C'est la vie Paris!

What an incredible and well deserved little romantic getaway to Paris! The trip was amazing and Anthony was almost like a personal tour guide because he has been to Paris before. We did though get to see some things that he didn't get to see last time so that was good - I love seeing him excited about visiting new places.

So you might be wondering, where did we go? What did we see? What did we do?

Here is my journal entries from the days of our trip should you want to read all about it...

________________________________

Day 1 — MONDAY

(Travelling & Arrival)

I still can’t believe that Anthony is taking me to Paris!! It all seems surreal and I finally get to go to visit the “City of Love”….aahhhhhh l’amour…c’est beau. We were up bright and early this morning getting ready to leave and catch the train to London where we hopped on the coach and took off for Paris. The first few hours were pretty easy and the train ride took quite a while with some hopping on and off but we made it and it was extremely busy. Once we got on our coach though, things started to quiet down and I think in total there were about 10-15 people riding with us on the way to Paris. We sat at the front of the bus and made sure that we had a good view on the drive there. 

We stopped a few times and when we reached the border we had to stop and wait for a bit in order for us to go through. Once we got through, we had to do some more waiting…and you know how I just love to wait! LOL…after successfully being permitted across the border we then to our surprise drove onto the Euro Tunnel train and went over 100m under sea level to get to France…and here we were thinking that we were going to be taking the ferry across the way…hahahaha boy were we wrong! It was a really odd experience and you couldn’t quite see anything but we stood in the huge train car and watched going underground and coming back up (we also needed to stretch our legs). It only took about 35-40 minutes or less to get to France using the Euro Tunnel and landed in Calais to start the next part of our journey to Paris.

The last part of the journey was long and Anthony and I were in and out of sleep a lot but after we dropped off some passengers at CDG airport it took us a while to get to Gallieni station where we then got a lift to our flat that we rented out. After getting a little lost on the way to the flat, the driver finally found where we needed to go and Anthony and I met Tonje our host where he showed us around the flat and gave us the keys for the week. The flat was beautiful and it was just like the pictures that we had seen online. It was small but we didn’t expect much in Europe - that’s just the way it is. We were impressed with how clean the flat was and that everything we needed was there so that was comforting. We didn’t do much once we got there just unpacked and then fell asleep - long day of travelling makes you more tired I swear! 

Can’t wait tomorrow to see what we’re doing and where we’re going …oh the anticipation! 

Day 2 — TUESDAY

(Palace of Versailles, Notre Dame Cathedral, View of Eiffel Tower, View of Musee de Louvre)

It was a little different and unfamiliar this morning when we left the flat. We had to find our way to the Ivry Sur Seine train station which was only a 10 minute walk away and figure out how to use our Paris Passes because we had a ticket to use everywhere we went and throughout the rest of the week. We made sure that we left early in the morning because we were told that Versailles is extremely busy and try to go the closest to the opening times as possible. By 9:45am we were at the Palace and it was not only MASSIVE and HUGE and covered in Gold but there were already many people lined up waiting to go in to view all the wonders inside. Luckily, our Paris Passes came in handy and we skipped the lineup and were in within about 10 minutes, through security and camera ready to take all the pictures we could inside. 

Anthony had already been there the last time he was in France with his parents years ago, but this was my first time going inside and couldn’t wait to see how glorious it all was. And boy was it even better than I expected! Everything was dripping in Gold, ceilings were painted and embellished with everything Gold, and royal linens and marble coated the entire inside of the Palace. Not to mention, the outside was just as nice as the inside. We didn’t have tickets to see the Gardens of Versailles but the glimpse from inside higher up gave a good view of what they had created. This Palace was so grand and the grounds so large, Anthony and I were joking that it would be the best place to host a party! 

After a couple of hours spent at the Palace of Versailles, we were off to central Paris again to explore the area and figure out how to best get around the city for the rest of the week. By this time however, even though I chose to wear my LOW HEELED, COMFORTABLE Clarks shoes, my foot has ripped open and we had to go back home to repair it before heading out for another adventure around the city of Paris. Once home, we ate lunch we had leftover from the trip over and Anthony, the most thoughtful husband in the world, went out to the store down the street and bought me some bandages so I could carry on. 

Shortly after, we were out again to see the city and amazingly enough, I got to see my first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. Oh-My-Goodness was it ever the coolest thing I’ve seen. All made out of metal and quite tall, it was definitely a beautiful sight. It made me excited to go up it on Wednesday for our guided tour. We took a few pictures and then we were on our way and finding ourselves walking to the Louvre just to see the glass pyramids. And of course, they didn’t disappoint! Such an interesting way to show the architecture mixed within the rest of the old palace grounds. A sight we would be back to get more of on Thursday when we come to walk through the museum. 

With feet falling apart and legs sore already from walking all day, we found our way back home and are excited about seeing more things tomorrow! Especially going up the Eiffel Tower. EEEEEEEK!

Day 3 — WEDNESDAY

(Tour of the Eiffel Tower, Lunch on Champs du Mars, River Seine Boat Cruise, Opera Garnier, Bus Hop-on Hop-Off Tour, Arc de Triumphe, Sunset pictures of the Louvre, Christian Louboutin sighting)

No rest for the weary! We were up early again this morning to make sure that we were on time for our guided tour of the Eiffel Tower. We found our way into Paris and outside a little souvenir shop, we met the rest of our English tour group and after introductions, started walking to the Eiffel Tower. It was such a beautiful day outside and the sun was shining we honestly couldn’t have asked for a nicer day! Our group was small but it was easy for us to stay together. We met a couple from the States and another few people from Britain so we least had something in common with the others. It’s always good to meet new people and our tour guide was fabulous! He was a Parisian man who was well travelled and just recently this year came back to Paris to live and work. You could tell that he loved his job and the tour was definitely well worth the money. After getting a few history lessons about the Eiffel Tower and the surrounding city and architecture, we took the lift up to the 2nd floor where we had this incredible view of the city (even though it was a little hazy). The view was stunning and the pictures are definitely worth looking at to see what we got to see. After a couple of hours, the tour was finished and we were able to continue with our busy day seeing everything we could around the city. 

We then headed down the tower and decided to have lunch on the Champs du Mars area with a great view of the tower. We wanted to make sure that we had the best view of the tower for pictures of course but figured since we were in Paris we would definitely make the most of this adventure. So we laid out a small but DELICIOUS lunch and had a romantic picnic! It was so nice to sit down, relax and take in the sites around us. There were lots of other people sitting in the large grassy area around us enjoying the same things we were and it was interesting to see how many people were taking the same type of photos and making sure that they got to take home a little piece of Paris with them. With some good french bread, salami and cheese we ate up and continued on with our day. What a great experience with good company ;-)

We then decided that we needed to go and look for more things to do since we were already halfway through the day and didn’t want to miss out on doing any activities or seeing landmarks because we were already in the heart of the city. We then made our way to the River Seine right by the tower and thought that a boat cruise was in order considering how warm and sunny it was outside. The cruise was great and it was nice to take a break and sit down and take in the sites again. Once we finished the tour, we headed out on a journey across the city to the Opera Garnier. Even though there was a lot of walking, we were determined to see as much as possible and we wanted to make sure that we got our hop-on-hop-off bus tour tickets so that we could tour around the city without walking. With a first failed attempt to find the ticket office, we found the Opera Garnier along the way. What a site!!!! This was definitely one of my most favourite things that we did. It was a quick tour that we did ourselves but it was so worth it. The rooms, halls and stages were breathtaking it was just a shame that we didn’t get to see an Opera — next time!!! 

After the Opera house, we walked all over trying to find the bus ticket office and spent at least an hour searching for it. It was harder to find then what we expected but after some hard work, we finally made it to get our tickets for the next 2 days and it was definitely worth it! We were on that bus so fast and took it all the way around the city getting on and off as we pleased to see everything we could. So we decided it was only fit to stop at the Arc de Triumphe and take a walk to the top to see this incredible view of the city everyone was talking about. We made our way slowly but surely up the Champs de Elysses (SOOOOOO much traffic) but got to see the beauty of this popular landmark. It was strange travelling underground to get to the Arc de Triumphe but it made so much sense because how else are you going to get across the busiest roundabout in Paris? When we finally reached the top and out of breath we realized how nice of a view it really was. You could pretty much see everything from up there. The views in Paris were not in short supply. 

By this time, we were starting to get hungry and we hopped back on the bus and headed to a place we wanted to try by the Louvre. Once we reached the other side of the Louvre, we made our way to dinner and ended up in a nice little cafe. The food was of course just as good since the moment that we got to Paris and we weren’t disappointed. Full and ready to head home we made our way back to towards Notre Dame to catch the train home for the day. I loved walking through the city streets and experiencing French culture and to my surprise, we somehow walked past Christian Louboutin. Now here is a store that pretty much any girl with a shoe fetish would go nuts for and I swear I had my face up against the window and was actually drooling all over it. The shoes were more beautiful in person then I anticipated. Therefore, I vowed I would come back to see them and hold them another day before we left. What a great end to a great day! 

As we kept walking, we noticed we were back at the Louvre and took some pictures of the lights starting to come on while the sun was setting. It was definitely a beautiful sight! As the sun set, we walked towards Notre Dame and caught the train back home and called it a night. What could tomorrow possibly bring? Oh yes….THE LOUVRE!

Day 4 — THURSDAY

(Musee de Louvre, Lunch by the Seine River, Love Lock Bridge, Alexander III Bridge, Champs de Elysees, Pantheon and Crypt)

Wise words from a Parisian told us to make sure that we got to the Louvre early so that we didn’t have to wait in line. Those were VERY wise words and we took the advice which paid off! We got there just after 9am and because of those amazing Paris passes…as usual…skipped the line and walked straight in within 2 minutes of arriving. The entrance was cool because we walked into the big glass pyramid and didn’t realize how tall it actually was until we were at the bottom looking up. SO COOL!!! 

So what was the first thing we decided to see? You guessed it…the Mona Lisa herself. We thought that if we saw her first then it would be much less busy and crowded and we could get a good view, never mind good picture op! It was a good and wise choice to see Mona when we did because we were right up close and couldn’t get a better shot. It was however, smaller than I anticipated. We were about 10 feet away from the painting encased in glass but I assumed from everything I’ve read and seen that it was bigger but boy was I wrong! It was strange looking right at the painting because it was true, her eyes did follow you everywhere…so weird but interesting all at the same time. Once we got a good glimpse of Mona, we moved on and walked throughout the rest of the Louvre through multiple hallways and corridors filled with ancient antiques and paintings. It was one of the best museums that I have ever been to and we got to see many famous works that were on display. A couple of hours passed as once we made it through the museum we went on a little hunt on the way out to find where the 2 pyramids meet. We finally found it, took some pictures and were on our way to the next landmark. 

After a nice walk around the Louvre museum and old palace grounds, we decided to take a break and sit down by the Seine River to have a peaceful and sun-filled lunch. I loved that throughout the trip Anthony and I always took our time going from place to place and half the time just planned as we went. Plus I always wanted an excuse to sit outside in the sun and take in the Vitamin D which we’ve been in such short supply of over here in England! LOL…we then walked over to the Love Lock bridge and decided to buy a lock, write our initials and the date on it and then attach it to the bridge to symbolize our love lasting forever. Cheesy I know, but it was a fun experience and maybe it will be there 20 years from now …who knows? Let’s just say Anthony was a good sport! :-D 

We thought that since we were into looking at bridges that we would make our way over to the Alexander III Bridge (you know, the one you see in all the movies)? By this point, our legs were starting to tire from all the walking we had already been doing so as lazy as we were, we hopped on the bus and took it around the city and eventually hopped off right by the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais. Getting the chance to finally see the bridge up close didn’t even do it justice. The bridge is covered in 24K gold and it is quite a statement…so beautiful, I wish I could have seen it at night. I also made sure that I had a French Crepe in our travels and on the Alexander Bridge…I had no words after trying my first proper French crepe outside of WOW! LOL so good!!!!!  

So what next? We had hit pretty much every big landmark, museum and parts of Paris that we wanted to see so what was left? How about some proper Paris shopping? Alright, you convinced me…let’s go shopping! Funny though…didn’t really buy anything but that’s because we were on the Champs du Elysses and HOLY is everything expensive! It was like a world all of it’s own walking around there and seeing all the expensive cars, jewellery and clothing for sale. I am glad that we decided to do that, and walking down the Champs du Elysses I was satisfied. 

Anthony then had the brilliant idea to kill time before dinner that we should go to the Pantheon and check it out since it had just been reopened a few days ago. We found our way back to Notre Dame and walked up to the Pantheon which was worth going to like everything else we saw on our trip already. We did a walk through and I loved seeing all the tall ceilings and sculptures along with the paintings hung up around the building. We then discovered that there was a Crypt underneath the Pantheon where a lot of famous people are buried like Veronese, Rousseau, Victor Hugo and Alexander Dumas. It was interesting to see stone graves and tombs of people who have been dead for centuries but very cool all at the same time. 

Back and forth we went through the city of Paris, on our little sightseeing bus and made it back to the Champs du Elysses where Anthony wanted to eat dinner outside on a patio in the sunshine. So that’s exactly what we did! We ate an Italian dinner in the sun, enjoying each other’s company and discussing what we had done on our trip so far. It made me not want to leave Paris but the busyness of it all was beginning to become too much - not a city person. But with full stomaches and sore feet, we made our way back home and called it a day! 

I can’t wait to finally sleep in tomorrow… :-D

Day 5 — FRIDAY 

(Walk down the Seine River, Musee de Rodin, Christian Louboutin store, Walked all over Paris - souvenirs)

TGIF!!! 

Felt great after a lay in this morning and Anthony and I were both rejuvenated and energized to take on Paris for one more day. It was hard to decide what to do since we have seen everything we wanted to already…we thought about going to visit Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur but instead decided to take it easy and walk around Paris one more time. 

Our day started off quite quiet and after arriving at the Eiffel Tower again, we took a walk down the Seine River and took some pictures of the area surrounding us. Then more walking and this time we walked and did some souvenir shopping and then made it to the Rodin Museum which took much longer than expected but at least it was sunny out. The museum grounds were beautiful and the gardens were definitely something to look at…I found it interesting looking at French landscaping and gardens with their squared bushes. After leaving the Rodin Museum, I made the decision that it was essential that I go back to Christian Louboutin to see those beautiful shoes once more before I left. Reluctantly, Anthony agreed and we got lunch along the way sitting outside a beautiful cafe watching people walk by. Then in hurried fashion we rushed to Louboutin to check it out! You should have seen the look on my face when we went into the store LOL…everything was so colourful and sparkly not to mention it was heavily guarded! We were greeted well when we walked in and I gave into trying on a few pairs and then the next thing I know, Anthony’s buying me Louboutin shoes and I didn’t leave empty handed. SO SPOILED AND I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! I think I’m going to have to find a glass case to put them in…I’m almost afraid to wear them but they’re gorgeous! 

Needless to say that ended off the trip on a good note and we ended our day in Paris by having one last dinner at our favourite restaurant by Notre Dame. The duck confit was the best and I shall miss that dearly but I’ll definitely being going back to have that again some day. 

Day 6 — SATURDAY

(Travelling & Departure)

Believe it or not, we have been here for 5 days and we have seen everything we wanted to see and walked all over Paris probably 5 to 10 times but hey, it was worth it. However, the nightmare of carrying around luggage trying to find a taxi was so frustrating. We eventually went to the train station and asked for help to call a taxi which they were so kind to do and found out that taxi’s are only really available in central Paris, not on the outskirts which we were technically in. The taxi finally came and we were off to the bus station where we got on the coach and headed home to England again. 

It was a long journey home and this time the coach was pretty much full of people considering it was a weekend and lots of people were going to London. I would say that it was a nice ride home but it was long and hard to sleep with a very LOUD French woman yapping on the phone for 8 hours - honestly all I wanted to do was slap her! Other than that, the ride was ok and we got to take the ferry on the way back which was a treat. When we got back to London, we caught the next train out to Eastbourne and realized that we had to switch at Lewes which was normal. Then we found out when we got to Lewes that all the trains to Eastbourne were cancelled and we had to take a replacement bus to Eastbourne which added on another hour of travel in a small space. What a nightmare after 8-9 hours on a bus but it was unfortunately the only option we had at that point. Cold, tired and sore we arrived at the Eastbourne train station and walked home to which we both passed out once we reached our comfortable bed. 

It’s good to be home! 

________________________________

If you are interested in seeing pictures of the trip and you don't have a connection to my Facebook album, here is the link you can look at where I've put all the pictures :-) ENJOY!

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/110466329115940691218/albums/6001876286317060385?authkey=CLLi1ZiPnYj9Jg 

Steph & Anthony xoxo

Teaching and Warm Weather

Well even if I can't believe it, it has again been about 3 months since my last update and apparently my social calendar is getting much to busy to keep up with a blog...LOL...don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing hahahahaha...alas, there is much to catch up on to let everyone know how we're doing over here in England!

The past couple months have of course been busy as usual with work and trying to get everything organized with Visa renewals and job applications. In the way of jobs, Anthony and I did apply to the Halton District School Board and the Niagara School Board and we wanted to see if this would help us decide whether or not to come home as our Visa's run out at the end of this year. Unfortunately, to date both school boards have closed and their hiring processes have stopped as of now. Therefore, we have had to start looking at other options for continuing our work experience over here in England. This however, has proved to be more difficult as we dig deeper into the details of applying or renewing our Visa's. The good news is that both schools that Anthony and I work at are begging for us to stay and are willing to do whatever it takes to keep us here in England. We are though at the mercy of the British government to decide whether or not we're allowed to stay in the country after December 31st of this year. We have looked into this and with the help of our HR departments at the schools are organizing a way to try and keep us here.

Short version -- we have to reapply for our jobs to prove we are better fit than a British citizen considering we're still immigrants and we have to apply for a different Visa as the one's we're currently on are non-renewable; also, we have to apply for new Visa's ASAP and have to go home to Canada to do it (not allowed to do it from the UK). If we can do all of this and get sponsored by the schools as well, we should be allowed to stay in the country for another 3-5 years depending on how long the school wants to employ us for. So at this point, we're not too sure what the future holds and are somewhat in limbo trying to sort it all out but hopefully we can get everything resolved this summer when we come home for 3 weeks...here's hoping!

Other than that, teaching has been going really well and Anthony and I are really settled in our positions at the school. I am LOVING teaching music and I am so proud of my little choir that has started to solidify and grow. They were entered in a competition in Hastings a couple of weeks ago and they came in 2nd place with Merit distinction. I am so proud of the girls for really stepping outside of their comfort zone and starting to show what they're made of. They did such a good job!! This means that we're only going to come in 1st place next year and we have tons of time to get better! :) Teaching music is definitely something that I was meant to do and I get so much joy out of teaching kids how to play different instruments and learn about music technology. I love seeing the look on students faces when they achieve what they thought they couldn't do or when they've got better at something they were already good at. There are still lots of moments that the students are teaching me something (especially at guitar) because honestly, they know more than me on it at the moment! LOL...the students also recently did a performance with all different aged bands and singers and choirs at a local pub and Kym (music colleague) and I organized a little concert for them to put on. They were brilliant!!!! We had over 100 people come to see the event - parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, etc. and it went so well we definitely will be doing another event like it again soon.

Anthony is also loving his job at the moment because he has made some good progress with the students and they are starting to show him respect and some of them are even making some good life changes. It is really encouraging to see him work through these kids lives and make a positive difference with them. He is trying to be that role model for them because most of the students don't have a proper role model at home or anywhere else but sometimes he has to show tough love to help them. But all this to say that is definitely within their best interest that he is doing this and the school is recognizing his ability to do well in his job in many ways. Anthony has also had a few teaching observations done through the school and they have given him an outstanding review so nothing to worry about and more to negotiate for his new contract beginning in September as they want to keep him around for a while. Other than the daily physical restraints that Anthony has to keep up with he still comes home with crazy stories, children going home in police cars and small bruises all over his arms and legs from time to time. At the end of the day, he still smiles, loves the people he works with and loves helping these children make positive choices.

There hasn't been much other important or exciting events going on over here in England and even though our social lives are busy and we are constantly meeting new people, we aren't doing much outside of work. We have our friends that we love to see every week and hang out with almost every weekend and are always planning different dinner dates with our close group of mates to stay in touch as we all get so busy with teaching! We love having vacation so often and are currently in the middle of our Easter holidays (2 weeks off). Last night we just came back from 6 days in Paris and loved every minute of it but are exhausted from travelling and our feet and legs need a break from walking around everywhere and every minute of every day...LOL

Pictures to be posted shortly...

Till next time,

Steph & Anthony xoxo

This is DEFINITELY a Christmas we will NEVER forget...Christmas 2013!!! We must have jinxed it or something because we flew into an ice storm and were without power for 5 days (some of us) and the house became a hostile for everyone until their power came on and wow...was it ever interesting...to say the least!! But looking back on it, it's something that I can laugh about now and say that I've lived through that.  You don't realize how important power and HEAT are when it's -20+ degrees outside with an abundant amount of snow to top it all off!  What a crazy 10 days...I just couldn't take the cold so Anthony and I decided we should come back to England where it was ....get this...!!!!!!! ...30 degrees warmer...unbelievable!!


Our first glimpse of home...covered in ice, fallen power lines and SOOOOOO many trees!!!

Could barely get down the street without running over massive tree trunks all over the road!

So slippery and some dangerous because the trees were so heavily coated in ice.

This was mom and dad's front lawn covered with tree branches - luckily it didn't hit any cars but that was a nightmare getting up and down the ice covered driveway...I should have fallen multiple times!

What a crazy life Anthony and I lead at the moment but it's definitely all worth it when we look back at all of the experiences that we've had through the teaching profession and the amazing friends that we've made here.  It's hard to believe that it's truly been over 1 year since we've been over in England now - it just goes by so quickly!  Teaching is definitely hard work and trying to keep a social life is sometimes even harder because there is so much work that needs to be done not to mention planning that needs to happen in order for me to keep my sanity with the students.

Both Anthony and I have had such a whirlwind of an adventure over here within the last little while and we just don't want it to end.  There are so many variables this year that we are foreseeing and trying to figure out exactly where we're meant to be and what we're supposed to be doing.  We have hit the 1 year mark on our Visas so far and that means only 1 year left until we'll be asked to leave the country.  It's hard to believe that it's only 1 year left but its gone by so quickly, I'm sure this year will feel even quicker.  Anthony and I are hoping to fulfill this next year with teaching from here but you never know where this profession will take us.  When we came home for the holidays, we noticed that after 2 years, Halton District School Board was finally open and we didn't want to miss our opportunity to apply to the board considering that is essentially where we want to end up.  So within the last 2 days of our stay in Canada over Christmas, we sorted through our resumes and cover letters and got our applications in before the board closed.  I suppose now everything is a waiting game and we just have to patient to see what the outcome will be.  I guess you could say, we're just trying to cover our butts because we're not sure what will happen with our status over here in England.  We have looked into applying for residency, however, we have to live in the country for a minimum of 5 years before we can even apply.  Therefore, we will have to look into possibly extending our Visa's should the government wish to grant us that opportunity.  Things are seemingly more complicated at this point, but I suppose we saw that coming not too long ago before we entered the new year.  We are excited though about also managing to apply to the Niagara District School Board because we've thought about the teaching possibilities that are in that area as well.  We figure since Niagara is close to home that we would still be close enough for family and friends to still come visit should we end up there....at this point, it really could be anywhere!  We'll have to wait and see where life takes us...

A few Christmas Pictures <3

Christmas morning - opening gifts in a 5 degree house with a fire, mittens, hats, scarves and warm jackets...not what I had in mind but hey...it worked!

Pretty happy guy for someone who was freezing cold!

It was necessary to photo bomb my own iPad after everyone else started too...

even Anthony got in on it after a while.

Carlo Christmas (first one with the 2 new adopted kids - Brayden, Lexus....what a fun holiday)

First time in a while getting Christmas pictures as a family and boy let me tell you, it was difficult but we managed to sneak in a few good ones ;) 

It was hard for the kids to sit still (ie. Anthony and Jared) LOL...

But in time, I think we managed to get this great shot!!! Honestly, this one is my favourite!! :-D

Still can't believe we got one where everyone was smiling...a miracle!! What a fun photoshoot!! :) :)

As for England now, we have been enjoying these last few months getting to know our amazing new friends that we've both got to know through teaching and spending some time together outside of the school - planning dinner parties and just hanging out with each other.  We've learned some proper British ways to do things and have definitely seen a lot of the pubs around here.  It's been an interesting ride but we definitely wouldn't have it any other way! The other day, we took part in Wassail and as rookies, we had to get used to the fact that we had to walk a LONG way just to say we completed the journey.  We made some stops along the way and eventually had to walk through the pitch black countryside IN THE MUD to get home, but we all survived the huge walk and were victorious in completing our massive walk.  In total we walked about 8-10 miles...can't say I've done that in a while, but that was intense and definitely well worth it!!! :) :) :)  What an exhausting day though, I'm pretty sure Anthony and I were in bed that night before 10PM...although we did start at 12 noon and were walking for probably a solid 5-6 hours...great workout!!  I would definitely do that again...what a great experience (only because it chose to have sunshine that day and not rain like the entire rest of the week previous).

Picture from our Wassail Journey:

The last leg of our journey home which I swear took at least 2 hours....it took FOREVER!!!! LOL...

First stop of the day from an hour of walking through the countryside...so we needed a little refreshment to keep us hydrated ;)

After the first MASSIVE hill that we climbed within the first 20 minutes...absolute KILLER! 

Nice group shot, halfway through the 3rd leg of our journey!

Our last group picture of the evening...it was so dark, I'm surprised this 

picture even turned out!! AMAZING!

First glimpse of the English countryside :)

Alex's dad was walking with us and he was a mile ahead but we all laughed 

at how the sheep were naturally following him across the entire field!

Overseeing all of Eastbourne and even into Bexhill and Hastings by the sea...beautiful!

Look at those rolling hills...

Steep side of the first hefty climb up an epic mountain so it seemed...so steep!! 

As far as the school life goes, Anthony and I are getting pretty settled into the teaching profession and are starting to experience all the stresses and excitements found in the every day hustle and bustle.  We are both enjoying going to work for the day (most of the time) and are trying really hard to get involved with the students through extracurricular activities and mentoring.  This is a new process for me because the emphasis is different in England regarding the curriculum and even how schools are run.  The every day that we would consider at home is completely different in a British school but in positive way.  We are both getting the opportunity to mentor kids aged 11-16 and give them a better outlook on life.  If we can do that for them then we can feel confident in our ability to teach.  I know especially that every club and meeting that I attend helps me to better understanding the curriculum in England and help students that are struggling with simple things.  I love being challenged constantly and tested with observations to help me be a better teacher.  The constant reminder of goals that have been set for us to professionally develop our teaching potential is so important at this stage, especially when you're brand new to this whole teaching thing...LOL...It's an eye opener but this will help both Anthony and I in the long run should we ever decide to go back to Canada and teach.  We can eventually take what experience we've gained here and bring it back with us in order to give us a good start to a career at home should it ever happen to pan out that way. 

Right now, everything is an open book and we're not sure where we'll both be in a year, but hopefully the next year will be just as exciting as last year and we learn more and more about how we can progress in our profession as teachers.  We do miss everyone terribly and wish that we didn't have to be so far away because that is the worst but we know that this experience over here is what we need and should we happen to be coming home this time next year, then so be it!!! 

Here's to writing more blogs and another 6 month of teaching...(only 4 weeks till our next week off)....COME ON!!! 

Love, 

Steph & Anthony xoxo

A Blissful Summer!!

Well we definitely can't complain at all considering that we just spent 5 weeks of the summer in Canada for the first time in 7 months. What a crazy and busy summer for us but it was DEFINITELY worth it!! It was filled with so many trips and outings, Blue Jays games, patio dates, shopping and most importantly sunshine and cottages....sigh...i miss it already!

It was definitely bittersweet having to come back to the UK after the summer was over. It seemed to start off slow but then turned into this short holiday so it seemed. I loved all the time that I spent with my family and enjoyed every minute of it. I have to say you guys didn't make it easy to leave once the summer was over...I think I almost cried again but it's comforting to know that we will most likely be coming home again to celebrate Christmas. This will keep me going until December but to be honest, the days, weeks and months are just FLYING by right now.

Ah yes...the REAL life of a teacher...LOL...what a crazy thing this all is. I think we all knew exactly what we were getting into but at the same time you don't get it until you start teaching. WOW!!!! I tend to think of it as being some sort of superhero teaching all these kids. I know for me, I have 250+ students that I have to cater to but I have to say the positive is seeing the efforts of your preparation worth it when the kids love being in your class. That is definitely a pay off and is what teaching is all about - this is why I signed up for this job. Aside from all the stress and anxiety of getting everything together and staying focused, my job is amazing! I don't really get sleep during the week and am mentally and physically exhausted all the time until the weekend when I recover, but I love teaching music and sharing my knowledge with these kids. They aren't that bad once you get to know them and they do want to prove what they are capable of it's just adjusting to the odd few that don't care about being at school or producing any work.

Anthony has become a pro at this point with kids who don't want to be at school or do anything because his school is like the ones he first started covering when we came here. Anthony is working in Brighton at a PRU where all the permanently excluded kids are sent and spends most of his days restraining students and trying to keep them happy. It definitely hasn't been an easy road but soon enough the sun will shine and everything will work itself out. Despite the never ending entertainment Anthony gets out of teaching these kids, there are moments that make it all worth it.

Until next time...

Steph & Anthony xoxo

 Life at the cottage wouldn't be complete without an amazing view off the dock!

Looking at the boathouse from the beach dock...

Decided to throw in a game of horseshoes to make things interesting!

Fishing boat waiting for it's fancy motor to catch some dinner

The lovely boathouse :)

The girls just messing with some photos - I'd say this one turned out quite well!!

Before we flew back out the UK, we thought we'd take some nice family pictures LOL

It just turned into the usual ridiculous nonsense it always does...but if it didn't it

 wouldn't be my family!!  Gotta love 'em!

Hahahahaha....showing off some dance moves!

Not really any better of a photo eh?

Getting better....slowly but surely...

Now THERE is a nice shot of the whole family <3 

...and the wonderful attachments...

Favourite picture of the summer for me!! 

We are all pretty darn awesome :) :) :)