Movie and Theater

Dirty Dancing

SHREK
The Musical

As the weekend approaches, thoughts of exploration and entertainment come into view.  I did not expect to see such a strong American influence in live productions and yet plays such as "Dirty Dancing, "Shrek", "The Lion King", and "Michael Jackson's Thriller" are all currently showing.  "Mamma Mia" was written by a British playwright while the classic "Les Miserables" claims a French origin.  Presently, the box office also offers tickets to "Wicked", "Billy Elliot", "Betty Blue Eyes", "Legally Blonde", and "Phantom of the Opera".

The Lion King

Michael Jackson's
THRILLER Live

Mamma Mia

Les Miserables

Box Office

It's not surprising that movies often arrive from America, however, what may be surprising is that it takes nearly 2 months to make the journey across the pond.  "True Grit" for example, is "coming soon" to British theaters, but was showing in the States at Christmas (2010).

Kevin and I have not been to a live production here in England, but we have been to a couple of movies.  Our first movie was "The Mechanic" with Jason Statham, an action packed "shoot-em-up" movie.  The other movie was "The King's Speech", a movie about King George VI.  The second movie was particularly fun to watch here in England with references to familiar locations and, as a speech pathologist, interesting techniques for treating stuttering.  Lately, I must admit that I've been captivated by the BBC production of "Planet Earth" (nearly 11 hours of video footage and documentary of life on earth).  Polar bears, birds of paradise, elephants, and humpback whales along with buttered popcorn, my husband, and comfy red couches seems like a wonderful weekend, don't you think?

City break (aka "weekend getaway")

Salisbury is a small town in south England.  With Stonehenge about 20 minutes away and home to a 13th Century Gothic Cathedral, this seemed like a great place for a weekend getaway.  We arrived in this quaint town and immediately made our way toward tourist information where we bought our tickets to see the sites.  Considering it was 11:30am and the scones and clotted cream from breakfast had long since vanished, we began the search for food.  May it be known to all who were unaware, if you'd like to eat before 12pm, you're choices will be McDonalds, Burger King, or another scone.

Guess where we ate??!!

After we satisfied our appetites, we wandered through the local market.

Fudge and nuts

Fresh produce

Olives, Feta, and tomatoes
I wish I could capture the smell.
It was wonderful!

I was momentarily reminded of the
Public Market in Seattle
I won't mention the smell...

I was surprised by all that could be found in those tents!  Anything from fresh produce and fish to clothing and games.  We didn't, however, spend a lot of time perusing as we needed to make our way to Stonehenge.

Stonehenge, according to wikipedia, is a stone monument thought to be erected in several phases with the earliest phase in 3100 BC and the final phase (including the transport of 50 ton rocks 25 miles) around 2600 BC.  Its carefully placed stones mark the shortest and longest days of the year.  Sun shining through the columns marks each passing month.  Despite the hesitancy of the British to identify this as a place of secular worship, much evidence supports this conclusion.

burial mound

"heel" stone - sunrise can
be viewed from over this stone
during summer solstice

Our tour transported us from the 50 ton rocks arranged in a horseshoe to a 6500 ton spire tilted ever so slightly to the southwest.  Yes, the 404 foot spire on top of the Salisbury Cathedral weights 6500 tons and is leaning 30 inches.  It was because of this cathedral that Salisbury was not bombed during World War II as the German pilots used it as a marker to orient themselves.  Believe it or not, this cathedral was built in 38 years and has a foundation of only 5-6 feet.

Mary and the baby Jesus
carved above the door

Courtyard

The cathedral also houses an original copy of the Magna Carta.  It was neat to see a part of not only English history, but American history as well.  I must admit that after all of the exploring and learning, I was quite tired.  It was nice to rest in a wonderful B&B and be treated to a full English breakfast.

Fried egg, tomato, mushrooms,
ham, and sausage!!

Directives and Warnings

aka ENTRANCE

I think the signs speak for themselves....

aka EXIT

These warnings along with the tax (24%??)
make smoking a very difficult habit to maintain.

or you might lose a nose??!!

Looking smart??!!

Is this the English equivalent of,
"No shirt, No shoes, No service"?

Webster's dictionary defines smart as "intelligent, knowledgeable, witty, or clever".  Did you know that it also defines smart as "neat, trim, stylish or elegant in dress or appearance"?!!  I was unaware of the latter of these definitions until moving to England when I was told to "dress smart" or "smart casual" for an interview.  I smiled to myself and thought, "I'll wear something nice, like a suit or something".  As my clothing had not yet arrived, I had to go shopping for "smart clothing".  I was relieved to find some direction...

smart tops

smart trousers & skirts

So, here's to us looking smart. :)

Harrods

Harrods (at least 1 city block and 6 stories!)

Many of you have heard of Harrods, the place you can buy ANYTHING.  I had heard of the store, but I didn't know what to expect.  The maze that met me at the door was overwhelming.  I am convinced the intention of the maze is to lure a naive person in only to offer escape through the purchase of an item.  I am proud to say that I exited incurring only minimal financial damage (a card for my Valentine).

Map of the maze (one floor)

Kevin and I went to Harrods again and found several high dollar items including a £2300 chess set, £7000 set of pearls, £10,000 fur coat, and (drum roll please) a $47,000 diamond studded pen.  Below you will see the pictures so you don't have to take my word.

£10,250.00

£2399.00

£7050.95

£46,750.00

This visit I was captivated by the chocolate truffles and candy.  My sweet tooth was satisfied when Kevin and I shared a delightful gelato sundae.

Chocolate truffles and other
yummy treats!

Candy

Gelato Sundae.
I really did share, I promise.

Harrods is not a place that I would regularly shop, but I am convinced you could get anything there if you have the money.  In my opinion, the experience of wandering through perusing the inventory and watching the people is, however, worth the visit.  If you're lucky, you may even get to hear "Figaro" sung by one of the pizza chefs.

Our New Home

Our house

Kevin proudly guarding
our front door.

The search for a rental property is a little different here as a real estate agent is involved in the process.  Once we found a wonderful quaint community in south west London, we stopped into several real estate offices and reviewed properties.  We'd heard that rentals turn over very quickly, so we (naively) thought 3 weeks would be enough time to find a place.  Who knew that you have to give 60 days notice when you're planning to move out?!!  We found that many places weren't available for weeks, up to 2 months.  Despite a few surprises (and frustrations), I am very excited to say that we've successfully escaped the sites and sounds of the city.  Please don't misunderstand me, being in the city was a great experience and provided incredible access to many different venues, but it's very nice to see more of the (grey) sky and green grass.  We also look forward to becoming a part of a smaller community.  Did I mention our neighbors brought us tea, coffee and cookies the day we moved in?!!

Living Room

Living Room (minus the TV, a
story for another day...)

Kitchen with the washer/dryer

Master bedroom

Bathroom 1
(shower is not shown but is
to the right of the tub)

"En suite" bathroom

View out our window!!

Our Garden

There is still more work to do to get the place in order, but we're getting there box-by-box.  I can't say enough about how thankful we are for this home.  It's a wonderful respite from the daily pressures and responsibilities outside its walls.