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England 2010: Other and Non-Chronological Thoughts

2010 September 13
by Sarah

This is the 10th and final post in my series about our trip to England. You can also read about my getting to the first destination; our first evening in the Cotswolds; seeing the English countryside by bicycle; visiting Cotswold villages and local farm animals; exploring Oxford and Blenheim Palace; our first day seeing the sights of London; seeing Soho, the Tower of London, and The Mousetrap; exploring Kew Gardens, the British Library, and the British Museum; and saying goodbye.

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Well, after my daily England blogging blitz, I needed a bit of a blog break, but now I’m back. (Could I fit any more “b” words in that sentence?)

  • During our time in England I didn’t notice a specific lack of overweight people, but upon my return the difference was striking. America has a problem with weight. Newsflash, I know. I just found the contrast startling—faced with the evidence with my own eyes.
  • The weather was perfect: highs in the mid-70s, lows in the 50s-60s. It was like a cool fall day only with the feel and smell of summer. About like the weather here in Ohio for roughly 4 days each May—after the cool rains of spring and before the scorching sun of summer. Even the cloudy days were beautiful!
  • While outside the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, we saw a little girl running around who had squeakers in her shoes. You know how some kids shoes will have lights in the heels? It was like that only with squeakers… that sounded exactly like dog toys. This being England, there were several dogs sitting nearby with their owners, several of whom were very intently watching the little girl running around! It’s hard to describe just with words, but there were quite a number of onlookers for this humorous little scene.
  • I love how all the pubs and restaurants have the menus posted outside on the wall for you to peruse before deciding to go inside.
  • While waiting for our bus that was never coming in Stow-on-the-Wold, we noticed a little terrier taking itself for a walk. The dog was carrying its own leash in its mouth, while the owner walked behind! At one point, the dog stopped to scratch itself, dropping the leash in the process, but the owner just picked up the leash, folded it back up, and handed it back to the dog.
  • They have some, well, interesting food flavors. I saw a girl on the train eating “prawn cocktail” potato chips.
  • In London, you can tell when you’re off the beaten path (i.e. out of the normal tourist areas) when you no longer see “LOOK LEFT” and “LOOK RIGHT” painted on the pavement.
  • Butterfly bushes grow everywhere, in peoples’ gardens and wild along the train tracks.
  • When discussing tea with our innkeeper in London—a self-proclaimed tea addict—he said, “Earl Grey is dishwater tea!” I wouldn’t have thought to put it quite that way, but I don’t care for it myself either.

Just a few of the five senses from our trip:

taste: tea, glorious tea, everywhere; fish and chips; treacle tart, sconces, and clotted cream; full English breakfast: poached eggs, sausages, “bacon,” baked beans, fried tomatoes and mushrooms; Digestives; Cadbury chocolate

touch: just the right amount of warmth from the sun; metal poles of the tube train; worn pages of “Rick”; messenger bag strapped tightly across my back; comfortable bed at the end of a long, full day

smell: lavender, diesel fuel, fresh air through always open windows and doors

sight: women in gladiator sandals and skinny jeans, man-pris, parachute pants, girls in dresses; crowds of Japanese tourists; ancient manuscripts and artifacts from all over the world; history at every turn

sound: rhythmic clickety-clack of the train; click of my camera shutter; English words (rather than American) spoken with fun accents—especially the little kids; extraordinary voices in harmony from ordinary people singing outside Westminster Abbey; psalms of praise sung in an ancient cathedral; baa-ing of sheep, moo-ing of cows, nay-ing of goats, whiny (and sneezing!) of horses; grinding bicycle gears; street musicians jamming in the Leicester Square tube station


9 Responses
  1. September 13, 2010

    Ooh, I like the 5-senses vacation edition. I should do that for all vacations. (Apparently I’m logged in as Kayla from my other blog, but this is Jaimie.)

  2. Megan permalink
    September 13, 2010

    Kids in China ALL have squeaky shoes. I so desperately wanted to get some before leaving there, but wasn’t able to. There’s nothing cuter in this world than a little Asian child walking around in their split pants and squeaky while walking. Precious!

    • September 13, 2010

      You know what, now that you mention it, I think this little girl was Asian!

  3. September 13, 2010

    Just lovely descriptions bringing the senses to the fore:) have you ever thought of putting your blogs into a travel book? I think British Tourist agents would love your writings.

  4. Laura permalink
    September 13, 2010

    You could have made it a “british blogging blitz.” 😉 That would have added at least one more “b.”

    • September 13, 2010

      Ha! True! I knew at least one person would take me seriously on that question. :)

  5. September 14, 2010

    awesome! :) london’s weather sounds like ours this time of year. you should come check it out. 😉

  6. May 17, 2017

    1an si 6 luni de cand am iPhone + abon 3G am depasit de vreo 2 ori 1GB de trafic inclus in abonament. Noroc ca depasirea se taxeaza cu 3.8 eur/GB taxabil la MB :)Nu fac tethering dar daca il incarc la lucru fac update de app pe 3G.Mai ascult si radio online – cam 25 MB/h :)Precizez ca e abonament &##820;Discover&28221; (18.6e) de la Cosmote atunci cand au lansat iP4 in Ro – dec 2010.In oferta actuala mi se pare cam “nasoale” cele oferite – in iarna as vrea sa prelungesc abonamentul asta si sa iau noul iP.

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