Awrite Frae Scootlund (Hello From Scotland)

This past weekend, we visited Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands.  We had an amazing time - the city was vibrant, food was delicious and the countryside was just beautiful.  We even got to see the Loch Ness Monster.

Outside Edinburgh castle

The castle dominates the city skyline - parts of the
castle date back to the 12th century

The Elephant House - cafe where J. K. Rowling wrote the first
Harry Potter book as a single mother

Statue of Bobby - this dog spent 14 years guarding the grave of his owner -
several movies have been made about him

Bobby is outside of Bobby's Bar -
when you are famous in Scotland, they
name bars after you

Beautiful Edinburgh

Glen Coe in the Scottish Highlands - many
ancient battles took place on these lands

Loch (Lake) Ness

We snapped a picture of the Loch Ness Monster

We were also able to get some video of Nessy and her pet Westie:

We hope to return to Scotland some day soon.


Linda

I Am Legal

After a 3 month process, I passed my British driver's test today.  My Mini is a manual transmission, so I was required to take the test in a manual car which is a more difficult test.  The on-road test pass rate is 43%.


American ex-pats have 12 months from arrival to get their license, but you can only start the process after being a resident for 6 months.  Given the process is so onerous, many ex-pats drive illegally in Britain, but the police have been cracking down on this.  If they catch you, they impound your car until you get your license!


I am so relieved to be a legal British driver.

I am framing this baby

Linda

G-L-A-M-O-R-O-U-S

Ascot is a famous English racecourse closely associated with the British royal family since it is only six miles from Windsor, the Queen's ancestral home.  The racecourse is owned by the Crown Estate (the Crown is a corporation owned by all British citizens but the assets are for use by the royal family).

The racecourse stages twenty-five days of racing throughout the year.  Five race days in June are called Royal Ascot.  Founded in 1711, Royal Ascot is attended each day by Queen Elizabeth and members of the royal family.  It is the social and fashion event of the summer season, with everyone (mainly females) trying to outdo each other with their outfits and headgear.

Non-royals can watch the festivities from one of three areas:

The Royal Enclosure is the most prestigious and difficult to gain access to, as the royal family is watching from this area.  Women must wear day dresses and hats / fascinators with additional rules about dress length and no showing of shoulders.  Men wear top hats and tux with tails.

The Grandstand area is less formal - the same dress code as Royal Enclosure is encouraged for women but not compulsory.  Men generally wear suits.

Grandstand enclosure

The riff-raff watches the action from the distant Silver Ring area.  No dress code here, but far away from the other two areas.

I went to opening day with several of my girlfriends.  We watched the festivities from the Grandstand area.  It was a gloriously sunny day with incredible people watching opportunities.  I have never felt so glamorous!

The girls in their hats

Here comes the Queen

I hope I look this good when I am 85 years old!

Prince Charles,  Princess Beatrice,
 Princess Eugenie and Camilla

Enjoying some bubbly

Afternoon tea menu

Afternoon tea in a lovely picnic package

We saw some crazy hats

I loved watching the races, but I am terrible
at picking the winner

My friends and I have twelve months to figure out how to scam our way into the Royal Enclosure next year.  My dream is to meet Princess Kate!

Linda

Happy Friday!!

It seems that everyone in London celebrates Fridays with an evening trip to the pub.  We are no exception...

Dan and Linda enjoying a Friday night out at the pub
- but where are Noah and Zoe?

Here they are - sitting in the gutter while Mommy and Daddy
drink their beer - are we good parents or what?

Here is a pub proverb that we find humorous

Have a great Friday!

Linda

Child Psychology

As many of you know, my brother Phil, a writer in LA, has recruited Zoe to participate in a series of short films. The fourth installment of this series is now live on YouTube.

If you haven't seen Parts 1, 2 and 3, below are the links.  I would recommend watching them in order.  Enjoy!!!

Phil - you are a genius.

Child Psychology 1

Child Psychology 2 (starring Grampa Binczyk)

Child Psychology 3

Linda

Four tickets to paradise

Over Spring Break, we visited the Maldives.  This has been one of our dream destinations for years. Given London is eight hours closer than Philadelphia, we thought this would be a perfect opportunity to visit.

The trip lived up to our expectations and more.  Pictures really can't do it justice, but I will try.


The Maldives is an island nation in the Indian Ocean.

The country is made up of 1,190 coral islands (200 are inhabited) formed around 26 natural ring-like atolls. The islands are spread across 50,000 square miles, making it one of the most dispersed countries in the world. It is only five feet above sea level making it the lowest country on the planet.   Rising sea levels are a great concern for the Maldives - CNN just listed the Maldives as one of the top ten places on earth to visit before it disappears.

Satellite image - maldivesnet.org

The Maldives are known for their white sand beaches, clear water and abundance of coral and sea life.

Our favorite chairs

Noah and Zoe in the pool

The over-the-water spa

8am rush hour

Noah and Dan were busy completing their scuba certification

Zoe and I were busy doing a lot of this

We had wonderful family dinners - our favorite was the Indian restaurant

Paradise found

Linda

The Royal Wedding

I am sure you have heard much about the royal wedding to take place later this month in London.

William and Catherine
(from www.officialroyalwedding2011.org)

You might wonder how the Brits are preparing for the big day and whether they really care at all.


Based on my insights from living here and also watching the Today Show coverage via the internet, I would have to say that the Americas are WAY more excited about the wedding than the Brits themselves.


Don't get me wrong - the Brits are rooting for the happy couple and seem to be genuinely excited for the wedding, but I think the Princess Diana experience left them quite cynical about the whole thing.


There are plenty of tacky souvenirs to go around:

Brits get a four day weekend for the wedding

Souvenir for the cynical Brit

This is a real Ale available in the UK

Tea bags

Kate doll - sold out in one hour

With this royal toilet seat,
you could really call it "The Throne"

London is sprucing itself up for the big day.  The flowerbeds near Buckingham Palace are looking colorful and the Union Jack bunting is being hung on the parade route.

Flower beds at Buckingham Palace

Viewing area around Buckingham palace

Construction of media center in front of Buckingham Palace

This is the first wedding time where an expected King of England will marry for love.  Most royal marriages have been arranged, with some monarchs meeting the prospective queen just days before the wedding.  In 1936, King Edward VIII (Queen Elizabeth's uncle) actually had to abdicate the throne to marry Wallace Simpson for love.  Catherine is quite out of the ordinary as she is a "commoner" coming from "new money" and will be the most educated royal spouse in history.  The Brits very much view the wedding of William and Catherine as a turning point in the royal monarchy's attitude toward marriage.


I went on a Royal Wedding walking tour last week which was very informative.  The tour guide was a hoot - in the video clip, she is talking about the reception and whether Queen Elizabeth will attend:

As the eternal optimist, I am very hopeful that this will be the Cinderella fairy tale marriage I envisioned as a child - with the beautiful wedding AND the happy ending.  I find Catherine to be very engaging and down to earth - hopefully the press will not cause harm to her and William in the long run.


If you want to send them a wedding gift ;),  Prince William and Catherine have created a charitable gift fund which supports five causes chosen by the couple (http://www.royalweddingcharityfund.org/faqs.php).  Hopefully their guests will abide by their wishes as I think this is really a nice gesture during difficult economic times in the UK. 


Best wishes to the royal couple!!

Official Wedding china
(from www.officialroyalwedding2011.org)

Cheers,
Linda