What I Learned Living in a Hotel...

We have officially been in our new home for a week now!  Through the relocation, we had packers that did all of the wrapping, packing, and labeling.  It was quite the operation.  It was a first for us…we have usually just moved using the beer and pizza bribe method to get friends to take pity on us!  By the 18th of June, everything was bubbled-wrapped, so off to the hotel we went.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, we were in a hotel once we arrived in the UK for 25 days!  We survived and have some fun stories about that chapter of our adventure.  Living in a hotel for an extended period time while not on a vacation, teaches you a lot about yourself and life! 

Here is what I learned…

7.  As glamorous as it sounds to lounge by the pool, eat the hotel breakfast buffet, eat out each dinner, and have someone else clean your room, the novelty wears off quickly.  I began to long for a routine and even those dreaded chores!  I established my "hotel routine," but I knew it would be temporary and change once we moved into our house.

6.  Restaurant food is delicious; however, after over 60 meals at a restaurant, I began to crave home-cooked food.   Our first home-cooked meal at our house never tasted so good!

5.  Hotel chairs are really not meant to be sat in for long periods of time!  Our hotel room was just that...a room, with a bed, desk, and one chair.  The seating options in our room were the bed or a chair designed more for looks than functionality and comfort.  I would often go out for most of the day, but would come back to the room in the late afternoon to wait for AJ.  Since the cool looking chair was not very comfortable, I spent a lot of time lounging on the bed, reading a book or occupying my time on the computer.  It felt much more unproductive doing these activities on a bed versus if I would have been sitting at a table or desk!  It is a matter of perception, I guess!

4.  I learned what possessions I truly value and give me a sense of security.  For over a month, the only possessions we had were our checked luggage.  We had a variety of clothes, DVDs, and books.  We had no photos or mementos, as they were all in our sea shipment.  As the weeks dragged by, I really did not miss clothing or jewelry; but I missed seeing the items that made a space feel familiar.  I had brought one of my favorite fluffy blankets in our checked luggage.  On those days and nights that I was homesick, I would curl up on the hotel bed with my blanket.  It felt a bit like home. 

3.  At home in the states, I never realized how comfy our bed was until I slept on a hotel mattress for a month!  We both often woke up stiff and sore from the bed.  Our hotel bed also was two twin beds pushed together to make a king.  We definitely did not miss the hills and valleys of our hotel mattress!  Of all our possessions, I think we were the most excited to be reunited with our bed!  We were overjoyed to just lay on our comfy bed once we moved into our house. 

2.  AJ and I can successfully live with each other in an single 15x15 room for a month.  Tight quarters, like our hotel room, demand compromise and communication at all times!  Only one occasion, involving a World Cup soccer game, resulted in a disagreement! I would say we did pretty good. 

1.  When faced with no other options, it is amazing what we can make work.  Living in a 15x15 room for a month is not the worst thing in the world to experience, but can be quite dreadful; however, when that is the only option, we figured it out and made the best of it.  Our living arrangements added another layer of difficulty as we tried to establish our new life in the UK, but everything was accomplished. 

Living in a hotel for an extended period of time made moving into our new home even sweeter! Now that we are out of a hotel room and have more space, our lights are truly always on to welcome you!

~W

Another Trip Around the Sun...

Yesterday was my birthday!  This was my first birthday, since I was a preteen, that I have celebrated away from home and my parents.  Having a summer birthday allowed me to celebrate the whole day with my folks all throughout college and adulthood.  Well, the usual birthday scene was a bit different.

As I have been adjusting to my new surroundings and new home, I have been struck by how much I have clung to various traditions of life in the states.  Growing up, my mom and dad would always start my brother's and mine birthday celebrations with a longjohn donut and chocolate milk from DunkinDounts.  As I have celebrated more birthdays, this tradition had matured into an iced coffee and muffin with my folks.  Well in a completely new place where just about everything seems foreign, I revisited my childhood birthday tradition.  There is no DunkinDonuts in Durham, but there is a KrispyKreme Donut.  It was such a happy surprise!  Even though DunkinDonuts was my preferred donut maker while living in the states, I was more than willing to celebrate my birthday with a chocolate-frosted sprinkle donut from KrispyKreme and an iced coffee chiller.

Not the healthiest birthday meal...but definitely a taste of home!

The weather forecast had called for a significantly gloomy day with loads of rain; however, the day turned out to be gorgeous.  The sun shined the majority of the day.  I took advantage of the lovely British weather and walked to the Durham city center.  I tried a cupcake shop in the Durham Marketplace for lunch.  I stopped in and enjoyed a sandwich, cupcake, and a pot of tea.  It was a lovely way to celebrate my first English birthday!

A great way to celebrate my first English birthday...tea and a cupcake!

I spent the majority of the day doing things that I love...reading a good book in a lovely English pub garden, walking around the city, looking at Pinterest, reading blogs, eating a delicious dinner with AJ, and talking to my family.  Not a bad first English birthday in my book!
 

Before we left the states, AJ had bought my birthday present (since it would be cheaper there!), so I have known about it for two weeks.  Even though I have known that he was giving me a very nice DSLR camera, I refused to use it and learn about it until my birthday!  So today, I took the camera out of the box and started fiddling with the settings and learning about it.  I am quite excited about this present for two specific reasons!  First, it will give me something to occupy my time learning in the initial months of our new life in the UK.  Secondly, it will allow us to properly document all of the beauty we will see on our European adventure.  It is bound to take better pictures than my iPhone...or at least I hope!!

A great present from AJ! 

AJ had planned a few birthday surprises for me.  We went for our usual walk around Durham city center before heading to our dinner reservations.  We had a tasty dinner at Bella Italia, which may quickly become a new favorite!

Having a tasty birthday dinner at a corner table overlooking the river!

As I was mulling over the dessert options, two of the wait staff appeared singing with a cake and candles!  It was quite a fun surprise.  German chocolate cake has long been my favorite cake.  AJ searched high and low, questioned his British co-workers, and even googled it, but German chocolate cake does not exist in the UK!  With no possibility of German chocolate cake, he went with the next best thing...double chocolate cake!  It was a great and tasty dessert to end the evening!  As AJ was researching cake options and questioning his coworkers, one of the guys stated, "Here, kids get cake, wives get cards!"  Well, the cake was a definite hit with this wife!  AJ's thoughtfulness over all the little details for my birthday definitely warmed my heart! 

Double chocolate cake was a yummy substitution
for German chocolate cake!

As I think about my next year of life, I consistently think about how this upcoming year will be so unique and unlike any of my previous years!  This trip around the sun will hopefully include numerous weekend trips to see the incredible sights of the UK and some trips to mainland Europe.  Over the next twelve months, hopefully, all the aspects of British life that seem overwhelming and foreign right now will become routine and typical.  I am sure this trip around the sun will offer remarkable experiences as well as new obstacles to conquer.  As hard as it is to celebrate my birthday away from my family and friends, I am grateful for the opportunities AJ and I will be afforded by this experience!   

At the end of the day, this birthday was different from all my previous birthdays, but just as special and memorable.  If you are ever in our neck of the woods celebrating another trip around the sun, stop by because the lights will always be on...and we might even have a KrispyKreme sprinkled donut waiting for you!

~W

Most beautiful place in the UK...

After AJ got off work on July 4th, we headed out of town to one of the most beautiful places in the UK, the Lake District.  It is in the northwestern region of England.  There are multiple quaint towns that make up this area.  After about a two hour drive, we arrived in Keswick.  To be honest, we selected this town solely based upon the recommendation of Rick Steves, the travel writer.

Keswick was an important mining town for slate, copper, and lead throughout the Middle Ages, but then became a resort town in the 1800s.  It is lined with beautiful Victorian homes and building, many of which are now bed and breakfasts. 

The Heads lined with beautiful Victorian homes that now serve as bed and breakfasts for visitors.

The primary accommodations in this area are bed and breakfasts.  Again, on the recommendations of Rick and availablity on short notice, we checked into the Parkfield House run by Jon and Susan.  It is a beautiful home with lovely rooms.  Once we got all our bags settled into the room, we set out to find some dinner.  One of the most charming aspects of this town was its complete walkability.  We walked to a tapas restaurant and had a delicious meal.  One of the things that I truly appreciate about UK restaurants is the overall freshness and quality of the food.

Our lovely and charming accommodations for the weekend: Parkerfield House.

Keswick, which means cheese farm, has a beautiful city center to wander.  It is anchored by Moot Hall (Meeting Hall).  In the 16th century, this was the copper warehouse.  Saturday was market day, so the square was filled with vendors selling a variety of items from clothing to fresh produce.

Moot Hall after all the vendors had packed up for the day.

On Saturday morning, we woke up to a  beautiful day.  As with any bed and breakfast, we had another yummy meal.  Susan, one of the owners, cooks each patron's breakfast to order.  A full English breakfast was offered, but AJ and I just opted for scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.  

Our beautiful morning view that we enjoyed on Saturday and Sunday during breakfast.

After breakfast, we took full advantage of the beautiful day. Derwentwater lake is the lake in Keswick.  There is a boat house, rowboats, and a large flock of geese and ducks!  They offer a boat ride that makes seven stops that you can get off to walk and explore.  We decided to take the boat ride that runs on the hour.  Since we had a bit of time to spare until the boat arrived, we fed the ducks and geese.  These ducks and geese were very accustommed to humans feeding them!  They instantly would flock towards anyone that was holding the brown paper bag of feed.  AJ was clearly braver than I, and let them eat straight from his hand!  

Enjoying the amazing scenery before deciding to feed the ducks and geese!

AJ was much more adventurous feeding the geese!

Clearly, I was not enjoying the experience as much as AJ! 
I was slightly nervous about my feet getting pecked!

The boat rides are on beautiful wooden boats.  We got off at the second stop, Lordes Falls.  There is a lovely hotel and restaurant, just off the lake.  We walked over and had an afternoon tea and treat.  We decided to walk around a bit and explore.  The Lordes Falls is located about 200 yards from the hotel, so we trekked up there to see them.  That was the extent of our hiking, as our proper hiking boots and such are heading over to the UK on a boat currently!  

The beautiful boat we rode to explore the lake.

The beautiful hills that surround the lake! 

After our walk, we reboarded the boat to finish the tour around the lake.  The lake is surrounded by hills  and pastures that are home to sheep.  All of the hills, with sheep grazing, have walking paths and hiking trails for people to use to explore the countryside.  The sheep are completely unbothered by people walking about.  On our next visit, we will definitely take a few days to do that...with the proper shoes, of course!

Sheep just off the walking path, completely unfazed by our presence!

For dinner, we ate at a restaurant recommended to us by John and Susan.  Morrells is such a popular restaurant in the area that reservations are a must!  In order to get in, we had to eat at 5:30 and be out by 6:45!  In the UK, that is a speedy dinner!  All of the meals are prepared using local meat and produce.  Everything was delicious and tasty!  

On Sunday, we ate breakfast and then packed up the car.  We walked around the river in Keswick for a bit and then got on the road.  We had a wonderful weekend away!

Our view of the river and town of Keswick on our walk!

We are back in the hotel still waiting for all the paperwork on our new UK house to be finalized.  Hopefully, that process will be completed soon!  Both AJ and I are ready to be in our house and start making it a home!  Once we are there, remember the lights will always be on!

~W

4th of July...

4th of July...a date on the calendar or a national holiday...depends on where you are!  This is my first fourth of July not in the States.  Today is just another Friday here in the UK.  No flags are flying, and there are no red, white, and blue decorations.  No summertime barbeques, and everyone goes to work as usual.  The evening will not end with a spectacular fireworks display.

It is funny what you miss when you are gone.  4th of July was never one of my favorite holidays, but we still celebrated it.  I remember in the past being slightly annoyed going to watch the fireworks spectacular, it was late, there were crowds, and parking was always a hassle.  Now, that there will be no fireworks to celebrate independence, I kind of miss it!   So, today, I put on my most patriotic shirt to celebrate the 4th of July from across the pond!

This morning we headed into Durham, which is where we will stay until we move into our house.  Since we are not spending the weekend in Durham, I was without a place to hangout while Andrew worked during the day.  In my red, white, and blue shirt, I wandered Durham marketplace.  This is Durham city center and home to a vast array of shops.

To my surprise, I found a Starbucks tucked between all of the other tea rooms.  Since it is the 4th of July, I decide that Starbucks was as American as I was going to find in the Durham city center.  While it is a Starbucks, the menu and drink selection is quite different from the States.  Not aware of all of the differences, I ordered a caramel iced frappes in hopes of having a taste of home.  While it came in the standard Starbucks cup and was a blended drink, it was so much sweeter than my favorite American version.  As I sat and drank my drink, I thought of all my friends and family spending the day at the river, hanging by the pool, and grilling up some burgers.

At lunch, in my quest to personally celebrate the 4th of July, I visited a favorite pub of AJ's and mine.  It serves sweet potato fries that are remarkably similar to the American version.  I ate my sweet potato fries with ketchup (as Americans do!) and quietly thought of all that it means to be an American.

This 4th of July, there was no corn on the cob or burgers on the grill for us, but I still found a way to remember my country!  Next year, there will be corn on the cob, hot dogs, burgers, and all things American to mark this day, and the red, white, and blue lights will be on!!

~W

By the sea...

For the past week, we have been by the sea...the North Sea specifically.  This is not your "lay on the beach and get a tan" kinda of sea.  It is sometimes rough and always cold!  When dressed appropriately in long pants and a coat, it is quite a lovely place!  I have never really been a beach person, but over the past week, I have become quite fond of this place!

AJ and I had never been here before.  That is not saying much for me...since I have only really been to one place in the UK!  When we moved, we were not able to move right into our house (which is a story for another day!), thus we moved into a hotel.  This specific week at the hotel that AJ usually stays at has been booked for a year due to a university graduation.  We took advantage of this and decided to stay by the sea in Sunderland.  To locals, our hotel is actually in Seaburn. 

We have woken up to views of the sea each morning!  Surprisingly, each morning the sun has been shining.  The restaurant that we eat breakfast in overlooks this beautiful sight.  We learned early in the week not to sit too close to the windows, otherwise the sun will blind you! 

Our daily view!

There are a vast array of restaurants within walking distance.  I had my first official experience with fish and chips here at a restaurant just around the corner from the hotel.  They were quite delicious, but definitely not something I can eat often!!  While Brits prefer to eat their chips (steak fries) with salt and vinegar, I decided to stick with ketchup!  On our first visit, AJ and I each had an order of fish and chips.  One order could have easily fed three people!  When I went back one day this week for lunch, I had no one to share my fish and chips with, so I just ordered the kid's meal!  It was just the right amount of fish and chips for me! 

My kid's meal portion!

One of the aspects of British life that I have quickly grown to love is the walking atmosphere.  I love taking walks.  There are always walking paths or sidewalks available, which makes it so easy to walk.  AJ is now officially working, which leaves me by myself during the day.  One of the things that I have done each afternoon is walk along the sea and sit on a bench to read my book.  Each night, AJ and I have walked to dinner.  It has been so relaxing and refreshing to be outside for the evening.  Since the sun does not set until after 10:00pm, AJ and I usually walk along the sea after we eat. 

Our nightly walking route!

Tomorrow, we move out of this hotel and into another one for the weekend.  We do not have a definite move-in date, but once we do, remember the lights will be on!

~W

Wheels Up...

Well...it has been one week, since we left all that was familiar and boarded a plane to the UK.  It was an experience completely foreign to me..a roller coaster of emotions!  Initially, as we were packing, it just felt like a preparing for a long trip.  Then it would hit me at the most random moments, this is not a long trip...it is a one-way ticket...this place will not be home anymore!

The majority of our belongings are being shipped to us in the UK by air or sea.  AJ's company permits each individual moving to take three checked bags.  The airlines then allow a carry-on and a personal item.  So, if you do the math, we had a total of ten bags with us!

All ten "bags" on two luggage carts!

Previous expats gave us some great advice about using Rubbermaid totes for the bulk of our items.  This was a much cheaper and easier packing option than buying four more full-size suitcases that we would probably only use to move.  

As we were packing, we both commented that there was not anything that we had to have with us, except the obvious clothing!  The bulk of what we took as checked luggage was dictated by what we were not allowed to ship in our air or sea container. We had two suitcases of clothing and basic toiletries to get us through the a few weeks of hotel living.  There were a good number of books for me to read, once AJ went to work.  We also threw in some television series DVD sets, since we have not yet fully grasped British humor!  The rest of the space was occupied by dry goods, and a few home comfort items, like my favorite fluffy blanket!  There really is not much, except ice tea and iced coffee, that we cannot get in the UK.  With that said, we were just cheap and did not want to throw away our entire pantry!  Instead, we packed it up and flew it across the Atlantic ocean!!   

With all our "bags" packed and weighing exactly 50 pounds (the airline limit), we headed to the airport the morning of our flight to check it all in!  Honestly, it was like the circus had appeared at the airport.  Everyone was curious and interested in what we were doing and where we were going with all those "bags".  The entire check-in process took about an hour, and the agent gave fantastic customer service!

Once that was completed, we left the airport with our boarding passes in hand to get lunch and finish up some final things.  Then, the time came...it was the time I had been dreading, since we started this process.  We drove to the airport...this was it!  The entire drive was a mix of excitement for what lie ahead, fear of the unknown, and sadness to say goodbye to family. 

My parents came to the airport to see us off.  There were a lot of tears.  While excitement lie ahead, it was extremely difficult for me to say goodbye to my parents not knowing for sure the next time I would see them in person.  After that final hug, AJ and I headed up to security to start the next chapter! 

Just as I had pulled it together, the plane took off!  It hit me like a sack of bricks...this is goodbye to central Illinois...where I am from...what is comfortable...what is familiar...where I feel at home! 

Last view of central Illinois!

The rest of the flights went smoothly.  All ten of our "bags" arrived in the UK without a problem.  After playing a short-game of Tetris to get all the "bags" in the car, we headed to the hotel to get some rest!  

First UK photo...just slightly tired!

 

The adventure began...June 26, 2014!  As we adjust to our new home and surroundings, remember the lights are always on!

 

~W