The Last One From Oxford

Well guys, this is it. I can't believe the time has come to leave our wonderful adventure of a year in Oxford and head back to New York City tomorrow. Our time abroad has been a life-changing experience, and I'm so happy you all have been with us on the journey via this blog. Thank you for subscribing, reading, and commenting throughout the year--I never once felt homesick, and I think it was because you all were with us the whole time.

A lot of you have asked what's going to happen to this blog. I plan on keeping it up--the name and theme are obviously going to change since we won't be abroad anymore, but I'm looking forward to sharing our adventures in New York City once we're back. This has been a really fun outlet for me, and I hope you will continue checking in. I'm going to go on a brief hiatus for a couple of weeks while we get settled into our new (old) home and I make a few changes to the site, but I promise to be back soon!

We're currently trying to pack our life up into 4 suitcases and 2 carry-ons, so I need to run. But, I'll leave you with my top 5 favorite blog memories from this year. See you soon, America! xoxo

1. Mrs. Stratton's Words of Wisdom - That time we received marriage advice from a sweet British lady waiting for the bus.

2. A Round of Drinks With a Real Oxford Native - That time we met a new friend at the pub.

3. Sleeping Among the Monkeys - That time we slept in a hut in Thailand.

4. Making New Friends Far Away From Home - That time we met our best friends this year.

5. What It's Like to Attend a High Table Dinner in Oxford - That time we did the poshest thing ever.

Postcard I found from 1903 of people standing in front of our Oxford apartment. Just had to share here so I'll always have it.

Weekend Adventures: Hiking In the English Countryside

On Sunday, Christopher and I met up with his sweet coworker and her husband. The two of them are serious hikers and wanted to show us a side of Oxford you can really only get to by car. So, we drove to the little village of Ardington to begin our five mile walk through the English countryside. Here are some pictures from our adventure!

This is a house that actually belongs to someone. Or perhaps the vacation home of Jay Gatsby.

Just hanging with a bronze statue honoring a horse that won "Best In Show" one year.

Oxford wildlife

The trail

#TBT: 6 Never-Before-Seen Pics From Our Year Abroad, Plus The Story Behind Them

In honor of Throwback Thursday, I thought it'd be fun to share a few pics that never made it onto the blog this year but are still some of my favorites. Check them out below, along with the story behind them:

Bangkok, Thailand

Our friend David took this pic during a dinner cruise in Bangkok. Besides David being one of the most amazing photographers I know (and he does this just as a hobby, BTW), I love this picture because it was taken right after Christopher tried his first shrimp as an adult. He used to be the pickiest of eaters but his palate has matured a lot recently. I like to think the Thailand trip changed him for the better. In fact, as someone who used to oppose fish, he's even requested salmon for dinner a few times this year.

Stuttgart, Germany

When we visited my college friends Elise and Truett in Stuttgart, Germany, we also got to hang out with their three adorable little boys. On our last day there, we woke up to the first snowfall of the season. The whole town was covered in a blanket of white, so we went into the forest and played in it, obviously. I was not prepared with my flimsy little tennis shoes, so needless to say, we had a lot of fun slipping and sliding on those hills.

Bordeaux, France

This is me and my mother-in-law inside a fancy wine cellar at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte during our trip to Bordeaux. We were just casually enjoying a tasting when the person working there hit a magic button that made the floor open up, revealing a glittery staircase that led us to a room stocked with vintage wine and this really cool wall (I'm not making this up, although, yes, I realize it sounds like a dream).

A Comparative Analysis: British Festivals vs. American Ones

This weekend, we stumbled upon a huge festival happening in our neighborhood park. There were rides, arts & craft tents, performers, and food--all familiar things, sure, yet there were still some little things that felt different. Here's how a British festival compares to an American one, in case you were wondering:

Differences
1. No offense to Brits, but Americans should never order a burger at a festival in England based on the one we got. It was so bland and quite possibly the worst hamburger I've ever eaten in my life.

2. I spotted a sign at a craft tent that read something along the lines of "Polite Notice: All reasonable offers will be considered." First, I love their "polite notices." Usually those are found around town with some kind of rule tacked on the end like, "Polite Notice: Be quiet in this area." The Brits are just so darn polite. Second, I love that this vendor was like, "please haggle with me."

3. The car shows feature vehicles that have weird-looking license plates and steering wheels on the wrong side.

A Short Guide to Navigating British Pubs

One of the things we're going to miss most about Oxford is everything you see in that picture right there. The White Hart is our local pub--it's where Christopher and I cozied up during winter date nights and played scrabble by the fire. It's where we've brought all nine of our out-of-town guests to show them a true representation of British culture. It's where we've had fascinating conversations with strangers, and belly-laughs with our neighbors.

There are a lot of differences between a British pub and a traditional American bar. It took us a few times to get the hang of it. Here's what we've learned this year:

1. Seat yourself and order everything at the bar, including food.

2. There's no need to tip, but you can buy the bartender a drink if you'd like. Just say, "And one for yourself," when ordering. 

3. It's customary to take turns buying rounds of drinks. For example, if you're with another couple, one couple buys the first round, and the other couple gets the next.

4. There is an "invisible queue" at the bar, but the bartender knows who was first. Just make eye-contact with him or her, and you'll be waited on in an orderly fashion. No need to wave money or shout. In fact, don't do that... ever.

5. Order the pie. And I'm not talking about apple or chocolate.

6. If you have a large table and extra seats, don't be surprised if strangers sit with you. In fact, you should talk with them!

7. That's not an underaged kid breaking the law. He's 18 and legally allowed to drink. (Still makes me do a double take every time!)

What I Wish I Would Have Known About Moving Abroad

Our time in Oxford is coming to an end soon--we'll be heading back to the US in a little over a month. The emotions I'm feeling are very mixed and very bittersweet. While I'm excited to be back (there's definitely no place like home), this entire year has been one magical experience in my life.

My friend Megan (who is an amazing travel blogger and was actually the first one to encourage me to do this blog), just told me she's going to be doing the whole expat thing herself, moving to Hong Kong for six months with her husband! I love it because while my time is almost up, hers is about to begin. I like to think I'm passing the baton over to her.

So, I've been thinking what kind of advice I could give her or anyone else who's moving to another country. What is it that I wish someone would have told me? I came up with a few things and thought I'd share right here (hope these help you, M!)

1. Try to find an apartment before you move-- Because of our work schedules (and not really wanting to pay for an extra trip), Christopher and I just hopped on a plane with only a B&B reservation, thinking we'd magically find an apartment within a few days. That's how it works in NYC, at least. But the agents pretty much laughed in our face when we asked for something immediately. Turns out, the market here works a few months before move-in-date. Oops! Needless to say, it was the most stressful week of our lives. By some grace of god, we found a place and moved in seven days after we got to Oxford. If you absolutely can't make it to the place before you move like we did, my advice is to have a temporary housing backup plan for at least a month or two.

A Harry Potter Fan's Guide to Oxford

I often feel like I'm walking around Hogwarts when I'm in Oxford. That's because not only are some of the scenes in Harry Potter inspired by the city, they've also been filmed here. My friends Laura and Molly came to visit last weekend, and we tailored a chunk of our famous Pennell-guided walking tour to Laura's love for HP. For those of you who are fans and are planning a trip to Oxford, be sure to add these sights to your list, too!

Christ Church College
The famous Hogwarts main staircase and landing used in The Philosopher's Stone and The Chamber of Secrets:

And the Dining Hall was the inspiration for Hogwarts' Great Hall. Fun fact: they couldn't film the scenes in here because it could only fit three rows of tables, but they needed four because of the number of houses in the story:

The Divinity School
This intricate room built in 1448 was used as the Hogwarts infirmary in four films. It's also the place Professor McGonnagal taught students to dance in The Goblet of Fire:

Video: Our Trip to Italy

As I said last week, thank you all again for making us go to Italy (the best crowdsourcing outcome ever, I'd say!) It was such an amazing trip. Our bellies are still full (you'd think that would stop us from making homemade pizza tonight, but it didn't...) and I still want to say "grazie" every time someone does something for me, but other than that, we're pretty much back to normal. Although, the memories will last a lifetime.

I wanted to do something a little different for this trip recap, something that would make you feel even more a part of our trip since you guys helped us plan it. Here's a video I put together of the highlights of Venice and Florence. Hope you enjoy!

A Definitive Ranking of the Gelato I Had in Italy

We just got back from our anniversary trip, the one you guys helped us plan. I can't thank you enough for choosing Italy! It was perfect--our best trip in Europe this year! I'll do a bigger recap post next week, but in the meantime here's a little (literal?) taste of what we did: GELATO! After our first meal in Venice, we grabbed gelato and decided that we should taste all the flavors over the course of the trip. We ended up with a grand total of 14, and by the last day, I had fulfilled my gelato quota for the year. But every bite was oh-so-good. Here's how each one ranked in my book:

1. Mint Chocolate - First one in Italy, it's obviously going to be my favorite.

That's pure happiness right there.

 2. Tiramisu - One of my favorite Italian desserts made into gelato? Yes, please!

3. Coffee - Did I mention this year I finally started drinking coffee? And now, I'm getting desserts made out of it! Seriously, you wouldn't even recognize me anymore...

4. Pistachio - This one was a little grainier than the others, but I loved it! Reminded me of a grittier version of my favorite childhood pudding.

5. Triple Chocolate - Chocolate times three?!? Yum!


6. Caramel - Sometimes I think caramel is too sweet, but this was smooth and rich.

5 Things I Learned About Cooking From Our Neighbors

Samosa time!

While Christopher and I have had some amazing experiences living abroad this year, one of the things we're going to cherish forever is our friendship with our neighbors Aleks and Greg. I seriously can't imagine this year without them.

We've had a lot of fun moments together, most of them involve cooking at each others' apartments (well, cooking at ours usually involves borrowing most of their kitchen gadgets and bringing their dining room table into our place, so we've kind of stopped doing that and just go over to theirs' most of the time...)

Our latest dinner party started around 2pm and lasted until midnight--it was pretty epic. Chef Greg taught us how to make spring rolls and samosas. I was going to dedicate this blog to the recipes for those dishes, but I figured I'd go deeper and talk about what I learned about cooking from the two of them. (If you really want the recipes, email me!)

A Visit to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin

What do you do when you have a four-day weekend and you live in England? Jet off to Ireland, of course! Well, at least that's what we did... It's still crazy to me how cheap and fast flights are over here. We flew from London to Dublin in just one hour! Seriously, it used to take me longer to get from my neighborhood in Brooklyn to the Upper East Side.

The trip was amazing. But the absolute highlight was our visit to the Guinness Storehouse on Easter Sunday. I've always heard that pints of Guinness tasted different in Ireland, and I can now confirm that. (And it's not just at the Storehouse itself--we pretty much had a Guinness at every pub we went to while we were over there, and they were all equally amazing.)

The Storehouse is a destination in itself. We arrived around 1 and didn't leave until 5 (we probably would have stayed longer, but we had an early dinner and music pub crawl planned.) The first part of the experience involves learning about the history of the company which was started in 1759 by Arthur Guinness. Fun fact: That year, he signed a 9,000 year lease at £45 annually! If only my ancestors would have done that with a New York City apartment...

After agreeing that Arthur was a genius in his real-estate decisions, we walked around learning how they make the beer. There are fun hi-def presentations and exhibitions to show you what each step is. I like to think we're now experts in barley, hops, water, and yeast when it comes to brewing a Guinness.

Standing in front of the water display. The water in Guinness comes from springs in the Wicklow Mountains... in case you wanted to know.

Oh, I forgot to mention: the entire seven-story place is built around the world's largest pint glass (which if filled, would hold 14.3 million pints of Guinness.) We continued making our way up and came across the advertising section. I've always thought the old-timey ads for Guinness are just the cutest. So cute in fact, that we bought a tin version of one for our kitchen (and honestly, it'll probably be the only advertisement I'll ever willingly put in my home.)

An adorable display near the advertising section

We then got to my personal favorite part of the experience: learning how to pour the perfect pint. As we stood in line, I casually read the instructions on the wall:

Step 1. Take a cool, clean, dry Guinness glass.
Step 2. Hold the glass under the tap at a 45 degree angle.
Step 3. Pull the handle forward until it is horizontal and fill the glass to between 15mm and 20mm (about ¾”) from the top. Never put the tap spout into the Guinness.
Step 4. Leave the surge to settle (approx 119.5 secs).
Step 5. Top up the glass by pushing the tap handle backwards until the head is just proud of the glass. Do not let the stout overflow, and never use a spatula to level the head.

When we got up to the "class," our instructor asked for a volunteer. Seriously, there were like 20 seconds of silence among the group so I decided to raise my hand (I never volunteer for things like this, but I figured since I read up on the assignment, nothing could go wrong, right?)

Straight A student right there! ;)

An A-Z Guide to Oxford

I feel like we have a thousand people coming to visit from now until we move home at the end of June, and we're so excited to play host and show those of you who are coming a fun time in our temporary town. For those of you who can't make it to see us before we leave, I HIGHLY suggest making a trip here one day, especially if you're going to be in London at any point. It's about an hour and a half bus ride at the most... and well worth it.

Since we've been in planning mode for all of our upcoming guests, I figured I'd just put all of my favorite places and things to do in a post in case you want to plan your own trip one day. I used the A-Z guide template as a way of not getting too carried away. It helped me edit my suggestions down--but of course, if you want more, email me!

Ashmolean - This museum of art and archeology has collections acquired since 1683. It's got some pretty great things including the world's largest collection of Raphael drawings. Best of all? Admission is free!

Bury Knowle Park - This beautiful park was developed in 1930. The playground would make any American kid green with envy: it's got a zipline and a swing that gives even me butterflies when I'm on it.

Colleges - Oxford University isn't like a university as we would know it. It's made up of 38 colleges. Students can live at their colleges, and they'll study and take classes there, but they'll take their exams through the university. Each college is beautiful in its own way, and visitors are permitted to stroll around some of them. Many Harry Potter scenes were inspired by or filmed at New College and Christ Church (definitely worth a visit if you're into HP!)

Christ Church College

Double-Decker Buses - Most of the city buses feature the traditional UK style of two floors. The best seat/view in my opinion is in the very front on the 2nd floor.

English Breakfast - Baked beans for breakfast sounded kind of weird when I first moved here, but I'm obsessed with it now. It also typically comes with sausage, bacon, toast, grilled tomato, and a mushroom. My personal favorite is at Jacobs and Fields in Headington.

A Trip Down Cuckoo Lane...

You know that scene in Forrest Gump where he decides to go for a run and just keeps going? That kind of happened to us this weekend (except instead of a jog, it was more like a stroll). We woke up, rolled out of bed, and grabbed coffee from a local cafe. But it was such a pretty day--something we haven't had in a while--so we decided to take our lattes to go and explore the neighbourhood (<-- see what I did there?). We ended up venturing down this adorable path called Cuckoo Lane.

Selfie at the start of our journey. We had no idea how far we were about to go.

Once we came to the end of that path, we just kept going and found another one that lead us to a river full of mallards and swans--SWANS! What kind of magical place did we stumble across?

No ugly ducklings in this water. They were all so pretty.

We then went through a gate and entered what I pretended was a secret garden. For some reason this tree reminded me of Hogwarts:

Doesn't the tree look like it might grab Christopher and take him away?

I then got caught up in a forest of branches.

It's okay, I managed to get untangled.

Before we knew it, we were facing off with monsters...

My new dinosaur friend at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History

5 Things I Didn't Know About Wine Until I Went to Bordeaux

As much as I drink wine, you'd think I'd be an expert by now. My girlfriends and I have a wine club back in NYC where we do blind tastings, have field trips to local wineries, and invite guest speakers to come talk to us (we're so fancy, ya'll!) But there's still so much I don't know.

During our trip to France a couple of weeks ago with Christopher's parents, we stayed a few days in Bordeaux and visited something like ten wineries (although who really knows? I lost count after the third tasting…) While the wine was delicious, my favorite part about each visit was learning more about it.

So, I thought I'd share some of my favorite takeaways (I wrote them down during the tours so I wouldn't forget because, you know… wine.)

1. The barrels are everything.

All of the barrels we saw in Bordeaux were made from French oak that comes directly from a nearby forest. The average age of each tree used is 200 years old. One barrel costs around $600 to make--they're the biggest expense for the chateau each year. They only use them for two to three years, and then sell them at a super-reduced rate to other companies like whiskey producers. Makes you appreciate that "oaky" taste even more, huh?

2. Winemakers are messy… but creative.

Many of the barrels we saw were red in the middle, and it turns out it's because they paint them with wine to mask the spills they make when topping up (the process of adding more wine to the barrel to prevent oxidation). Eighty-nine percent of Bordeaux wine is red, and with 300 bottles in each barrel, there are bound to be some colorful spills.

3. The winemakers are at the mercy of the weather.

2013 was a bad, bad year for Bordeaux wines due to constant rain and hail storms--the worst conditions in over two decades, apparently. The winemakers in Bordeaux want to produce only the highest quality wine, even if that means they have to throw out 60 percent of their harvest. Unfortunately that means that some of them went out of business in 2013 because of Mother Nature.

Seeing Normandy Through My Great Aunt's Eyes

I recently got a very special package in the mail from my dad's cousin Edith. It was a copy of my Great Aunt's Polly's diary from when she was an army nurse in World War II. I sat down one rainy afternoon and read the entire thing in one sitting. I felt like I was meeting my soul sister/ spirit animal/ whatever you want to call it through her writing and given a unique and personalized glimpse of history, always more exciting than reading about it in a textbook.

The timing couldn't have been any more perfect either--Christopher and I were headed to Normandy with his parents so it would be even more impactful for me to walk where she walked and see the things she talked about. Well, we just got back from our trip, and I thought I'd rather have her words describe where we were, even though the images show a much different time:

"We stopped moving before daylight, after which we eased into our position among the thousands of ships standing off shore. Multiply the largest and most varied regatta you have ever seen by many times and you will have a fair picture of that water off the Normandy Beach. There was much wreckage. The bit of beach we could see was littered with it."

Omaha Beach, present day

"By the middle of the next day most of our wards were full and the business of repair well established. I walked through a ward and was appalled at the complete and thorough mangling. It shocks one's faith in humanity to see such destruction, and to realize that it is the result of brilliant, creative minds."

A collection of medical tools used in WWII seen at the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mère-Église

The Angoville au Plain Church was used as a makeshift hospital. Blood stains still remain on the pews as a reminder.

"We were having to patch the tents which were torn by flak. That peninsula positively bristled with anti-aircraft guns and they put on a show for us every night. We usually stayed outside the tents and watched during an attack. For some reason the noise sounds so much closer than the tracers looked, so it was considerably easier on the nerves to watch."

Photo of medical tents at the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mère-Église

"We passed great dumps of wreckage, our own as well as enemy vehicles. We saw many glider frames and other wrecked planes.... The size of the guns and the number of them were most impressive.... It was a menacing sight."

Standing in front of a German bunker, present day

Weekend Adventures Part 2: The Old Operating Theatre

For someone who shudders at the thought of blood and can't stand talking about anything medical, I think it's pretty ironic that I ended up marrying a surgeon. When we read before bed (because yes, we're old), I'll be engaged in something by Judy Blume while he's engrossed in something called The History of Blood and Guts (probably not the exact title but I swear it was something like that last week…) Often times he'll interrupt my reading with, "Do you know how they used to [insert something medical here]?" And the answer usually causes a vile reaction on my end.

So, naturally, when I told him I was taking him to London to celebrate his birthday last weekend, his only request was that we go to the Old Operating Theatre. All I know about this place is that it's where they used to do surgery without anesthetics (so, ew), but everyone knows you can't say no to the birthday boy.

After our walk around Portobello Market, we headed near the London Bridge to check it out. It's one of the oldest in Europe and is housed in the Herb Garret of St. Thomas Church. It used to be part of the old St. Thomas Hospital.

Visitors have to enter a super narrow spiral staircase that seems like it's never ending, especially when you're surrounded by people in front of and behind you and you're claustrophobic. I wondered if that's how patients had to enter and exit the building (because coming out of surgery and having to do this would be pretty uncomfortable), but there was another entrance that they went through thank goodness.

Can you sense my excitement?

The first room you entered once you made it into the museum was the roof of the church, and it smelled delicious since it was filled with herbs. The space was used by St. Thomas' Apothecary to store and cure herbs.

Spotted: A skeleton surrounded by herbs

This display of an old amputation set kind of made me want to faint at first, but then I just became super thankful that medicine has come such a long way since then. This was before they even knew what germs were so doctors would do operations without gloves and with dirty hands. Could you even imagine?!

The set contains: 1 saw, 2 spare blades, 2 forceps, tweezers, bone shears, 5 amputation knives, 0 anesthetics

Weekend Adventures Part 1: Portobello Market

A few weeks ago, I met my friend Lauren in London, and she took me to her old stomping grounds in Notting Hill. It was later in the day, and unfortunately we had just missed all the action of Portobello Market. "You have to come back and experience it," she told me.

So that's what I did on Saturday! Christopher and I boarded the Oxford Tube and headed to London bright and early (I mean, 9ish) to experience the bustling street market for ourselves.

The market stretches for about two miles on Portobello Road which is in the heart of Notting Hill. On Saturdays, street vendors set up shop and the crowds swarm the displays of antiques, new goods, and delicious food. I used to go to work in Times Square every day and can say that there were more people on this one street than the Crossroads of the World (except for on New Years Eve... that's just ridiculous.)

I spy Christopher in the crowd.

We went in with the goal of buying an antique tea pot to take back to the States with us. We've been trying to buy something from everywhere we go, but are quite possibly the worst shoppers ever and have only bought one official keepsake from our travels so far: a painting in Paris. We failed yet again and did not leave with a tea pot this time. But there were a lot of really great ones all over the market (another reason why I'm embarrassed we're so bad at this...)

So many choices!

This antique doll house was one of my favorites things I saw all day. I secretly wanted to play with it all day but Christopher wanted to keep going, and also I'm 30. Sigh...

Which room would you choose?

Then we came across some old-timey cameras--they were cool, but not Instagram friendly.

Say cheese!

New York, I Love (and Miss!) You...

When you live in New York, being away from the city for even just a long vacation leaves you feeling antsy and out of your element. You mean to tell me not every place in the world has cab drivers who tell you the meaning of life and all-you-can-drink brunch? It's been over seven months since I had to blatantly ignore the Mariachi band on the subway during my commute to work (anytime but morning guys… come on!) or wait in a line that wrapped all the way around the block at Trader Joe's (sometimes you just gotta stock up…), but quite frankly, I miss it.

Here are some other things about NYC that have me a little homesick for the best city in the world:

1. Dunkin' Donuts -- This one goes out especially to the adorable worker who always greeted me with a smile before work, had my iced coffee order ready without even asking me before I got to the checkout, and sometimes threw a free donut at me. I miss her so much! <3

2. Street Performers -- From the breakdancing teens who create a crowd so big you have to walk out of your way (I'd be annoyed if Michael Jackson wasn't blasting from the boom box…) to the jazz player outside your office providing some fun background noise for your afternoon project, there's culture everywhere you turn.

3. Five Dumplings For a Dollar -- Enough said…