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.