Driving in England…it’s an adventure!

Picking up the car on Saturday was an adventure in itself as we took the Tube to Heathrow then hopped the shuttle to car rental office where the queue was almost out the door…Saturdays are popular pick-up days for the locals as it turns out. After chatting up the desk agent, I was able to get us upgraded to a zippy little Mercedes for 5GPB…still trying to figure out all the bells and whistles!

Di gave us two routes – a scenic route and a motorway route – we opted for the scenic route which was lovely and a bit narrow at times. A small portion of the journey was on a motorway which was actually less nerve wrecking than the small roads at first. By process of elimination, I figured out the left lane was the slow lane…I’ve been hanging out in the left lane needless to say.

We stopped off at a Welcome Break along the way for a quick bite where I called Di’s neighbor to give an update on our arrival. He was so funny when he told me to be careful on some of the scenic roads when I tried to “over take” other drivers…no worry of me over taking…though many drivers were over taking me on the small roads! We stopped on the roadside at one point and heard sheep…poor things had just been sheared. After battling the roundabouts along the way, we finally arrived at our destination!

Di and Bry have the cutest house! Their conservatory is wonderful and a favorite spot of ours. Di has done a fabulous job decorating their home…right down to the matching conservatory drapes and upper landing wallpaper. Her kitchen is quite snazzy…with the exception of the over and hob (aka stove), the other major appliances are built in and hidden. It is such a treat to have all the windows open…something we don’t get to do for long in Charleston!

After a lazy morning, we headed out to Cheltenham – the larger town nearby and area where Di and Bry work. Our mission was to find Dad some shorts as the weather is definitely warm. As I was having some challenges with Bry’s GPS, we just winged it and eventually made our way to town centre where we accomplished our mission. Later in the day, Moma and I headed into Tewkesbury to visit the Abbey…we actually arrived in the midst of Evensong…definitely want to revisit for the full service. Tewkesbury is a cute town and we look forward exploring it more.

I think we may try to make our way to Stratford-upon-Avon tomorrow. With such long days, we have so much time to explore. It is just past 10pm and there is actually still light outside!

London: Day 2

Wow...what a busy day we had!  First, it is so great the sun is up around 4ish and doesn't completely set until around 10pm...lots of time for seeing all this town has to offer!

After a tasty breakfast at the hotel (not your typical comp continental here at the K+K George London...and the best part...Nutella in little individual containers which make for a great snack on the run!), we headed to the Tower of London.  You can spend hours wandering around the different towers...and trying to find your way out!  Of course, no visit to the Tower would be complete without checking on the Crown Jewels and I'm happy to report they are safely tucked away for the Commoners to view.

Next was a brief ride along the River Thames en route to the Eye of London.  Our guide was full of typical British humor...a true treat.  With a long queue ahead of us, we popped in to a cafe for a light bite...true genius on my part if I do say so because by the time we finished lunch, our queue time to stand in line to buy the tickets and then stand in line to board the flight was less than 20 minutes.  

From a distance, the wheel looks as though it is barely moving and up close it looks a bit faster...until you try hopping on as it is in motion.  The wheel continues to spin as passengers jump off and on.  With 32 pods full of 25 passengers each @ £17.95 per passenger and the wheel making 2 full rotations an hour, British Air is definitely making a nice penny!  But it is well worth every penny as it is an unbelievable view of the city on such a clear day like today.  We have been very fortunate with the weather as it has been in the upper 70's and very sunny...who would have thought I would come to Britain and get a tan?!

A view from above...

Next stop...Churchill Cabinet War Rooms...after another pass of Big Ben and Parliament (beginning to feel like I'm on Lampoon's European Vacation).  With all the sounds on the audio tape, you get a little idea of the chaos of the time.

Fortunately on today's ride back to the hotel, we all made the same train!  Linda Lu has gotten quite accustom pushing like the Londoners do on the tube.  Small world as we ran in to some other folks staying at our hotel we met at breakfast. You know Southerners, we'll talk to anyone if we're next to them for more than a minute.

I've discovered Brits are similar to Egyptians when it comes to time/distance as we asked two officers how to get to PC World when we go off our hotel tube stop and were told it was a 15 minute walk up this road to High Street with a right on High and then we'd be right there.  After walking more than 15 minutes, I asked a man on the street where PC World was and he said "oh just about 15 minutes up this road and right on High Street and then you can't miss it".  Another 15 minutes later, same situation with another man on the street...the Brits are a very nice/friendly lot!  Finally after almost an hour, we arrived at PC World!  I began chuckling inside as it so reminded me of my trip to Egypt as no mater how far your destination, Egyptians would tell you "5 minutes".  The truly humorous part is the hour long walk took all of 10 minutes in a taxi to return to the hotel!

For dinner we popped in to a local pub and had the traditional fish n' chips (with peas).  The Brits do love their soccer as every telly was on World Cup!  I just don't get soccer...maybe after this trip, I'll understand it better.

The true adventure will begin tomorrow around high noon as that is when we'll pick up the rental car and head to the Cotswolds.  Look out Brits, Lesa will be taking the wheel!

Stay tuned for news from the Cotswolds tomorrow.

London: Day 1

Let me just say that taking the early morning flight and arriving in London in time for bed is the way to go...absolutely no jet lag!

Today was our day to get familiar with the city so we took one of the hop-on/hop-off tours with Big Bus Tours and it was fabulous...especially Andy our guide!   

The Queen Mum's Gate

I really need longer arms for these self portraits!

 The markings are from the Blitz in World War II

The Great Fire of London Monument...if you were to lie down the monument, it would hit the exact spot of where the fire of 1666.

Look kids...Big Ben...Parliament!

The tour finished up just in time for us to make Afternoon Tea at Harrod's and it was quite yummy...not to mention extremely filling...no need for dinner tonight!

Moma had her own little adventure as she ended up being the only one of us to squeeze on the tube during rush hour!  She was a total trooper and made her way to Earl's Court and waited for Daddy and I to arrive...3 trains later as they were slammed packed.

London Eye, Tower of London and Cabinet War Rooms are a few things on tomorrow's agenda.

Cheers!

We Made It!

Our flight left Charleston at 6:00 a.m. and after a 2 hour layover at Dulles, we were on our way!  Aside from a little roller coaster ride over the Atlantic about an hour into the flight, it was a good flight...only complaint, they shut off the movies 5 minutes before Invictus ended so I'm left hanging!

Ride in from the airport was short and we're all settled in for a good night's sleep so we can take on the town tomorrow!

Pip Pip Cheerio!

Let the Adventure Begin!

After months of emails and Skype calls, it is finally time for my first home exchange and I am so very excited!  My exchange partners are Dianne and Bryan Cockling and they are quite lovely.  It has been so much fun getting to know them as we planned for our exchange!

My parents will be joining me on this adventure (of course the apple doesn't fall far from the tree when it comes to being adventurous as my parents jumped out an airplane for their 50th birthdays!) and we'll be on our way tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m.!  I've arranged for a car service to greet us at Heathrow so we'll start our holiday in style.

Before we head out to the Cotswolds, we'll spend three days in London at the K+K George London in the Kensington/Chelsea area of town.  The hotel looks very cute and has received great reviews so it seems to be the perfect start for our English holiday. 

Of course I have my list of things to do and see but as always, there's lots of wiggle room for those fun and serendipitous discoveries along the way.  I'm going to try my best to post daily about all the fun things we do an discover along the way. 

Cheers!

This time in 2 weeks...

we should be checked in to our hotel, bag slightly unpacked and getting ready for bed after a Transatlantic flight.  So happy to be leaving early in the morning and arriving in London in time for English bedtime...its all about avoiding jet lag.

At some point I will start to think about packing but my usual MO will no doubt prevail and I will pack the day before we leave.  As my travel buddies know, my motto is "if it doesn't fit in a carry-on, it doesn't go".  I've proudly traveled all over the world for weeks at a time in a carry-on suitcase.  Why waste valuable time waiting at the luggage carousel?  My mom and dad will be joining me on this adventure and the adventure for them will begin with the packing as they will have to manage to fit their belongings in a carry-on!

Our tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London arrived recently and my excitement grew even more as I was so hoping we would be lucky enough to get tickets.  Just imaging being inside the Tower of London at night and hearing the door shut and lock behind you sends chill down my spine!  Hopefully the travel gods will show us favor and provide sunny days while we are in London as a flight on the London Eye is on my "to do list".

Again, if I can just stay focused for 2 more weeks!

Only 3 more weeks...

and I'll be on the other side of the big pond!

Over the next few weeks, I'll be getting my home ready for Dianne and Bryan.  One of the many good things about home exchange is suddenly the things on your "home to do list" get moved up on the priority scale.  The little things I've thought about doing are actually getting done...a very good thing!

Another fun thing is thinking about all the great things there are to do in my hometown as I get brochures and maps together for Di and Bry.  I just know they are really going to enjoy the best town in the United States (of course I'm a bit biased).

Di has been sending me so many great suggestions for things to do and places to visit...we are definitely going to have a fabulous time!  I do love cider and was thrilled to discover the area of the Cotswolds where we'll be is known for its traditional English cider!  Also looking forward to visiting Di's son and daughter-in-law's pub, Queen Adelaide.

Day trips to Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon are just a couple things on the agenda.  A weekend in Cardiff, Wales is also planned.  Apparently the big town close to the house has the cathedral where all the Harry Potter movies were filmed so maybe I'll pick up a little magic on the trip.  Of course there will be many stops for daily tea and the oh so wonderful Devon clotted cream...how divine!!

Oh what fun we will have...now if I can just stay focused on work for the next three weeks!!