The Charlotte Times (at least for now)

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Couldn't resist...

Posting the cutest picture ever of Clare!!! (Its my new blackberry screen). I get to see her in 2 weeks....I'm so excited. (Oh, of course we're excited to see the rest of the fam too- hehe).

Oh Yes, and I had to put up this one too... Burr is reading Paddington at the Palace to her!

Istanbul

We have arrived!! Here is the Hague Sofia lit up at night, very pretty.

Saturday morning we walked around the markets....and then took the Bosphourous cruise...we are off to Asia!!!

Someone's private yacht included with helicopter on top - So wanted to be invited.

Asia....climbing up to the castle.

This was the castle...about a 25 min. walk all up hill...and it was closed...hehe

The TURKISH BATH.....well let's say that was interesting! VERY interesting. We were extremely 1. exfoliated 2. cleansed and 3. knew we didn't want to repeat the experience. Ever. ('nuff said)

I saw some lady with a Harris Teeter bag! I had to take a picture!!!! And it totally made me crave one of those delicious sugar cookies they have in the store for kids (yes, I eat the cookies for kids - you know you do too!)

AWESOME weather on Sunday! Look at that.....

So the FIBA world championships were taking place in Istanbul while we were there, really cool. AND the USA vs. Turkey was the final game on sunday night. So, Burr and I made the 1 hr venture down to the arena to see if we could scalp tickets. We did not see 1 person selling any tickets however....sad I know...we did see about 200 police officers though. VERY SECURE place!

When we gave up and decided, lets go to a bar and watch!

Spice Markets...doesn't that look funny.

More markets

And more markets....can you see Burr loved all this shopping :-P

The Blue Mosque!!! You have to take your shoes off to go in...it was so stinky in there! PEEEE---UUUUU.

All in all it was a very interesting and enlightening experience. Especially since it was the middle of Ramadan! I personally did not know Istanbul held 13m people and crossed both Europe and Asia. I also didn't know I could find a place busier than Harrods at Christmas...but we did...its all over Istanbul! The food was yummy and the bath was, um cleansing :-)

Love you all!

A and B

Monday, September 13, 2010

Yes, we are home from Istanbul....

And I will certainly put up pictures soon...but I want to to talk about the TUBE! The Underground, the I never work system London uses here, aaaahhhhh

So, Burr and I live off the Picadilly line which happens to run to Heathrow. We can pay £2.40 each to go by tube or about £20 each to go via Heathrow express and it takes the same amount of time for us!!! So - obviously we go by tube. When we arrive back this afternoon (after getting up at the crack of dawn!) we come to find out that the tube is having "SIGNAL FAILURE" - what is this you ask?

Well Burr and I contemplated it and came up with, somewhere, somehow something is not working. REALLY? It wouldn't be a big team if the tube had such alleged "failures" every now and then, but now its daily...all the time...its at least once day. There is nothing like waiting for 25 minutes with 300 other people to get on the tube for an hour, like this morning...ugh.

And to add more to it - last week there was a Tube Strike!!! ARGH. When the tube is down you can a) take a taxi or b) a bus or c) a Bike in crazy crazy traffic ....So I wake up Tuesday am all ready to work from home*

*Yes I’m prepared to work from home because for strikes here they announce them before they happen – so strange

Anyway, Tuesday morning 6:30 when Burr says "No one works from home" - ok so now I feel guilty. He says lets share a cab, so we do....for about 20 minutes and go about 1/2 mile (maybe). So stuck in traffic and at this rate it will be £60 and 1.5 hours to get to work....little did we know it was going to be 1.5 hours anyway! So we hear good news... We hear on the radio that the district line is running. YEAH! we can get to work. The cab pulls over and we walk to Westminster station to get on the tube - OOPS no, the line is working (with signal failures sometimes) but the actual station is closed. So we walk to the next station - about ¾ mile. We jump on the tube - and we are off...yeah we are going to make it to work.

Duh duh duh (can you hear the music....?) The controller comes over the tube speaker system to tell us....the next station is closed...and the next station...and the next....you get the point. AHHHHHHHHHH we are literally stuck on the tube. TRAPPED going east, passing all stations even relatively close to work. I am thinking - I hate London, I hate not having a car, I hate the tube, I hate that I didn't work from home, I hate that I haven't eaten breakfast!!! (Mom, I know you taught me not to hate anything but you know how I get when its the morning and I’m hungry!!) Finally a station is open and we get off ....after being trapped for 25 minutes! We are let off about 2 miles from Tower Hill, which is about 3 miles from Burr's work and he has a meeting to run in 35 minutes! We walk so so so fast and he makes it – I am sweating more from the walk then I do in body combat class and let’s not even talk about Burr and that Farrar family sweat genes....thankfully, I go to the gym to re-shower and get to work at the crack of 8:55 – I love my life.....

And we are left back at the same position as this morning. the tube = terrible.

PS - Burr and I both decided to take one of the cycle bike shares home that evening, 30 min. bike ride vs. 1.5 hours in agony was so much better :-)

PPS – I tried to count how many people passed me on the cycle on the way home and I got to about 10 and had to stop counting...then I tried how many times I got honked at....I stopped counting that too :-p

Monday, September 6, 2010

5 day record!

No, not 5 days without wine, not 5 days without chocolate, not 5 days without getting people.com....

5 days in London without it raining on me!!!!! This was a HUGE RECORD. Yep, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday there was not one drop of rain on me! Amazing....it totally would have been 6 but yesterday running errands I got about 10 drops on me and I guess that must count (but they were tiny drops).

No, I wonder how many days I went in Charlotte with rain. And sad to say but I'm totally used to the rain it doesn't even phase me anymore - isn't that a little sad? But also I good thing I'm finally used to London weather - haha.

This weekend was fabulous!!! Burr and I went to a Mexican fiesta with Kambry and Brian and then on to Love Never Dies - the sequel to Phantom. It is the first opening 6 months here in London before it goes on tour. And....you will never believe what happens in the end! It was an amazing show :-) Highly recommended. Unfort - Burr and I logged about 20 hours of work Saturday/Sunday between the 2 of us but we still loved or weekend.

More to come on the cycling class we took from Burr's co-worker.....

Lots of Love
Anne (and Burr too!)

Monday, August 30, 2010

Prague I heart you

Isn't this adorable?! There is the bike and walking path and the walking path is marked by a dad and little girl (with a bow in her hair - how cute is that?

Love you Prague.

First I'd like to say that I loved loved loved Prague. Totally fell in love, anyone want to go back? Its super fun, not ridiculously expensive, has lots of history but still awesome stuff to do. (The Cartier exhibit being there could have helped too!)

Yes, there was a special cartier exhibit with more security than the President. It was a collection beginning back from the late 1800's through the 1980's showing the trends and changes in Jewelry. It was so mesmerizing. I could have stayed there for 8 hours - poor Burr though his eyes don't light up like mine with diamonds! It was so cool. I'm really glad we went....oh and it was at the Prague Castle which is more like a campus than a castle.

Back to the beginning, OK...so we arrive about 11pm Friday night - at our hotel (Priceline - 5 star Hilton £50/night - Love priceline!) And it turns out there is a "rooftop" bar with the view of the whole city on top of our hotel. So we check-in, change, and go grab a drink. We sit in these chairs that are enormous recliners so we basically fall asleep sipping our cocktails - surprising my watermelon martini is cheaper at this rooftop bar then the bar down the street from us. But we enjoy watching people and I keep waiting for Taylor Momsen to walk in, or even better Leighton Meister - unfortunately no gossip girl sightings. (Start watching people - Blair and Serena have been in Paris all summer - at least in my mind - hehe).

After our cocktails we wake up surprisingly early and make it over for a bike tour! We end up being the only 2 so we get a private tour for the group price - awesome! Our tour guide was a little odd and gave us a sob story about how he started a company with a friend and it wasn't going so well so now he was giving bike tours. I didn't know what to tell him, so I just told Burr we had to tip well :-)

The "Fred and Ginger" building of Prague. Can you see Fred on the right pulling Ginger into him - weird I know!

The super wierd baby exhibit about how kids are learning more from the TV than their parents now - thus the bar code on their faces (there were 3 of these babies)

The marking of the old and new town separation (I prefer old town - btw).

On to the next best thing.... the candy making! We are wandering around and stumble on an amazing "chocolate museum" that also has candy and is doing a live exhibit showing. There are these 2 guys slinging what looks like pizza dough around ...but it looks heavy.

We continue watching...notice the white and black block of candy below. Burr and I watch for seriously 20 minutes wondering what in the heck is going on. Then we realize! They are making this enormous block of candy which somehow they are going to miniaturize!

Somehow, I'm still not quite sure, that little white and black block becomes this little man inside the candy!!! Isn't that crazy?! IT turns out to be called "Rock candy" and Burr loves it! We actually both brought some back for work to try!! Its from Viva La Candy - so cute. http://rockcandy.viva4you.com/en/

Then onto the best dinner of our lives....the tasting menu at Coda!!! Seriously I couldn't decide what I liked more - I like I liked the lobster app or the chocolate cake the best. But each course came with wine and it was an amazing experience.

After dinner they let you take your coffee up to their balcony overlooking the city...ahhhh.

All the plates had different singers on them - very cool.

Oh, I almost forgot - Burr liked the rock candy. I like chocolate! And they covered this apple in chocolate!

Unfort - its not so easy to eat! Isn't that an awesome pic of me?

Loved Prague you should totally go.

XXXX

Anne

What we've been up to in London lately....

Going to the zoo!!! WAhooo...well they had a "late night" at the zoo event where I could tell Burr he could openly walk around the zoo beer in hand and watch me hop around like a 3 year old looking at all the animals. The giraffe's were SO the best. The closing time was 9pm and by 9:10pm the gaurd was saying "Ms. you really have to go now" at the exhibit!!! Burr was of course mortified because I broke the rules - ahhhh. Really fun though!!!

Look how close you can get!!! And there was a baby there. (Yes Lee we promise

you can go see the giraffe's one day while you're in london!!!)

Crazy looking sting ray - look at those polka dots - looks like a fabric they use on Project Runway.

The butterfly house left you wanting more butterflies - thus the picture of the plaque!

"Oh, I just can't wait to be king!!!" - Love the lions!

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HAPPY 29TH BDAY KAMBRY!

Kambry and Brian came over to celebrate her 29th birthday. So FUN! Burr cooked pork bolognese sauce all day long - it was delicious! I made hummingbird cupcakes from scratch - I would have to say even better than the sauce (hehe). *

*Side note - Do you know its a LOT harder to bake without an actual mixer. It was a team effort. Burr would hold the bowl and I would double fist the hand held mixer - yeah, I know!

We started with Batten's favorite app - melon and prosciutto. Our dear friends are headed to Italy soon so we felt it only necessary to celebrate in Italian style!

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WALTER has arrived!!!!

Christine and Charlie moved to the country out of their beautiful London mews home to the most adorable bungalow on their family land. Walter is stunning and Charlie and Christine could not be cuter parents. Oh yes, Charlie's mom got Christine the "typical british pram" - can you see it?! So cool

Side Note - Christine and Charlie live close to Bicester Village that has Burberry, Mulberry, Gucci, Tod's, Prada, Ugg, Juicy, Le Crueset etc. etc. outlets. I think I need to quit and become their nanny so I can wheel Walter around the shops all day!

XOXO

Anne

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Cutest pic ever!

Burr with his cousins, Katie and James - so cute!!!

They visited us about 2 months ago now...seems like a long time ago. Now the winter has begun here, no seriously I don't remember the last day it didn't rain at least once...you know what is wierd? I'm USED to it!!! ahhhhh.

Off to prague tomorrow:-)

Luv ya!!

Anne