mona returns to london

Mona had a great month abroad –

London, Cambridge, Norway and back to London...

It was filled with family, friends and more family!

It was so fun to share our little London life with her.

She also had her first taste of hipsters in the “oh-so-trendy” Shoreditch.

Her comments started with…

“weird dudes with the exact same beard everywhere”

and continued as the bar filled up with hipsters with the same beard.

And no trip is complete without a trip to Borough Market

And come to find out, this was Pat’s favourite London market

so it was made even more special with that little bit of info.

We all love good food – especially ethnic food and London’s great for that.

French, Vietnamese, Japanese, Lebanese were among the faves.

And we also hit two of our favourite local pubs –

Exmouth Arms and The Harlequin.

The Saturday before she headed back to the US,

we decided on a whirlwind trip to visit

Stonehenge, Bath, Cotswolds and Stratford upon Avon.

Stonehenge was FREEZING, but really cool to see.

Bath was super charming and would love to go back for a long weekend.

Cotswolds are beautiful, but didn’t stop.

Stratford was very cool because we went to Shakespeare’s home.

borough market goodness

soho cocktails

can only imagine how many times this door was knocked on as people were looking for "models".

beautiful winter day overlooking the thames & st pauls

cold, cold day at stonehenge

beautiful bath abbey

shakespeare's "backyard"

It was a really wonderful to have Mona here

and we miss her dearly!

xx
the mcgees

Canary Island Christmas

Christmas was a bit different for us

and it was the first time I (sarah) have been without my family.

We had no Christmas decorations, no tree, no nothing…

But, London makes up for it…

everywhere you turn, there are lights, Christmas concerts, 
drinks with friends/colleagues

and the streets and department stores are perfectly dressed for the holidays.

We’ve also had fairly mild temps for December,

so it wasn’t too tough for us FL folks!

Because we feared the worst with the weather, we booked a trip to

Fuerteventura, Canary Islands.

(off the coast of Africa)

We had a great little spot full of surfers on the north tip of the island.

Ian surfed in the mornings at Los Lobos

(had to take a little boat that dropped him right in the break)

and I sat on the balcony or sat by the pool and read great books.

Corralejo was full of the freshest of seafood.

We ate at great restaurants, one of which reminded me of Starfish.

The fish were taken off the boat and dropped right in their warehouse…

Our personal favourite - Octopus in Vinegar (octopus ceviche).

We also had great tapas and wine at different places throughout

the northern part of the island.

Local dishes seemed to include

fresh fish – including parrot fish (ahh!) and goat!  

And yes, we tried goat… a number of times.

Ian surfed Los Lobos and said it was amazing.

He had to take a boat so I never saw it for myself,

but he came back telling me about the great waves.

We also were just off the North Track 
(on the north shore), which was… interesting.

Dirt (and bumpy) road lined the entire "north track" and went across the island. 

It was desert for as far as the eye could see (with beautiful water to the north).

The terrain was like nothing we’ve ever seen…

It almost looked like you were dropped on a planet – craters, dust and desert.

But, you could drive a little south and you had beautiful beaches and sand dunes.

 

 

We had a great Christmas vacation and we feel so very lucky

to have an opportunity to see the world and

we’re surely taking full advantage of it.

Happy New Year!
xx

Somerset House Ice Skating

Established in the 18^th Century, Somerset House housed government 

but more recently it is one of London’s major arts & cultural hubs.

During the summer months, 50+ fountains dance through the courtyard and

during the winter months, an ice skating rink is put up for us all to enjoy!

Somerset House is also the home of London Fashion Week,

along with a number of other fun events.

This year, we took advantage of the beautiful Somerset House

and went ice skating (for the first time in YEARS) with Ellie and Luke!

We had tons of fun and it really helped put us in the Christmas spirit.

Sorry we're so far behind, but doing our best to catch up. 

xx

the mcgees

first uk thanksgiving

Our first UK Thanksgiving was great / different - 

even though it's not celebrated here and we were not with family.

Missing special days like this are always going to be difficult,

but we've made a choice to move across the pond 

and it's something that we will just have to accept...

we will miss occasions 

- big and small - 

and try to make the best of it from afar. 

Ian has an account owned by Americans (from Dallas)

and they hosted a true family-style Texas Thanksgiving w/ 

jalapeno poppers, smoked turkey, brisket, mashed sweet potatoes, etc.

Because Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite, 

I had to host a Thanksgiving of my own.

It was a bit of a personal challenge - cooking in my new tiny kitchen.

And I succeed with a full Thanksgiving meal -

turkey, leek & mushroom stuffing, mashed potatoes, spinach gratin

and all this food was followed by a fun night out with friends...

thanksgiving night w/ lara and eric (awesome movember mustache)

ellie and luke were over for our home cooked thanksgiving (Luke's first)!

This year, we are thankful for our family and friend's support

and our new friends who are making this transition a whole lot of fun!

Mona arrived on Wednesday and 

we were off to Fuerteventura, Canary Islands for Christmas.

xx

The McGees