Halloween

We are home, showered and in bed. At 9:30 on Halloween. AND we had a 20 minute walk home and got home over an hour ago. Halloween in London was long and intense, but it started early and ended early - and that I like.

In Newton our whole neighborhood goes to Oxford Rd, and it's now known around Newton as a great place to trick or treat. It starts around 6:30, and we saw ALL of the kids (and my!) friends there. Some houses went all out. Nearly every single one gives candy and has a fun attitude about it. 

Plus, Matt is Mr Halloween. He has all of these (ridiculous) decorations that he puts up at our house, and even though we are never home to give candy, our house is super Halloweeny for a great deal of October. 

For a bunch of years - including last year in our back yard - we hosted pizza before trick or treating, and it's just so fun. We love Halloween in Newton.

Multiple people here said Halloween is INSANE in St John's Wood and a few other parts of London. They said the houses go all out and you get so much candy - like way more than in the States. We had very high expectations. And in the end. Eh.

Sam was the lion from Wizard of Oz in a group of girls who were other Ozzians and went to Dorothy's house after school. They generously fed them all and took them out around 5. I met up with them part way through the night.

I picked the boys up at 4 from school, and we used the bathroom, ate, left everything we could at school and headed out from there. We met Matt on the way and headed to Hamilton Terrace, which is a street that I believe is between St John's Wood and Maida Vale. It has really big houses, nearly all with gates. A few of the houses indeed went all out. They must get thousands of trick or treaters - it was like a candy factory. But it was probably only about a third of the houses. We walked from there on Carlton Hill and Clifton Hill towards (THE) Abbey Rd, and that was pretty spectacular. FILLED with kids, most houses participated, people set up tables at their gates and huge queues for candy. 

Unfortunately it started POURING for about an hour, but it barely slowed down the kids. Around 5:30 it changed to the over 7 crowd and by 6:30 the kids were DONE. I was with Sam and friends, and they wanted to go back and trade candy. Dorothy's family (again, super generously) had the Ozzians and the moms for a drink while the kids traded and then hid and went seeking and again, out by 7:55 or so and home by 8:15. Magic.

The boys had a good time, went to loads of houses and even a lot between SJW and our house in Lower Belsize Park, but also wanted to go home and were home in the 6's. Elie got a lot of compliments on his costume (Elie and I made it. 80% me, but truly a partnership in some ways). Koby was jealous but also looked wonderful as some scary bad character from something I don't know.

They ended up with way less candy than they usually get in Newton. They were slightly underwhelmed, but we agreed that 1) Oxford is just awesome, and we're so lucky. 2) we had really high expectations. 3) rain definitely didn't help the situation.

In other news...things are starting to get fixed (though there was still a puddle under the dryer today AND the shower still drips, but less frequently). We lost internet for a full day (I didn't expect that here - maybe a few hours, but a DAY??). We have hosted a few meals, and it's so nice to be able to do that again (Covid and we have space). We saw Dan Hoenig and Ozsel and their son Dylan, friends of Matt's from Michigan, but Dan was also friends with Kenny - super super nice when we hang with them. We also had Shana's sister, Mara and her husband Ben and baby Sadie for dinner and that was lovely. AND we had Jessica, Rich and fam over for brunch on Sunday, and that too was just so lovely. Our kids all really love each other, and it's just always so nice. We also had shabbat dinner with a new friend who is friends with Tova, a good friend from Newton, so that was a nice connection, and we have kids the same age and go to shul together. 

Otherwise, life as normal. Though we're definitely leaving whatever honeymoon phase we had and entering into a small valley of despair. Though today on the way to trick or treat, Elie was explaining to me that when he told friends he was moving, everyone felt really bad for him and told him it's really hard. He said it's really not that hard. He said he's still working on the friends thing (playdate on Friday - we are working on this), but otherwise he hasn't had a hard time moving and he's doing pretty well. Considering he was the one who was struggling the most, that's good.

And in other news on the other side of the ocean...just when I was about to say "My parents made the whole trip and didn't get covid!!!" They got covid. First my dad. Now my mom too. Pretty sure he got it on the way home, though he actually wore a mask for the great majority of the journey. We wish them a speedy recovery. So far pretty normal symptoms and experiences. Let's hope it stays that way.

As usual - random photos in random order.

This was one house in SJW that was giving away something people really wanted. I mean that's a lot of people. Photo credit to Sam's friend's mom (Dorothy).

The Ozzians - photo credit to another friend's mom (scarecrow)

We signed up to volunteer two Sundays ago, through a volunteer day with ASL. We cleaned up a primary school yard including sanding, painting, planting, cleaning, etc. It was really nice.

At least Matt got to garden a bit

Koby's been scooting to school. Looks just like our life in Newton in some ways. The leaves are GORGEOUS here now.

He's been hoverboarding too. We went to the Tesco Express just a few mins walk from our house. This is the pub on the way - just a store or two away from the Tesco.

It's hard to hoverboard on cobblestones. (and we always have to watch the McLaren that lives opposite us)

Mara! It was so nice.

Sadie! Sam played with her for hours and then promptly fell asleep on the couch. They said kids exhaust them. (You're telling ME!!??)

On Hamilton Terrace around 4:45

Clifton Hill

The candy doesn't look that different from what they get in the states (that surprised me!), but definitely less :)

Guest Blog: My dad!!

Please see my dad's blog debuts here and here. Back AGAIN by popular demand!!

Sue and I (Melanie’s Mom and Dad) just returned from a 2 week London visit.) Last week Melanie asked me to contribute to her blog.  I originally declined, but woke up thinking about many memorable events. Here are some observations and comments.

Overall, it was great!  We loved seeing the family and how they live. As grandparents feeling their age, we were not thrilled with their decision to move.  But seeing how quickly the grandkids have adapted to their new surroundings has eased some of our concerns. 

The kids greeted us outdoors. They couldn’t wait to give us a tour of their new place.  

The boys have anglicized quickly.  They rarely use the word “soccer” now.  It’s all FOOTBALL.   And what we used to call football is now American football.

We made many trips to the parks to practice.  We got to attend several matches.

And who knew three could play Ultimate Frisbee?

The boys are still closely following the college and NFL scores and standings.

On their many walks the boys have learned to recognize  high end sports and other luxury cars from afar.  

Samara and the boys have made other friends quickly.

Samara had 3 horseback riding opportunities during our visit.  They had some concerns about English vs Western

We were lucky that the furniture and goods shipment from Boston arrived just before we did.   They also just took possession of their place a few days before.  I was able to help assemble new furniture.

A major highlight was seeing their new school.  We got a short tour and met some teachers. It’s very impressive for many reasons.  I think the kids love it.  It will be very difficult to leave.

Melanie told us that we would walking a lot.  She was right.  Sue and I had never before checked how many steps we take in a day.  Here, we did.  Some days were between 25000 and 30000.   I averaged 17000/day the first week.  Sue walked more than I did— she never missed her daily solo walk.

People are nice and polite, but driving is bit aggressive and not pedestrian friendly.  Other highlights included the Bar with the Michigan Wolverine following and the bustling open-air markets

We NEVER needed cash for anything.  TAP credit cards were accepted universally, served as Tube tickets, and could even pay street busker tips.

Melanie made us aware of an amazing APP specific to getting around London.  After entering the destination,  suggested combination walk-bus-train options are presented.  We used it to get to Tate Modern.  Great Cezanne exhibit.

Negatives?:

M&M are working really, really hard to run their  household.  Transporting kids to different after school situations is complex.  It takes a lot of time to commute, shop, and deal with home issues.  We did take advantage of meal deliveries a few times.  

Living greenly, they haven’t fired up the boiler.  Yet.

…Looking forward to our next visit.    And going back to sleep, now…..

My mom added...

Walking back home from Primrose Hill with the kids we spotted this splendidly illuminated tree.

How the kids light up our lives....

Visit with some Grandparents

Since my last post, Matt was in the US and we got to enjoy Papa and Savta. The first week we all walked to and from school, the kids showed them around, they got their bearings. On the weekend we had our first guests for Shabbat dinner (Stephanie and Oscar), and I got to be a soccer mom (usually I'm a shul mom, but soccer dad was away). Koby had a game on Saturday morning, which he had fun with. Elie kicked a ball around. Sam stayed home alone. Papa, Savta and I watched. We chilled Saturday afternoon before heading to the London Eye area, and South Bank to walk around and get food to go watch the Michigan game at the bar. We made it to halftime - luckily it wasn't a stressful game. Super fun. Go Blue!

Sunday we all walked the kids to cheder (hebrew school), and I got stuff done, like grocery shopping, etc. When we picked up the kids we ubered to Camden Market to get lunch and Sam wanted to shop. They have favorite places they like to eat at and check out, so that was easy peasy and fun. After an early dinner, Savta, Sam and I went to see Six as part of Sam's birthday. It was REALLY REALLY FUN and great. Sam knew every word (but I sure hope they don't understand every word!), and LOOOOOOVED it. I absolutely love how accessibly theater is here. It's really reasonable prices - we got great tickets on the ground level for 55 GBP each, a few weeks before the show. There were cheaper seats for 35 GBP. That's just so reasonable to see a fabulous show. 

Monday through Wednesday were normal school days, and Papa and Savta were able to help with some of the drop offs and pick ups. We had a trip together to Borough Market for lunch (and they went to the Tate Modern and loved it), and I actually had a lot of work to do. They lived kinda a normal life here. Exercise. Bridge online. Walks here and there and chilling. My mom is in super planning mode, since she's the co-chair of Limmud (and see this!), which is happening next weekend! They also got to go to football practice at the boys' favorite park and help watch the boys so I could take Sam to a riding lesson without schlepping everyone.

Thursday and Friday the kids were off school for parent-teacher conferences. Thursday Matt came home, and we spent the afternoon in conferences, while my parents watched the kids. (The morning was building Elie's halloween costume - more info coming soon). For Elie and Koby there is a half hour time slot that we got to talk to their teachers. For Sam, all of the middle school teachers were at desks in the gym, and we had a map and a list of teachers. They sometimes had queues (I didn't even get to reach the social studies teacher! She always had people waiting, and then it ended!). I was so so so impressed with the school and teachers. The teachers had incredible insights into our kids. They pegged their behaviors and motivations, strengths and weaknesses (with kindness) in a way I have never experienced before. It was awesome and so helpful. We walked away with some real things we can do to support our kids, new and useful information and also knowing that our kids are in incredible hands.

Friday I took Sam to a riding lesson and then we all went to the dentist before we had a (late - bc the plumber was at our place and had to turn off the water and I couldn't cook!) nice shabbat dinner. Today was soccer and shul with some organizing and grocery shopping and a trip to the park.

I am trying to work on myself and feeling better/getting back to being physical after my injury. I have been seeing a physio (like a physical therapist but not quite). He was doing some INTENSE massage and also giving me some strengthening exercises. Now he's working with me on jumping and next is agility. I'm trying to get back to tennis in the next few weeks. Injury was almost five months ago. I have also started seeing a trainer to try to get strong again and also started doing yoga (with my friend Brandi - she's amazing if you are looking for online yoga). I realized I can't bend over at all without pain, I can't move quickly, I don't fit into my clothes...I guess that all happens when you are basically stagnant for a few months, but boy am I weak and slothlike. Working on it. So far I have seen Natasa twice, and the first time KICKED MY ARSE, and this past week was still hard but I'm not as sore, so I think that might be progress. Takes time.

Slightly related: I finally took out my bike. I biked to a trainer appointment, and it was so easy and not that scary. I think we will bike places, but we have to make sure we can be back before dark. Seems dangerous on these narrow streets - especially with the kids. It was so fast.

First impressions of dental care here: We all (minus Matt) had appointments with the dental hygienist at a dental practice in Belsize, recommended by the American School community and right around the corner from our house. We had pretty low expectations, as England is not known for its quality dental care to say the least. We had a totally thorough cleaning, and then we learned that you make a separate appointment to see the dentist, so we have those for a few weeks from now. The hygienist seemed excited to tell me that each of the kids and I didn't have gum disease - I was like, duh - my dad was a dentist and we're pretty orally aware, but it seemed that may not have been the norm. Overall it felt comfortable.

We are settling into our house. We have now spent a few weeks here, and it's feeling more like home. It is INCREDIBLY creaky and does often feel like everything does not work, and I think our landlord may be super sick of me and my "now this doesn't work" messages, but slowly slowly. Imminent repairs include our shower, kids' faucet and a dryer that leaves a puddle after each load (but we're SO GRATEFUL to have a dryer at all). Hopefully those will be fixed this week.

We had a wonderful visit with my parents. They were helpful. Kids enjoyed. They seemed to have enjoyed. They saw our life here. Mission accomplished.

Paella at Borough Market. No judgement.

Sam wanted to pinch it

Elie wanted to touch it

Koby wanted it sticking out of his head

Sam riding a horse IN TRAFFIC heading into Hyde Park

Stables are in mews, which is the type of housing where we live, but horses actually live in these

so nice to have Papa and Savta on the tube

Stay with that google map so you know where you're going. Here's there on the high street in St John's Wood, about to find their way home for the first time (spoiler: they made it)

We all went to Sam's first lesson, but I have taken them back for two more

While waiting in Hyde Park

Koby wanted to try to dumplings from this stand that we walk by twice a day every day. They were delicious.

At Primrose Hill Park. The top of this park is about 5 minutes walk from our house. It's a few more minutes to this view point, but it's super close, and it's super pretty!

Our first dinner hosted in our house. My dad and I built this table (thanks, Dad!)

Paris!

We had our first trip! It included telling people we live in London. That was interesting and didn't feel true. Where are you from? It's complicated.

But anyways...I grabbed the kids from school and ran back to drop heavy and bathing suit-y stuff and we took the tube to St Pancras Station. Other than having to carry bags on stairs, it was so super easy. Got to the station, went through security and immigration and waited for a bit before we got on the Eurostar to Paris. The kids were head-deep in ipads and I survived without getting motion sickness. The train went up to 280 km/h and went under the English Channel to get to France. The last time I was on that train was in 1999 in the smoking car when I went to visit Jill in Sussex, from Paris, my junior year abroad. There are no longer smoking cars. It was gross.

We arrived in Paris and took the metro to our hotel. We ventured out to find dinner at 9pm local time. I thought that was late. Everyone else thought that was normal. Lots of people having dinner. 

Saturday we headed straight for the Eiffel Tower (by bus) to make sure to get to it on the trip, and online tickets had been sold out since we decided to take our trip. We got there at 9:15, they opened at 9:30, and we were in within a few minutes. We went to the top, and the kids were impressed with the technology (and the view a little bit). 

We then walked from there to Arc de Triomphe and up Champs Elysees. Kids were slightly impressed. I could walk around Paris for days. We found lunch at a cafe somewhere and ice cream and tea in a little place in Tuileries Gardens. It's all about food breaks with kids. Then past the Louvre, walked down by the river towards Notre Dame. We couldn't get close, but we got a nice view of scaffolding from afar. The kids were definitely not excited about that, but I guess that makes sense, since they have no idea how cool it is. We kept walking and headed towards Pompidou Centre and then found a bus near-ish there to head back for a rest before we headed out for dinner. Nine miles. Saw many of the Paris highlights. Matt and I loved it. Kids hated the walking.

Sunday we were up early again for 9:30 tickets at the Louvre. We went to see some of the highlights (including, of course, the Mona Lisa) and wandered a lot. We made it until about noon before we completely expired. The mummy at the end was pretty cool. We found lunch back at another place in Tuileries and kids played on a carousel and in the park for a while before we headed to a river cruise. Other than the super drunk group behind us, the ride was so cool! We went in three locks on a canal, in a super long tunnel that went out to the Seine and then up and back the Seine, seeing a lot of what we walked by the previous day. Elie slept for nearly all of it. Koby and Sam were mildly interested. Matt and I loved it. The tunnel was crazy. It was nearly 2 km long and from the 1860s. Super cool. That night I insisted on a French restaurant. It was a mostly-success. I had my french food (some meat with risotto, greens, creamy stuff and deliciousness), Matt had a pasta, Koby had a burger, Elie had a cheese board, Sam had schnitzel and chips. 

Monday we were leaving at night, and when I booked the tickets, I didn't realize nearly everything else we wanted to do in Paris would be closed. Musee D'Orsay. Versailles (ok, outside of Paris). Every other interesting museum. We considered a walking tour or baking lesson or something, but in the end, the kids just wanted to sleep in and relax. So we slept until 9, had a late breakfast, and then we headed to Monmartre and slowly wound through the streets and (ridiculously touristy, but kids loved) shops. I tried to stop at as many boulangeries as possible all along the way there and the way out to sample different croissants, pan au chocolates and baguettes. Kids also chose chocolate hot dogs - I mean eclairs. We walked from there back towards Les Halles where we had seen lots of shopping. We went in a bunch of shops. Ate more. Stopped for smoothies. We gave the kids 10 euros to spend on something Paris, which we thought would be fun, but that ended up being stressful for them. Though this day was their favorite. I think because we had no agenda other than eating and shopping (though we probably spent about 30 euros total - we're not great in the spending money department). We took a bus back to the area near our hotel, ate some great Italian food, grabbed our stuff and went to Gare Du Nord, grabbed our train back to London. 

SUPER EASY trip. In the end, while there were a lot of complaints, the kids had fun and they all want to go back. Turns out Matt and I really just like to walk around a lot and see cool stuff. I also like to eat a lot. Kids like to sit. Can win 'em all.

Separately - we have now spent more nights in our house in London than we did in Paris. We grabbed that fourth night last night, though it was a short one, since Matt and I were up super late putting together IKEA furniture that was supposed to arrive Thursday but instead arrived as we were leaving for Paris. Parents' plane landed at 7am today, and they needed a couch! Matt left at 9:30 this am for a trip to the US for work. It's a revolving door around here. (not by accident)

We had a great first day with Papa and Savta. Savta, Sam and I went grocery shopping. Then we all went to Primrose Hill Park to play football (American), football (rest of the world) and check out the view. Then we went to get new shoes for the boys, grabbed some dumplings from the guy who sells them on our street and headed back for dinner. Chill, nice. Kids had yesterday and today off for fall break. Hectic life resumes tomorrow. 

Pics in almost completely backwards order, other than this eiffel pic - which I think is bc it's from Matt's phone. Weird.

Sandy Birnholtz style pic under the Eiffel Tower

My 5 euro purchase in Paris. But Sam and Matt said my head looks too tall in it. I like it.

Tried this on many many posts in Paris

Chocolate hot dog (eclaire) and croissant

baguette. Sorry for Elie's face. In every pic.

Sam was happy. I promise. But it was a lot of stairs to get there.

Did you know there are 6 Statues of Liberty in Paris?  

The boat ride in the tunnel

And the locks

Sometimes they like each other

Macarons. YUM

The street of our hotel

Hotel de'ville. With the symbol of the olympics, since they're hosting in 2024

Sam took

Top of the tour

Bottom of the tour

When the kids get reunited with their toys, it's always the dress up that comes out first

this is our house/street a long time ago! horses lived here with their carriages. So cool.

Sam turned 12! They picked a restaurant they liked and we slept in a hotel that night, since we had a night between the air bnb and our beds having sheets available to them. Could have been worse, but definitely a tricky time to have a birthday.

Empty moving truck (almost). We had 1.75 of these. They brought two smaller ones so they could park them in the city. It wasn't too bad (says the person who didn't carry any of it inside).

Full moving truck