work, but you don't use much. Stir this paste in the bottom of your pan over med-low heat for 3 minutes.

Slowly add in the broth and turn up the heat. After a minute or so of bubbling the sauce will thicken and you are done! If you aren't worried about calories, an extra pat or 2 of butter melted in at this stage will give you a glossy finish.

I wish I could credit and thank the many sources I gleaned this technique from; a chef friend, my genius big sister, the Food Network and internet recipe sharers. This is, obviously, very flexible and inexact. I do it differently every time but the method is the same. More art, less science, all yum!

Please add any comments, suggestions, thoughts and results on your own saucy experiences!

AdventureMom Planning Progresses to Paris!

2010-01-14T21:56:00.000-08:00

Now that the first 2-week leg of the journey is booked, I am diving into the research for France. For London I am lucky to have secured an adorable flat in a historic building for $400 per week including tax, utilities, linens, kitchenware, WiFi and all of our needs. It fits our criteria for a calm and spacious place that connects easily to the city center, in this case by rail in 25-30 minutes. I am using the same strategies for Paris but it looks to be trickier, mostly due to our arrival date in mid-April putting us into their pricier season.

Many potential options are showing on proprty advertising venues like http://www.france-gites.com/, http://www.gites-de-france.com/gites/uk/rural_gites, http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/france/ and scattered around among Google search hits. Some of the areas that I am scouring for privately run affordable vacation rentals (or Gites) include Fontainebleau, Poligny, Chelles, Orleans, Noisy, Melun, and many more. I am surprised to see reasonably priced options within Paris, but I am avoiding those for the same reasons I did for London. We are not used to traffic and noise. We need more space and comfort for our long stay than we can possibly afford in the metro area. I want enough utility in the kitchen to prepare fresh meals while the kids do their schoolwork. The car we will use for our excursions needs a safe place to rest. Most crucially, too many days with intense stimulation will overload us to the point of burnout. So I hope the perfect rural gite in just the right location will be available and in our tight budget!

Feel free to copy all of this if you are planning a trip, but please not until AFTER I get ours booked :) The enquiry I have been sending out to all likely prospects goes much like this:

Bonjour. Je serai en France du 10 avril au 24 avril 2010 avec mes 2 enfants âgés de 9 et 11. Nous sommes intéressés par votre gîte et vous vous demandez ce que le total des charges serait pour les 14 jours avec des rabais, les taxes et les extras. Aussi, nous avons besoin d'utiliser l'internet pour leur travail scolaire et la nécessité de confirmer que WiFi, il est dans l'appartement ou à proximité. Merci, Jodi

Or prior to being translated by the internet and my daughter:

Hello. I will be in France from April 10 to April 24, 2010 with my 2 children aged 9 and 11. We are interested in your smaller gite and wonder what the total expenses would be for 14 days with taxes and extras. Are there any discounts for long stays or paying cash? Also, we need to use the Internet for schoolwork and must confirm that there is WiFi in the room or someplace nearby enough for a short drive.

Thank you,

Jodi

The budget is on track so far, with the tax-included price to fly 3 of us there: $1700

Car rental for 14 of the days in France should cost: $400

Registration, insurance, tolls, roadside assistance coverage and fuel for our little car: $200

Public transportation for 2 weeks in England, a few of the Budapest days and the last week in Venice: $120

Food budget is double what is normal at home: $2000 (Although I will continue fixing most meals from local produce and fresh groceries I do anticipate special costs.)

Accommodations that fit all of our needs, averaging $60 a day for 87 days: $5220

Museums and attraction: $1000 (Most of our most looked forward to activities are free- Louvre children's tickets, all of the British Museum general areas, farmer's markets throughout Europe, many of the best and calmest castles, several stone henges other than Stonehenge, libraries, river walks, wandering the cities and talking to people.)

All of this is converted to dollars, rounded up and post taxes-and-fees. Hopefully the good results keep coming! Total for 2+ months' adventure of a lifetime if we're lucky and careful: $10,640

The kids' perspective on the first day of Homeschooling

2010-01-11T17:09:00.000-08:00

Maddy (11):
The most efficient things about homeschooling are that there's no classroom full of 10-12 year olds complaining like 5 year olds, there's more room to learn, and you can learn freely, not just in one small, quick subject. Different things will be hard to get accustomed to, like there is not one subject you can focus on. You have to think and research, not have the teacher tell you exactly where to look. But the thing that is beyond compare, is that there's no text books. Text books are heavy and hard to take from point A to point B, being big and bulky. But the undesirable part is that no other kids (other than my brother) here to learn beside me. My brother is wonderful to be with though, plus I can see my friends when they get out of school. In fact today I saw 4 friends for a half hour visit. All in all a pretty good day!

Chris (9):
In my experience (I should have said "one day of limited experience") I believe this is an interesting and exceptional way to do school. Sure, there's no kids (except Maddy but she's not bad for a girl) but it's still agreeable. It feels nice to finally get some quality school time, without paper-airplanes and yelling fourth grade boys. It's more peaceful and less stressing. Just to tell you, I kind of like it already. But the best part is no homework! Yes! Well, we also learned a lot like how to divide fractions and I passed a test on California history. Plus this homeschooling is how we get to go on a trip all over Europe. Au Revoir!

Mom:
Wait until I tell them we probably will have many textbooks after we meet with their teacher tomorrow. Never mind all the books I have on request at the library. But wow, did they impress me today. They gave full effort all day long and got much further than I had planned. This makes me feel more confidant about being ahead of the game when it is time to travel. Tomorrow's meeting will bring a lot of fine-tuning and revisions, I imagine.