Today I spent the afternoon in the Cotswolds, on site for a big project I am working on.
The house, originally built in 1760 is more like a stone mansion. Set over 70 acres of English countryside, it has everything a country family could dream of - four reception rooms, a kitchen, a large master suite, six additional bedrooms and four bathrooms in the main house. There is also a three-bedroom lodge, and two-bedroom stable flat. It's all built of Cotswolds stone, which is this beautiful, warm golden-brown stone that is quarried in the area that glows on the rare occasion that sun is shining on it.
A whole home made of out of it, is simply stunning. This one is definitely one of my favorite projects at the moment, especially because the homeowner is American. And a New Yorker at that! Her husband and her moved to England and bought this multi-million pound palace because they want their 3 boys to grow up in England rather in America.
I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to grow up on 70 acres of English countryside rather than New York City. They'll play crickett and rugby instead of football, they'll grow up on Marmite sandwiches instead of peanut butter and jelly, and their school field trips will be to Stonehenge and Bath rather that the natural history museum. But what cultural things will be different?
Tonight I was watching one of my favorite movies, "17 Again," which takes place in a classic, American high school. I was watching with my flatmates and I asked them if their school was anything like that. The rows of lockers, the student-made banners hanging from the hallways routing on the football team for that Friday's game, the trophy cases with old photos and shiny awards....
They just laughed, "NO! Not at all!"
"Wait a second," I replied. "You didn't have a spirit club that made banners and hung them in the halls? You didn't have a big auditorium where you had pep rallies every Friday? You didn't have cheerleaders?
No. They didn't have anything like that! My flatmates were convinced I had been a cheerleader, and nearly died when I said I was actually in the choir and drama club. I explained never had any interest in cheerleading because I hate sports. It would have been torturous to have to go to every single football and basketball game, and wear those uniforms, and scrunchies, and it was all just - not for me.
I preferred going to the football games to socialize and find inventive ways of cutting and sewing old jerseys into cute tops.
Their knowledge of American high school comes entirely from American movies, so based on my description of my extracurricular activities they assumed I was a social outcast.
"Choir was cool" I defended! "If I could just show you my yearbook you'd see!"
THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT A YEARBOOK WAS! I had to explain...it was so sad!
They found the "senior awards" the most entertaining. They thought that we actually chose and awarded someone as "most likely to be at a party," "most school spirit," "most athletic," etc was insane.
"So what did you win," they questioned?
And sitting there in my sweatpants, a neon pink tank top, and my Dutch tulip-print, clog slippers, I shamefully muttered "most fashionable," as they laughed.
If they could see me now!.....They'd revoke my title.
Their school did not sound nearly as fun as mine was.
Strict, uniforms, curfews, no co-ed classes, no dances!
It all made me quite thankful that I grew up in America. I've always thought how wonderful it would have been to grow up in Europe but I take it back. I wouldn't trade my high school experience for anything. So I pity those little boys, even though they are growing up in an amazing mansion, they are being deprived of the possibility of being the quarter back, or being on the yearbook team, or joining Student Council, or asking a girl to the Prom one day and going in a white Tuxedo because they think it's cool, even though it's the worst thing that ever happened to menswear.
So I've determined, America is better for school years, but Europe is better for work years. I don't know how I'm going to cope with no longer having 30 vacation days and being able to take weekends to explore the continent.
Tomorrow evening, for example, I am going to Belgium after work, where I will spend the weekend eating waffles until I have to go back to the office on Monday.
Every weekend this month I will be in a different country. Last weekend was Germany (Munich), this weekend Belgium (Bruges), then France (Nice), then America (NYC and Canton), then Italy (Venice and Rome). Then I have a breather - then I hit Switzerland (Zurich) and then Monaco (Monte Carlo).
I'm trying to see as much as I can before I leave, because I think it will be a while before I am back in Europe. My travel bug is moving to Asia and Africa, and I'm dying to visit my cousin in Thailand and go on an African Safari. And as I've said before - one of the biggest perks of living in London is how easy it is to leave it! So bon voyage for now - I'm off to Bruges!
The house, originally built in 1760 is more like a stone mansion. Set over 70 acres of English countryside, it has everything a country family could dream of - four reception rooms, a kitchen, a large master suite, six additional bedrooms and four bathrooms in the main house. There is also a three-bedroom lodge, and two-bedroom stable flat. It's all built of Cotswolds stone, which is this beautiful, warm golden-brown stone that is quarried in the area that glows on the rare occasion that sun is shining on it.
A whole home made of out of it, is simply stunning. This one is definitely one of my favorite projects at the moment, especially because the homeowner is American. And a New Yorker at that! Her husband and her moved to England and bought this multi-million pound palace because they want their 3 boys to grow up in England rather in America.
I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to grow up on 70 acres of English countryside rather than New York City. They'll play crickett and rugby instead of football, they'll grow up on Marmite sandwiches instead of peanut butter and jelly, and their school field trips will be to Stonehenge and Bath rather that the natural history museum. But what cultural things will be different?
Tonight I was watching one of my favorite movies, "17 Again," which takes place in a classic, American high school. I was watching with my flatmates and I asked them if their school was anything like that. The rows of lockers, the student-made banners hanging from the hallways routing on the football team for that Friday's game, the trophy cases with old photos and shiny awards....
They just laughed, "NO! Not at all!"
"Wait a second," I replied. "You didn't have a spirit club that made banners and hung them in the halls? You didn't have a big auditorium where you had pep rallies every Friday? You didn't have cheerleaders?
No. They didn't have anything like that! My flatmates were convinced I had been a cheerleader, and nearly died when I said I was actually in the choir and drama club. I explained never had any interest in cheerleading because I hate sports. It would have been torturous to have to go to every single football and basketball game, and wear those uniforms, and scrunchies, and it was all just - not for me.
I preferred going to the football games to socialize and find inventive ways of cutting and sewing old jerseys into cute tops.
Their knowledge of American high school comes entirely from American movies, so based on my description of my extracurricular activities they assumed I was a social outcast.
"Choir was cool" I defended! "If I could just show you my yearbook you'd see!"
THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHAT A YEARBOOK WAS! I had to explain...it was so sad!
They found the "senior awards" the most entertaining. They thought that we actually chose and awarded someone as "most likely to be at a party," "most school spirit," "most athletic," etc was insane.
"So what did you win," they questioned?
And sitting there in my sweatpants, a neon pink tank top, and my Dutch tulip-print, clog slippers, I shamefully muttered "most fashionable," as they laughed.
If they could see me now!.....They'd revoke my title.
Their school did not sound nearly as fun as mine was.
Strict, uniforms, curfews, no co-ed classes, no dances!
It all made me quite thankful that I grew up in America. I've always thought how wonderful it would have been to grow up in Europe but I take it back. I wouldn't trade my high school experience for anything. So I pity those little boys, even though they are growing up in an amazing mansion, they are being deprived of the possibility of being the quarter back, or being on the yearbook team, or joining Student Council, or asking a girl to the Prom one day and going in a white Tuxedo because they think it's cool, even though it's the worst thing that ever happened to menswear.
So I've determined, America is better for school years, but Europe is better for work years. I don't know how I'm going to cope with no longer having 30 vacation days and being able to take weekends to explore the continent.
Tomorrow evening, for example, I am going to Belgium after work, where I will spend the weekend eating waffles until I have to go back to the office on Monday.
Every weekend this month I will be in a different country. Last weekend was Germany (Munich), this weekend Belgium (Bruges), then France (Nice), then America (NYC and Canton), then Italy (Venice and Rome). Then I have a breather - then I hit Switzerland (Zurich) and then Monaco (Monte Carlo).
I'm trying to see as much as I can before I leave, because I think it will be a while before I am back in Europe. My travel bug is moving to Asia and Africa, and I'm dying to visit my cousin in Thailand and go on an African Safari. And as I've said before - one of the biggest perks of living in London is how easy it is to leave it! So bon voyage for now - I'm off to Bruges!
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