Posterous theme by Cory Watilo
Gies Family

out and about in the great town of Harrogate

Date: April 21, 2012

Location: Harrogate, North Yorkshire (Home!)

Event/Purpose for Travel: Visit the Royal Pump Room Museum and find some tasty lunch.

The Rundown:

Nathaniel found out that he would be working three weekends in a row at the chapel on base which, combined with the fact that we had been busy the last few weeks with out-of-town adventures, led us to decide that we would take some time to see things that were a bit closer to home.

We headed out on foot and decided to start our exploring with lunch at Le Bistrot Pierre. In case we have never met or you are unaware, I love food. I love to cook it, look at it, learn about it, and, of course, eat it. I consider food to be a vital part of our exploring, and always endeavor to find the best of the best. This experience was no exception. We had an amazing three-course lunch (yes, we pigged out and loved every minute), complete with beef carpaccio, amazing chicken in a tomato broth, buttery pork with cabbage, chocolate torte, and brioche bread pudding. Needless to say, we left there feeling fat and happy.

From there we ventured to learn more about our fair city at the Royal Pump Room Museum. While it is a fairly small museum, it gives a good overview of the history of Harrogate, particularly highlighting the development of the spa town and the health and wellness treatments that visitors would travel long distances to access. It was good to gain some background information and to have a better understanding of how this small town came to be so well-known and important.

Instead of taking the main street back to our house, we walked through Valley Gardens, the enormous park that we are very fortunate to live by. It is one of my favorite places in this city and oue little stroll made for the perfect end to a leisurely day.

southampton, oxford, stratford-upon-avon...where didn't we go?

I am almost a month late posting about this trip, but we have been busy!


Dates: April 13th-15th, 2012

Locations: Southampton, Portsmouth, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon (probably forgetting something...)

Event/Purpose: Visit SeaCity Museum, Stonehenge, Ect.

The Rundown:

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First of all, this was a great trip. Our biggest yet, and it was so stuffed full of goodness. We headed out Friday evening, the three of us, plus a friend who happens to be a Titanic "scholar" and a McDonald's enthusiast (Shout out to Leroy). We drove a few hours to our lodging at RAF Croughton and, after having a bit of trouble finding the actual building we were supposed to be sleeping in, crashed for the night. We met up with the other member of our group the next morning and headed even further south to the city of Southampton. In case you are unaware of the significance of Southampton, it is a large port city located west of London. It is probably best known for two things: the Pilgrims made their first attempt to set out on the Mayflower out of Southampton in 1620, and the RMS Titanic sailed out of Southampton in 1912.

The Titanic sailed out of Southampton on April 10, 1912, meaning we were visiting during the week of the 100th anniversary of its sailing. That week, the new SeaCity Museum opened, and so that was our first stop in town. Not only did the museum have an amazing Titanic exhibition, but was also a good source of the full history of Southampton. From there we went to view other Titanic-related sites, including memorials for the engineers and the musicians on the ship. While the story of the Titanic has always interested me, the devastation never truly hit home for me until this trip. To be in a city that incurred such an enormous loss 100 years ago and see how vividly that loss still resonates with the citizens there is powerful. It was definitely unforgettable.

From Southampton we made a quick trip to Portsmouth, just to peek at the birthplace of Charles Dickens. There is a museum in the residence, but we did not have enough time to view it before it closed, so we will be returning to explore in the future.  From Portsmouth we headed back north and swung in to Oxford to grab some deliciously unique pizza from Fire and Stone before heading back to our lodging for the night.

On Sunday we set out again, heading back south to visit Stonehenge. Here is a word of advice for anyone who might be super excited (like I was) to visit Stonehenge: don't go on the weekend, or in the morning. They bus in loads of tour groups and students and you end up spending more time weaving through people than you do actually enjoying the experience. From the perspective of an over-excited lover of knowledge who had hoped to soak up this phenomena, other tourists were just a buzz kill. Overall, I am glad we went, but I intend to return on a Wednesday afternoon in order to get the experience I was looking for.

After getting somewhat lost leaving Stonehenge, we journeyed on to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. What an amazingly beautiful town! We spent some time wandering through the center of town, seeing the home where Shakespeare was born, and visiting the church where he is buried. Again, we did not get to fully see everything that we wanted to, but got enough of a taste to know that it is somewhere we would like to return to. We finished our day with dinner at the Rose and Crown, a local pub with amazing fish and chips and meat pies. When we finished with our dinner, we headed back to Harrogate, crashed in to bed, and got some much needed rest!

durham and newcastle

Date: April 7, 2012

Locations: Durham and Newcastle,

Event/Purpose for Travel: Sightseeing and Phone Repair

The Rundown:

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Last weekend we were invited to head north for a day of exploring with some people from Nathaniel's unit. We headed out at around 9:00AM and drove north to Durham, a small town with a big castle and a big cathedral. As we drove in to town, we could see both structures clearly as they rose out of the center of the city, looming over everything else in the town, and I immediately got so excited!

We parked, packed up, and started the walk up to the cathedral. Durham Cathedral, along with the castle, is a World Heritage site thought to have been founded in 1093 by the Normans and it is, as you can see from the photos, absolutely beautiful. We spent some time looking at the exterior and the grounds, and then went inside where they were preparing for their Easter service that would take place the following day. While the outside was beautiful, the inside was beyond stunning. It nearly brought me to tears, both from awe and from regret that we were asked to not take any photographs while in the building. While I was initially very respectful of this rule, seeing other visitors breaking the rules caused me to act out and take a few photos myself. To my disappointment, they didn't turn out too great because I was trying to be sneaky about it. See, kids, crime doesn't pay.

After having spent a drastically inadequate amount of time exploring the cathedral, we went over the check out the castle, only to find that you could only enter the castle on a guided tour, and the only tour of the day had already started. So, on we went.

We loaded back up in to our cars and continued north to Newcastle (upon Tyne, to be precise). We had business to take care of in the city, so we broke off from our group, grabbed some lunch at a local pub, and got Nathaniel a new phone at the Apple store in the enormous Eldon Square shopping center. We wandered around the vicinity a bit before heading back home. Like every place we have visited so far, this was just a preliminary visit for us, a chance to get a feel for what is available to explore, so that next time we can spend more time visiting specific attractions. Overall, good trip!

leeds

Date: March 31, 2012

Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire

Event/Purpose of Travel: Shopping and Exploring

The Rundown:

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That is the only photo I took of our trip to Leeds. Before we set off, I caught a photo of Emelyn, thinking it would be one of many in a day full of fun events. We had a glorious plan: visit IKEA to scope out furniture for our house, swing in to Costco, just to get a taste of home, have lunch at a local pub, and visit one of the many local attractions such as the Royal Armouries or Tropical World. It was ambitious, but we felt up to the task.

Our only mistakes was underestimating the power of IKEA. We ended up weaving through the throngs of crazed shopper, looking at prices and colors and testing the nap-worthiness of couches for three hours. By the time we escaped, it was well past lunchtime and we were in a shopping coma. We drug ourselves to The Cross Keys, threw ourselves down on some stools, inhaled some sandwiches (Emelyn had chicken nuggets), and then made the long trip home (17 miles= nearly a one hour drive).

Not the most exciting trip, but Leeds is close, so we will definitely be back, and next time, IKEA, you will not defeat us.

edinburgh

Dates: March 23-25, 2012

Location: Edinburgh, Scotland

Event/Purpose of Travel: 709th Marriage Retreat

The Rundown:

Nathaniel and the chaplain planned a 25-couple marriage retreat over the weekend up in Edinburgh, which is about 3.5 hours north of where we are living. On Friday we loaded up, the couples on a bus and the chaplain, his wife, and our family in a van, and headed north to Scotland. The bus driver took us on a fun, windy scenic route, allowing us to see lots of rolling green country side full of sheep and go through lots of little towns. We stopped in Gretna Green, the town in the south of Scotland that is a very famous historical wedding destination for elopers, and had lunch. We made it to our hotel in Edinburgh in the mid-afternoon, and the rest of the day was spent checking in, having dinner, and starting the first session of the retreat.

The next morning we headed down to the hotel restaurant for a full Scottish breakfast, complete with haggis, black pudding, potato scones, smoked salmon, tomatoes, sausage, and mushrooms. While I was not brave enough to try anything exciting (I stuck to the pastries, fruit, and yogurt), Nathaniel tried a bit of everything, giving himself the full experience. While Nate went off to facilitate the next couple sessions of the retreat, Emelyn and I took some time to head out and see what Edinburgh had to offer.

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Our hotel was situated with a beautiful view of the Edinburgh Castle, which is probably the biggest attraction in the city. It looked so picturesque, sitting amongst the fog, looming over everything. Just down the street from our hotel was St. John's Church, the Parish Church of St. Cuthbert, and the Royal Mile. The streets were full of people, many in shorts and sandals enjoying what I assume they consider to be warm-ish weather (we were wearing jackets, shoes with socks, and I had a scarf on). After lunch, we met back up with Nathaniel and went out exploring again, peaking our head in to St. John's to hear a children's choir perform, people-watching on Princes Street, and looking for something woolen to wear in various shops. Nathaniel and Emelyn also spent a moment watching trains from a bridge in West Princes Street Gardens  We headed back to the hotel and were so exhausted from our wandering that we ended up ordering room service and heading to bed early.

The retreat finished up the next morning and we headed home that afternoon. While we didn't have an opportunity to do nearly as much exploring as we would have liked in Edinburgh, we did get a taste of the city and now have a very good idea of the things we would like to see in depth the next time we visit, which we hope will be very soon!

our UK resolutions

Shortly after arriving in this country, Nathaniel and I resolved to do two things consistently during our time here:

1. Take afternoon tea together daily

As I am sure most people know, the English love their tea time. Dinner or supper is traditionally eaten later in the evening here than it is in the States, so in order to tide themselves over until the final meal of the day, they have tea. From what we can tell, most people have their tea immediately upon return to their homes after work, sometime between 4 and 6 o'clock, and here in the Gies household, we follow suit. Not only does this help us to become accustomed to local culture, but it also gives us a great opportunity to spend quality time together after Nathaniel gets home from work, a time free of distraction and full of relaxation and catching up on each other's daily activities.

2. Get out and explore something new every Saturday

Like most people, we love the weekend. We look forward to it as a chance to recoup after a long week of work, chores, and responsibilities, and because of that, we sometimes get in to a pattern of using our weekend to lounge around the house doing as little as possible in order to maximize our relaxation. While there is nothing wrong with taking time to relax and have a quiet day at home, it is also important to realize that the weekend is the best time to do all the fun stuff that you didn't get to do during the week, and we are blessed to live in a brand new world full of possible adventures!

In order to avoid getting in the habit of spending our entire weekend couped up at home, we have decided to get out every Saturday and see something new. Whether that means taking a walk up the street and seeing something in our neighborhood, or hopping in the car (or on a train, or plane) and traveling to a new city, we want to spend our Saturdays learning, traveling, and experiencing. If we aren't doing a weekend trip, Sundays will still be time for relaxation and family time to ensure that we start the week out feeling refreshed.

We have spent the last three weekends in three different cities, Edinburgh, Leeds, and Newcastle. We intend to blog about our first experiences in these places over the course of this week, and intend to do so for all our future Saturday adventures as well, so be on the look out of pictures and stories to come!

 

oh, england!

Now that I have been here for two and a half weeks, I am now a qualified expert in all things British. Okay, probably not, but I have learned many things, and am excited to learn more. Here is the rundown thus far:

-Very first impressions: As I gazed out the window of the plane right before we landed at Leeds-Bradford airport, my heart fluttered with joy. It looked exactly as I had pictured it in my mind--rolling green hills dotted with yellow daffodils and fluffy sheep, lined with old stone walls. Upon exiting the plane and making my way through the airport, I was greeted warmly and treated kindly by everyone I met.

-Home Sweet Home: All the credit in the world goes to Nathaniel for finding us such a lovely place to live. Our three-story townhouse is bright and charming, has tons of space, and a very home-y feel. While we wait for our household goods to arrive (which isn't supposed to happen until May--eek!) we have temporary furniture on loan from the housing office on base. While it isn't the same as having our own things, we have enough to be comfortable for the time being.

-Won't You Be My Neighbor?: Our home is sandwiched between two other townhouses, both of which are inhabited by the loveliest families who have been very welcoming to us. Our street is quiet, and is often full of kids wandering about after-school and residents running errands at the local shops. Speaking of local shops, at the end of our street we have a bakery, hardware store, produce vendor, cleaner, toy store, ice cream shop, pharmacy, antique shop, and a small grocery store, all within a two minute walk of our front door. Additionally, within a less than 5 minute walk we have a florist, children's shoe store, delicious fish and chips restaurant, cafe, thrift stores, and an interior decorating store. We can walk to an enormous park within 8 minutes, and be at all the finest shopping and restaurants in town within 12-15 minutes. Needless to say, the location is great!

-Cheers!: I still love the way they talk here. I haven't lost my fascination with it yet. Everyone is polite, but conservative. They take their time, but do things with purpose. They love to walk and no one dares to spend a sunny day indoors. They are a charming, colorful people, and, so far, I like them very much!

-Other Random Observations and News: Junior MasterChef Australia is my new obsession, and it is quite possibly the most amazing cooking show on television. I have eaten a disgusting amount of chocolate chip shortbread since we arrived here, but I don't regret that at all. Part of the reason I have eaten so much shortbread is because Nate and I have started taking afternoon tea together when he gets home from work, which is a nice daily activity. Cilantro is called coriander here, which annoys the crap out of me. Diapers are called nappies, which makes me laugh. And last but not least, I am a terrible driver.

More to come in the near future. Cheers!

they're on their way!

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It's a tad premature to say they're on their way, as they are yet to board the plane at this point. But in about 15 hours Katie and Emelyn will be here!

Very excited! It's been a long process, but we're finally going get this England/Europe adventure started as a family. I have to say its probably best that I came over before them, as it gave me an opportunity to get everything sorted out for us all before they got here, but I also wish it hadn't been quite so long of a delay.

Anyway, check out these pictures of the house and... my very excited face.

life and times in the inland empire

We have been blessed to have the option to move out of our apartment (yay for no double rent payments!) and move back to Spokane, in to my parents' house, while we wait for our travel date to arrive. Nathaniel was here with us for a week before he flew across the pond, and Emelyn and I will be here until the second week of March. It has been a great opportunity to visit with family and friends, and we have had the perfect balance of relaxation to prepare us for our upcoming move and activities to keep us from getting bored. Here is a just some of what we have been doing since we got here (photos included!):

-one hour massage (oh-so-nice)

-going away/early birthday party with family and friends

-dancing our buns off with Dance Central 2 for Kinect on a daily basis

-crafting (who knew?)

-ladie's tea at Taste and See Tea Room

-bridesmaids' dress shopping

-last minute trip back to Tacoma to intercept our visa shipment and schedule our flight

-trip to Mobius Children's Museum

-girl's sleepover, complete with Didier's Frozen Yogurt and Bridesmaids (the movie)

-dinner with my Penguin Mom

-trying to sell the VW

...and so much more!

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