I'm Dreaming of a White Easter, Huh?

For Easter weekend, the Brits give both Good Friday and Easter Monday as holidays. We decided we should get out of town and see some English countryside. We've heard the Cotswolds are lovely so off we went.

Our first stop: Oxford. We didn't have much time as it was nearly lunch and Owen needs to be fed promptly. We wandered over to Christ Church College, where they filmed the Hogwarts dining hall scenes in the Harry Potter films. I assume some educatin' goes on there as well. It was extremely beautiful and frigidly cold. So, off we went to for some bangers. This turned out to be a culinary theme for the week.

Then we set off for our rented cottage in the charming village of Woodstock. We were a quick walk away from Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. We immediately set out to tour the grounds and it was beautiful, but still cold. There were the requisite geese and sheep, of course. Margot and Owen had a blast mucking about.

On Saturday, we tried to tour the interior of the palace. With two toddlers, this is not easy. We couldn't bring the buggy so we had to let them walk. This was fairly disastrous as they ran in opposite directions, trying to touch priceless knick-knacks. We departed. There were some children's activities in the "Pleasure Gardens" so we thought we might do better there. We missed the little choo-choo train so decided to walk. It suddenly started to hail. The kids were covered in the buggy, but I was pelted with golf-ball-sized hail and blown about in with gale-force winds. (Andy was moving the car.) We finally made it. Needless to say, we decided against the Easter Egg hunt in the blizzard. Margot had her face painted and Owen ate more sausages. They had a Punch and Judy show which Margot enjoyed immensely. Owen kept trying to reveal the puppeteer like the Wizard of Oz. He had to be removed.

Sunday was Easter, of course. We had a fabulous Easter egg hunt in our cottage. Margot can sniff out chocolate anywhere. Owen was just having fun running around. The famous Bear Hotel was our choice for Easter Brunch; a bit fancy for kiddies but a fabulous, homey meal. There were blizzards all morning. That afternoon, we packed the kiddies in the car to see a little more countryside. We visited two beautiful towns: Bourton-on-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold. Both have been bitten by the tourist bug but were lovely nonetheless.

We had a great visit to the Cotswolds and got a little taste of the countryside. We hope to do more.

Here are some photos.

Hot Cross Buns

So Margot asked me the other day, "What are hot cross buns?". They've been singing about them for weeks but I imagine it never occurred to the nursery teachers to tell a few non-British kids what they are. I actually considered whipping up a batch but thought better of it as all the bakeries are full of them this time of year. What is it with the British and their fruity bread for the holidays?

All the singing was in preparation for the Easter show at nursery. The kids marched in formation into the room, singing "Easter Parade" and wearing their home-made Easter bonnets. They were seated in two rows facing the audience to perform about 10 songs. My favorite was "Tulips from Amsterdam"; they switched it to "Tulips from Hampstead Heath." For weeks, Margot would wander around the housing singing:

When it's Spring again I'll bring again
Tulips from Hampstead Heath
With a heart thats true I'll give to you
Tulips from Hampstead Heath

It was adorable, of course.

In the space between the performers and the audience, Owen found his nitch. He sat quietly for about 10 seconds. As soon as he realized we were at a performance, he wanted to be part of it. He stole some maracas - seriously, from where? And ran back and forth in front of the kids, shaking his moneymaker. Of course, all the kids couldn't take their eyes off of him. He was a complete distraction, although having the time of his life.

I was trying to take photos, catch Owen and give Margot the proper attention she demands. "You will be clapping for me, right Mommy?" Andy couldn't get away from work so he missed all the action. A friend of mine videotaped the performance. She told me Owen took over most of her footage. And me, running back and forth, trying to catch him and contain the damage. I didn't do very well.

Margot was a little peeved but got over it. We went home and ate hot cross buns. She thought they were okay but "too fruity."

Bologna the Fat

We were giddy with anticipation: four moms getting away from kids, husbands, school runs, nappies and dishes for a weekend in Bologna. Why Bologna? Why not? We had all traveled extensively in Europe so it was near impossible to find an unvisited locale within an easy flight. And, someone mentioned Bologna has the best food in Italy. Sold!

We were nonplussed when the engine failed. The pilot's voice came over the intercom (we were still on the tarmac) informing us that our plane didn't work and they were trying to find a new one. No worries. We have no kids. We all looked sympathetically at the parents with fussy newborn twins and a toddler. Actually, we rejoiced it wasn't us. I cracked a book and actually fed my brain for an hour or two. We didn't care. We could have spent the weekend at the Gatwick Marriott and been happy. Well, almost.

Arriving in Bologna, we immediately ventured out in search of a late dinner. We found a great spot near our hotel and asked for some menu recommendations. The waitress reminded us that it was Friday in Italy so "we eat fish." Oops, bad Catholic! I forgot about that. So, we had a lovely prawn risotto. And, because we're tourists, some pasta bolognese. As expected, it was fabulous and only the beginning of many sublime meals.

Bologna turned out to be a great choice because there's a beautiful historic district that is quite small. We were able to cover nearly everything in two days. We didn't feel guilty about glossing over the details in favor of a gelato stop or a glass of vino.

I was thrilled at the prospect of uninterrupted sleep. This did not go quite as planned due to an enthusiastically amorous couple next door on the first night and a rash of car alarms on the second. But, no one woke me up for a potty break or a lost binky. Aaah.

Andy did a great job with the kids but looked a little worn out on Sunday night. He even survived getting locked out with the kids and scaling a fence with Owen in his arms. (Don't ask.)

It was a great group with which to travel - easy-going and shared my obsession with food and wine. We'll have to get busy planning the next great escape.

Here's a little taste of Bologna and Rebecca's take on the trip.

Easter Warm-Up

The Hampstead Women's Club puts on an Easter Egg Hunt every year, a few weeks prior to the real one. Margot and Owen had a blast tearing through the daffodils to find eggs. Margot turns into Rambo if there's the prospect of finding chocolate.

A beautiful day at the St Johns Wood Church Grounds and an excellent nap thereafter.

Here are a few photos.