Wrapping Things Up

It's hard to believe it, but it's already time for us to start packing up to head back to Utah! Spencer's mom (Kaye), brother and his wife (Russ and Rachel), have been out to visit us since last Thursday, which has been really fun. It's also been a fun way for me to see all the sights one last time. Spencer's final day at Barclays is TOMORROW, and our visitors will be flying home on Saturday afternoon. We'll then whirlwind pack up and clean our flat to be ready to fly to Germany on Tuesday night. We will then spend the next 19 days visiting German Christmas markets and castles, skiing and sightseeing in Switzerland, and exploring Italy (I know, it's a rough Christmas break). We'll then be on a plane back to SLC on Tuesday, January 7th. 

Once we get home it'll be time to settle back into real life. Spencer has officially accepted a full time job as a Business Development Manager at a company called BeesPath after turning down a permanent job offer from Barclays. I know what you're all thinking, it seems crazy we would choose to leave London when we had the chance to stay!  It did take some serious back and forth talking and thinking to decide what we wanted to do. On the one hand, we have loved our once in a lifetime experiences here. We have loved the culture with the food, the sights, the accents, the endless adventures, our ward, as well as the simple things like reading the Metro newspaper on the Underground and eating Chinese food in Chinatown. Plus, there are still so many things we'd love to do. But on the other hand, our lives have felt like they were on pause the entire time we were here.  I'd like to be able to work again (anyone know of a good nursing job in Cache Valley or the Wasatch Front?), and we know we'd like to build our lives and eventually start a family closer to home. I think we'll miss London even more than we realize right now (like a lot!), but we're excited to see our friends and family, drive a car to the grocery store, and not feel like we've smoked a whole pack of cigarettes while walking down the pavement. 

There are so many things I've never blogged about, including Barcelona and my mom's trip to London. Hopefully I'll get to those at some point, at least for my own "journal" purposes, but for now here are a few more shots from  our final days in London.

Don't mind my oober attractive tennis shoes with a skirt.  I know, I'm stylish.  Comfort trumps beauty. 

In case our future children are wondering, yes, we are in charge ;)

The London Temple

The whole gang at Kensington Palace

How many hours of my life have been spent sitting at a bus stop? Far too many.

Obligatory bagpipe man picture.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...don't taste very good.

Warwick Castle at Christmas Time

St. Paul's and Millennial Bridge

Outdoor ice skating at Canary Wharf

One of my favorite parts of London has been the West End shows.  Les Miserables, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wicked,  Mamma Mia, and The Lion King.  Les Mis was definitely our favorite, but they've all been beyond fantastic!

Christmas Time in London Town

A few weeks ago, we met John and Christin Whitton, and their two kids.  John and Christin moved to London about 2 months ago from New Mexico.  We met them at church and bonded over our shared experiences of moving from the U.S. to England.  Last week Christin called and invited us to do Thanksgiving dinner with them, so we could all celebrate together since we're so far from family.  Poor Spencer had to go to work just like any other day, and I went to their "cottage" (that's what they call a two-story town house here) early in the afternoon to help with preparations.  We spent the whole afternoon making our full Thanksgiving dinner of potatoes, turkey (turkey breasts that is, we didn't cook a whole turkey, the ovens here are tiny), stuffing, rolls, salad, and pies while chatting away.  By 6, the guys got home and we ate our delicious meal and pies, then spent the evening talking. It's really bad timing that we've finally made some good friends right before we have to head home!  We're definitely going to miss them, and their two adorable kids!

So, here's something you should know about me, I LOVE Christmas. I start listening to Christmas music on November 1st, I think Black Friday is just as awesome as Thanksgiving, and I become completely giddy when I see Christmas decorations popping up.  I love the traditions, family parties, food (have you had my mom's fudge??), decorations, shopping...let's just say, I love everything about it.  So, when I saw the adverts for Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, I knew we had to check it out.  It was a-ma-zing.  They had a full Christmas market styled after the German Christmas markets, yummy food in every direction, live bands, and the most amazing fair rides I've ever seen.  It was as if they'd built Lagoon in the middle of the park over night.  We first visited the Winter Wonderland last Saturday, but we didn't have the camera.  So, we went back on Friday night to take pictures, ride the Blizzard, to further explore the market stands, and eat more dutch pancakes.

 I loved these Dutch Pancakes.  The first time we had them, I declared them to be the best food we've had in Europe.  It may have been a little bit of an over exaggeration, but they were delicious!

Hand-cut decor

Wooden toys 

It wouldn't be an English festival without Fish & Chips

They also had ice skating in the center of the Wonderland.

The "Blizzard" was about as tall as The Rocket at Lagoon and spun around like hands on a clock.  One of the highlights of the ride was dangling at the top while they loaded the people on the bottom and looking around at London lit at night.  I forgot how much I love amusement park rides! 

One of the live bands playing 70's hits

They have awesome window displays in the department stores here!

Picadilly Circus and the Eros statue.  Normally it's just a single statue, but they made it a snowglobe for the Christmas season.