Last weekend was a very English weekend. We were in the Cotswolds, a region which is, in itself, the quintessence of English country life: thatched-roof cottages; gently rolling fields dotted with sheep; Land Rovers and wellies and tweed coats. We stayed at the family home of some friends, a rambling three-story affair, the one-time “Dower”… Read More Paean to Englishness
Transylvania. The very name conjures a cinematic mash-up of monster iconography: deep black forests, spiky medieval lairs. Even seasoned travellers are apt to ask if it’s a real place. It is – this region of Romania extends from Brasov in the east to Cluj Napoca in the north, and almost as far west as Hungary. It comes by its horror-genre… Read More Far from the Vlad-ding Crowd
Dear Skerne Park Academy: I just found about you, a magical school in England where the parents apparently wear pyjamas and slippers during the School Run (for Americans reading, the School Run is the act of dropping kids off at, and picking them up from, school). This didn’t best please the head teacher (a.k.a. school… Read More Open Letter to Pyjama-Wearing Parents of Skerne Park
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the declaration “There’s no snow!” was a steady refrain uttered amongst several of our local friends. They weren’t talking about London, which hardly ever sees the stuff anyway; they were talking about the Alps. From Les Trois Vallees to Zermatt, Courmayeur to St. Anton, El Niño and his… Read More Rudolph & Redrum: Winter Adventure in Geilo, Norway
In a fit of Christmas spirit that saw us trying to get as close to the North Pole as possible with a few days and a not-insane number of dollars, we set off for Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city, as soon as the kids’ school let out for Christmas break. We’d been forewarned about the expense… Read More Wet and Wild Norwegian Christmas: Bergen, Norway
Mommy Goes Mummy 