Holiday Doings in London

We spent Saturday doing holiday stuff in the city. It was very, very cold so we were really in the spirit of things. Walked the Christmas event in Hyde Park - saw a very good Father Christmas there, walked up Regent Street and did some toy shopping at Hamley's Toy Store - my kid's favorite place in London. It was even 'snowing' out on the side walk in front of Hamley's. Looked down Oxford Street at the lights, but as you can see at 4:30pm on Sat. Dec 15, there is absolutely no way to walk down Oxford trying to keep up with your kids. We bailed and went down into the tube station. Then we ended the day ice skating outside in Canary Wharf. Very fun way to celebrate the holiday season in London.

another funny sign

we speak the same language, but we would NEVER say "keep out" this way. Sign is at the Burleigh Pottery factory.

English Pottery

I joined some friends on Friday to "do the English pottery tour" in Stoke on Trent. That is ground zero for all the famous English plate makers. We didnt really tour any factories, it's more along the line of a buying tour at the factory stores. Were there at opening at 9am and left at closing at 5pm. Some good, quality time with my friends who are headed back to live in the States within the next week+.

Famous last words....."I'm not really going to buy much..." didn't hold up. I bought several items. Just couldnt pass up things that I either couldnt get in the States or that I just "had" to have to remind me of my time here. I had lots and lots of fun and would be more than willing to take any of you visiting to the Burleigh or Spode or Wedgewood or Portmerion or Emma Bridgewater.... factory stores. See what I mean. There is just too much to turn away from. It's about a 3 hour drive from here, but well worth it if you have a way to get all your purchases back home. Just for the record, Burleigh was my favorite since it was actually the factory where all the items are still made and also has the most traditional "English" look, but bought several things at Spode too.

Open 24 hours????

This sign at my local store cracks me up. What part of 24 hours is this? Are they open 24 hours a week? too funny!

I guess they dont have "truth in advertising" laws here.

Christmas Markets in Germany

This past weekend I had a fun opportunity to go shopping in the Christmas Markets in Germany. We hit the markets in Aachen and Cologne, Germany. Aachen was a small, quaint affair with lots of character. Cologne on the other hand, is a HUGE shopping mecca. Not only were there 6 different markets, but hundreds of shops too. The town was packed. Lots of Christmas gifts being bought - especially knitted caps, gloves and scarfs. I still dont understand how Germany cornered the market on Christmas, but they claim it. No Santa though, it's all St. Nicklavs or Father Christmas. Many of the locals could speak a few words of English, but currency IS the international language, so we had no problem buying!!! The very famous Kathe Wohlfahrt store was beautiful and packed with people. I think it might be the original Christmas store. We made our way back through my favorite city, Brugge, Belgium. Their market was low key, but I hit my favorite Chocolate shop - Pralinette. YUMMY!

We drove on a "coach" known as a bus in US. It was an all-lady trip and tons of fun. It's a long time to ride on a coach, but that way there isnt any limit to the amount of bags you can bring home like there would be on a airplane. The ferry crossing back home was very wavy. The winds were very high and they had only made 2 crossings on Sunday. We got on the 2nd boat luckily. There were lorries lined up for miles waiting for a ferry in Calais, France. But for some reason, they were letting the coaches on the ferry instead of the lorries. lucky for us.