Visit to India!

We arrived to Delhi at 1am on Sat 29th. Tim and I met up with Adrians driver who kindly drove us to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and Red Fort. I just learned that people don't need to take drivers tests to get a licence. So, scary drive. But the Taj was breathtaking!

The next morning, I left Tim in Delhi and took a train up to Rishikesh, the yoga and spiritual capital of the world. Sounds full-on. My first day, I felt a bit daunted by the incense and pachouli oil, but then I discovered that there were a lot of people like me who are out here to enjoy a bit of yoga (I do chuckle at the backpackers with dreadlocks and canadian flags on their packs - they're staying in another part of town). The ashram I am staying in is a bit like a no-frills hotel - my room overlooks the river, which is stunning at sunset. I can take whatever yoga class is on offer in a huge yoga hall with marble floors and great acoustics for the mantras (no, Kellie, I'm not on dirt floors in a hut!). I have purchased a couple items of clothing - I have to look the part whilst in India. I'm starting to warm up to the "Om-ing" as well. The sanscrit is a bit hard to pronounce but I mumble my way through it. I do feel quite limbered up and relaxed from the ayurvedic massage each day - at GBP 10 per session, why not?
I always thought that India would be hot, dusty and full of beggars. But I bypassed that by going up to Rishikesh first off. Tim and I go to Rajistan on Saturday so maybe I'll see a more hectic view of India. I do love the cows wandering the streets and how they are considered sacred creatures. Personally, I don't know how people can go thru life without enjoying the occasional cheeseburger but it's their choice. The Hindu religion is fascinating as well. I didn't realise it's one of the oldest religions - and complex!

Rajistan was beautiful. We drove to Bikiner first and stayed in the Old Town. Tim and Jane, his colleague, went to view hotels for their new business (http://www.expindia.co.uk/) and David (Jane's husband) and I went to shop in the old town. The old cobblestone streets and doors opening to havelis (beautiful courtyards). We also visited the fort and the rat temple (the rats are reincarnations of saints so well fed and plentiful). Ask Tim how far he leapt when one decided to breakdance around his feet. We also did a camel safari into the desert dunes, had a geographical lesson on the landscape and learned a vast amount on camels, and then we had dinner as the sunset (and a fine bottle of wine from David's collection).

We also ventured to Jodpur, which is also known as the Blue City. Though we visited many forts, this one had the most breathtaking view of the blue buildings. Tim and I were only there for 10 hours and took an overnight train back to Delhi. Always book first class when travelling in India. The price difference is nothing for us over consuming affluent foreigners...

Delhi was a cosmopolitan bustling city. It has a lot of great museums to visit including the Mahatama Ghandi museum which was very historic. We had dinners with Adrian and Naomi (by the way, they just had a baby girl named Nina) which was great fun. I met Tim and Adrian's work colleagues at the UKIBC (UK Indian Business Council). One of their colleages, Cindrela, saved me by loaning me her compter to do a video conference with my new employer. That video conference allowed me to do the final interview which got me the job! So, thanks for the UKIBC for facilitiating that!!

The things I love about India are the regional food, the spicy masala chai, the beautiful people and colourful clothing. The only thing I can live without is having to brush my teeth with bottled water. I'm really looking forward to going back to India - there are so many places we want to visit. It's a huge, exciting and SAFE country!

House Progress October

At last, we have moved in!

Finally, we are settling into the house. We moved in mid September! Our weekends consist of tree buying, organising and cooking.

We have purchased 6 new "sound proofing" bay trees. If they survive, they may start blocking the road sound by 2017 - and for now, they just look nice. We managed to fit all 6 in our incredible huge Passat. Thanks for the Power of Passat, we were able to move everything - sofas and all.

Below are pictures of Tim looking manly after he dug up a massive fence post and cement block - I'm scared to see what else we find when digging up our garden.

When we bought the house, we never thought we would have to re-do the kitchen, but we basically re-did everything. Below, Tim is preparing for an incredible meal - Coq au Reisling - he deserved a few Michelin stars for that dish.
We have an open plan kitchen/"dining" area. We bought some new soft brown leather chairs which have enriched our lives to no end. The shelves come from Tim's bedroom from his parents place. It matches the floor but we are unsure if dark brown shelves would look better. Feedback welcome... Both our bedroom and guest room have the wooden beams. They are original, from the 1800's but have been recently repainted.
It's hard to get the right angle for the office pic (below). It has 2 skylights and we have put 2 desks in there. A double airmattress fits in there if need be.

Below is the view into the conservatory. We have moved that desk upstairs into the office, we have turned that sofa around and will be putting in another chair. It's very cozy with the furry rug and the ambient uplighting. This is our sitting room below. We are replacing the woodburning fireplace with a newer version. That is expected to be installed in November so it's going to be super warm in that house over the winter. Note how I took the pics on the sunniest day of the year - the radiant sun has taken over the conservatory.
This is the view from the kitchen, down the hallway past our utility room and toilet room, into the conservatory.

I can only wish this was our back garden. This is actually at the Belgian Arms, a great pub/restaurant in Holyport.
We spent the afternoon walking down country paths picking fresh blackberries.

This is the sunniest weekend of the year. It may be misrepresentative of what England is really like, as it's normally overcast, yet mild most of the year. When it starts raining tomorrow, I'll pull up these photos so I can remember that this was real and not just a mere dream...

Surfing North Devon August

We spent the bank holiday weekend in Croyde. Surfing was very entertaining. The guys did catch waves, however, my video seemed a bit chaotic. We had a great dinner at the Thatch pub - shelter from the rain. The weather was good enough on Sunday to cook breakfast and dinner at the campsite. Camping is definitely more of a weather adventure in the UK. Even in August, one must be equipped with wet weather gear, otherwise retreat to the nearest pub. Tim was outnumbered by South Africans, a Northern Irishman, a Canadian and myself, a Californian.

House Progress August

So, we are so close to moving in. It may look in a bit of a state but it's actually about 8 man days away from completion. However, having the men is a bit trickier as our painter and flooring guys are quite busy and Darren, our PM, threw his back out this past weekend. So, we are very close and somewhat far. This video illustrates a few subtleties: Firstly, our new car, the Passat. We bought this beast from Gavin. We love it as we can move sofas with it, one thing our former Polo couldn't manage (actually the Polo couldn't even manage to run). Anyway. Another point that could have been missed is the apple tree hovering over the car. I am eating some homemade apple sauce as I type this blog now. My work colleagues and husband will benefit from an apple crumble soon. Now, the traffic. Yes, we are next to a small yet busy road but I look at it like this: It's the UK. It's overcast and chilly most of the year, how many hours are we going to spend out in the garden compared to inside within the double glazed windows and surround sound stereo system? Exactly.

Quick San Francisco Visit August

I had a few minutes to spend with friends from home at the Grove in San Fran. Thanks Dana, Tori/MonSi/Maddy, Charlotte/Bijan, Ali/Tom, Kerry/Dave/Sam/Katie and Jenny (and Tim) for gathering one eve to catch up. As ever, there is never enough time but so great for a quick catch up. I'd also like to thank the City of San Francisco for opening up one more parking place otherwise I would have never made it on time... a good parking spot in San Fran can bring one to tears...

Leslie and Matt's Wedding California August

I only have a few pics from Leslie and Matt's wedding, mainly because we video'd most of it. Here, Lori and I are more made up than we ever have been. Only in America can the groomsmen hold the bride up at the alter. And outside the church, we blew bubbles under the azure sky (typical weather in California). The reception was in my parents back garden (no marquee needed as it's guaranteed sunny weather), amazing food especially the salmon dish, and more sunny weather made the day one to remember. If you are thinking I miss the weather in California, you are right.

Matt Leaving Drinks June

Sometimes we wonder if Matt practices his poses in front of the mirror. A productive day had by all - Coq D'argent drinks at lunch, Bar Cuba drinks in the eve. I'm not sure how many leaving drinks Matt's had with our company but his "Blue Steel" poses makes it all worth it. Kabir, definitely is posing for his next rock album cover in the pic below. This was such a momentous event that Emily travelled all the way out from California to attend.

Cycling Isle of Wight May

Me, Karly, Karen, Jo and Karen went cycling around the Isle of Wight - beautiful views, very hilly cycling and a very active dinner table (people dancing on them - note: we are still eating dinner)...

House Progress May

We are still in the final stretch. Wow, what a life learning experience.

So, these photos were taken within the same 10 minutes. It was bright and sunny until I tried to get the front of the house - and then it looked dark and stormy. It was actually really warm, as shown by Tim's skimpy painting outfit. He wanted to paint in his leopard print speedo but ... no. Anyway, you can see the finished conservatory (don't worry, we are painting the area below the windows).

Tim and Jean (Best Mum-in-Law in the World) are painting the living room. Tim appears to have acquired more paint on his body than the walls but the results were great.

Darren (the Best Building Project Mgr in the World) told us he was really impressed by our speed and agility with the paint roller.

Perhaps I can hear another profession calling...

House Progress April

The house is taking nice shape now. Rooms are formed on the inside, upstairs and windows fitted. Conservatory comes this week and that area will be plastered as well. There is still a lot left to do but we are on the home stretch (excuse the pun).

Snow in April - Brandon Mansions (our flat)

Welcome to the first days of the English spring! Tim and I woke up, prior to our 10 mile race along the Thames to find a neighbourhood of snow in London. The run was cold but very picturesque along the snowy banks of Chiswick and Kew.

House Progress March

This shows the extension starting. The ground floor extension will have a utility room, little toilet room (they call it a cloakroom, which I always thought was a closet to hold ones cloaks - should I be admitting this?), and a conservatory. It's still hard to imagine what it will look like when finished but very exciting to think about. Now, if we could just slow those cars down next to us (yes, it does sound busy - happy to have double glazed windows!).

Looking Back... July - Dec 2007

After we returned from travelling late June, it was back to work for us.

July
For those of you who do not believe that England can be sunny, here is proof. This is Tim and Tim Briggs proving that short sleeved shirts are in fact worn in July. We enjoyed the festivities (mainly the fit men in lycra rowing past us) and Pimms at Henley Regatta.










We committed ourselves to the Berlin marathon in September so I made sure to employ only the best of coaches. First thing that coach Zoe did, is show me how to properly stretch after a run.









August
Whilst living at Tim's parents house, we had Tracey/Stew/Lily, Rowey/Linda, Nick/Juliette and a cameo appearance from David Weinshenker, who was over at Oxford at a seminar. The weekend was supposed to be dedicated to the Wargrave & Shiplake Regatta but was cancelled due to floods (?!). We found ways of entertaining ourselves such as borrowing the Stubbs boat to go on the river (watch that bridge), eating, relaxing in the garden and playing "extreme croquet".













Tim and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary and 2 year togetherness anniversary in Bournemouth. We stayed at a great new boutique hotel called the Urban Beach Hotel. Great atmosphere, bar and breakfast. We didn't surf this time but there are plenty of opportunities to go back. We did, however, do a great 3 hour run and caught a glimpse of all the great beach views on foot.













Tim and I want up to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see Martin, Julie and Zoe at their new house for a BBQ and spin on the merry-go-round (note the sunshine).

September

We are sure we have done more exciting things leading up to the Berlin marathon (oh, yah, we bought a house - see the section below this) but perhaps all we did was run. I am just writing about the photos that are on our camera :). Berlin marathon was great fun. Though we don't have photos, we proudly crossed that line at roughly 3 hours and 31 minutes! We wanted "sub-3:30" but we'll work harder next time. We also had Caelim, Karen, Karen and Christine out with us. The girls did the 26 mile rollerblade marathon the day before. Ask Karen and Christine about their course record!

In November, we went out to Boston to see Lisa and Trevor. We went walking, eating, drinking Peets coffee, visiting Harvard and MIT, enjoying their beautiful back garden, more eating and more Peets coffee.

Aside from all the Xmas celebrations with work and friends, we had a great Phillis Xmas, with our newest family addition, Sebastian (Congrats, Ben and Bettina!).

We also had some other great visitors that made our holidays very special. It was a great time had by all!