Glühwein enough said

We went to visit Kate in Dusseldorf and enjoyed the Traditional German Christmas Markets. The first stop was the Cologne Market next to the Cathedral. The backdrop was so picturesque with the stalls set up at the foot of the Dom (cathedral in German)

Kate and I getting ready to tackle the market

John and Kate mid market in Cologne. I think we were one mulled wine, one racoulette toast, and a pretzel in at this point :)

This was my favourite type of mulled wine called "Feuerzangenbowle" which is a traditional german drink where a rum-soaked sugarcube is set on fire and drips into mulled wine. They also added an extra shot to make it extra potent...and it was :)

At this stand the mugs had a special holder for the sugar and they lite it on fire in front of us... we were a bit scared to walk around with flaming mugs but the locals had no fear and took theirs right away haha.

An example of a very ornate gluhwein stand in Dusseldorf Old Town

Kate and I enjoying another hot beverage and apple strudel...pay close attention to the wolf lady behind us :) i love drinking and people watching

Picture of Cologne Festival all lit up at night...very pretty and festive with lights over many of the passageways and stands gathered up at central tree.

Luxor... the off strip location

Luxor was much more relaxed compared with Cairo and super hot...100 most days and not a cloud in the sky. They have many of the famous Eygptian sites which we toured in the mornings before it was too hot and leaving us free to lounge at the pool the rest of the day. Here are just some of the pictures from a great holiday :)

This is an old school family portrait...see how they are all lined up and saying CHEESE for the chiseler :)

I couldn'r believe how vivid the ancient wall paintings still were!!

John with the Colossi of Memnon....one was missing a little toe and asked john if he would stand in since he was just about the right size :)

Me outside the Temple of Hatshepsut

The POOL where we spent most days relaxing and playing in the water. They had these awesome lounge chairs which were half emerged inteh water so you could lay out and not get too overheated. Plus since it was not very crowded there were never more than ten other people at the pool!!!!

John playing on his Ipad and enjoying hte beautiful sunset :) They had very comfy sunset chairs at the relaxation pool

Hiking along the Northern Italian Coast

In recent weeks the region of Cinque Terre in Italy has been devastated by massive flooding and mudslides. Seeing the images on the internet I went back to see what I wrote about John and my trip there this past spring and realised I had not posted any pictures. So these are just some of the great pictures we took as we hiked from village to village. I am not sure when the trail will be reopened since it teeters on the edge of the cliffs in many sections but it was an amazing hike and our favorite part of visiting the area.

Hiking down to Manarola

Riomaggiore from the boat cruise. which after seeing all the towns from our hike the previous day was really nice getting a different perspective.

First glimpse through the trees of Vernazza

The towns which are UNESCO world heratige sites do not allow cars and are all made up of winding narrow streets.

Ticket 08396 and 08397

Due to extremely long QUEUE this post is a bit late... sorry for the delay :)

John and I headed out to Wimboldon again this year to join the famous queue as our ticket ballot was un successsful. Weather was not as great as last year but we had our blanket and reading material. This year our ticket numbers were 08396 and 08397 which meant we didn't make it into the first 8000 cut to enter the park so it became one in one out......at this point we left the queue after having been there for about 4 hours :(

We are entering the ballot again this year to try and avoid the queue and next year getting there a bit earlier...hopefully you will see some lower ticket numbers and pictures of some tennis in 2012 :)

THE QUEUE

The guy who never leaves the back od the queue haha

Bring your yellow ducky

We are headed to BATH!!!! the town is vary quant and full of street preformers which i must say were very organized and switched at the prime locations every 30 minutes. The entire town is a Unesco World Heritage site and we took a walking tour around which was nice.

here is john at the old roman baths. they are fed by a natural hot spring and have "healing" properties. We got to drink some of the water which was hot, smelled, and tasted a bit like well water. I dont think they will be bottling this any time soon.

hippies playing outside the baths :)

Prague..the lost photos

John and I joined the girls' Euro 2011 Euro Vacation in Prague for a long weekend. Rather than all the pictures posted in a timely manor to Facebook by all other participants this blog post has some of the uncut images from the trip :)

One of my favorites since John thought this shot up all on his own :) look at his face he is so proud haha

Julie and john outside the Le Terroir Restaurant not sure if they are scared or excitted about the price on the menu?? Julie looks excited with some classic jazz hands john however looks like he is about to fall over in horror

We had some great street food in the Plaza (everyone except jen and I..don't order the potatoe cabbage dish i forget the name it is NOT good). this picture is of sarah and julie sharing a cheese bread disney style :)

Karen always reads US Weekly however we are submitting this shot for the "they are just like US" section with the caption "they walk through plazas with their friends on vacation". The look says it all though i think :)

On our pub bike tour we got a glimpse of Jackie O (sarah was channeling her that afternoon)

....fellow riders know we saw a bit more of our guide than we had planned on as well....ick (disclaimer:nothing to do with the picture above besides it was also on the bike trip haha)

Outdoor Concert London Style....

...that means wet and rainy :)

John and I went to Hard Rock Calling at the end of June to see the Killers play and it was nice and wet, good thing for gortex and wellies :)

this woman was quite the character and danced the entire show in the rain. I can't really begin to describe this woman but wanted to make sure she was represented inthe post since we had a great time watching her and wondering :)

This family decided to bring their two young sons to the concert...Son #1 sitting on dad's sholders and singing every word to every song Son #2 pictured here trying to sleep on the wet ground under a blanket at the mom's feet (really??)

this family later started talking with john adn we were invited to Sunday roast at their house...details missing which would make this a legitimate invation...their names, address, or any other way to contact them after the concert haha.

LEAN to the Right...now hold that position

On our way home from Cinque Terre we stopped in Pisa and saw the Leaning Tower :) Actually they called us since John is extremely strong and they want to try and shovel it back straight.

A entire group of town elders showed up in their classic cars to see the feat of strength...

Without even straining he gave it a big shove with one hand...

And it was FIXED...sorry to all you who put off going to see it lean :)

Since it was now safe to ascend john and I were granted first dibs for pictures at the top of the tower.

The Year of the...

John and I went to Somerset House to see the Zodiac Sculptures in the courtyard on a recent weekend. I made sure we each got a picture in front of our animals (strange how fitting the animals really were...)

...DOG! John's Zodiac symbol is the dog so fitting as he is Man's Best Friend :)

and mine is...the RAT!!!! yes all the prankster as also born on the first day of the year of the rat :) good thing i held out til feb 4th to come out haha

Just thought I'd include a picture of China town in London since similar topic

Gardens of Babylon

I have been trying my hand at house plants since we moved to London mostly to liven up the flat on gloomy London days and add some green to our lives. The first experiment we cacti which I bought from Ikea and were a total success they are thriving and I get to enjoy then when washing the dishes (being right next to the sink is also a helpful reminder to water them haha)

The bigger one even flowered..a true sign that it loves me :)

So now with the success of the cacti we have moved on to hanging baskets on our balcony. I purchased the baskets online and went and picked out flowers and planted them all myself so no short cuts.... we will see if they last :) they look good at the moment thought

...maybe orchids next :)

ASCOT Round 2!!!

This year was the 300th anniversary of Ascot in England...it was a bit wetter than last year but just as amazing :) Above is a group shot in the car park where we picnicked prior to going into the racetrack, this is half the fun everyone brings wine, sandwiches, and music and has a fancy tailgate. A group near us had dancing and conga line going for a bit haha awesomeness :)

Picture of the boys braving the pre race drizzle in style

John and I looking ever so posh :)

This was one of my favorite hats I saw in hot pink and black

We ran into the Queen again at this event. She knew I was going to be wearing yellow and went with a very flattering light blue. I give this woman so much credit for attending all the events she does as an 85 year old woman and participating as much as she does, i guess it keeps her young at heart since she LOVES horses :)

John and Kate reveling in the fun which is Ascot :) We were so glad she came in from Germany for the weekend, which was also filled with Byron burgers, American breakfasts, and of course the huge Harrod's sale!!! I had a Pimm's Cupcake yummmmm

Hello Slovenia!!!

Hello to all my readers from South Korea, Japan, Iran, and Slovenia never thought my blog would have such range :) keep checking back as the London Social Calendar is just getting going and I have an awesome outfit for Ascot this year...only two weeks away :)

Where's NESSIE

We were invited to another one of the Queen's houses this time up in Scotland at Holyrod. Here is a shot from the driveway..plenty of room to park our carriage.

Edinburgh Castle the old royal residence..a little too drafty for the Queen's taste now

They had a 3-d Loch Ness Discovery Centre...i don't think at the end of the movie you got to see Nessie though :)

But I was on the lookout for the rest of the trip...maybe it is an amphibian and was taking a turn outside the lake :)

We hiked up to the dormant volcano head called Arthur's Seat..and I found a huskie

John decided to pose as Moses :)