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I am heading home on Sunday for a little pampering by my parents and to go to Stephen and Margot’s Wedding…16 days until the big day guys!!! I am coming armed with 2 empty suitcases to stock up on US essentials…who knew the ziploc bags were just not the same in the UK and it is impossible to find a peppermint pattie in this neck of the woods…thank you Mary Stewart for my current stash–I have rationed them perfectly and have one remaining for tonight!

* John found this outside a Jaguar dealership down our street…a sign we picked the right neighborhood I think:) I am ready for some Daimler love!

Speaking of essentials…I am leaving John alone for 2 weeks so have left him with what he considers an essential….Mini Reese Cups! Of course, those don’t come easily over here and we might have paid 8 pounds for a bag (yes over $10) but for his happiness it is worth it;) *I am starting to rethink my constant use of the smiley face after watching Curb Your Enthusiasm last night…but sometimes it just feels so right…

Andrew and Jonathan are coming to keep him company so I have taught John how to work the blog so I am hoping they at least post a picture…feel free to send John email reminders that you want an update… johnjobev@gmail.com:) He also got lessons on how to work the washing machine and dishwasher so we will see how that goes! Soooo excited to see everyone! Enjoy your last few weeks of summer and have a great Labor Day!

BELGIUM IN A PICTURE:

TRIP SUMMED UP IN ONE WORD: Indulgent. Between the beers, mussels, frites, waffles and chocolate you definitely wouldn’t go hungry in this country!

THEME OF THE TRIP: “What would a Daimler do”. For those of you who don’t know… the Daimlers are not a go, go, go family. Growing up as a Daimler…I too am not a go, go, go person.. so this starts my journey of taking the “go” out of John:)  John learned on this trip a few key Daimler principles for traveling: 1) the importance of sleeping in…we had to set an alarm to make it to breakfast, 2) a leisurely pace…we didn’t leave the hotel room until 11:30am at the earliest, 3) stopping for a treat such as a pastry or a chocolate is a must 4) afternoon naps are key and 5) you always say yes to seeing the dessert menu:) After a nap one day with the windows open and a cool breeze coming in, John said “this is heavenly”…glad to see he is a quick learner!

John did have one relapse during the trip and decided to climb a bell tower with 366 steps. Being a good Daimler, I sat below and ate chocolate:)

* View from the top of the bell tower

JOHN’S FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP: Not wanting to disappoint Matt and Susan, John feels compelled to have a picture of him drinking beer.

CAROLINE’S FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP: Walking around the beautiful canals at night. We went to Bruge, Ghent and Brussels and all the cities just had a laid back vibe and the nicest people.

We had a lovely and relaxing trip which was just what we were looking for. Thanks for everyone for checking in on us with the riots. We are safe and luckily it hasn’t come to our neighborhood so fingers crossed it stays that way! Hope everyone has a good week! Special shout out to the Jobes, Donna and the O’briens down at the beach….we sure wish we were down there with you guys picking crabs!

We are heading for a long weekend to Belgium to do a little exploring around Brussels, Bruges, and Ghent. Matt and Susan joked that the next post will include John drinking a beer and me eating chocolate or a waffle…we will try not to disappoint:)

Here a few pictures from my favorite daytime hangout….Hyde Park:

*John chilling in the park–can you get more relaxed than this?

* The beautiful flower walk–I can stare at these flowers all day long!

* A view from underneath my favorite tree in the park–not sure what it is but I like this one!

We had 2 days this week where it actually hit 80 so I think that officially was our 2 days of summer. It is back down to 65 today and I have to confess there is something really nice about 65:) Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

True, we’ve only been here for LESS than 24 hours, but Caroline insists on a photo and quick shout out… As much as I love reading her blog, I regret we don’t have much entertaining news to share… However, a visit to Kensington to see Caroline and John (and their awesome new flat) has been the perfect way to end a week’s vacation in Croatia! In fact, it’s been so much fun that Chris couldn’t stand the excitement and fell asleep early.

In all seriousness though, we’ve had such a great visit in our short time together and exciting to see Caroline’s spaghetti squash baby bump! Had a great dinner at Ffiona’s where I finally learned what chicken kiev was all about and tried halloumi for the first time – look it up if you haven’t heard. Chick peas and edamame have met their match. Sad to have to fly out tomorrow afternoon, but promise to come back for a longer visit this winter if not sooner!

– Meredith (college roommate/bff/1/3 Metcalf 2nd Right)

1) I was checking out at the grocery store and asked the guy behind the counter “how are you today?”. He chuckled to himself and said “oh you must be American. They say when Americans ask you how you are they actually mean it”. I smiled and thought to myself not a bad way to be perceived!

*showing my Richmond love of course!

2) We went to Cambridge on Saturday and got into the King’s College Chapel 10 minutes before it was closing for a wedding. Lucky for us the singer for the wedding was rehearsing and we got to listen to Ave Maria while seeing this beautiful church…it was breathtaking! John and I took a seat and smiled at each other and said “man, how lucky are we to be able to be doing this right now”.

*This is the ceiling of the church which was spectacular–worthy of its own picture

3) Also in Cambridge, we took a punting tour (boat tour) down the canals to see all the different colleges. We lucked out that we had a cute punting driver who just got back from spending 4 years in New York. John said I channeled my mother and couldn’t stop talking to him especially about the laundry situation;) I was full of smiles as I watched him guide us down the canal!

4) Sometimes it is the small things. I went to an American Women’s Club meeting that talked about some of the differences you encounter living here. So one is that the butter comes in a block (with no measurements) and you have no way to know how much to use–I told John that I was worried that we were consuming massive quantities of butter! So check out this fancy thing! Definitely worthy of a smile!

5) Sunday, I convinced John to have a “Caroline Day” and go to Hyde Park with a blanket and just relax instead of going for a run or doing something active. Nothing makes me happier…and smile more…than being with John…in a park…relaxing!

*Picture coming soon–we were relaxing so much I didn’t take a picture:)

Hope everyone has a great weekend full of smiles! I will be smiling when Meredith Hatten comes walking through my door on Saturday–can’t wait!

Just kidding:) Poor Johnny (John’s dad) is just dying to know if its a boy or a girl even offering bribes to me or the doctor if we find out! We are holding firm and think it is going to be so much fun being surprised on the big day. We had our 20 week scan yesterday–yipee 1/2 way there–and the little one appears healthy and happy which was wonderful to see.

Men: this is probably not the post for you so feel free to stop reading;) I am trying to get John to post about his recent concert adventures (Black Crowes, My Morning Jacket) so stay tuned. For the guys here is a sneak preview:

* This was MMJ at the Somerset House which was probably the neatest place we have ever seen a concert.

And now for the ladies..what has been requested quite a bit…here is a picture of the bump…John (in a very loving way) said “oh man, you are a lot bigger than it looks in this picture” so imagine it large and in charge;)

We are doing great and planning to take a day trip this weekend to Stonehenge or Cambridge. The sun is shining and the skies are blue so I have to run to a park to soak it up! Have a great weekend!

We have had a busy week of visitors but unfortunately nobody spent the night with us so I am left to the blogging!

First up the lovely Mrs. Hutchens! 3 reasons I love Mrs. Hutchens:

1) She still uses a disposable camera. Marian/Charles please buy this woman a real camera:) She handed it to someone to take a picture of us and the man did a triple take!

2) She knows EVERYTHING about the royals and even spotted a few as we were walking around Kensington Palace.

3) She treated us to a lovely dinner at Maggie Jones’s and even let John take home her leftovers;)

Next up is Canem! Canem was another one of my fabulous roommates in Australia! 3 reasons I love Canem:

1) Canem and I both were convinced that Thailand was right around the corner from Australia so booked a trip…10 hours later we arrived in Thailand:)

2) Apparently, she has not gotten better. Over dinner she mentioned that she might move to Arkansas and said “well perfect I will be close to you in Virginia right:)”

3) But in all honesty, she is the smartest, nicest, funniest person and I love that after not seeing her for many years we jumped right in and were laughing and reminiscing in no time!

*Canem and I were having so much fun we forgot to take a picture so here is an oldie…

Lastly is Josh Harris! 3 reasons I love Josh:

1) Who else decides last minute to come see the Black Crowes in London at 2pm on a Tuesday and is on a plane by 5pm! Chris Noland I am beginning to question your love of the Crowes…

2) Josh is to thank for many big decisions in my life… he chose my college, my first car, and introduced me to one of my best friends…can I get an Ashby! He has done a pretty darn good job so far…so Josh any ideas for baby names?

3) He too thinks that sushi on Christmas Eve is totally normal.

We were laughing that we see more people in London than we did in Richmond so keep it coming! We are in town this weekend and hoping to go see a movie outside in Kensington Gardens on Saturday night and then a little My Morning Jacket concert on Sunday….the jam bands continue:) Hope everyone is staying cool at home…definitely not a problem here as you see I am still sporting my jacket! Sending big love to Virginia Beach this weekend for Margot’s bachelorette party–drink a vodka tonic for me!

IRELAND IN A PICTURE:

MOST ADVENTUROUS THING WE DID: This was a tie between 1) driving on the wrong side of the road: thanks Jay our amazing driver who only turned the wrong way down a street once which was pretty darn impressive. John didn’t want to get near the car with a 10 foot pole!

and 2) A bike tour of Dublin where luckily we had on those neon reflectors because there were definitely a few near spills and perhaps one real spill by someone whose name will not be mentioned;)

THEME SONG FOR THE TRIP: “America, F*** Yeah”! Being 4th of July, we couldn’t resist a little American love. I mean everyone travels with American flags right:)

* John and Jay couldn’t resist a Coor’s Light to toast America but had Jameson on the side to support Ireland

*Ok Hampton Roaders…admit this is getting a bit crazy that we also found a WRV sticker in Ireland?!?!

JOHN’S FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP: A pit-stop at Moran’s Oyster Cottage for a beverage and some oysters while looking out at the water…he was ready to move there!

CAROLINE’S FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP: The Cliffs of Moher. We lucked out with some great weather which made them even more beautiful.

We had a great time in Ireland but feel like we barely scratched the surface and want to go back. Thanks to Jay and Jen for being wonderful travel partners! Big thanks to Jessica, Noah and Brian for all the wonderful recommendations and for being our personal Rick Steves!

AMSTERDAM IN A PICTURE:

PERSON MOST LIKELY TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT TOO MUCH FUN HERE: Jonathan Wilson! Ha ha…this is a test to see if he is reading the blog;) John was talking about planning a trip with Jonathan to go to Amsterdam to see the Avett Brothers–I quickly put the kibosh on that one after seeing the coffee shops, pubs, and prostitutes in the windows! For those Hampton Roaders–you will appreciate the WRV sticker we found on the side of the road.

*John was doing the hang ten signal but I missed that and thought it was a thumbs up

MEMORIES OF A SCHOOL FIELD TRIP: John and I went to both the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank Museum–pretty impressive for us–both of us tend to immediately get very sleepy when we enter a museum but these kept us awake! Just like high school, John was trying to hold my hand the entire time:)

MOST LIKELY CAUSE OF INJURY IN AMSTERDAM: Bikes! Man, bikes are everywhere.

JOHN’S FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP: A day trip to a town, Haarlem, with beautiful canals and a small town feel. My honey is a sucker for a small town.

CAROLINE’S FAVORITE PART OF THE TRIP: The pancakes and poffertjes (little pillows of yummy goodness). This required an urgent email to Mary Stewart to get the belly band in the mail ASAP as my jeans were getting a little tight!!

We had a great time on our first excursion from London. We are heading to Dublin with another couple, Jay and Jen, this weekend for the 4th of July so will be sure to bring some American pride with us! Talk soon.