Royal Ascot

This year, at the end of June, I attended the Royal Ascot which is the long standing traditional English equivalent of the Kentucky Derby. Differences being - the hats are not just for fun but part of the dress code, and a woman named Queen Elizabeth makes a daily appearance. 

 

For my foreign friends and I, this was one of those quintessentially English experiences we were eager to take part of after much anticipation and preparation.

 

Ok, I'll admit that one of my main incentives to go was an excuse to wear a fascinator!

 

The review:

 

The Weather: balmy 57F degrees and patch of drizzle. I believe my outfit changed 4 times in the span of a week in order to strike the balance of dressy but comfortable and suitable for rain, wind, cloud, sun & cold - whichever combination would appear in the span of 9 hours.

 

The Outfits: See above - I'll admit in the end I had purchased 3 fascinators and wound up returning 2 of them. My outfit changed from summery to wintery and not knowing the best place to go for a fascinator, the last minute department store sales wound up getting me a better price closer to the event.

The stress my whole group went through dressing for this event was comical. We were exchanging links and pics of ourselves in various hats. Fascinators were required of women in the Grandstand and full hats for the posh people in the Royal Enclosure where you have to know someone to be invited in.

On the subject of outfits, the people watching was outstanding. While the website clearly states the dresscode and even offers videos of example attire, there are many that take liberties.

Fascinator + mini skirt + tatoos + fake eyelashes + teased hair, does not = posh (or sexy, for that matter).  That's all I'm saying.

The Betting: I lost. Apparently, placing random small bets on the American horses only is not the best strategy.

The Food: I ate Pizza Express and drank wine. Classy.

The Venue: Ascot is beautiful, the place seemed well planned out. The mobile reception was practically non-existent which was annoying and caused some problem in connecting with friends I had left tickets for at the box office. Despite the crowds, things seemed to run smoothly and the train station is a short walk away.

The Royalty: I saw the Queen! Every day she appears for a procession from her residence at Windsor Castle, through the park and up into the Ascot stadium to wave at the crowd. This event basically takes place in her backyard, and the Queen always has a horse racing in the competition. She was there despite the drizzling rain with her umbrella matching her attire.

The Queen - there she is!

 The Tradition: Queen - check!, singing of National Anthem - God Save the Queen, check!

After the races, the crowd is invited to the bandstand out front for the "singing of traditional songs". This basically means the drunken crowd throws their arms around each other and sings karaoke style to classic American tunes like "New York, New York" (???)  Ascot Singing around the Bandstand - 2013.  Brits sure love a good sing along!

 

Royal Ascot 2013

 

 

Another Very International Thanksgiving

I celebrated Thanksgiving this year with:

• 4 English
• 5 French
• 1 Ukranian
• 1 Spaniard
• 1 Italian
• 1 Australian
• + me and Jane, the American girls

I took a half day off work to make turkey, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, stuffing, green beans, butternut squash casserole, carrots, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole and apple pie.

My homemade apple pie

Authentic decorations from my Aunt Marlene

 

 

What She Learned

I mentioned in my previous post that a friend came to visit me last month. As it was her first time to England and to Europe in general, I had the chance to see it all for the first time from a fresh pair of eyes. After being here for a year and half those things that were different no longer phase me and sometimes I forget that something would be uncommon for an American.

We had many moments where I found myself saying... "Oh, yeah I forgot to tell you that.... "

In no particular order - the things she learned:

1. Plug outlets have switches, you have to turn them on
2. Eggs are left out on the counter, everywhere in the world except USA
3. Hold on to your tube ticket, you need it to get out on the other end
4. Europeans didn't like George W. Bush
5. Mayonnaise comes on everything
6.  When given directions - turn left and then another left - this is literally the first place possible to turn left, even if its an alley... and not the next "city block"
7. Nobody talks about distances in terms of blocks
8. Bright clothing is not popular in winter
9. You have to ask for sandwiches specifically without butter on the bread
10. Nobody wears fleeces as everyday winter outerwear
11. Look right - better yet, look both ways - cars come out of nowhere
12. You have to pay to use the bathroom in public places
13. Say you want tap water, not still, otherwise you pay for it
14. If you don't love Harry Potter, you're apparently not American
15. Short skirts or jean shorts with tights are all the rage. Doesn't matter what size you are.
16. Gas costs twice as much as in the U.S.
17. Nobody talks about their feelings
18. Tax is always included in the price tag

Promotion Assistant

The first weekend I was in Oxford last July, I had been trolling the Internet for things to do and came across an advert for a free Oxford walking tour that afternoon. Sounded good to me so I called up my friend Olena, the only person I knew in Oxford at the time as she had interned for my team in Chicago.

Olena and I arrived at the meeting place and our Scottish guide explained he was trying to get his new tour guide business, I Love Oxford Walking Tours, off the ground. This free tour was for promotion and he was hoping we would write up a review in Trip Advisor. Fair enough.

Along with us on the tour was a photographer that was going to take photos that may be used for his promotional materials and for a journalistic entry on this new start up business. We all had to agree that our photos could be used.

Well in the end the tour itself was not good. The guide rambled and it was difficult to follow his stories as he jumped around in topic and I didn't retain anything he said. Not only that but the photographer followed Olena around and was rather creepy asking for her email address to send the pics he had taken.

We did not fill out a Trip Advisor review.

A while later I realized that our photos were on the I Love Oxford website. And months later I teased Olena because a picture prominently featuring her had been blown up into a poster displayed on Broad Street.

Last weekend I was buying a coffee at Coffee Republic and looked down next to the register and saw my face. I have apparently made it onto a business card. Guess I can't tease Olena anymore. This photographer didn't get me on a "model day" and now my face is all about town associated with a tour I didn't even like!

French Pyrenees

Last month I went on my first ski trip in Europe to the French Pyrenees. My friend Mathilde's parents have a house at Saint Lary-Soulan about 2 hours from her home town of Bordeaux. With a super cheap flight on Easy Jet and a free place to stay, this ski trip was a no brainer.

My week went something like this:

We land in Bordeaux and it is 24 degrees - Celsius (75F!). Not good for snow conditions but the mountains were hours away. We swing by Mathilde's house to pick up a car and Mathilde's mother has purchased enough food for the 6 of us for a week - meats, cheeses, wine, bread, champagne, fruits, pasta, vegetables, yogurts, chips, granola, more bread, more wine, more cheese... She even pre-made some side dishes and baked us some mini cakes and cookies. I ate like the French all week, trying duck dishes like confit-cassoulet and yogurt from sheep (which is creamy and rich and tastes like Greek yogurt).

We made the drive to the Pyrenees and arrived at night and I couldn't believe the path down to the house. Mathilde turned off the road and I had to close my eyes. The path was as wide as the car and went at pretty much a 45 degree angle. The fact that the left tire hugged the hill and on the other side of the right tire was a sloping mountain didn't seem to phase her. Yikes.

Path to the house on a snow day

View from the terrace

LOTS of wine, bread and cheese

Loading the car in the AM

Day 1 of skiing: I'm not sure if I have ever skied in hotter weather. It's roasting, the sun is shining and the snow is slushy.

Day 2 of skiing: Sun is still shining but it's a tad windier. Have lunch by a lake and lay on the grass, napping and soaking in rays

Just visiting

Day 3: Wake up with a horrible cold. Decide cannot ski, and wind up reading in the intermittent sunshine on the terrace all day long. Some new sheep friends came to join me at one point by the terrace.
Day 4: In the morning we can not see anything out the window. The fog is thick, clearing slightly, but as we head out we realize the conditions on the mountain are not good. We could literally not see 3ft in front of us while coming down.
Day 5: Snowy, cold, foggy. Thank god I bought goggles yesterday.
Day 6: Fantastic new snow. Best day of skiing of the week.

 
I learned quickly that the ski lifts in France don't slow down when they're coming around the turn. The first time I got whacked in the calves and thudded into the seat with the force of the moving chair. Welcome to France. Apparently, after you've pushed your way into the spot where you're next in line (no orderly progression here), you have to ready yourself and put your hand out and hold the seat then sit on it otherwise it will take you down without mercy. The other thing about this resort was the prevalence of the tow rope style lifts. They were everywhere and I'm not a big fan since they're uncomfortable and allow no rest for your legs in between runs. The runs were not very challenging and a lot of the black runs were closed due to lack of snow. I had fun nonetheless, but I think I'd like to try the Alps next which are higher and which allow for better snow conditions. 


It was an relaxing trip, and a very French and local one as this was not a touristy spot and practically no one spoke English although being about 5 miles from the Spanish border, I did get to use that a bit.


The Pyrenees are the perfect escape....

Snow fall the day we leave

St. Lary-Soulan

Leaving Dos

There are Stag Dos (Bachelor Parties)
Hen Dos (Bachelorette Parties)
Christmas Dos....
And the Leaving Do
 
In this new normal, I am surrounded by the comings and goings of people that have come in and out my life at a pace much more rapid than I'm used to. I moved abroad to shake up a change, to experience new things, places and people, and this aspect of the expat life has lived up to that expectation. Spending all your time with just a handful of people is a less stable plan in this kind of environment, and so the best way to cope is to say "yes" to every invite. You have to constantly adapt and I've learned to cast the net wide and grow accustomed to attending a lot of leaving dos.

Why so many? For one, a majority of my friends are also foreigners. The UK office of my company does a lot of international work and transfers people from around the world when the need arises. It's funny how these people tend to migrate together no matter where they're from. I needed only to be introduced to a handful to fall into several groups of fellow expats, widening the circle of friends and acquaintances in this town rather quickly. The flipped side of this is that inevitably, these people will leave. Not all at the same time of course, but one by one, most will eventually move on or go home.

Oxford itself is a very transitional city for its English residents considering the University, but for many expats, it seems to not keep people for especially long. The restless world traveler in particular. I'm amazed at the bravery of many of these new friends, because it's common that they pick up and move country, seemingly without the serious thought that I put into it. I hear when you've done it once, you're able to do it again much more easily. The tasks of meeting new coworkers, fostering new friendships, and those necessary things like a bank account and finding a place to live, come more naturally the second time around. They figure it out and the challenges don't phase them.

And what do you do at the do? Drink, Eat... be Merry. It's usually the place to be, an opportunity to cast the net wider, and they're never a dull time. You see, in England, the leaving do is a free pass for "adults" to leave the kids with their spouse, have a few pints with their colleagues, and not have a curfew. Quite a lot of gossip can result when some people are let loose that don't get out often! Speeches are made, rounds are purchased, hugs are given, and people stay till the lights come on in the bar.

I have 3 leaving dos to attend this month alone. And I've said "yes" to every invite.

I Love Scotland

In October, that road trip up to Edinburgh was supposed to be 6 hours, but wound up taking 8 hours as we hit the lovely city of Birmingham at rush hour and didn't move for approximately 2 hours. By the time we got up to Scotland it was 11pm and we were exhausted, but eager to see the city the next day.

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh didn't disappoint, but in true Scottish fashion, the skies opened up and drizzled on us all day long and didn't let up once. This was quite frustrating for my photography ambitions as handling an SLR camera, camera bag, purse, and umbrella are quite difficult to do. I seriously think I need to find hat with an umbrella on top for my rainy photography days. I won't look that ridiculous... right?

One of the highlights was the Edinburgh Castle of course, which is nestled on a mountain top but sadly the views where obscured by the rain and fog that day. 

My favorite part of the city was the The Real Mary King's Close tour. You need to book a tour ahead of time, and I highly recommend it for any trip to Edinburgh. This tour is a deep dive into 17th century life in Edinburgh when everyone lived in "Closes" in the city which were basically alleys with homes that had rooms 5 stories high and thousands living on top of one another. The tiny alleys sloped down to the river from the streets up on top the hill to the putrid waters below. With no sewage system, the hill top city of Edinburgh threw literally everything down below. You wanted to be the rich person living at the top of the Close. The poorer you were, the lower you lived - quite literally dealt the shitty hand in life.

Amazingly, that infested river was drained and in modern day it is a pretty park with fountains and statues and flowers... see below...

We figured we had made the trip all the way up to Scotland and felt obliged that meant we needed to go on a mission to find Nessy. After road tripping up north from southern England, and wanting to cram in as much of the Scottish Highlands as we could in one day, we decided to take an all day tour that brought us to Loch Ness and other picturesque spots without having to do the driving ourselves. This meant we got up at 5am the next day, and met a tour group where we got stuck in the back seat of a mini bus sandwiched between 2 Brazilian 18 year old girls who both wanted a window seat and proceeded to talk to each other ignoring the fact that we were sitting between them. It was a long day. But the scenery was amazing.

Loch Ness

As luck would have it, during our hour long boat trip on Loch Ness... we spotted her.... Here we have it folks... NESSY!!! (Plus baby)

At Glen Coe, Scottish Highlands

Not only are the accents awesome, but the landscapes are fantastic and Edinburgh is a lively, interesting, picturesque and fun city.. I <3 Scotland. Can't wait to go back.

The Royal Britannia

In October... I went to Edinburgh, Scotland with my friend Theea.  Ok, yes this is a very delayed post but I've been meaning all along to say something about Scotland and I'll begin with the Royal Yacht Britannia.

This yacht has been in action travelling the world for 50+ years throughout Queen Elizabeth's reign and has been put to rest in a dock in Edinburgh as a tourist attraction. There have been royal honeymoons, summer holidays, state visits and foreign leaders across the globe have been aboard when the Queen docked at their shores. The last royal event happened last July when the Queen's granddaughter Zara hosted a pre-wedding reception on board and all the royals mixed and mingled on its deck and Duchess Kate apparently "recycled a dress" for the occasion. Scandalous.

Royals aboard the Britannia
 

Me standing where the Queen is!

These guys are obviously familiar with the Royal Yacht as well... Diana and Charles honeymooned on the ship and you can see the rooms where they stayed during the voyage.

Having visited palaces and castles in England such as Buckingham and Windsor over the years, I can say that its really not the same at all. In a palace, you don't get the sense of visiting someones home as you do on this yacht. There are family photos everywhere of the royals standing in the same place you're standing. The yacht was designed in a minimalist 1950s style. There is little fluff and every effort seems to have been made to make the furnishings much less pretentious than you might imagine they would be.

Aside from the fact that this is a ship that employed dozens of crew members to wait on the royal travelers and you can walk through the kitchen where a world class chef was employed, the laundry room where all the crew's uniforms are pressed to perfection...  The actual living quarters are simple and straight out of the '50s. Not much to them at all... the bedrooms consist of a dresser and a bed. There are basic nautical themed sitting rooms where Harry and William have played board games and the Queen's "office" is a simple desk. Of course, there is a more formal dining room and there have been many "posh" parties aboard. But what I liked most about seeing this ship is the teeny tiny sliver of normalcy you are able to peek in on.

Charles and Diana's Honeymoon Suite

I've read somewhere that the Queen's husband Prince Philip has never in his life put toothpaste on his own toothbrush. Apparently that task is reserved for his butler. So yes, "normal" and "royal" don't usually go together in the same sentence. But aboard the Britannia, the family photos unveil that they are just people in the end no matter how much scandal, heartache or loneliness those posed smiles are hiding.

Thanksgiving 2011

I was rather sad to not be celebrating Thanksgiving with my family for the first time in my life. But my lovely new foreign friends were all on board with tackling a turkey and giving me a proper Thanksgiving meal.
 

Pie making!

The first step for me was to learn how to make apple pie from scratch, and I conveniently was able to use my colleagues as guinea pigs. We have a monthly bake off contest for team meetings. One person brings in a cake each month, and it was my turn in November. I requested special permission to bring in a pie as I had to be sure they wouldn't deduct points because it wasn't a cake! We score everyone's culinary contributions 1-10 and keep a running tally of who is winning the bake off. Happy to report that my pies brought me into 1st place! Competition isn't over yet... and I'm not sure we "win" anything other than bragging rights, but its all good fun nonetheless.

After having lasagne in our cafeteria for lunch on actual Thanksgiving, I was ready for the real deal by Friday evening for our planned meal.



Pick me!

 I came up with a menu with some help of my friend Rachel Ray (in case you don't know her, she's a chef famous for making things "easy peasey"!) as well as my grandmother's emails. We took a field trip to buy "Bob" the bird at Sainsbury's on Tuesday, along with all the other fixings we needed.

The meal was prepared at the house of a few co-workers, and thankfully one of them worked from home to do all the prep work during the day. It was a good thing, because our turkey was still slightly frozen in the morning when I popped by.  Not to worry though, all was well by cooking time.

  

We were a bit stressed, but we made it through the cooking process in a small kitchen, with tons of people milling around and Bob the bird was cooked perfectly in the end.

Ready to baste!

Bob came out perfect...

Frenchman vs. Turkey

The finished product

I celebrated my Thanksgiving with 5 Italians, 2 English, 3 Frenchmen, 1 Turkish girl + me the American. Everyone said what they were thankful for and of course, I was thankful I had made some fabulous new friends these past few months!

A success all around. Yet, I'm still thankful that my next turkey will be made by Grandma at Christmas in Chicago. I think once a year is enough for me!

Brussels, Brugge and Amsterdam

 

A few weeks ago, I met up with my friend Amanda from Chicago along with her mother and grandmother in Belgium. They were kind enough to let me join them for a few days of their Eurotrip and it was good to see some familiar faces. My housemate even remarked that my accent had gotten stronger after spending 3 days with Chicagoans!

I left my place at 5am, hopped a train to London, transferred to the Eurostar for a 2 hour train ride over land and under the sea to Brusssels to meet them arriving from Paris. It was my first time in the Chunnel and I barely even noticed we were underground. The train moved so fast your ears pop and then before you know it you're back in the daylight and you're in France.

  We wasted no time and were on a city tour of Brussels and saw a chocolate making demonstration that afternoon. That night we had an amazing meal, enjoyed some mussles in Brussels (ok, I just tried 2), drank some Belgian beers and bought lots of Belgian chocolates.

 

The next day we were off early to take a train to Amsterdam for the day. We took the hop on, hop off canal boat, which was a bust, because we got on the wrong line and had to wait around for a long time to get to where we wanted. We saw most of Amsterdam by boat, nonetheless.

Amanda and I headed along the canaled streets to the Anne Frank House & Museum for the afternoon. Being a rainy Wednesday in October we were happy the line wasn't too long as I'd heard some stories about waiting for multiple hours to get in the house.  I have always wanted to see Anne's home and with only a few hours on my first trip to Amsterdam, I was happy we were able to squeeze this in!

I've read Anne Frank's Diary at least twice but it's been years... it all came back to me rather quickly. The house is empty of furniture, the Nazis took all of the belongings.  Otto, Anne's father and the sole survivor, wanted it to stay empty, although at one point they did re-create the furnishings with Otto's detailed descriptions and direction. So they now have models and photographs of the secret annex furnished just the way it was when they were living there that you can look at while making your way through the empty rooms.



After navigating through the front of the building where Otto Frank's business had been run, you can climb a ladder like staircase and then it's there. The bookcase concealed entrance to the secret annex. They've posted this quote on the wall next to it:

Now our Secret Annex has truly become secret.  Mr. Kugler thought it would be better to have a bookcase built in front of the entrance to our hiding place.  Now whenever we want to go downstairs we have to duck and then jump.

Anne Frank, August 21, 1942

It was reading that quote that gave me the chills... Reading those words and seeing the threshold to the annex, I was rather overwhelmed comprehending how she had to duck and jump out of the annex, through the door in front of me. I ducked and climbed up through the narrow entrance. The step behind the bookcase is about a foot and a half up, and the opening no more than 5 ft high. Knowing she had passed through this, and seeing her words describe it, was my first taste of that diary coming to life.

The Secret Annex

Inside, you walk into the empty living area with kitchen with a sink and small stove. This is where they congregated and passed most of their days and the Van Pels slept at night. On the walls, the original wallpaper throughout the house had to be redone in the same print due to deterioration, but they have preserved the original in some places. You can see the pencil markings measuring Anne and Margot's height on the wall and the map of Normandy where Otto tracked the movement of the alliance. In Anne's room, they've preserved the majority of the walls behind glass where Anne had posted some postcards to liven the dreary space.

Our little room looked very bare at first with nothing on the walls, but thanks to Daddy who had brought my film-star collection and picture postcards on beforehand, and with the aid of a paste pot and brush, I have transformed the walls into on gigantic picture.  This makes it look much more cheerful.

Ann Frank, July 11, 1942

Overall, it was amazing to see this place. I wished I could have been there without the crowds, but ultimately, the more people that see these historical locations and remember what happened to so many innocent lives, the better.

After Anne Frank's house we took off to the center of the city and did some souvenir shopping and ended the day with a walk back towards the train station through the Red Light district area... yup, everything you've heard is true.

The final day, we took a tour to Ghent and Brugge north of Brussels. Ghent is a sleepy yet quaint town, and Brugge has beautiful canals, lots of horse drawn carriages and a large square that was made much more lively with the hundreds of British Birmingham football fans having a rowdy rally in preparation for the Brugge vs. Birmingham football game that night.

 

We took a boat tour on the canal and saw the rest of the city with a very entertaining boat driver. I'll have to check out the movie "In Brugge", with all the places they filmed pointed out to us throughout the day...

It was a whirlwind 3 days but I was so happy to see a friend from home and go to 3 places I've never been. A few checks off my bucket list!