The eagle has landed

Surprise! I’m back in the US, writing this from the comfort of my bed, in the comfort of air conditioning. It’s 5 in the morning and although my body is tired, my mind is all abuzz with thoughts of artificial cheese products, Target shopping bags, and the possibility of returning to England with a bit of a tan.

You have no idea how hard it was not to tell you. This has been in the works for months. I still can’t believe we pulled it off. My mom was absolutely shocked when she saw me sitting at the table with my sisters when she and my dad arrived for her birthday brunch. She burst into tears and just cried and cried. She said she hadn’t realized just how much she missed me until she saw me which is pretty much one of the saddest things she’s ever said. God, this living-4000-miles-away thing is really hard.

But.

Target!

Tan!

Cheese-flavored Puff’n Corn!

I arrived on Saturday and spent the day with my sisters and cousins at the Kenny Chesney concert. I don’t know his music (other than the one about his tractor being sexy) but it was the perfect way to assimilate to summer time in Virginia.

I find myself thinking ‘This is so American!” and “It really is just like the movies!” I am thinking a lot of the same things Scott thought when he first came to visit all those years ago (and actually still thinks). Just as you can’t really know about life in the UK by just visiting London, you can’t really understand life in America by only visiting New York City or Washington DC. I feel so privileged to know both countries.

I refuse to let this become a weepy post where I sentimentalize about expat life so I’ll just show you some photos of my surprise trip so far.

You’re never too old to play flip cup:

But you are too old to wear this:

Still crying at her birthday brunch:

After brunch we went for pedicures. Even the Colonel had one:

And then we sat outside on the deck and ate homemade peach pie:

It’s good to be home.

Death by roller suitcase

I have certainly enjoyed my time off these last few months. I know I have been very fortunate to be able to take the time to figure out what I want to do and focus on things I enjoy doing. But it did get boring. And I did miss some things about working life. Like my weekly “you earned this” purchase. Spending money on whatever I wanted. The access to shops, bars, restaurants. Seeing people other than the postman, supermarket cashier and Jeremy Kyle. You get the picture. What about having a purpose, you ask? Yes, that too. I also missed having a very good reason not to do the dishes.

I did not, under any circumstances, miss the commute. Most days it isn’t so bad but other than traveling to work, when would I choose to sit in a confined space with weird strangers? Sometimes I sit there and think…what if there is a train crash? A terrorist attack? I don’t want to die with these people!

These people being the ones I see on a daily basis. There are thousands of people who take my train line into London but when you get the same train everyday, you start to familiarize yourself with the other passengers. And since I’ve been gone, some newbies have started taking the 7:46 but I still recognize a lot of them.

There’s the girl who jumps on at my station, spends 20 minutes applying makeup (and sometimes plucking) and emerges at her destination as a totally different person. There’s the suited and booted businessman who reads self-help books. This week it is Instant Confidence: The Power of Positive Self-Talk. There’s the woman with the beautiful red coat – only now it no longer buttons because of her growing bump. And there’s the nose-picker. He’s still around, unfortunately.

There are others of course. It’s always a full train. But even though I remember when the red coat lady wasn’t pregnant and I remember when the businessman wore a wedding ring, I don’t know them and I have never spoken to them. That’s just how it goes. You don’t speak. You read or listen to music or tap, tap, tap away on your laptop. And I’m fine with that.

But it’s the dog eat dog world of commuting that I hate. I dread when the train rolls into Kings Cross station and the doors open…and everyone charges onto the platform, briefcases drawn and handbags as shields. Just getting out of the station is a battle.

And that’s why this time around, I’m sticking to trains and buses. I can’t do the tube again. I tried and it was miserable and I feared for my life. I’m happy to say that my theory still holds true. Men turn into animals when they go underground – no matter if it is down to the basement to watch football or down to the Piccadilly line to trample people on their way to work.

And today it hit me. I realized why nobody talks to each other. Nobody wants to feel any sort of guilt when they knock you down with their roller suitcase on the way to the office.

Christmas in Copenhagen

I’m finally getting around to putting up pictures from our weekend in Copenhagen. It was so nice there! I really liked the city and was impressed by how clean it was (best public bathrooms I’ve ever been to.) The Christmas Market at Tivoli was amazing and really got us all into the Christmas spirit.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

They’ve got 7-Elevens all over the place there and even though it was bitterly cold, I still bought an ice cold Slurpee. Just because I could.

We found this little church and they were having their own Christmas get-together. We decided to join the party.

Fried dough balls with powdered sugar…what’s not to like?

Who knew hot dogs could taste so good?

They had the prettiest party clothes for children and I felt like I should take a picture.

This happened every time we came in from the cold.

It was all so Hans Christian Andersen!

Notice the Christmas tree on the boat.

Is this where we get free Carlsberg?

Oh, it’s a museum? No, thanks.

This is more funny if you enlarge it.

When in Rome…

A special thank you to the Berlins who hosted us in their fabulous Roman digs and showed us around the city. My parents have known the Berlins since before I was born and we were fortunate to live in the some of the same places over the years so our families grew close. When we heard they were going to be living in Rome for the next few years, we knew we had to jump on the chance to visit them, especially since Scott had never been to Italy.

In less than 48 hours, we were able to visit all the sights of Rome, including the Vatican. (Word of warning- the line for the Vatican is insanely long. I’m talking longer than the line at Space Mountain.) Lisa and I had been to these sights when we were younger but we must have blocked them from our memory (blame it on age or pure boredom) so it was really nice to go back as adults and appreciate it a bit more.

The Berlins have the walking tour of Rome down to an art form. We were told this walking tour is sometimes referred to as the Death March but we had done it once already when we were 8 and 10 years old so we figured we could survive it again. Fortunately, the cooler November weather makes the tour much more bearable. The frequent food stops helped too.

One of our favorite parts of the weekend was Saturday night. The Berlins took us to a small Italian restaurant by their house which has no menus or set prices. You simply sit down and wait. Soon enough, baskets and plates of food arrive. You never know what you’re going to have or what is coming up next. But all of it is fresh and delicious and served family-style. The wine keeps coming too. On this particular night, they served fresh bread, mozzarella di Bufala Campana, bruschetta, cannellini beans, fried broccoli and pizza dough balls, sausage, ricotta, risotto, spaghetti, veal and potatoes, and some sort of pumpkin/apple cheesecake. It was quite possibly the best meal I’ve ever had.

It truly was a fantastic weekend in Rome – full of wine, cheese, friends, sightseeing, laughs, and some more cheese…

Scott was tired of looking at the heads.

Even this guy had some wine:

One of the Berlins’ rooftop terraces:

I’m very mature.

I told you we had a lot of cheese. Here is the ricotta:

My first cappuccino ever:

I guess there’s no point going in here:

We did a lot of (window) shopping.

And I showed Scott what I wanted for Christmas.

We loved the pizza.

We appreciated the art.

We’ll be back!

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

We had a great time in Dublin this past weekend. It was a quick trip but we managed to pack in a lot. Scott and I have been to Ireland before. We went a couple years ago. We flew into Belfast and rented a car and then drove around Northern Ireland and down into Ireland. It was fabulous and we got to see so much more than just Dublin. We recommend people see more than just Dublin. It’s good but better to see the countryside.

Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to do all that and in Lisa’s quest to see as many countries as possible, we drove to the airport at 3 am on Saturday to check into our flight. We flew Ryanair which has to be the cheapest airline (and I mean that in every sense of the word). Since they charge you for checking a bag, we had to carry on. Which meant we spent more on buying travel sized toiletries than we would have if we just paid to check a bag. I’m not quite sure why we did that but Scott thought he was being clever by ticking “0″ in the checked luggage box.

I’d like to say we arrived in Dublin at 7 am, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed but that would be a big, fat lie. I have the pictures to prove it…

After a couple strong cups of tea, we boarded the hop-on/hop-off buses and set off to see all that Dublin had to offer. And we definitely did. Lisa has inherited the tourist gene from our mother. The “we should see everything even if we’re not interested in it at all” gene. So off and on we got.

I, on the other hand, got the “I really tried to pack light but failed” gene from my mother. So my backpack was really heavy and I spent the day feeling like a fifth grader.

The weather was surprisingly nice. Which means it was cold and damp but not raining.

After several hours of sightseeing, we checked into our hotel, napped for a bit and then got ready for dinner. We met fellow expat, Liz and her Irish husband for dinner and drinks. We had a great time and it’s always nice to meet up with expats. We didn’t have a wild and crazy night of drinking though…which is what most people do in Dublin. We headed back to our room for some much needed sleep before another day full of touring.

Sunday morning, we put our backpacks back on and set off to visit Trinity College. About two hours into our day, it started to pour and the temperature dropped about 10 degrees. It wouldn’t be a big deal since we’re used to this sort of weather. But Scott didn’t bring an umbrella and he took the whole “sharing everything in marriage” to mean sharing my umbrella. And because he’s taller, he holds the umbrella which means he (even unintentionally) holds the umbrella more over his head. So we both ended up partially soaked. Whoever wrote that “You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh” song is an idiot.

Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day drying out in a pub and then in a coffee shop. The pub was obviously Scott’s choice and the coffee shop was Lisa’s. I think Scott did well travelling with two girls even though I think he got a bit bored with the conversation. Over coffee and hot chocolate, Lisa and I were discussing our dream vacation spots and what would make a holiday perfect.

Lisa turned to Scott and asked, “So what would be your perfect holiday?”

To which Scott replied, “I don’t know. Why can’t we talk about something cool?”

I asked, “Like what?”

Scott answered, “Like who would win in a fight. A vicious dog or a timid wolf?”

Now there’s some food for thought…

They really do get along…

This was the view from our hotel room:

Scott bored at the coffee shop:

Apparently there have been some escalator incidents in Ireland:

Remember us?

Those who have decided to check the blog for an update one last time before giving up on us all together are probably sitting in front of their computers, blinking in disbelief. Yes, we are alive. We made it back from our mini- USA roadtrip and in the process, we’ve added one more to our twosome.No, no, we’re not having a baby. I’m talking about my sister. She came back with us. But more on that later.

We had a nice trip home (minus the sedated woman sitting next to Scott on the plane who spilled her wine in his lap about, oh, two hours into the flight.) We stopped off in Virginia for the night before loading Beauford (my late grandmother’s Buick) with our bags and heading west. Now it’s not the sleekest of cars but let me tell you…Beauford is one comfortable ride. It was seriously like riding a sofa all the way to Charleston, West Virginia.

One of my very best friends, Alli, got married on Saturday and it was a beautiful day. Remember the entry about my bridesmaid dress? Well, it didn’t even matter that I didn’t have a matching wrap because all it would have been good for was wiping sweat off my face. (Just what every bride wants her bridesmaids to be doing!) It was so hot! My new pale British skin couldn’t take it. But it was so great to reunite with my college friends and dance the night away with them and the gorgeous bride!

The next day, we loaded ol’ Beauford up again and headed south. Nine hours later, the car pretty much stopped feeling like a sofa and more like hell. We drove out to the Outer Banks of North Carolina at about 10pm – just in time for every store, restaurant, and tourist attraction to shut down and turn off their lights. So we added another hour onto our trip while we slowly drove down the main drag, squinting at all the street signs, looking for ours.

We finally found my mom waving a flashlight in the middle of the street, directing us to the house. Yes, this is how we do it in my family.

We spent the next three days roasting on the beach, playing putt-putt, reading American gossip magazines, drinking lots of sweet tea, and searching for some decent seafood…which sounds silly seeing as the Outer Banks boasts some of the best seafood around. Maybe it was just a bad week for them. On our last day, we went to the Wright Brothers Memorial to see where they made their first flight. This was obviously the highlight of the trip for Scott.

It was a great time. And because my driving test in the UK isn’t too far away, we decided I shouldn’t drive in the US just so I wouldn’t risk screwing myself up. Which meant Scott did ALL the driving. So when I was complaining about the car not feeling like a sofa anymore, it was 50 times worse for Scott.

Anyway, we drove back up to the DC area and spent a couple of days with my family. My aunt, uncle and cousin came down to visit too and it’s always nice to see as many people as possible. We definitely crammed a lot in and I was at Target about four hours before our flight left on Sunday. It is a damn shame that Brits have to miss out on Target. If you can’t find it at Target, you don’t know what you’re doing – that’s what I say.

So now we’re back in rainy England. That hot wedding day in Charleston seems like ages ago and our tans started to fade the minute we got off the plane.

But we have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. Like I said, my sister, Lisa, is living with us until Christmas. It’s going well so far. The way I see it…we lived together for 18 years and I know her well enough that if she’s bugging me, I’ll just tell her. But she feels a bit like a guest in our place so she offers to do the dishes and dust and vacuum. So, it’s a win-win situation in my eyes.

Besides looking for a J-O-B, I am also hard at work practicing for my driving test. It ain’t easy or pretty, folks. And when I go driving with Scott, it mostly ends in tears.

For instance, a couple days ago when I pulled into the space after a trip in the car, this was how the conversation went:

<Scott gives horrified look>

Caitlin: What?
Scott: Nothing. <looks away and shakes his head>
Caitlin: What? Tell me!
Scott: From that last roundabout to right here, you were not in control of the vehicle.
Caitlin: Well, I felt in control.
Scott: You were not in control.
Caitlin: What did I do wrong?
Scott: Do you seriously think you were in control?
Caitlin: Tell me what I did wrong!
Scott: Your test is in three weeks and you’re not ready.
Caitlin: You’re not helping me learn. You’re just being critical!
Scott: I don’t know how to help you if you think you were in control just then.
Caitlin: <through sobs> You don’t do it like Bobby! Bobby doesn’t say those things to me! I can’t do this with you. I’m better with Bobby!

So I’m back into lessons with Bobby and they’re going pretty well, I think. I hope.

Now I know why they say you really should learn to drive with someone unrelated to you…

So that’s what we’ve been up to. I leave you with this clip of Alli’s grandpa. He’s still got the moves at 80-something years old.

Greetings from Oz…Wish you were here!

My family did a lot of traveling over the years. We were a military family so we spent a lot of time in transit. We also spent a lot of time exploring other countries and trying to cram in as much as possible. In most places, if we weren’t in the museums or with a tour guide or skiing or fill-in-the-blank-with-other-tourist-activities, you could find us on the side of a road, eating fresh bread and cheese and trying not to choke on the dust other cars were kicking up. And after we complained about riding in the car for too many hours or being bored with the sightseeing, you would hear my mother say, “You girls are so lucky! One day you’ll thank us!”

And that day has come…and sadly gone for me! Because now, being married and living far away, I am no longer a part of these family trips. I don’t miss the car rides or sleeping in the van (when my dad realized we couldn’t just walk into a hotel and get a room) or the long hours spent in an airport waiting for the next Space A flight out of there.

But when my family told me they were going to go to Australia for three weeks to meet up with Lisa, I was jealous. Scott was too. But flights for us were too expensive and we didn’t have enough vacation time even if we could afford it. And Australia is about as far away as you can get from here.

Needless to say, my family went without me. And when they returned, I listened to all their stories and I even saw all their photos. And you know how annoying it can be to look at someone else’s vacation photos? Yeah, well, imagine that feeling times 10 because you know you should have been there too!

So I decided to take matters into my own hands and simply insert myself in the photos.

Here are the photos from our trip:

Scott and me with my parents in the Outback

Scott and me with my sisters in Atherton, near Cairns

Aww, a nice family picture in northeastern Australia

Yum! Crocodile and kangaroo meat pizza! (I am still studying the menu because I think I might just want plain cheese.)

Mom, Amanda, Scott and me in Sydney

Me? Nosy? No! I was just wondering if you two wanted a piece of apple pie.

Come fly with me!

Those of you who know me will know that I have long held a passion for flying and aviation in general. Many people say it is a geeky pastime, but I beg to differ. If a guy says he’s a pilot does that put the girls off? I think not. And pretty much all pilots are “into” aviation. Now I understand that those “plane spotters” who go around with pads writing down registration numbers have led to the hobby being somewhat tarred with the same brush as train spotting (those guys really are nutters) but this is incorrect. When I gaze skywards at a passing aeroplane, the last thing on my mind is “I wonder if I already have that one jotted down in my notebook?” For me, the connection is more emotional. I understand the laws of physics that describe why flight is possible but that doesn’t stop me from being amazed every single time I see 400 tonnes of metal soar into the air as if longing to be there.

Anyway…the point here is that last weekend I went for an “introductory flying lesson”. This was by no means my first experience in light aircraft. When I was a teenager I was in the air cadets for several years and flew many times in 2 seat aircraft. Some of them being 1940s vintage RAF trainers called “Chipmunks” held together with rubber bands. We had to wear parachutes that made us walk like ducks. I got to take the controls and even do some aerobatics. However, since those days my flying has been limited, like most of us, to being an airline passenger. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy this, but nothing beats the thrill of taking control of an aeroplane yourself. On Saturday, I got the chance to do this once more.

I always wanted to be a pilot since an early age. The plan was to be an airline pilot. But, as John Lennon once said: “life is what happens while you’re making other plans”. So life happened. And I’m not bitter – I wouldn’t change anything (well, much) about my life. But pretty much the only way I can get into being a pilot now is through getting a private licence. This may take a few years (it ain’t cheap) but it will be worth it.

So back to Saturday. Cait and I (and our friends, Nik and Sarah) went along to Elstree airfield about 10 miles away from where we live. I’d managed to book a time which clashed spectacularly with the FA cup final where Man U and Chelsea were playing so Nik was a bit miffed, but we found a café at the airfield for him to watch. Cait didn’t want to go up (chicken) so Sarah came along for the ride (brave girl). My instructor was a guy called Adam and this was his full-time job. He was a little aloof at first but he became more lucid once we got going. Once we’d climbed into the little 4 seater Piper aeroplane, we plugged ourselves in so we could hear eachother and air traffic control through our headsets. Then we put our seatbelts on and we were off. I was in the left seat which is where the captain usually sits and where all the main controls are (though there are dual controls on the instructor’s side). After a few checks we were on our way to the runway. Within a few seconds we were speeding along at 70mph and Adam pulled back on the column. Now it was quite a windy day and this was no 747 so as soon as we left the ground you could really feel you were flying. About 2 miutes into the climb and I was handed control. We’d asked to see Hatfield (where we live) from the air so that’s where we headed. After flying over our flat and the offices where I work we followed the M25 all the way down to the Thames crossing at Dartford and the QE2 bridge. Then we turned around and headed back. Me at the controls the whole time. We even spent 5 minutes or so chasing an escaped net full of helium balloons. But all too soon it was time to head back to Elstree. Following the motorway back to the north west. Once in sight of the airfield, the instructor gave me tips on how to set the power but aside from that I basically just followed my Microsoft Flight Sim training and flew a pretty good approach, if I do say so myself. The instructor only re-took control about 20 feet off the ground to set us down.

What an experience. My love of flying has been reinforced and I’ll definitely be doing more of it when I save a bit of money.

Here are a few pictures:

Obrigado, Portugal!

This week in pictures:

Where we stayed:

What we did:

What we drank:

Who got so sunburned he had to borrow a sequined scarf to wear around his forehead:

Who had to sing and dance when the Portuguese band didn’t know the words to American Pie:

American Pie in Portugal
Uploaded by taitertots

Scott on vocals and Kirsty showing off the moves

I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it

As many of you know, we will be flying back to the US this week. And before any big trip, I start making lists like crazy. Lists of what I want to pack, what I can’t forget to bring, what I want to purchase on my trip, etc. I have lists in my head, in my dayplanner, on my computer, on a receipt in my bag. Today I have given myself the task of combining all those lists into one list so that when I start packing tomorrow, everything is in order.

But I’m so excited I can’t even gather my thoughts to actually combine those lists. Instead I thought I would try to make it easier for myself and get out all the excitement!

So here is my first list…

“Why I’m so excited I can hardly concentrate on doing any real work”

• Our friends Sara and Tom are getting married on Saturday. I have known Sara since middle school and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding and I can’t wait to be a bridesmaid in hers! I know they will be very happy together!
• I am excited to see my family! Had to get that one in there )
• Scott and I have been counting down the days until this much needed vacation.
• American restaurants!!! Scott is looking forward to having some chili at Austin Grill and I can’t wait for unlimited refills on iced tea. Not to mention the Cheesecake Factory.
• My friend Christine is coming down from NYC to see me! And I am so grateful that she is taking the time to make the trip. I haven’t seen her in almost a year.
• Air conditioning! Although the weather in Virginia isn’t quite as good as I thought it would be…
• Target. I can’t wait to roam the aisles in this place.
• Driving…although it looks like Scott and I will be forced to drive the grandma Buick. You know the kind…large comfy seats with huge bright numbers on the dashboard for easy viewing.
• My mom’s chex mix.
• And last but definitely not least….all the shopping! We will feel like millionaires over there!!! Ok, not millionaires…not even close. But things will seem really cheap. The pound is nearing $2….yes!!! Perfect timing! Read more. I’m already fielding requests from coworkers. Ipod anyone?