Winter Break 2025-2026 (Part 1…ik we’re running a little behind schedule… bear with me… I needed to ensure high quality and a comprehensive review)

I had the absolute privilege to start my winter break by visiting my oldest friend ever, Natalia, in Barcelona! As a first-time visitor, I toured La Sagrada Familía – highly recommend, definitely worth the time and a tour since you get expedited entry and a thorough history. Before this visit, I didn’t know that the original cathedral design was intended to be gothic, but when Gaudí took over, he had a different vision. Without this change in direction, I’m not sure the cathedral would have generated such notoriety.

I most enjoyed learning about Gaudís remarkable engineering and design aptitude. He used string and chain models to experiment with different structural types . He wanted to maximise the structure’s light and design an organic structure, which is clearly exemplified through its double-twist pillars (which form a forest-like effect), the stunning stained glass windows, and the array of unique structural components like inclined columns, hyperboloids, parabolas, helicoids, and conoids. 

I wondered how a cathedral that has been under construction way past the single lifespan of Gaudí himself could be solely attributed to his design. Turns out, he constructed 1:25 scale plaster models for all the cathedral components, giving artists/sculptors/builders the templates to build La Sagrada Familia as Gaudí intended even after his passing. 
The stained glass windows win when it comes to the coolest component. Sure, I’ve never seen a ceiling like this in my life (because who thinks to design with hyperboloids!). Absolutely, it’s fascinating how different each of the four façades are. Indeed, the nativity scene was super timely and festive with the Christmas season just around the corner at the time of my visit. 

Natalia was the best host and tour guide I could’ve ask for. Plaza Catalonia, Las Ramblas, La Boquería (massive food hall – see pics below), the Gothic Quarter, churros at Dulcinea, pharmacies that actually sell only pharmacy goods, new apartment art (Tapas party! Tapas party!), Pase de Gracia, the coast, grounds of the 1992 olympics, sangría y patatas bravas (of course), and an impromptu visit to… the natural history museum (cue the Star Wars theme song).

We admired the beach and waterfront from Natalia’s excellent lunch selection – the restaurant also featured a proper paella cocina, where I observed the actual correct coloring of paella (surprise! its dark, none of that yellow stuff!).

In our last morning together, Natalia showed me around her hometown, a suburban region just north of Barcelona. Natalia treated us to many delicious pastries – the crystallized sugar on top was heavenly. I even splurged on a bag of random gummy candies (the selection in the UK & EU of gummy candies is so vast).

Exchanging big hugs and kisses, the Peters-Domenech family sent me on my way. Although sad to leave, I returned to the UK excited for the big family reunion.

My ice hockey travels have shown me Leeds and Manchester & I’ve definitely driven through the middle of nowhere rolling hills, but this English excursion was different. I got my first taste of the proper southern English countryside. Rolling hills, lush green grasses, endless fields of crops and sheep, and winding horse trails. Amazing how just 30 minutes outside of London a place can feel so remote. It’s true that cars and roads are bigger, on average, in America, but driving through the countryside showed us that in spades. The magpies could probably hear my dad exclaiming ‘HOW is this a two-way road?!” Or “No way the speed limit is 60!” while winding through tall, hedge-lined dirt roads. 

Not that the Episcopal church promotes keeping tabs on parishoners behavior or church attendance, but may it be known the Martin family did still manage to attend Christmas Eve service! Tiffany guided us to a tiny local church. She had told us it didn’t matter what we wore because everyone kept their coats on during the service – I should have known that was because there was no electricity in the church! We sang hymns acapella style. Mom and Caroline sat squished against the walls and have limestone-dusted coats to prove it. 

For the family members who watch Bridgerton, our day trip to Bath (apparently on the same day Gordon Ramsey’s daughter got married there..) was extra exciting. The Royal Crescent is massive – barely fitting into a landscape camera shot from afar! Appreciating symmetry and repeated uniform houses, the Circus was cool to walk around. We didn’t go in any of the Roman Baths, but near the Abbey you could feel the warmth eminating out. The historic baths were used for public bathing through Roman rule, up until the 5th century CE. According to a plaque on the side of the road by the Abbey, “the sacred spring rises from the depths at a rate of 13 litres a second at a temperature of 46 degrees (celsius, of course).”

Like many parts of England, Bath’s literary connections are rich. Most notably, Mary Shelley is known to have been writing Frankenstein while living in Bath. Jane Austen lived in Bath and set a few of her novels here as well. 

Dear Tiffany, Iris, and Xanthe were such generous hosts – Mouse and Pounce relished the holiday heating and came out of the woodwork to entertain us. Card games, Christmas Crackers, and drinks by the fire once again proved to be the ultimate forms of competition and bonding. How lucky I feel for such warmth, joy, and love this holiday season.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, but London awaited us! We stayed in Kensington, so I played the fun game of ‘How many embassies can I spot and identify’¹ – see footnote for countries.

Our first big family touristy London outing was to Westminster Abbey where we attended morning prayer (less touristy!?). I understand and respect conservation efforts, but it felt wrong to scan a QR code to follow the service bulletin. 

To get to the Greenwich ferry on the Thames, we walked past Big Ben in all its glory – the clock was not as tall as I’d imagined, but the intricacy of its faces and tower body made up for the height disappointment. The Thomas-Doggett ferry ride (do not use the Uber Boats, it just seems wrong and they are messing up the Thames mud distribution – be kind to the Earth✨🌍💚) included a chipper, well-informed guide. Fun fact: Shakespeare’s Globe is the only thatched roof building left in London. Fun Fact #2: The House of Al-Thani, the ruling House of Qatar owns more land in London than King Charles.

In Greenwich I considered a career change because of how beautiful the Old Royal Naval College campus is. We visited the Royal Observatory which hosts a fascinating museum in what used to be the house for practicing astronomers. The museum walks you through the living quarters, giving a sense what life looked like back then. On the lower levels, there is a more sciency-educational set of rooms detailing communication devices over the years, the evolution of the clock/pocket watch, a wide variety of astronomy tools, and the explanation on how GMT/timezones came to be. The international conference in 1884 established the 24 world time zones based on GMT. We also managed to time our visit well enough to witness the Time Ball drop at 13:00GMT.

Additional Greenwich highlights included the Greenwich Tavern (super homey & warm; mom got some sort of fruity cocktail which had actual cotton candy on top!), The Queens House, and the National Maritime Museum.

In the Maritime museum I particularly liked learning about the Sir David Attenborough Antartica research ship and looking at the Baltic Exchange Memorial Glass. John Forsyth created these stained glass panels as a memorial to members of the Baltic Exchange who were killed in WW1.

I don’t believe that every cathedral is worth a full walk-through tour or audio tour, but St Paul’s Cathedral certainly is one that deserves everything. Christopher Wren did his big one. We circumnavigated the whole church to find the correct entrance, or, rather, took the scenic route. We picked up individual guides that come with audio and video (upgrades, people!). As much as I value and recognize how cool it is that people train to become so well-versed in a site that they can show people around, I prefered this medium for St Pauls because it allowed me to sit down, listen, and replay at my own pace. I spent a good chunk of time ogling up at the beautiful ceiling murals depicting the life of Paul. My favorite section included Paul in Athens, wherein the council (who were Pagan) summoned him to “explain his faith” as Christianity was so new/foreign at the time. The other section I liked depicted The Conversion of Gaoler at Philippi-Macedonia. Paul and Sylis are thrown into prison. They pray to God, an earthquake opens the prison doors and shakes off their shackles. The jailer (understandably) freaks out and Paul prevents the jailer from committing suicide and thus converts to Christianity.

Everyone, let’s take a moment to commend Rebecca for climbing up to the Whispering Gallery, Stone gallery, and all the way to the tippy top of the Golden Gallery (spiral staircase and everything!)

Excitingly, we hosted dear friends, Lucas and Elisa for New Years! One day alone consisted of Trafalgar Square & Christmas Markets, the Sir John Soane Museum, Buckingham Palace, Horse Guards Parade, St James’ Park (I did not know what array of fowl resided there…. I cannot believe I saw pink pelicans in a public urban park!), cozy pub lunch in Kensington, and the Winter Wonderland. In the spirit of the new year and doing things that scare us, Rebecca pushed her comfort zone and went on some flying swings; Mom almost died on a mouse-themed coaster (she won’t be doing any more rides for at least five years, but she did it!); Lucas, Elisa, Dad, Caroline, and I braved the ‘Hangover’ which is the worlds tallest transportable drop-tower (87m). I actually enjoy fast roller coasters, but the free-fall ones scare the life out of me, and I’ve avoided them for 23 years. Not only are you suspended in the air (best view of London) but also you don’t know when the drop will actually occur because you’re suspended in the air slowly rotating around. When I entered free fall, there was nothing else to do but scream involuntarily – talk about an adrenaline rush! I couldn’t walk straight for a few minutes. 

After pushing our comfort zones, we retreated home to share dinner, drinks, and BBC firework coverage (via Turkish YouTube¿). We shared cheese and meat selections from Harrods and assorted grocery goods.  We rang in the New Year only narrowly avoiding choking on hordes of grapes. 

The family couldn’t visit the UK without experiencing its beloved national pastime, good ol’ football. The first and last time Lucas and I sat in our seats was before kickoff. Turns out, our tickets were located in the mega-super-fan section. We stood a row above the drummer, a few seats away from the crowd-hype-megaphone man, and surrounded by Crystal Palace banners and flags. The chanting only ceased during halftime (beers must be replenished). Assimilation seemed mandatory because standing there in silence would have been unengaging and lazy. So, there we were, CPFC superfans for the day. 

Some CPFC cheers included:“we’re the pride of South London, South London’s number one, you know its trueeee, the red and blueeee” —- my personal favorite: “when I was a young boy my father said to me, listen up son, we’re CPFC. Here, we are, you’ll know us by our noise, the pride of South London, the famous Palace boys.” The goal song was Boom Boom Boom by the Vengaboys – a welcome vibe shift.

---

Speaking of sporting events and just in time for the Winter Olympics… I curled for the first time!  We found this silly Aperol-sponsored pop up building along the Thames, close to Borough Market. Inside, they had a full bar, seating areas, and six curling bays! It wasn’t exactly authentic because we weren’t on actual ice nor did we have the scraping-brooms, but we definitely were throwing heavy stones towards a target. All we needed were some outrageously over-the-top patterned pants!

Despite having found and taken full advantage of a bottomless cocktails dinner spot the night before, the Martin girls rallied and made it to the Tower of London right at 9am opening. We imagined what lives Queen Eleanor of Provence and Henry III lived in the 13th century,

We walked the perimeter of the site, imagined all the wild animals that lived here before being transferred to a proper zoo only about 100 years ago.. We appreciated the 11th-century Chapel of St John the Evangelist, royal armouries (horse statues, torture devices, armor over the years, and an impressive set of fancy handguns²), prison cells, moat design, ravens, and dazzling crown jewels in the basement (you view a collection of them by standing on a moving conveyor belt – I was so amazed I made my mom go twice).

When I was an early teen/maybe late single digits, my big Christmas gift was the lego Tower Bridge. I spent my spring break listening to music and happily constructing this 4,287-piece³ beauty. Naturally, I was eager to see the real thing.

***trivia – which of the following animals did NOT live at the Tower of London – polar bear, lion, ___

When my Mom studied abroad in London, she enjoyed museum-hopping. In the spirit of one of her favorite pastimes, we visited the Tate Modern and Frameless Immersive Art Experience. The Tate Modern featured Andy Warhol, Matisse, Guerrilla Girls metal figurines, and the Hyundai Commission by Máret Ánne Sara: Goavve-Geabbil. Located on the ground floor, this exhibit was an immersive work honouring the reciprocal relationship between the Sámi people, the reindeer, and the land.

I did not have expectations coming into the Frameless art experience beyond hoping that it would be cool enough that my art-appreciative madre would have a good time. The exhibit featured four different rooms with slightly different takes on the ‘immersive’ art thing. In the ‘Beyond Reality’ room, mirrors lined the floors and ceilings, while projectors displayed reconstructed animations of famous stills across the four large walls. This room setup created the illusion of infinite floors above and below you, which becomes wild with dynamic visual art paired with audio and music. This room had about 12 different artworks featured, but my favorite were The persistence of Memory (Salvador Dalí), The Tree of Life (Gustav Klimt), The Scream (Edward Munch), and Project for: As you like it (Salvador Dalí).

My other favorite of the four rooms was ‘The World Around Us’ which featured art spanning 19 centuries had a similar interpretation, minus the trippy visuals and mirrors. In this room, the paintings, similarly, were interpreted into animations that culminated into the famous stills. Additionally, the animations were choreographed to music. Art ranged from the first century, ‘Initiation rite of the cult of Dionysus,’ the fresco from the Villa of Mysteries [easter egg, I visited and saw the original in Pompeii with David back in October during our Naples trip! How full circle!!] to the 19th century with pieces like Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night,’ and ‘Almond Blossom,’ and ‘Reflections on the Thames, Westminster’ by John Atkinson Grimshaw. I also liked seeing ‘The Wanderer Above the Sea Fog’ by David Friedrich and ‘The Great Wave’ from the series of ’36 views of Mt Fuji’ by Katsushika Hokusaki.

Because ‘its just one of those things you must do’ at least once in your lifetime, Mom exposed Caroline, Rebecca, and I to our first ever high tea at Claridges. We walked through rooms of what seemed like distinguished guests. We secured a semi-private table – luck of the draw – so I wasn’t too worried about my lack of British class and manners. The dining atmosphere was exquisite. Rosé champagné, christmas pudding (yes, doused in Hennessy), mini sandwiches (I can’t say that I particularly enjoyed the flavor profules, but that also meant we didn’t devour them on the spot – W for manners!), classic Claridges tea, delectable little desserts, and the most delicious (no competition) scones I’ve ever eaten in my life. My eyes have been opened to clotted cream. Wow.

On our last evening, we spontaneously decided to see Moulin Rouge – thanks to the resale market, we grabbed decent seats! This was hands down the best production I’ve ever seen. Specifically, the combination of actors/actresses with spectacular voices, the set design/costumes being a feast for the eyes, over-the-top numbers, the plot, the lighting, and the soundtrack. I’ll be honest, I didn’t realize how contemporary the musical was, so hearing Bad Romance by Lady Gaga mixed with Toxic by Britney Spears, Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes, and Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics altered my brain chemistry. The music reverberated, practically shaking our seats. My goodness, what a show!

Other sites I’ll mention but do not have the space to elaborate on because this is getting loooooong: Churchill’s War Rooms (another self-guided tour, highly recommend one of the coolest things I experienced from the history to the building setup itself),  Sir John Soane Museum, thrift/vintage shopping (brick House, near liverpool street), family’s first Wetherspoons, The Book of Mormon, and the Stafford Hotel.

“I am so grateful” cannot begin to sum up and describe the amount of love and appreciation I have in my heart for these two weeks. I deeply cherish the time and travels with dear family and friends. Keenly aware with so much of my peer group spread across continents and jobs and education and life chapters, I recognize that extended periods of quality time with family and dear friends become harder and harder to come by and orchestrate. To those I had the pleasure and joy to spend time with over this break – for all that we saw, experienced, and shared together – thank you and I love you!!!

That’ll do Winter Break Pt 1 – that’s a wrap. On the horizon.. Winter Break Pt 2 (look forward to France and Amsterdam!)

1. Bangladesh, Paraguay, Thailand, Canada, Israel, South Africa, Kuwait, Iran, Ethiopia, Bahrain, France, Bulgaria, Uganda, Columbia, Iraq, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Dominican Republic, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Oman, Yemen, Estonia, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines  ↩︎
2. https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/05/28/firearms-in-the-tower-of-london/ ↩︎
3. https://www.lego.com/en-gb/product/tower-bridge-10214 ↩︎