Home.

Well, I am writing to you now from the comfort of our own home in Seattle, Washington. We left London a little over one week ago with our 8 bags and boarded our one way plane.

Our last few days there were packed with errands and goodbyes. We had accounts to close and things to pack. We got our flat cleaned and gave our keys back to our landlord, and then spent two nights in the guestroom above our local pub, the Captain Cook. Our last dinner in London was at Picture restaurant in Marylebone, which is where we had one of our first dinners out when we arrived in London.

As I've said before, everything surrounding the move has been bittersweet for us. It was hard to leave so many friends and our life in Fulham. We've loved living in London and will definitely miss it, but we are excited to be home.

We are now slowly unpacking and settling into our life here - I started a new job and Aaron's gone back to the Seattle Russell office. We've moved into our Wedgwood house and met our neighbors. Life is good.

What an adventure it was for us as Newlyweds Abroad! We did and saw so much while we were there - 30 different countries and 47 trips in total, not to mention all the sightseeing we did in London.

But I must admit... it does feel good to be home : )

Oh, What a Day: Borough Market, Sky Garden and the Wham's Karaoke Leaving Do

For our last Saturday in London, we headed over to one of our favorite places: Borough Market. We walked across Tower Bridge to get there dodging tourists along the way. We love Borough Market because of the atmosphere and variety of food vendors. Almost anything you order is fresh and delicious. Plus, the free cheese, meat and bread samples are nice too : )

After Borough Market, we walked across the river towards Fenchurch street, a building nicknamed the "walking talkie". At the top of the building is the Sky Garden: the whole top floor has plants and is enclosed in glass. There's a bar and lots of seating, plus a small patio outside. We enjoyed a drink overlooking the amazing 360° views from the top.

We then headed home to continue packing and have some down time before our big leaving do: a karaoke party at one of our local pubs (the Southern Belle) with all of our friends. It was a very memorable night and we sang our heart out to all of our favorite songs. But the best part about it was that we were able to spend time with so many of the amazing people we've met in London. It's really been an incredible 2.5 years here, and we've made so many good friends along the way. It's hard to leave, but we have some great memories and "oh, what a night!"

Our Last Day(s) of Work

My last day at EuroFinance was on Thursday and my coworkers gave me a really amazing send off. Don't worry, I only teared up about five times!

Aaron's last day at the Russell London office was on Friday. I don't think he teared up, but I know that it was hard for him to leave too.

We've made such good friends at both of our offices. We've been on trips with them, had outings in London, played Dodgeball, drank countless pints together... the list goes on and on.

Tonight, we are meeting up with everyone at one of our local pubs for some karaoke and drinks. Even though we only have a few days left in London, it doesn't feel real yet. But I'm sure I'll tear up tonight too! : (

Our Last Trip Part II: Villefranche sur Mer, Monaco and Nice

The next day in France we headed to Villefranche sur Mer, a small coastal town near Nice. It is one of the deepest natural ports in the Mediterranean sea and is also where our friends are getting married this summer! We met them for breakfast and then walked to the Citadel built in 1557, Chapelle Saint-Pierre from the 16th century and the beach.

We followed the coastline walking all the way to Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. Along the way, we saw gorgeous villas overlooking the water and lots of nice cars. We stopped for a pizza lunch and drank Monacos (beer, lemonade and a splash of grenadine).

After lunch, we took the train to Monaco: the concrete mini city of money, money, money! There were massive yachts in the harbor (including the 26th largest in the world) and really expensive cars. We thought we'd seen nice cars walking along the coastline before, but they were nothing compared to the ones that were parked outside of the Monte Carlo Casino.

The Monte Carlo Casino sits above the harbor. It's actually smaller than I expected it to be and it's not like the flashy Vegas ones. It is classy, lavish and small but grand with a lot of European charm. We paid 10 euros to go inside, and then I played the slot machines once just to say that I've gambled at the casino : ) but I lost : (

While we were in Monaco, there was a short bike race on part of the Monaco Grand Prix track. We walked around the city (it is very small) and then headed back to Nice for dinner.

Up until this point, we hadn't spent much time in Nice although we were staying there. But we finally had time to explore that evening and the next day.

One of my favorite parts of the trips was once we got back, Aaron and I enjoyed a glass of wine at a beach restaurant. We sat there looking out into the vast sea realizing that it would only be a week and a half before our life would change. We enjoyed our wine and then just as it started to rain (and then pour) we met up with the group at a restaurant where I had the best Niçoise salad (my favorite!) and then we went out for a night on the town.

The next morning we walked all around Nice visiting the little shops and strolling the boardwalk. We didn't fly out until the evening so we had all day to explore. It was a gorgeous day and so many people were out rollerblading, sunbathing or just doing exactly what we were - enjoying life. Of course, it helps if there's a bottle of wine, baguette and cheese, and if you're in the south of France : )

It was a bittersweet, great last trip for the newlyweds abroad!

Our Last Trip Part I: Pétanque and Cheese in St Paul de Vence

Well, here it is. Our last trip as newlyweds abroad. Spoiler alert: it didn't disappoint!

Off we went to France on Saturday morning. We arrived into Nice, which is where we stayed and what became our jumping off point to explore the surrounding towns.

Yacine flew down with us, and we met up with a couple who recently moved to London on a similar assignment a few months ago. We hoped in a taxi and headed to St Paul de Vence, one of the oldest medieval towns near the French coastline. It is an artist's town, I think because of how picturesque it is! It sits high up on a hill overlooking the surrounding areas. On a clear, sunny day you can see for miles.

We wandered around the winding stone streets and perused the local shops. After stopping for a bottle of wine at a restaurant overlooking the view, we met up with our other friends and their family. We ended up playing pétanque for a few hours with everyone which is basically French bocce ball. All the little towns have pétanque terrains that are free to use.

Afterwards, we headed to our friend's aunt's house for some wine and cheese (see photo below ). Did I mention that there was cheese? There was every single kind imaginable and it was all delicious. We laughed, talked and enjoyed each other's company until the late evening when we got picked up and headed back to Nice. There was much more fun in store the next day!

A Moving Day: Views and Music at St Paul's Cathedral

This post has two parts because Monday of last week was a moving day- both physically and emotionally.

The movers arrived at 9am. They packed up the majority of our flat leaving only some clothes and our must-pack items. It took them two hours and then they left with our life packed up in boxes.

My mom was still there and Aaron and I had taken the day off work, so we decided not to waste the half day in London that we had. One of the touristy things we have not done in London yet was visit the church that dominates the city skyline, St Paul's Cathedral. With only a few days left to explore, we headed there to check it out.

The church sits on the highest point of the city, which isn't saying much because the city is pretty flat! There's been a church onsite since AD604, but the current one dates from the 17th century. It's been partially destroyed three times by fires, but has continued to be rebuilt and remains an important part of British history. It is where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married, Sir Winston Churchill's funeral services were held, and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee service took place.

The downstairs part of the church is a crypt with tombs and memorials. The ground floor consists of a beautiful, high-ceiling dome with ornate artwork depicting the life of St Paul; a choir section lined with wooden benches; and a high alter area decorated with mosaics. Overlooking down into the dome 100 feet up is the whispering gallery. And the brave can continue climbing the stairs farther up until they reach the outside of the dome. This provides a spectacular 360° view from the center of London. It is one of the most amazing views of the city because you can just see everything.

After touring through the cathedral, we attended the choral evensong which is a nightly service. We sat in the choir section and listened to the choir sing; their beautiful voices echoing off the high dome walls.

Then we headed to Sushi Samba,  a restaurant located in one of the tallest towers in London. We had a great dinner with our last visitor (my mom- she was also our first visitor!) and had another amazing view of this incredible city.

Now that our flat is nearly empty and there's nothing on the walls anymore, it's all starting to feel real. We are eating off paper plates and using plastic utensils, just like we did when we first arrived. Remember my wine bottle post? Well, I did not make that mistake twice. This time I saved a wine opener just in case : )

Port Tasting in Porto

One of our favorite trips over here has been to Portugal, so this past weekend we flew with my mom to Porto!

Porto is the second largest city in Portugal and home to delicious Port wine. It's a coastal town in the Northwest part of the country with narrow, cobblestone streets and lots of hills. The area has two sides: Porto which consists of the old town with many restaurants, cathedrals, shops and bars, and Gaia on the other side of the river where many of the famous port wineries lie.

We were staying on the old town (Porto) side, so we arrived to our guest house and went to grab lunch. Then we walked down towards the waterfront where we stopped for a small taste of Port out of a chocolate cup (delicious). After, we walked across the Luís I Bridge from which there are stunning views of both sides of the river as you cross it.

We made our way to the riverfront on the Gaia side and grabbed a drink overlooking the beautiful Porto side. We had roasted chestnuts from a local vendor and then did a Porto tour at Cálem. Many of the port wineries have production facilities and tasting rooms staggered along the riverfront. They have huge signs with just their title name spelled out in letters that can be seen from the Porto side.

Founded in 1859, Cálem was recommended to us by our guesthouse because they have a tour of the facility with a tasting while listening to the traditional Portuguese music, Fado. On the tour, we learned about the three main types of Port: tawny, ruby and white. We actually had no idea that there was white port until our tour, but it makes sense since there's white wine! And it was delicious. The whole experience of being in a cave-like setting listening to beautiful Fado music and sipping our different port wines was very serene.

Afterwards, we made our way back to the Porto side and found dinner along the waterfront. We dropped my mom off at the guesthouse and Aaron and I went out for a nightcap. We had heard that Porto was like Spain- people wouldn't go out until 11pm and bars were open until 4am, clubs were open until 2am. Still, Aaron and I went out at 10pm. The popular street for bars that our guesthouse recommended was empty when we went. But when we left at about midnight, it was packed by then!

The next day, we got up and walked to the train station and bookstore, which were both places that inspired JK Rowling for the Harry Potter books. The bookstore has a crazy, intricate staircase that loops into itself and looks like part of it is almost floating. It just feels 'magical' and I can see how it would be an inspiration for Diagon Alley, Oliver's Wand Shop or the moving staircases at Hogwarts.

Then we went to Palácio da Bolsa also known as the stock exchange palace. In 1850 the Palace was built to house the commercial association of Portugal and impress those that saw it. My favorite areas were the grand staircase leading up to the second floor (with huge chandeliers and impressive marble) and the Arab room which is a beautiful, detailed, ornate room. It's hard to describe and my pictures don't do it justice, but it really was breathtaking.

We finished touring the palace and walked back to the waterfront for a glass of Port. Then we headed to a local shop that had a port tasting and went for tapas that night.

We left the next morning to head back for a full day of packing. Our movers were coming the next day, so we had a lot to do before then! This was our second to last trip before moving home, and after two trips to this country, we've decided we love Portugal!

We are Homeowners!!

This beauty is now officially ours:



We are Seattle residents again!

...Well, almost. Technically we still have 3 weeks here, but we have now officially closed on our new home.

It wasn't easy getting everything in order from London. There was a lot of paperwork and since we only had 30 days for closing, most of it was needed immediately. And it wasn't easy finding a house from London. We've had countless Facetime house tours from different countries and made six other offers that were beaten out: I'll never forget standing outside of a wine cave in the dark and snow in Budapest listening to an inspector give us a report of one of the houses we put an offer on.

But we had a lot of help along the way. Katie was amazing touring practically every home in the Seattle area for us. Jake and Lacey were our Power of Attorneys - they actually signed our home ownership docs (30 signature lines!) Christina, Gail and Nancy also helped with touring and advice. We are very grateful and couldn't have done it without this stellar Whamley Seattle House Hunting crew!

Our house (I like the way that sounds!) is in the Wedgwood neighborhood. We've toured through it four times on FaceTime now and fall more in love with it each time : )

Aaron and I are very excited and anxious to see it in person. It is one of the biggest life decisions and purchases that we've made and we haven't even walked in the front door! While that would probably scare a sane person, I've come to realize that Aaron and I can make anywhere home. And I have a good feeling about this one : )

Lucky number 7!

A Step Back in Time: Day Trip to Oxford

12 years ago, I had my earliest experience with stepping out of my comfort zone. I remember getting on my first long haul flight alone unsure of what to expect. I touched down at Heathrow full of nerves, butterflies, homesickness and anticipation. For the next month, I would be studying in a summer program at Oxford University. I had to figure things out and make new friends in a foreign country. But I did it and at the end I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to go home. Now, 12 years later I returned to the place where it all began, but this time with company.

On Saturday, Aaron, Yacine and I made a quick day trip to Oxford, England. We walked around the colleges and drank pints in historic pubs.

The trip felt familiar but was also new because some of it I remember but a lot of it I've forgotten. We were able to find my old college and dorm room (the brick building). I walked past places I used to eat and where I played soccer, but mostly we wandered around and it was like I'd never even been there. So much has changed in the 12 years and my memory isn't as strong. It makes me wonder what it will be like when Aaron and I come back to London in future years, and whether I'll remember all of our experiences and memories here.

Luckily, I have this blog to help me remember our adventures as newlyweds abroad : )

New and Old: A Weekend with Friends in Rotterdam and Delft

Many of our trips abroad have been focused on history - we've visited cities and towns with historical sites and stories packed with old charm. But just because a city has new architecture, doesn't mean it has no story. We found this out last weekend during our trip to Rotterdam.

Our friend and Aaron's co-worker, Monika, has been on an assignment working from the Amsterdam Russell office for the past few months. She did the same thing last year and we made a trip to visit her last February. We decided to make another trip to visit with Yacine, but this time chose the second largest city in the Netherlands- Rotterdam.

To give you a brief look into Rotterdam's story, the city was almost completely destroyed in WWII during the Rotterdam blitz, an aerial bombardment by the Germans in the 1940s. Because the Netherlands was positioned between Germany and Great Britain, Hitler wanted to use the country as an air and naval base. The Germans first tried to overtake The Hague, a city nearby that is home to the Dutch Royal family. After resistance from the Dutch army resulting in a stalemate, they turned their attention to Rotterdam because it was a huge industrial target (Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe). In total 1,150 bombs were dropped on Rotterdam. The Dutch soon surrendered but the damage was done and the city was basically destroyed.

Now 70 years later, the city is transformed. Huge skyscrapers and modern architecture make up the skyline. I wouldn't call it beautiful, but it is unique, modern and cool. It doesn't have the old charm, but it has a lot of character. We haven't really experienced another European city like it because truthfully, it just didn't feel like Europe.

We arrived on Friday night and played games at our Airbnb. Then we headed out and experienced a casino in the city that was filled with intense, solemn gamblers; hilarious but we didn't stay long.

Saturday morning we woke up and headed to a smaller city nearby, Delft. Delft lies in between The Hague and Rotterdam, and is where the Dutch Kings and Queens are buried. We had poffertjes (mini pancakes) and walked around the market square. We bought small Delftware mementos (a famous blue and white pottery made locally) and visited the town's windmill. The city was very quaint and reminded me of a smaller scale Amsterdam: picturesque houses in a row with beautiful detail, quaint canals, and lots of bikes everywhere!

We headed back to Rotterdam by train and then explored the modern architecture. We took a river cruise to Hotel New York which is a hotel built in the old Holland America headquarters. Then we made our way back to the downtown part of the city walking across the Erasmus bridge.

Rotterdam has a lot of sculptures and crazy architecture. To give a few examples: we saw a car protruding out from the top side of a building; there are "cube houses" that line one street; and the huge U-shaped Market Hall houses food vendors and restaurants but looks like something out of Singapore.

Saturday night we had an amazing local dinner. The menu at the restaurant was only in Dutch but luckily there was a woman sitting next to us who spoke perfect English and helped translate everything. It was a very happening restaurant and we ended up staying there pretty late just talking and enjoying each other's company.

It was a really nice weekend with great friends. And we got to see a glimpse into a European city with a very different story to tell. Variety is the spice of life, and Rotterdam has plenty of variety to offer!

The Churchill War Rooms: A Look at the Fascinating Man Who Changed the Course of History

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." - Sir Winston Churchill

History was kind to Churchill, but I don't believe it was so much because he wrote it as much as that he deserved it.

Last Saturday, Aaron and I explored the Churchill War Rooms, a museum in London. Before going, I knew that the CWR were the underground cabinet war rooms that the British government used during WWII. What I didn't know was that they actually began construction on them in 1938 knowing that the possibility of war was on the horizon. In August 1939 they began using them and remained in operation until 1945.

I also didn't know what they would look like or what would be inside. The rooms itself looked just as you'd imagine they did when they were sitting around planning the war strategy 76 years ago. This is mainly to the fact that after the war, the rooms were locked up and very few people were able to visit them. They were preserved until the CWR opened as a museum in 1984.

Some significant rooms that we saw:
- The Cabinet Room where war meetings were held. During the blitz (London bombing campaign), Britain tried to increase the protection and security of the rooms so a massive slab of concrete up to 5 feet thick was added above the rooms. It is still not known to this day if the concrete would successfully prevent the rooms from being destroyed during a bombing, but luckily during the war, they never had to find this out.
- The Map Room which was manned around the clock and tracks all the war activity on maps.
- The Transatlantic Telephone Room where Churchill would secretly phone Roosevelt to discuss the war.
- Churchill's Office / Bedroom which also housed BBC broadcasting equipment. Churchill gave four wartime broadcasts from his bedroom in the CWR.
Along with these rooms, there were also dormitories for the staff and private bedrooms for other key members of the cabinet.

My favorite part of the CWR was the museum that is dedicated to the life of Churchill. He was such an incredible person with many hats ...both bowler hats and hypothetically : )

Churchill grew up always wanting to be in politics and also having a love for writing. He made a name for himself by reporting on war stories while enlisted in the army. In South Africa he was captured and imprisoned in a POW camp before escaping and traveling 300 miles to safety, which gained him national recognition.

I never knew about Churchill's resilience and tenacity. Multiple times he made mistakes in his career that left him almost completely exiled from parliament. But he knew he wanted to be in politics so he kept pursuing it. When Hitler was gaining more and more support, Britain's prime minister at the time, Neville Chamberlain, wanted to appease and work with him. Churchill was very vocal against this, foreshadowing the events that would eventually occur. Thus, when it did, Chamberlain stepped down and there was no better person than Churchill to step up to the challenge.

He had a way with words, which I think came from his passion for writing. This translated into his speeches which were motivating, inspiring and realistic. He was well-spoken and defiant in his messages. But he also seemed like a very fun guy. He told dirty jokes and said things like "I always believed in staying in the pub until closing time." : )

Churchill and Roosevelt became great friends exchanging an estimated 1,700 letters and telegrams and meeting 11 times in their friendship. They both admired and respected each other. Churchill even was awarded with honorary US citizenship at the end of the war. One story that stood out to me was that immediately after Pearl Harbor, Churchill felt like they had won the war because America was now on their side. He left England for America in an unmarked ship and was at the White House within a few weeks. While there, Churchill had what his doctor classified as a mini heart attack but he was unaware.

Churchill died at age 90 in 1965 and was given the largest state funeral in world history at that time. What I really took away from the CWR was that Churchill was a fascinating man who really did change the course of history.

The museum also has the original 10 Downing Street door that Churchill used during his time as Prime Minister. Next to it, reads a Churchill quote:
"I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.... I was sure I should not fail."

And fail he did not.

Our Cozy Little Igloo and Husky Dog Sledding

By now, most people have seen the stunning photo: glowing igloos dotted through snow-covered landscape and trees set against a dark blue night sky. If you haven't, get out from under your rock and click here.

Well, that's where Aaron and I stayed last weekend! We got to experience life inside the glass igloo, and it was a really memorable and cool adventure : )

We flew from Helsinki up to an airport in northern Finland called Ivalo, then took a bus about 30 minutes to the igloo resort. It was in the middle of nowhere. One main road in, one main road out with the nearest town about 25 miles away.

The resort felt like a summer camp in the winter. When we drove in, immediately there was a lodge-style building where we checked in and ate meals. Downstairs there was also a small piano bar with games. From there, we gathered a sled (yes, wooden sled!) to maneuver our bags to our igloo. There are tons of paths on the property, so we passed cabins and ice-covered lake on our way led to the igloo village, which is where we were staying. It was three rows of about seven igloos in each row.

The igloo had a tiny door that even I had to duck under! There was a small bathroom on the right that had a nice toilet and sink; the glass was fogged over in this section thankfully : ) But the majority of the igloo was a bed that looked up to glass panels. The bed inclined up so that you could "look out at the sky from your igloo comfortably."

The igloo was cozy, comfy and mesmerizing. We unfortunately didn't see the Northern lights but it was so fun to stare up out at the snow falling from the sky sipping our hot cocoa in our igloo. We wandered around exploring in our snow gear, played countless games (backgammon!), saw "Santa's house", had long, delicious dinners and met some nice people from New Jersey. But the real highlight of our trip was:

HUSKY DOG SLEDDING!

We had the best team of dogs which we nicknamed:
Bringing up the rear was Macklemore (the ginger) and Felix (the workhorse)
In the middle row was Russell Wilson (the small one) and Jon Ryan (the albino)
Leading the pack was Griffey (the favorite) and Crazy Eyes (there was really no better name since he had one big brown eye and one small blue eye)
We definitely had the husky A Team!

There were nine sleds in total, and Aaron and I were the last ones. We would stop in the middle of the path and wait so the sled ahead would go far enough where they had a big lead. Our dogs were so good that we caught up too quickly to the rest of the group every time : )

One person sits on the sled and the other person stands behind and acts as the driver. The driver has a metal piece near their foot that is a brake when you step on it, and on hills, you have to 'help a doggie out' by getting off the sled and you push/run up with the dogs. For three hours, we cruised around with our A Team while it lightly snowed taking turns between being the driver and passenger. Each time we stopped, we also pet and played with the huskies.

Afterwards, we had a soup lunch in a teepee with the group before saying our goodbyes to the A Team. I almost took Griffey home with me because I was so in love.... almost : )

Hello Helsinki: Finland's Chilly Capital City

It was a quick stopover, but we made it to the capital of Finland: snow-covered, buzzing Helsinki.

Our ferry arrived on Saturday afternoon, and took the tram into the city. It was about a five minute walk from the tram stop to the hotel, which turns into 10 when you have to drag suitcases through the snowy sidewalks : ) Once we checked in, we headed out exploring.

First stop was the Old Market Hall with tons of stalls selling Finnish delicacies, fresh seafood, gamey meats like reindeer and small cafes. We had vegetable curry soup to warm up and then headed back into the cold to market square located on the edge of the waterfront.

We then headed to the Helsinki Cathedral, a Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church in the center of the city. It was originally built in the mid 1830s as a tribute to Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. It sits above the city and is a distinct landmark because of it's huge green domes. The architecture style looked very Greek to me with the columns and statues. Outside it was very impressive, but inside it was very simple.

The rest of our evening consisted on stocking up on more winter clothing at a store (it was chilly!), grocery shopping to get hot cocoa and snacks for our next Finland stop-over, cocktails at a neat speakeasy-type bar called Liberty or Death and then craft beers nearby. We had dinner at an asian restaurant which may seem strange considering where we were, but it was so good and had lots of creative, flavorful dishes.

Then we retired for the night to rest up for our journey to north Finland in the morning. More to come!

Good News Travels to Estonia

As I write this blog, Aaron and I are on a ferry crossing the Baltic Sea headed from Estonia to Finland. The snow is swirling gently past the huge windows as we cruise through the very chilly, open waters. I feel like we're in a snow globe : )

It's hard to believe that in a month and a half, this will all be a distant memory of places we travelled, things that we saw and adventures we had. But enough of that for now because right now, I want to tell you about Estonia.

We hadn't originally planned this trip to go there, but it became an add on to our Finland itinerary. Tallinn is only 2.5 hours by ferry to Helsinki, so we thought, why not?!

We almost didn't make it to Tallinn yesterday because we were so close to missing our plane. When we arrived at Gatwick and made it past security, the board said "Gate Closed" for our flight. We began sprinting to what might be the farthest away gate imaginable as they paged over the loudspeaker that they were looking for two other remaining passengers and the Whams. I really thought we'd missed it. And it's not like there are many flights to Tallinn each day. But miraculously, we arrived to a stern gate counter woman who said, "we've been waiting for you." Whoops! This was the first bit of good luck and news that day : )

Tallinn was another fairytale city that gave off little hints of other European places we've been to. Bruges, Kraków, Copenhagen - lots of similarities but also very unique. There was one cathedral in particular that looked very Russian (you'll see in photos below). We found out the architect was from Saint Petersburg so that explains why!

We explored the city by foot, walking through the winding, snow-covered, cobblestone roads. We ducked into a cave-like place for lunch and had delicious meat and salmon dumplings with sour cream. Afterwards, we headed to the Tallinn history museum and then went ice skating on an empty rink in the middle of the town.

My favorite thing we did was go to this little pub under the town hall. It was a step back in time: rock walls, candlelight, wooden tables, clay pots and jugs that you drank beer out of. They even had a huge barrel with free pickles that you had to scoop out with a skewer. The food was simple but delicious and the atmosphere was so fun! It was here that we learned I got a job in Seattle- wahoo!! Another piece of good news : ) Then we went to a German beer hall for a night of music and dancing. We got some more great news about our house hunt but I'll share that in another post.

And now we are on our way to another place we have yet to explore: Finland!

A Quick Welsh Weekend Away in Cardiff

Now that we have an official end date, Aaron and I are cramming a lot of trips into these last few weeks. We hadn't made it to Wales yet, so two weekends ago we did a quick overnight trip to the largest city in Wales... Cardiff.

It's only 3 hours by train, so we headed out on Saturday mid-morning. We arrived in the afternoon and checked into our hostel. Yes, there was an s in that word. Since Aaron has never stayed in a hostel before, I had to introduce him to the young, penny-pinching traveling backpacker life. "But we're old," he says. We haven't even hit 30 yet! : )

It was a nice hostel though. We had a private room on the top floor overlooking the castle. Once we checked in, we immediately headed to the castle which is what I was most excited to see.

We've now seen our fair share of castles. And while they usually have a lot of similarities, they are all different. Cardiff castle had stately apartments inside it which is where the kings and queens used to live. There was an exhibition below the visitors center about the Wales infantry, and we saw one of the only American flags to be captured (which happened during the War of 1812 by the Royal Welch). In the middle of the castle was the motte and shell keep, so we climbed all the way to the top for a view over the city. It started raining pretty hard at that point, so we hurried down and ducked into the WWII bunkers. During the war, Cardiff Castle was used as a shelter for the locals during bombing.

Next we headed to afternoon tea. Scones with clotted cream and raspberry jam accompanied by tea are my favorite British food and beverage - YUM! The tea shop was located in one of the many arcades that are in Wales (no, not the kinds with Cruisin USA video games). These arcades are covered streets with little shops lining the sides. It's like a small, vintage shopping mall if you can imagine that. We perused around a few of the arcades and then headed to have a few pints before dinner at a Tapas restaurant. Brew Dog was our favorite pub that we went to although we checked out a few: Cardiff has a whole area called The Brewery Quarter devoted to just that- breweries and pubs!

The next morning, we woke and headed out to the National Museum Cardiff. It was actually a huge museum with so much to see. There was an exhibition that walked you through Earth's history - beginning with how the continents took shape to life being formed and then onto the dinosaur age (with dinosaur bones), the Ice Age (with a Wooly Mammoth recreation) and up until present day. There was another section that had all different forms of sea animals (whales, seashells, turtles, etc) and another with plants and land animals. It was very well set-up and actually really neat. Upstairs were paintings including some Monet's.

We headed back to London after that. Like I said, it was a quick trip, but we have to pack them all in now!

A Royal Day Out Visiting Kensington Palace

Last weekend, Will, Kate, George and Charlotte invited us over to their house. Okay, maybe not really, but we did take a tour of their royal residence, Kensington Palace.

Unfortunately, you can't see the portion that they live in, but the state rooms in the palace are open for visitors. It's divided into three sections: a view into William and Mary's lives in the Queen's State Apartments; the court of George I and II in the King's State Apartments; and a glimpse into the life of Queen Victoria in her most frequented rooms.

The best part about the tour was not visiting all the rooms, but listening to one of the tour guides give a brief but enthralling recap of the history of the British Monarchy. Some interesting facts we learned:

• William and Mary have been the only reigning diarchy (meaning two individuals are joint head of state). Mary's father reigned before them and during his reign he became Catholic. Parliament did not like this so they approached Mary, who was married to William and living in the Netherlands. They needed her blood line, but they also needed William who enlisted the Dutch army for help. Together, they overthrew her father and dually took up the position of King and Queen.
  
• Queen Victoria led a very interesting life. Her uncle (William IV) actually appointed her to be Queen before he died overstepping her mother from taking the throne. She inherited the throne at age 18 where she then went onto rule for 63 years and 7 months. She and her husband also had nine children, and after her husband died she went into public mourning, after which she only ever wore black.
  
• In 1917 the Royal family changed their name. The German-sounding Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was replaced by "House of Windsor" in the midst of WWI.
  
• Princess Diana lived in Kensington Palace even after her and Charles' divorce, and when she passed away the gates of Kensington Palace became a memorial with over one million bouquets.

A brief, small look into a long, complex history of the British royal family.

A Bad Episode of House Hunters

When we first moved to London, we had some difficulties finding a flat. We had neighborhoods in mind, but didn't really know what they would be like until we moved. We had ideas about what type of flat we were looking for, but it was hard to know what we would get for our budget having never lived in the city before. We had a list of must-have and can-live-without items, but it was difficult to judge what would really be important to us without starting our life there.

So moving back to Seattle should be easy, right? In theory it should because we know the neighborhoods, we know what we should be able to get for our budget, and we know what our life will be like when we return.

After putting six offers on houses in the Seattle area and not getting any of them, I can say that it is not easy. It is disheartening and discouraging. We see a house we like and our friends and family go look at it for us. We FaceTime them while they are there and ask questions, then Aaron and I go away and we do research on the commute, walkability, and specifics of the neighborhood. We fall in love, make an offer and get denied.

I should clarify that we are making good offers- often well above asking price with a strong down payment. We've written a few heart-warming letters and are well qualified candidates. But the competition is just too steep.

It's hard because we don't even know how close we were with our offer. We don't find out the amount the house goes for until after closing, typically 30+ days after, and it's not like the seller gives you feedback: "you were 1st runner up. Lost out to an all cash offer." At least then you might say, "I came so close! I'll offer more next time."

We don't learn details about why we weren't chosen, only how many offers a house typically has. The lowest that we've been in competition with has been two other offers; the highest has been 22 other offers. We now know that the one with 22 other offers went for 133K over the asking price and another one more recently was rumored to have gone for 150K over the asking price... YIKES!

This is a bad episode of house hunters with seemingly no good ending in sight. I keep thinking there's a reason we put an offer on every house and don't get it - whether it's that it made us see the value in a neighborhood or realize that we want the bedrooms on a different level, etc. And I keep trying to remind myself that the perfect house is out there (in between my wishing that Amazon would go on a hiring freeze).

I know that eventually we will find the perfect home for us in this crazy, unpredictable, disheartening Seattle market. And in the meantime, I just need to remind myself that we are blessed to be in the position where we are able to afford a nice house in a thriving area.

So here's to lucky number 7! Hopefully, it will all be worth the wait.

Budapest: The Fairytale City of Lights

Well, I stayed true to my word and returned to Budapest (see previous post here). But this time, I brought along one husband and two friends : )

Budapest is a fairytale city - there's history, romance, grandeur and culture. One of my favorite things is the way the city lights up at night: deep golden hues contrasted against the dark shadows of the massive, stately buildings. But this time, the city was taken to a whole new level. It snowed while we were there, and it was pure magic.

We arrived Saturday mid-day and checked into our B&B. Our first stop after that was grabbing lunch at the Central Market Hall: a huge two-level indoor market with cheese and meat stalls on the first level, and souvenirs/grab-and-go lunch places on the second level. We had Langos, a deep fried Hungarian flat-bread dough topped with sour cream, cheese, thinly sliced ham and veggies. It was delicious!

Afterwards we walked along the river to Parliament. There are two sides of Budapest - Buda (the castle district) and Pest (the city and government buildings). We saw the Shoes on the Danube Bank, a simple but powerful memorial honoring Jews who were killed by the fascist Arrow Cross militiamen during WWII. They were ordered to remove their shoes and then were shot at the edge of the Danube so their bodies were carried away by the river. Today, bronze shoes of all sizes line the edge creating a stark reminder.

We continued on to the Parliament building where we did an afternoon tour. It's impact on the city skyline is evident as it is the highest and largest building in Budapest. We walked through the hallways some covered in gold and saw the Holy Crown of Hungary used during the coronations. The building was massive and beautiful.

We finished with the tour just as it started to snow outside. Soon we were walking in a slight covering of fresh white powder with flakes still falling from the sky. I even found a street called October 6th (my birthday street!). We ducked into a craft beer bar for some drinks then headed to dinner.

Aaron and I have been trying to find a house in Seattle now that we know we are coming home, so we had to sneak away for a few FaceTime tours. It's really difficult looking for a house while you are so far away... but that is a whole other post for another day!

After dinner, we stopped into a ruin bar and it was just as amazing as I remembered it. Eclectic furniture, multi-colored lights, a swarm of tourists and Hungarians drinking near the heaters in a ruined building.

The next morning, we headed out and went to the Dohány Street Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe. The synagogue was part of the Jewish ghetto during WWII, and around 8,000 to 10,000 people died in the ghetto from cold and hunger. Over 2,000 of them are buried in the courtyard of the synagogue, so this area was turned into a cemetery and beautiful memorial.

Just a short walk away is St. Stephen's Basilica. This is actually the same height as Parliament - symbolizing that worldly and spiritual thinking have the same importance. We climbed the 364 stairs to the top for a 360 degree view of Budapest. After taking some photos and throwing a few snowballs, we climbed the stairs back down.

Then it was to the castle district. We stopped into a restaurant to warm up with some hot goulash soup... it was so cold outside! Buda is a historical castle and palace area built on a hill across the river overlooking Pest. It was once the royal residences of the Hungarian kings. We got mulled wine and wandered around the area exploring. After a few more snowball fights and competitions, we headed to a cave-like restaurant for a Hungarian wine tasting. We sipped wines from different regions, had cheesy bread and talked amongst the candle-lit dark cave. From there, we headed back to our B&B and watched the NFL games while drinking more wine and talking.

We left the next morning to head back to London. It was an amazing weekend in a magical city with great company... I love Budapest!

Do You Know? The World Championship of Ping Pong 2016

On the outskirts of London is a beautiful palace that sits on top of a hill overlooking the city. Nicknamed "Ally Pally" it opened in 1873 and is used today as an entertainment and cultural venue. I've been wanting to visit Alexandra Palace for a while now, but just didn't know what the right event would be... until last week when I saw that the World Championship of Ping Pong was being hosted there for three days.

Now while most people might not get excited about this, Aaron and I immediately knew we had to go. What ensued was the most intense three hours of ping pong that we've ever seen. It was countries battling it out for the title: World Champion.

Each game consisted of three matches. First player to reach 15 points won (regardless of their lead), and there was the heart-pounding double ball: once during the game, each player could trade in the usual orange ball for a white ball and if they won the point, then it was worth double.

After the games, the TV camera and interviewer would crowd over the player to get their reaction (it was broadcast live on Sky sports) and then a group of adoring kids would line up against the court to get the player's autograph. Yes, these athletes have some fans : ) Other spectators were dressed in their country colors - mainly France and Ireland - cheering wildly anytime their player scored.

There were five smaller courts on the side and one main court. We sat on the main court for a while and saw the reigning champion play, England's Andrew Baggaley. Then we headed over to the side courts and watched Team 'Merica beat Russia (take that Putin!) In the end Baggaley retained the title. All in all, it was a unique experience with some table-top fun!

Fans dressed in support of their country

USA vs Russia

The main court

Baggaley interview. Fans wait for autographs

Crowds, Light and Lots of Walking at the Lumiere Festival in London

This past weekend was London's first Lumiere Festival - a free event that took place over four evenings where art installations lit up the city.

After an amazing time at the Russell Holiday Party on Friday night, Aaron and I decided to have a low-key Saturday evening. We met some friends at a brewery in the city and then went to the checkout the light festival.

While some of the art was neat to see, the festival in general was a bit underwhelming, to say the least. It was really spread out so you had to walk a lot from one art piece to the next and there were way too many people. Many roads were closed, but it still seemed like all we were doing was navigating crowds and stretching to see the light installations. Plus, it was freezing cold.

Crowds and cold - sounds like the perfect night, right? ; )

Bittersweet but No Regrets

This is a hard post to write. After 2.5 years of living in London and 40 trips to 26 countries on four continents, Aaron and I are moving home. It still doesn't quite feel real and it probably won't until our flat is empty, bags are packed and we are having to say goodbye.

We still have a few more trips planned, but we have bought our one-way tickets back to Seattle. April 5th is the day, and it will be here before we know it.

As I've been telling people over the past few days, the only word I can think to use that describes it is bittersweet. There's no doubt in my mind that leaving will be very hard. There are so many things about this city that we will miss: our friends, lifestyle, jobs, neighborhood, and who can forget the countless adventures and trips. But we are also looking forward to moving back to Seattle and the comfort that it has to offer: our families, friends, familiarity, buying a house and watching Seahawks/Mariners games at a reasonable hour : )

I could go on and on about the decisions, worries, fears, anticipation and emotions that are involved with moving back, but I don't feel that I could adequately sum up what, at least, I am feeling about this. Bittersweet is the only word that feels close to accurate.

The only thing I know for sure is that after these 2.5 years, Aaron and I have no regrets : )

A Dining Experience Like No Other

Unfortunately, I can't give you many details in this post. The events surrounding our dinner on Tuesday night will have to remain as much as a mystery to you as it originally was to us. With this peculiar disclaimer, I will begin with the facts that I can share.

Last year, I read about an "immersive, other-world dining experience" called The Gingerline. Similar to Secret Cinema, the creators behind The Gingerline basically put on themed, five-course dinners in different locations along the London Overground tube line. I signed up for their mailing list and then this September, they announced their new theme: Chambers of Flavour. We convinced two of our friends, Dan and Shelley, to go with us, and bought tickets for dinner this January (it is really booked up and sells out quick!)

On Tuesday night at 4:00pm, I received a text with a bizarre location (ie. go to this tube stop, take your first left, turn right, etc). We headed there at 5:30pm dressed as we were told to. The location looked like an abandoned warehouse, but inside was a bar. We got drinks and waited until we were told it was our turn to "go into the machine" then off we went, pushed into five other worlds- each with a theme and a course (first was canapé, second was starter, third was main, etc).

I can't reveal much more except that it was a really cool experience! They ask that you keep the whole thing a secret so it doesn't spoil the surprise for other diners. But I will say that the food was delicious and we had some very unique encounters throughout the night : ) So that is the silver lining to this post... or the Ginger lining?

Chocolate and Beer in Bruges - YUM!

What else is there to do in Belgium besides eat chocolate and drink beer? Turns out there's a lot.

It's been a little over two years since Aaron and I were last in Belgium. We didn't enjoy Brussels as much as other places we've been, so we thought we needed to give Belgium another go. This time we decided on a smaller, picturesque town which brings me to... Bruges!

On Saturday morning we took the Eurostar from London to Brussels and then transferred on a train to Bruges. A smaller city located in the Northwest part of Belgium near the coast, Bruges is more tucked away. It's a city with cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages touring through town, medieval buildings and small canals.

We dropped off our bags at our B&B, and then headed out to explore. The first thing we stumbled on was The Church of our Lady. Inside is a small, white marble statue of Madonna and Child that was created by Michelangelo in 1504. The statue has twice been stolen and returned - once by French revolutionaries and then again by the Nazis.

Afterwards, we went to the Christmas markets and browsed through the stalls. There were two market locations to peruse through, and we ended up getting a Belgian waffle smothered in chocolate that was just as good as you are imagining it to be : )

Following the market, we walked to Bruges' only brewery in the city center, De Halve Maan, and joined in on a tour. We tasted their flagship beers - Brugse Zot Blond and Brugse Zot Dubbel - both delicious. Zot in Dutch means 'the fool' so their label is a jester. On the tour, you actually go onto their rooftop which has an amazing view of the city.

Next stop was a local pub for a drink before dinner. It was 5:30pm, but it was packed. There were 300 beers to choose from at Brugs Beertje - all different and many with very high alcohol content! This seemed to be a theme in Belgian beers- the majority were served in bottles and almost all of them were pretty heavy. Later we headed to a recommended restaurant for some dinner. We had Vlaamse Stoofvlees or Flemish stew - braised beef with vegetables slow cooked in dark beer that is local to the region. Yum!

The next morning we started off with a short walk to Princely Béguinage Ten Wijngaerde, now a priory of Benedict nuns. You are supposed to remain silent while walking through so it was very peaceful but eerie. From there, we continued to the nearby Minnewater Lake or the 'Lake of Love' which is home to many swans. Aaron even had a staring contest with one of them ...stop looking at me swan! : )

Afterwards, we decided to take a canal cruise. We beat the crowds by going early and it was a great way to see the city, but it was freezing! Upon disembarking, we just began wandering around the city and we ended up in The Burg square (where City Hall is). It was packed with people all drinking beer before noon! We never found out what it was for, but it seemed like some festival gathering.

That evening we headed to another pub for a beer tasting, and then to a very small bar located in an antique shop. There was a lot to look at since it was filled with knick knacks that were very eclectic and unique! For dinner, I had mussels (you may remember my mussels in Brussels post haha) and Aaron had prawns. Then on our way back to the B&B, we stopped in at a wine bar that had live music.

We had taken Monday off work so we got to sleep in the next morning while everyone else was going back to work in the New Year! After a leisurely morning, we went to Belfort or the Belfry of Bruges, a medieval bell tower. It dominates the Bruges skyline, and you can climb 366 stairs to the top for a spectacular view. The staircase is extremely narrow and there are people going up and down in it at the same time, but after some maneuvering, we made it! The view was well worth the climb.

Our last stop was for some chocolate: one of the many chocolatiers along the small winding streets of Bruges. The chocolatier picked some of her favorites for us and after tasting them, both of ours was an amazing vanilla creme white chocolate one. Then we headed into a tea shop to warm up. I got an herbal tea, but Aaron had hot chocolate: a spoon with chocolate on the end that you stir into a cup of hot milk. Seriously authentic and so good.

Then we caught the train back to London - our taste buds very satisfied after a weekend of beer and chocolate in Bruges!