London

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." — Samuel Johnson   True That!! We just spent 5 days in London, completely exhausting ourselves and poor kiddos everyday and while we had a blast, I could have spent much longer and still not see everything I wanted to. It was amazing.   Day one. We had a very early morning, our flight boarded at 6am so even with staying the night before in a hotel near the airport, it was still an early start. I tried really hard to get and stay organized this trip and I am glad I did because we immediately ran into issues as soon as we got to the airport. If you are stationed here, and you want to travel out of Germany, this message is for you. You need to have your travel passports AS WELL AS your Military issued No Fee passport and your sponsor has to have a set of orders. Thank God I stuck all of that stuff in my bag just because I am freaking paranoid about stuff! If we had not thought to bring it, had I only had our travel passports, our trip would have ended 45 minutes in. Crisis averted! Team Jessie being a total freak about everything = 1, Life's bumps in the road = 0 .   We got into Stansted about 8, took a FOREVER long bus ride into London (ok, an hour and 15, it felt much longer though.) and were dropped off at the incredibly busy and intimidating Victoria Tube Station. It was craziness, I was totally overwhelmed. We did eventually manage to figure out how to get our Oyster card, so we could travel freely on the tube without constantly buying tickets. This was an amazing purchase. A week worth of unlimited train and bus travel for 30 something pounds. The kids were both free on all of the public transit. SO. Now we have the tickets, we just needed to head over to the apartment. It was actually really simple using the tube system there, although the first time my heart was racing and I was convinced we were definitely going to be on the wrong train. I annoyed Chris very much by asking 5 different people in the station every version of "how do you know if you are getting on the right train in the right direction". By day two we are comfortable with the tube, by day 3 we are pros. Actually we only used the Circle Line train, so it's hard not to be a pro, but I think if we needed to use any of the other lines we totally could have rocked that shit too..   Thankfully our apartment was about a 2 minute walk from the Bayswater station, this is a WONDERFUL area to stay in, quiet and adorable. After the craziness of being plopped right in the middle of London, it was a huge relief to get out of our station and see the calmness of this area. I loved it. We got to the apartment at 11, but could not check in until 2 so we left the bags and went for a walk. We found ourselves 4 minutes down the road in Kensington Gardens. It was so beautiful, the kids loved it, we loved it, a good time was had by all. There are tons of paths, a huge pond with swans and ducks, Princess Diana Memorial park which was so much fun, and of course, Kensington Palace.     After 2 we went back to check in. Our apartment was definitely small and not as clean as I would have liked but it was very affordable, we were able to cook breakfast and dinners there to save on some money and it was MUCH better than being in a hotel. We did eat one dinner out though, we had to try some fish and chips our first night. It was really good!   Day two. Chris was really looking forward to seeing everything over at Tower of London, and he totally wrapped me up in it with one simple statement "You can see the crown jewels..." If we have spent any time together at all, you probably know I am more into sparkly things than a cat is into a laser pointer. I was all in. Tower of London definitely did not disappoint, there was so much to see, we spent half the day there. I bought these tickets online before we left, you can save a couple pounds if you purchase online. We showed up right as they were opening and I was really glad we did because by the time we left, the lines were really long. There are many ways to do Tower of London, you can take a tour and learn a lot, get the guide book or just walk around. Chris already knew a lot about it, and the signs were very informative so we just walked around at our own pace and enjoyed it very much. The kids really loved it, Kory was so into everything. It was everything a little boy could ask for, swords, guns, cannons, armor...a huge freaking dragon made entirely of all these things.. What's not to love. Plus, we let him get ice cream. Kory becoming a coin smith master.  Engraving from a prisoner held in one of the towers Trying out the chainmail. There was a whole room of cannons. Kory thought his Papa would have loved it. The beautiful view of the River Thames and Tower Bridge from the Tower of London gave us our obvious next stop. First though we needed to stop for lunch. There were a bunch of food trucks set up near the bridge, with an adorable sitting area with tables on a large blanket of AstroTurf, so that's where we ate. I am not at all one for taking my kids to restaurants, I know they need to learn to behave somehow but it's just a stress that won't deal with if I don't have to so this was perfect. The view was amazing, the food was so good. I had a bacon sandwich. Yes, HELLO!! B.A.C.O.N. Sandwich. The name says it all, it's just a sandwich of bacon. Nothing else, nothing else needed. It was delicious. I don't know why this isn't a thing everywhere. We walked across the bridge and back for our after lunch stroll, then headed back to the train station to catch the tube to Westminster. Bacon freaking sandwiches!! Here we hit a lot of the major London things, while it wasn't in our interests to go inside everything, we did have a wonderful time walking around sight seeing. In the second half of our day we were able to see London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. We strolled along, took pictures, Kory got a kick out of the phone booths. He was really excited to see a real one, they had a cardboard one at our library a few weeks ago that he loved. Chris totally surprised me with the idea of stopping in a cupcake shop for a snack, which of course I was down for. It was amazing and I bought some tea to take home. After the cupcakes we went over to Buckingham Palace, I'm not really sure what it was we saw but we were just in time to see a parade of soldiers leaving the palace and heading back towards the barracks, then a line of very decorated Military Gents and Ladies in their fancy hats. So yeah, that was cool.   Yummy Cupcakes!! Day 3. Back to Buckingham. We really enjoyed seeing the palace, and Kory loved seeing the soldiers there so we thought we would head back for the actual Change of Guard ceremony. We went really early and while we did get a great spot to watch the procession, we totally missed the actual change of guard and were on the wrong side to see the guards who were leaving go. But for what we did see, it was really cool! After that, we headed back to the Tower Hill area, Chris had seen a large ship the day before that looked cool so we went to check it out. The H.M.S Belfast was a pretty expensive attraction, though everyone did really enjoy it so that makes it worth it. There was lots for the kids to interact with. There was also a lot of ladders, which meant Harper spent a lot of time in the carrier, and my shoulders were finally starting to object so don't mind the fact that I look really bitchy and am also propping her on any surface I could find haha!!  Harper carries on a conversation with this plastic man.  Battleship strategy  trying to lift the anchor chain Mommy gets a break from big booty duty   Day 4. When we left Germany, we had a list of London things that we definitely wanted to see, and by day two we had checked them all off, except one. Since Kory was about 2 he has loved Dinosaurs. Like seriously loved. He could tell you more about them than I could and can give you their actual names. Names that you would not even think a child could pronounce. I have always wanted to take him to a museum with a great Dino exhibit but we have never lived close enough to one. So, when I looked up the Natural History Museum, it totally made the list. Not only is it *FREE* to get in, you could spend an entire day there...and we did. Day 4 was a day just for the kids, while they had enjoyed a lot of the things throughout the week, there were definitely times where we had to drag them along. This was our "Thanks Guys" to them. We charged up our old camera, gave it to Kory and he had the time of his life walking around snapping pictures and telling me all about everything. We went for the dinosaur exhibit but were totally impressed with the entire thing. So impressed in fact, we didn't even realize we had spent over 5 hours there. Outside was a butterfly exhibit, which we did have to pay for but Harper loves butterflies and so we knew it was going to be worth it. Surprisingly, we ALL thought this was a blast. Kory was really into it, the butterflies were really into Chris and kept landing on him. It was a perfect way to end our trip. He took pictures of everything, this was such a good idea. It kept him engaged the entire time, even through the areas of the museum he maybe wouldn't have otherwise been so interested in. I swear my kid would be totally interested in hundreds of jars of preserved specimens! Coolest part... A human brain and spinal cord! Hard to believe these two amazing stones come from what's in the middle!   Day 5. We did have a later flight but were completely exhausted and it was pouring so we relaxed in the apartment until check out and then headed to the airport early. With packing and traveling to the airport we only had a couple hours that could have been used seeing one last thing but we decided against this, not wanting to make the day feel so hectic, it would already be exhausting. This was a lovely trip, I definitely want to go back. There are so many things to see and do and I am already looking forward to visiting again with the kids at different ages and seeing how they like it.   

 

1 Year in Germany (*Almost)

I can not believe we are coming up on a year of living here. We will actually be in London for our real 1 year but to celebrate our 1 year Germany-versary early, this is my post about all the things that Germany does better than the States. 

For all the things I love and miss about living in the states, there is no denying that there are some things Germany just does right. 

1. Toilet paper. 

The toilet situation here is super weird, I mean seriously, no one needs a shit shelf ( literally the toilets are built with a disgusting inspection area..it's totally fucking weird) but, when it comes to wiping your ass after inspecting your shit, Germany has you covered. It's stronger and bigger pieces than in the states and to top it all off you can get a huge pack for like 2 Euro.. 

...Okay I'm done being gross now... 

2. Construction. 

About two months ago I seriously watched them rip up half the Autobahn that leads out to our house and replace the whole damn road. It was really impressive to see because in the States, they just do these shitty patches everywhere, they cause tons of traffic and they don't hold up. Here they drop the two lane Autobahn into one lane and literally rip up the entire road, then completely replace it. This process only took about 2 weeks and there was, wait for it....NO traffic!!! Then, they opened that lane, shut down the other and rinse, repeat, and boom! We have a whole new road!

3. Driving in General. 

Germany has driving rules that just make sense, as a result everyone knows what they're doing and drives well! In the year we have been here I have seen zero accidents, and not sat in traffic once. There was a huge Stau a few months ago but it was from a broken down truck on a bridge or something. Plus how awesome is it that I actually know at which point my car tops out at, and it was totally legal for me to figure it out. I predict many speeding tickets upon our return to America. 

4. Bread. 

This one really needs no explanation but if you really need one, I can post a picture of my ass because I can NOT stop eating their bread here. Every village has a bakery that will make you want to gain like 100 pounds.. EVERYTHING is good. 

5. Shopping Carts.

This is a serious concept that the US needs to get on board with. I mean how many times have you come back to your car to find a cart rammed into the side of it? Lots I imagine, or maybe it's just me. Here, using a shopping cart will cost you a 1 Euro deposit. You bring the cart back, you get your Euro back. Very simple. Very easy. Very freaking smart. . 

6. Shopping bags.

They don't exist. Well not in the way they do for us. If you do not bring your own, you can buy one from most stores, or carry your shit out in your arms. Let me tell you, if you have to carry all your shit out in your arms...you will probably only forget your reusable bags or basket once. 

7. Bulk trash day.

I hear that in some areas this actually does exist in the States but I have never personally lived anywhere that does it so it goes on the list. Every 6 months you can clean out your house, storage, garage of any and all crap you don't want and throw it on your curb. People will come by every hour for about 3 days and pick through your stuff and whatever is left over gets picked up and you don't have to deal with it ever again. Also, feel free to pick through your neighbors pile. I totally furnished the kids toy room with some awesome Ikea stuff that my neighbor was crazy enough to throw out!

8. Pedialyte. or ORALP'A'DON as it's called here. 

Harper got really sick a little while back and could not keep anything down, including water. She was crazy dehydrated so I ran down to our local Apotheke in search of something to re hydrate her. Instead of a giant jug that has to be used or tossed within 24hours, their version of pedialyte comes in dry packets that make the perfect size serving for a kid. Also, by some miracle it was the only thing she actually could keep down.

9 Rolladens.
These are the most genuis thing in existence. Metal roll down shutters that turn your house to total darkness if you want. They keep your house cool in the summer, warm in the winter and look like they would be excellent protection should the Zombie Apocalypse ever come. I freaking LOVE them and when we build a house we will figure a way to have some imported! 

So yeah, there it is. I never claimed that this would be a very good list of things but these are all things that over the past year have made me think "Why in the hell do we not do it this way!?!" 

When in Rome!

Well we just got back from Roma and it was amazing! We started booking this trip in October a low cost airline over here called Ryan Air was running a sale and we got our tickets for 20€ each round trip! We had no problems printing our own boarding passes, or traveling light so we had no extra charges after the fact either. I was pretty nervous about it, I had in my mind some discount airline with old crappy planes that were dirty and rude employees but it was a VERY nice 737 both ways and all the people were great. I thought it was a very pleasant experience and we will definitely take advantage of their amazing prices again soon! 

Our flight was only about 1.5 hours which was nice since the last flight we were on was like 10 so this was a welcomed change for us! We booked a room very near Termini train station which is the main station in town so we just hopped on a shuttle bus and headed there. Once we arrived it was a 5 minute walk to our hotel. 

The hotel itself could have been way better, the neighborhood was a little iffy but we just stayed in after dark and the room was 4 twin beds, a 15 inch tv and a bathroom. Nice and clean though and very affordable so I guess when you're ballin' on a budget, you can't be too critical. After we arrived, it was dinner and bed. Got to rest up for the day ahead of us!

Saturday-  

First thing we did was walk over to Piazza della Repubblica, it was right around the corner from us and it's really beautiful. I can't believe how beautiful all the buildings are there. 

From there we just got in a cab and headed to the other side of Rome, we had ancient Rome on the agenda for the day. Once we were over there, the Colosseum was the first thing we wanted to do. This was Chris' major to-do and he was really excited! 

It was awesome, it's so crazy to stand inside and think about how old everything is! 

               

 

Afterwards we went out front and had the Rome right of passage known as getting ripped off. Note: Always ask how much before anything else. We let Kory take pictures with this guy dressed as a Roman Gladiator and didn't ask first. He charged us 20€! But, of course we had already taken them and I'm not really good with confrontation so we paid it. I felt like we should ask another one of the Gladiators what the price was and he informed me that it's just for tips...so yeah, lesson learned. 

  

After we finished that, and Chris talked me out of my funk from getting ripped off, we headed to just walk around and see what we could find. We were having a decent day weather wise so why not!? We ended up walking through the Roman Forum, a couple  other archaeological sites, watching some pretty cool street performers and finished up with a visit to the Monumento Vittorio Emanuele II.

Feeding the birds ridiculously expensive, stale Pringles. 

Lunch! Food pretty much was our bargaining chip with the kids, every time Kory started whining or acting up we basically just stopped to eat...there was a lot of eating going on.  

It was an exhausting day so we headed back to the hotel to rest! Only to get there and realize that it was only 2pm...so we rested a couple hours and let the kids zone out on Italian dubbed cartoons and then decided to see if we could find anything cool to check out nearby. We went right around the corner and found the Museo Nazionale Romano, Terme Di Diocleziano. This was a great museum with tons of  amazing statues and sarcophagi (and the most bomb vending machines that were so cheap we may or may not have used all of our change and stuffed our pockets with snacks to take back to the hotel..Hey! Snacks and drinks are expensive in Rome!) 

Kory thought it was crazy that they used to use all of these tools to write with and he just uses a pencil!

Collars that the Roman prisoners wore.

Amazing details. This is an urn.

Sunday-

My big want to see was Capuchin Crypt. I don't know why and Chris loves to tease me for it but I am completely fascinated by things like this. I thought it was spectacular. It was the most interesting thing I've seen in person and I could have spent hours in there. When the monks moved into Santa Maria Della Concezione dei Cappuchini in 1631, they brought with them 300 cart loads of bones from deceased friars. Needing somewhere to put them all they arranged them in decorative motifs nailed to the walls of the crypt. As it was such a desirable place for monks to be buried because the dirt was brought over from Jerusalem, as time went on and more monks were buried they would exhume the body of the longest resting monk and add it to the motif. There are 6 rooms and they contain the skeletal remains of about 3700 bodies.

(Just as a note, you can't take pictures inside the crypt so these are not my pictures. I bought the book afterward and these are from that.) 

From there we headed over to Trevi Fountain to toss some coins and ensure our safe return to Roma!

   

   

After that we went over to the Pantheon. If you ever go to Rome, do not go to the Pantheon on a Sunday, they're holding Mass inside and you won't be able to go in. We went, couldn't get in, and then doubled back after our next stop and still couldn't get near it. It was still nice to see from the outside, and the fountain in the piazza was of course beautiful.

Then onto another one off my list of things to see, The Fountain of Four Rivers in Piazza Navona. This fountain was one of the alters of science from Angels and Demons, which is still one of my favorite books...so I was pretty excited and yes, as my husband pointed out, book nerd I am.. Now, not only is it a spectacular fountain, the piazza was beautiful, the sun was out and there were the nicest street performers! It was a great stop! Oh, and we finished it up with some Gelato so it was really a great stop!

This was our whole planned day and we finished up about 1 so we were really hungry and pretty tired so back to the hotel again for some rest and recharging. After that we headed to Santa Maria degli Angeli a church in thePiazza della Repubblica. It was close and looked really interesting from the outside. We were shocked walking inside though, it was so amazing. 

The Meridian Line

That was pretty much it for us. We chose not to go to the Vatican this time. It's farther out and weather was very hit or miss. Next time though!!! The rest of Sunday pretty much consisted of this....

Cuddles...

Harper being crazy...

The kids beating up their dad...

More Harper being crazy..

...and pizza, which we ate for dinner every night... So yeah, that's our Rome trip!