I have been neglecting my blogging duties of late...mostly because I haven't had much to say!  I spent this past week back in London (yay for a break from Newport, Wales) but had a nasty cold that kept me curled on the couch for most of the week.  It worked well since the rain finally arrived in London and it's been dismal.  Thankfully today is sunny and I think warming up to the mid 50s (wild and crazy here I know!)

This week I'm venturing out to join a book club and packing for my first trip back to the states - I leave Friday.  I won't say I'm homesick - but I am VERY excited to see friends and family that I will admit to missing quite a bit.  Hopefully some more news then!

Old Friends...

I was (very, very) lucky to welcome my dear friend Anna to London for the past few days. We managed to have quite a bit of sunshine around London - and definitely enjoyed our time in the city. Just a few picture highlights :-)

The Big 3-0

Is there any better way to start a birthday (or any day) than with a gorgeous bunch of flowers being delivered to your door?! I think not - and thanks to my dear friend Sarah K - that's exactly how my birthday started, aren't they beautiful??

After a lovely morning coffee enjoying my flowers I was off to the salon - where in true London fashion - I enjoyed a bellini while happily getting some snappy new locks. Seems like a new decade calls for a new look, right?

After some shopping and lunch I went off to the theatre for the evening to see the new Zach Braff comedy 'All New People' - which was hysterical. I can't recommend it enough if you're in London (or I think it's headed back to Broadway this summer). Overall a lovely day to welcome in my 30s!

Underground Supper Club

Oh London...you're full of new experiences in so many ways. Specifically (and I can't say I saw this coming when I decided to move about 8 months ago)...the underground supper club.

What is an underground supper club you ask? It's basically a dinner party of strangers...at a stranger's house. It's quite popular in London and there are many to chose from. Upon reading about this phenomenon I decided to give it a try (seemed like an interesting way to meet people after all) and ended up at The White Room supper club on Friday night.

It just so happened that this evening was oriented towards singles (or at least non-couples) so groups of friends did attend, though I was not the only person who arrived solo. The menu was interesting with some appetizers, carrot soup, mackerel over lentils, halibut with lynchee (or an impressive looking lamb roast if you wanted meat - note earlier blog entry) and brownies with white chocolate ice cream for dessert.

Though there were some personalities I could have done without - I had a surprisingly good time. Conversation tended to focus around travels since so many in the room were from other countries...Australia, Sweden, Cyprus, Italy - to name a few. It was a long night - but full of laughter and I have no doubt I'll be giving supper clubs another try down the line...

Lambing Season

As you ride the train into Wales, you are struck by the gorgeous countryside. If you're (un)lucky enough to be traveling during sunrise you get a special treat to see the mists rising over the rolling hills with a gorgeous old castle or church thrown into the mix here and there. You're also struck by the plethora of sheep.

Now...I love sheep (the photo at top is of my slippers). So when I was informed lambing season had arrived - I admit I did swoon a bit. Added to this special time was the recent realization that one of my new clients is a sheep farmer on the side - and he shared more information than I ever wanted on the sheep herding business (yeah, I'm not in DC anymore).

I'm not too thrilled with this new knowledge. I was sad enough when, upon seeing the sheep next to the facility where I'm working (yes, they're that close) - my colleague says "mmmm...don't you just see those babies and think about roast potatoes and gravy??"....er....no, can't say I do.

Stay strong little lambs...some of you lucky ones will grow to sheep-hood.

Weekend in Zurich

Oh Switzerland - with your majestic peaks, adorable houses...and CHOCOLATE (though I recall many clocks too). Just back from a great weekend in Zurich with my friend Susie - where we explored the city on foot, boat and tram. Considering the truffles involved it's a good thing there was plenty of walking.

I arrived late Friday where Susie was lovely enough to have waited for a midnight dinner. With this view waiting for us I'm glad we went out!

The language in Zurich is primarily German - which (in my mind) didn't bode well for vegetarian food but I had 2 of the best salads yet in Europe and we went to an awesome vegetarian restaurant for dinner Saturday (Hiltl for anyone traveling to Zurich).

But back to the city - Zurich is small, but pretty. Mainly oriented around the river and large lake (pictures below). We had a great time walking through the downtown, eating brunch at Sprugli (most famous chocolate shop and had hot chocolate of course) and then a lovely boat ride around the lake. Sunday dawned bright and sunny again so we headed up Zurich mountain for lunch with a gorgeous view of the city!

A Day in The Cotswolds

I took a day tour up to the Cotswolds this weekend (Saturday) and it was lovely. It would have been lovely for no other reason than it rained all day in London and yet we had gorgeous weather only 90 minutes north west of the city - however the Cotswolds themselves were gorgeous. The Cotswolds is an area of Britain made up of adorable little villages, rolling fields and farm land and often termed "the heart of England." We first stopped in Bibury (first two pictures) for a quick walk.

We then spent some time in Bourton-on-the-Water (which was my favorite) a small village that really exemplifies what you might expect from a town in the english countryside.

Our last stop of the day was in Stratford on Avon (if you're thinking Shakespeare you get a gold star) for a tour of the museum and tea. We didn't get much time in this town and I'd definitely like to return - ideally in the summer for some theatre and additional time to walk along the water.