journey's end

A long 9 hr flight into daylight and I'm home and completely sacked. The worst thing in the world is to arrive at an airport and to have no one to meet you. There should be a service where friendly strangers greet you with flowers, carry your bags, and get you safely into a cab with a cup of tea.

Wouldn't that be lovely?

So.. a quick recap..

We arrived in Heathrow and took a buzz around London in our rental car.. off to Hamstead to get a tea and make a call.

We headed for Bristol and I tried to stay awake but fell asleep in the car.. Michael almost did too so he rolled down all the windows so it was brutally cold and woke me up.

We stopped off at "the services" which is like a highway turnoff/ rest stop/ food/ gas place all rolled into one. We bought hot chocky and weird disposable scrubby toothbrush thingies from the bathroom vending machines (not the hot chocky mind you).

We rolled into Bristol and Michael tried to back up the one way hill to his sister's house not realizing the steep hill was covered in ice. He got out to look at the situation and the emergency brake wasn't one and we started to slide towards a parked car as he started to step out of the car with me yelling. Parked at a dangerous angle, Michael went to announce our arrival and situation. I found a shovel in a yard and the road side "grit" barrel and started shovelling sand on the road behind and in front of the tires. All worked out in the end with nary a dent.

We stayed with Michael's sister Victoria, Martin her husband and 2 kids: Katherine 7 and Beatrice, 3.

Bristol highlights
Vic and the kids..
SS Great Britain
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Bacon Sarnies on the docks with brown sauce
Ciders with Hannah and her sister Biddy at the Tobacco Factory.

From Bristol we headed to London and stopped at Stonehenge.. that's in another post.. it was super and I was so happy to see it. I would have also liked to see the Marc Bolan (of T Rex) tree shine but we didn't get there.

In London, we stayed with Michael's nephew Robert and girlfriend Zamira in north London. I got sick. Really sick with the flu but managed to get on with things albeit a bit achy, sniffy and sore.

Highlights of London

Seeing the places Michael grew up
The old pubs
Hampstead High Street
Harrods
Fortnum & Mason
Abbey Road
driving around, taking the tube, getting on a double decker
Oxford St, Islington, Camden, Kentish Town, Kensington
The V&A
The British Museum
The Tower of London
Walking near the London Eye- no we didn't go on it
The houses of parliament
London Cemetery and the graves of Karl Marx and Malcom McLaren
Cheese shops
missed bits: old friends Heidi and Esther

After London, we went to Forest Row- a lovely hamlet on ley lines to stay with Michael's other sister Trish and her husband Peter. Best bits were:

Walking on the nearby paths and visiting the farm with the giant pigs and cattle
Their cosy cottage and Kitsy the black cat
The great meals they cooked, comfortable beds and English countryside

We went to nearby Lewes and the on to Brighton and saw the Royal Pavilion and took Trish's daughter Lucy out for dinner.

We went back the next day and I finally met Michael's mother who made sure to tell me that when she dies, I should go to Vienna and see the opera.. which was odd.. She was very sweet though. We ate at Infinity Foods and I bought a tea towel of English Foxes and explored the Lanes.

And now it's 2:40 in the morning in the UK.. although it's 6:38 in Vancouver. I should eat and go to bed. x