A Post-Christmas Christmas Post

The snow outside is bidding a hasty retreat, much like Christmas 2010. It was fun while it lasted, but now it's gone and we have new things to look forward to. Hopefully, unlike the big thaw being experienced here, the post-Christmas period won't be as destructive. Apparently the rapid change in temperature created massive numbers of burst pipes and large swaths of Northern Ireland have been without water for the past week.

I was about to say that our Christmas was quiet, but it surely didn't start out that way. We went to our good friends, Erin and Todd, for a Christmas Eve fondue. Cheese, oil, broth and chocolate - the works. It was delicious and really good fun. The lively discussions over the fondue pots quickly subsided as our bellies filled and I was kind of glad we had the walk home to wake us up a little.

Christmas morning was what Christmas morning should be - breakfast and presents. Santa treated us both quite well. My themes were books (a couple more Churchills and the last book in Edmund Morris's brilliant Theodore Roosevelt biography) and puzzles, with some colorful socks thrown in. I also received a digital camcorder, so expect to see some more videos up on the blog in 2011. Fiona also had some books and several Wii and DS games, including the latest Professor Layton. Santa apparently also stopped by Tiffany, having heard that Fiona had been extra good this year. The rest of Christmas day was quite relaxed, a nap followed by fun in the kitchen preparing perhaps our best turkey ever. That poor bird put up a good fight, shedding perhaps only a couple of her 12 pounds on Christmas day, but has now been incorporated into a delicious turkey and leek pie.

Boxing Day and the next two days were spent enjoying the time together. Games were played. Darts were watched (Barney, Simon Whitlock and Phil (of course) are all looking good). Cricket was followed (England retain the Ashes). We contemplated the necessity of new car and balanced it against a possible warm weather February vacation. We paid our Christmas bills. All is well.

We hope you had a great holiday season as well.

White Christmas

We're looking out the window now at another 1-2 feet of snow, and judging by the forecasts it will probably all stay right through to Christmas. It's wreaking havoc on those who have to travel. Several of my colleagues are having their Christmas plans seriously altered by the inability to keep airports open, and Fiona has many friends that are worried about family and friends making it into Aberdeen for the holidays. As we're staying put until at least New Year's Eve, it doesn't bother us too much, but it is tough not to feel for everyone else.

The only real effect on us has been to delay the arrival of Christmas presents bought over the internet, as delivery companies are now refusing to deliver into Scotland. Fortunately almost everything has arrived, including our Christmas present to ourselves (a new MacBook Air) and a certain little turquoise box that has Fiona quite intrigued. So we'll just tough out the weather working on our Christmas puzzles, drinking mulled cider or hot chocolates, listening to Christmas tunes and watching the odd movie on TV. We watched 'White Christmas' this morning, with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. It was a quite good and certainly puts you in the festive spirit. We're looking forward to a few more Christmas Classics - new and old - over the coming weeks.

We're also getting our daily dose of darts watching the World Championships, which take place from this week through to New Years. All the old favorites are doing well, including last year's runner-up, Simon Whitlock. Yesterday was quite a rousing session, as the English fans we're in a party mood, looking to drink away the awful cricket results from earlier in the day (the Ashes against Australia is all tied up 1.5-1.5 after three tests). Things really caught fire when a qualifier from Japan called Hashimoto won a match to get into the main draw. The crowd really got behind him, chanting his name and singing multiple rounds of "Stand up if you like the Japanese". Unfortunately he was on the receiving end of thorough drubbing from the Flying Scotsman, Gary Anderson, who looks in fine form for a long run in the tournament. Phil Taylor did not look sharp in his opening match, so maybe there is a chance that someone else will get to win this year?

We're also reading a lot of movie reviewer's Top Ten lists for the year, of which we have seen almost none. We really have to get out to the arthouse cinema a little more, althouh a lot of the titles seemed incredibly depressing. Anyway, in honor of those lists, I thought I would post my own, but with a twist. Here's my Top Ten list of movies I've seen this year - not necessarily made or released in 2010, but seen by me during that time. In no particular order:

1. Inception. I know it has its haters, and I can see some of their objections, but to me it was still original and cool.
2. Kenny. I think we've recommended this movie to everyone we know. It may seem like one giant poop joke, but if you're not rooting for Kenny by the end of the movie, you're not human.
3. Push. A cool little sci-fi movie with an interesting cast of characters which never takes itself too seriously. Plus, drunken Dakota Fanning is hilarious.
4. To Catch a Thief. Fiona will claim this makes the list purely for the Grace Kelly element. Wrong. Great movie with fabulous dialogue. They do not make them like this anymore.
5. High Society. Do two Grace Kelly entries prove Fiona's point? Maybe?
6. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Best animated movie ever.
7. Despicable Me. Possibly a close second.
8. Kick-Ass. Take it with a grain of salt. Very funny, but darkly so, with great action scenes.
9. Bottle Shock. Interesting little character movie about wine making in California. Can't go wrong with Alan Rickman.
10. 500 Days of Summer. Clever. Likable characters.

Anyway, let the mocking of my cinematic tastes, or lack thereof, begin.

Natural History, Quaglinos and a WInter Wonderland

We managed to make it through the snow-pocalypse last week. As the people in the central belt of Scotland suffered under 2-3 feet of snow and temperatures down to -15 C, we Aberdonians took our lumps as well. The city slowed down, traffic got worse, the shops and petrol stations started to run out of stock, but life just kept on going. It was a little easier for us because we had an interesting weekend to look forward to.

Friday was the staff Christmas party, so the boss and the boss's wife got all fancied up and walked down to a nice restaurant for dinner and drinks. Although we somehow got stuck on the end of the table (again), I work with such a good group of people that it didn't really matter. Fiona won the first prize in the raffle and the skirlie on the turkey platter was only mostly inedible. I even got in a great Cuban cigar on the way home, and once we got there I got to Skype with my sister and my niece, whom I haven't spoken to for way too long.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit, packed a suitcase and headed off to the airport. After a slight delay due to a malfunctioning radar instrument, we were off to London. We hit the ground there, jumped in a cab to our Kensington hotel (2 thumbs up to the Crowne Plaza on Cromwell Road for upgrading us to a two storey suite with a monster bed!) and did a quick change so we could hop another cab to Quaglino's for dinner.

We really like Quaglino's. Fiona took me there earlier in the year for my birthday and it was grand. You pay a little more, but you get to sit amongst the fabulous people and pretend you are important. Fiona was, of course, looking the part and I tried my best as well, but looked quite tame surrounded by guys in grey suits with lime green shirt-tie combos. When our heads hit the pillows that night we were thoroughly exhausted.

Sunday morning saw us walking down the street to try and beat the queues at the Natural History Museum. We'd tried before but had always been put off by the lines snaking down the street. It wasn't too bad this time. Actually the line outside was just long enough to let you take in the grandeur of the building. And it continued inside. There were many times where we thought the building itself outshone the exhibits inside. Everywhere you looked were intricate carvings of snakes, birds, monkeys and other fauna.

There were several cool exhibits, including the geological ones, the dinosaurs (of course) and the thousands of stuffed birds. The highlight for us was a temporary exhibit entitled "Wildlife Photographer of the Year". It was absolutely amazing. I think it inspired Fiona to get behind the camera a little more. Hopefully next year we'll be getting free tickets as she goes back to accept first prize.

We then trekked further into the city by Tube to visit the London branch of our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, Chipotle. While not completely the same as in the States, we enjoyed every bite. It was well worth the trip.

After a brief nap at the hotel we hopped in the Tube again to go see the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square. It was not quite as awe inspiring as we had hoped, but Fiona got some good shots. There was one view from the steps where you could see the square, with the tree, the planet Jupiter shining brightly just over Nelson's shoulder on top of the column and down the street, past the large double decker bus, Big Ben shining through the darkness.

Back on the Tube - next stop Hyde Park, where a Winter Wonderland was in progress. We walked past the stalls with all sorts of Christmas crafts, mulled wine and pretzels, had some sub-par poffertjes and enjoyed the Christmas music and lights. When we hit the carnival, with the haunted house where they had simply put Santa costumes on all the zombies, we turned around and headed back to the hotel.

On Monday I had a course at the office in Crawley and Fiona spent the day with a friend touring the National Portrait Gallery and surroundings. She had to stop and flirt with Winston.

We were looking forward to sleeping in our own beds when we got home, so were sorely disappointed when we opened the door to find the internal alarm blaring away. Our codes didn't work and the alarm company wasn't answering any calls, so I hauled out my tool kit, cracked open the alarm and loosened the right wires to get it to stop. I fell asleep quite proud of myself. It was probably the height of handyman skills. I hope I didn't peak too soon.

Neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom of night ...

... is keeping us from getting out and about and enjoying Scotland this winter. And winter it definitely is. We've got a howling blizzard going on outside right now and it feels good to be sitting inside our cozy living room, the set-up and decorated Christmas tree twinkling in the corner. Yes it is up already - don't judge us! - we'll be out in London next weekend and if we waited until the weekend after that it would feel like too late. Plus, we have to get started on Christmas cards, and how can you write those without a little bit of atmosphere to set the mood?

We've got at least 20 cm of snow on the ground now and it has been snowing or raining off and on for most of the last week. The forecasts call for a continuation of that trend next week as well. Just as we were starting to get a little homesick, Mother Nature was kind enough to give us a taste of Canada. Because the city (and country in general) is so unprepared for snow like this, a lot of stuff just shuts down and people hunker down and wait it out. But we've actually been a little busy the last week.

On Tuesday night we bundled up and went down to Crathes Castle for a demonstration and lecture from the Aberdeen Astronomical Society. It was really well done and one of the lecturers happened to be a client of mine from BP. They had some telescopes set up outside to look at the moon, Jupiter and some other astronomical oddities. Fiona took some time to get great shots of the castle at night. Her photography skills amaze me - even though she adds the caveat here that these photos were taken with her 'happy snaps' camera, not her 'professional' camera. I think she's looking at some evening classes to get even better. Even though it rained off and on during the evening it was still good fun, especially as several work colleagues showed up as well.

Saturday afternoon we met up with more work colleagues at Pittodrie stadium for Scotland v Samoa in international rugby. It was plenty cold, but we went prepared and even though it was our first exposure to rugby we had a really good time. The match was fairly even and competitive and I can see the appeal of the game for others. The pomp and circumstance around the game was impressive as well - from the singing of 'Flower of Scotland' to the Samoan haka. Most impressive - the size, speed and strength of some of the brutes playing this game. The Samoans were almost as wide and thick as they were tall. Post-game we all hustled over to the nearest pub for a few pints, more rugby on the big screen and good conversation. We finished the evening at the Greek restaurant. We emerged to an Aberdeen covered in a thick blanket of snow and had fun trudging through the big, fat flakes on the way home. Even more fun, though, is watching Casey bounding through the drifts, tail wagging, face buried in the snow, running around like an eedjit. Fabulous.

The Tartan Army

One of the guys at work arranged for a group of us to go see the Scottish national team play the Faroe Islands in an international friendly at Pittodrie. When the Tartan Army calls, you answer, so we got all bundled up and made our way to the stadium. The fact that we were all bunched together like sardines helped keep the cold night at bay, and the fact that "missiles" were expressly forbidden kept it family friendly. The pre-game highlight was the singing of the Scottish 'National Anthem'. 50 points for anyone that can identify the song ...

The Faroes hit a goalpost early on, but quickly faded after that and Scotland romped to an expected 3-0 victory. The real pity is that all goals were scored at the other end of the stadium.

We're now really looking forward to our first international rugby game on the 27th.

Budapest - Day 3

Being that we were in Budapest we decided to visit one of the famous spas. It was an absolutely gorgeous day as we got a cab over to the Gellert Spa. It is a gorgeous building with beautiful tile mosaics. We arrived, paid our fee and were a little confused about where we were supposed to go. We stopped by the information desk and the nice lady there showed us into the women's area of the spa. We were then put in the hands of the matron in the change room. We ordered around by this women who looked like she could crush us with her bare hands. "COME!" was her favorite and maybe only English word. We arranged to get a quick 20 min massage and headed to the hot thermal pools. They were really enjoyable, apart from getting an eyeful of old naked Hungarian women. I will also say that the massage was really weird but also great!

We left the spa feeling wonderfully relaxed and with a few stories that will make us giggle for years to come. (Our other fellow travelers had a few to add as well). Off to explore Pest some more.

Back to the Market, of course for a little more shopping. I have to admit that I did come home with 4 new scarves and other neat tidbits. Lunch was at a great little cafe where we ate in the sunshine on the patio. It was nearly 20 degrees outside which is very unusual for Budapest this time of year, so we soaked up some sun.

We decided to head back to Hero's Square, it is a very impressive monument to all the great heroes from Hungary.

Back to the Parliament buildings for another look at the beautiful architecture. Not to far from the parliament is a statue of President Imre Nagy, he was executed by the Soviets. Andrea, our tour guide had told us that his statue is placed on a bridge to symbolize the country crossing from communism to democracy and he is facing the Parliament building which is a symbol of democracy and liberty.

We then walked back down along the Danube and stopped at the memorial on the riverbank to the group of Hungarian Jews that were rounded up, brought down to the riverside, shot and thrown in to the river. It was a very sobering tribute, the replica iron shoes of men women and children sitting empty on the riverside.

We had been so impressed with the Gerbeaud coffee house that we stopped again for a treat and coffee. Back at the hotel, we met up with a few of our other ladies and all went to dinner together. After dinner we got our whole group together to present a thank you gift to our trip organizer. She did such an amazing job. Thanks so much, Sherri! We also exchanged stories from the spa and had a good laugh, many of us laughing until we cried..

Tour of Budapest

We got up bright and early to a foggy day in Budapest. Our tour guide, Andrea picked us up and we drove a bit through the castle district and headed to the citadel. The citadel itself, as with other buildings in Budapest was marked with bullet holes, left there as reminders of the past. At the top of the citadel is an old Soviet monument that the Hungarians have reclaimed for themselves. It was a really great view from the top of the hill. We hopped back on the bus and headed to the Parliament, a beautiful building and one of the largest in Europe apparently. Next stop was St. Stephen's Cathedral. A really interesting church dedicated to the most popular saint of Hungary. He was the first king of Hungary and brought Catholicism to a people who were primarily pagan. He had a remarkably long life, he was approximately 68 when he died, which for the time (1038) was rare. He outlived all of his children and so before he died he is said to have offered the crown and the people of Hungary to the Virgin Mary and asked her to be their queen. In the church is housed the mummified right hand of St. Stephen. We drove a bit more around the Pest side of the city and up the Hungarian version of the Champs-Elysees and at the end is Hero's square (that we decided to go back to the next day) and our last stop was the large covered market. We were then left by our tour guide and left to our own devices. We walked around the food stalls on the main floor, filled with fruits, vegetables and meats. It was really neat to explore. We stopped for lunch (schnitzel, really good) and proceeded around the second floor, where all the souvenir shops were. It was packed full of glassware, linens, beautiful pashminas, chess sets, and many other crafts. A few friends and I started our walk back to the hotel, down the pedestrian street, Vaci Street. Lined with more shops we took our time walking along this street finding more treasures. Our tour guide had told us about one of the oldest cafes in Budapest called Gerbeaud. So we stopped for a coffee and a treat. It was fantastic and a really beautiful building, inside it felt like a old fashioned hotel lobby with warm colours, gold leaf crown moulding, and chandeliers.

With a gorgeous sunset as the backdrop we strolled back along the Danube, past the Little Princess and over the Chain Bridge. We took the funicular up to the top of Castle Hill and got back to our hotel.

A little time later we were picked up again by the bus and brought down to the river where we boarded our dinner cruise. It was a great time! We enjoyed the views from the river with all the buildings lit up. The city is absolutely magnificent looking at night.