Holiday WIshes to All

It's pretty sad that I haven't logged on and written anything since August! Oh well, never mind.

This month marks a year since we made the big move across the Pacific. In hind sight, it was a HUGE endeavor! We have learned and observed quite a bit over the year, but most importantly of all, I'm happy to report that we have become a more cohesive family unit. I think these big changes either make or break you and your relationships and I'm happy to report, we made it!

Our newest addition, Ruby Helen has just made it to her 6 month birthday. She is so sweet and really fun to be around. Like all babies, (I guess), she's received a number of nicknames. Rubes, Ruby Tuesday, Sister, Sister Sue (pronounced with a sibilant S), Susan Box Dutter- Dox (from Dr. Suess) and many more. You can choose your favorite! Despite her numerous colds and ear infections, we've managed to settle into a routine and she has decided, just recently, that dad is pretty much just as cool as mom. Mike's really happy about that! Ruby has just started to try eating food and seems much more interested than her brother was at this age. I'm experimenting with making baby food, which is kinda fun. Ruby likes avocado the best right now. No cooking required for this delicacy!

Our eldest, Mr. Spicy Patrick Anderson or Soren Patrick Fancy Pants (again, your choice), is doing great. He's reading really well (yep, he's still just4), enjoying gymnastics, riding his bike, swimming and much to our chagrin, the imaginary world of super heroes. We're waiting for the super hero thing to pass, but happy about all the rest and occasionally you will catch us playing along with the shooting of webs, pretending to fly over the city, or fighting the "baddies". He's living in a world of superlatives at the moment. Everything is the biggest, fastest, best, strongest, etc.. That testosterone surge little boys get around this age has definitely kicked in. Thank goodness he's still really sweet.Montessori school has been so amazing for him and for us to be involved with. Just last week, Mike and I organized a "Wheels Day" at school. First of all, imagine this happening in the US... All the children (age3-12) were invited to bring their bikes, scooters, skateboards, etc. We set-up a track on the playground with cones, chalk, etc.. The kids got a safety check (helmets and bike) and then were set loose to ride like the wind. It was so cool! The kids were really good sports and good with one another. Mike fixed flats and put bells on the bikes that were without. We both really enjoyed it and the kids, well... duh.

This weekend, we will be moving to a new house. We are moving into a friend's home who will be out of the country for at least a year. They have two Labrador Retrievers who need looking after, so we were happy to help them out. Our lease at this place is up and the owner wants to sell it anyway. So, off to Silverstream we go. A wee little village with a grocery store, cafe, library, several parks and train stop. All are within walking distance form the house and the land is flat. After living on a huge hill, I figured out why houses on the flat around here are at a premium. We will have a nice, flat back yard and a place for the kids to play. We are really looking forward to being there. As of the actual move, well, you can guess how we feel about that. ...OVER IT!!

Christmas here will be a quiet occasion. We will be thinking of you over the holidays. Don't hate us if we spend the day basking in the sun at the beach, though. We paid dearly this winter. Time to play!

School is out Dec 20th-mid Feb.

Love to you all!

PS- I hesitate to print our address on the blog, so if you need it, just send me an e-mail

allisonanderson2@earthlink.net

Rambligs from Allison

Today was the 4th day in a row of sunshine and warmish temperatures. The first time it's been clear on one of Mike's "weekends" off in a while. Soren, Ruby and I celebrated the coming of Spring by spending most of the day on Friday at the Botanic Gardens in Wellington. Soren was home from school with Pink Eye, (which quickly spread to Ruby), but neither of the kids were feeling bad and it was just too darn nice to stay inside. We had a really good time as Ruby slept in her stroller, Soren and I got to play at the playground, take a walk up to the look-out over the city and share an ice cream. Just like old times, well, just like last summer when Soren was the only show in town! Saturday was spent visiting our local toy library (such a cool thing. Can't beleive there's not more of these in the US) then attending a photo shoot for the bike shop's website. Soren was asked to hop on a brand-new bike with training wheels and zoom around the harbour in Wellington. he was more than happy to oblige. His favorite part being a foot bridge that was made of wood planks. He rode over it again and again humming as loud as he could so that he could hear the vibration in his voice. So cute and so great to be reminded of the joys of riding a bike for pure pleasure. The picture is a photo-shopped cut-out from the photo shoot. You can tell he's enjoying himself, eh? Sunday the whole Anderson family took Soren to a birthday party at a gymnastics gym. It was really fun. Even the adults were playing duck, duck goose and jumping on the tramploines. Mike even did some tricks on the rings and a couple of dads who are former gymnasts did some really cool tricks. Today, Mike got to mountian bike on dry soil. In shorts! Woohoo! He says his body is sore from the gymnastics. Pobrecito!

We're all looking forward to the change in the weather and the brightning of spririts that comes with Spring and Summer.

Since my last entry, I've suffered a bit of a set-back. I injured my back and spent an entire Saturday on the floor, off and on in tears. I thought things were going to be pretty awful with a husband who could not take the day off, an infant to look after and a very active 4 year old at home, but by mid-morning Soren had been invited to a birthday party and taken away for the afternoon and I managed to find a massage therapist who had a spot for me. I was also able to drop Ruby at a friends house for an hour while I hobbled to the appointment. Leaving the massage, walking upright again, I realized how lucky I was to have found some friends here that I can truly count on. Certainly things would have been much, much easier in Austin and I did cry and want my mommy when I realized I couldn't even stand up, but at the end of the day, I realized we are making a life for ourselves here and that feels good. Should I also mention that physical therapy is free here. I have been receiving some good therapy since then and am definitely on the mend. Turns out I probably had some tearing in my abdomen on one side from the pregnancy which caused my hip to torque and put too much pressure on my lower back. As soon as I started working out like mad at the gym, it got inflamed and said "stop". No, more like "STOP"! In the course of my quest to be fit again, I met a Pilates instructor/P.T. who has offered me an internship and Pilates certification training. Many of you know I was planning on doing this in the near future anyway. I was planning on paying for a course, but this came my way and it sounds like a chance of a lifetime. So, the plan is to get stronger, get over the injury, and maybe start the training in December or early 2008. It will be a slow process as I Mike and I will have to juggle the kids, but she is totally OK with having me just a few hours per week. She said I am an awesome candidate with my massage experience. I am also opening my mind up to doing a few massages again. It will be minimal, but I think it will feel great to get back into it. Maybe I'll find someone to trade with. I miss all my Castle Hill "massagists" (haha).!!

We are looking forward to seeing some of our good friends soon. Chad and Emily Stadnicki and their 2 kids will be touring New Zealand early October and will drop in to Wellington For 4 days. I think Jack and Soren are about 6 months apart and Owen and Ruby are just days apart. I have known Chad since we were little kids and Emily since college (Scary to think how long tht's been!). They now live in LA, so it will be nice to catch up. Also, no confirmed dates, but we hear Andy LaGrone aka "Noodle" will be coming as well as John Stokes. Both really good, long time friends from Austin. They should be here in October or November and that vist will probably involve us all going down to Golden Bay to visit Mark and Tracey. John wants to do a Kayak expedition and Mark is only too keen for that. It will be warmer and inching up to beach weather, so we'll take the opportunity to get out of the city and enjoy.

We've managed to collect a handful of American friends since we arrived. Crazy how many ex-pats are here. We had a mexican pot-luck a few weeks ago with 2 other American couples (from Califonia). We had so much fun trying to find ingredients and sharing our finds with one another. I just recently got a line on corn tortillas!!!! You don't know how big that is until you have to go without for 8 months. I almost dropped to the floor inthe supermarket when I found them! We sometimes find ourselves sitting around complaining about this or that with the Americans, but it usually just boils down to stuff and the price of it. Mike and I keep refering to the US as " The land of cheap consumer goods". It's true, things here are much more expensive, but as a trade off, consumer debt is much lower, people don't have nearly as many extranious things, and workers all have free health care and earn a living wage (currently minimum wage is about $10US/hour). The cost of buying a home is about what it would be in Austin and certianly cheaper that most of the West Coast. We are still holding off, though. We hear the prices may fall a bit ans with my parents still planning to immigrate, we may just wait until they get here to decide on a neighborhood.

It's late and I'm rambling. We miss you all and would love to see anyone who can make the trip.

Enjoy the photos of our georgeous "bubs" as they call kiddos here.

Love, Kiwi style...

August Already!

Hi Everyone!

What a blur these last 3 months have been. I got an e-mail from my good friend Shanty today asking me when I'll be updating my blog and I just had to drop everything and write something, finally. Sorry for the delay. Just a little overwhelmed with the baby and all the other thousands of changes we've made in the last 8 months.

Yes, it's been 8 months. Mike and I were talking about this the other day and, though we really miss our frinds and family, we are quite happy with the decision to come to New Zealand. We are slowly making friends and getting our bearings and are reminded almost daily of how lucky our children are for getting the opportunity to grow up here.

I'm writing this late in the evening as Ruby, Soren and Mike are sleeping. Between this paragaph and the first, I've been up twice to put Ruby back to sleep. I think I'll turn in for the night and save my charming observations of Kiwis and life amongst them for another night. Now that I'm over my writer's block this won't be hard to do!

Thanks to all of you who have managed to stay in touch. It makes being so far away seem not so far.

Love,

Allison

PS- The winter has not killed us! For every 3 rainy, cold day we get a georgeous, sunny one. Not too bad, eh?

What a May it's Been!

For those of you who have been keeping up with us, thanks. It's been 5 months since we moved here and, things are going well. Quite well..

If you got my e-mail update, you heard the order of things the last couple of weeks. If not, I'll humor you.

1) My parents arrive. We do some very slowly paced sightseeing around Welligton and finish various projects around the house. I think I am going to give birth any moment, so we stay close to home.

2) My due date comes and goes with little fanfare. We all begin speculating on how long it will take for the baby to come and I begin to experience some strange feelings of dissapointment and pressure to get this baby show on the road. I'm getting accupuncture, walking up hills, drinking various tinctures, almost anything I read about, I try.

3)Soren's 4th birthday Party is held at the National Museum of NZ. 25 kids come. We had a great time and it was really cool to have all the focus on him. That day I'm feeling happy that the baby decided to wait. I know Soren appreciated it :) In the middle of the party, I'm wondering "Were could Mike be?" He was meant to meet us at the party after his mountain bike ride that AM. I check my cell phone and see a text message that says "Running late. Think I broke my collarbone." He was right.

4) By day 8 of being "overdue" I decide that I am going to book myself a hotel room and stay alone until I go into labour. (crazy the things stress and a few added hormones will make you dream of doing!) Instead, I go into labor that night. .....

5) We arrived at the hospital at 3:48 AM and Ruby Helen Anderson is born one hour later at 4:48AM. We are home that same morning by 7:30. Express Service!

Ruby is a beauty. She's tiny, much smaller than Soren was. She has dark hair and lots of it. She has a very laid-back disposition. She's 5 days old, so I'll have to get back to you on her sleeping patterns. So far, there are none. Check out the photos on this Shutterfly link. http://share.dell.shutterfly.com/action/slideshow?a=67b0de21b32cedb4e483&sid=8Abs2zho2aM1Eq8&auto=1&idx=-1&m=1&d=1179561035373

Love to you all...

Happy Easter

Well, for those of you who have bothered to bother me about keeping this blog up to date....thanks.
So, here we are, April 10, 2007. 3 weeks and some change until the baby is due. Lots to do, lots to think about and lots of excitement buzzing about in the Anderson home. We started our Easter weekend off early by a visit from Mark and Tracey. They made the stop into Wellington on their way back from Thailand and Bali. It was so great to see them. We didn't do anything big, just had dinner with Uncle Bill, then spent 1/2 the day Friday attempting to build a sandbox ("sandpit" in NZ). Without enough wood and the proper nails, we ditched the idea and went to Red Rocks instead. It's a beach and hiking trail/seal colony/preserve at the edge of Wellington. It's gorgeous and you feel like you are miles away from civilization. We hopped over tidal pools and looked at sea creatures, hiked and just hung out. It was a gorgeous day and a really "good" Friday. Saturday, the Easter Bunny came. He was asked to come early since Aunt Tracey and Uncle Mark had to go back home on Sat. Soren hopped around the yard in his Frosty the Snowman pj's and his bunny ears and found a ridiculous amount of chocolate- Most of said chocolate has since been confiscated and frozen for future bribing- We then had lunch together and dropped M&T at the airport for their quick flight back home. We will see them soon , next month, in fact.
We left for Rotatua from the airport. Mike was able to get 4 days in a row off (thanks to the Easter holidays), so we thought "why not". It was really neat. Probably our last trip as a 3 person family and so much fun. Soren talked and talked the whole way up there (6 hours). He has us laughing so much. It was really cool to spend that much time together without distractions. We were able to see how much he has blossomed in the past few months and how accustomed he has become to the way of life here. I accredit alot of that to his faboulous Montessori school. We ended up in a very nice hotel (one of those last-minute cheap-rate, never know quite what you're getting deals), which made it even better. The entire town is littered with thermal pools, bubling mud pits and geysers. Mike says the mountain biking is tops and I say the spa action is tops, so we'll be going back, for sure. 3 days was not enough, but we're lucky that we are so close.
Soren is out of school for the next two weeks. I started out being pretty anxious about this break, trying to figure out waht we could possibly do to entertain ourselves and how I was going to be able to keep up. I also have a list a mile long of things I want to get organized and settled before the baby comes. Something happened amidst all my fretting when I sudenly realized that this truly is my last time to enjoy being alone with my son. Not that I think we won't ever get to do things alone again, it'll just be different. I think he somehow, on some level gets it too. He's been so sweet and fun to be around. I'm frankly happy to have him home. We'll be going to the library, the museum, baking cookies, and if I need a nap, watching a video or two. The taxes can wait (gotta file that extension!) and I guess it's OK if the baby arrives and I haven't cleaned all the baseboards with a toothbrush. She'll probably forgive me!
We miss you all so much, but are truly enjoying our new lives here. Hope each of you get to see New Zealand some day. It's a pretty fantastic place.
Love to you all.....

Summer is Short and Sweet in NZ

Our biggest highlight this month has been having my brother, Mark and his wife, Tracey come and visit. We managed to do a few pretty cool things like eat some damn good Mexican food (Mike was right when he told me that it's available here), explore a pretty cool beach, see Elvis, ride the cable car, explore the waterfront in Wellington, mountain bike (Mike and Mark only), and eat at a super-cool asian place called Monsoon Poon. One of the funiest things was Soren deciding that he had to sit at the bar. He ate almost his entire meal up there and refused to sit with us. In fact, even when we tried to get his attention he acted as if we were harshing on his scene! After saying goodby to Mark and Tracey and sending them off on their 6 person (including the pilot!) plane, we prepared for the summer countdown.

Soren started school this morning at his new Montessori school. It was bittersweet for me, but I think pretty neat for him. I have to say, I felt a little wierd and empty driving home from the school without him. All those things I wished I could do without a child in-tow seemed silly and unimportant this morning, but I did manage to get some grocery shopping done. I even got to stop and stare at the cosmetics for 10 minutes just 'cause I felt like it. I guess that's a start! The baby will be here in less than 3 months, so I'm determined to use my time wisely and soak it up.

A friend and co-worker of Mike's came over last night and helped me make some really cool business cards, so as soon as the boat arrives with all of our things, massage table included, I will do a little massage work. There's a pretty good network of folks through the bikeshop, so I think I should have some takers right off. My offer still stands: A free massage to any and all who make the trek down to Wellington!

A camping trip is in the works for the Anderson family. Mike also has a big mtn. bike race coming up. Stay tuned!!!

Adventures in Kiwiland: The Male Perspective

The things that make life here in New Zealand so rich for me are probably very different from those that Allison and Soren find appealing.

Obvious, eh?

I'm not pregnant.

I'm not three years old--though I may sometimes act like it.

Take the scene on the streets of Wellington this weekend, for example. It's what the call The Sevens.

Endless rugby at Westpac Stadium downtown, and an endless party. A bit like a big NFL game, though seemingly more complicated by the constant action and the lack of protective wear for the players. American football seems like a sport for the ADHD crowd governed by a bunch of liability lawyers.

But back to the scene here.

Men in flesh coloured (see, I'm already spelling like the locals!) leotards with conspicuous placement of fake black hair. People dressed like trees, Borat, convicts, and other random things, all rushing through the streets to get to the stadium before they imbibe too much to walk.

And then, there's Elvis. I don't even like Elvis. But, this guy is good. Really. Standing in front of one of the local sports apparel stores belting it out. Full volume with full on style like The King.

Soren and I were both dancing in the street.

Which is probably why, when it was all over, Allison was standing fifty yards away.

I've got to figure out a way to post the video that I took of the uniquely Kiwi Elvis, who sang and danced just like the boy from Memphis, but spoke like one of the local blokes when he thanked the crowd. An odd juxtaposition, indeed. Americana meets antipodean camp.

I love it.

Did I Neglect To Mention????

Janet, you are right. (see comments)
I was lying in bed the other night thinking "Man, I'm not sure I've bothered to mention how cool Wellington is and/or how incredibly beautiful it is." Have I lost touch? No, i don't think so. I have just been micromanaging our resettlement here and have forgotten part of the bigger picture. Forgotten to mention it is more like it.
So, for those of you who don't know, We live in Lower Hutt. It's about a 10 min. drive, pretty much around the harbour from Wellington. We have spent a good deal of time in Wellington as it is a super-cool place to be. There is a walkway that goes around the harbour in the middle of the city that is just incredible. It's great with Soren because it begins at one playground, goes over several bridges by sculpture and sea animals and ends at another playground that is on the beach. Mike and I have not been out as adults yet, but the list of restaurants to try is mounting. I've mentioned the Botanical Gardens, that's right in the middle of the city too. Lower Hutt has some amazingly beautiful scenery too. It's at the mouth of the Hutt river, so you have a freshwater river for playing in as well as the beach where the river hits the harbour. There are protected nature preserves everywhere, most open to Mountain biking and hiking and hiking. The grass is a hue you've never seen before, greener than you can imagine and, of course the native trees look like something from Where the Wild Things Are. The weather in the past 3 weeks has been pretty great. Wellington did have it's coldest and wettest December, but it seems that january is doing pretty well. We've been getting mostly 65-75 degree days with bright hot sun and a little rain in the evenings. Everyone is out on their bikes, Kayaks, sailboats, and partaking in any sport you can think of. We are in the height of the summer weather, though kids have to start back to school in a week. That means more beach space for us and lots of sales at the mall!
Check out this link for photos of our house and one cute pic. of Soren :) http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbuWzlm3btGOB&notag=1
I certainly intend to expound upon the beauty here as I post. Thanks for the reminder, Janet! PS- John, the haircut is not happening!

Biting off more than you can chew!

Neither of these pics are from this weekend, but I thought I'd post them anyway. The first one is of Soren and his attempt at a chocolate ice cream cone. The second is of SOren and Mike flying a kite on Christams day. Santa brought a stunt kite by accident, so it was, in Soren's words "kinda tricky" to fly.

This Monday was a day I don't think we'll forget anytime soon. Mike started off the day by cleaning and repairing his bike from the 4 hour mountain bike "ride" he had done the day before. He says it was more like an adveture race, carrying his bike up 2 mountian passes in the muddy terrain. In any case, he was pretty wiped out. I started the morning out fresh and so happy that the sky was blue, the birds were singing and it was warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt. I put on my MP3 player and headed out ino the neighborhood for a brisk, very hilly walk.

We decided once we re-conveined over breakfast that we shoould drive to the train station in our town and take the train into Wellington. Soren was begging us to ride on the train all week, so we thought it would be fun. We left the house around 11 and arrived in Wellington by noon. We decided to have lunch first and walked about 30 minutes before we found a place that looked interesting. Lunch was uneventful but very tasty. Afterwards, walked to the cable car depot, about a 40 min. walk, and took the cable car up to the top of the mountian overlooking the city. It's a beautiful view of downtown and the harbor and the Botanical Gardens begins up at the top. A 10 min. downhill stroll will get you to the coolest playground you'll ever see and we played with Soren and hung out there for about 2 hours. We decided to be cheap and adventurous and walk down the path instead of taking the cable car down, so we did. We stopped to make sure we were headed the right way and started talking to a man, whom later we would find out was named Alistar, or Al for short (likeme!). Anyway, he found out we were American and wanted to rail on George bush and we were certianly happy to join in on that fun. We walked down the path together and talked politics and other interesting subjects while his daughters and Soren palyed together. It was so great to see Soren having some kid interaction, we just kept talking and let him play. Al's wife made it down the hill and she and I began talking and really hit it off too. I decided I ought to check on the kids and looked over the way and there was Soren and the two girls wading in the duck pond, sailing their crocks around like boats! It wouldn't have been so bad had the teperature not just dropped, the wind picked up and had we not had a dinner date with Mike's boss and his wife in less than 2 hours! We exchanged phone numbers (hoping they'll call and we can get together again soon), stripped soren down to his t shirt, covered him in Mike's sweatshirt, threw him in the stoller and headed for the center of town. It took us about an hour to get down to the shopping area and by that time all the shops had closed (Holiday hours). We walked clear accross the central city (CBD) and finally found the Warehouse. NZ's version of Wal Mart. They were open and had some pants to cover up the cold, wet child. By this time my feet were cramping and the child growing inside me was kicking and lodging her own set of complaints. We set off to the restaurant, which of course was not exactally close, and walked back uphill for about 30 minutes. We made it to the restaurant with about 15 min. to spare and Mike had a beer. I sat there with my feet propped up on the lounge table listing to Soren tell me how rude it was for me to put my feet on the table! -Hey, he does listen to us!- We met up with Bruce and Fiona and had a lovely, leisurely 2 and a half hour dinner when suddenly I looked at my watch and said. "If we are going to make it to the train station in time, we have to leave NOW!" We scrambled to pay the bill and get out of there and decided that Fiona would drive me, (in their 2 seater car), to the train station. Mike and Bruce would walk very fast and Soren would ride in the stroller. Fiona and I got there in plenty of time, but as the minutes were ticking away, I realized that they were not going to make it. I decided to leave Fiona there to tell the boys I had gone to get the car. I jumped on the train as the doors were shutting and took the 30 min. train ride back to the station in Lower Hutt. Then, I jumped in the car and drove back to Wellington and picked up Mike and a sleeping Soren. We made it home by 10:30PM and all crash landed in bed. Needless to say, we were all dragging on Tuesday. We did, however have a great time walking around the city, seeing the sites, soaking up the sun, and meeting new friends. This weekend, we may tone it down a notch!

Chapter One of Many

We arrived in NZ after a 10 day visit with friends on the West Coast. Once we got here, we had one week booked in a hotel. We had one week to find a place to live and buy a car. The house thing was very stressful as the home we found in the price range we had hoped to stick to did not pan out to be up to our standards. In any case, we found a house that we both agreed upon and bought a car without much hassle at all. We also managed to get Christmas presents bought for Soren and Mike started work a few days after arriving. So life was quite hectic and though we were making time to also do fun things everyday, Soren and Mike and I were all trying to deal with the loss of our daily routines at home which included a good deal of time spent with family and friends. I think we have made a huge breakthrough in this month and have each found an appreciation for the calmness of our days and the increase in time we get to spend as a family unit. We are all communicating really well and Soren seems very content and is generally so well-behaved I can't believe it. Okay, sure he's a little naughty sometimes, but maybe I just have more patience now. His Montessori school will start mid-Feb. and we are really excited for him to start. the school has been around for ages and is very well run and organized. He will make friends instantly, I'm sure, and we'll be making an effort to involve him with his new buddies as much as possible. I also hope to meet some cool mommas to hang out with.

The weather has definitely gotten better in the last 2 weeks. Seems that the cold, rainy weather did not want to relent at first and we were getting worried that we might have chosen the wrong place! I hear locals saying that this just means that summer will linger on longer and we certainly hope that's the case. Summer is good here. Never gets hotter than 80 and usually not over 75. The sun is super-hot, though so you stay warm in the sun and the shade cools you down quickly. My brother was saying that because of the lack of ozone here, being in the sun is equivalent to being in the sun on some of the highest mountain peaks in the US. Sunscreen in not an option, even in when it's cloudy. It's become part of our morning routine. All the kids wear sun hats as well as the adults who can get over the vanity issue.

Someone asked me about the food here, so I will comment on that for a moment. It's good. It's expensive if you're on the NZ economy, but the same price as home if you are using US dollars. Not a huge selection of organic stuff, but the meats and veges and dairy here are mostly locally produced/grown and the amount of crap they have to use on the crops and animals is much less severe. I believe all the lamb and cattle are grass fed, which makes it taste so good! Lots of farmer's markets to choose from too. We have a decent health food store for vitamins, teas, crazy grains etc.. but it's pretty small. The restaurant variety is superb. Anything from Turkish kebab stands to Malaysian cuisine. Wellington even has a decent Mexican restaurant and a real bagel shop. The coffee is to die for and bakeries and sweets out the wazoo. Oh, and of course, fish and chips and meat pies if you're into that sort of thing!

My butt is going to sleep form sitting here so long. Feel free to post comments or e-mail .