Travel and United Kingdom
Before leaving for the adventure, I was honestly so excited about every aspect, including the 13 hour flight. We were flying on the A380 so I was so excited to see what all the fuss was about. As we were rushing to the gate (Phil has a tendency to be one of the last one's on the plane which totally stresses me out) I caught a glimpse of the plane and my initial thoughts were.."humm..it's not that big, it looks like a normal plane." My thoughts were quickly changed as we boarded on the upper deck and had to make our way to our seats on the lower deck. WOW!!!!!!!!!!! That plane is HUGE! I felt like I was visiting a small county..each little section of the plane a different zip code. I was all ready for some in-flight food, drinks and movies only to be disappointed by both of us passing out and sleeping for most of the flight. I guess the excitement got to us!
Before we knew it we had landed in jolly 'ole England and the adventure was about to begin.
Upon our arrival we headed to Tori - Phil's childhood friend's house where we would be visiting and resting for a few hours. I was super nervous and regretting my choice of capri pants as this was the first friend meeting. Why the ensemble regret?? My feet and ankles were so swollen I looked like I have an elephant's feet. I could hear the gossip now “Nice girl but you should see her ankles, they are huge”. We sat, had tea all the while I strategically draped my pashmina over my freak-like legs.
After a brief catch-up we grabbed our bags, and were off to have lunch with Phil's dad in the town where he grew up. Lunch was great, two bottles of rose, stories of a gruesome murder that happened in the small town and of all the celebrities that live in the area: Phil Collins, Sting..you know that piqued my interest. All was going well until about 5 minutes after Phil’s dad was wrestling with a cap on the balsamic vinegar, all the while I was talking to him, I turn to Phil who promptly wiped drops of vinegar off my face. Apparently during the “struggle” some splashed on me and I just kept talking, All Class!
After lunch, we boarded a train and headed to London central to meet up with my friend Katy and her man. It was a blast, two American girls with 2 Brits..priceless. Many, many drinks can certainly help the jetlag.
Me and Katy
The next morning, nursing a serious hang over, we were off to meet another of Phil's friends, Helen, fiancée Charlie and their little boy, Ny. Do you think he is happy to see us?
Later that afternoon, we explored the Tate Modern then boarded another train back to Tori & Matt's for the night.
Saturday was the wedding and it was really fun. They were married in a very old stone church and it was beautiful. The day was great and you will be proud, I alternated between champagne and water as to avoid any Bridget Jones’ moments.
I appear to have a wig on..bad hair day.
Matt & Tori so you can see what they look like.
All of Phil’s friends were really nice and welcoming which made me feel really comfortable. Good stuff.
Sunday morning we boarded another train and headed to Phil's mom's house for the evening. She lives in the country..seriously. As we were driving from the train station, we had to stop for donkeys, horses and cows crossing the road. It was great. Phil's brother, nephew and sister-in-law all came to visit as well so it was a full house. As soon as we dropped our bags, we changed and headed to the beach for a walk and some crabbing. Ok let me explain the outfit, as per usual on my vacations, the weather was not cooperating for walking and crabbing activities and I had not purchased my own fabulous waterproof jacket (later in the trip) so I had to borrow a jacket from Phil's mom. Not my best look but Phil had a good laugh at my expense. I am also slightly distrubed that I look like a retarded child and get a load of the dog who is not part of Phil's family.
Phil's Fam
That evening we had a wonderful dinner, great conversation and my new favorite dessert home made by Phil's mom's partner Brian, banofee pie..banana, toffee and whip cream pie. As we headed to bed Brian left the light on in the kitchen for me in case I needed anything in the middle of the night. I warned that they may find me passed out in front on the open refrigerator full of banofee pie! This day/evening was one of my favorites of the whole trip!
Next day: breakfast, train to London, lunch with my childhood friend Valeria and ALL ABOARD TRAIN TO PARIS.
Jeez, I am tired already and that is a lot of words. Sorry Jeff.
1 comment:
sounds like fun so far...although i am questionably impressed with your self restraint,you went to the kitchen for more pie didn't you?
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