Dover Sunday

On Sunday we accompanied Brandon Zick and Erin Zick to Dover England. They had visited Oxford the day before so came well prepared for the train ride with a deck of cards and an iPad. Made for a quick ride. The overall trip was about exactly what our London cab driver had warned us about but was still something that we had to see to check of our list. It is a port city that just so happens to have a castle and beautiful white cliffs at its doorstep. When we arrived we followed the signs to the city center for an hour. When we realized that we had gone around in a huge circle we figured out that we had been following the signs for traffic to go around the city center following the one way streets. But our trek did bring us fairly close to the most happening place in the town. When we walked in to the restaurant we didn't know what to think. There were a few tables occupied with dozens more empty. It was more people than we had seen in the last hour so we decided to walk in and give it a shot. When we asked the host if we could have a table for four and he gave us a tortured expression that showed us he didn't know where to seat us we all kind of looked at each other and wondered what was wrong with all the empty tables. He did finally explain that he needed that table back in an hour if he sat us. We agreed and he was right. The lunch was very enjoyable and the place was full by the time we exited. Now on to the hiking.......

We must have walked more than 6 or 7 miles by the time the day was over and with a little bit of rain and a lot of cliffs and hills Brandon and I both agreed that we felt like we were walking around with ski boots on by the time we made it back to the train station. We first walked out to the white cliffs to take the necessary pictures and then back tracked to the castle. The rain hit hard while we were walking the grounds of the castle and pretty much made us all agree that it was time to head home. Surprisingly none of us feel asleep on the ride home and we continued to enjoy each others company after such a long day. Tonight (Monday) we are all meeting up with some local friends and dining at Scalini. Haven't been there since my first day in London.


Lindsey carving our initials into the white cliffs that will last about as long as the next great rain storm.

Weekend in England

This weekend was one of those that was busy but enjoyable. Friday night we hung out with Jon Lansing, his beautiful fiance Lisa, and Mike Goodspeed. We went to look at a flat in Hampstead Heath and followed that up with dinner at Goucho and "ice cream" at Yogurtry. Then Lisa invited us back to their flat so she could dismantle us in a game of American trivia.

Saturday was a little more about quality time. Lindsey and I got up and enjoyed a cappuccino on the pavement outside of Med Kitchen and then decided we would treat out ourselves to a fine lunch at the Dorchester Hotel. It really was a fun experience and for the most part everything we ordered was incredible. Only once did Lindsey have to use her napkin on a bite of some sort of chicken and something mashed all together appetizer.





The icing on top was definitely the dessert. I think it was so good because of its simplicity - Hot vanilla rice pudding with pecan ice cream and raspberry preserve - and it was worth going back for it again.

Amsterdam Weekend

We had a blast hanging out in Amsterdam during the last weekend in July (2010). The group consisted of Mike and Kati, Kenny and Theresa, Will and Jess, Annastecia and Charlie, Lance, Pam, and Lindsey and me. We had stopped by Amsterdam once before for an afternoon but figured we should dive in head first and really experience the city. It was kind of like Vegas- two days felt like a week and I was ready to get back to the comfort of South Kensington. Thanks to everyone for helping to make it a great weekend.