The London 2012 Olympics

After seven years and numerous scare mongering newspaper articles about the lack of security, the assurance of transport chaos and the expectation of a sub-standard opening ceremony, the London Olympics have exploded into life. The opening ceremony was quintessentially British and though a lot of it may have been lost to the international audience, there were some truly inspired elements – namely Mr Bean and the Queen’s ‘parachute’ entrance. We spent most of the next two days glued to the telly, waiting for a British gold medal that was sluggish in coming.

The real highlight for us was the opportunity to go to a live Olympic event, Beach Volleyball. On a partially sunny afternoon,  it is Britain after all, we went along with our friends Oliver and Pascale to Horse Guards Parade. The organisers were truly inspired when they decided to build a 15,000 seat stadium in the middle of this historic location in central London. The atmosphere was amazing and the chance to sit in the sunshine and look over the roofs of Whitehall towards the London Eye while enjoying Olympic sport was a once in the lifetime experience.

Beach Volleyball is a sport that definitely does not take itself too seriously. There is none of this dead silence required during serves or while play is ongoing. In fact, the music blares between each point, there is synchronised clapping and all sorts of random shouts from around the stands. There is also the dancing troupe and loud cheers for the volunteers as they rake out the sand. Truly it is the Olympics mixed with a beach music festival.

Even with all the fun and frivolity happening, the players themselves are amazingly talented and truly athletic. Though many people say volleyball is all about the skimpy bikinis and ripped guys, the players are elite athletes and the quality of play was clearly evident – especially with the Brazilian teams.

It was certainly a massive difference from our efforts on North Avenue beach back in Chicago all those years ago! We saw two men’s and two women’s matches and all were very exciting as we saw the world champion women’s Brazilian team, the epically named ‘the Wall’ from the Brazilian men’s team and a fairly overmatched, but extremely well-supported, British men’s team.

It was a fabulous afternoon and we are so happy to have gotten the one set of tickets that we most wanted for this ‘home’ Olympics. It is certainly something that we will never forget.

A few photos from our amazing day out... please forgive the cheesy music

Battle Proms at Hatfield House

Every year there are a series of outdoor picnic music events around the country known as Battle Proms.   The events are an opportunity for people to get out and enjoy the summer weather, good company, great music and beautiful fireworks and other displays.

As the name suggests it has a military feel with air displays, cavalry shows and patriotic music. This year was a celebration of 200 years since Napoleon retreated from Russia in 1812, so Tchaikovsky's famous 1812 Overture was featured proudly.

Our friends Amy and Elliott discovered the event taking place at nearby Hatfield House where they were married and invited us to come along.  Hatfield House is a beautiful historic estate, known best as the location where Queen Elizabeth I ascended to the throne in 1588.

Last night heralded the first of true summer weather, so it was a perfect evening spent with good friends.

Here are a few photos and videos of the event.  Conrad in particular may enjoy the videos of the Blades Aerobatic Display Team and Spitfire flyover.

Thanks again Amy and Elliott for a great evening together!

Our Attempt to Enjoy "Sunny Intervals"

The weather forecast was one of those with a white cloud and a sun peaking out from behind.  We optimistically thought we could get a July day out in the sunny countryside.  Sunny it was, for about 20 minutes.  And then the clouds moved in, but thankfully no rain.

So we made the most of it and cycled to one of our favourite spots in the middle of a field and had a picnic.  To get there and back you have to cycle down a tiny track - in recent years it has been rapeseed and this year it was a variety of wheat.

As the clouds got darker we took our leave and headed to the local berry patch.

One positive that has come from the last few months of rain are the fabulous strawberries and raspberries of all varieties growing in mass at this local pick your own.

We went a bit overboard with our picking and will now be eating berries for the rest of the week, but I think you will agree from the photos below that they were just too good to pass up!

A Week on the Isle of Skye

Skye, an island just off the west coast of Scotland, is home to several large peninsulas, striking mountains and gravity defying sea cliffs. It also has many tiny little fishing ports, hairy cows, curious sheep and its own award winning distillery. It is sparse and mystical and has quickly become our favourite place in Britain.

A week on the Isle of Skye is best encapsulated by the popular interpretation of its very name, the Misty Isle.  Though Skye attracts every type of weather imaginable in short periods of time, often low hanging clouds or fog, it is also a place of indescribable majestic beauty and solitude.

Driving from London to Scotland is an experience of ever greater natural wonders as you leave the fairly flat and drab M1/M6 corridor to Birmingham and on past Manchester and Liverpool. Only once you clear Preston and enter Cumbria does the landscape begin to inspire, with far-reaching views and the Yorkshire Dales vying for visual space. The landscape changes yet again after Glasgow when you reach the Loch Lomond area. Driving through the forested shores of this large loch is magical, especially when a Roe Deer hops across the road mere metres in front of you!

The further north and west you push, the rougher the terrain becomes until you start the ‘Road to the Isles’, the only road to Skye and the main ferries to the Outer Hebrides which lay off the west coast of Skye. This road skirts below and around some of the highest Munro peaks in Scotland (Munros are peaks that measure more than 800 metres and there are approximately 280 in Scotland, with 12 of those on Skye itself).

Once onto the Isle of Skye the terrain remains dramatic and becomes even more awe-inspiring.  As the road curves around lochs, crosses tiny river bridges and zigs and zags around The Cuillin, the light casts different colours on the far-reaching landscapes and the beauty of the island starts to take hold and make an everlasting impression.

Spending a week on Skye afforded us the chance to see and experience much of what the island has to offer.  From wintery walks through magnificent landscapes to time spent relaxing by the fire looking out across the bay, we have taken advantage of as much as the island has to offer at this time of year.  We’ll be back some day to experience the popular boat tours, get sight of some water wildlife and enjoy some true Scottish music and whiskey in a local bothy, but for now we’re really happy with these beautiful memories:

The Search for Mountain Fairies: Our favourite hike was without a doubt the Fairy Pools walk in the shadow of the Cuillins. This walk had everything we were looking for: proximity to mountains, amazing waterfalls and blue water pools, crazy weather and physicality of fording streams. Walking right up to the base of these mountains to the sound of rushing water was truly stunning. Added to the scene were two hailstorms and one extensive whiteout snowstorm which changed the landscape almost instantly and made the whole walk even more memorable.

Rocky Ridge Walk: Another favourite walk was through the Quirang, an area towards the northern end of the Trotternish Ridge which slopes up from west to east and then drops off quite sharply near the eastern coast. The Quirang contains all sorts of rocky outcroppings with the two most famous being the Prison and the Needle. The area was a well used haven for cattle and sheep herders trying to protect their flocks from raiders and after walking in along the treacherous path, it was not hard to understand the level of protection the craggy slopes offered.  As we walked the vibrant green landscape changed to a magical golden glow as the sun descended behind the peaks offering a completely different scene.

A Taste of the ‘King of Drinks’: Skye’s most well known export is undoubtedly Talisker – the only Scotch produced on Skye. There are undoubtedly other scotches made on the island, but Talisker is the only one sold to the public. The distillery stands on land in Carbost that was once part of the Talisker Estate, historically owned by the second son of the ruling chiefs of the MacLeod clan who controlled Skye for centuries. We hoped to have a tour of the place, but unfortunately we were there during their annual three week shutdown when they undertake necessary maintenance work. Nevertheless, we went through a nice little exhibit and chatted with a lovely man who told us all about the scotch production and gave us some nice little tips.  One tip we amateur drinkers took away: put a ‘wee drop of water’ into your glass to help release the flavour – doesn’t always make a positive difference but it may with something like Talisker.  It was a lovely place to visit and the free dram helped warm us up on a very cold, wet and windy day!

Taking Home a Piece of Skye: Nestled in the tiny little village of Edinbane is the eponymous pottery workshop and store, Edinbane Pottery. This is the epitome of a working pottery shop, with hodge podge shelves displaying colourful plates, teapots and salt pigs (a traditional Scottish urn for storing salt). One of the owners was working the wheel while we were there and we saw him bash out a quick bowl and a wine chiller – very impressive how quickly a lump of clay can be formed into something!  Each set had a different design, all influenced by the dramatic colours and landscapes of Skye.  Our favourite was Ebb and Flow, inspired by the island’s "deep pools, river flows, rolling landscapes and night skies".

Other Sweet Memories: There were dozens of other little experiences that we will cherish.  Walking to the ‘tropical’ Coral beaches in a gorgeous afternoon sun before being bombarded by a passing hailstorm and ducking into a makeshift cave five minutes later for cover... Passing a viewpoint on the way to Skye with no cars or people, except for an ever hopeful lonely busking kilted bagpiper... Seeing Guinness nonchalantly jump a stream that we took us five minutes to cross without getting too wet... Meeting some hairy cows and friendly sheep... the list goes on.

Home Sweet Home: One of our favourite moments was driving around the corner and seeing the view from our lovely ‘Seascape’ home away from home. We knew it had a view over the western coast of Skye, but the pictures online hadn’t really shown how extensive it was so the vista took us by surprise. We immediately jumped out and grabbed the cameras to take in the sunset and spectacular scenery. We sat in the two armchairs looking out across Fiscavaig Bay for every breakfast, quite a few cups of tea and most of the two afternoons where the rain and gale force winds kept us inside. The view changed constantly, but always managed to keep our attention.

Thank you Skye for a magical week. It has been a balm for our souls after some hard months and all three of us have truly loved our time on this enchanting island.

More photos soon... stay tuned

A Snowy Sunday in the Park

After a fairly drab winter, snow flurries finally started falling last night around 6pm. By the time we went to bed there were 2 or 3 inches so we set the alarm to ensure an early snowy morning wake-up. It wasn't sunny, but there were at least 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground and we had two hyper active labradors - so to the park!

We wandered around the park, threw snowballs for the dogs and generally soaked up the atmosphere. It being a Sunday, half of St Albans seemed to be in the park, many of them attached to plastic sledges.

Feeling like we had to do more to enjoy the snowy winter weather, we decided to build a snowman.  This endeavour soon became greater as we added a companion and then a little doggy friend.

Our little snowy replicas garnered quite a lot of attention, with one lady saying seeing them had made her Sunday morning! It may have been hyperbole, but it was a lovely compliment to get. Guinness wasn't so sure his replica really suited however!

Can you still spot our snow family?

We were very glad to have our snow fix and intend to take advantage as much as possible over the coming days before it all disappears again.

Recipe :: British Gammon in Coca-Cola

We enjoyed a slightly adapted version of Nigella Lawson's ham in Coca-Cola recipe for New Year's Eve this year. Despite our love for coke and the number of recipes out there using it as a key ingredient this was the first time we cooked with it. We made a few tweaks here and there - to accommodate for lack of ingredients and to incorporate other ideas we and our good friends had - and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

2kg British gammon joint

1 red onion, peeled and cut in half

2-litre bottle of regular Coca-Cola

Handful of cloves

About 4 tablespoons grainy dijon mustard

A couple of tablespoons of brown sugar

A couple of tablespoons of Spanish honey

Nigella's Instructions with a few tweaks:

Put the ham in a pan covered with cold water, bring to the boil, then tip into a colander in the sink and start from here; otherwise, put the gammon in a pan, skin-side down if it fits like that, add the onion, then pour over the Coke.

Bring to the boil, reduce to a good simmer, put the lid on loosely and cook for just under 2½ hours. If your joint is larger or smaller, work out timing by reckoning on an hour per kilo, remembering that it's going to get a quick blast in the oven later. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 240°C/gas mark 9.

At the end of the specified time, let the ham cool a bit and then remove the skin, leaving a thin layer of fat. Score the fat with a sharp knife to make fairly large diamond shapes, and stud each diamond with a clove. Then spread the glaze you made with the honey, sugar and mustard all over the ham generously. Cook in a foil-lined roasting tin for approximately 10 minutes or until the glaze is burnished and bubbly.

A perfect holiday meal or something for a rainy day! Best served with roasted vegetables and brussels sprouts. Fois gras, home made fig jelly and home made bread as a starter go really well too! Thanks to our good friends for a fabulous evening!

We were so busy cooking and enjoying ourselves we completely forgot to take a picture!

Recipe :: Rosemary Lamb and Potatoes

Perfect meal for a holiday or cold winter day from BBC Good Food...

Main Ingredients:

2½ kg leg of lamb

6 slices Parma ham

4 garlic cloves

lemon , zested - we adapted this and used orange instead which was really good

2 sprigs rosemary - we used more than the original amount

25g butter , softened

2kg maris piper potatoes , peeled and cut into 1cm slices

500 ml vegetable stock

Gravy Ingredients:

25g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

4 small red onions , peeled and sliced

1 tbsp plain flour

250ml red wine or port

600ml lamb or beef stock

1 tbsp redcurrants jelly - we used blueberries instead as didn't have any of this

Instructions:

Heat the oven to 230C/fan 210C/gas 8. Start by making deep incisions all over the meaty side of the leg of lamb using a small knife. Whizz the Parma ham, garlic, lemon zest and half of the rosemary in a food processor. Season with pepper and using your fingers, push the mixture into the incisions in the lamb. Pull the rest of the rosemary into sprigs and push a sprig into each incision. Spread the butter over the surface of the meat and season well.

Season the potatoes, arrange in a roasting tin and pour the stock around. Put the lamb on top and roast for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and continue to cook for a further 1 hour and 15 minutes.

While the lamb is cooking, make the gravy. Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan, add the onions and cook until golden brown. Add the flour and cook for a further 30 seconds. Pour in the red wine, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Add the stock, redcurrant jelly and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Season and serve with the lamb and potatoes and enjoy!

A Winter Escape to the Beach :: Camber Sands

Seeking a last minute escape and a way of using some free train tickets, we sought out a beach escape on the South Coast. We had no real idea of where we wanted to go, simply that it should be walking distance to the beach and accept a dog - obviously!

As of Boxing Day we had not found anything, but at about 6pm we found 'The Warrens' - a lovely little beach themed house in the village of Camber, near Rye. We phoned the owners, who were thoroughly enjoying their Boxing Day meal - and explained we were looking for a last minute getaway. They were happy to let us have the whole four bedroom house for a very good deal starting the next morning. As you can see - it was a lovely little hideaway.

Camber Sands is a 2.5 mile long and half a mile wide (at low tide) sandy beach with a long stretch of dunes as well. It is quite a busy place in the summer, but the last week of December is pretty empty - mostly populated by just dog walkers and windsurfers.

The solitude was exactly what we wanted in order to have some good quality beach time with Guinness. Besides the extreme wind, which caused some serious ear flapping, he was extremely excited to run, swim and chase his toys on the beach.

He particularly enjoyed playing in the dunes - see video at the end of this post for some live action!

Even though we were only down in Camber for two days it was very peaceful and a lovely way to get away from it all.

Here are a few videos of our excursions on the beach and in the dunes, enjoy!

For more videos of Guinness check out our shared folder on dropbox - drop us an email if you didn't get the link

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

In 2003 we lived in a beautiful flat in Chicago that had a perfect little corner for a lovely Christmas tree.

In 2004 we moved to the UK and made the executive decision to leave all of our Christmas decorations at home as we just wouldn't have the storage space (albeit it was only two small boxes worth). We rightly guessed that we may be missing more than just storage space...

2004 came and went and our little flat in Chiswick didn't have a perfect little corner for a lovely Christmas tree.

2005 and 2006 came and went and our little cottage in Waterbeach didn't have a perfect little corner for a lovely Christmas tree, or any space for much at all for that matter...

2007, 2008 and 2009 came and went and our little cottage on Blacksmiths Lane didn't have a perfect little corner for a lovely Christmas tree, at least not one where a wagging tail wouldn't knock off all of the ornaments or perhaps even the tree itself.

(are you sensing a theme here yet?)

2010 came and went and our little cottage on Albert Street didn't seem to have a perfect little corner for a lovely Christmas tree.

2011 came.... and alas, we found a lovely little corner (or spot in the middle of the room) after all for a lovely little Christmas tree!

So after eight years of waiting for the opportunity to once again have a little tree with twinkly lights and dangling ornaments, we finally have one! It's a gorgeous little narrow 'European' tree with just enough density and scent to give the room a festive cheer.

Wishing you all the best in this festive time of year!

A City of Spires, Stars and Raspberries :: Krakow

Taking advantage of Cora having a work conference there, we fulfilled a long time wish to visit Krakow in September. Krakow is a very compact city that you can easily explore by foot. The weather was glorious, so as we discovered different parts of the city we also took advantage of the many outdoor cafes in the Polish sunshine.

Krakow’s historic centre is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Main Market Square, the castle on Wawel Hill and old Jewish district of Kazimierz are filled with little lanes and random, alluring sites. We settled into our little bed and breakfast near the centre, and were politely greeted in Polish. This ended up being a regular occurrence, as many saw our Polish/Ukrainian surname and assumed we were Polish.

Having had a really busy few weeks leading up to this short visit, we didn’t venture far off the beaten path and stuck to many of the main sites. We discovered the castle and its surroundings, some of the old synagogues and Jewish Cemetery and generally enjoyed the sights, sounds and food of Krakow.

We had a great time the first night with some of Cora’s colleagues from the conference as we found ourselves in a random little bar with Singer sewing machines dotted all over the place and deep red toned antique decorations. The place was packed but people were still dancing to the most eclectic mix of music we had ever heard. They played reggae and Spanish, pop and rock and some quite upbeat Gypsy music. At one point it even sounded like they were playing Fiddler on the Roof! It was close to 4am before we wandered home having had a great night out!

On one day we wandered across the river to the old industrial district and found the old Schindler Factory, which now houses a fabulous museum to Krakow during World War II. It features elements of Oscar Schindler’s story and how he saved close to 1,200 Jews by employing and shielding them from the concentration camps. But it also showed what everyday life was like and how the Poles, of all religions, coped with, and fought against the Nazi and then Soviet occupations. It was a wonderfully well put together museum that tried to show you through all your senses what life was like during that time, and we definitely recommend it to any future visitors.

If the weekend had a theme, it was probably best summed up by raspberries. Malina is the derivative for raspberries and there are lots of different foods, drinks and even a restaurant using malina in some way or the other. So we had delicious raspberry beer, raspberry biscuits and a raspberry honey sauce on the meat platter we shared at the Miod Malina restaurant. It was a really nice way to connect to an ancestral land and made us feel a little bit special each time we saw it on a label or menu.

A Trip to the Big Blue :: Lake Tahoe

After the fun, frivolity and excitement of Austin and Kay’s wedding in July, we hired a car and drove three hours east to Lake Tahoe. Both of us were craving mountains and some time surrounded by nature, and Tahoe came through in spades.

We found ourselves a quaint little studio flat over a couple’s garage and almost immediately headed down to their private dock to take in the full view of the lake. Being situated on the North Coast, we had spectacular views straight down the lake towards the Nevada-California state line. We were lucky enough to see snow capped peaks, as the Sierra Nevadas had encountered a very heavy winter, one that afforded the ski resorts to stay open until July 4th!

The scope of Lake Tahoe is quite incredible. About 22 miles long by 12 miles wide at its maximum points, it has a surface elevation of 6,225 feet making it the largest alpine lake in North America. It has an average depth of 1,000 feet, but the water is so clear and clean that you can routinely see to depths of 80 to 100 feet! Lake Tahoe holds enough water that if it were emptied out, it would cover the entire state of California to a depth of five feet. In short, Lake Tahoe is a big, deep, gorgeous clean body of water.

We spent the two full days we had driving from beauty spot to beauty spot listening to a CD that our hosts left for us by a local singer/songwriter/ski bum – Tahoe’s equivalent to Jimmy Buffet. The CD was a mixture of songs about Tahoe and spoken history, including stories of the white man’s discovery in 1844, the meaning of Washo (the original Native American name), and other local legends, myths, and tales of Lake Tahoe.

We took a couple of nice, short hikes into the peaks, including a lovely picnic lunch on a smaller lake that drains into Tahoe, as well as a sharp climb up to a great view over the entire lake – complete with our own little furry chipmunk friend. The highlight for both of us, besides maybe relaxing each evening in the hot tub overlooking the lake and rising full moon, was our kayaking trip.

After renting kayaks, we spent four hours paddling between the massive boulders and small coves on the Nevada side of the lake. Kayaking was definitely a great way to feel in tune with the lake and truly get a sense of the depth and clarity of the water. It was amazingly tranquil and was exactly what we were looking for. If we had had longer we definitely would have done it again on a different part of the lake.

We were hoping to see a bit more wildlife, but we settled with seeing a very friendly yellow lab (go figure), a curious chipmunk, a regal eagle (seen at a distance) and a ‘whale’ who you may find featuring in the slideshow below!

Experiencing Lake Tahoe was a great little getaway and we only wish we had had more time to enjoy the fantastic natural beauty of this beautiful blue giant!

Two Paths Diverge...

On the long Easter weekend we went for our first cycle ride of the year. Nothing serious, just a little jaunt with a picnic to enjoy the glorious weather. After our picnic we decided to take a random path instead of going back along the roads.

The path led through the woods to the entrance of Heartwood Forest, a mixture of existing ancient woodland and freshly planted baby trees. We cycled through the lovely wooded areas and were treated to absolute carpets of bluebells.

We didn’t have our cameras with us, so we decided to head back there the next day. So, on foot, with Guinness, we once again packed a picnic lunch and walked a 12 mile return trip up to the woods and back.

It is always nice to know that even after 4+ years of living here we can find new experiences on our doorstep. All it took was taking the path less travelled.