Travel For FOUR

I have been scouring the net for cheap flights across the Atlantic — and in particular to Guatemala. Our friends Ana and Nate are getting married this summer in Guatemala and we are planning to be there. In monitoring the prices of flights from London the Guatemala, the prices have been surprisingly constant — expensive.

This week, I read in the paper about a low-cost trans-Atlantic airline, called Zoom Airlines, that is offering service between for London and New York for only £129 one way. By the time you double it for round trip, double it again to convert to dollars, and double it again for two people, the price starts to look more like that of an airfare. But it is still, by far the cheapest fare I have seen across the Atlantic and is about a third of the price of the fares to Guatemala. Perhaps now I can find a cheap flight from New York to Guatemala.

If you are planning a trip to Europe and are looking for a cheap flight, this is certainly worth a look.

My life has been quite boring with a singular focus over the last couple weeks–STUDY! Well, study mixed with burn-out “Office” marathons to let my brain have a rest. And I took a break on Saturday to go out with a friend for her bachelorette downtown (photo to right, our friend Lindsey, the bachelorette, is on the lower right in the photo).But, hopefully my studies paid off today as I took 3 exams…only 3 to go! And provided that I don’t go back for another degree, Wednesday’s exams could be my last…fingers crossed I’ll pass!

On another front, good news! I don’t want to jinx it, but I believe that I had a great interview with Euro RSCG this afternoon (part of Havas. claims  to be part of the 3rd largest ad network in Europe, the 5th in the WORLD!). You know that G and I are gluttons for punishment…there’s nothing like grouping extremely successful events together for a little excitement 🙂

Now, back to my studies…

Funny thing. Talking to a friend on the phone today made me realize that we’ve only received a few (like 3) calls from the US since we arrived in the UK. G’s parents have braved the treacherous, scary waters of calling abroad, but others have found the prospect quite daunting and intimidating…or, perhaps, everyone just learned we’re much more responsive to e-mail.
Regardless, not so long ago, we, too, were intimidated by the prospect of calling abroad. Living in the US, you never have to call outside…and when you do, you’ve made a serious (and costly) mistake. [Like the time that I accidentally called Honduras when I was five…sorry, again, M&D.]

SO. We’d love to chat with you. To help, we signed up for a free international calling plan (we can make outgoing calls to the US for free). If you ever want to chat with us, just send us an e-mail and we’ll give you a call back!

Or, if you’d like to call us, here’s a link to a previous post with calling instructions for UK numbers.

It’s really very easy…I promise it won’t bite 🙂

Working from home during my last year in Raleigh, I would sometimes go to the park on nice days when I needed to get away from the phone and internet in order to concentrate. Being a student in London affords me the same level of flexibility. In addition to space and focus, my park experiences in the US and UK has hinted to cultural differences between the two.

When visiting a park in the US (specifically in Cary), most childrens’ incessant chants would begin with “mommy, mommy, mommy”. And even if children didn’t seem to “match” the parents, you’d still assume ownership. Affluent families in Cary could afford for moms (or dads) to stay at home with kids and would often choose to do so, but nannies were not the norm.

However, UK chaps seem to begin their tantrums “Nan Elizabeth, or Miss Prudy or you’re not my mommy.” Definite hints that the folks at the park are nannies…not mommies. And if this isn’t hint enough, the children are generally wearing couture while their caregivers are wearing Gap (come to think of it, so am I?). And the active topics of conversation are the lavish lifestyles of their charges ala “I must get going. If we don’t hurry, Claire won’t be properly groomed for her daddy’s dinner guests at the Savoy.” or “You know how the Mrs hates it when little Henry doesn’t nap before seeing the grans. And we must make it to the Ritz by 5…”
This raises my curiousity. Are the mommies working, or do they fill their time with other activities. Does this hint of a cultural difference (similar to life in the Caribbean or in India) where whether working or not, moms have a nanny to help out at home, or perhaps it’s that folks in London are simply more wealthy and that wealth affords them a nanny?

I suppose that I may never know and, perhaps, it doesn’t matter, but from the looks of things I can certainly understand why the British moms would want to escape the slew of curry and marmite that appears to cover the poor nannies from head to toe…though jam would, perhaps, be worse?