Glorious Grey Gardens

Soon after moving to London, I was chatting with my brother online, telling him how beautiful Kensington Gardens were, despite the grey weather. Being a native Texan, he had trouble processing how grey = pretty. I did a quick google search for pictures to try to demonstrate how lovely and striking the grey sky looked against the green grass and trees but came up blank. I couldn't believe that I couldn't find any images that had manage to capture the park's beauty with its frequently grey skies. So here are a few of my amateur iphone shots attempting to do just that:

A selection of orinthological discoveries

Light at the end of the tunnel

A mud-hound's delight

Should you be interested in checking out the grey gorgeousness for yourself, you shouldn't have any trouble finding the Kensington Court Crew as we spend A LOT of time in the park, strolling around, taking up a disproportionate amount of sidewalk space and keeping an eye out for Dillon's future bestie, "Georgie."

To Market We Go

Last weekend, we made our first trip to London's famed Borough Market.  Long time readers of our blog might be curious how it compares to the Biscuit Mill in Cape Town...well, lets just say it blows it out of the water, both in terms of sheer size and offerings. Unfortunately, expanded options aren't always a good thing if you arrive hungry and overwhelmed by the choices on offer. Luckily, we found some instant winners to hold us over until more substantial decisions had to be made: fresh oysters on the half shell and a pint of the market's finest.  A few highlights from the excursion: 

Enjoying some over-sized fresh oysters

Family fun with local wildlife outside the pub

Tanked out on the tube ride home

All in all, not a bad way to spend a Saturday with a couple thousand other Londoners....

Regal Readjustments

Now that we have begun to get settled in our new home and move past any major changes, little differences have begun to stick out.  For example, in England everything just feels a bit fancier.  A few examples:

Not regular mail, but royal mail is delivered by the postman

 

 

The toilet paper that was pre-stocked in our flat.  Not only is it lovely to look at, but a post-sneeze nose clearing reveled that it also appears to be scented.  Pina colada, maybe?

Our neighbors, who reside with us in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.  For those who might not immediately recognize this building, it is Kensington Palace.  We initially assumed it was just some historical palace not used since the 1700s, but we were wrong.  Residents include Wills, Kate, Harry and Prince George, who will obviously want to be friends with Dillon once he figures out we are right across the way.

Getting the Gang Back Together

That's right- our final family member has arrived! After a few weeks of hanging out with his best bud Ted, Zambezi took his first plane ride over the pond to join us here in London.  Happy reunions all around...

Luckily, Zambezi seems to have settled into his new lifestyle quite quickly.  He loves the weather, long walks in the park, and meeting all of the proper English hounds.  If only we could figure out how to get him to drag the stroller up our four flights of stairs, he would be a candidate for the Texpatriate of the Month award.

House Hunters International

Things are going jolly well over here in London town as our tenure in our temporary housing unit at the Point West apartments comes to an end.  It is not fair to completely bash the dreary high rise condo (pictured at right) as its hulking ugliness actually serves as an effective point of reference when navigating our new city as it is by far the most unsightly building for miles around. 

Upon arrival in London, we went on a multi-day adventure to secure new accommodations  during which we were frequently reminded of the show House Hunters International.  More than once, we felt as though our house hunt was more than a bit surreal, if not exactly TV-worthy. We looked, for example, at a building that Princess Diana used to live in (pre-princess, when she was "just a Lady"), considered a neighborhood in which Simon Cowell and Sir Richard Branson reside, and viewed a unit from which you can see Wills and Kate's backyard.  Before you begin wondering whether Jared has been promoted about 50 times over to afford to live in such locations, I should note that while here, we will be receiving a housing allowance that will offset the we slight difference in the real estate market between Houston and London.

 

After viewing almost 20 different properties, we finally settled on a lovely unit at 56 Kensington Court, just blocks from Kensington Gardens/ Hyde Park, which will be perfect for when our furry roommate arrives in a few weeks.  The flat is centrally located, convenient for Jared's commute, and offers an authentically claustrophobic Euro-style "lift" to assist you in your arrival to the 4th floor unit. 

 

Our furniture is schedule to arrive on Tuesday and, much to my delight, we have a crane booked to lift the furniture up to the 4th floor and through the window.

 

With our new accommodations secured and the moving date set, the only thing keeping me up at night is how our furniture is going to fit...

Overcoming Dining Drama

Navigating the social protocols of a new city can be challenging. Add one occasionally impatient 5 month old with two parents' desire to experience all the city has to offer and it gets really interesting. Luckily, our newest Texpatriate has inherited a strong social streak and a charming Cheshire grin that has made adapting to our new reality, and enjoying lunch, a bit easier. 

Accidental Tourism

When relying on public transportation to get around, a derailment or line cancellation can put a damper on well-thought-out plans.  Luckily, in London, even an unexpected detour can lead to interesting sights.

We've Popped across the Pond!

That's right...another international move and the Texpatriates are back! So stay tuned for posts from the London edition. No promises on the frequency of posts, as the newest Texpatriate takes up more than a bit of our free time, but we will be sure to do our best to keep you updated! 

Viva los Mavs!

The Champs

The Happiest Fans in Houston

3 decades down, many more to go...

As promised, I have a few more pictures to share from the wonderful weekend that was my 30th birthday celebration....

With lots of friends and family to help celebrate, we had....

a cake graciously transported to Austin by Carol, commemorating my extreme nerdiness,



a strong, worthy opponent of a pinata...



and a day at the lake with more than a few beers to keep the good times flowing.
(Note the "shotgun" master preparing to blow me out of the water with his skills)

All in all, it was a great weekend that not only left me feeling more than a little bit loved by those around me, but also confident in the good times to come in the next few decades...

30 and still Keeping it Weird

That's right, this past weekend, I reached the big 3-0.  To celebrate, we headed to Austin for some fun in the sun and good times with the fam.  Turns out I am so popular that our usual crash pad (aka Kelly's house) was packed to the brim with out-of-town guests.  No worries on that front, as Jared had booked us a room at one of Austin's quirkiest institutions, the Austin Motel, smack dab in the middle of South Congress:



The infamously-shaped logo

Unusual signage to keep the guests in check

Although some rooms at the hotel allow pets, ours unfortunately did not.  Lucky for Zambezi, there was plenty of dog-action going on at Kelly's house, although I think that he might have been missing the luxuries of our apartment's central air conditioning as this is where he hung out for most of the visit:

Although the weekend was full of surprises and gifts for yours truly (another post to come), not having to do the 6am bathroom run with our little bundle of joy turned out to be one of the best presents of all...

Ocean Lounging

With a long holiday weekend and the summer heat upon us, it was time to pack up the car and head down to the Gulf Coast to introduce our new furry hellraiser to the sand & surf.  Galveston's Stewart Beach, with its sand parking lot, legions of kid-toting families, and dog-friendly ways was the destination of choice.  Despite eating a bunch of sand and getting dirtier than a little boy playing in shitpiles, everybody had a great time.