The City of Light - Paris!

One European city that definitely requires more than a 3 days visit is “The City of Light” - Paris, France.  We spent Saturday - Monday of our July 4th weekend there this year, and it was a great trip, but as with most places we visit these days we wish we had a little more time.  Our goal is to see most of the places in Europe we have always wanted to visit, even if it requires weekend trips.  And while some may say these trips don’t do the city justice, I really have to disagree!  We have had some pretty amazing, educational and exciting weekend trips so far! 

Today, I give you 3 days in Paris...

We flew from London’s Luton airport into Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport - quick 50 minute flight.  And while the Eurostar train is a more scenic trip, the flight was pretty fast, and much less expensive than the train.  Once we arrived at the airport around 8:30am local time, we breezed through customs and headed outside to meet our hotel transportation.  We used parishuttle.com for this.  Departing the airport we discovered it was pouring rain outside!  Not the best way to start a holiday weekend, but..when you only have 3 days, the rain cannot stop you!

We arrived at our hotel and checked in, but since it was so early, we weren’t able to go to our rooms, so we dropped our bags at the front desk, grabbed whatever rain gear we had (which wasn’t much) and headed out to explore.  We headed to Notre Dame on the Metro subway system.

The rain actually proved to be our friend, as I suppose most tourists don’t want to go out in the rain, there was hardly any crowd or line at Notre Dame when we arrived -this quickly changed as soon as the skies started to clear up a bit!

First part of day one included:

Notre Dame Cathedral, Saint Chappelle Cathedral, views of the Siene River and “Love Locks”, Palais de Justice, one of the only original metro stops, flower market, the Deportation Memorial, a yummy Thai lunch in the Latin Quarter and some delicious ice cream from the famous Berthillon ice cream parlor, just across the river from Notre Dame.    All of these sites were in the same area and in walking distance to one another.  Afterwards, we took the metro back to our hotel (which was very close to the Eiffel Tower) and took in some day views of the Eiffel Tower, and people watched for a while, before a pretty long nap - we were exhausted!

Saturday evening, just before sunset, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower for our pre-booked reservations.  We purchased our tickets online for getting to the top of the tower, and saved ourselves from having to spend 4 hours waiting in line!  The trip to the top was great, despite a lot of annoying teenagers around us.  We enjoyed the sunset from the Eiffel Tower and all of the great views of Paris. 

Once we were back on the ground, we were able to see the tower at night on our walk towards Trocadero Place.  Here we experienced the most magnificent views of the Eiffel Tower, people-watched a bit as the World Cup celebration for Spain’s victory that same night was taking place, and then found a really cool place to grab dinner and drinks.  On our way back to the hotel, while walking through the Champs du Mars, we watched the Eiffel Tower’s hourly light show.

Sunday morning we woke up and headed to Versailles, it took about 30 -45 minutes to get there and as expected the train was packed with tourists.  Luckily we had purchased our tickets in advance and only had to wait in one REALLY long line, as opposed to two of them.  Versailles is great and we could have spent a whole day here, in fact we almost did.  After Versailles, we headed back into Paris and visited Napoleon’s Tomb and the Army Museum. 

After a nap, we had a bit more energy and headed back out for the evening.  For dinner, we went to Le Relais de L'Entrecote, one of the best places in Paris for steak frites (steak and fries).  Be sure to arrive around 7, as the line is crazy and they don’t take reservations!  Also, there is no menu!  Everyone gets steak frites served in this awesome curry sauce and a salad, your only choice is beverage and how you want your steak prepared - I recommend medium.  After a great meal and bottle of wine, we walked towards the river and enjoyed an evening boat cruise.  We saw many of the sites we had seen the previous day, but from a different view - very nice.

Monday morning, we checked out of our hotel and left our bags at the front desk.  We visited the Louvre and avoided lines using the underground metro entrance.  We spent about 2 hours here - and really only scratched the surface.  I had been here before, he had not.  An art lover could spend 3 days touring the Louvre, but due to our limited time we saw the most popular pieces of art, walked around a bit, and then were on our way! 

From the Louvre we walked through the Tuileries Gardens and Place de la Concorde to the Champs-Elysees - Paris’ most famous boulevard.   We did quite a bit of shopping on our way to see the Arc de Triomphe, and the walked back down the boulevard for more shopping and a bite to eat.   At this point, it was time to head back to our hotel and prepare for our flight to London.  We ate again in the Rue Cler neighborhood where our hotel was located and enjoyed the fact that this neighborhood was nowhere near as crowded as most of the places we visited this weekend.  We had a few macaroons, and headed back to London - great weekend, and there really is something to be said about Paris, love was certainly in the air :)

Next stop...Rome...stay tuned!

Prague, Czech Republic

We spent the weekend of June 18 -20th in Prague, Czech Republic, and I wanted to share our experience with others considering visiting this amazing city!  

We flew from London Stansted into Prague early Friday morning - flight was great and arrival/customs was a breeze.  Upon arrival we stopped at an ATM in the main airport halls to take out some cash, and purchased a ticket on the cedaz shuttle bus that would drop us off directly in front of the Marriott, at Namesti Republiky.   The overall service of the shuttle was great, but I will mention that the first shuttle that went past was full so we had to wait another 30 minutes for the next shuttle - not a huge deal, but we were eager to check in and start exploring - sitting outside of an airport for an hour wasn’t ideal, and we probably would just take a taxi to save time in the future.

Upon arrival at the Marriott we checked in, our room was ready, and dropped off our bags.  Grabbed a quick lunch in the Marriott hotel and then headed off to explore.  Our day started with a walk from our hotel past Wenceslas Square to the Tram #22 stop.  This tram is a great way to get orientation to the city of Prague and stops at most of the main attractions and areas of Prague.  We rode the tram into the Castle Quarter to the Pohorelec stop.   From here, we walked over to the Strahov Monastery and Library, and downhill through the gate to the monastery gardens - this was a highlight of the day and some of the most amazing city views we have seen.  After taking in the views we walked along to the Castle Square and then on into Prague Castle, which is more like a complex than an actual castle.  Within the castle gates, we visited St Vitus Cathedral, the Old Royal Palace, the Basilica and Convent of St George and the Golden Lane.  

Once we left Prague Castle, we found our way down a staircase that led us into Prague’s Little Quarter, and while this area wasn’t full of tourist attraction, it was a very charming neighborhood that did not feel as crowded as it actually was.  On our way, we found a great viewing area of the Charles Bridge, down by the water / shore - awesome photo opportunity.  In the Little Quarter, we visited the Lennon Wall, where graffiti has been since 1980 when John Lennon was killed.  For a long time, police would remove the graffiti every night and it would reappear the next day. This was also a gathering place for peace-seekers in Prague until their independence came in 1989. Kampa Island, Little Quarter Square, and the Church of St Nicholas other places we toured during our time in Little Quarter.  

We left Little Quarter by crossing the Charles Bridge, got some great daytime views from the bridge and enjoyed the various performers on the bridge.  The other side of the bridge leads you to the Old Town Square through Karlova Street - a zig-zagged, narrow street full of tourists, tourist traps, and marionette dolls. We arrived into Old Town Square with perfect timing as the astronomical clock was just about to strike on the hour, so we joined with other crowds and waited -  the “show” was underwhelming, but it was a bit magical as we had a guidebook that explained all of the figures and what each meant.  Lucky for us, the town square had a jumbo screen setup in the middle for the World Cup and USA was playing!  So we grabbed some food from the street vendors and enjoyed the sites, game and great weather for a while.  While in town square, be sure to look for the Tyn Church, the 27 crosses, Church of St Nicolas, and the Jan Hus Memorial.  

We were pretty worn out at this point, so we headed back to our hotel, stopping at the Billa Supermarket for some water and other things we needed for the weekend.  After  quick nap, we were ready to head out for dinner.  Our concierge at the Marriott was a huge help and arranged reservations for us at Hergetova Cihelna (recommended to me by a friend) - this place has THE MOST amazing view of Charles Bridge at night!  We sat outside, right by the water - our tables we covered which was a good thing since it started to rain, and they also have blankets at each chair in case it gets cool.  The food was not the best, but it was definitely a great experience and worth the views.  We left the restaurant when it stopped raining and headed back across Charles Bridge into the Old Town. 

That night, we took some really cool pictures of Prague and its architecture on the bridge and the while in Old Town - we headed to M1 Lounge and had drinks and hung out for a while - pretty cool spot.  

Saturday morning, we woke up pretty early as we were scheduled to tour Terezin Concentration Camp with Martin Tours - we usually do not like to be part of a tour group but considering our short time here in Prague and the distance from Prague to Terezin we opted for a tour because we really could not afford to waste time or get lost!  This was a great tour, and it was not too crowded at all - there were maybe 15 people on our tour.  You can read much more about Terezin hereTerezin and brought 60,000 Jews here to form a “model” concentration camp.  This was the place that Hitler would show in propaganda and to international organizations like the Red Cross to prove that he was not harming anyone.  He would also force the Jews at Terezin to be part of propaganda videos, were they were forced to pretend they were enjoying themselves, play soccer, and say that this was a great place.  

This is a sobering place and very moving.  Some of the areas that we will never forget include:

• The children’s museum, where the artwork of the 100,000 children who were held here is stored.  Only 100 of these children survived.  
• The washroom that was used for show, the prisoners were never allowed to actually use it and no water was connected to the sinks.
• The shower stalls that were used to fool the Jews - they got used to the idea of communal showers here at Terezin and then when they were moved to Auschwitz they  had no clue that the shower stall were actually gas chambers that would send them to their deaths. 
• The sign above the prison cells reads “Arbeit Macht Frei” - “Work Makes You Free”...
• The execution hall and grounds - this was dark, narrow 15 minute walk through a hallway that led to execution grounds - prisoners would take this walk prior to their execution.  

I recommend this trip to everyone who visits Prague - Prague is an amazing city with lots to do, but I think we all need to see this so we never forget what happened.  

When we returned back to Prague from our day trip, we took a quick nap and relaxed for a bit before heading back out to explore Prague.  We climbed to the top of one of bridge towers for a photo-op, and stopped at the John of Nepomuk statue and brass relief on the bridge to rub the “magic” spot and make our one wish - we’ll keep you posted on if our wishes come true :)  We grabbed a quick bite to eat, had some Cream and Dream Ice Cream on Karlova street and called it a night.

The next morning, we headed to visit the Jewish Quarter - this is the area where Jews were allowed to store their archives while the Nazis were clearing their communities and sending them to concentration camps.  We avoided the lines by buying our tickets to see all of the sites at the Maisel Synagogue instead of the Pinkas Synagogue.  We toured both synagogues, Old Jewish cemetery, the ceremonial hall and the old-new synagogue.  Perhaps, the most moving was the cemetery.  From 1439 - 1787 this was the only burial ground were Jews were allowed to bury their loved ones in Prague.  Over 12,000 people have buried here - over time, they have been buried on top of one another as the space is limited - this has led to the shifting of tombstone and the formation of a raised space because of the numbers buried.  Also quite moving were 77,297 names of the Jews moved form Prague to Auschwitz to be killed in gas chambers hand-written on the walls of the Pinkas Synagogue.

After leaving the Jewish Quarter, we walked back towards the Old Town Square, shopped a little, grabbed lunch and headed to our hotel where we took a taxi to the airport.  Prague is a beautiful city that is full of history - when we found out we were going to be living in England for a few years, of all the places I wanted to visit, I never considered Prague - however, this is definitely a place to visit if you ever get the chance!

The French Riviera - Trip Report

So, if you follow my blog then you know that we have been traveling quite a bit lately.  You also know that we recently visited the south of France for a planned long weekend.  However, due to a little SNAFU, our 3-day trip, became a 2-day trip.  So, I will start off by saying that you certainly need more than 2 days to do this trip justice, and in fact, even after 3 days you will still wish you could stay longer - this place is just that beautiful.

We flew into Nice, and took the #210 Xpress bus directly into Cannes - this was very easy and comfortable  - about a 30-40 minute ride.  The bus dropped us off right at the main port in Cannes, and our walk to the Intercontinental Carlton hotel was pleasant with very little luggage.  The Carlton is a classic, elegant, historic hotel - it is everything that you imagine a hotel like this would be - great location, rooms and service.  We checked into the hotel and immediately headed out to explore as our time was very limited.

Now, many people will say that Cannes is not the best "home base" for a trip like this, and while I can see their point - if you like sandy beaches (and not pebble beaches like Nice has) and you really want to relax - then this is the place to be!  In Cannes, we strolled the Promenade, took in the gorgeous views of the beach, grabbed some lunch, stood on the famous Cannes film festival red carpet, and checked out the Port and Old Town Square - that about covers the things to do in Cannes :)

From there, we took a train into Monaco where we spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening.  In Monaco, we walked from the station to Palace Square - on the way we saw the Grand Prix de Monaco race track - at Palace Square, we took in some awesome views of the city and sea below us, the Prince's Palace, the Fontieville district, the Cathedral of Monaco, the Cousteau Aquarium (which was built on a cliff, just amazing!!), and the Jardin Exotique - from their we headed back down to the port and checked out the big boy yachts and grabbed dinner.  While at dinner, we met a really fun American brother and sister who were touring France and Italy with their parents - we ended spending the rest of our evening finishing our bottle of wine (and theirs) and having great conversation!

Here's the thing -we missed out on seeing the famous Monte Carlo casino - our dinner and conversation took longer than expected and we really were enjoying ourselves!  We had to catch the last train from Monaco to Cannes, and weren't able to see the casino - my one regret of the trip really, well that and totally getting our departure airport from London wrong, causing us to miss an entire day! - but a great excuse to go back and visit this beautiful place again!

Once back in Cannes, we were pretty worn out and called it a night.  We woke up early the next morning, grabbed a quick breakfast and hung out a bit on the beach in Cannes.  After checking out of the hotel, we took the train back into Nice - where we would fly out of later that evening.

Once in Nice, we headed towards the Avenue Jean Medicin, Nice's "main street".  We arrived at the Place Massena and took in the sights, the fountains and architecture.  What was really cool is that the president of France was hosting several African dignitaries in Nice this particular weekend, and they were having lunch at a restaurant nearby, so security was everywhere and crowds were waiting to catch a glimpse of the government officials.  From here, we walked to Cours Saleya, Nice's main market square and then over to the Promenade where we hung out on the pebble beaches, took some cool photos and explored the area.  When it was time, we grabbed a taxi and headed back to the airport.

We were exhausted, and we needed more time - but this was a great weekend - and we certainly found a place that we want to see again!

It's Been A Long Time..

I shouldn't have left you...(you may know the rest!). OK friends, it really has been too long, I know.  I am going to make every effort to keep better updates on how things are going, where we are going, and where my thoughts are.  So, since I last shared with you, I have been to New York, North Carolina, Las Vegas, Cannes, Nice and Monaco!  Yes, it has been exhausting but great experiences along the way.

I won't give too many details on the trip to States, b/c it frankly was not a tourist trip, but I will share this with you - there were times when I was back in the US when I longed to here in Cambridge - I really never thought I could miss this place the way I did.  My trips to NY and Las Vegas were work-related, stressful, exhausting and really pushed me to the limit physically and mentally.  My time in NC with my family was awesome - but very emotional.

As I am entering my "grown up" years, I am also entering that phase of life where things begin to change - its hard to see parents age and their health not be what it once was, its hard to walk away from someone in the hospital and know you can't see them again for months.  It's not easy to get a phone call that your someone you love is being rushed to the ER. But you know what?  It means the world to be close enough to rush to someone's side, hold someone's hand, cry with them, hug them, laugh with them - it means everything.  I had to go through some things with my family that I really would have rather not experienced, but the fact that I was there to go through it with them and not here in England...it meant so much.

Life will happen whether you live next door to your loved ones or one the other side of the world.  I cannot control the happiness and health of anyone I love, no matter where I live.  But what I can do is make the moments we have together in person, on the phone, on iChat, whatever it may be, worthwhile.  I can make them smile, inspire them, be open and honest with them and allow them to do the same...

Now...that was the USA adventure....from there we move to the French Riviera, a bit less stressful and exhausting :)

For Memorial Day weekend, we planned a trip to Nice, Cannes and Monaco in the south of France.  We were supposed to leave on Saturday morning....here's a travel tip for you:

MAKE SURE YOU KNOW YOUR DEPARTURE AIRPORT 

BEFORE LEAVING YOUR HOME

Yeah, so....I thought we were flying out of one London airport, and we were actually supposed to fly out of a different one, in the complete opposite direction!  We didn't figure this out until we had parked in long term parking, taken the shuttle to the airport and attempted to check-in at the WRONG airport!  Yes, it was awful!  I wanted to cry and needless to say it was a silent ride from the wrong airport back to our home at 7am that day :)  However, we didn't let it stop our trip.  We found a one way ticket that left first thing Sunday morning and we spent all of Sunday and Monday touring the area.

Our home base was the Intercontinental Carlton in Cannes (pronounced "can").  Many will suggest you stay in Nice (pronounced "niece") because there is more to do, but if you want the perfect place to do nothing - then Cannes is the place for you!  From Cannes we took the train to Monte Carlo/Monaco and also into Nice - very easy to get around in this area and definitely worth a return trip for us since we missed a day :)  ** I will post a detailed trip report as my next post for those interested!

Friday morning we leave for Prague, Czech Republic - I think it's going to rain every day we are there - but that is nothing for us these days!  When you live in England, rain does not stop your plans for the day!  All in all, its been an exciting few months since I last shared with you - definitely some highs and lows, but that's life I suppose.  

I am blessed to have some pretty crazy stories to tell these days and thankful that you care to read them from time to time :)

(By the way, I know this really should have been two posts, but I needed to get this update to you in whatever way it came to me!)

The Ash Has Passed! U.S.A Bound!

Who would have thought I would ever live in a place where air traffic was at a COMPLETE standstill due to a volcanic ash cloud?   And...in case you are having trouble pronouncing the Icelandic volcano's name, check out this video.  Its been quite a news adventure here in the United Kingdom, but it sounds like the ash has passed, and we can now travel freely again.  

I am headed to New York, North Carolina, and Las Vegas over the course of this next month, and while I am so excited to see my family and friends, I really will miss this place.  That's hard to admit, considering the mess of a time we have had with the house we live in, getting unpacked, and trying to have all appliances functioning, as expected, at the same time - hasn't happened yet.

It's been difficult because there is a level of customer service, a sense of urgency and the "get in done now" mentality that we have in the States, that really is lacking in the UK.  Things take much longer to get repaired and no one is really concerned with our issues, the way we want them to be at least.

There have been days these past few weeks, where it really was not easy or fun at all.  There were days when we both have said and thought "What in the Hell were we thinking moving here?!?".  There have been days when we forgot about the awesome opportunity we have here and focused solely on the things that were going wrong.  Being the ultimate optimist, this is not what I would normally recommend, and sometimes it takes both of us to pull ourselves back on track and focus on all of the amazing things we have going on in our lives (living/working abroad, home finally rented out in NC!, traveling the world together, wedding in 5 months) - there are so many life experiences that we are getting to share together - and we try our best to remember that on those days when nothing here in the UK seems to go our way.

While its been tough some days to adjust, there is no one else in this world I would want to share this experience with, and there is no other place I would rather be than in Cambridge, UK where the plumbing sucks, internet is unreliable and the food can be rather bland :)

I would like to ask whoever reads this blog to remember this on your tough days - it really doesn't matter where we live, or how much $ we make, we each have our WTF days, and its ok to have them and to feel that way.  But, its important when those days arrive, we remember the awesome opportunities that have come our way, the amazing people that we are so fortunate to have in our lives, and the funny/sad/adventurous/inspiring stories we create AND live everyday!  I, for one, cannot wait to tell our children about our time abroad.

I look forward to my travels over this next month, but oddly enough this crazy place is starting to feel like "home" to me, and I look forward to returning here in a month! Of course, I do hope all the repairs are made before I return!

Safe travels in your daily journeys and adventures :)

Brussels, Bruges, Ghent Trip Report

Here is a trip report i posted and some photos from our latest journey...my reflections to follow in next post :)

We spent a 3-day weekend in Brussels last week, we loved it! Here is what we did:

Day 1:

We took the Eurostar from St Pancras to Brussels at 620am, so we arrived Brussels very early Friday morning. Leaving the train station was easy, exchanged some pounds for euros, and quickly caught a taxi outside of the station. We stayed at the Marriott in the city center, near the Bourse (see my hotel review for more on Marriott). After arriving, we checked in, took a quick nap, then headed out to explore:

Walking from Marriott, we passed the Bourse, then headed to Grand Place, b/c of limited time, we didn't do any of the museums, but we did spend time in Grand Place using a tour book we had to read about the different buildings (hotel de ville, maison du roi, le renard, maison des ducs de brabarrt, le cornet, maison des brasseurs, maison de boulangers). We also looked to find the swan and fox in the grand place also.

From there we headed down rue charles blus, and rubbed the statue of everard 't serclaes for good luck! After passing the statue, we popped into Dandoy and purchased some biscuits to munch on over the weekend and saw the mannekin-pis. Afterwards, we grabbed lunch, and found the eglise saint-nicolas for a quick photo and also took some photos around the place saint gery. From there, we walked back toward grand place down the rue de bouchers(which is pretty cool) and ended up at the galeries royales de saint - hubert and did some window shopping and went into agora place where we took a photo of the statue of charles buls, had a waffle, and then purchased a smal box of chocolates from Leonidas. i also purchased a lace handkerchief for my wedding day while we were out. after this we were pretty exhausted, we ate dinner later that night at a great argentinean restaurant just off of the grand place, took some awesome night time photos in the grand place and enjoyed the great weather.

saturday - we woke up, grabbed a quick breakfast, and toook train to bruges - we LOVED this day - its worth it, really. after leaving the train station, we walked down the main road and stopped at the begijnhof - this is definitely a place to see, its so peaceful. we walked through the museum which was great also. at the exit, are some great photo ops of the river also.

from there we headed into town, we first went into the Church of Our Lady, where we saw Michaelangelo's Madonna and Child, and some other very nice artwork, this was a nice stop. after this we headed toward the markt. once here, we checked out the belfort, we didnt climb it b/c the line was quite long and our time was limited. we grabbed lunch in at a place around the markt and just took in the sites. we took briedalstraat (the st that connects burg to the markt) and arrived at the burg. we took in the sites here and read about each of the buildings in the square. we walked through blinde ezelstraat and took some more great photos along the river, grabbed a waffle and headed to the train station.

we took the train from bruges to ghent, but i have to tell you that our time in ghent was VERY limited. we walked around some and saw some of the main buildings in the city, but the construction in the city while we were there was horrendous - so many of the paths we needed to walk to get to places were through construction sites, so it didnt make for great photos and i am sure it took away from the beauty of the city. after seeing bruges, we were disappointed, and i am sure also a bit tired - so we took the train back into brussels. that night we grabbed dinner at an italian restaurant called latini in st catherines place - very good food here.

sunday - we woke up and took the subway to the atomium in brussels, we didnt go into the tour b/c our time was limited but it was decent photo op. i think this whole area would be great for children, or if you have more time to spend in brussels, but if your time is very limited, i dont know if i would put it on the must see list.

we took the train back into the city and got off at the parc station, we took photos of the royal palace, walked to sablon and really explored some more of the city streets. we stopped and took photos of the st michael cathedral, grabed lunch, and one more waffle for the road :) we hung out in marriott lounge, ate our waffle and had coffee, then took a taxi back to station to head back to london!

whew! ok, so we did a lot this weekend but it never felt rushed, i really enjoyed bruges and brussels and wish that we would have a better experience in ghent, the construction really doesnt give tourists the best experience i assume.

hope this review helps people out there who are looking to spend a weekend in this cool city!

Welcome to Atlanta, Reminders From Home

Well, we arrrived safely in Atlanta, Georgia this Tuesday night, and let me just tell you, that it feels SO good to be back in the U. S. of A - and more specfically - the SOUTH!  I didn't realize how much I missed this place until we landed.  It really felt good to be back around familiar things and Southern hospitality.  It even felt great walking outside of the airport - the air is different in the South, maybe?

Little things that were so normal to us when we lived in the States have now increased in value tremendously - everything is cheaper here, people are nicer, the sun shines, and it just feels like home - I never lived in Atlanta - but I believe that living in another part of the world is making me realize how much I love that we get to call America home - no matter where else in the world we may live. 

Now, I love living in Europe - I love the newness of everything we do, I love that we can never complain that we are bored, and I love that we get to share this experience together.  I have traveled all over the world, but the feeling of when that plane's wheels touch down on a US runway, really, nothing can compare.

I want to share an article with you - something that is somehow related to everything I typed - living in different part of the world can be difficult, but it helps to have small reminders of home to help you adjust to your new surroundings - for example, watching US movies/tv when you can is a great escape.  Also, being able to get some type of US food chain, yes, even fast food is now a luxury - it all makes things seem a little bit more bareable on those tough days.

I just read this - Afghanistan military bases have decided to remove "luxuries" like Burger King, Dairy Queen and movie theatres (yes, I use Queen's English now!) from all of their bases.  I understand that this is a war zone and not a resort, but those small things probably really are a luxury for those serving there.  I know the feeling I get when we are on base in the UK shopping - just being able to purchase things from home that I cannot find anywhere else in England makes me still feel somehow "connected". 

Check out the article here