Loving London

Kelly: London is a comfortable Paris.
Paris is massive. London is massive.
Paris is fashionable. London is fashionable.
Paris has amazing food. London has amazing food.
Paris has amazing history and architecture. London has amazing history and architecture.
Despite the similarities, London seems much more doable. Perhaps the reason is that the language barrier doesn't exist. Although, some of the words like, "bobbies" and "aubergine" could be another language! We found Londoners to be very welcoming and willing to take time to explain directions or to check on food ingredients.

We stayed with a lovely English woman who had lived in England all of her life, spending most of her time in London, summering in Somerset and France. How amazing does that sound! She lived in an adorable, historic rowhome near Holland Park. Matt and I quickly came to feel at home in this residential neighborhood just west of Notting Hill. We ate so well, which was a joy for me given that I'd been struggling with the newly diagnosed food allergies. Matt found cider and became inspired to brew his own when we return to the states. We walked about 14 miles the first day and didn't even scratch the surface. So, with Rick Steves' blessing and the encouragement of our proper English hostess, we bit the bullet and hopped on the hop-on, hop-off bus. It served the purpose of moving us from one tourist destination to another. We detoured and spent a few hours at the Tate Modern where Matt awoke, both literally with the help of a stellar latte and figuratively with the lofty space inspiring new creative ideas for living.

And now, we are back in cloudy, cold Germany. If you couldn't tell, I'm not looking forward to work tomorrow....

Fresh Mountain Air

Kelly: I'm spending a few days in Garmisch, Germany at the foot of the Alps, for a Resiliency Training. I won't bore you with the details of the training, but attending has made me realize that I certainly have the skills required to pursue CEU/CME workshops on self-care! Nuf said. The weather has been rainy and cold...not so much fun, except that cold and rain at sea level means a view of snow-covered peaks from my balcony. I've met some cool people and have seen several people get hooked on yoga after one session!

The part of this trip that has been the most difficult for me is certainly the food, or lack thereof. The nice young man in the lunch buffet line (the only restaurant available to us at the conference center is the buffet, unless I want to eat pub food, which won't happen) assured me that yesterday's vegetable soup was gluten free. The knots in my stomach at 2:00 PM told me otherwise. Ugh. I found a health food store where I was able to stock up on some fruit and gluten-free snacks such as rice cakes, pretzels, and dried coconut. However, I don't like consuming so much processed crap and my body feels sluggish and tired after doing so. I'm already ready to return to fresh veggies and simple fish. Simple. I'm also looking forward to seeing my honey who will be home shortly before I return, assuming traffic isn't a nightmare tomorrow.

I'm going to tuck myself in for my last night of sleeping at the foot of the Alps breathing pristine, mountain air :)