Amazing friends...

I was sitting at Gail's coffee shop on Friday morning with Ric, just down the street from our house, when all of a sudden I feel a hug and kiss from someone behind me. It's about 8:30 in the morning, the day before my birthday, and we don't know anyone in Hampstead so in the split second before I turn around I have absolutely NO idea who this might be. Shock of all shocks when I see Kelley and Dan! Of course I burst into tears and it took me quiet a while to process that they have flown all the way from the US to come visit me in London. What amazing friends. I still can't hardly believe it.

And it just gets better because Brantley had been in London for the week working and so she was able to stay for the weekend as well. We of course had an awesome time, eating pub food at the Flask on Friday (see pub overview below) and wonderful sushi on Saturday at Sumosan. We spent a lot of quality time together and just caught up on life, after not having seen each other for months.

It meant so much to have you guys here, thank you a million times for coming! And of course, huge thanks to Ric for coordinating the whole surprise and masterfully keeping it a secret.

Turning 28 wasn't that bad after all :)

Ciao, from Firenze!

So, in the past week Ric and I have tasted "slow food" in Turin (which is a favorite of our favorite chef, Michael Tusk from Quince), we visited the white truffle festival in Alba, we laid by the pool in Portofino and we're now in Florence rediscovering the place that we called home for four months.... a lot has happened, and I'll report on it all once we're settled back in Hampstead, but for now we're just happy the pound is doing as well as it is and are talking about whether we want a summer house in Florence or if just visiting every fall will be enough (ha!). What an awesome city with so many memories. Hard to believe it's been seven years since we first moved into town, met the other Americani living in our building... and I guess the rest is history. Have to say that my heart belongs to Firenze...

Long Live the Core Seven!!

Fancy a pub, anyone?

Ric and I have recently realized that we have SIX different pubs within a three block radius from our front door. If that doesn't sum up London, I'm not sure what does. So I thought I'd run through the list, just to get you all excited for your visits (which I know everyone is planning). And to remind those of you who have already been here where we took you.

In no particular order:

Flask Tavern - The interesting thing about this pub is that it's split down the middle by a wall, but the bar crosses into both sides. The reason for the wall is that in the old days there were two different entrances to the bar... one for the poor people and one for the wealthy people. The bar was divided so that those two groups didn't have to mix, but the bar tenders served both. This place has recently been redone, but we were happy to see they kept the "poor" and "wealthy" sides separate... we, of course, hang out on the poor side. It's about a block away from us.

Horseshoe - The Shoe, as we call it, is a gastropub, which means it's been completely updated with a more modern feel and serves pretty decent food. My favorite part, though, is the great wine list, most of which you can get by the glass, and the fact that they have Anchor Steam by the bottle. Ric and I stop by The Shoe at least once a week, if not more. It's starting to feel like a home away from home (not sure if that's good or bad) and the people in there definitely recognize us. This one is about two blocks from our house.

Hollybush - The Hollybush is always a crowd pleaser and it's much more of a traditional English pub. The best part about this one is the walk to get there. You walk up these skinny little stairs and through winding sidewalks and all of a sudden you're at the top of a hill and have discovered this hidden treasure. And you get a great view over London on the way. We also hear they have fires in the big fireplaces and warm mulled wine in the winter. Can't wait!! Hollybush is about two blocks away, but the second block is straight up a hill.

The Wells - This is another gastropub that has been redone to feel much more modern. One of my favorite things about this place is that people come in on Sundays with all of their newspapers (there are about 18 different papers for London), spread them out, and sit back on the couch for the rest of the day to just relax and enjoy a beer or two. We don't hang out here quite as much as the others, but they do have good wine, and the food is pretty yummy as well. It's two blocks away and you pass it walking from our house to the Heath (which is the huge park/natural area in our neighborhood).

Duke of Hamilton - This one we discovered by accident one night when we were walking from the Hollybush to Ye Old White Bear and it's a truly English pub. The last time we were there we saw a couple of old guys playing cards, lots of neighbors gathered to watch "the rugby," and everyone in the place knew the bartenders. It's very cozy and British. Haven't been here a ton, but they also have a great open patio in the front that's nice when the weather is cooperating. This is about three blocks away and I read that it's been around since 1721.

Ye Old White Bear - Last, but not least, is Ye Old White Bear. I like this one because I think it's funny to call pretty much anything "Ye Old." Like "Ye Old" computer. "Ye Old" mash potatoes. "Ye Old" wine glass... You get the picture. Anyway, this one stays open the latest out of all these pubs, and even that isn't very late. We can probably get away with being there until about midnight, but then they turn the lights off and threaten to lock the door. This one is also very British (which you probably could have guessed) and has a small back patio. Ric is a huge fan and it's two blocks away.

You're probably wondering how all of these can be within two or three blocks, and it's a little hard to explain until you see our neighborhood. There are tons of little streets and passages so you can walk in almost any direction and within about three minutes you will hit a pub. Walk two more minutes and you'll find another one.

It's such a nice little cosy neighborhood and we can't wait to show you all around. Just ask those who have already been here (Ric's mom, my brother, Ric's dad and Lora), they can vouch for it!

Bye Tillie, we'll miss you

I have some sad news to report... over the weekend, Matilda Beemer Yarmey, the beloved family dog, passed away at the old age of 17 (or 119 in people years). Tillie had been with us since the Providence Country Club Charlotte days, moved out to California, then back to Charlottesville. Towards the end she couldn't see or hear, or smell very well, but she still seemed to be a happy dog and boy did she always love a treat. I think she just decided that she had lived a long enough life and was ready to move on.


Tillie was a great dog and she will be missed dearly.

Where's Ric? And I missed homecoming...

Not a whole lot to update since Ric's out of town and I've been hanging out on my own for the past few days. I did participate in a "Silly Games in the Park" event on Saturday put on by my very distant cousin, whom I met for the first time in London a couple weeks ago. Something called "Klub" was played, but I opted to lay in the sun instead. Also went to dinner with some Americans, one of whom went to Wake with me (Evan Remmes, for you Deamon Deacons out there) and I have to admit that it was nice to spend some time with a few fellow Southerners. They were all from NC/VA except for the one guy who was born and raised in San Francisco. How perfect!

It did mean that I missed my five year college reunion (not "anniversary" as I had been calling it all weekend)... But I guess that's part of living across the water.

So Ric's probably mid-seminar right now. Everyone send him good juju. If I had to guess, he's answering questions about the "credit crunch" and how it's going to impact the housing market and, tangentially, overseas investments in foreign oil.

In other news, here in the UK the fifth largest mortgage lender (Northern Rock) had to call in the Bank of England because of fears that it couldn't remain financially solvent. Kind of crazy because people over are lined up for blocks and blocks to take out their life savings... 2 billion pounds in the past couple days have been withdrawn. They're afraid that the company won't be around for much longer and they'll lose all of the money they've saved. I went to lunch this afternoon and thought people were waiting for a theater show, maybe a store opening or some celebrity book signing. Or maybe (hopefully) the iPhone was being released and they were all "queuing" for blocks to get the first one... which happens to be something the British people do very well...queue. However, once I noticed the median age of the group, I knew that couldn't be the case. Hundreds of people worried that they were going to lose their life savings and waiting for hours and hours in line to get it back (and put it "under the matress" as one woman was quoted as saying). Industry experts are saying that nothing like this has happened here since the 1930s. Obviously it's the UK media, so things are exaggerated, but it's still a pretty big deal.

Watching the Emmy's right now (one day late) and the guy from Lost won best supporting actor. What in the world is he wearing??!! A fluorescent pink shirt and black sequined tie?? Really? I don't think that have that store on the island...

What else...

Since Edinburgh, a lot as happened. We had a great visit from Ric's dad and Lora. Celebrated Lora's birthday. Had Donna from Sparkpr in town. And I had a huge event for work. And that was all in the same week....

The following Monday I collapsed from exhaustion (literally) and had to stay home for the day, laying on the couch and FINALLY finishing my book. Feeling much better and trying to take it a little easier this week.

Other updates... I've been asked to sit on the advisory board of a company called Avenue7, which is a fashion/social networking site for girls aged 12-17. And Ric's been working really late this week preparing for his seminars in the Chicago area. If anyone is visiting the Windy City next week, make sure to look him up!

Edinburgh Fringe Fest

On our first ever "bank holiday" in the UK, Ric and I headed up to Edinburgh Scotland (which I've been told should be pronounced Ed-in-bra, not Ed-in-burough as I had been doing...) for the annual Fringe Festival. It's the largest arts and theater festival in the world and lasts for over a month with 2,000 shows on at any given time. Ric and I didn't quite manage to see all 2,000, but we caught 4, all of which we enjoyed.

Here are the pictures from our trip: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelbremer/

Edinburgh is an absolutely gorgeous city that I would highly recommend visiting. It has the charm of a medieval castle and the beauty of the green highlands and ocean (or North Sea? I'm horrible with UK geography... is Scotland even in the UK?)