Que to the Right....

We made it to England, after our ten hour flight from LA. With two, movie, two meals, two snacks, and too many trips to the bathroom. Arriving in the UK it was chilly but sunny and reminded me of my weather back in the bay. As soon as we exited the plane and entered the airport the ethnic and cultural diversity was apparent; we were definitely on the other side of the world. The British accents are delightful and no matter what they seem to be say it sounds utterly charming and poetic.

The rental car story is not as poetic or charming, in fact, it reminded me more of the Shakespearean tragedy, mi8nus the massive slaughtering and deception. Let's just say driving on the left side of the road, without a GPS, that is to say without knowing where in the hell we are or were in the hell we are going, had the key ingredients for an outlandish comic road movie. My poor mother, my poor poor mother had to face the English streets with my dad next to her, no clue where to go, me freaking out in the back, and Nick being the constant supportive cheerleader, "Good Job Heather," he would cheer as my dad had a stroke and I laid lifeless in the back due to the zooming oncoming traffic. But if you know my mother, then you know we made it. With too many detours, wrong turns, wrong ways, and only one significant ding we made it to our destination.

First we stropped at Avebury, a quaint village that houses a larger less visited rendition of Stonehedge. It was surrounded with the English countryside, which is all its cracked up to be; Green, pastoral, and idyllic. Rolling hills of green waving grass, everything that any English novel or film has ever portrayed it.

We drove through the town of Bath and the old architecture and wonderous charm was captivating. And finally we got to Harptree Court where Linda and Jr. her son greeted us with lovely English smiles and service. The estate and mansion was built in 1797 upon acres of luscious green lawns, with several large gardens, many ponds, and of course English sheep. The house is regal and has a homey elegance that makes us feel right at home.

We couldn't complete our first day in England without a trip to the pub so we fought off jet lag and (reluctantly) drove to the King's Arm's pub 1 mile away from Harptree Court. The pub was unbelievable cozy and the English Ale Fresco and rarebit did us well.

Sleep came quick and morning came even quicker, but luckily Linda provided us with a fantastic spread of English breakfast that should sustain us until our beers tonight. I hate to already be leaving this heavenly place, but more adventures awaits. Until next time....