Things I Miss About America Part 1: Washing Machines and Dryers

So, because everyone keeps asking and because i've been here 5 months now and feel that I can start talking about it, i've decided to do a series of blogs on the things I miss about the states. Also, because Bobby tells me we need to blog more so that more people read the blog (doesn't really make sense to me, but whatever). This series of posts may also seem odd considering the fact that the place I lived before London was rural Uganda, so really how can I complain? But being in London almost makes it harder. In Uganda you expect to not be able to find good cookies in a grocery store, but in London? I've been surprised by the number of differences two countries so similar (the US and the UK) can have.

Anyways, here we go.


Things I miss about America, Part I: Washing Machines and Dryers

Don't get me wrong, we do have a washing machine and dryer, (Let me correct myself, we have a washing machine/dryer, it's one unit) but maybe after a little description you'll understand why i've come to loathe it.

1. The Machine itself is TINY. To begin with, this devil of a machine can carry a load about the size of my head. I can fit approximately 3 t-shirts and 1 pair of pants (or, as the brits would say, trousers) in at any time. What does this mean? We do a load of laundry almost every day. Yesterday (Sunday) I did two loads. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but if you keep reading you'll see why having to do this amount of laundry has start to drive me crazy. Now, as I write this I realize that this point of view is very American of me. As an American, I want things bigger and I want household chores to be easier. But really, if you're going to have a washer/dryer anyways, why not make one that holds a decent size load?

This is pretty much what our washer/dryer looks like. Now, imagine putting your hand over the glass circle and it taking up the entire space. That's the size you're dealing with. The opening doesn't get any wider once you open the door (like American washers do) the entire thing is the size of that glass circle and it only has a depth of about a foot. So yeah, like I said, tiny.

2. It takes FOREVER. This is, perhaps, the most annoying aspect of this machine. One load of laundry takes approximately 5 hours. I am not exaggerating here, it really does take 5 hours. The wash cycle alone takes about 3.5 and the dryer about 2 (at which point the clothes usually still aren't dry and you have to stick them back in for another hour or so). I really miss my American 30 minute wash cycle. What does this mean? Because of #1 you have to do many loads of laundry, but you can only usually do one load per day because of a combination of #2 and.....

3. It's loud as crap. Sometimes, I think an airplane is taking off in our flat, but no, it's just the dryer going. This is annoying not only because well, loud things are generally annoying, but also because we can't do laundry at night. This would be a nice way to combat "reasons I hate the washing machine" numbers 1 and 2, but alas, we are stuck with doing loads only during the day and only when we're not trying to do something that requires any form of concentration.

4. Everything comes out HORRIBLY wrinkly. I said that #2 was the most annoying thing about the washing machine, but this is by far more annoying. Why? Because I have to iron EVERYTHING. Yesterday I spent the afternoon ironing my jeans (really, who irons jeans?) and, if bobby let me, I would iron his undershirts. If you think this is strange, I don't think you quite understand the level of wrinkliness that this machine produces. I don't know if its because it's just so darn tiny or because it doesn't use any fancy products (like dryer-sheets), but my jeans come out looking like someone tied them into a series of tiny knots and let them sit like that for about a year. Ironing everything is completely necessary, which is why we've come to rely on dry cleaners much more, despite their ridiculous prices. It's worth $6 to me to not try to get all of those wrinkles out of bobby's dress pants.

So there are, I think, some very good reasons as to why I hate our washer/dryer and miss the amazing laundry world in America where a load of laundry doesn't take you all day. One day we'll return to that world but, until then, bobby and I will become very good at wearing things over and over again.

The rest of the Prague pictures....

I've posted the rest of the Prague photos on Picasa.  You can see them here.

Laura and Cameron Visit Prague

Cameron, one of my best friends from my time in Kenya and therefore a experienced travelling buddy, came out this past week to visit. A few months ago, she had come up with the fabulous idea of going to Prague and, having never been there but hearing only amazing things, I decided to join her. After a day of whirl-wind London sightseeing, we left on the strenuous 1.5 hour flight to the Czech Republic.

Prague was, in one word, AMAZING. Mercifully preserved from WWII, it is a reflection of architecture over the last 500 years. Baroque, Art Nouveau, Roman, Gothic, Prague has it all- sometimes in the same building. The end result? You feel like you're in the city that inspired Disney World.

If I had to use a second word to describe Prague, it would be COLD. Cam and I braved the snow for all of the walking tours, but I would recommend holding out and going in warmer weather. After walking around for about 8 hours every day, we replaced all those burnt calories by eating loads of traditional Czech food. "What is traditional Czech food" you may ask? Meat and potatoes, what else? We ate enough dumplings to feed a small army, but it was delicious!

As usual, I find it easier to talk about travels by posting pictures, so here goes.

At the top of the hill is Prague Castle. It is one of the biggest castles in the world and that hill is much steeper than it looks.

Here's me and Cam on our walk to Prague Castle.

Me in front of St. Vitus Cathedral (part of Prague Castle). It took almost 600 years to build- construction began in 1344 and it wasn't completed until 1929!

This is me in a tiny house on Golden Row- a row of little cottages used by King Rudolf II to house his alchemists (hence the name). Later, Franz Kafka lived in this one.

This is Old Town Square which I think is the most beautiful part of Prague. I love the church towering above all the more modern buildings. It was especially beautiful at night with everything lit up.

This is the famous astronomical clock in Old Town Square.

We found that we were lucky to be visiting right before Easter because all the markets were selling these very traditional, very beautiful, very real and fragile painted eggs.

By visiting Prague right before Easter we also discovered the amusing Czech tradition of the Easter Monday Whipping Stick. On Easter Monday, boys will hit the girls they like with this wooden stick. In return, the girls will offer them one of the painted eggs. Yeah, we have no idea what this tradition means either, so if anyone knows, please enlighten us.

So that's pretty much it. There are tons more pictures, but I think these are the highlights. I'll post the rest on one of those photo-share website sometime soon.

Miss you all!!

Laura is Employed!

So I thought I should write a quick post and let everyone know that I FINALLY got a job. Now bobby can stop being disappointed with the fact that I ended up making a horrible housewife because I refused to cook or clean while he was at work.

I'm working for an international NGO called the Global Leadership Foundation (www.g-l-f.org). They exist to, and I quote from the website, "promote good governance - democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law - and to contribute to the prevention and resolution of conflict through mediation." I do basic admin work and some research. It's not exactly what I want to be doing, but i'm happy to have a job. The people I work with are really great and I work in a BEAUTIFUL area of London. (Right next to Hyde Park and Green Park).

I have to say, having a job has made me like living in this city all the more. I'm sure i'll get over this fairly quickly, but I love taking the bus into work and going past all the famous sites (like St. Pauls). It really is an amazing city.

Plus, now we can use my income to travel! Scuba diving in Egypt, here we come!

Our Weekend in the City of Light

We decided on Paris for our birthday weekend celebration in order to continue our tradition of going on holiday instead of buying birthday presents for each other (last year was Amsterdam). At the end of the weekend we determined that we need to start going someplace warm since we have birthdays in the middle of winter. An Egypt/Red Sea scuba diving adventure is on the drawing board for 2009.

So, what did we do in Paris? Well, it was my first time there, and Laura's second, so Laura had already done a lot of the big tourist stuff, and neither of us a very "tourist-y" travelers, so we spent most of our time walking around and relaxing in the city.

We both like to travel in pretty much the same way. No tight schedules, no long lists of sights that we "absolutely must see!" Instead we tend to wander around, maybe with an end goal like "check out Notre Dame today" in mind, maybe not. It's so much more relaxing (it is vacation after all), and there's no disappointment if we don't see all of the hundreds of museums that a city has to offer.

We got the Eurostar from London at 6:50 am Saturday and had a very pleasant train ride down to Paris, just over two hours. I thought it was interesting that the train conductor made all his announcments in English first then French until we crossed over the English Channel. Then the switched to French first. Luckily they allowed payment in both pounds and euros no matter which landmass the tracks were on.

Saturday was pretty packed full of sightseeing. We dropped off bags at the hostel and then headed out for Notre Dame. We walked along the Seine to the Louvre, then up le Champs Elysees (a very, very long avenue) to L'Arc de Triomphe.

We ended up getting a great dinner at the restaurant next door to the hostel, then crashed after miles and miles (sorry, kilometers and kilometers) of walking caught up with us.

Sunday was much more relaxed. We had a nice late start and hopped on the metro to head for Sacre Coeur. We stopped for a snack at the base of the hill and had a perfect view for people-watching from the outdoor cafe. After making the hike up the steps and into the basilica, we determined it was much more beautiful from the outside, so we left and did a lot more people-watching. A nice ramble through Montemartre and then we headed back home for a nap before dinner.

Sunday night was our big night out, a dinner cruise along the Seine, so we dressed up and made our way out to the boat. It was a great experience, and a really fun way to take in all the sights a night. The food was "meh", but that's obviously not what we paid for. A bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne later, and we stumbled back to the hostel.

Monday was our last day, so we kept the plan very flexible so we wouldn't miss our 6 pm train back to jolly ol' England. We took the metro down to the river and then walked along to the Eiffel Tower. We spent the next hour or two walking along the grassy mall in front of the tower, then headed back across the river for a horrendously expensive cup of tea with a great view of the Eiffel Tower.

It was a great weekend, and hopefully we'll be making some more European adventures soon.

Not wanting to be stressed trying to get back to the train station, we picked up our bags from the hostel and made our way in the right direction. One last delicious crepe (filled with Nutella) for the road and we were back on the Eurostar and headed home.

Virgin Atlantic Flight Offer

The dates are pretty restrictive (now through March or Oct - Dec) , but I just saw this offer from Virgin Atlantic.

A quick check had a flight from DC to London for about $540 round trip (including taxes and fees). Not bad, especially from Virgin, which is a fantastic airline in my opinion.

You have to book by Feb 6th it looks like, so check it out and see if it fits into your travel plans.

Paris

For our joint birthday weekend (Laura on the 26th, me on the 30th), we decided that a trip to Paris would be the perfect way to celebrate.

The main theme from our weekend seems to be sitting in cafe's. We did quite a bit of that. Mostly to look at the sights, but also to warm ourselves up from walking around the city. Plus, who doesn't like paying 5 euros for a cup of tea?

We took loads of pictures around the city.

I'm sure Laura will have some more exciting insights soon, I just wanted to share the pics with you all.