Richmond: It's Like San Marcos on Steroids

Edgar and I have been trying for weeks to come up with the perfect phrase to describe Richmond, our new hometown. As we were lazing by the Thames River this past weekend...which happens to be a 5 minute walk from our flat...it just popped into my head...Richmond-It's Like San Marcos on Steroids...

Most of you know that Edgar and I met at the beautiful Southwest Texas State Univeristy, where a river runs through it...the San Marcos river that is. We love San Marcos so much and think fondly of our years there. It is so perfect for us now that we once again live next to a river. Granted it's not spring-fed and you don't see any tubers floating around, but you are free to have a drink while sitting on the grass watching everyone walk by. There are pubs and cafes all along the river front and you can walk for miles on the paths that line the shore. Many people rent canoes while others catch a ride on one of the shuttle type boats that will take you up and down the river, dropping off at various historical royal palaces along the way.

Ah yes, the canoes. Seems like such a romantic idea...having your special someone row you along while you sit back and gaze into his eyes. Uh, yeah...we still haven't rented a canoe as we think it may be a repeat of another seemingly romantic jaunt from a visit in Chicago. If you've ever been to Chicago in the summertime, you may have seen the quad bikes that are rented to cycle along the lakefront. Looks like so much fun until you actually do it..it has no gears...and the lakefront path is at a sharp 45 degree angle for most of the ride. We wondered why so many of the people returning the bikes did not have the same happy, smiley faces as they did when they left. Five minutes into the ride and we understood. If you don't hang on tightly to the bike, you may just tumble out the side and into the lake. If you are the driver, it takes all your strength to keep the wheel straight, and everyone is charged with pedaling.

The Thames has a pretty strong current and it is quite comical to watch the big burly men attempt to paddle against the current headed upstream and then 30 minutes later you see the lady in the driver's seat very gracefully gliding back down the river with little to no effort. We may try it later, when there aren't so many people crowding the shoreline ready to laugh at us when we collide with a bridge or another boat (we have been those laughing people, trust me).

While there is definately no place like San Marcos, Richmond is proving to be a most perfect place to live. We love it and are so happy our relocation agent brought us here "if only to discount it". We can't imagine having discounted this place and look forward to 2 (or 3) more years of lounging riverside.

Email Update from Friday, April 13, 2007

Well, the big news in the Castro household is that we now have the Internet in our home!!! So I promise to email more frequently and if you have emailed me and I haven't responded, I promise I will be emailing you back shortly.

Easter weekend saw our very first adventure. We had planned to go to Paris, but upon booking, we discovered so had everyone else! So, we decided to go to Edinburgh, Scotland, and take our first long distance train ride. There were still seats available and many places to stay once we got there. I have to say that the train ROCKS! It is my new favorite way to travel (for distances of 5 hours or less). There is no 2 hour wait at the airport before departure (you arrive just in time to jump on board before the doors close), no hassled security checks, and you get to see the countryside. In fact, I got my first glimpse of the North Sea about 3 hours into the trip.

We arrived at the Edinburgh Waverly Station, which is situated in the center of town. We had a cabbie take us to our little home away from home, the AmarAgua Guesthouse. It was a very nice little B&B about a mile away from the city center and next to a bus stop, which meant we got a little peace and quiet at night and were never more than 5 minutes from all the action. Breakfast was cooked to order every morning and served by our wonderful Portuguese host who gave great tips for our daily plans. I think his wife was the chef because I never seemed to see her in the mornings.

On our ride to the B&B, we marveled at the architecture and look of the city. It is very, very old and many of the buildings are original and some have even been around for close to 900 years! It's got a very Gothic feel to it and everything is built in a very grandiose fashion...large spires on top of the cathedrals, huge monuments to different people, and very intricate carvings in all of the structures.

Because Edgar just loves Scotch, and we were in Scotland, we had to take the Whisky Heritage tour. Notice I spelled Whisky without the "e"...only whisky made in Scotland can leave the "e" out. I guess I did learn something but it was a little too Disneyland meets Scotch making. We did get a souvenir glass and a shot of whisky (well Edgar got four shots of whisky because he did a tasting afterwards), so I guess it was worth it. Next time, we will probably take a trip to the Highlands and see a real distillery in action.

We also did the Mary Kings Close tour. A "close" is a narrow street between buildings. Basically, in 1753, the city decided to build a new Royal Exchange building in this area, so they tore down the top floors of the existing buildings, leaving the bottom floors as foundation for the new building. So in the tour, you get to walk through this underground city and learn about life when chamber pots were emptied twice a day, via a cry of "Gordi Loo!" and a thrust out the front door...the bubonic and pneumatic plagues killed scores of people...and of course, the old ghost stories. Of course no one lives there now, unless you believe in all the ghosts they tell you about! They are really big on the spookiness in Edinburgh. There are haunted ghost tours on every corner and they claim to be one of the most haunted cities in all of the UK or maybe even the world (their words, not mine).

That was enough tourism for us, so we decided to get back to nature and climbed to the top of Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park, at the suggestion of the inn owner. It was a great hike and the top provided a complete panoramic view of the city and the sea...breathtaking. That evening we hung out with some locals at the Flying Scotsman pub and listened to a live 2 piece group play Scottish music. Their music was great and we had fun with our new Scottish friend, John Alexander...quite a character!

We decided against touring the famous Edinburgh Castle. When we walked up and saw loads of chartered buses, we thought it was maybe a little too commercial. But the castle itself is beautiful and sits on top of a cliff. I'm sure the inside holds many treasures and surprises, but it was our last day and we had more to explore.

DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT A VIDEO OF OUR TRIP ON YOUTUBE...YOU CAN SIMPLY CLICK ON THE "EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND" LINK TO THE LEFT UNDER THE "VIDEO" CATEGORY.

All in all, it was a great first trip! Edinburgh is beautiful and three days is plenty of time to see the city. Lucky for us, the Monday after Easter is also a British "bank holiday" so we had an extra day to hang out in Richmond together and get ready for the week.

This morning, I've just booked our next trip.....to PARIS!!! The Eurostar will get us there in 2 hrs and 45 minutes. I've found a great place to stay just a five minute walk from the Eiffel Tower. To say I am excited would be an understatement. We head out on May 25th and return on May 28th...now that will be a report!

I hope everyone is doing well!! Drop me a line if you get a chance! Like I said, promise to have better response time in the future.

Email Update from Wednesday, March 28, 2007

It's been a long time in the making...about 4 years to be exact (or seven depending on who you talk to), but it came down to one very important ceremony last Wednesday as Edgar was sworn in as a US citizen! In a true court proceeding, a State District Judge swore in 2165 individuals from 116 different countries to make them American citizens, and of course our wonderful Edgar was among them. I was truly amazed at how they made a very routine procedure, one that happens every other month, very special for everyone involved. The Berry Center was probably 3/4 full of prospective citizens and their families and everyone was allowed to sit together, so i got to be right next to my husband as he raised his right hand and took the oath. I would like to send a special thanks to my mom and dad who made the trip to Houston to be with us...it really meant alot to Edgar to have them there for support.

Our neighbors in Cypress threw Edgar a fabulous BBQ that evening and it was great to see everyone again. Edgar even had a flag cake and Blue Bell ice cream (i miss that ice cream).

We are now back in London adjusting to the time zone once again...Edgar is better at that than I am...I still want to fall asleep at 3am! While we were away, London switched over to "summer time" so we are again with a 6 hour time difference. It is beautiful here right now...perfect tempurature...the tulips and daffodils are blooming...and the sun is shining brightly.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Email Update from Monday, March 19, 2007

Just wanted to send everyone an update as we have now been settling into London for about 2 weeks!

Our air shipment arrived on Friday which means Edgar and I can finally add some more clothes into our wardrobe...we were both getting tired of the same 5 shirts we had packed in our suitcases. We do not have a closet...only 2 small wardrobes...so our clothes are folded in about 5 different places right now. I think a trip to IKEA is definately in the near future!

I have tackled the washer/dryer!! It is a Zanussi Xtra Capacity TurboDry 1200. I guess this means it holds 3 pair of pants instead of 2 and takes 2 hours to dry instead of 3! Doing laundry is a different experience and pretty much happens on a daily basis. In case you've never seen one, the washer and dryer is one machine, so you have to wait for the entire load to completely wash and dry before putting another load in. I see alot of clotheslines around here.

We finally have a phoneline! It seems we have two switches in our flat from two different companies. While we were assurred at ordering that BOTH switches would work, only one of them works with our chosen company. After several trips to the big red phone booth down the street and some time on hold, we finally figured this out. This led to an hour and a half discussion with said phone/broadband company about when our broadband would be installed..."But Mr. Castro, we don't have record of you having ordered broadband service." And we thought we would be so clever to check out of our hotel late when we first arrived so as to call and setup these all important services! Long story short, everything here has a waiting period of 5-10 days. They do most everything through mail so quick internet setups don't usually happen. I still don't know when it will arrive, so I'll just set up shop here in the internet cafes and pop in when I can. Our last service is cable, which I can't wait to get! I think I have found a good provider in Sky as they show alot of American shows and I can get my Friends fix. We'll see how that one goes!

Edgar and I have been taking in the city as much as we can. Our first weekend, we took a trip to the West End and watched The Lion King. It was very good and the theater was beautiful. The entire Theater District is such a fun place to wonder around. There are performers around on the streets doing everything from flamenco dancing to riding a 15 foot tall unicycle! There is also a great market in Covent Gardens with all sorts of handmade things like jewelry, hats, paintings, etc. Edgar walked us through that area pretty quickly.
This past weekend we were total London tourists...took a flight on the London Eye which gives your beautiful panoramic views of the city and beyond. We then took the Thames River cruise with a guided tour of all the buildings we passed along the river. It's a good introduction to some of the major landmarks. I think we're ready to venture beyond London...perhaps Paris via the Eurostar, or north on the train to Scotland. The tourist season begins in June, so we'd like to get as much seen before then as possible.

We will be traveling back to Houston for a very quick trip tomorrow! The day has finally come...Edgar is being sworn in as a US Citizen! The ceremony is being held on Wednesday at The Berry Center, ironically only a 1/2 mile from our previous home in Cypress! We will be traveling back to London on Saturday, as long as everything goes as planned with his passport issuance. This has been such a long process...4 years in the making...and we can hardly believe it's finally happening! I'm so proud!

I promise to send more frequent updates...hopefully our Broadband will be ready to go when we return and I can start some sort of daily blog or website. Take care and drop me a line when you can!

Update email from Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Well, after several weeks of intense planning, logistical quandaries, and a move unlike any other, Edgar and I have finally arrived in London! The flight was, thankfully, very uneventful, and I actually got some sleep...thanks to completely horizontal seats courtesy of British Airways! We check in to our apartment tomorrow (Wednesday) and begin this new exciting adventure.

Last week was completely indescribable as I had eight people in my home packing all of our possessions to be shipped to four different places. There was only one of me, so you can imagine the whirlwind that was! Somehow, I feel confident that everything will get where it is supposed to go...I guess I'll find out in the very near future. It was completely exhausting and I almost burst into tears as Lee, our driver from the airport to our hotel today, opened his car door for me and said, "Please, madam, have a seat...your work is done."

Tomorrow will be busy with grocery shopping, small appliance purchases (many appliances don't work over here because the voltage is different), and phone/Internet/cable setup. That should be an adventure in itself! I'll keep in touch as best I can these next few days as we get everything turned on. There are plenty of Internet Cafes around, so I'm sure I can at least check email.

We are living in Richmond, which is about 7 miles west of London, and straddles the Thames River. It is absolutely beautiful and as you climb to the top of Richmond via Richmond Hill, you get a panoramic view of London. It has lots of little shops, cafes, and restaurants off the beaten path and there is plenty of opportunity to explore. Check our new home out at www.totallyrichmond.co.uk

Please keep in touch and I promise to do the same. Take care!

Welcome to our Blog!

I hope you enjoy reading my ramblings on daily life in London as well as full trip reports from our adventures in Europe. Please drop me an email when you can so I can stay updated on your life as well!