Metal Meredith

Transit and Bearings

Phil and I can honestly say that after arriving to London, going through the airport, riding the tube and walking around in Notting Hill, that people all mainly look the same. Of course, there is a ridiculous amount of diversity from the plain, white faces we see in Virginia.

Our funs started when we realized that a half hour into the car ride to the airport, we had forgotten our coats. We stopped in Fredericksburg and bought Phil a sweatshirt at Old Navy. I was unlucky and decided I could bear it until we had time to shop (besides, I would get a ‘London Coat” and in “Hey, where did you get that coat?” “Oh, I bought it in London”)

The flight was largely uneventful. We opted to upgrade to “Economy Plus” from Economy. It was like going from a sardine can to a tuna can, just a tad more wiggle room. In truth, it was enough to keep us both happy for the 6 hour flight.

I got to go to the international flight check in for the first time ever, hand over my newly minted passport, and take my luggage through customs. I was unable to look at the plane before we boarded. Not because I couldn’t see it but because I am still under the impression that something with 2 levels shouldn’t be able to fly. My fears were peaking as we boarded and I immediately saw the stairs to first class.

The plane wasn’t full, so we were able to stretch out. We couldn’t decide if the flight attendants, who were mostly male, were all gay or just British. Isn’t that sad? Phil and I have been playing “Gay or just British” most of the morning for the fun of it. Our plane landed at 6am on Thursday morning with both of us having combined sleep of maybe 3 hours.

The first thing we did was go to the restroom (toilets, as the sign said). I giggled as I realized how different they look and in a state of utter exhaustion, contemplated taking a picture for memory sake. (But, I didn’t). We found our way to the Underground and rode with the daily commuters the 50 minutes to Bayswater Station. I have only ever been on the DC Metro, so this was actually like a real subway and I am feeling worldly.

We walked out of our station and realized that studying Google Maps paid off when we made a few turns and found our hotel with little problem. We arrived at 730am and much to our delight, relief and amazement, they let us have our room. The hotel is a maze of corridors and elevators (lifts, to the residences) that lead to this little teeny studio all dressed up in fancy contemporary décor.

We have a lovely view of Prince’s Square outside our window. There is a garden and trees and birds. It is wonderful.

Since we arrived, it has been sunny and then rainy every hour. We took showers, took a brief nap and went to the local shopping district where much to my delight….there was a MALL!!!! I was so happy to not have to walk around in rain and cold that I immediately went in and found my “London Coat”. I look very chic now and totally blend in with the locals. We had lunch at a sushi place with one of those cool conveyor belts (something else to cross of the lists of ‘things I have always wanted to do’.) Then we went and got some coffee and perused a local grocery-type store called Marks & Spencer. Everything was only their brand. Phil bought some beer and candy and we got some goodies and chips for later.

Now we are in the room for a bit waiting for another rainstorm to blow over. Then out to walk this area again before dinner.

I am putting up photos in the gallery under “London/Amsterdam 2006”. Please take a few minutes to see where we are. More photos to come, promise!

Time to Fly

It is a long running joke in my family that when you get a phone call from my sister ‘just to say that she loves you’, she probably had a dream that you died. We have all received this call more than once. I am not going to do that here, nor will I be calling people one by one to say good-bye. However, I feel the need to publicly thank both sets of our parents for bankrolling much of this trip.

Today, Phil and I are taking our first vacation since Vivienne was born. We are going to London and Amsterdam for a week. This is my first trip outside the US and I am a little nervous of what I might find. So much so, in fact, that I probably won’t snap out of this until we are comfortably in our hotel tomorrow morning.

Vivienne is preparing for a overstimulated, week-long adventure with grandmothers and cousins. I am sure we will return to a virtual hellion as a result of all of the spoiling, as is the ultimate right of grandparents.

I have also decided that being without my computer for a week would be like cutting off one of my arms. So into the carry-on it goes. Updates are sure to come, although I am not sure how often. This will also allow me to upload photos and share them sooner rather than the bombardment that would happen afterwards.

Feel free to comment or email me if you have any good recommendations of places to visit or eat while we are there!

Poor Poor Phil

Phil is looking for a new car. Not ‘new’ like new car smell and seats yet untainted by anyone’s butt cheeks, but ‘New to Him”. It isn’t to the point where a new car is necessary, but we really would be spoiled by having two cars that we both can drive and all 3 family members can ride in.

About a month ago, I told Phil that we should go ahead and look for a more reliable car than this one:

The truck has been good to us. It was a $1000 purchase that has far outlasted my lifespan prediction. Phil bought it to haul motorcycles like this one:

If nothing else, it was fun having everyone in town knowing Phil and his Nacho Cheese Truck. In fact, there have been many times that I can pick him out in a parking lot with no problems, tell someone exactly where to find us by looking for his car and Vivienne to watch for the “yellow truck’ to know when Daddy is home.

However, the truck leaks, the windshield wipers are working intermittently, the heat gave up a while ago and I am still unsure if it has a radio. So Phil and I started the great $1500 car search. He came up with a list of things he deemed important after checking out a few ads. He wanted something that was ‘kind of nice’ on the inside and I wanted something safe. Somewhere between then and now, my requirements stayed the same and Phil’s changed to be ‘something that has BMW on it’.

Now the price tag has increased from $1500 to $2500. The “reliable, safe car with a nice interior’ has morphed into ‘anything BMW (or something fun to drive.)”

If you happen to have a BMW sitting around without a home, please contact my poor husband who is in dire need of some manliness in the form of sexy Bavarian engineering.

PS. What we are trying to avoid is something like this:

Thanks Phil

Phil took the time out of his busy work schedule to upgrade my site and make some changes. Over the next few weeks, I will be adding photos to the new gallery, wokring out some bugs and playing with new features. Feel free to do the same.

Is my husband grand?