ajmatt blog

I realize I used this title for Thanksgiving, but… that’s what they say here, especially the proper Brits who greet us on the elevator at our hotel. The abundance of politeness soothes my soul.
We had a lovely Christmas day, complete with a secret Santa, lots of food and champagne, and a long walk through Hyde [...]

Yesterday was a shopping day for most of us in London. Matt and I braved the Christmas Eve crowd at the Knightsbridge Harrods, and hit an alley of bookstores. And by that, I mean the entire alley was lined with bookstores, almost entirely used, and many of them rare/antiquarian.

We all went to dinner at a [...]

While Allegra and Grandma Price were off to Chawton, Grandpa Price, Pop-Pop, Mom, Dad, and I braved the typical London fog and headed to Greenwich to see the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum. We headed to the London Bridge station and caught the overground train for a quick 7min ride to Greenwich.

After [...]

And so much more:

[Click photo to see the big version, which reads: "Jane Austen lived here from 1809-1817 and hence all her works were sent into the world. Her admirers in this country and in America have united to erect this tablet. Such art as hers can never grow old.]
Matt’s grandmother and I visited the [...]

Pop-Pop: You haven’t seen the last of me!
Allegra: I like doors. Short doors, tall doors, oddly shaped doors… all doors are cool.
Allegra: When will Matt rescue me from Henry VIII?
Matt: Crossbow slits are awesome.

ajmatt blog is in London for Christmas! We’re with Matt’s family, for a total of nine travelers.
Matt shoots covertly as the clan ascends from the tube.

Generation Yers act like tourists. Baby Boomers look away in embarrassment.

We were on the way to the Tower of London. Guts and intrigue in the queue.

Hello Cascade mountain range—I have missed you!
Take a look at the reflection in the lake—it’s perfect. There are a bunch more like this in the gallery.
Austin and I hiked up to Lake 22 last Tuesday. It was about 6 miles round trip (including a walk around the lake) in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
The cool [...]

My need for chronology and my sense of timeliness had a war, and timeliness won. So here, grossly out of the space-time continuum, are Thanksgiving photos.
I didn’t get any post-worthy Thanksgiving-themed pictures (though there are some decent photos here), so I give you the aftermath:

Happy Thanksgiving! More from the foothills of the Cascades and downtown [...]

What’s wrong with this picture?

Allegra’s family at a beer tasting? For Allegra’s mother’s birthday? I think the world has turned upside down.
Then we spent the rest of the day creating complicated meals from scratch. All is right with the world.

But wait! There’s more! Allegra’s little brother is old enough to own a house?

Seriously, we’re all [...]

Matt and I spent the weekend in Knox, New York at his grandparents’ house, a.k.a Turtle Hill Farm. It was a 48-hour trip for me; for Matt it was a nice weekend wedged between two business trips.
Visiting Turtle Hill is truly a rural experience, at least for we D.C. urban-suburb types. There is not a [...]