Things The English Got Right

So we have been here 6 weeks and I have done my share of complaining about the British. I must say that the longer we are here the less the culture shock and the more we are adapting to some of the differences. Over this time we have also come to appreciate some things and would like to suggest the US of A adopt some of them.

FIRST and foremost . . . I Love English/British/European public toilets ! (Not enough to want to spend too much time in them but they have got it RIGHT!) Consider the toilet stalls in US public bathrooms. All over the country it is the same. They give the illusion of privacy when it fact you are doing "your thing" for all the world to see thanks to the HUGE GAPS in the walls and doors of the stalls. I have been in some public toilets in the US where the gap between the wall and the door is large enough for a small child to squeeze through. We are supposed to be so technologically advanced that we can split an atom and yet we can't build a bathroom stall where the door and the wall actually meet? In England (and other European countries) you go into a ROOM. The door closes and you are in a private room with no spectator viewing ports. (Not that I want to watch some one peeing but there are people who stand outside your stall to wait and actually stare at the door/gap.) I like my privacy and these toilets are great for providing just that.

SECOND . . . even though I have been complaining about the grocery stores I have to give credit where credit is due. The check-out isles are double sided and there are ALWAYS many many checkouts open. All stores provide plastic bags but almost all customers bring their own bags. Part of the check out procedure is to ask how many bags you brought and you get some sort of credit for each one.

THIRD . . . I hate to admit to this one but I must confess I LOVE the round-a bouts ! OMG did I just say that ? It is true. After driving here for 6 weeks I finally GET IT! The traffic keeps flowing and when you don't know where you are going you just keep going around and around until you figure out which exit you want! So simple and no idiots coming to screeching halts and backing up because they have missed their turn. It's a great way to see the country but you do tend to get a bit dizzy by the 6th time around.

FOURTH . . . THE PARKS ! OH MY, the parks are wonderful and they are everywhere. Within walking distance to Abby's house are 3 parks with the most amazing play equipment. I guess the English are not "law suit happy" like the Americans because I cannot imagine some of the play equipment making it in the US. One park has a ZIP LINE, another has a simulation of a skate board on a rail, all sorts of climbing things, and best of all a swing that looks like a birds nest.

I guess they don't have to worry about insurance coverage because the play grounds are FUN!

Remember being a kid and having FUN on a playground? Well, the English playgrounds are plentiful and FUN! I wish I was a kid again. But even besides play grounds there are PARKS. Just lots of green, grassy open areas where people bring their lawn chairs and picnic. There are toilets and often a snack bar but little else, depending on where you are. Today after church we stopped at a restaurant across from the River Thames and then went a bit further down to river to a community park in Runnymede. (I love that name, Runnymede) The park was a huge open area, a wading pool, 2 snack bars, a play ground and a small amusement area with a bouncy house and a carousel. The rides cost a pound but entrance into the park and parking was free. There were hundreds of people there with their children and their dogs and everyone was having a good time. The river had ducks, swans and geese to feed and house boats to wave at.

It was a wonderful day and we had a grand time, especially when we ended the day with a delicious soft serve ice cream cone with a "chocolate" in it.

Which brings me to the last thing that the English got right . . . Clotted cream and tea cakes. Unfortunately I have been enjoying the English pastry and dairy products a bit too much. They may not be able to make a decent pizza or anything that resembles a bagel but they sure did get the pastry and the dairy products right.

Stupid Country

This is one really messed up place to live. K&B seem to be enjoying it but I am DONE with England. Give me the good old US of A any day.
It is 32 degrees . . . Celsius that is. To figure out the temperature we have to divide by 5, multiply by 9 and then add 32. Got that? All that to find out that it is freaking H O T and there is not an air conditioner in the entire country! (Not only do we not have air conditioning, half the windows are painted shut so you can't even open them with the hope of a breeze.) I live in South Florida, I know HOT. I love the summers in Florida when all the tourists and snow birds are gone and we have our roads, beaches and restaurants to ourselves. All of which are made bearable by AIR CONDITIONING. Yes, even the beaches are air conditioned by Mother Nature and those wonderful summer breezes. But this silly ass country goes from freezing one month to broiling the next with no comfortable heating or air conditioning to help you survive. And seeing how EVERY BODY walks here because the roads are insanely too small and congested and constantly going in freaking circles, I am dying of the heat. My feet hurt, my body has lost 300% of it's natural fluids and yet it continues to swell to ungodly proportions. My feet look like my daughter-in-law Kristen's who is 8 months pregnant. And forget sleep . . . How do you sleep when the sun doesn't set till 10PM and then is up again at 4AM ? Even the birds have bags under their eyes.
I have hit a slump and am missing home. K&B know how I feel cause they are still in the Ukraine and missing home also. I always used to tell Ger that I would never get tired of being on vacation . . . I lied.
But this too shall pass and I am offering it up to God. I am just hitting a down day and know that by tomorrow or the next day I will be feeling totally different about being away from home. It has been a fantastic opportunity to be with Abby. I keep thinking how very blessed we are to have this chance to be here with her. As her grandparent's O'Connell pointed out, we are making memories. I just would rather the memories were of the Bahamas and not hot, old England.

Glad To Be An American

I think I am living in the twilight zone. You cannot imagine how strange this country is. And we are speaking the same (not really) language. The longer we are in England the more I am missing America. YES, we are spoiled, over indulgent, living beyond our means, living in excess and always rushing around and I miss every thing about it!
Our days here are falling into a routine now that K&B are in the Ukraine. Abby went to school, came home, ate dinner and went to bed. (K&B are doing great but missing their little girl. They called tonight to say good night to Abby just before she went to bed and she ended up in tears and I think the 2 of them were close behind.)
But she is asleep now and we will continue to try to keep things as normal as possible. Not an easy task here in the UK for 2 American Senior Citizens. (Make that one senior citizen, the other one is totally oblivious of anything and everything around him.) The novelty is wearing off for me and the reality of living in an Old World country is settling in. We met a man in Salisbury who matter of factly informed us that English men HATE Americans. Well, guess what, I'm not to fond of you either old chap. This country is living about 200 years in the past. The whole country seems to have gotten stuck in another century. To start with, it is DIRTY over here. Buildings and roads are old and dirty and worn looking and to go along with that the Brits seem to think that when you have garbage the best thing to do with it is drop it where ever you are. There is litter EVERY WHERE ! Roads, side walks, yards, highways. It is one huge litter box. As I have mentioned the roads are no where near straight and direct, everything goes in circles and twists and turns.
It takes twice as long to go a mile away because you are actually traveling 3 miles because there is no direct route. But that doesn't matter because every thing else in the country takes forever. The washer and the dryer in this house are new and take about an hour and a half to complete their cycles. The washer is so small that you can wash one set of sheets and a towel at a time. Then before you can dry the clothes the dryer has to be emptied of water from its previous load. The dryer doesn't vent so it collects all the moisture from the clothes it is drying. You have to empty the tank before you do the next load or the clothes will never dry. And forget the settings on appliances, you need to be able to read Egyptian Hieroglyphics in order to set the machines. There are wiggly lines, pictures of fans, straight lines and various combinations of all. The first try at cooking dinner, washing and drying clothes and dishes I had no idea of where to begin. And speaking of signs and symbols, what ever happened to international road signs? There are road signs over here that I have never seen in my life. A round blue sign with a red ring around it and a red X through it. I take it to mean DON'T do something but I can't figure out WHAT I'm not supposed to do. This sign will appear in the middle of the block. Got me!
I think I am just missing home and all the things we take for granted, Large cars for one. Cars that you can get in and out of without pulling a muscle. Large and efficient appliances that do a great job in a short amount of time. Comfortable beds and furniture, a dozen stores to choose from when you want to shop, grocery stores that have an entire aisle filled with canned fruit or vegetables. Publix bakery! (Even though I am loving the pastry here) And what I am missing the most is talking to people who don't sound like they are bloody English. The accents are no longer entertaining and quaint. I want to have a conversation with someone who doesn't sound like they are Hugh Grant or James Bond. I am about to strangle Ger if he says "Ellooooo" one more time.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Happy Father's Day from England. Abby's daddy and mom are in the Ukraine at the moment so the day was a celebration for Abby and Grandpa. As you can see they had a great time celebrating and there was cake!
K&B left early this morning for their trip to Kiev. Abby, Grandpa and I drove them to the bus stop for a bus to the airport. I offered to drive them to the airport but they felt the bus stop was enough of a challenge for my new driving experiences. It just happened there was a Mac Donalds at the bus stop so we said our "good-byes" and went in for breakfast. It was a painless separation for both parents and child. Abby told us she was sad but then scarffed down 2 pancakes, half of Ger's sausage and a hot chocolate. After that it was home to bake banana bread and then off to mass, a stop at the play ground by church and a trip to Tesco, the grocery store. Home again for lunch, (which included some very fine banana bread with cream cheese) and a DVD for a quiet afternoon rest. Dinner was a roast chicken with stuffing AND mashed potatoes because Abby didn't know if she liked stuffing but knew she liked mashed potatoes. ((She didn't even want to try the stuffing once she saw the potatoes.) By this time we were all a little silly and once the cake came out there was no holding Grandpa and his girl.
We had a lovely day and heard from K&B to let us know they had a good trip and were
settled into their apartment for their 3 day stay in Kiev. There is another couple from the same adoption agency also staying in the "hotel" and they were all meeting up for dinner. K&B seemed pleasantly surprised at the city and their accommodations. Hopefully they will get some good information from the other couple and by their court date on Tuesday will have relaxed enough to enjoy their adventure. Wednesday they are supposed to fly to the area where Romans orphanage is and then finally get to see Roman again for the first time since January. They will be in touch with us every afternoon so we will keep you up to date on how they are doing.
As for Abby, Ger and I . . . we are doing fantastic for the first 15 hours and we are looking forward to a great 2 weeks.
Love to all you dads ! Hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did.

World Cup Fever

I don't know how things are back in the states regarding the World Cup Soccer but over here it is THE thing to talk about, read about, and watch on the telly. Tonight England is playing Algeria and this part of the world has come to a screeching halt. Ger and I went to the grocery store today to stock up on some supplies for next week. The place was a circus! Between the folk decked out in their top hats and tails buying champagne to take to the races at Astor and the common folk buying their beer and crisps to snack on while watching the World Cup tonight, there were lines of people every where. The isles were packed with people wandering and stopping suddenly in the middle of the isle. The fact that the "carriages" have the type of wheels on them that allow them to move in ANY direction, (forward, backward AND sideways!)caused Ger a great deal of trouble. He was managing to control his carriage but couldn't keep out of the way of the little old ladies who would suddenly dart out in front of him. Then to add to his nervous condition he had to get back into the car with me driving for the trip home. Under the very best conditions Ger is not a good passenger. He sucks in his breath, moans, flinches, grabs at the dash board and shouts "WATCH - WATCH - WATCH". I have yet to know exactly what I am supposed to watch but that is all he can manage to get out. Add a few round a bouts to this and the man is almost in tears by the time we get home. Today was particularly trying on Ger but we did manage to arrive home in one piece where he ran for his favorite chair in the kitchen to sit and read the paper and have a soda to calm down. Good plan except the chair leg broke and he landed on the floor.
All is well now. The rest of the day passed quietly and the nerves are settling down. The USA tied in soccer today and the English are not winning as of this posting. Tomorrow is the last day for K&B to be here so they are busy packing and spending time with Abby. Keep us all in your prayers, Please. And have a good night.

Part 2 for Today

First of all, the blog this morning was supposed to be titled, "A Night At The Races". How it came to be titled "windsor" is beyond me. I am really looking forward to getting myself a big ass desk top computer when I get home. This mini notebook is great but my big fingers and hands are always hitting something that is deleting or moving or rearranging what I am writing. There is nothing like writing a note to someone for 20 minutes and then all of a sudden it disappears.
Can you tell it was a quiet day today? I am rambling once again because I have nothing important to say.
Today we got up late, (a relative term . . .9 is late for Ger and EARLY for me), had a leisurely breakfast of crumpets and tea and then I caught up on my email and blog. It was quite chilly this morning. Jeans and jacket weather. Sun was out but it was cold. I LOVE IT ! I hear my darlings in Florida and Maryland are roasting. Kristen said it was 97 and HUMID in lovely Florida today. I DO NOT MISS THAT ! Ger and I finally got up off the couches and took a walk to the local pub where we had a nice lunch. No beer or cider for lunch today, just a tuna sandwich and a soda. Great sandwich but it was loaded with big chunks of onions. It tasted fabulous but it is killing me tonight. These English Onions are tough little buggers. Bridget called to find us and she walked down to meet us to sit and chat for a while before we all walked to Abby's school to pick her up at 3:30. I am getting to meet a lot of the moms of kids in Abby's class and they are very friendly. All are offering "play dates" for Abby when K&B are in the Ukraine.
Have I mentioned that K&B leave on Sunday to fly to Kiev where they go to court on Tuesday, June 22? Hopefully the adoption papers will be set in order and this will be the beginning of the end of the whole adoption process. After spending a couple of days in Kiev they will fly to the town where Roman is living. It is 16 hours by train to make this trip so they decided to fly. K&B will then get to see Roman and spend some time with him before they head back to the UK on July 2. (There is a 10 day waiting period before Bridget returns to the Ukraine to FINALLY bring Roman home.) Ger and I will be here in Windsor waiting with Abby who will hopefully be alive and well after being in our care for the 12 days.
A lot going on here and Abby is having some trouble with K&B leaving for the 12 days but I think we will all be fine once things get moving. Ger and I are beginning to feel comfortable with the area and are settling into a routine that makes us feel at home. (that routine does include beer)Tonight Ger. Kyle and I are sitting in front of the TV in the beautiful formal room, complete with massive fireplace that has a mirror over it that has got to be 10 feet high and 5 feet wide. It doesn't come near to touching the ceiling that is at least 30 feet high. Have I mentioned that this house is amazing? Ger is watching the World Cup and Kyle and I are working on our computers. Just a quiet night in the English country side.
Tomorrow's adventure . . . a tour of Windsor Castle ! Can't wait, maybe we'll see the Queen.

windsor

Sorry I'm late writing this but it got to be too late last night so today you will get 2 blogs to make up for it.
This is the week of the Queens Birthday and there is a lot going on in town. One of the BIG events of the week is THE ROYAL ASCOT. This is a horse racing event that starts today, Tuesday, and continues through the weekend. The Queen attends every day because she "loves her races". Ger and I did consider attending the Royal Ascot until we saw the cost of admission and the dress code. Ger did NOT bring his tails and top hat and I did not bring anything nearly fancy enough to attend such a fete. We are actually sitting here at the kitchen table watching a man and woman who are obviously going to the races. He is decked out in a waistcoat and tails and top hat and she has on her basic black dress with an EXTRAORDINARILY LARGE WHITE HAT ! It is probably more entertaining watching them than the races would be. To be honest there are places at the Royal Ascot that the common folk can go for a lesser admission fee but from what we hear the traffic and the crowds are overwhelming. So I think we will take a bye on this race and be satisfied with our own night at the races last night.
Kyle has a young man from his Atlanta office over here working for him for the week and Kyle wanted to take Jonathan to the Windsor races before Jonathan returned to the states. Ger and I were invited to join them last night and we had a great time. We chose to go with the common folk and pay 8 Pounds to stand up by the rail rather than sit in the stands for 17 pounds. (a pound is worth about $1.50) There was a building where we could buy sandwiches, (known as BAPS), sausage and chips, (french fries are chips), fish and chips, or, my personal favorite, Pastys. (Remember those little "stews" in a pastry shell?) The pasty is mostly potato with some gravy and a hint of meat but it is the actual pastry that I adore. I ordered a PAAAAASTY and the young server had no idea what I was saying. He finally said, "Oh, a Paw hsty". It's all in the pronunciation over here. WE are getting better at understanding the English English but it isn't easy.
Back to the races. Once we figured out how to bet and where the horses were actually starting from we tried our luck at the "bookies". There were about 8 different stations set up in the field, each one run by a different "betting company". Most gave the same odds but every so often one would give a different odd on a horse and people would rush over to bet with him. Races were every half hour and we had a great time. We watched about 5 races, bet on three and won on none! Jonathan won on the last race and made 11P from the 1P that he bet. It was great fun, COLD as anything standing out in the field but a fun time for all.
During the day Ger and I had walked into town for lunch at the "Windsor Trooper" and we had a great time just sitting in the pub watching the world go by. We are adventuring outside of our comfort zone in Windsor and getting to see the other parts of town beside the main shopping street. Took the bus home and relaxed for a while before our adventure at the races.
FYI Main streets in England are usually called HIGH STREET.
Another side note for all of you readers out there, I picked up a copy of THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken Follett when we were in Salisbury. I had read this book years ago and LOVED it and seeing it there in the town where the story takes place I just had to get it to read again. I started it yesterday afternoon and am so glad I bought it. It is a wonderful book that is a great read for summer vacation. It is long but never boring. Check it out if you want something great to pass the summer days.

Back in Windsor

We said good bye to Salisbry today and it was actually sad to go. We came to really like this town over the past 2 days and were feeling quite at home there. But Abby was waiting so it was time to go. I've included a few pictures from our time in Salisbury. The first is the river Avon down near the train station. It gives you a good idea of how lovely this town is. The river winds its way through the town and most views of it are as nice as the last. Then there is the Cathedral that dominates the countryside. You can see it from miles away and it is just a magnificant inside as it is from the outside. There is a reflecting pool inside the main part of the cathedral that reflects the stained glass windows in the water. (Ger got some good pictures of it but I can't download his photos onto this little computer.) Next photo should speak for itself. This is one of many shots that we took of Stonehenge. It's one of those places that either facinate you or bore you. I am facinated and so glad I got to see it in person. The last photo shows you the path through the sheep meadow and the gate we had to go thorugh to get up to Old Sarum. There really isn't much to show you of Old Sarum because it is a ruin but the path was fun.
And now we are back and into our second week in England. Our trip back to Windsor was as uneventful as the one going. The rail system is wonderful and we feel we could travel anywhere in the country.
FYI The English are pigs . . . "they litter everywhere and never pick up after themselves". This is a quote from an English couple that we met in Salisbury. The woman thought Americans were wonderful because they always clean up after themselves. And she is right! Every where you go there is litter. It is hard to find a litter basket to throw the trash into because, (according to the English lady), after the LOndon bombings they don't want trash bins on the streets because a bomb could be consealed in them. So I guess the alternative is to just throw your trash on the ground! It makes for a very messy country.
But what they lack in clean streets they make up for in pastry. I always thought France had the best pastry but I am coming to REALLY appreciate the English. I had a "pie" for lunch today. It was a flaky pastry pie shell,(tiny-about 3 inches across), with cheese and sweet potato and spinach in it and it was WONDERFUL. I have yet to try the breakfast pasty with clotted cream and jam but that in on my list. Thank heaven we are walking all over the place because between the pastry and the ale I am a Weight Watcher's nightmare.
A few more FYI'S :
Dogs can ride on the trains with their masters.
The windows here are double paned glass and you cannot hear ANYTHING through them.
You can buy wine anywhere! Drug store, grocery, gas station.
The roses are ENORMOUS and their fragrance is in the air where ever you go.

Day 8 - STONEHENGE !

This was an amazing day. I have ALWAYS had a facination for Stonehenge and today we finally got there in person. The throngs of people and the audio tape tour do take something away from the spiritual/other worldly atmospheer of the place but all in all it is quite an experience.
Ger and I had breakfast at the B&B and walked into town to get our tickets for the off and on bus tour. First stop, Stonehenge. The bus came up over a hill and there it was in the distance, just standing in the center of the open plain. At first you don't even realize what you are looking at and then you see that those are the monilithic stones arranged in that circle that you have seen a hundred times in photos. The bus dropped us off along with the hundred or so other tourists to get our hand held audio tour. At first it felt like just another stupid tour of following the fellow in front of you and pushing the on/off button of the tape player to go from station to station. I had always envisioned standing alone on the plain, walking amoung the huge stones, listening for the ghosts of who ever built this circle. But surprisingly once we got listening to the naration and walking around the circle, ( no one is permitted within the circle of stones. It is considered sacred ground and only on rare occasions are people allowed inside the stones.) we were transported in time and it was a fantastic experience. I can now cross this off my bucket list!
Jumping back on the next tour bus that came along we continued the journey through the country side to OLD SARUM. What a great surprise this turned out to be. Listed in the tour guide as where the original city of Salisbury was located it didn't give us a clue to what we would find. The tour bus dropped us off on the side of the road and the driver pointed over her shoulder with instructions to walk that way and return here for the next bus into town. Get off we did, crossed the road and walked about 100 yards to a dirt path that went off into the trees. There was a small sign pointing to OLD SARUM and a gate that said, "sheep grazing, keep dogs on their lead." We unlatched the gate and in we went along the dirt path, past the horse and sheep dog sleeping in the meadow and on up the hill to another gate leading us out of the pasture. WE were now at the bottom of a hill that turned out to be the old castle battlement on the far side of a HUGE, DEEP (but dry) moat. Long, long ago the area was settled and a castle was built on the top of this hill. There was a cathedral built next to it and the area was all protected by the hill and the moat and the battlements. Today there are some remains of the walls that you can wander through with markers and drawings showing you what they think it looked like all those hundreds of years past. IT WAS WONDERFUL ! We must have spent 2 hours wandering around. It was cold and very windy up on the hill with an over cast sky that just added to the mood. (We took tons of pictures which I promise to share a few of as soon as we get back to Windsor tomorrow.)
When we returned to the present we wandered back through the sheep meadow to catch the tour bus back into Salisbury where, after a stop at a sidewalk cafe for a soda and piece of cake, we continued to our last stop on the tour, THE SALISBURY CATHEDRAL. We caught up with a walking tour of the cathedral and wandered through with our mouthes hanging open looking at the amazing stained glass windows and HUGE beautiful ceilings. In the cathdral they have one of 5 remaining, ORIGINAL copies of the MAGNA CARTA. Now I don't know much about this document other than what our guide told us but considering it was written in the 1200's and is the basis for all the laws of the country, it was a pretty amazing thing to see.
So much for history and culture. Our adventure ended with a pint at one pub then a walk to another pub that served dinner. Lamb and a second pint and a walk home brought us back to the B&B by 6:30PM. We are done for the night and will probably be asleep by 8 tonight. I bet I dream some interesting dreams tonight. My head is spinning and it is't from the pints of ale.

Day 7 - Rail Trip

Today we road the rails from Windsor to Salisbury, England. It took 4 trains and 2 hours and it was a great trip. And why are we in Salisbury? . . . No, it is not becasue 2 of our children graduated from Salisbury University in Maryland, it is becasue it is the closest town to Stonehenge. This is someplace I have always wanted to visit so we thought we would give K&B & Abby some time to themselves and take a couple of days to tour the country side. The English train system is fantastic. We got off one train, walked across the station and caught our next train within minutes. Luck? Don't know but we didn't wait more than 10 minutes at any point. And the trains are amazing! They look new, they are clean, comfortable, have bathrooms and snack service. A person comes through the cars with a cart like on an airplane, selling sandwhiches, drinks, snacks and pastry. Amazing! I may spend the next few weeks just riding around the country eating and drinking.
Once we arrived at Salisbury Station we walked into town and wandered around trying to get our bearings. Kyle had given us a map and we did fairly well but after stopping at a pub for lunch we headed for the information bureau in the center of town to get pointed in the right direction.(NO, we did not have any beer for lunch so that isn't the reason we needed to get directions!) At the info station we met Simmon, an adorable Englishman who was so kind and helpful in setting us on the right path to the B&B where K&B had made reseervations for us. (They had made this journey with Abby a week or so before we came over so they gave us good pointers and recomended this wonderful place to stay.) After a long walk along the River Avon we arrived at the B&B, checked in, rested and then walked BACK into town. (I cannot believe the amount of walking we are doing but the blisters on my pinky toes are living proof.) We wandered through the town just looking at the people and the shops and then returned to Simmon for a recomendation for a place to eat dinner. He actually remembered us from the afternoon but didn't invite us to dinner at his house as Ger suggested. He did send us to the HAUNCH OF VENISON. A haunted pub with a restaurant on the second floor. WE did take a picture but you will have to wait for us to return to Windsor before I can down load it. The place was GREAT and the food was wonderful. Ger had lamb with yorkshire pudding and I had a venison stew. The atmosphere and the food were terribly English, in a good way. After the pint of beer and the dinner we just couldn't walk another step so we took a taxi back to the B&B where we have crashed for the night.
Tomorrow we will walk back into town to get a tour bus out to Stonehenge and go back in time some 5,000 years. I guess we will have to fill up on a big English breakfast before we leave in case we get lost in the past. Until tomorrow . . . Cherrio

Day 4 - Sunday

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh a cooler, quieter day and a lovely roast for dinner. Last night was a challenge to find a comfortable position to sleep after my flop in the street. A huge bruise on my leg and my right arm is still very sore but I think I am going to live. Ger and I slept in till 9 and then after breakfast with the family we all headed off to church. Thankfully Bridget drove us into town so we didn't have to walk in our Sunday Best. The church, St Edward the confessor, is a lovely old stone church. Not too big but beautiful stained glass windows and great stone statues. We met the priest on our way in and he immediately welcomed us to the "best,(and only)Catholic church in Windsor. He asked where we were from and at the end of the mass he welcomed all the visitors from Florida, Australia and wherever else. It really was quite nice. After church Abby and I spent the day playing while Kyle got to the gym and Bridget got to do some clothes shopping for their trip to the Ukraine on the
20th of this month to get the final paperwork done for the adoption of Roman. Abby tired me out playing princess and queen, (I am the queen because "Queens have wrinkles on their faces, princesses do not"), so that when Kyle came back from the gym I took a nap and left Abby in charge of daddy and grandpa. I needed a hour to just crash and have some uncrowded sleep. (Have I mentioned that Ger and I are sharing a DOUBLE bed? It is tight quarters but we have been so tired that it hasn't mattered.) Princess Abby woke me after a much appreciated hour and we all had a lovely roast chicken for dinner. Dessert tonight was a, ("A" as in ONE), cookie. The cookies are a bit strange, a round cracker like thing with chocolate coating on one side. They are called,. . . (are you ready for this?). . . DIGESTIVES ! Now how appealing is that? They don't taste bad but what a name!
Our First Sunday in England was lovely and quite enjoyable. It was a little cloudy today and quite a bit cooler, thank goodness. I could have stayed in Florida for hot and humid. Tomorrow Kyle leaves for Germany for 3 days, Abby returns to school after her week off and Ger and I may attempt a bus trip into town to check it out on our own. If there is no posting tomorrow night you will know we are lost somewhere in the wilds of Windsor, riding a bus never to be heard from again. Maybe we'll meet the queen.

Day 3 - London and a Fall

Another HOT day here. Who told me to pack warm clothes? We were all up early today, Abby at 6:30, me at 6:45. We're going to take a train into London so I don't want to miss a thing. Kyle drove us into town (no mile and a half walk today. Got to save our strength for walking in London ). We still had to walk about 1/4 mile to the train station but that was O.K. Abby is a trooper . . . she plods along doing a pretty good job of keeping up. An hour later our train arrived in Waterloo station, London. Great ride through the lovely country side and into the station that looks exactly like something out of Harry Potter. Huge glass ceiling and wide open area with hundreds of people rushing through. We walked out of the station, across the street and found ourselves at the base of the London Eye. It is a Huge, Gigantic ferris wheel on the banks of the Thames. Great, glass capsules holding 25 people at a time, slowly rotate up and over the top giving you fantastic views of London, the river, Big Ben, Westminster Abby and Buckingham Palace. We got to see the changing of the guard from way up in the air. What a show. We then walked along the river enjoying all the street performers. Abby got to make a HUGE bubble with the "Bubble Man" and stood in awe watching some acrobats contort themselves into unbelievable shapes. After a nice lunch we took a boat tour on the Thames down to Tower Bridge and back. We learned a few things about the buildings along the river but really have a very difficult time understanding these Englishmen. They don't seem to be able to pronounce the letters "TH" as we do. Rather they pronounce it as an "F" sound. As in,"I frew the ball". But it was a fun ride anyway. We took the train back to Windsor and went to a local pub for dinner. This is where the trouble started. Kyle introduced me to CIDER. WE know cider as the juice from apples. Not in England. Cider is a type of beer, light and fruity and absolutely delicious. (and apparently rather potent). I had 2 pints with dinner and it was quite fine. After dinner Bridget, Abby and I started walking home while the boys paid the bill. Almost home I turned to see where Abby was and fell over my own two feet. I WAS NOT GRACEFUL ! Landed on my right shoulder, cut my arm and my hand and thought I was fine. A half hour later Kyle was taking me to the ER at a local hospital along with Ger. Bottom line, x ray showed no fracture or dislocation but my shoulder is sore. I will be attending mass tomorrow in a sling.
So much for a great day in London.

Day Two

My computer is giving me a hard time so I hope I can get this written without too much cursing.
Day two has been HOT and quiet. How come I packed all those long sleeves when it is near 80 degrees outside? As warm as it was yesterday it is hotter today, but at least we stayed home today. Abby was her usual early bird and up before 6 AM ! This is NO grandchild of mine. Ger and I rolled out at around 9 and once we were able to stand we felt fine. Yesterdays walking did take a bit out of us but we are managing to keep standing. Abby and I spent the entire morning playing "Baby Bird", a favorite pretend game of hers. I am the momma bird and she is my baby. We make a nest of pillows and fight off attacking raccoons and buzzards. This house is perfect for pretending. There are nooks and crannies to hide in and stairs to climb. The gargoyle outside the bedroom window makes a great evil buzzard to hide from.
After lunch we were going to all walk to the "pirate" park but Abby decided she needed a rest. I do think all the walking yesterday tired her out. After all, it almost killed us. Abby and Bridget returned home for a rest and Ger and I set out to check out the neighborhood. The "castle" sits on a huge piece of property with beautiful lawns and giant oak trees surrounding it. There is a large new apartment complex built off to the side and back that you don't even realize is there. To the front of the "castle" there is a car park with an avenue of cone shaped trees in the center. Following the road out of the car park you walk past a school for girls and out onto the main road. Once out there we turned right and followed the sidewalk to the next intersection where we found a few shops. And after that . . . we got lost. Don't ask how . . . we just did! We finally found our way "home" and crashed on the couches in the big, beautiful living room. And here we will stay till Abby wakes up. No more adventures for today. WE need to save up our strength for a trip into London tomorrow.
FYI . . . EVERYTHING in this country is backwards. Not only do they drive on the "wrong" side of the road, the light switches are upside down. To turn the light ON you have to push the switch down, not up. There are NO screens on the windows! You just open the window and hope nothing flies in. The telephones ring funny . . . a very high pitched British "bringggggggggggg". Just weird stuff! OH, and in our guest bathroom we have a bidet in front of the mirror. The sink is across the room by the window so if Ger wants to shave he has to wet the razor in the sink and then turn around and cross the room to see what he is doing. I suppose he could use the bidet to shave in but that seems a bit gross. It's all very strange and quite different!
But we are glad to be here and enjoying our adventure so far. See you tomorrow !