A long-awaited update

Hi folks! Meg here. That's right, it's me...for real...it's been awhile, I know, and I apologize.
In this post I'd like to give you the rundown on my English Christmas and my New Year's resolutions. So, grab a cup of java, sit tight and let me re-cap you on my past month!

Christmas break began quite quietly, as mine started on the 18th, but my train to England didn't leave until the 23rd. Those first days, however, quickly became crowded with fear that my very British Christmas would have to be canceled, as snow began to cover the tracks of the Eurorail, keeping half of the normal trains from running, slowing speeds, and leaving thousands of travelers waiting hours upon hours in line to cross the channel. Eurostar ticket-holders were advised not to travel unless absolutely necessary, leaving room for those who really needed the seat. I began to think my Christmas would be spent alone in my studio, streaming Christmas carols from my computer and re-reading my three Christmas cards over and over (awwwww). I googled Eurostar over and over during those first few days of break hoping for some kind of good news, but feeling more and more dejected when I came across an interview with some travelers waiting in line to take the eurostar from London to Paris. The interviewer spoke first with a man and then with a woman. The man told the interviewer that he had been waiting in line for hours to take the train across "the pond" on a business trip and expected to be back in London by the end of the day. The man said he knew that Eurostar was doing all that they could to fix the situation and that there was no reason to get upset about the wait. He was confident that everything would work out and had a smile on his face throughout. The woman had a similar point-of-view, saying it was a long wait, but there was no reason to get upset about it, as everything that could be done was being done. THAT was it. If a man taking a business trip lasting one day could be so optimistic about the situation, then I would be too! I was going to get to England no matter how many hours I had to wait in line.

Two days later Eurorail send an email to all ticket holders saying that their trains had gone back to normal boarding procedures and would only be delayed in arrival by 30-60 minutes. YATAAA! (Heroes? Anyone?) Anyway, I went to Paris with another American assistant who would be staying at our friend's house in England with me (we were also to meet another American assistant, who had arrived in London earlier that morning), we got through the check-in in less than 30 minutes and on the train in less than an hour! Easy Peasy, and we were on our way!

Our friend, Felix (whose family we would be staying with in England), met us as we arrived, along with the other American assitant, and we took a train to Godalming, a small town about an hour outside of London by train. I couldn't believe I was in England! I'd always thought of it as semi-non-existant, for some reason. I guess when you hear so many stories about a place like England over the years it just becomes a bit unreal. Felix's dad picked us up from the trainstation and we had our first ride on the wrong side of the road! It was a bit of a shock everytime a car drove toward us, before realizing it was, indeed, on the other side of the road.

Felix's family is amazing. His stepmom, Karen, is such a lively personality and she and Felix's dad, Sean, made us feel at home right away. It was really nice to be spending Christmas in a family's home (and one with carpets! yay! I don't think the French are big on them...from what I have seen thus-far). Felix's younger brother was there for the holiday as well and spent much more time with us than I would have had I been him at his age! Throughout the weekend we ate traditional English meals (on our last morning we had an English breakfast, which was amazing! I've never been much of a fan of sausage, but for English sausage...oh man...it melts in your mouth! Roast tomatoes, scrambled eggs, toast and jam, earl grey with milk...now THAT is the perfect way to end a vacation!). Below is a picture of my plate on Christmas. We had honey roasted parsnips, mashed parsnips (both...wow!!! Just...wow.), yorkshire pudding, turkey, jam (their substitute for cranberry sauce), pigs in a blanket (which are different from the American way. In England a pig in a blanket is a small sausage wrapped in bacon), brussel sprouts (which went SO well with the rest of the meal! yum), carrots, stuffing patties, broccoli, and champagne. I don't even know what to say after that.


We pulled apart the traditional Christmas crackers, which, for those who aren't familiar with the tradition are small capsules (see above my plate of food) that you grab the ends of (crossing your arms as in the photo below), and pull apart to find a crown, small very random toy (I got a mini deck of cards...probably the most normal toy of anyone...someone got a clip-on mustache and the night before, at the pub (another Christmas tradition in England is to go to a pub on Christmas eve), I got a comb for a barbie doll), and a very dumb joke (they're always, always dumb, or they're not a Christmas cracker joke). The Christmas cracker thing wasn't new to me, as my mom has always had them for us on Christmas, but for my two American friends it was a new experience and, actually, I'd never opened them the arm-crossing way!

On Christmas morning they even had presents for us to open! We hadn't expected anything at all, and their inviting us into their home had been gift enough for Tara, Phil, and myself, but I have to admit, it was really nice to have some wrapping paper to unwrap that morning! I got a "Little Miss Sunshine" coffee mug (not the one you're thinking of, see the link! And here's the back of the mug.), which was AWESOME! I also got a chocolate orange, YUM! And a tiny book of funny anecdotes, from "Father Christmas." ;)

Throughout our few days in Felix's home we played games (I found a new game that I'm ABSOLUTELY in love with called Pit...I hear we have it in the U.S. and will be buying it when I get back and forcing people to play it with me. Get ready!) We also watched the Queen's speech, which was really lame. She talked about sports and their importance to the well-being of the U.K., then she watched some choir boys sing. lol Yea...good stuff. We went to a couple of pubs in Godalming (which I wish we had more of in the U.S...I decided pubs are awesome.), went to a few shops (including a candy shop...and just check this place out! I can't even tell you how many things I saw in England that made me think of Harry Potter...this being one of them!).

Speaking of Harry Potter, Felix's dad also showed us a school in Godalming that made it into the top 5 choices for Hogwarts in the movies...pretty cool! Also, for those of you who have seen The Holiday, with Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, and Jack Black, the scene where Cameron is in England and goes into a grocery store and drinks a bottle of wine as she's shopping...that was shot at a grocery store in Godalming.

What else did we do? We made mince pies (which I always thought was a meat pie...turns out it's a fruit pie with raisins and stuff...sad times, but a cool cultural experience!). And then, on our last day in England, we took a day trip to London, before taking the eurostar back to Paris. London was great as well, but I prefered the quaint small-town life that we had in Godalming. In London we saw Trafalgar Square, The National Portrait Gallery (sounds kinda lame, but it's not at all! It's Felix's favorite museum in the city and with reason. Each portrait has information about it's subject next to it and the portraits are done in different mediums by many different artists and their subjects are contermporary through ancient and fascinating). We also went to the National Gallery and spent a short while being deep and artsy before wandering a bit more. We saw Westminster Abbey, Parlament, Big Ben, the London Eye, and the street where Hermione disapparated Ron and Harry to after the wedding in the more recent HP movie! hahaha No, but seriously, pretty cool.

We finished the day with a late pub lunch, where I finally got my English pub meal of meat pie, potatoes, peas, carrots and cider. How many times can I say "YUM" in this entry before it gets annoying? YUM!

Then we were back in St. Pancras Station (not without stopping at King's Cross Station to try and find platform 9 and 3/4, of course! No luck...I don't think it's actually between 9 and 10...oddly enough), and on our way back to France.

What a very merry Christmas, indeed!

Next: My New Year's Resolutions (but for now I have to go to work)