April Showers...Snow Showers

Just when we thought spring had sprung... The cherry blossoms were out, tiny green leaves were peaking out of the trees, daylight savings time had started...and then...we woke up April 6th to snow!




Far from LA. The first time Sarah had seen snow outside her own home.













This is the top of our road. Cute, brr!
















We got out of bed, bundled up and went for a 'winter' walk through the country.













And made friends with some friendly (I think because they were hungry) horses.



























It is now 5pm, and most of the snow has melted. The snow was fun but we are really ready for spring.
Sarah leaves for Philadelphia Tuesday for a $250 million pitch! She is most excited about the King of Prussia mall however...when you shop with dollars it's half price right?

Hmmmm, snow has started up again. Fingers crossed spring comes soon.

Easter in Barcelona!

We were very excited for our first weekend trip in Europe - made possible by the Easter holiday schedule as only done in the commonwealth...a 4 day weekend the perfect opportunity to alight to the warmer end of the continent, if only slightly, we avoided freezing rain at least!

We were amazed at how well contemporary design worked here - inside and out it was strikingly beautiful, tastefully done, well represented, and fitting just right... guided by our wallpaper guide and a few good maps we did the city right and had a great time!

A few highlights...

MACBA housed incredible contemporary installations - the pigeon race for Latvia was a favorite...


























Santa Caterina Mercado - the most beautiful working market we've ever seen. Incredible produce, meats, whole pigs and legs of lamb...espresso bars serving locally sourced goods...absolutely delightfully modern...







Sagrada Familia...the most trippy Cathedral ever. Going to be incredible when finished, and already is in so many ways.... If you've never heard of Gaudi...look up his stuff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaudi







































The Doors to Casa Batillo, a residence by Gaudi:





























Renting bikes and riding them around the city...










Frank Gehry's Fish, right outside our Hotel Arts:




















Late dinners mean late breakfasts...























A bit cold at the beach. Not viewable from this shot is the 60 year old woman taking her top off right below the wall. That was a bit shocking...























We can't wait to go back!

We're Here!

Well, it has been a full month as of now, but we've finally settled in enough to spend a little time setting up this blog!

We've had an incredible time since we've arrived... Andrew, a good friend we met through Sarah's company, picked us up at Heathrow and drove us to the cottage we rented, sight un-seen...until we drove up...

Yes, Sarah's company car was in the driveway...but would we dare to drive it? That was the first big challenge...

And so we had no furniture, and still don't have much, 1 month later- the shipment is with customs as we write this... hopefully they don't steal too much of our stuff.

Our favorite activities so far:
- Our Locals: The Bat & Ball and The Sandrock are 2 pubs within walking distance. Each have their resident drunks, quiz night, and amazing food (if you don't mind the wait).
- Our c-level celebrity status: It's one thing to be an American in London....it's another to be in American in Surrey. People enjoy asking us where we come from, why we're here, etc. (They are always careful to not assume we are American or Canadian fearing they will offend us).
- Farnham: Our little village is adorable with it's own castle and medieval cathedral. There is a farmer's market on Sunday's and a restaurant owned by Robbie Williams (remember him?).
- Our Local Indian: By Indian we mean Indian Food.
- Pilates, accross the street: Keep in mind we live in rural Surrey, there are horses and sheep around us...and Pilates! Amazing. The house accross the street has a home studio that we go to each Friday night. We are trying to convince her that extreme pilates is not dangerous....she doesn't like when Ladd adds 10 to every set. For £60 a session, she'll come around.
- US Politics in England: The presidential election is regular news here....but wow are they confused. We have to explain that it is not between Barack and Hilary for president and that they do have more to offer than being the first black or female president.

Things we miss:
- US Prices: We fill up our Vauxhall Vectra every 10 days with £60 worth of diesel. A Starbucks latte is £3.
- Burritos
- Customer Service: It took 3 weeks to get phone and internet hooked up . The satellite TV guy "couldn't find our house" so missed our appointment. It took three trips to the mobile phone company before they could send us home with one (that's our limit) cell phone (not to mention the £200 deposit).
- American TV: We get most of the shows here, just a little late. There is no Gossip Girl and the Hills is really delayed. All of the good CNN shows come on in the middle of the night. Our internet is too slow to download any of them.

Well, that's all for now, but we'll update more soon. Fingers crossed our furniture arrives this week.

XOXO,
Ladd and Sarah