English electrical outlets

Today's new lesson is one on beauty. I refrained from bringing my own hot curling iron along because I knew the electrical cord would short circuit because English circuits run on 220 volts whilst American runs on 110 volts, not to mention that the outlets themselves are very foreign.

But I did feel the need to curl my hair today, which is a REAL project because of just how much sits upon my head. :) I borrowed my friend's (English) curling iron today. I learned that irons run on gas so basically it's like a lighter (one of those long ones). You push the ignition button and turn on the curling iron and gas lights the inside of the iron which makes the iron hot and you use the curling iron like normal. It's rather clever. The bizzare-ness of this episode was when I curled my hair close to the scalp and I could here the gas hiss. Well at least I didn't blow up the curling iron and my pretty little head is still attached. :) :) :)

Blind leading the blinder

Every day is a new adventure. Today's enterprise begins with a stroll through marshy fields, damp, wet and slippery forest trails. Which then open up into more soaking wet fields and my tennis shoes are suffering from the autumn cold. This trip is a surprise--> where again are we going??? Stopping for a bit of scenery in the small village of Sulham, I think my acquaintance has just about had all he can take of "Miss Susie Sunshine", but no.

We change course from fields (thank goodness, because he has just dragged me through a pasture of cows after telling me a man was trudge upon by those very cows in this VERY field. Excellent!) to a busy road. I'm now calling this the Road of Death. Best described as a lane, English roads are very narrow; barely what I call two lanes. Now imagine a car passing you at 40 mph when the vehicle has to move over toward you because a bigger truck is coming down the other lane. Sheesh! Lanes of Death they are. I'm most certain I willna ever drive in this country. After much praying I don't yet die like a bug mushed on the windshield of passing cars, we arrive in Pangbourne. This be the tiny little village in which we stop at a chip shop then have a  look at some English cheese in another shop. Did I mention the angry cows on this journey yet??!?!? *sigh*

Part 2 of this mystery day, boarding a train to where??? Oxford. I found out only because the train was 30 minutes late and I had to look around to entertain myself somehow while waiting. 30 minutes later.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ah, here comes the train (LOVE public transport). Board towards Oxford (take a short nap after this excursion and survival of the cows-of-wrath). Did I mention at this point in the story, it's now four o'clock and I'm starving because all I've had were tea and cakes since this morning? Grrrrr.....So we feed Vawn before she gets any less pleasant (which I know is hard for y'all to comprehend..haha).

Oxford at last! All and all the train ride through the country side was a very beautiful one (even if I was starved and forced to walk 5 miles in mud- Miss Susie Sunshine again). We ate at a pub called The Crown. Nice place, lots of college kids. Well then, Oxford is known for being the best University's in the world. This town makes me miss State College and my own university days. I did get to see Christ Church and part of the  university before dark. There is plenty of architecture to see in Oxford. I walked through old cobble stone streets and past movie sets where they have done a taping of Indiana Jones 4 where Indy and Mutt ride a motorcycle through the green lawn.

Next we go to prison. Aha! Okay, okay, it WAS a prison back in the day. Today it's been remodelled into a hotel and bar. Nicely done I might add. I confess I had to sneak a peak at the guest rooms. All the doors and windows are still covered in bars and what once was a cell is now a fancy room for guests to rest their heads upon and catch a few winks. Back to the bar then out into the night. College kids are bustling up and down the streets and it's a busy Friday night. I am now dragged to a cake shop for hot cocoa (which I'm sure will blend well with the Singapore slings, I've sucked down). Then this auld lady hops and train and heads back home for bed. PS. More fun at the train station includes getting lost, getting on the wrong train and sneaking out of the train station. What??!?! Don't blame me. I was just along for the ride...

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Okay I bet your thinking of the music band, right? Well sorry to disappoint, I've got no news on the actual band. No. Just a thought for tonight on the actual vegetable chili peppers themselves. I've attempted to dice a few into a recipe for tonight's dinner. Only to suffer for the rest of the evening. Be forewarned, if using red chili peppers in a dish, be careful cutting them. My poor little finger tips are still on fire. Short of pouring bleach over my hands, I've tried everything else I could manage to rid myself of the residual hot peppers. Not to mention, that my lips are still on fire as well. But the dish itself was a success!

Til next time...

British humor

Let me begin by saying that I find most British humor very dry. But I'm afraid I've been sucked into this new British comedy (thanks to Daniel) called Miranda.

Here's a clip where Miranda battles with an automated telephone service. I find her style and comedy brilliant!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98SFgAp4ucg&feature=relmfu

Too funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rqEAX77BOI&feature=related

Valentine's Day... hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=lBn9_vIckho

Visit with the Queen

After a bus ride and two or three trains (I can't remember exactly how many); I arrive in Windsor. Touring Windsor Castle which is home to Queen Elizabeth II. No I didn't sit down and have tea with the Queen (maybe next time) but I did learn some things whilst I was there. Firstly, the castle had caught fire and was severely burned in the 1990s. Obviously now rebuilt and open to the public for touring. The castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the conqueror. I could bore you to death with more details but instead I would just recommend seeing it for yourself if you're ever in England.

The castle is composed of many buildings. The upper ward (which houses the state rooms and the Queen's doll house- a must see), middle ward ( houses the round tower)  and lower ward (where you find the magnificent St. George's Chapel). Unfortunately no photography permitted in those areas. But atlas don't forget the gardens and moats; a sight to see as well.

Changing of the guards. Are they allowed to smile? No. Not blink, not move except to march in place. You will see this on even days at Windsor Castle and on odd days in London at Buckingham Palace. Buckingham Palace was opened to the public on certain days in order to pay for the restoration of Windsor Castle since the devastating fire.

Stay and have dinner in Windsor.  Visit the Thames River and gander on the geese (haha, I like that pun). The town itself has some pretty cool history to it and great places to eat. There are some neat little side walk cafes for dining. My favorite little pub is a Wetherspoons just below the castle. But for the less adventurous there is a McDonalds as well ;-)

Til next time ~

The Queen gets mooned

Hello all,

Time to bore you all with yet another dull tale of things Vawn is learning whilst in her "homeland". Today I fancied a trip to the grocery store in order to purchase ingredients necessary to bake pumpkin roll. (since a few of my American friends have made me jealous by making one said dessert and teasing. I won't name any names. Don't worry Brianne or Matt, I won't tell them all it was you two)...

Anyone who knows me, knows that I loathe shopping. ALL sorts of shopping, but I find shopping for groceries the most vile of all shopping. So off I go to find American ingredients in a foreign store. After what seemed be an eternity of wandering about the market, I give up on pumpkin, powdered sugar and baking soda and take the long defeated walk back to the house. An idea then sparks in my head. What a moron I have been. This grocery store allows you to shop from your home online and then delivers your groceries to your door. DOH!  Why did I not think of this sooner? (Don't answer that.)

Apparently, pumpkin is not common here in England. So I never did find canned pumpkin (or as they say here, pumpkin in a tin). This idea is quite odd to the English as is baking soda. After stomping through several grocery stores (stomping refers to the way in which my friend is tagging along with me- he's thrilled to chase around baking ingredients I'm sure ** sarcasm at it's best) I located cream of tar tar and bicarbonate soda (blending the two should create baking soda...we shall see). The little old lady in the baking aisle wasn't sure what to tell me but wished me luck as I asked her what the equivalency of baking soda was to the English. Then left looking at me like I had grown a third head. I really do LOVE the English, honestly.

Oh, and I might mention this other tool they use to shop here. It's kinda like the honour system. At the front of the store you pick up a hand held scanner and scan all the items you put into your basket, buggy, shopping cart, trolley ...what ever the devil you call it; and then at the check out counter, you pay for the items on this scanner thingy. I should try it one day although, I find it much easier to just pre-order and have my groceries shipped to the door. WHAT?!?! Don't look at me like that, you do know that I send my laundry out as well...


In other news day...the Queen was mooned by a man while visiting Australia. Perhaps he was just giving her a welcome "down under" style?

PS. I never did find canned pumpkin, BUT did luck out being this time of the year, the stores are selling pumpkins to children for Halloween, so I made my mate cart two of these home and then mutilate it into mash. :P

Can a UK princess one day be a Queen

Controversy over whether or not they will pass a law for princesses to one day (succeed their brothers and) become Queen.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/law-change-let-princesses-become-queens-201512683.html

Who are we kidding??

On a lighter note, today was a lovely day for spending out in the garden. (Note: garden is what the English call a backyard).
Especially if you are hanging your laundry out to dry. Otherwise, one uses a tumbler aka dryer which is stored outside in the garage (pronounced like carriage but with a "g") or if you are from good ol' PeeeA then pronounced "Grotch!" I don't make this stuff up, really. The bins (garbage cans) are stored outside, the washing machine is in the kitchen near the sinks and dishwashers. Heaven forbid I have a real terrible day and switch my clothes for the dishes! And why oh why, does all laundry soap have to smell like fruit? blueberry & lilac, orange flower & papaya, tropical burst, etc.

Och! Well that's enough from me today. Cheers!

Dancing in the street

Off to do some shopping in Reading town square. Learned that the current exchange rate (to be blunt) SUCKS.  Today on the cobble stone Square were some male dancers. Mind you, shirtless and verra well built. YUM! but sadly doing disco to "YMCA". Although, I thought it wouldn't hurt to have a look. *grins mischievously*

Moving on. Whilst still adapting to the "foreign" policies, I've learned some new slang. I'll pass it along in case you've need of it visiting England or that I might use this later in my posts:

posh- great, chic. As in: The hotel we went to was posh.
bandaids - plasters
potato chips - crisps (if they get old or go bad...I wonder if they call them "stales" then?)

There's your thought for the day :)

Baking in the UK

Today's adventure is in baking. Today is my mate's birthday. I am going to attempt my first cake in the UK. Firstly, I've decided to get a Betty crocker premix (no sense in REALLY trying my baking skillz). Baby steps.....

So off I go in the morning down the lane. It's about a 20 minute stroll to the grocery store and England is great for walking. I pass a little cottage through a small forest and green pastures with horses roaming about. No cares in the world for these beasts (and the little cottage along the way has a black fence with a sign that actually reads "THE LITTLE COTTAGE". No lies). Ahhhh...fresh air (well there are horses about, so y'all know what kind of "fresh air" I'm selling here) but none the less, it's a beautiful day for meandering. A bicyclist whizzes by me and I'm still a bit taken aback by the queerness of road traffic. It's all so backwards to me; driving in the left lane. HA! (Let's leave off the roundabouts for another time shall we?)

Into the grocery store I go, pick up a few items for the cake and return home via (which I pronounce "VEEAH" and the Brits look at me funny and reply "VIIIIAH", so strange) the same small lane with horses cantering by. 

*Aside note: they don't keep their eggs refrigerated over here. They are neither sold in coolers nor stored in the fridge* 

So the baking attempt: I'm using a foreign oven with symbols instead of numbers. A picture of what appears to be a flame, a flame with a fan? and something that looks like waves above the flame. Here goes, I hope I don't burn the place down :/ I'm baking with ingredients in odd (metric)  measurements and temperature converted into degrees Celsius. YIKES! After eight minutes or maybe more...(i prefer to not to tell you exactly HOW long it took me to figure out how to light an English oven- for fear you might expect I'm a idiot) I've got it set to 180 degree C. Imagine my surprise when 23 minutes later the cakes are nice and fluffy. Wahoo! I'll count this one a success. I'd gloat more but the cake is now cooled and I've got frosting to do. 

(Just incase you think I make this stuff up, here's the cake box....)

Cheers!

and Wa Lah!

Tea Time

Day 7 of the European adventure....


I've drunk so much tea, I believe I'll look like a tea bag soon! 


Reads in the paper today, a nomad vessel from 1,000 AD. found off Scotland shore. Pretty excited archaeological find! Go Vikings!

Arriving in the UK FINALLY!

Hallo! 

 I am writing to let you know of my arrival in the United Kingdom. The trip was rather uneventful except for when the plane landed in London. The captain told us all to remain in our seats at the gate. The Police boarded wearing kelvar vests and went about the plane looking for someone. I won't lie, I was sweating bullets thinking about how I hadn't completed my landing card yet. But really? I'm sure I wouldn't get deported for not having filled out my customs form yet. The police did find their man and escorted him off the plane and we were all free to deplane as well. Having not slept much, I was pretty much a walking zombie by this time and had to move through customs hoping they let me stay longer with my american passport, having not yet received my british passport. The border agency is again confused when i give them my American passport because it reads United Kingdom as birthplace. Cheers! Let's clarify that lil' detail so I can be on my way then, shall we? Love the Brits. I do! Bless Andrew he is awaiting to pick me up and my 3 piece luggage and even got me cell phone to use here in the UK. So the number if you need, is posted on Facebook. 

Our first stop was for a genuine English breakfast, with tomatoes, mushrooms (Da you would've appreciated this), sausage, bacon, baked beans, eggs and hashbrowns. (PS. they don't serve OJ here..boo). Barely standing up straight, I sit down for this meal and realize I'm not even all that hungry because the flight crew woke us up at 1 am to serve us muffins and tea. (After having served us dinner at 9 pm- who's hungry now???). Appetite suppressed, we go walking about the town of Reading so Andrew can show me around. (I haven't yet checked into the house I'm staying so am still lugging around my bags). Any one know of a great massage therapist nearby? Run into a few chaps of his and I'm about spent. I've been up at this point for 26 hours??!?!?! Wandering around town without my sunglasses, because I'm in England now- who needs those? Apparently it super sunny outside. 

To the pub...for beer? Ha! If I have a brew at this point in my life I'll be on the floor drooling- so Tea it is then. Tea time anyway. apparently this can mean Happy hour as well I've learned. Finally to the house, drop off luggage, shower, beginning to feel a bit more like a human. I will say this for England, it's been warm and sunny the past two days and making it verra difficult for me to be depressed. Ha! 

I've had my first taste of fish and chips and TAS-TEE! Tonight I'm going to attempt a family pot pie recipe with english measuring cups. haha.  I've pretty much been trying to catch up on my jet lag now. Just about settled in. More later. I'm off! Ta ta!

PS. can you convert cups to liters?? Wish me luck! 

~V