Deep in the English countryside stands the shell of an Elizabethan garden lodge a symbol of a dream that was cut short when it’s creator, Sir Thomas Tresham suddenly died in 1605. Tresham’s dream wasn’t just to have a fancy garden lodge, but to stand steadfast in his Catholic faith in a time where Catholics…
Tag: ExpatAdventures
Getting Happy with a SAD lamp
SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder – a disorder with symptoms similar to depression that occurs regularly at certain times of the year, usually in winter when days are shorter. On my second day in England, a relatively sunny Mid-May day, I was informed that soon enough, the skies would darken and it would be a good…
New Year, New Domain, Big Dreams
“I’m not sure when it’s time to stop saying Happy New Year…so… Happy New Year.” My wonderful yoga teacher, Sam said with a grin as she greeted us for the first yoga class of the 2019. And I guess she’s right… when do we stop saying “Happy New year”? When do we stop chasing those…
Finding the Joy of Childhood at London’s Winter Wonderland Carnival
If Weisbaden is the quintessential Christmas market, then London’s Winter Wonderland is the exact opposite. While it had some minor nods to the idea of the German Christmas Market, it, by and large, was nothing like the first market we visited. Sprawling throughout Hyde Park, London’s Winter Wonderland faire is beyond massive. I knew it…
Walking in a Winter Wonderland: Edinburgh’s Christmas Market
Mere days after we returned from Germany, we traveled to Edinburgh again for Tim’s work. This time though, I brought a friend and it made exploring the city even more sweet. We ventured to some new places together and I also shred my favorites with her. But the best part was, we got to see…
Six Month SITREP
What I’ve learned about myself in my first six months abroad. Six months ago today we moved into our dream Georgian farmhouse on a working farm in a tiny village about 20 minutes from Tim’s work here in England. I fell in love with the massive 300 year old brick farmhouse when I first saw…
Catching the Christmas Spirit at the Wiesbaden Christmas Market
The smell of bratwursts mingles with the scent of freshly laid pine chips in the crisp chill of the morning air. I tug my coat tighter around me to ward off the chill as I take tentative steps into my first ever German Christmas market. This place is a place of Christmas dreams, or at…
Two tickets to Belfast, the city I didn’t know I could love
On a late summer evening in July 2007, on the pier in Huntington Beach, California, Tim and I met for the very first time. Eleven years later, and 5,000 miles away, we walked hand in hand on a very different beach, two very different people. Over the past decade Tim and I have weathered many…
Two kayaks on the local river
Here at RAF Alconbury (RAFA) we’re super blessed to have a great Outdoor Recreation office that offers several things for us to do. For not much money we can do anything from weekend trips like white water rafting, hiking on Hadrian’s Wall, and exploring North Wales to day/evening excursions like rock climbing, indoor climbing, archery…
Two tickets…to London
This past Sunday, we spent an deceptively warm day in London. Since London is so huge and we didn’t even know where to start, we decided to take it on the way you’d eat an elephant, one bite at a time. I knew I would be overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city, the…
Fernweh Findings 