Guest Post: JoAnn's Trip Diary

JoAnn here. I just got back from my visit to England and I thought I could write about a few of my memories before I forgot them. I had such a great time seeing Frankie, Matt, and Tiff that I want everyone to try to make the trip. It is really a great way to experience real English living. So, here are some of my thoughts on my experience.


Travel - Jet lag is not that big of a deal if you have trouble sleeping anyway. Pay attention to the signs in the airports and give yourself plenty of time to process the information. Bring plenty of your own technology for entertainment (plugging into an ipod and reading the e-reader can be a good way to block out plane noises). Don't be too proud to ask questions and don't take their response personally if they bark back because this is the twentieth time they have answered that question in the last ten minutes. Last, take advantage of your old age, it can serve you well. People don't really hurt old people.

Bed & breakfasts - I have always hated the idea of a bed & breakfast because they seem to lack privacy and the idea of sleeping in some stranger's house is horrifying. However, the one Tiff found in Bath was amazing. I can't wait to go back. I would also say that you should not try to crowd together as a family. Get your own room so everyone can have some down time. Try not to break anything. I accidently broke and antique lamp and it was humiliating.

Food - Get someone else in your party to order the unusual items so you can taste it. Then you order the vegetarian type items for yourself because they are less risky. I am a very fussy eater and have some taste issues but I wanted to say I tried everything I could. Here is my list of favorites and "don't need to eat that ever again" foods:

Drinks - I liked, but didn't love the fiery ginger beer. The cider was good but not as sweet as our ciders. Bitter beer was like warm, flat beer but definitely worth ordering. English tea with sugar and milk can be very relaxing at the end of the day especially if it is served to you on a silver tea tray with brownies and in a beautiful sun room. Instant coffee has definitely been improved. Seriously, it was great.


Meats & sides - My first issue is the term pudding. Now really, why is everything called a pudding? Black pudding is really a sausage and it is as bad as it sounds. Sticky toffee pudding is really sponge cake with a wonderful toffee flavored sauce on it and it is delicious. Pigeon and pork cheek are in the same category as black pudding. It sounds terrible and it is terrible. Rocket is TERRIBLE, too. They're crazy to eat that on sandwiches. Parsnip soup and mushy peas were pretty good but the soup was spicy and the peas just needed salt. Roasted chicken flavored chips were just odd but Frankie liked them. Finally, there is Marmite. It really gets the prize for awful! I do not understand eating leftover yeast on toast. I don't care how many vitamins it has.


Bath & Whitehaven - I loved the double decker bus tour of Bath. We walked around both towns and Frankie was amazing. She never complained and could literally walk for miles. For that matter, Matt was a really good sport, too. Both towns were very British and unique. The big guys walking around town with white bath robes in Bath was a little strange until Tiff told me it was a sports team thing. I thought they were visiting business men looking for the bath house. Exploring the Roman baths and the Fashion museum was really fun. It was great watching Frankie listening to the audio players with that serious look on her face. Talking to a few local people was also great. I only understood about 90% of what they said but the people were really nice and helpful. But then again, I never really met Ken.


Restaurants - Matt and Tiff really did well finding places to go. The pubs were really great local restaurants for beer and fish 'n chips. They are exactly like you think you think they will be, old and casual. I am already looking forward to the pub in Maryport when we come back in July. Matt and Tiff think they have the best fish and chips. Jamie Oliver's in Bath was my favorite modern style restaurant. It was really a good place to take Frankie. There was a hotel restaurant in Whitehaven that Matt took us to that was great. It was on a very narrow, partly cobble stone street that would be considered an alley in the US. They took your order in the lounge and then led you downstairs to the dining room when it was ready. Very impressive women's restroom. Matt had a few other restaurant ideas for Easter dinner that I wanted to go to the next time but, we all needed a quiet day at home.

My final comment is about the litter problem. The UK really has to make a major effort to get this under control. This is a really beautiful country and they have gone backwards in that area.



This entry for the blog is really just for me to remember my very special trip to the UK. I had such a wonderful time and really felt like I got a good look into British life in a short amount of time thanks to Matt, Tiffany, and my very special Frankie. Thanks to all of you. Love, Grandma Jo