Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone! We hope you all had safe and happy holidays! Dave and I had a very memorable Christmas and were very fortunate that we could celebrate our first holiday away from the states with family!  We traveled to Poitiers, France where Dave's aunt and uncle live along with his 3 cousins.  We were sad to leave Katy (our pup) but knew she was in great hands.  A woman we befriended at the local dog park volunteered to watch her for the 5 days we spent away  She has a german shepherd mix who is a month older than Katy and they get along great and we were very thankful not to have to board her in a kennel. We received text massages and emails with updates each day of the two dogs playing.

 

We left London and flew to Poitiers on the 22nd just in time for Pablo's 13th birthday.  We celebrated with a delicious dinner his mom made us and  one of the best birthday cakes we have tasted!  The French sure don't mess around with their sweets!  Pablo received a guitar peddle from his parents and put on a show for us.  He is an amazing self taught electric guitar player, he played some tunes from Jimi Hendricks and the Red Hot Chili Peppers!

On Christmas Eve we took a walk around the town and were able to see some of the local houses and castles.  I loved all the doors each house had and took many pictures!  

Along with the walk we window shopped and walked through the Marché, where the locals buy all their fresh produce and meats. Gina bought duck for dinner, and Jean Claude made a peppercorn cream sauce that was out of this world.

Christmas in France was lovely of course, and the food was again the centerpiece of the day. We had oysters, foie gras and a beautiful pork roast. Gina’s homemade foie gras cannot be understated – it was pure and rich awesomeness.

We left on Monday (UK's Boxing Day) and rented a car and drove through the French countryside north to Dieppe.  Dieppe took about 6 hours to get to and it’s a a port city on the English Channel, famous for its scallops. It also has a popular pebbled beach, a 15th-century castle and the churches of Saint-Jacques and Saint-Remi. On our way we drove through Normandy which was absolutely beautiful.  We arrived just in time for dinner and walked to a very cute restaurant that was recommended by the hotel. We had one of the best meals - Dave had a 4 course meal and I had a 3 course meal...if only I could eat the  local cheese I would have had the 4th course :) We ate fresh crab, mussels and yummy desserts.  

The next morning we drove for 2 more hours to Calais to catch the ferry to Dover to cross the channel and head home.  The ferry we took was very enjoyable and such a nice way to travel!  We were able to see the white cliffs of Dover and float across the English channel while enjoying yet another yummy meal.  Once we landed we rented a car and drove 2 more hours to London where we were reunited with Katy!  Our pack was back together :)

New Years was a quiet one for us.  We had a nice dinner and a fruit cobbler for desert and watched the amazing firework show on the tele.  It was one of the most spectacular ones we have seem as the city shot fireworks out of Big Ben and off of the London Eye.  The show lasted a good 10 minutes and was all choreographed to music. It’s going to be a great year here in London with the Queens Diamond Jubilee (The forthcoming international celebration in 2012 marking the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the thrones of seven countries) the summer Olympics, our family and friends visiting us, and the arrival of our baby girl!

Click here to see London 2012 Fireworks!

We can’t wait to meet little Josie Allene and are so excited to see what this new year brings us.  


Happy New Year to you all!


Love, 
The Feinsteins

The Move, Amsterdam & Princess Katherine

 We’ve moved!  At the end of September we left our old flat and moved north to a cute little neighborhood called Maida Vale.  Our old flat was just a bit too small and very central (and noisy) so we thought we’d move to a neighborhood.  The area is mostly residential, consisting of many large late Victorian and Edwardian blocks of mansion flats.  We love it here, we have a backyard garden and much more space.  We still only have one bedroom but a very large kitchen and a great bathroom with a jacuzzi tub!

Just before the move, the French Connection invaded groovy London for a weekend full of markets and fish ‘n chips.

We had to say goodbye to the trusty butcher, he is missed!

Gina & Jean Claude finding London's finest fish 'n chips in Chelsea at Portobello Market

Right after our move Dave had a business trip in Amsterdam so Kelly came too.  Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands, the flight was only 45 minutes from London to get there.  We fell in love the minute we landed, the streets are lines with canals and bikes outnumber cars.  The people were so friendly and the pace of life seemed to be a bit more low key than busy London life.  Most of the shop owners would approach Kelly and speak Dutch, thinking she was a native.  Dutch is a crazy language and we loved listening to the people speak, the majority of the city did speak English lucky for us.  We explored a lot and ate the most delicious food!  

 

Once we returned home from Amsterdam we decided it was time to add a new family member to our household, Princess Katherine aka Katy.  Katy is a german shepherd and is the sweetest thing!  She is now 10 weeks old and is adjusting very well, she is a smart little thing and has even mastered a few tricks like sit and come.  She is also now crate-trained and even lets us know when she needs to go outside to relieve herself!  We start puppy kindergarten this coming week and were told that german shepherds learn so fast that she might only need 2 weeks of kindergarten before puppy school.  Most puppies are in kindergarten for 4 weeks, so we will see!  She is definitely a good little love and is helping us become parents!

Most of you know by now that Kelly and I are expecting a baby and we are very excited.  She is 16 weeks along now and is feeling great.  We have a second ultrasound on Wednesday and hopefully with some luck we can see if it’s a girl or a boy, we are anxious to know!  Kelly loves her doctor, Dr Eban, a German woman and the care she receives is wonderful.  A few weeks back we went for her first ultrasound and blood work and we were in and out with results in 30 minutes, crazy! 

Kelly is now working for Cavallino again, this time as a contractor for a few months and works remotely with a team in Denver.  Kelly’s contract is only 4-5 months and will finish near the end of her pregnancy, so it all works out!  

Our next trip is to Poitiers France for Christmas and we can’t wait!  It will be very nice spend our first holiday away from the states with family.  Also looking to celebrate cousin Pablo’s birthday while in France.

A Day at the Tate Modern

A lazy Saturday. Today we walked to the Tate Modern to check out the new Joan Miro exhibit. It was really cool, so we bought the exhibit poster. Here is Kelly from the 4th floor balcony of the Tate:

Hampton Court

Kelly's friends Erin & Jenny were in town visiting family, and Kelly played tour guide to Hampton Court, HenryVIII's pad. http://www.hrp.org.uk/hamptoncourtpalace/