Located halfway between the Island of Great Britain and Ireland lies a small island known as the Isle of Man (sometimes spelled Mann). And while it’s technically a British Crown Dependency, it governs itself and was never a part of any of the Kingdoms of Great Britain. The Manx are a fiercely proud people and…
Tag: Expat
Llandudno, the Queen of the Welsh Water Places
“Taking the waters” has long been a popular activity for those living on the Isle of Great Britain. In fact bathing in special springs has been said to have healing benefits even before the Romans arrived on the island. By Queen Victoria’s reign, however, doctors began to suggest that inhabitants of the island venture to…
Blogette #11: A Return to the Theater
It had been 476 days since I last set foot in a West End Theater. And now I know a lot of you are thinking, “and?I’ve been to the theaters once ever in my life.” Or maybe some of you are thinking good, I hate the theater. And honestly, to each his own. but I…
Seven Things I Didn’t Experience Until I Moved to England
The weeks are flying past (or crawling… depending on the day) and we are rapidly approaching the third anniversary of our expat status. As I reflect on this I’ve started thinking about all the new experiences I’ve had while living in England. Of course there are plenty of exciting things to share like traveling, driving…
A Socially Distant Expat
So here we are. Officially asked to socially distance ourselves from others to help reduce the spread of the Virus Which Shall Not Be Named (from here on out known only as VWSNBN). I had already planned on kind of self isolating in an attempt o stay healthy for my birthday this Friday, but for…
Magnet Fishing on the Canals
Long before there were lorries bringing our goods to market, long, shallow boats transported goods throughout England on man-made canals. Begun in Roman times and expanded during the Industrial Revolution in the 17th and 18th centuries, canals were efficient ways to get heavy loads of goods throughout the island. Long, low boats were initially pulled…
Eight Excursions to take in Beautiful Budapest
Originally three cities split by the Danube river, Buda, Pest (said Pesht), and Old Pest are now united as one large Hungarian capital, Budapest. Budapest is a beautiful city full of amazing architecture, delicious foods and a history of being taken over by it’s neighbors. But Hungarians are resilient and their capital is now a…
Five Ways to Spend a Weekend in Porto
Climb the Torre dos Cliergos One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is to climb the tallest height and survey the city below. This leads to some of the most amazing sights I’ve ever seen. Porto was no different. The Torre dos Cliergos is a bell tower attached to the…
Five Edinburgh Restaurants for Expats Missing Home
Now, it’s not that pub food isn’t delicious… but England and the UK in general aren’t really known for their amazing cuisine options. Hailing from the state that has some of the most amazing restaurants in the country (including 29 of the top 101 best American restaurants), I am big lover of food. California, and…
48 Hours with the Salzburg Card
Tim’s work has brought us back to Germany for the week and last weekend we decided to come to the continent early to spend the holiday weekend in Salzburg. While planning what to do in Salzburg, I discovered the Salzburg Card, a flat-fee card that gets you into over 30 attractions and offers discounts on…
