London Calling

I've been an anglophile pretty much as long as I can remember. I've always had a fascination with British culture and history. Visiting the UK has been a dream of mine for quite some time, and a few weeks ago that dream finally became a reality. Lacey and I packed our bags and set out to conquer London!

After our red-eye flight from Washington to London, we settled into our hotel near Gloucester Road in Kensington.

This was our tube (subway) station.

We strolled through nearby Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. I think that first day was the only time it was actually sunny and pleasant.

Queen's Gate - one of the many entrances to Hyde Park.

Kensington Palace - former home of Princess Diana. If you remember the images from after her death, this is where all those flowers were piled up.

Kensington Palace was also the home of Queen Victoria.

We then walked through the Victoria and Albert Museum, which has this beautiful sculpture in the atrium.

Honestly, I don't remember much about the museum because we were pretty much zombies at this point. After a hearty pub dinner, we rode the London Eye to take in views of the city.

The sun was just starting to set and the landmarks of London were becoming illuminated. Seeing Parliament and Big Ben for the first time was really quite thrilling.

After disembarking, we walked across the bridge to get a closer view.

Back from London

So I mentioned in my last post that I had a really amazing week, and that it was going to get even better. Well, I just returned from London a few days ago! Here's a picture to whet your appetite....hopefully I'll get the rest posted this weekend. Cheers!

World Series or Bust

This week is pretty close being to the Best Week Ever (if only the temperatures would get above 55). Sunday was Easter, which I always enjoy, and this year I went to the ballet as part of my Easter celebration. Then Monday was Opening Day for the Nationals. And then this weekend...well, you'll find out soon enough if you don't already know what I'm doing.

But back to Opening Day. After the Nationals' heartbreaking loss in the postseason last year, manager Davey Johnson has proclaimed that this year's theme is "World Series or Bust." Even SI and ESPN have predicted that the Nats will take it all (hopefully they didn't jinx the team). And there is definitely a buzz here in Washington. Monday's game notched the highest paid attendance of any regular-season game for the Nationals. The sellout crowd watched as Stephen Strasburg pitched a shutout game and Bryce Harper hit two home runs!

There was a carnival-like atmosphere outside the gates.

NL East Division Champion banners dotted the stadium.

GO NATS!!

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Alexandria sure does love a parade. So much so, that it holds its St. Patrick's Day parade two weeks early. Here are a few pics from last Saturday:

Alexandria will apparently allow anyone in the parade who wants to be in it, including storm troopers...

Alpine people...

and Central American dancers.

Sure, why not? Makes sense for a St. Patrick's Day parade.

Happy Presidents Day!

Alexandria had its annual George Washington Birthday Parade this past Monday (a.k.a. Presidents Day). It's one of the quaint traditions that I love about this place.

I almost snatched this dog out of the window.

 Not sure why Captain America was in the parade.

You know you're in the South when you have the Confederate Sons of America in the parade.

Adventures in California

I wish I could say I haven't had time to post my pictures from Christmas because I've been busy gallivanting around town and attending embassy parties, but the truth is I've just been lazy. So without further ado, here are a few pics from my time in SoCal...

On Christmas Eve we visited my old stomping ground: the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. They recently conducted a renovation of the entire museum, and there was a really neat exhibit on Walt Disney.

Air Force One - probably the coolest thing in the museum

Reagan's presidential limo (not quite as sleek as the modern version)

Marine One

Elise is always such a ham. (That portrait is made of jelly beans, by the way.)

I took these in the Disney exhibit (and they're admittedly not of great quality). The exhibit  featured costumes and props from various movies; these two are from Pirates of the Caribbean. The one below is the filming model of the Black Pearl.

A piece of the Berlin Wall. A lot of people aren't aware that only the western side was covered in graffiti. The eastern side was heavily guarded and people weren't allowed near it, therefore it was blank and austere.

I always love the view from the library.

At first I thought this was fake, but in fact the poinsettias surrounding Reagan's grave were covered with water droplets from that morning's rain.

Lastly, we went to the California Science Center to see the space shuttle Endeavor. I'd already seen a space shuttle at the Smithsonian, so it was no big whoop. :)

Happy little tree

When I first moved here ten(!) years ago, I didn't have a car (or money) with which to get a real Christmas tree. So I settled on an artificial $17 tree from Target. We had some good years together, but it just wasn't the same as the real thing. This year, however, I decided I would finally take the plunge. I went down to my local tree lot and picked out the cutest little 5-foot frasier fir (say that ten times fast). And it turns out real trees aren't that heavy; I was able to haul it upstairs all by myself!

Isn't she beautiful? It just makes me smile.

Fall colors

I took a stroll through Arlington Cemetery yesterday to check out the fall colors. Most of the trees were rather lackluster, and some had lost all their leaves already, but there were a few that stood out with their bold colors.