This one's for Hughes

Hello Everyone

Well I got in BIG trouble when we were home in early October for not keeping up on the blog. Sorry!!!!

Well since the last post I think we have been a few places....done a few things....had a few visitors....and changed seasons....celebrated living in London for a year....so where to begin?

I think starting with travels is always good. In September we travelled with loads of people to Munich for Oktoberfest. In order to fit in and just to have fun, Chris purchased liederhosen and I purchased a drindl. It was so fun being in costume all day while we enjoyed the beer tents and other festivities. Our main day at the fest was Friday. We went with Holly, met up with Steve and Julie, and Peter & Azure (and their Amsterdam PwC crew). We spent about 5 hours in the first beer tent singing, drinking beer, eating lots of yummy food, and just having a good time with each other. We took a break and thought it would be a great idea to go on a carnival ride at this point. I think I was laughing half of the time we were on this thing :) Later on, Steve, Julie, Chris, and I managed to get into a large tent where we spent the remainder of the evening. One of my favourite things about living abroad is meeting people all over the world (so we can then join hands and start a love train...). We met loads of people from all over the place, I think I gave out my email address but have never heard from any of them, ha ha!

Steve, Julie, Chris, and I ventured off to Salzburg, Austria the following day. For those who don't know, this is where they filmed the Sound of Music. It was so incredibly beautiful there, we ate more naughty food, and just enjoyed each others company. Its so great having our buds here to travel with!

I finished my client secondment at DTZ on the 2nd which was definitely a great experience and job for the summer. I learned a lot about "the other side" and auditors :) I think I will be a better manager thanks to that experience. On the 3rd we went home for Ashs' wedding and a visit. It was such a nice visit and we were really grateful to see many of you!

October really flew by. I have been incredibly busy at work as I wasn't really working at PwC all summer, so just getting caught up on everything. We celebrated our 5th anniversary by going to see Phantom of the Opera (CHRIS PICKED THIS!!!!!). The show was so amazing, I was practically in tears (or was) because the music was so powerful. We also celebrated my 27th birthday and I got my first "you are getting closer to 30" comment. I suppose thats what I get though as I love to rubbing in "turning 30" to everyone else. We celebrated by going to a new Jazz/Blues/Rock restaurant/bar in Camden which is a trendy area of London. It was a great night with lots of friends and lots of smiles and laughter. The next day we went to the NFL game at Wembley to watch the Pats annihilate the Bucs. Not the outcome we wanted, but we were with our Boston friends so we were happy for their sakes.

On the 29th Nichole and Daley arrived and we had them with us for a very fun week of museums, shopping, eating, pubs, and Halloween. Gabi rented a room right in the center of Piccadilly Circus for her annual Halloween party. We all dressed up and spent the evening there having a blast!

So now its November and the seasons are changing. I thought London was sooo beautiful when we moved here last year. The leaves on the trees changing colors and falling off the trees making a blanket of leaves across the common. In the last few days I have noticed that the trees are getting more and more bare and its getting colder and colder outside...winter is coming!!! I still like it though. I do miss the constant beautiful temperature outside that we get at home, home but this is nice for a little while.

November looks like a weekend retreat with my PwC colleagues in the country, a weekend away to Frankfurt to visit the Burkholders (have Thanksgiving and do the Christmas markets), and lots of bicycle riding for Chris as he prepares for the Ride Across England (to take place next June over 9 days with on average 100 miles of cycling a day).

We aren't sure where this adventure will take us next, but we will be sure to share it all with you as we go along :)

See you in December!

Love,

Ang