Thursday, August 25, 2005

Things I Learned in England

We are back from our 3 week vacation in England and Scotland. The first two weeks we did England’s Coast to Coast Walk from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. The term “walk” is a misnomer. It is a challenging and strenuous hike. We did 10 to 20 miles a day, for 14 days with no breaks. The mountains, crags and fells in the Lake District were amazing. The countryside in the Yorkshire Dales and Moors was beautiful.
Our third week was spent at the Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival. It claims to be the world’s largest performing arts festival. In 6.5 days we saw 25 productions.
This was only my second trip to England. E and I went to London 2 years ago and saw 8 shows in a week.

I am still learning about all thing English.

  • Look RIGHT when crossing the street.

  • When ordering a sandwich, a pickle is not the same thing as a gherkin. I learned to love Branston Pickle.

  • Pudding is not the same glop the Bill Crosby sells. Instead they are sweet cakes called: Spotted Dick, Jam Roly Poly, Bread and Butter Pudding, Syrup Sponge, and Sticky Toffee Pudding.

  • For breakfast, I like “normal coffee” not “regular” and “brown toast” not “wheat toast”.

  • Beer…mmmmmmm. We drank lots of it, trying every different draft we came across.

  • The English can’t plumb a decent shower or flushable toilet, but the heated towel racks are awesome.
  • Learned to love accommodations labled "ensuite".

  • The English also don’t believe in building trails with switchbacks. One goes straight up the mountain and straight down the other side.

  • The exchange rate for dollars to pounds sucks. There are no shopping bargains. One dollar equals about .55 pounds.

6 comments:

soul said...

the English?
ahhh do you mean the British? or are you really referring to the english tribe?.

wonder if you got the chance to try a nice cuppa (tea).
I'm surprised the unpredictability of the weather didn't make your list

Will said...

Welcome back! Never forget what Shaw said: England and the U.S. are two nations separated by a common language. Glad you had fun.

Wilde said...

Ah, spotted dick. There's something you don't forget. That, and toad in the hole. Or bangers and mash. The British must have had fun makin' those up!

douganderson.blogspot.com

Will said...

To say nothing of that old English standby, bubble and squeak.

GuyDads said...

The hardest thing about eating British cuisine is that we don't eat pork or beef and try to avoid deep fried food. Doesn't leave a lot of choices at the pub.

Wenchy said...

I would love to visit Scotland.

Come and visit South Africa... with the exchange rate you will be shopping till ya drop.

Your trip sounds so nice.

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