more photos in Ronda, Spain

This was taken after a long drive up the mountains in Ronda, Spain. It's a beautiful village.

The family

This was taken at aunt Margaret and uncle Roger's wine & cheese evening at their house. Everyone is all grown up now. Kevin and Shawn's haircut look so similar in this photo. In this photo from left to right

Toronto visit Sept 2008

It was lovely catching up with friends and family during our 9 day holiday in Toronto, Canada. This is photo of the Stedmann's having cake at a local bakery after a yummy thai dinner.

Ronda Drive

In Spain, we decided to go for a short drive to a town called Ronda. Little did we know, it was in the middle of the mountains! The trip back down the mountain was a dusk, and here is the beautiful sunset we saw.

Gibraltar Monkeys

After a two hour flight from London, we landed in the "British" portion of Spain. Once we landed, we walked across the border and spent a long weekend basking in the sun. On returning to the airport, we had enough time to visit the "rock", and here are the great monkeys.... I understand they are actually apes, as they do not have tails, but I'm no expert! They were great though!

Hospes Amerigo hotel

The courtyard between the hotel restaurant and the hotel itself.
More photos can be viewed if you click on the link below.

http://www.epoquehotels.com/h.php/alicante-hotels/boutique-hotel/h/hospesamerigo/l/en

The tram in Alicante

This photo was taken inside the public tram transportation. Within 30-40 minutes, we travelled to other neaby beaches where there were less tourists. All the signs were in Spanish and we missed our stop because we assumed the tram would stop at each station, but it doesn't. It only stops if you press the stop request button which is the same button to open the tram doors. (a little too subtle) but we got to the beach no problem in the end.

"Paraguayos"- funny looking flat peaches

We found this at a local Supermacado (supermarket). We wanted to get some fruits to take with us to the beach and found these funny looking peaches next to the fuzzy peaches. It's called Paraguayos and they tastes similar to peaches but the flesh is white/yellowy instead of orange and they are delicious. In America, these are commonly called "donut" peaches.

Hospes Amerigo- famous buffet breakfast

We realised we were too amazed by the yummy buffet breakfast that we had forgotten to take photos of the buffet breakfast bar. But here is a photo of their tasty breakfast buffet. There are more photos of the hotel's interior on their website. Just click on the link below.

http://www.fuenso.com/index.php?seccio=hospes_descripcio&establiment=1&desti=1

local area alongside the beach

On weekdays, this area is full of retired folks who just come out and enjoy the sun with their grandchildren. On weekends, there are many hawkers who sell little tinkets and things. According to history books in the bookshop, this area existed since 1828 and it looks pretty much the same now as it did back then with wooden chairs freely set up for locals to sit around and enjoy the sun whilst chatting about current events. The beach closest to our hotel is just located behind the palm trees.

The Beach

We went to a nearby beach called El Campello. There were less tourists and the area is more residential and commercial which is very relaxing. We took the local tram which has very clean interiors and all cars have air conditioning. Here's Kevin putting on sunscreen before soaking up the sun.

Alicante, Spain June 2008

Kevin standing outside the Hotel "Hospes Amerigo" Truely an amazing experience. This hotel was rated one of the nicest hotels on TripAdvisor because of it's location and friendly staff. We most definitely would return whenever we visit Alicante again.

Dinner at "Inside" - Greenwich

We found a lovely cute little restaurant locally in Greenwich. We absolutely love going for meals here. It's consistently delicious every time! Some of our favourites include the mussels for starter and the seared halibut with grilled vegies for the main. http://www.insiderestaurant.co.uk/index.asp

Raspberry Meringue pie cont...

pie making process...

Home made Raspberry Meringue pie

Christine's first attempt in making a Raspberry Meringue pie. She found the recipe from a leisure magazine. The key is to use the freshest ingredients. Kevin loved it so much, he helped himself to a whole quarter of the pie that evening.

Kevin playing ultimate frizbie

The weather is most definitely getting warmer in London. This weekend was the first we've seen so many people come out to the park with their puppies and we've never seen Greenwich market so busy with tourists. Here is a photo of Kevin playing ultimate frizbie with his recreational league at Greenwich Park.

London Marathon April 2008

The London Marathon passed by our local village. Kevin and I were able to walk down to the foot of our street to watch. There were live bands playing at 10am in the morning to support the runners on this warm spring day. The race ended near Buckingham Palace that evening. The fastest runner completed a 28k run in 2 hours and 6 minutes. http://www.london-marathon.co.uk/site/

The Vatican Museum

Save NowSpiral stairs inside the Vatican Museum.

Rome Trip March 08

A week before Easter we went to Rome for a weekend. If you like pizza and pasta, than Rome is definitely the place for you. We were fortunate to have good weather (18 degrees and mostly sunny). There are many sites, but I personally think the Colloseum is my favorite. Christine enjoyed the food!

Visit to Guildford

Boxing Day
On Boxing day, Christine and I went over the Justin and Lianne's (my cousin) house in Guildford. Uncle John and Aunte Carole were also visiting, and Graham and Ali also came over with their daughter Hannah. We had a lovely evenining, and Justin and Lianne seemed very happy, and less tired than we expected (baby Abigail was just over 2 weeks old!). We stayed over and took the train straight to work in the morning.

Christmas in London

Christine and I cooked a feast for Christmas this year. Christine's friend from work Stephanie joined us, and we had a roast chicken, ham, mashed potatos, brussel sprouts (yucky, but traditional), and pie for dessert. It was nice and relaxing day. In london, the tube and buses do not run, so without a car, we didn't have much option but to be at home and go for walk in the park. This a picture of our Christmas tree, and us at the dinner table.

Berlin Trip

On the first weekend in December, Christine and I went to Berlin to get into the festive spirit at the Christmas Markets. Neal and Sarah flew in earlier in the day on Friday, and then Christine and I flew in later that night. The weather was super cold, but we stayed at a nice hotel (Radisson SAS Hotel) and ended up having a nice trip. The Chrsitmas markets were very festive, and the historic significance of the City makes it a very worthwhile trip. All and all, a good trip! Its amzing how its only a couple of hours away.

Fireworks - Guy Fawkes

We went to the Guy Fawkes fireworks at Blackheath (near Greenwich) just 15 min. walk from our house. It was amazing.. not too cold and the sky was clear that night.

History of Guy Fawkes can be found by clicking the following URL
http://www.bonefire.org/guy/index.php

Koji's Shabu Shabu

Steam boat (hot pot) at Koji's Shabu Shabu. Recommended by a local. The beef was amazing and we only had to wait for a table for 15 minutes. (not bad for a tourist area).

Universal Studios

We were grateful for such sunny weather throughout the entire trip! Universal Studios was a lot of fun!

Day 1 in Hollywood

First day in Hollywood, LA. This photo was taken with Kevin standing in front of the Chinese Theatre located across from Jimmy Kimmel's Live studio.

Royal Naval College at Greenwich

We had a lovely Sunday afternoon walking along the River Thames and passed by the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. This used to be Greenwich Hospital and also the birthplace of Elizabeth I.

The fireplace

We bought some little plants to put around the fireplace. We got them from our local grocer, Sainsbury's supermarket for only GBP50 pence (that's CAD$1.00) Quite a bargain! I hope we will know how to take care of them and keep them alive for at least a year.

Funny wine bottle holder

We received many bottles of wine from our house guests and Kevin tried using the funny wine bottle holder that was left behind by our Landlady.

Greenwich Market

Christine found this cute little booth that sells handmade 3-D cards. Oh dear, the postage to send this overseas will be like a mini parcel. They are cute but quite expensive.

Greenwich House

During their stay, we took possession of our new house in Greenwich. As a house warming gift, they gave us two rose bushes, which they are planting in the picture. the other picture is at Greenwich park, which is a five minutes walk from our home.

Yuen London Visit

This is Christine's parents at St. Pauls and Borough Market. Overall, it was a great visit, and it was nice having them stay with us.

Paris Trip

Chrstine's parents came to visit us for a couple of weeks in July. Unfortuantely, I was not able to take much time off of work, but Chrstine managed to take time off and was able to taken them around the London sites. I did get a long weekend during their stay, and we went to Paris for three nights. It was a great trip, and we all really enjoyed it.

CFA

Yesturday the results were released for Level 3 (the final level) of the CFA program. I am happy to say that I have passed the exam, and once I register and my work experience has been confirmed, I will have three little letters after my name! Thank you to all for being supportive over these years. I look forward to having a free spring and not studying!

Greenwich House

The house is 2 bedrooms, located close to Maze Hill train station. I can't wait for our first BBQ!

Moving to Greenwich

We have signed a new lease, and are moving to Greenwich! We are super excited, as the property has a large private garden at the rear.