The Best "Advert"

Jeff and I don't watch a lot of T.V. but this "advert" or "commercial" is the best! Not only do I love 80's music, but you add a kitten and a sweet little girl both singing "We Built This City"...and it officially becomes my favorite commercial ever. US friends, this is up there with the AT&T commercials with the group of little kids. Enjoy one of the UK's finest adverts below.

And the funny part about it, when it plays here we have no idea what they are even advertising for. I had to google it once I saw it to find that it is for a UK mobile phone company.

Dub, Dub, Dub, DUBLIN!

What an amazing long weekend we had in Dublin, Ireland! This is the first of many trips outside of the United Kingdom, and we enjoyed every minute of it. We got up at 3:15 AM on Saturday morning to gather our things, hop on a bus, head to the airport, to make our 6:30 flight to Ireland. It was a quick flight, probably because I slept the entire way...including take-off. Who does that?!?  Forty minutes later we were in Dublin. We took yet another bus to take us to the city centre.

We put our belongings in our hotel room, and headed out to explore. We headed to Trinity College first and walked around a little. We were starving and stopped at a local pub for a great Irish breakfast. It was so relaxing to just sit around drinking coffee and taking it all in. Back to exploring after our bellies were full!

 Trinity College

 Breakfast at O'Neill's Bar & Restaurant. Great Irish breakfast!

We then walked around, popped into a few shops. My mom will understand this, as Jeff and her are bakery buddies. They love their sweets. Every time we went past a chocolate shop or bakery...Jeff stopped and stared. It was pretty funny. We visited a few really cute parks as well.

   St. Stephan's Park and the second one is a mystery, but we're thinking it was Merrion Square.

Street performers (the dog is fake), one of the many bakeries, and beautiful architecture on the way to the Guinness Storehouse. 

Next up on the list was the Guinness Storehouse. We spent quite some time here learning how it is created. Jeff really enjoyed the video portion on how they made barrels. It was definitely some process! Always wanting to know how things are made/work. {#engineerforlife} We also took a class on how to pour the perfect pint! I was volunteered by my wonderful husband to be the demonstrator. I taught the rest of the group how to pour the perfect pint...6 steps to get there!

Outside the Guinness Storehouse.

How the bottles have changed over time. 

 Purifying the water.

 The barrels and me with my perfectly poured pint and certificate to prove it!

Seven stories high...we enjoyed our pints at the Galaxy Bar.

 Clearly hard at work and taking my job seriously!

Jeff was pretty good at pouring his. He asked the teacher, and his was one of the best pours. {#teacherspet}

We finished up our fun in Dublin watching Ireland Vs. England in the 6 Nations match at a local pub where we had some traditional Irish food and beer. It was a fun night. The next day we woke up and went on a long walk to some nearby famous sights and strolled around Phoenix Park and watched a Gaelic Football game. We had no idea what sport was being played because at times it looked like football, then basketball, then soccer, and then rugby!  We finally asked and then we attempted to watch to learn the rules. We ended our night with a few pints and attempting to find/hear some Irish music. The pub we chose was playing music, but it ended up being Johnny Cash and some random 90's music. 

 The Wellington Monument.

 Gaelic Game (match?)

 The Samuel Beckett Bridge. It is the shape of a harp as that is an iconic symbol in Ireland.

Another view, you can see the harp aspect of it better here.

 

 The first photograph is a memorial of the Great Famine in Ireland. The second photograph is dedicated to Daniel O'Connell, who was a famous political leader in Ireland.

 And 15+ miles later...we completed our trip to Dublin, Ireland.

Go Panters, Go!

Saturday night we went to a Nottingham Panthers hockey game. It was a packed game, and we had a really good time sitting front row! We were up, close, and personal in the heat of the action, right by the glass. We were able to get really good views of a few fights out on the ice. Pretty hilarious to see them and hear the fans yelling.  At one point, I was just sitting there laughing because of the things the fans were yelling in their British accents.

Unfortunately, the panthers got their butts' kicked (1-3). We were happy to see that fans stayed through the entire game, although we knew they were going to lose. True loyalty. We had a few beers while we were there, and I had a footlong hotdog. Wasn't quite the same as my love for footlongs at ballparks in the US.

**Be expecting a Guest Blogger here sometime very soon. Hint: He is a boy, he lives with me, works at Rolls Royce, and his name is not Mackey. Get pumped!

The Crazy Weather in Nottingham...

Knowing I needed to run a few errands, I was quickly disappointed when I looked outside to see it was raining. Ugh...errands in the rain are NO fun, especially when you walk everywhere! I went up to the window to see this white stuff falling from the sky. I know my Indiana friends probably know this mystery of mine far too well..

A few hours later, the weather was a different story! Only in England...

A Walk Through Sherwood Forest

We traveled about 45 minutes to walk the trails of Sherwood Forest. Jeff and I were able to see the Major Oak tree. In their attempts to try to preserve the tree, they held it up with metal rods and cables. The tree has stood there for over 1,150 years. That's a long time! We walked a short mile route to see the tree, then headed on a longer adventure for a few more miles. As always, it was muddy and we had to make our own trails at a few points so we wouldn't walk through muddy waters. It was a beautiful day out and we enjoyed our time with nature.

 The one mile loop to the Major Oak Tree. 

 Robin Hood's meeting spot: The Major Oak Tree

 Being a little silly in the exhibit.

 The trees were massive!

Beautiful landscape on the last leg of the outer loop trail.

Meeting New People

I'm slacking in the picture department this week. Sorry! I think things are becoming more "normal" and because of that I think I don't think about taking pictures of my daily life. 

We have been really blessed in meeting new people over here. On Tuesday, we had about 7 other friends from Jeff's work over for fajita night. It was fun to cook "American" fajitas, and to have great company to share them. I made some homemade guacamole and peanut butter cookies as well. I think they enjoyed trying something different.

Yesterday, I was asked to meet up with other wives from the US that are here because their husband was transferred, like Jeff. They call themselves the Better Halves Club. I had such a great time! I really enjoyed swapping stories, hearing about funny mishaps, and their traveling adventures. Most of them have been here for quite some time, so they had some great advice to share. They made me so excited for some of our bigger trips coming up.  The food was great. It has been really nice experiencing a new way of lunch dining: glass of wine, salad, entree, YUMMY dessert, and ending with a coffee. This may be setting me up for failure when we return... After the lunch, another one of the wives drove me to the mall. She gave me the 4-1-1 on all the shops. She may have unleashed the shopping monster in me.

All in all, we have been really blessed with the people so early on in our adventure. #newfriends

Jeff Made Me Drive

I knew this day would come. Jeff made me drive.

No pictures to post nor video. I was pretty nervous. Jeff told me "Well, we can drive around the parking lot for a while." I told him I didn't need help learning HOW to drive. I was nervous about the placement of the driver's seat and ya know...driving on the opposite side of the road! I continued to reach to the right for the shifter, which was always on my left. Other than that, I felt comfortable with the mechanics of the car.

Jeff said I did well. Although I was getting a few:

  "Ehhhh...get over, Sarah!"

"Watch your lines."

"I can't see in your mirrors, so I don't know if a car is coming."

"You're not going the speed limit, are you?"

"The bus is coming...get over."

Needless to say, we're safe.

A Day in York

We had an amazing visit to York (England) on Saturday. York is about an hour and a half away, so we took a quick drive up there for the day.  The whole city is enclosed by a stone wall. We were able to walk around about half of it. It is pretty high up, so it had nice views.

 If you look closely, you can see the wall that surrounds the city.

 We walked around the city, which was surprisingly busy. Lots of people out shopping, eating, and having a few beers. We were able to see Clifford's Tower, but decided to not go up in it. We headed straight for York Minster, a beautiful church nearby. We bought tickets to go on a guided tour around the minster. It was really neat, and we were able to see so many more details that way. 

Clifford's Tower

The outside of York Minster, the main entrance, and the side where the tower is located.

After our tour, we climbed 245 stairs in this winding stairwell. It got pretty claustrophobic at times. I think if you would have tested my pulse at one point...they would have made me sit down! I was getting nervous hearing loud BOOMS and not knowing where they were coming from. We got to the top and the booming was the wind hitting the tower and...us. We were blowing all over the place; trying to enjoy the beautiful views. We were able to enjoy the top area before we headed down 245 more stairs.

And I warn you, Jeff had the camera due to me holding on for dear life. I apologize for my soon-to-be photo shoot. 

 

 View from the crosswalk from one tower to another...and yet more steps to go!

 

We made it to the top! Beautiful views from every angle and too many to post them ALL!

Told you, I was giving myself a photo shoot. The wind was out of control! In the second picture, you can see the small area we had to walk when getting to the top and bottom of the tower.

And everyone needs a good laugh...

 I thought Jeff was taking a picture of my crazy hair in the wind...he is so sneaky!

 

We ended our time in York going to Harker's. We went there due it being the last name of a close friend back home. We picked a winner! Jeff and I had some of the best food we've had since we moved over here. We were able to eat, drink a few beers, and watch rugby. I definitely think we'll be making a trip back soon.