a bit more

have been wanting to squeeze some time in to blog for the last few days, and it just hasn't been working! there have been so many other things to catch up on. but here's a list i compiled while i was on my trip...things i dislike about the UK and things i adore about the UK

first, to get the nasties out of the way, things i dislike:
1.narrow roads. the small, winding roads of northern england were always remembered with charming humor rather than the sheer terror we all felt driving them on our trip. these people think that the word "shoulder" is limited to the thing that connects your arm to your body. rather than a shoulder, there are stone fences along the road, making it very hard to decide whether you'd rather run into a wall of rocks, or the oncoming very large truck. we had many close calls, and 4 letter words were uttered, but thankfully, we and our rental car survived in one piece.

2.plumbing. i have never understood the reasoning behind having 2 separate faucets running into the sink; one for hot water and one for cold. i believe that the expectation is to put the plug in the sink and fill it just to wash one's hands, otherwise you'll certainly burn or freeze them. um, hello we're north american people here and have NO patience for such things! the toilets are a whole 'nother story all together. some don't have a normal flusher...you have to pull a string connected to a tall tank in order to make it flush. most of our's had a normal flusher, but when it takes more than one flush to get all of the pee down...well, you can just imagine where i'm going with that.

3. face cloths. they don't exist. hand towels is the smallest they get. i wonder, how do they rub the grime off of their face with just their hands? thankfully, we knew this beforehand and brought our own.

4. lack of street signs. in larger towns, you'll find the street signs plastered to the sides of buildings rather than on a sign post. in smaller towns, or in the country, they just don't care to name the streets. so, when we're following directions to turn left at the post office, then turn right three streets after the stags head inn, followed by an immediate left into the roundabout, where we take the second street off the roundabout...how the HECK are we supposed to find our way back?? we had to turn around a whole lot.

5. no top sheets on the beds.

6. their plug in's. of course we had an adaptor, but even with that, my mother in law's hairdryer started smoking and died, and my father in law's battery recharger literally blew up in his hand! also, you have to turn a little switch next to the outlet to cause that plug in to work, and to turn the dishwasher on, you had to flick a switch on the wall!

7. ordering coffee and getting instant coffee.

8.british television. although we did enjoy a few of their quiz shows, plus our friend paul chennery was on the weakest link and we got to laugh our heads off at him getting voted off.

alright, now the things i adore about the uk:
1.the green. i had forgotten how many shades of green exist in the hillsides.

2. chocolate! all of the cadbury chocolate bars anyone could dream up. in the london airport, there was actually a store called "chocolate"..i nearly died and went to heaven. we loaded up on gigantic toblerone bars and tons of crunchies (the kind with the honeycomb in the middle)

3. little baby lambs running around the hills

4.they sure do know how to make a great cup of tea

5. the way they talk. the Scots have such a lilt to their voice. even if what they're saying is completely boring, i found myself listening, fascinated by the way they say words.

6.loads and loads and loads of gorgeous spring flowers, especially in england!

7. Full English Breakfasts. yum! beans on fried toast may sound odd, but it's so good. i also did taste the blood pudding. not so good.

8. the people. we found nearly everyone we encountered so friendly when we took the time to chat with them. their attitudes were never too overbearing, nor too meek. they never act as if they have to prove anything to the world; their patriotism is quiet, yet fiercely loyal.

more pictures to come, perhaps just in drips and drops...