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

Words to live by...

Linda

Roman Holiday

We visited Rome for 4 days in February when the kids had a long weekend.   These were our favorite sites:

Forno Pizzeria at Campo di Fiore.
Hands down, best pizza we have ever had.  Mom and Dad
had potato with rosemary.  Noah and Zoe had tomato and cheese.
We ate it outside under an awning in the rain, but it still was terrific.

Forno's cookies were incredible too.

Piazza Navona - Noah loved the Four Rivers Fountain by Bernini -
the fountain features four figures, each representing a river
from a different continent -
Nile, Ganges, Danube and Rio della Plata

The Colosseum

Zoe loved learning that they would sometimes fill the colosseum
with water and have boat battles

Video from the Colosseum

The Roman Forum

We visited St. Peter's square to see the Pope give
his Sunday morning blessing from his apartment -
it is kind of hard to see him, so let me zoom in...

Hey, he was holding up a sign to greet us!!! (I hope I
don't go to hell for this)

Noi amiamo Roma (We love Rome)

Linda