Leigh on Sea, England

On Saturday, I took a day trip with a few co-workers to Leigh on Sea located south of London in Essex. My company's office manager lives in Leigh on Sea and invited us down for the music festival in the Old Town.

We caught the noon train and found ourselves at the Leigh on Sea station a quick forty-five minutes after we departed. Sarah met us at the station with her dog Molly and walked us through the Old Town to her favorite fish and chips spot, The Mayflower Pub. Fish and chips from a shop located near the sea are supposed to be the best fish and chips you can get in England. While the fish and chips definitely hit the spot, I wasn't able to tell the difference from the fish and chips I've had in London.

After our pub lunch, we took a stroll through to the beach. While the weather was nice, the sun was out, it was not what I would consider 'beach weather.' Leave it to the Brits to allow their kids to dwin in the sea when it is 60 degrees out.

We then walked to the Old Town, grabbed some pints and found a spot to sit on the sea wall to listen to the bands. Four different bands played throughout the afternoon into early evening.

Hanging with Sarah's dog Molly was probably my favorite part of the day! Molly's a twelve year old french bulldog that doesn't get bothered by much of anything.

It always nice to escape London for a bit and enjoy some sun and fresh air!

Binkin's visit London!

<guest post from Shane – probably his one and only>


 My parents and sister flew into London on Friday, July 29.  They all planned to arrive around the same time - my parents from Peoria/Chicago and my sister from Seattle - and take a car in from Heathrow.   However, my parents had a bit of a nightmare with their flights and so my sister got in first from Seattle. In order for her not to sleep through the whole day, we decided to take a walk through some of London's best parks.  We walked north to Hampstead Heath and then south to Primrose Hill.  After logging a few good miles, we came back to our flat and it was nap time.  My parents finally arrived later in the day and the whole family was back together.  I will admit that I did not take a lot of pictures during their stay since my mom took quite a few for her scrapbook which is currently in-process.  So I will refer you to her scrapbook for the definitive collection of their stay.


 We covered quite a bit of ground in London during their stay (my parents will tell you we walked more during this trip than they have in the past 10 years J). We did pretty much all of the must-see tourist attractions: Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, St. Paul’s, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, British Museum, etc.  But we also saw some of the local gems that Jen and I have come to enjoy about London from our 9 months living here.  Also, Jen and I had waited to see some of the attractions so we could do them together with my family…these included a canal ride from Little Venice to Camden Town, the Churchill War Rooms and a live showing of Jersey Boys.


 On their last night in London, we had dinner at Duck & Waffle which is a restaurant on the 40^th floor of a skyscraper in the city.  The food was great and the views were brilliant.  It was a prefect way to cap off their visit. We had a wonderful week with my family and enjoyed showing them what a great city London is. Jen and I (and Martha) miss you all!!!

Paris, France

We took the Eurostar Monday morning to spend a couple of days in Paris with Shane's parents and sister. We arrived in Paris early afternoon and quickly hopped on the metro to check-in at our AirBNB. When we were in Paris with Holly and Curtis, we really enjoyed the St. Germain neighborhood so for this trip we made sure our AirBNB was near there.

After dropping our bags we were off to see Sainte-Chapelle and Notre Dame.

Sainte-Chapelle was commissioned by King Louis IX of France in the 12th century and is considered one of the highest achievements of Gothic architecture for its time. It has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained glass collection anywhere in the world. Sainte-Chapelle was damaged during the French revolution and restored in the 19th century. It is currently undergoing another round of renovations as pollution and visitors have caused it to become quite worn.

After visiting Sainte-Chapelle we headed over to Notre Dame. The line to enter Notre Dame was quite long so we admired the grandiosity of the Cathedral from outside.

After Notre Dame we took a stroll through the Luxembourg Gardens which were conveniently located near our dinner spot that evening. The gardens were beautiful and the perfect spot to relax a bit before dinner. After dinner we headed back to the flat to rest up for our activities the next day.

On Tuesday, we started the day with a bus/boat tour. The bus drove by all the major sites and the boat tour reinforced the sites located along the river. It was a tad rainy in the morning so the bus/boat tour could not have been timed better. The tour ended at the Eiffel Tower so we were able to walk around the Eiffel Tower grounds afterwards. After spending some time admiring the Eiffel Tower we grabbed lunch at a nearby cafe before heading to Sacre Coeur.

The Sacre Coeur Basilica is located at the summit of Montmartre; the highest point in the city. We love the walk up to Sacre Coeur and the view of the city from the top so we were excited to share it with the Binkin Family. Shane, Alicia and I elected to take the steps and met Shane's parents at the top. I don't think we could ever get sick of seeing Sacre Coeur.

 After touring the Basilica, we headed back towards our flat and made a quick stop at the Arc de Triomphe. We debated taking the stairs to the top but due to the line elected to head back so we could freshen up before dinner.

After dinner we took a quick stroll to the river to admire Paris at night. It's a pretty city in the day and it's even prettier at night.

On Wednesday, I took the first Eurostar back to London so I could be at work 9am. The others had an early evening train so that they could spend more time in Paris. The Binkin Family headed to the Louvre and Shane, having already been to the Louvre before, opted for the d'Orsay. Below are some of Shane's pictures from d'Orsay.

After museum-ing, they walked through the Tuileries Garden and grabbed some Parisian chocolate (can't leave Paris without it).  They then headed to the station to catch the train back to London!

Emily & Patrick Visit London!

Emily & Patrick arrived in London Tuesday after Jordan & Justin departed. Shane worked from home so that he was able to greet them upon their arrival. Emily & Patrick didn't waste much time and set-off immediately to explore London. First up on their itinerary was St. Paul's. They climbed to top - quite the feat considering Emily is 28 weeks pregnant and they had been traveling for 36 hours! We grabbed dinner with them that evening at a pub near our flat, The George. Martha joined as well which provided some extra entertainment.

On Wednesday, Emily & Patrick strolled Southbank, taking in the view of Parliament and Big Ben, and then toured the Churchill War Rooms and Westminister Abbey. We made dinner at home that night as Emily & Patrick were set to depart at the crack of dawn for Ireland the next morning. We planned to meet Emily & Patrick in Ireland first thing Friday morning!

Emily & Patrick returned to London on Monday after our time in Ireland. We made dinner at home so that we were able to have a relaxing night in.

On Tuesday, Emily & Patrick toured the Royal Air Force Museum and then met up with Patrick's mom, who was in London for a flight, at Harrod's for some shopping! They grabbed dinner in South Kensingston with Patrick's mom and we caught up with them when they headed back to our flat that evening.

On Wednesday, Emily & Patrick toured the National Gallery and British Museum. They checked into a hotel in Westminster Wednesday morning for ease in catching the bus for a tour on Thursday and early morning flight on Friday. Their central London hotel was super cute and fancy so we enjoyed a cocktail there on the terrace before heading out to our last dinner with them :(. We hate when our friends leave!

On Thursday, Emily & Patrick toured the Tower of London, strolled across Tower Bridge and checked out Borough Market. They stopped by my temporary office (my office had a black water flood so we are in a temporary space until November/December) for one final good-bye before catching their bus for the Harry Potter studio tour.

Thanks for visiting Emily, Patrick & baby Ronnie! We miss you!

Ring of Kerry, County Kerry, Ireland

County Kerry was our second stop of our Ireland weekend. We planned to stay in Kenmare as our base camp for the Ring of Kerry.

We left Kinsale mid-day Saturday and headed to the Gap of Dunloe. The Gap of Dunloe is a narrow mountain pass and within the pass are five lakes and an old arch bridge called the 'Wishing Bridge.' 

The pass through the Gap of Dunloe is extremely narrow and only to be utilized by locals. Thus, to go through the Gap of Dunloe you can either walk, go on horseback or take a jaunting car (a horse drawn cart). We opted for the horse drawn cart. Paul and Jack, our driver and horse respectively, showed us the best of the Gap of Dunloe.

After the Gap of Dunloe, we drove a portion of the Ring of Kerry. The Ring of Kerry is a scenic drive around the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry. It is a 179km long circular route that goes along rugged coastal landscapes and rural seaside villages. Our first portion of the Ring of Kerry was from Killarney to Kenmare. This portion of the Ring is through Killarney National Park and is stunning. Throughout this portion of our drive we made stops at the Muckross House, Ladies View and Moll's Gap.

After driving a portion of the Ring of Kerry, we arrived in Kenmare. We were all a bit tired from the travel and took a brief break at our B&B before heading to dinner.

The next morning, we had another Irish breakfast, and set-out to do the remainder of the Ring of Kerry. Patrick was our fearless driver and he managed the narrow, often one lane roads marvelously!

Shane and I departed out of Kerry airport after we finished the Ring of Kerry and Emily and Patrick headed north as they planned to see the Cliffs of Moher on Monday.