LONDON!

We returned earlier this week from an exciting weekend in London!  We had beautiful sunny skies to enjoy this fabulous city.  The main purpose of our trip was to go to the NFL International Game at Wembley Stadium which was featuring the one and only....Chicago Bears!

We arrived Saturday morning and met up with one of Tom's friends who works for CH Robinson in Europe.  We decided it was only right to grab a proper British lunch of fish and chips at a pub and wash it down with a pint!  After lunch we were off to Trafalgar Square to attend the NFL Fan Rally.  On our walk to the square we wandered through Buckingham Palace where we saw Chicago Bear defensive lineman, Anthony Adams, doing a television interview.  In typical me style,  I ran up to him and told him how excited we were to watch him play on Sunday.  I asked the guy interviewing him to take my picture with him.  I think Tom was partially embarassed and partially amazed.  I thought it was a cool photo opp but didn't think much more about it til we started getting emails from friends.  Apparently they were still filming during my photo opp and Anthony and I were on Comcast Sports Net on TV in Chicago.  Pretty funny! 

The fan rally was a fun time and Tom got to see some of his favorite 1985 Super Bowl Bears players being interviewed.  After the rally we met up with some friends from Chicago who happen to be expats in London right now.  It was great catching up with them and sharing typical expat experiences. 

After breakfast on Sunday we made our way to Wembley Stadium for the big game.  They hosted a large tailgate outside the stadium the entire afternoon leading up to the game.  It was great fun!  We enjoyed meeting people and talking to the many Chicago fans that had travelled from the states for the game.  We headed into the stadium for the game.  We lucked out with GREAT seats!  We were sitting in the section with all of the Bears fans and had an amazing view.  We were sitting behind Lovie Smith's wife and son...it was pretty cool!  The Bears played a solid game and took the lead in the first half.  Tampa Bay started catching up in the second half making Tom a bit nervous, but in the end the Bears WON!  The crowd at the game was a bit quieter than we are used to, so Tom was definitely one of the louder ones there.  : )  We went out after the game to celebrate the win!

We spent our final day in London, Monday, taking in the sites.  We started the morning watching the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace (sadly we did not have a queen sighting).  From there, we took the big red tour bus all around the city to take in the sights.  We tried heading to the Ritz for afternoon tea but apparently you need to make reservations 3-4 months in advance.  Good to know for next time!  We spent the late afternoon walking around Regent Street and headed to a final farewell dinner before heading back to Warsaw Tuesday morning.  We had a wonderful time in London and are already talking about trying to head to next year's NFL game.

Buckingham Palace

Anthony Adams #95

Fan Rally!

Waiting in security lines...

Olympic Coutndown Clock

Arriving at Wembley

Charlie's buddy was working security

Bears Flag going around the stadium

The game was technically a home game for Tampa Bay so everyone got a free flag...not cool

Tom and Ben living it up!

Changing of the Guards...a little hard to see things with all the crowds

Riding the Tour Bus

Changing of the Guards

Big Ben and the Parliament

Tower Bridge

Tower of London

The London Eye

We're Off....

We're off  to see......

Hey, a girl can dream....right?  I think the Duke and Duchess might be a bit to busy to see us while we are in London.  So, instead we will be cheering on our most favorite team at Wembley Stadium! Can't wait to tell you about it when we return.

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #16

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #16: Apple Season

Poland is a country known for their apples.  They produce huge quantities and more varieties than you could imagine.  In fact, Poland exports a large number of these apples.  And, Tom gets to help export them in his role at work. 

We are now officially in "Apple Season" in Warsaw and it is fantastic!  When I go to the market there are at least 15 different kinds of apples at every stall for sale.  Since, of course, all of the apple names are in Polish I asked my Polish friends for recommendations on the best ones.  They steered me in the right direction and now we are regularly buying Ligos apples.  They are fantastic - almost like a cross between a honeycrisp and a granny smith.  Yum!  Even Charlie loves eating cut up apple pieces.  With all of these apples I am tempted to bake an apple pie...we will see.  In the meantime, we are enjoying them straight from the market!

Thought Provoking Denim

My insides were buzzing with excitment when I got a text message from a friend in Warsaw.  Six simple words that made me giddy like a school girl .... "The GAP is opening in Warsaw!"  And, even better it wasn't happening six months or a year from now, but it was happening next week.  "Dzien Dobry, GAP!", I thought to myself.  Now it might sound awfully silly to you that I was so so excited over the impending opening.  But living in a place where all of the stores and fashions are different and a bit more provacative than in the states....A women could not be happier to know that she can get a basic t-shirt and pair of jeans that fits if she wants to!  It's not as though I am a huge shopper in Warsaw (especially with the super trendy clothing that isn't exactly my taste) but its all about the comfort.  The comfort of knowing that I can easily get something that is familiar to me.   The comfort of knowing that I can go into a store and most likely find something that I like.  Tom got home from work later that evening and I shared my good news with him.  Being a typical guy, he didn't share the same excitement that I had but was happy that I was happy. 

A few days later I was walking Charlie by the new Starbucks in our neighborhood.  And, suddenly my excitement about the GAP's Polish arrival fizzled.  Did I really want American chain after American chain everywhere around me in Warsaw?  I was living in Warsaw and surviving just fine without my GAP jeans and Pumpkin Spice Lattes in the first place.  And then it really hit me the thing I love most about living in Warsaw is that it is different  - full of different people, a different culture, different markets, different stores, different buildings, a different way of celebrating holidays and more. It is experiencing all of these differences that makes living abroad so cool and exciting.  And the arrival of Starbucks and the GAP is eliminating these differences.

I understand that Warsaw is a booming and growing city and that with that development comes a certain amount of Westernization.  But, at the same time I hope that through this change Warsaw can still hold on to its character and individuality. 

So, How do I feel about the GAP's arrival in Poland?  Yako Tako, which in Polish means so-so.  It'll be a nice to have it when I need it, but I am hoping that this is the one and only GAP that will arrive in Warsaw!

(On a side note, for all those wondering - Starbucks does not carry Pumpkin Spice Lattes in Poland.  Pumpkin is a flavored used in fall cooking here but it is traditionall more of a savory flavor than a sweet flavor.  You have to remember that the Poles have no concept of Pumpkin pie since they do not celebrate Thanksgiving!  So, I'll just have to get my pumpkin latte fix in the states in Decmeber!)