So much to see, so little time!

What a whirlwind that last few weeks have been! Let me back up and I'll keep it short and sweet!

After Mom and Dad left, Amanda visited. It was so much fun to get to show her around the city!! We did the big bus like we did with my parents. It was fun to see it all again! While she was here, Kyle got invited to a private screening if the new 007 movie and Amanda was so nice and watched Colston so I could go too! It was really neat because it was only for Swiss Re employees and clients. We had to dress up a little so that was fun. When we got to the theater, we were handed personal bottles of champagne and a box of goodies to take in to the movie. Many people there were dressed in tuxes and formal gowns. The movie was very good and then we went upstairs to the terrace for mingling and some more goodies with martinis and wine. It was interesting to listen to all Kyle's British coworkers talk! I couldn't understand half of what they were saying because of their accent and slang. But we had a good time. The next day, we all went to Sushi Samba, which is at the top of Heron Tower. It was fantastic!! Oh, the view wasn't bad either! ;) It was good having Amanda here and was sad when it was time for her to go.

The next weekend, we made a trip up to Scotland!! It was wonderful! Kyle and I fell in love with It, almost as much as Italy! We went to Edinburgh and stayed at a Marriott hotel just outside the city. We saw Edinburgh castle and learned about the history of our family names. It was a very neat castle. We then walked through town to do some shopping and grab a bite to eat. Along the way we found a shop full of swords and the like. Kyle had so much fun looking at it all! We then found a small cafe and had some sandwiches. We continued to walk through Edinburgh to Arthur's Seat, a dormant volcano. We climbed to the top of a nearby hill to take in all the views. Edinburgh is a very big city but it felt like an Italian village. The next day, we spent the day exploring the hotel and then headed to an aquarium, which was really neat. Colston thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the fish and sharks. Oh, I almost forgot...the breakfast at the hotel was unbelievable!! It was a traditional British breakfast with some of the best waffles we have ever had. We hope to someday return to Scotland and do more exploring!

It was then time for us to pack up and move to Zurich. Our time in London flew by and now it was time to begin the second part of our journey. We got all moved in to our ground floor apartment with a yard and then we headed off to Italy once more. Like I said, we love Italy and jumped at a chance to return. This time, we headed to Amalfi on the Amalfi Coast. It was absolutely beautiful!!! Besides for the winding roads through villages hugging the mountains, it was unbelievable! The village of Amalfi was the perfect little Italian village. There was a harbor where Colston loved to look at the boats and many piers. The village square had a fountain surrounded by a church and many shops and cafes. We had the famous Naples pizza and some Italian desserts and then spent our time shopping and just enjoying Italy. The next day, we stopped by a market and then headed back into the village square (our hotel was on the mountain, about a 15 min hike from the village). We didn't do much but take it all in and relax. It was too cold to swim but we did stick our feet in the water. Colston really wanted to swim and was not very happy when we said it was time to go. We really enjoyed our time in Amalfi, but it was time to head to Zermatt.

Zermatt was a quiet little skiing village deep in the heart of the Swiss Alps. It is only accessible by train but it is breathtaking! Since we went during the off season, much of the village was closed down. The one hotel we stayed in was opening for the first time in over a month so we were able to stay there. And it was gorgeous! It has a beautiful view of the Matterhorn and is situated up on a mountain. It was everything you would think a ski lodge would be! They gave us a suite facing the Matterhorn with two rooms and a balcony. We were able to wake up to a view of the Matterhorn!! While in Zermatt, we also just spent our time relaxing and taking in the quaint little village. It was fun and Colston really enjoyed riding the choo choo!

 Now, back to Zurich! :)

Sightseeing with Dad and Mom Davis, and Brandon

A few weeks ago, Scott, Deb, and Brandon arrived! We had so much fun seeing the city with them. They arrived while Kyle was at work, so Colston and I took them to a couple different places. We started with Leadenhall Market, the Gherkin, and then got a bite to eat. After Kyle got home, we walked to Tower Bridge and by this time it had started raining! We were soaked by the time we got home but that didn't stop us from seeing the sights. After looking at the Tower of London, we walked across Tower Bridge, and then headed to Cafe Rogue. It was getting quite chilly, so we headed back to our flat across London Bridge. It was really neat seeing these things through the eyes of Brandon. I am so glad that he came!

We decided to do something different with Mom and Dad. We bought tickets for the big, double decker sight seeing buses from the Big Bus Company, where you can "hop on and hop off" all over the city. We figured it would be a neat, and cheaper way to get around London without using the tube (the tube is fast and cheap but you miss out on seeing London). We bought our tickets and prayed for a sunny day!

The day was beautiful! We walked back to the Gherkin to take some senior pics for Brandon and then got on the bus. The tour was better than we could have asked for! It was very informative and took us right by the things we wanted to see, like the London Eye, Big Ben, Parliment, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace, where we made our first stop. Mom and Dad wanted to see the Changing of the Guard...there were so many people there!!! Nothing like with Dave and Renee and we couldn't see hardly anything. After it was over, we walked to Balls Brothers, and had lunch. I got the fish and chips...they were awesome! They were completely different than the first time I had them. I will order it again if we ever go back :).

After lunch, we walked to Harrods. That store amazes me every time I go in. I recently came across some info about Harrods. It stated that Harrods is a place that only tourists and the very, very rich shop. And that is the truth! I think the neatest part is the food area, with the different departments and rooms full of delicacies! The "boys" went down to the Wine and Cigar Room, while Mom, Colston and I went up to the craft and baby floors. Kyle, Dad, and Brandon really enjoyed tasting different whiskeys and seeing all the cigars. It was fun to see all the cute, very expensive, baby clothes from Dolce and Gabanna, Burberry, and the like. We then met on the toy floor. Colston enjoyed the toy floor! Papaw saw a horse puppet and bought it for Colston. He didn't let it go for the rest of the evening!

We hopped on the bus and rode past Paddington Station and Notting Hill, on our way to Oxford Street, to do some shopping. We stopped in little stores, and big stores all along Oxford Street. By this time, it was getting late, so we decided to eat dinner at Garfunkels. Colston entertained the entire restaurant, him and his horse puppet! We headed home after that, since we had another full day of bus tours the next day.

The next day, we got up and lesiurly made our way to the bus. We took more pictures of Brandon and had lunch down by the Tower. Then, we were off! We were on a mission to find a soccer ball for Connor's birthday, and I remembered a soccer store behind Hamelys on Regent Street. After the soccer store, we headed to Hamleys. We got Colston out of his stroller when we got there. And he had so much fun! It was neat to see the choo choos through his eyes. He picked out a toddler sized Percy the Train and Daddy just had to get it ;) Colston played with it for the next week non-stop.

We got back on the bus, and went to the horse stables to get pictures with the guards. Then, we took a river cruise back down the river. It was neat to see London from a different point of view. Mom and Dad would be taking off in the morning to go to Italy and France, so we just spent time in our flat. It was very nice!

After Italy and France, Dad, Mom and Brandon headed back here. Brandon was nice enough to babysit Friday night, so we could have a date night. Kyle took us to Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant. It was a lot of fun!

Saturday, we decided to take a day bus trip to Windsor Castle, just outside of London, Stonehenge, and Bath. It was wonderful!

We started at Windsor Castle, the Queen's residence on the weekends. It was massive and we got to see where the royal family spends their time. The flag was up, meaning that the queen was there that day!! The entire property is gorgeous and maticuously manicured. The family also has a church at the castle.

The village of Windsor is a quaint little town, with lots of little shops and cafes. I wish we would have had more time to explore but after lunch, we were off to Stonehenge.

Stonehenge is an unbelievable sight! It was freezing that day and the stones are on top of a hill in the middle of the countryside, so it was a bit chilly!

The structure itself is amazing to see. How did they move those rocks? What did they use? Why did they build it? Well, they have no idea how it was made, but they do think that it has something to do with death. They have found similar rings of logs in the woods surrounding this, meaning life, and the rocks meaning death. In the mounds surrounding the stones, they have found remains of humans, so they think the mounds are burial sites. But they really cannot say with certaninty why it was built. My theory: the people spent hours and hours and hours chiseling this structure out of a hill of rock...um, ok, I have no idea! But it was really neat to see!

After Stonehenge, we headed to Bath. It is a neat town set down in a valley. There is a beautiful river running through it and it is full of little shops and cafes. We did not have a lot of time here, but did get to see the Roman Baths, had a snack, and just walked around. It was raining by the time we got there and rained for much of the time. We tried keeping Colston dry: it worked for awhile ;) Then, it was time to head home. It was a neat day trip to spend with Mom, Dad, and Brandon! I only wish we had a little more time in each place.

Dad, Mom, and Brandon left on Sunday, so we had a nice breakfast before they had to take off. We really enjoyed having them here and are so glad they came!! And I think they enjoyed it just as much!

Daily Life

**I am so sorry for not posting more in the last few weeks. The blogger I am using and my internet connection here in London are not letting me post pictures, which really help explain the posts. I am going to write a couple of new posts and will add pictures if and when it lets me. I apologize for this, as I know the pictures make the story. Anyways, I hope you are all doing well and we miss you guys!! **

 

Life in London is definitely different than our life in the US. Everything from the size of our apartment, to the street we live on, to the food that is available is different. I'm not saying its bad or good, its just different. Here is a typical day:

 

Colston decides to wake up around 6:00 in the morning, which is much earlier than in the states. We live directly across from a grocery store so I think when they make their morning deliveries, the noise wakes him up. He then comes and watches "toons" in our bed until its time for Kyle to get ready for work. He goes in later here in the UK than he does at home, so Colston and I are awake and get to spend time with him. It has been nice to eat breakfast with him and just get an hour in the morning with Kyle! I will miss this when we return home.

 

After breakfast, Colston plays until nap time. He loves playing with his train, balls, cars, and the newest members of his toy collection, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters. We have to watch Mickey Mouse every day. He also loves to look at books. After nap time, he has a snack and begins his daily task of carrying toys from one room to another, then finding something in that room and carrying it to a new room. He does this for hours! He usually does some dancing, jumping, and singing, too. He has discovered how to climb on the furniture and is now trying to learn how to jump. We have been working on names of family and friends, counting, singing songs, learning colors, and learning body parts. He now says hello when we walk into a store, and says bye-bye, waves, and blows kisses when we leave or when Daddy goes to work. Every day, he is doing something new.

 

Kyle normally comes home for lunch, which Colston and I really enjoy. After lunch, we play, color, paint, dance, and read more books. Then, its time for nap #2. After the nap, its time for another snack and more playing, especially with his blocks (another favorite pick up and deposit in various places around the apartment :) ). Then, we get around and head to the grocery store.

 

The store is directly across from our apartment. We go every day and we usually go in the afternoon. If you go in the morning, at lunch, or between 5 and 7 PM, it is soo busy and its too hard to manage with the stroller and all those people! Here's an idea of how busy our street gets at 'quiting time'. On weekends, the street is completely quiet. The grocery is basically the only store open on Saturday and Sunday on our street. Anyways, if we need to go the drug store or doing any shopping, this is usually when we go. It has been different having to go to the grocery every day, but it has also been kind of neat changing how we do things. One difference is in their berries. They are so big and sweet! Though the store doesn't have such a big variety of products, they have what you need, and that is all. We have some new favorites that we will miss when we go home, like these apple crackers and their lemonade. 

 

Another thing that is different is their fast food. Unlike in America where it is burger and fries, here it is all fresh foods. One of the biggest fast food chains is Pret A Manger (there is one below our apartment) and they are basically on every corner. They carry only fresh made products, made in the store every day. At the end of the day, whatever is left is donated to the homeless shelters. You don't feel weighed down after eating there, so I have quite enjoyed this difference. 

 

Back to our day...we come home and make dinner. Kyle comes home, we have dinner, Colston gets a bath because he looks like this after most meals, and then Kyle plays with Colston before bed time. We also FaceTime with our families during this time. FaceTime has made the move a lot easier! I would highly recommend it for anyone that is going to be away from family and friends. After Colston goes to bed, Kyle and I relax with watching TV, playing video games, and I learned how to crochet! I only wish there was a craft store with yarn near us, but I have not found one close by.

 

Life is different here in London, but it has been so much fun! It has been a neat change and we have enjoyed seeing Kyle a little more. Kyle is learning so much and has really enjoyed learning about his company. Kyle has also picked up a few British phrases. When we come home, you will have to listen for them! ;)  We only have a week and a half left in London and then we are off to Zurich and a vacation to the Amalfi Coast in Italy and to Zermatt before he starts work in Zurich. We are very excited! The time is going quickly and it will fly by in Zurich, as we have something planned every weekend from now until we come home! Well, that is all for now! Talk to you soon! 

London Sightseeing with Mom and Dad Bauer

Hello!! Its been a while...we've been pretty busy so let's back up to our first weekend in London...

A few things we have learned about London:

London is such a wonderful city! It is big without feeling big. Could you get lost when out on a walk? Sure, but there is always a friendly Londoner just around the corner. Speaking of getting lost, very few roads and intersections are straight here. When London was built, the people paid very little attention to making roads straight or kept the size of the road consistent. So, they ended up with a maze of roads that makes it very difficult to drive, let alone them driving on the other side of the road! At every crossing area, they have painted on the road "Look Left" or "Look Right" so that you don't forget!! I think we are finally getting the hang of it (though my first instinct is to look left then right!

Most of the buildings are not over 5 stories tall, except for the few sky scrapers. Like the Swiss Re building. It is 40 stories high with a bar/restaurant on the 39th and 40th floors. You have to be somebody to get to go up (or know somebody who works at Swiss Re ;) ). Lol! No, you either have to make reservations a couple weeks in advance or know a Swiss Re employee who can get you in.

After Dave and Renee finished their two week tour of Europe, they returned to London for the weekend. It was so much fun!! Colston was so excited that they were here!! And that they brought a surprise:

Colston loves his new Ferrari hat and shirt!!

It was the first time Kyle and I really explored London, and Wow!! What a neat city full of history, architecture and big city life! We decided to take them to the Tower of London first:

Then, London Bridge:

It just happened to go up when we were about to cross!!

We walked along the river looking for something to eat and happened across a little cafe in a covered, but open, shopping area. It served French cuisine and it was wonderful! Colston saw the lemon on my plate and decided to give it a try:

It was too funny!! We walked back to our flat across London Bridge, giving us an awesome view of Tower Bridge.

The next morning, we decided that we were going to go see Big Ben, the London Eye, Parliment, West Minster Abbey, etc, which are all near eachother. We decided to walk there...wrong decision!!! It was a long walk, but we did get to see the city a little better. We saw many old buildings and walked through several gardens, all along the river. We found a red phone booth:

And saw St. Paul's Cathedral:

The first big landmark was Big Ben:

We actually got to hear him ring. It was really neat! Then, we just happened upon the Royal Stables and caught a few guards on duty:

We decided then that we were going to see Buckingham Palace the next day, so we headed up to Piccadilly Circus, where we had lunch, and saw Trafalgar Square:

 and Regent Street to do some shopping at Hamleys Toy Store:

Wow!! It was 6 floors of toys for kids of all ages. At the top was the candy store. We will have to bring Colston back!

After a few more stores, we decided to take the tube back home. Once you get the hang of it, it is actually one of the easiest, and by far the fastest ways to get around. We had dinner at a place called Fish!. It was my first fish and chips...I may try them again somewhere else to see if they are any better...

The next morning, we took the tube to Victoria to go see Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guard. Here is the Palace:

There were so many people there, and we were even a little early. We couldn't see much:

But we did get a good photo-op when the soliders were leaving the palace:

After they marched out, we headed out to the monument in front of the palace:

We had lunch and then decided to walk to Harrods (the city's largest department store) and the Science Museum. All along the way, we saw so many neat buildings and cars! (I now have a new idea for my front porch, but you all will just have to wait and see til I get back home! :) )

Monday morning came too fast! Kyle was able to get us to the top of his building before Dave and Renee had to take off (I forgot my camera...). The views were absolutely amazing!! You could see London in all directions. It was breathtaking! Here is a picture of all of us in front of Swiss Re the night before:
 

Then it was time for the good byes...I know we will be ok, its just hard in the moment when you know they are leaving and we are staying. I guess we will just have to look to the future and our next visitors in a few weeks!! Anyways, our weekend was jampacked, but it was very enjoyable! I can't wait to do some more exploring in the coming weeks!!

Our London "Flat"

 

Life as we know it is a little bit different here in London. Let me take you on a tour of our "flat," located above a sandwich shop in the City of London.

 

Here is the master bedroom:

And the view from our room. It looks out onto a fire escape and during the day, there are businesses that I can see through the windows.

Here is our bathroom. It is pretty spacious:

With a great, big tub, Colston asks for baths all throughout the day! I like how high it sits to give him baths, but when you are climbing in and out of it when your feet are wet, it becomes kind of dangerous.

They made sure we were still connected to our best friends, Trent and Katy. The sink and toilet are both made by "trent"

Here is our kitchen. It is small but functional.

I do not drink coffee, so at home we have a Keurig. Here in London, we have this:

 

I wasn't quite sure how to use it but figured it out quickly. You heat the water in the electric kettle, put the ground coffee in the bottom of the press, add the water, and press down. I think I can handle that!

 

 Another thing that is different is the washer and dryer. Here, they are the same machine. You set the washer settings and the dryer settings and push start. It doesn't dry the best, but it works!

 

Here is Colston's room. He cried and cried that first week when we would try to put him in the pack and play so we decided to put the mattress on the floor. He LOVED it!! He is now very excited to go night, night!

 

 

Here is the living/dining room. We spend most of our time in this room.

 

 

Out our window, we can see the monument built to remember the great fire of London.

 

 

And across the street is the grocery store we go to most days. It is different here in that we go every day to get our food for that day. We have found that their strawberries and raspberries are so, so good! One of Colston's new favorite words is "hapberry" (raspberry) :)

 

Speaking of Colston, he has figured out how to climb up on the couch all by himself! He's getting too big too fast!!

 

 

Though our life is different here, we are settled in and are enjoying every minute! Now, its time to go exploring!

London...Just the beginning

Hello from London!

 

Wow, what a vacation! We are ready to settle down and relax for awhile! Ready or not, it is time to begin living in London.

 

We arrived in London on a Saturday and there was a driver waiting for us when we got off the plane. It took us almost 2 hours by taxi to get to our flat but we got to see much of London on the way. Lady Gaga was in town that night and there was a festival going on, so the traffic was horrible! It was neat to see the houses change and we drove into town. From the suburbs...

 

 

 to city living, it was neat to see both sides of London. 

 

 

Along the way we saw many things, like the infamous red phone booths:

 

 

to Big Ben:

 

 

 and the London Eye:

 

 

 We cannot wait to go exploring!! That first evening, we decided to walk to Kyle's building to see it up close and personal. Very close to the Gherkin (where Kyle will work), we passed this pub:

 

 

I thought is was very fitting to be near 2 very large insurance companies. Then, we looked up...

 

 

It was unbelievable!!! There it was!!

 

 

It is very neat to stand up close and look up. Kyle was super excited to get inside and see where he would be working but not for another day. Colston loved it!!

 

 

This look says it all, "Wow, Mommy!" 

 

 

The Gherkin is awesome! Hopefully, we can go to the top floor one of these days!! :) We haven't seen much, but know that this will be a very memorable experience!!

Rome and Vatican City

Rome...what a city!! It is so full of history and people and beautiful buildings and old ruins. There are so many things to do and see. It was quite an experience!!

We started our tour of Rome by going to Vatican City. Here is Saint Peter's Basilica.

 

There we took a guided tour through the Vatican Museum and saw many of the famous statues, including this famous one...

 

 

Everywhere we looked, there were beautiful paintings and sculptures. And this was all before we went into the Sistine Chapel.

Nobody is allowed to take pictures, or talk, for that matter in the Sistine Chapel. I listened and didn't take any pictures in there, even though I really wanted to.

After our tour of the Vatican we headed to the Colosseum. Wow!! Its hard to believe so many people were publicly killed inside.

 

 

We stayed in the Boutique Hotel Trevi, just steps from the Trevi Fountain. It is a happening place! No cars were allowed down our street and there were cafes and shops all along the street.

 

 

Everything was huge in Rome!! All of the buildings and statues and fountains and monuments were just ginormous. People looked like little ants next to them. Here is the Pantheon. It was absolutely beautiful inside. Inside, it is actually a round room with a dome for a roof that has a large round opening in the top.

 

We walked all over Rome and came across Roman ruins. It was neat to see what the city looked like before the other buildings.

 

 

And then, just around the corner, it is more modern and updated. Rome really is a neat city!

 

 

We stopped and saw the museum with the tomb of the unknown soldier outside. If you sit on these steps, you get in trouble...

 

 

After our 2 days of touring Rome, we ended up at the Spanish Steps. You can drink the water just about from anywhere in Rome, including from the fountains! And, boy was it good! :)

 

 

We had dinner at a small cafe near the Spanish Steps. In the morning, we would be heading back to London, so Dave and Renee got in some lovin!

 

 

He was such a trooper for our entire 'holiday'. We just love him so much!!

 

 

Before we left for the airport, we had one last thing to do. Legend has it that if you stand with your back to the Trevi Fountain and throw in a coin, you will return to Rome. All 3 of us threw in a coin. Rome, we will be back ;)

 

London, here we come!!