Getting Ready to Leave the UK

We are now down to FIVE days left in the UK. We've had more adventures in July which I haven't catalogued - Isle of Wight, Rye, Derby (again!!) for the Peak District, York - and here, a family portrait taken by ace photographer Peter Whyte on the bowling green lawn next to Lewes Castle which you can see betwen Robin and Eleanor's heads. We have posted much about our adventures here and not so much about our adopted town of Lewes, but let us say a grand THANK YOU to Lewes for being friendly, walkable, historic, intriguing, and comforting to our family. Western Road Community Primary School was an excellent choice for all of us and the Southdown Tennis Club has been another welcoming home for the whole family. The Elephant and Castle Pub has been a great 'local' for us, especially Glen who has spent many a long Thursday evening playing Texas Hold'em there, bowling skittles for them, and playing stoolball (Eleanor did too). If you need us to explain those last two to you, it's because you are not from East Sussex. And of course, none of this would be possible without the University of Sussex and the US-UK Fulbright Commission. The staff at both institutions have been absolutely incredible. Thanks all for a great year -- and watch out Philly, here we come.

Robert, King of Lewes Castle, Celebrates #6

Don't know who had more fun at this party - him, me, his sister, dad or Grammy?!? Above, you can see Sir Robert dressed as a knight on top of the barbican of Lewes castle. Upper right shows him and his friends having a toast out of goblets.
This lower picture gives a great sense of the castle grounds where we played a lot of games and the outside of the barbican. In there is where the party was held. It was a glorious day and his friends were just great. We got to party like it was 1077!!!

Wimbledon 2009

We actually saw Wimbledon. My mother is here also and she got to experience the English queue. It was something. We got to the 'parking lot' at 10:30 a.m. and were admitted to the grounds at 2 p.m. It was very well organized but very hot too. As we went on the second day (foolishly thinking the lines would be SHORT) we got to see a lot of tennis on the outlying courts (centre court and court 1 were extra of course - and sold out by the time we got to the front of the line). Everywhere you looked there were matches and look how close we got. Don't ask me who this is -- I don't remember and it doesn't matter because she's not in it anymore -- that's the beauty of the first round. But she could have beaten any of us. In fact, she won this match. And yes, we did have strawberries and cream (and Pimm's).

Norway has it ALL!!!

What a way to spend our last regular school break at the end of May! If you are looking for something for everyone, go to Oslo. First, you can see that Glen managed to find a race course - at right you can see Eleanor and our Norwegian friend Marit at the track in Eiksmarka. Below, Robert made a 'sculpture' out of fabulous branches on the porch of Marit's house.

Well, it gets even better. Marit also has a cabin about 90 minutes Northwest of Oslo on her own island. Yes, you read that right. This island is so private you have to get to it in a rowboat. Really. Big fun for a family of suburbanites. Here is the view from the cabin.
I've done something to the picture below, so bear with me. This is the opera house in Oslo. Glen walked on the roof which is amazing for its views of the harbor. There is a lot of amazing modern architecture in Oslo.

In addition, there are lots of public sculptures, like this one below, that just pop up all over the place. Or for an amazing sculpture treat, visit Vigeland Park.http://www.norwayguide.no/ta/vigeland.htm

Finally, here is a view of the harbor in Oslo near where the major museums are: the Fram (polar explorer ship, Robin's favorite), Kon-Tiki, Viking Boats, and Folk Museum. Plus, in the morning the fisherman are there selling their catches. But do be warned, while not quite as expensive as Copenhagen, Oslo is certainly up there. It was totally worth it though.

Brighton with Blythe

Our dear friend Blythe visited us for four days and we showed her everything, including Brighton, our closest big city. Brighton is on the English Channel so we went there to wiggle our feet in the rocks (boulders really) and go to the pier and have ice cream in the wind. It was also the big day that Eleanor FINALLY got her ears pierced. Of course, these are from Blythe's camera so there are no pictures of her. Hmmm...

Derby Again, for the Women's FA Cup

Did you see us at the FA cup final in Pride Park in Derby??? We had front row seats in the middle. And of course, I don't need to tell you that the team in red, the victors, are Arsenal's women's team, do I??? Arsenal is in the south of England, and Derby is in the north, so the crowd rooted for the underdog Sunderland, also in the north (though both are 2.5 hours away in opposite directions, but you know how regional loyalties can be). We had great fun despite the chilly, rainy day.

Copenhagen in the Springtime

Two incredible things about Copenhagen: it is absolutely beautiful in the spring and it has Lutheran churches that are very old! And it is so expensive that I'm glad we enjoyed it because that's it. So that's three things. Also, everything you have seen and heard about Danish design is true -- witness the cool cardboard chair and Ottoman. I took a photo of the family with the Little Mermaid. And then I went to work at the University of Copenhagen for a workshop which was just fabulous, one of the best things I've done ever!