Ahoy, me hearties!

Hey All! It's hard for me to believe but we've been in England for over 2 weeks now. Every day we get to know the area a little bit better. For example, late last week we took a double decker bus to Brighton; a sizable city on the southern coast of Great Britain. We ended up doing a little shopping and saw Pirates of the Caribbean 4, which you probably don't need to rush out and see unless you are really in the mood for some swashbuckling. Anyway, it's great to have a bigger city nearby for the added shopping, eating, and entertainment options.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Glyndebourne compound is a few miles outside of Lewes. Brenda had heard about a walking path that leads to Glyndebourne but until today we hadn't found it. While searching for the elusive path, we happened upon the Lewes golf course. We took a few pictures while we were out and about.

Lewes as seen from the golf course.

Brenda was sporting a jacket today because it's still a little chilly here.

I was drinking a mocha. How could I not be smiling?

Last night, Brenda and I were invited to dinner by Sonia Prina, aka the contralto singing the title role in Rinaldo this summer. There were about 10 of us in all and the Italians were in the majority. I was really racking my brain to remember any of the Italian I studied in college 8 years ago, but it didn't come back. It was a great evening nevertheless, and I enjoyed getting to know some of the people Brenda is working with this summer.

I reached a milestone with my jogging yesterday. I jogged for 13.1 miles, or as it's better known, a half marathon. It wasn't an official race; it was just me, a bottle of water, and my iPod. It took me around 2 hours and 24 minutes (I didn't break any records), and I was ready to be done running when it ended. I feel great having done it, though, and I may even try to do it again someday. Once I can feel my legs again.

Brenda had an evening rehearsal tonight and is now on her way home, so that's my cue to wrap this up. I hope you all had a great weekend and I'll talk to you next week!

jogging through the countryside

Hey All! I'm writing to you after another lovely day in Lewes. We have been very lucky with sunshine since arriving in England, although it has been a little chilly. The temperatures have been perfect for me, however, since I've been doing a lot of jogging. While exploring jogging paths, I came across a beautiful path that leads into the downs just outside of town. Brenda and I wandered out onto the downs one evening and took a few snapshots for your enjoyment.

My wife the sunflower.

Not a bad place to go jogging, eh?

Brenda has begun staging rehearsals for her opera but still has more than 5 weeks of rehearsal before the show opens. On Friday, Brenda went to a specialized clothing store in London to be fitted for her costumes for the opera. The shop is called the House of Harlot. I would add a link to the website but this blog is rated G. Feel free to google it if your curiosity demands it.

After a week without reliable hot water, we finally got our boiler fixed on Saturday. Our landlady deserves a lot of the credit; we had repairmen come to our apartment almost every single day until the problem was fixed. It is great to be able to take a hot shower whenever we want to.

The next week will likely hold more of the same for us. Brenda will have rehearsals and I will jog and become better acquainted with Lewes. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!

In the land of scones, tea time, and cold showers

Hey All! Another week has gone by which means we are in England. After arriving two days ago, we immediately fell in love with Lewes (the town we're staying in) and our apartment. Lewes is a quaint town that is well stocked with coffee shops, adorable little stores, and people with charming accents. Our apartment is a furnished, 2-bedroom with its own private garden patio. We've only encountered one little hiccup so far: the hot water heater only works when it feels like it.

Brenda posing by the River Ouse which runs through Lewes.

Lewes is surrounded by beautiful hills (South Downs),

one of which can be seen in the background of the picture above.

A picture taken on High Street.

It is one of the main streets in town.

Mmm cheese.

Brenda rehearses at the Glyndebourne compound, which is 3 miles outside of Lewes. A bus service shuttles people between Lewes and Glyndebourne, since many of the company members are staying in Lewes. From what Brenda has told me, the rehearsals have been going well. She gets 7 weeks of rehearsal, so I imagine she'll be on a first name basis with the bus drivers in no time.

Since I wrote to you last, this happy little blogger turned another year older. In honor of the milestone, Brenda and I hosted a little get together at our place. A great time was had by all.

Over the next week, Brenda will be busy with rehearsals while I continue to explore Lewes. I will be sure to take my camera with me so I can show you more of the sights next Tuesday. Until then, have a great week!

Next stop: Glyndebourne

Hey All! I am writing to you on this beautiful Tuesday evening while watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, so please forgive me if I accidentally throw in the words expelliarmus, polyjuice potion, or Diagon Alley. You may think Brenda and I are watching this for fun, but really we're preparing for our summer move to Glyndebourne on Sunday. We expect the transition to England to be a little easier than our move to Germany considering they speak English and all, although being muggles in a wizard's world could be tricky.

Brenda, Elza, Florian, and I spent some quality time in the sun on Sunday when we had a picnic in Frankfurt's Grüneburg Park. Brenda made the food, Elza provided the wine and blanket, Florian brought the picnicware, and I contributed my appetite. Below is a picture from the lovely afternoon.

Elza, Brenda and Florian (aka Chick Magnet)

Seeing as the weather has been so beautiful lately, Brenda and I have been wanting to enjoy our balcony. Until yesterday, however, we didn't have any deck furniture. Luckily, Ikea came to the rescue and we are now able to enjoy the outdoors in style.

Brenda on our balcony a couple of hours ago.

Yours truly enjoying a glass of wine with my wonderful wife.

Harry just got sorted into Gryffindor, so I had better get going. I hope you are all having a great week, and I'll talk to you next week from Hogwarts!

Feen-tastic

Hey All! Last night, instead of writing to all of you like a good little blogger, I was at a performance of Wagner's Die Feen. The opera is one of Wagner's least known and least performed pieces, which makes perfect sense to me after seeing last night's performance. However, the cast, which was comprised mostly of soloists from Oper Frankfurt, was outstanding, and they made the most out of what they had to work with. An undeniable highlight of the evening was Brenda's aria in Act II. I will never get tired of hearing people scream, "Bravo!" at my wife. Unfortunately, the tenor got sick during the performance, and they had to end the show early. Hopefully he will be healthy in time for the show on Friday.

Brenda posing with one of the many Die Feen posters around town.

The performance took place at the old opera house (aka Alte Oper).

The Alte Oper during the day.

Inside the Alte Oper shortly after the performance.

Brenda and I took a wonderful day trip to Bad Nauheim on Sunday with Florian and Marlar. Bad Nauheim is where Florian grew up, and we were invited to join him and his family for lunch and a relaxing afternoon. His family's house is surrounded by a beautiful forest, so after we ate lunch we took a walk through the woods. It was a great way to spend our Sunday, and Brenda and I both hope we get to do it again sometime.

I should get going; Brenda has the final dress rehearsal for La Clemenza di Tito tonight and I'm going to watch. I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!

Check back tomorrow!

Hey All! Brenda had a show tonight so I didn't have a chance to write the blog. I will write it tomorrow, though, so check back then!

Does this blog entry make me look fat?

Hey All! I'm writing you on yet another beautiful spring day in Frankfurt. Brenda is back from New York and got over her jet lag with no trouble at all. It helps when trips across the ocean are short; you don't have a chance to get fully adjusted to the new time zone. Since being back in Frankfurt, Brenda has sung her final performance of Die Entführung aus dem Serail and has begun rehearsals for Wagner's Die Feen. Brenda will also be starting rehearsals for La Clemenza di Tito this week. We have about 2 1/2 weeks left in Frankfurt until we fly to Glyndebourne for the summer, and Brenda is going to be very busy up until we leave.

I always feel bad when I don't have pictures for my blog entries so, since we didn't take any pictures during the past week, I decided to take a few snapshots around the apartment.

A beautiful piece of artwork that my ridiculously talented wife made.

Our new puzzle light cover in our living room.

Putting it together is half the fun.

Our kitchen table.

You may have noticed the flying saucer-like object with the apple on it in the last picture. That is our food scale. I mention it because it has become an everyday part of my life. That's right, I'm on a diet and have been since the middle of January (with the exception of my 2 weeks in the US - those were definitely not diet weeks). Early on in the diet process I found a website and iPhone App called MyFitnessPal. I told it how much I wanted to lose and how quickly, and it told me how many calories I can eat in a day. So far things have been going pretty well, although every time I lose a pound I expect to look at my stomach and see a six-pack. Surprisingly that hasn't happened yet.

Brenda just called and is on her way home from rehearsal so that is my cue to bid you all adieu. I hope you have a great week, and I'll talk to you next Tuesday!