Ode to January

According to Wikepedia, an ode is a type of lyrical verse, classically structured in three major parts.  So this won't really, after all, be an "ode" to January, as I'm hardly a poet.  It just sounded like a good title for the blog.

But I thought it was worth marking the end of this month, the longest of all dreary, grey, months; a month that I believe the British just lift their chins and bear year after year and feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of it for having tolerated 31 days of dark, dull, and wet.  Ironically, as I type, I'm squinting due to the sun coming through the window - a soft, pretty winter sun that we've actually had the benefit of seeing more than a few times over the past week, as well as earlier in the month, so 31 days ends up being something of an exaggeration.  On a clear day it's apparent also that it's staying light later into the afternoon, and I saw the tips of crocuses out front contemplating making a go of it,  so can spring really be far behind?

January was a pretty good month, really, all things considered.  After recovering from our Christmas & New Years visit and shoveling up the pine needles from our "no-drop" tree, we settled in nicely.  Kyle interviewed for admission to a well-reputed culinary program that begins in September - fingers still crossed as he hasn't heard back yet.  Chris & I visited the Churchill War Rooms & museum which were extraordinary.  We also took advantage of a sunny Sunday afternoon and visited Holland Park in Kensington, which was lovely!  I took lots of photos on my iPhone (Japanese garden, peacocks, parrots) then unfortunately lost them all when I plugged said phone into my desktop computer and iTunes restored all of my previous settings from my old iPhone... nevermind, too long a story, but they were great photos, darn it. (And yes - there really were peacocks & parrots!)

Saw the movies "The King's Speech" and "127 Hours", both of which I would recommend.  We spent a lovely weekend in Bath (see my previous blog), and then last week Chris & I attended a Burns Supper at our local butcher shop, which was a lot of fun, complete with the reading of the Burns poem and the serving of the haggis.  We'd tried haggis in Scotland and found it somewhat tasty.  I found last week's haggis tolerable as well, although keep in mind - I did grow up occasionally eating Spam & canned corned beef hash for dinner.  Now that I think of it, if you can imagine the two of those things mixed together and cooked inside a pig's stomach lining, you sort of can imagine haggis.  Anyway, at the Burns Supper they served the course with a taste of Scottish whiskey, which made it go down much more easily than it should have, resulting in my eating too much of it and paying the price later.  Consider it safe to say that I will most likely never eat haggis again.  (Given my above description of it, I'm sure you're wondering why on God's green earth would anyone try it to begin with?)

This past weekend I took Chris to the Wallace Collection to show him what all of the fuss is about, then spent yesterday mostly vegging on the couch and taking Baracca (the UK's version of Airborne) in order to fend of a pesky cold, and I think it worked, as today I happily ended the month on an up-note, walking with my wonderful fitness walking group and enjoying blue skies.  February looms, but if it's anything like its predecessor, winter here in London is shaping up quite nicely.  (Yes, I'm knocking wood, thank you very much.)

No photo album this time, but enjoy this one taken just moments ago out of our back window.  With apologies to the folks shoveling snow in the mid-Atlantic and northeast, Happy Winter!  :-)

Weekend in Bath

It being the middle of cold, dull January, without a whole lot going on, I decided to surprise Chris and plan a weekend in Bath for he & I.  I was assured that despite the weather, we would still have a lovely time and I was not misled.

We took a train on Friday afternoon from London's Paddington station for the 90-minute ride to Bath Spa.  We had a warm welcome at our hotel/B&B and it was a very comfortable place; the only disadvantage was that it was about a 10-minute walk into town, and the walk itself was not very scenic (and I think the next day was trash day.)  After settling in and unpacking, we took that cold, dark, un-scenic walk and were quite surprised once we got into the village as it seemed almost deserted.  Shops were closed and not many people out on the streets.  We managed to find a pub (no surprises there) and had a pint before walking a bit more, then hailing a cab for our dinner destination that had been recommended by a colleague of Chris's.  This was one of the highlights of the weekend for sure.   We went to the Bath Priory and it was a fabulous place - we had a drink by the roaring fire while we looked over the menu before we were seated, and the food & service were fantastic.  It was definitely a splurge but worth the visit.

After our "full English" (breakfast that is) Saturday morning, we walked back into town and were relieved to see many more people out on the town; things were bustling.  We did a bit of shopping (mostly looking) then headed for the Roman Baths.  A bit of background (*this is the history lesson portion of the blog so skip down to the next "*" if you tend to get bored by my ramblings):

Several milleniums ago, a dude named Bladud, son of the Celtic king, got leprosy and was banished to the countryside, where he herded pigs, which were similarly afflicted.  Bladdy noticed that when the pigs rolled around in the wet mud, their skin healed!  So, he smartly found the source of the water, took a swim (or a "bath", if you will), and behold, he was healed too.  He was, of course, taken back in by his dad, and later became king himself, not to mention the father of King Lear, but that is another story.  Needless to say, this became the founding and the naming of the city.  A thousand years or so later, the springs were re-discovered by the conquering Romans, who channeled the waters into an elaborate bathing compound and called their community "Aquae Sulis".  They also built a temple to Sulis Minerva (combination of the Celtic goddess of Spring and the Roman goddess of wisdom.)  As all good things must come to an end, the Romans fell, and although the baths went into decline, the area waters continued to attract visitors who believed in their healing powers. Throughout the centuries they've been visited by Bishops, Royals, physicians & lepers alike.  Excavation of the temple began in the 1700's, and the Roman Baths eventually became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  There!

*We had fun at the Roman Baths.  We then walked to the very nearby Bath Abbey, which was getting ready to close due to a BBC Radio live recording, so we unfortunately could not do the tour of the Abbey Tower, which allegedly has great views of the area.  But now we at least can be assured that the Bath Abbey must have awesome acoustics.  After an uphill, un-scenic walk back to the hotel, we rested, freshened up, and went out for a nice, although much less posh dinner back in town (after which we took a cab uphill back to the hotel.)

Sunday morning had us packing up and checking out early, then after leaving our suitcase at the hotel we headed to the Thermae Bath Spa.  You are not able to book ahead unless you are having a spa treatment (ie: massage) and we had tried to get in on Saturday afternoon but the line was much too long. We were both glad we opted for the second try on Sunday morning - it was another highlight.  For £25 each, we got 2 hours of soaking in warm, mineral-rich (?) waters, first in an open-air rooftop pool, then an aroma-infused steam room, then the largest (but most boring) "Minerva Bath" - basically an indoor pool.  But oh, so nice!  A great start to our final day.  With our hair mostly dry, we left the spa and headed to a landmark of Bath, the Royal Crescent, built in the 1700's and now supposedly one of the most distinctive examples of Georgian architecture in the world.  We also walked through the Royal Victoria Park and Botanical Gardens that held their own charm despite the grey weather.  After a nice lunch and a bit more walking and looking, we cabbed it back to the hotel for our bags then headed for the train station.  Bath is an absolutely picturesque city with an amazing history, and I hope to have the time to go back in some nicer weather.

Exactly one year ago today, Chris & I were in London, anticipating a big job offer and deciding whether or not to take it.  The weather was almost identical - cold, grey, and gloomy.  But we said yes anyway, and boy, are we glad we did.

http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/WeekendInBath?feat=directlink

The Twelve Days of Wronskys

(To the tune of "the Twelve Days of Christmas")
"On the first day of Wronsky Christmas my true love sent to me, an airplane arriving on time!"

"On the second day of Wronsky Christmas my true love sent to me, two... uh... two tired boys... (no, there were three tired boys...). Two... umm... two happy parents (but that's totally stating the obvious...) Uh...two... two...extra litres of milk...?" OK.  Let me save all of us this aggravation and attempt this cute song no further.   Brain cells kind of fatigued after 12 days of fun.  So... I'll just give you a synopsis of what we did when the guys (and gals) were here.

Day 1
Boys arrive - Hallelujah!  Full English breakfast and naps, followed by quick tour of Hampstead and the Holly Bush Pub.  They are duly impressed.  Even more impressed by English lamb for dinner.

Day 2
Kyle shows his bros around Camden Town.  We all go to the Royal Albert Hall for a wonderful performance of Carols by Candlelight by the Mozart Festival Orchestra & Chorus.

Day 3
Off to Bruges early on the Eurostar!  Arrive mid-day, just in time for lunch and a tour of De Halve Maan Brewery.  Very cold.  Stroll around the lovely town; Belgian dinner then back to the pub where we had lunch - great beer menu!

 

Day 4
Breakfast at hotel then more strolling in the cold.  A bit of shopping then lunch on the square, followed by one last stop at the pub where everybody already knows our name.  Back on train and home to Hampstead in time for Christmas Eve Bolognese a la Chris.  Delish.

Day 5
Merry Christmas!  We all sleep in, then spend a typical Christmas Day lounging around and trying to cooperate for a family photo for Mom.  Something of a beef & wine debacle (much too long to go into here) but Plan B (pork roast) turns out wonderfully.

Day 6
Boxing Day, and Lauren arrives via BA on time and rested - she doesn't even need a nap!  Tube is on strike, so we take a cab to enjoy one of the kids' Christmas surprises from Mum & Dad - Rugby match at Wembley Stadium (Saracens vs. Wasps).  Home team Saracens win.  Lots of fun, despite initial confusion on what the heck was going on.  Grubber?  Scrum?  And these guys don't wear any padding!  Dinner back at the flat.  Lauren makes it until 9:30 pm!

Day 7
Decide to check out the area of Brick Lane and the Spitalfields Market.  Unfortunately, it's a Bank Holiday so most places are closed - including a couple of Indian restaurants that we'd hoped to try.  Stop for a pint at the Ten Bells Pub, made famous for providing a hang-out for two of Jack the Ripper's victims.  Back to Hampstead for dinner at a local Indian restaurant.  Good food - definitely spicy enough for the guys (a bit too much so for me!)

Day 8
Sarah arrives also on time and without any problems.  She does nap, then we shop for dinner and prepare for a visit from Andrew who is back from Oz for the holidays.  Really good dinner at home, then a Hampstead pub crawl.  Hilarity ensues.

Day 9
Nickel (make that 5P) Tour of London: tube to St. James Park, then walk to Buckingham Palace, up the Mall and down Whitehall past the Horses Guard & Downing St., and on to Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.  Then across the Westminster Bridge to the London Eye!  Lots of fun & good views despite the mist, fog, and rain.  Nice dinner at French Restaurant before meeting back up with Andrew and some of his mates.  Hilarity really ensues.

Day 10
Tower of London in the cold rain.  Still great visit!  Crowds seemed as big as when we were there in 2005 in the height of summer - on a sunny day!  Today's pub:  The Hung, Drawn, and Quartered - of course near the Tower.  Great dinner at home again courtesy of Chris - cockles & shrimp with linguine.  Mmmmm.  Kids will not be able to complain that they did not eat well.

Day 11
New Year's Eve.  Kids head out to Kyle's old restaurant for breakfast, then to Notting Hill & the Portobello Road Market.  Chris & I finish up shopping for our dinner:  Roasted Duck with Red Cabbage (although we had to substitute green Savoy), Applesauce and Potatoes Roasted in Duck Fat.  (Shots of Lipitor for dessert.)  Count down the New Year with Jools Holland on the BBC; kids introduce us to Sporcle, an online trivia game.  Chris, Mike, and Eric sample the (until recently dethroned) "Hottest Chile in the World" - the Jolokia.  Much milk drinking follows.  Fun night.

Day 12
Happy 2011!  Looks for about 15 seconds like the sun might come out, but it is not to be.  Big New Year's breakfast, then a late walk to Hampstead Heath and Kenwood House in the rain.  Still fun!  Final pub stop is the Spaniard's Inn before home to our last meal together of Braised Lamb Shanks.  More mmmmmmmm.  More Sporcle before bed.

Today
Kids out the door at 8:30 am to take the tube to Heathrow.  Sun threatens to emerge.  Sue goes back to bed.

So there you have the Wronsky Family London Christmas in a nutshell.  We really didn't see the sun at all but no one minded a bit.   The best Christmas present, needless to say, arrived on December 21 on the first flight to land at Heathrow from the US in days.  We loved having the girls as well - the male:female ratio was nearly evened up for a change - and they are absolutely wonderful.  We are lucky indeed.

My next task will be to find a warm & sunny holiday break for late January or early February.  Now that Christmas (and the kids' visit) is behind us, the dark afternoons are going to get old real quick.  Happy New Year!!

Check out the rest of the pix (may need to cut & paste link):
http://picasaweb.google.com/swronsky/Christmas2010?feat=directlink