Thanksgiving

Since my aunt and uncle are leaving for Italy tomorrow, we had a Thanksgiving dinner tonight. We found a turkey at the grocery store and pretty much winged it (no pun intended). It turned out fabulous. We had turkey, potatoes, stuffing, and green beans. We also added a little British touch by using Yorkshire puddings. They are small crispy "cups" that you poor gravy in and use to dip the rest of your meal in. They were very good. My grandparents were back, and right after dinner I went to youth group. I had lots of fun and my friend Tom helped me refine my British accent and gave me a good laugh as he tried out his American accent. I couldn't stop laughing. He really tried to stress their R's like I guess we do. I was glad that we had a Thanksgiving dinner because if we didn't (the English don't) I would've missed it. I did miss my family's traditions though. No matter how much we looked, they don't sell any type of pumpkin pie filling (my favorite) so I'm going to ask my mom to make it for Christmas! Cheers!

Portsmouth

November 21, 2009
Yesterday was spent in the city of Portsmouth. It is one of the oldest ports in the world and is where the term "port" or the sailing term for "left". I absolutely LOVED it. It felt so good to see the ocean and a dockyard, it felt like a little piece of home. There was a big shopping center that was fun to browse through and is where we had lunch. It was the first time I've been to a Mexican restaurant since I've been here. Caramba! We spent most of our time in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard where we toured two old navy ships. The first was built in 1860 and was the first navy ship ever built from cast iron. It was called the HMS (Her Majesties Ship) Warrior, and was manned by a crew of 700 men and the ceilings were short enough to make me duck... MISERY! The food sounded absolutely deplorable! The second ship was built in 1760 and was wooden! It was the HMS Victory and took 850 men to man it. There were rows upon rows of cannons and teeny beds. There was no photography on the Victory, so I took lots on the Warrior. The Victory was the actual ship that caused the English to win the Battle of Trafalgar. The Captain Nelson was shot during the battle and asked to be buried in England rather than being thrown overseas. Well, it took 6-8 weeks to get home, so they stuck his body in a wine barrel to preserve it. He is now buried in St. Peters Cathedral. After our tour, we went through the shop and I found a beautiful charm to get for my bracelet.

The Dockyard
HMS Warrior
Rows and Rows of Cannons
This is the size of a hammock, perfect size for 4 yr. old Ande, but for a grown man???

There were ailes and rows of gunpowder (models now) carefully packed so that they weren't moved around much.
This is the HMS Victory

Girls Night Out

My Grandparents get back from Paris today and we've been cleaning, and have plans to go to New Moon tonight! Woot Woot! I'm looking at our lake right now and it is beautiful! We have been seeing a huge lobster sized craw-dad that we are planning to catch. Crazy Americans! This is my 30th post! Hip Hip Hurray! I'm really looking forward to going to Rome, if anyone has any suggestions, let me know! We have plans to see most of the normal stuff, like the Pantheon, Colleseum, Vatican City... Well, I should probably get off and do my homework. Cheers!


Headed to the theater in Swindon!

Lakes

The other day after being cooped up doing homework while the sun shined, I decided to escape the house for a bit and go for a run. I will dearly miss the footpaths here. I started in the direction of South Cerney but kept finding different paths which took me to a cafe. After exploring for awhile, I followed a different path that went to a beautiful secluded lake. It was nice to take a break from the busy sightseeing and schoolwork and just relax and sit by this lake. Wanting to share the beauty with you guys, I pulled out my camera to capture the moment, and found that I had taken the battery out earlier to charge. I felt kinda dumb, so next time I go, I'll make sure to take loads of pictures.

Yesterday, I got to go to the church's youth group. It was really fun. There are some really nice people there my age and it has been really fun talking to them about the differences of the countries. Some don't even know where Oregon is! The most popular American vacationing place to them is Florida, go figure. Oregon is just a teensy bit different, don't you think?

The last couple of days have been incredibly windy! My grandparents are currently in Paris, so I have been catching up on HW so when they take me to Rome in a couple weeks, I wont' have to worry too much. Anyway, that's what I have been up to! I'll keep you all up to date, but I also love emails from you to see what you have been up to! Talk to you later!

Bath: The Fashion Museum, Walking, and GELATO

Yesterday we took my Grandparents to Bath, since it is definitely one of our favorite places. We mostly just walked around and explored. We had lunch at The Pump Room right next to the Baths, and it was delicious, but took ages! I ordered a tomato soup and it was nice to get some warm food. We walked around the shops afterward and found a man doing a show. He was juggling, riding a unicycle, and blowing fire. It was entertaining and the kids LOVED it. Afterward, we stopped by the Fashion Museum and decided to go through and check it out since it supposedly had 400 years of fashion in it. It was disappointing though since it didn't have barely anything inside past the 60's. All well. By that time it was about 3 o'clock and getting late. To end our trip, we walked along the River Avon and pick up some gelato. I chose caramel cream and it was lovely! I can't wait till two weeks when I get to go to Rome with my Grandparents and get some real Italian Gelato! (And of course see the sights).

The Pump Room

One of these apartments (~4 windows width and 3 windows up) is 2.4 million pounds. ($3.8 million)

This is an ambulance... You'd see that from a distance.

London: The Tower of London and Harrods

Last Saturday we took my Grandparents to London to tour the Tower of London and spend some time browsing through Harrods. They had spent about a week there 20 years ago. The Tower was full of history! Originally it was built in 1066 and has been used as a palace, prison, and even houses the current mayor of London! It was a prison for Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, and Sir Walter Raleigh, just to name a few. The crown jewels are held there and were my favorite part of the Tower. They were absolutely gorgeous and had the biggest diamonds in the world, including the Koh-i-Noor diamond. One of them was 536 carats! The weather was windy, but nice till about 11, and then it was pouring buckets! Thankfully, we had just finished, and took a taxi to Harrods. The taxi ended up being 4 times the amount it had cost on the way there since the main roads were closed for a parade. But, eventually we got to Harrods and had some lunch. If you are ever in London, GO TO HARRODS! It was a little overwhelming with the crowds and the sheer size. There are six floors and they sell everything! From designer purses to Legos, to furniture. I could have spent all day there, but everyone was feeling pretty exhausted after so much touring. So, we had to leave before getting to see all that I had hoped to. The Food Hall was incredible! There was every kind of delicacy imaginable! I've never seen such beautiful food! Anyway, here are some pics....
FYI: The wind reached 60 mph last night! It was fun to listen to, and the water is fun to watch.
This is the Jewel House where the crown jewels are kept. It was packed with security!

No cameras were allowed, but I sneaked this picture outside the door. Sorry its not a very good one. That was just one of the coronation crowns specifically for the use of visiting India 50 yrs. ago.

This is the approximate sight of where Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard were executed. I thought it was ironic that it was right in front of the chapel.

HARRODS!

 This is one of the Christmas sections to give you an idea.

The food. This is a very small section.

Grandma and Grandpa Opdahl Arrive

Last Tuesday, my Grandparents arrived here to visit us until December. It has been tons of fun showing them around and having them here with us. So far we have only taken them to Cirencester and Bourton-on-the-Water but we will be going to London tomorrow and then Bath on Sunday. I am absolutely ecstatic for this upcoming month since they are taking me to Rome! We will be staying there from the 30th till December 4th! Here are some pictures of the last couple days...

Sunday Night Entertaining

November 8, 2009
Yesterday night, we invited Rebecca and her husband Paul to dinner along with there kids. Paul just recently arrived home from 7 months in Afghanistan. We had a delicious dinner then a fun evening talking. Little Ethan has warmed up to me and the two little girls are sweethearts! We all played hide and go seek. An assignment given to me to help them quiet down... It didn't work. Little Megan makes it a challenge by hiding in tiny corners, but then gets bored and yells, "I'm in the closet!" or "Don't look under the bed!" By eight, they were exhausted and had to leave but didn't want to. We are planning to get together again this Thursday for a walk.
Ethan (2)

Megan (4) and Emily (6)

A few nights ago, as we were all going to sleep, tons of fireworks began going off. They were gorgeous to watch, but none of us had any ideas why they were bing set. I asked my friends about it at youth group, and they explained Guy Fawkes Day. Guy Fawkes was a man who tried to blow up the House of Lords with 36 barrells of gunpowder since the people were under persecution. However, he was caught, tortured and executed. So, every 5th of November, all the Brits have bonfires and make effigys of Guy Fawkes that the young boys use to collect pennys. Once down... they burn him :)

Walk to Cerny Wick

I hope you aren't getting tired of reading about walks, because I love going on them. The other day I took Tyanin out again and began following a road and of course, we found a public footpath. It took us past a sailing club with a dazzling lake that reflected the setting sun. We followed it to a paddock with 3 horses that came right up to us. We spent some time feeding them then found South Cerney. Its a cute little village that is very much like Pride and Prejudice.

Hampton Court Palace

November 7, 2009
Yesterday we visited Hampton Court Palace, the main residence of King Henry the 8th. It was later owned and inhabited by King William the 3rd and Queen Mary. It was absolutely beautiful! The building gave you a very good view of what the world would have looked like when they lived there. However, my favorite place was the garden. There were more than 60 acres of it! The most beautiful being the Knot Gardens that were built in 1924 to show what it would've looked like. Another feature were the Yew Trees planted by Queen Anne. There were two sections of the Palace, one medieval styled by King Henry, and the other was very Baroque, the style of King William. The tapestries that hung in the Great Hall were sewn in the 1500s and cost the same amount of one navy ship. WOW! The Palace holds the world record of the largest grape vine also. It was planted in 1768 and is 108 feet long and has been weaved around the roof. While having lunch, we threw some of the crusts of our sandwiches to the swans, and one of them, walked right up to my aunt and snapped it out of her hand! I was laughing so hard, it startled me so much. Any way, here are some pictures.

King Henry waling around the courtyard. They were pretending to celebrate his wedding to Kateryn Parr... The 6th wife.

This is the Great Vine (grape vine). They had a piece of lawn completely rid of any plants where the roots were.

The Knot Gardens were GORGEOUS! There was a fountain in the center and sculptures and flowers that must look dazzling in the spring.

This is the entrance

The Great Fountain Park... With awesome Yew trees. It was 60 acres alone and even gorgeous in the winter.
This is the swan attacking my aunt. It was super funny and yet startling. They are BIG!

This is the Baroque section in front of the Great Fountain Gardens.

There was a "world famous" maze that we went through that was fun, but lame since it only took about 10 minutes at the most.

There were 6 tapestries in the Great Hall and with each costing the same as a navy ship, it had to be a fortune. The palace is still owned by the Queen but was opened to the public by Queen Victoria. The tapestries were incredibly intricate, looking extremely realistic and showing emotions perfectly. Sadly the vibrant colors have faded.

After we were all ready to go home, we stopped by a Strada Restaurant for dinner. Even though the pasta I had last time was the BEST... I decided to try the pizza that my aunt had last time and she had the Rigotoni Speck dish that I had had. After a piece, we told each other our opinions and liked the other dishes more. So, we switched and I was reunited with the Rigotoni. We also found a tiny Krispy Kreme shop that was OUT OF CLASSIC DOUGHNUTS! A crime.

This last week, my uncle had some business in Belgium. While there, he found some of the authentic freshly made cholcolates to bring home. Now the kids didn't like them because they were a little bitter. But to me, Belgium Chocolates are the best chocoate I have ever tasted in my life and will probably ever taste.

Well, I know we are supposed to keep a food storage, so I just wanted to let you all know that I'm covered if there is a storm! My cousin found this and my aunt got it so I can bring some sticky pudding with me when I go home. My favorite is toffee, but they didn't have any.