Shhh! Secret Cinema

Picture this: last Thursday, a girl boarding the overground tube line with a polka dot retro dress, poof in front of her curly ponytail hair with a green sparkly ribbon all by herself. I wouldn't have stood by her either.

But yes, that was me as I went to meet Aaron, Becs and Yacine at the hidden secret cinema location. Every month, Secret Cinema picks a movie (new or old) and they build a set, characters and theatrical show around the movie in the London area.

Our movie was a childhood classic: Back to the Future. We dressed in 50s clothing, took on new identities and watched as memorable scenes played out around us in the Town Square. Biff, Marty, Doc, Loraine, George - they were all there interacting with us and the other "audience" members. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was an actor and who wasn't!

Midway through the night, we gathered on the lawn in front of the huge clock tower to watch the actual movie which was projected on the town hall building. To our surprise, as we watched the movie, the actors still played out their parts and scenes - from Marty's memorable skateboard car chase to George's punch heard around the world and Doc's zip-line down the electric wires hanging off the clock tower.

They don't let you take your 'cellular devices' in, so I was unable to take pictures inside (we actually had to leave them in the coat check area). I snapped this photo while waiting in line to get in. You can see the clock on top of the town hall building and the ferris wheel rides from the set on the right hand side.

It's this type of thing in London that you really don't get anywhere else!

Life Events

When Aaron and I were deciding if we should move to London, we always said, "This is the perfect time in our lives to do something like this. We just got married, we don't own a house, no kids, no pets. If we're ever going to do something like this, now is the time..."

It might've been a good time for us to physically move, but I've realized that there's never a perfect time emotionally. There's always going to be something that we miss out on or wish we could be a part of at home.

Our friends and family back home are going through major life events, and it is so unbelievably hard to be away from them. My sister is pregnant, my best friend is engaged, Aaron's brother turned 30, Aaron's best friend is moving back to Seattle... all these things that we've had to celebrate from 4,781 miles away. Both Aaron and I hate not being there, and now that we've been here for 10 months, it hasn't gotten any easier.

But on Friday, we are headed back to Seattle for TWO WEEKS! And we can't wait to celebrate, laugh and just spend time with our family and friends.

To say we are excited, is a big understatement : )

50 Shades of Renters Blues

As many of you know, Aaron and I do not have very good luck with the places we rent.
The first place we lived in... problems with our neighbors.
The second place... problems with our leaking shower.
And now in London, we've experienced a lot of problems because we moved into a flat that had just been renovated. Problems like the washing machine not being hooked up properly, our oven setting off the smoke alarm, our heating unexpectedly shutting down in winter, our lights being difficult to change, and now, our leaking shower.

I think our landlord here hates me, but it's not like I really enjoy calling her with all these problems.

I cannot wait to buy a house and deck it out in Whamley, Pinterest-inspired decor (because that's what you actually do when you own a house, right?) To me, owning a house means feeling settled. It's this "I can start a garden, paint the wall whatever color we want, have a dog/pig if we like, select the furniture to the space (and not the other way around)" lifestyle that I aspire to. I blame Pinterest, Zillow and Martha Stewart.

But... then again, if we owned a place and had all these problems, it wouldn't be as easy as just calling one person and it would be coming out of our pocket. So maybe the grass isn't always greener on an owned front lawn? : )

Newlybroad in London: Day Itineraries for Exploring the City

For all our visitors, here are a few of our recommended itineraries for exploring London!

Itinerary #1: Greenwich, River Boat Cruise, Oldest Wine Bar in London

Directions:
Take the District line to Bank where you will then transfer to the DLR. The DLR is great because unlike most other tube lines, it is high above ground so you will see the East side of London. Get off the tube at Cutty Sark and then have a look around this beautiful maritime town.

Things to See in Greenwich:
Greenwich Market - open 10:30am to 5pm; has a little bit of everything from food stands to handmade gifts, vintage clothing and artwork
Royal Observatory - climb up the hill for a great London skyline view; it's worth it, I promise! This is also where Greenwich Mean Time comes from so you can see the Prime Meridian of the world.
National Maritime Museum, Astronomy Centre and Queens House - entry into these museums is free so why wouldn't you stop inside for a quick visit?

Grab lunch in the market or at a cute restaurant on the winding streets and then head down to the water to catch the Thames Clipper river boat back. Book a single ticket to Embankment. Enjoy a refreshment from the boat bar and watch the sights of London from the Thames go past you from both sides.

Disembark at Embankment Pier and head to Gordon's Wine Bar, the oldest wine bar in London established in 1890. It's a little hidden, just off Villiers Street, but enjoy a glass or bottle from inside the cave setting or outside on their amazing patio.

Itinerary #2: Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Borough Market and The Shard

Directions:
Take the District line to Tower Hill. Disembark and follow signs to Tower of London.

Inside the Tower of London:
Catch a Yeoman Warder tour (start near the main entrance of the tower every 30 mins) or explore the tower on your own. Rich in history, our "don't miss" list for inside: the crown jewels, tower torture, the ravens, royal menagerie/beasts, and wall walk.

After exploring the tower, exit and walk across Tower Bridge. Most people confuse this bridge with London Bridge because it is incredibly picturesque. You can pay to walk up to one of the towers on the bridge if you like. Once you've crossed the bridge, follow the water back towards to the city and over to the next bridge, London Bridge.

Once near the London Bridge tube station, you should see Borough Market, London's best food market. Grab lunch at one of the many food stalls and then walk around tasting samples and seeing all the different cheeses, meats, produce, etc that the market has to offer.

When you're ready to leave the market, look up at Europe's tallest building, The Shard. Named because the top looks like shards of glass, you can see the view one of two ways: pay to visit the viewing gallery on floors 68, 69 and 72 (warning: it's pricey) or head to the bar on the 32nd floor, Oblix (warning: there is a dress code and they are strict, smart casual dress so no sportswear, tennis shoes, shorts or flip flops). This way you are just paying for a drink!

Itinerary #3: Sights of The City

Most people when they come to visit want to see the major sights of London: Big Ben, Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden, Picadilly Circus, etc. There are two ways to do this:

Directions for Self-Guided Walking Tour:
Take the Picadilly Line to Covent Garden and exit out of the station. To see all the central London sights, follow the walking path that Aaron and I took when we first moved to London: http://www.newlywedsabroad.com/2013/10/lost-in-city.html

Directions for Open-Top, Hop on Hop off Bus Tour:
Take the Picadilly Line to Green Park and exit out of the station onto Picadilly Street. Approach one of the many open top bus vendors (such as Big Bus Tours) and buy a ticket for the day. This will allow you to see all of the Central London sights and beyond, as well as hear some history about everything. You can "hop off, hop on" at whichever stops you like to explore.

The Beautiful $ights of Norway

Last weekend, Aaron and I flew to Norway to meet up with my dad, Marie and her parents. We didn't really know what to expect since we don't know many people who have been there. Here are a few things we found out about the Scandinavian country:

The fjords look a lot like the Pacific Northwest - Let's face it, we are incredibly spoiled in the Pacific Northwest. We have an abundance of mountains, trees and water that is very picturesque. So maybe it was the dreary rain, lush green scenery or huge bridges spanning beautiful water, but the Fjords reminded us a lot of home.

Vikings, waterfalls, tunnels and trolls... oh my! - We drove from Bergen to Gudvangen where we caught a ferry and traveled through the fjords to Solvorn. On the drive we had to go through many tunnels because of the hilly terrain, and we passed by countless waterfalls. We also saw an old Norwegian viking longship, an incredibly narrow, light and wooden boat that vikings used to easily navigate through the winding waters. The troll thing surprised me a bit - every gift shop that we went to had troll knick-knacks, and a lot of restaurants and homes had trolls in the window. Turns out that trolls actually came from Scandinavian folklore.

Oslo is a huge city - We spent two nights in Bergen and one night in Oslo. The two cities were much different than I expected them to be. Bergen had a more cozy, small-town, relaxing feel while Oslo felt busier with more people and sights. In Oslo, we saw "The Scream" by Norwegian artist, Edvard Munch. This is one of my favorite paintings so I was really glad that we got to see it!

It should be called Nomonay - Norway is expensive. Don't believe me? Take a look at the Economist's Big Mac index or this article showing it's the most expensive city to visit. Even with knowing that it was expensive, we were still shocked by the prices: on average a beer was 90 kroner or $15... yikes! We wondered how people lived there until we learned that minimum wage was about the equivalent of $40.

The oldest hotel in Norway is 370 years old - And we stayed there! The same family has been running the Walaker Hotell since 1640 and ownership has been passed down through nine generations. It is in Solvorn, just across from Ornes which has the oldest Stave Church, built in 1130. I had never heard of a Stave Church but we saw another one on our drive. They are very unique because of the way they are built- by crisscrossing planks of wood and not with nails or other securing pins. If you're curious, you can view a few photos of Stave Churches here.

The daylight is true - Yes, it really does stay light until about midnight in the summer. The sun set at about 9:45pm, but we sat outside at 11pm one night and it still felt like dusk. The only downside to this was it meant that although we were far north and away from the city lights, we were not able to see the Northern Lights.

Norway was a beautiful country. The people that we met there were incredibly nice, the scenery was gorgeous and there was a lot to do. But there was a price to pay to visit!