Rudders at Home

Some people relax at the weekend, and this is what Paul and I most often try to do. Followed by as little as possible. Sometimes, however, it’s nice to have a change, and a change is exactly what we had this past weekend. We were actually social this weekend and had some company around!

Paul’s friend Howard came down to London to visit us with his lovely wife. Howard was Paul’s best man at our wedding, and we finally met Howard’s wife, Alina, last year. We haven’t seen them in between at all, so it was extremely nice to see the two of them again. They had some things they needed to get done in London, so we invited them to stay with us.

Seeing as they aren’t from London, Paul and I did our tourist bit. We took them round a few sights. It was a particularly nice day in London on Saturday, so we started the day at Borough Market and then wound our way along the Thames up to the Tattershall Castle, where we had a drink and a bit of rest. Then trekked on out again and made a stop at Fortnum & Mason by way of Buckingham Palace. It’s a pretty long walk, so we stopped off at the O’Neil’s in Soho, where the boys had a drink and us girls had a nice sit down for a bit.

We ended the night at the Texas Embassy for dinner, but more importantly, for margaritas. The margaritas, for the record, were pretty yum. After a big full meal of TexMex, we headed home, where Paul introduced Howard to tennis on the Wii. I think he’s been waiting to have someone new to play with.

Started Sunday off with a big cooked breakfast, and I had a nice excuse to make pancakes. I haven’t had them in a while, and I was getting hungry for them. We saw them off in the afternoon and Paul and I have quickly settled back in to our doing “not much of anything.”

It was a good weekend. Definitely a nice break from the norm.

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Well, all’s right in the world in the Rudders household. Scotland has triumphed over France tonight in the soccer (football?? nah, don’t really want to get into that right now).

Clearly this isn’t a common occurrence. Ok, not too common an occurrence. It does happen every now and then, as tonight proves. Needless to say though, the Scot in this household is quite pleased with the performance of his national football (soccer?) team.

Here’s the match report for those who are interested.

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Okay, I really just mean that another friend has come and gone from Great Britain. Paul and I have seen a few, and Kevin is just the most recent casualty.

It’s quite a phenomenon here. People come for a while, and then leave. Just like I thought I would. Hahaha… I’ll try not to laugh too loudly at the thought that I once told my mother that I would be here for three years, tops. I think with her visit over here she’s finally forgiven me for lying through my teeth. I still have trouble believing that I’m well over halfway in to my fifth year in the country!!

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No, Alka-Seltzer is plop plop, fizz fizz. I’m talking pop, as in, yep, you guessed it – Champagne!

As you probably know, Paul and I went to France a couple weeks ago. While we enjoyed the great outdoors that was on offer, we also enjoyed a bit of the fizzy stuff the region produces as well.

We visited the Champagne house of Moet & Chandon, in Epernay. The tour took us down below the building, to have a look at their cellars, and they explained the process it all went through. It was quite good. At the end of the tour they do a bit of a tasting. Well, actually, depending on the tour you choose, you get a glass or two of champagne. We decided to do the Grand Vintage tour, which meant we each got two glasses of Grand Vintage Moet at the end. Fabulous. Who could ask for anything better?

Oh, just one thing could be better. As Paul was driving, I actually got to drink nearly four glasses of the stuff! How decadent!

The grounds at Moet & Chandon were extremely pretty. The house in the picture here was across from the main entrance gates above. The day was so beautiful and warm, with an amazing blue sky. It was probably the hottest day we’ve experienced all summer, and we got to enjoy it in France, wandering down the Avenue de Champagne.

Once we had our tour and left Epernay, we took a drive through the vineyards. We saw the Moet & Chandon vineyards, as well as tons and tons of others. I’ve never seen so many grapes! Lines and lines of vines.

The day was pretty good. Wonderful scenery and a lovely drive through the country. Paul had bought new maps for his GPS, so we were able to take a proper meandering drive without having to get too worried about getting lost.

I absolutely loved this region of France. Plenty of things to see and do. Nice, French towns with interesting and lovely people. Outdoorsy stuff and gorgeous weather. I can’t wait to go back.

Just a few more pictures before I say au revoir! The first pictures grapes from the vineyards, obviously. The second is the lovely little hotel we stayed in. We had a really good reception there. And the final picture is just an idyllic farmland shot. French cows!!

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I’d have baked a cake. But instead I baked shortbread, caramel shortbread, and some cookies called sponge drops. All new recipes, but the sponge drops are especially a new one for me. Sandwich cookies, filled with whipped cream, raspberries and jam. New recipe for the shortbread as well, which turned out ok. It’s amazing how many different options there are for what essentially is butter, sugar, and flour. My shortbread never turns out quite right, although that doesn’t keep Paul from swiftly eating it all.

…maybe I just need more practice.

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