Thursday, September 6, 2007

leicester

all the normal-timed buses were booked, and rhi had a train ticket (costs about double the bus) so i ended up catching the early morning (8:30 is pretty early) to leicester (pronounced lester), england, where rhi's mum jocelyn lives. i had a two hour stop in birmingham (birminim) where i walked up to 'the bull ring' which is actually a shopping mall hidden behind this bizarre facade.

i pretty much slept the entire trip, but i did manage to catch a few cows and some bright green pastures in the countryside. jocelyn picked me up and we drank earl grey and chatted about her phd (p haych d) about telling stories which are difficult to tell (she has been interviewing prisoners of war and works with child abuse victems). it was most interesting, both ma & grandma would really like her. (sidenote: she is a yoga instructer looking for a yoga school to visit after she finishes her thesis this fall, ma any suggestions in nc?) i computed while she picked up rhi and we had a delicious home cooked dinner before heading off to bed early.

the next morning we went to stamford, a georgian sandstone village known for its architectural consistancy and cream tea. we found the town also showcased very small doors, a nice little moat and a whole bunch of antique shops.

now cream tea is a bit misleading a name, as they don't even offer cream or milk for the tea, but you have clotted cream (which is an absolutly magical concotion somewhere inbetween butter and whipped cream) with fresh strawberry (strahburry) jam on warm scones.

we went all out and had a complete afternoon tea with a cake and sandwhich with their crusts cut off along with the tea and scones. it was reeeally expensive, so we split one, which was still more than enough. we walked around town and enjoyed the beautiful english day.

i haven't mentioned the weather much, but it has been just gorgeous. when they say it rains and is nasty all the time they were wrong, it's only sprinkled a wee bit twice since i've been here (knock on wood) and has been mostly sunny the whole time. i guess it's been a horrible summer - just rain and cold - and i seem to have brought the nice weather here with me and left the hot there with you.

we came home by 7 for me to make a conference call with my boss in LA, a potentional service provider in chicago and his techie in kentucky. we had a quick dinner and were off to a local pub to meet rhiannon's friends. a bunch of them are in a band who is having a mutual breakup, with one last show on saturday, but i plan to be in london then so will miss it. they were all really cool, and even humored me and had a 2am curry feast (as leicester has the best curry in the country, due to its vast numbers of 'asian' - aka indians - and since it is england's national dish, i though i must try it).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmm blogger hates me. Take more pix and don't kill your liver, that is why they talk the way they do.

Mommm said...

Please call me Mum not Ma and I definitely want to meet Rhia's Mum. She should come here for a visit and we'll hook her up with yoga schools and sad stories about abused children. I'm getting more of those every day :(

Is the tea better there? Do they use canned milk or ? Can they even make coffee? Is there an evil Star$s on every corner in UK, too? Will you be cutting your crusts and making those little sandwiches when you get home?

Anonymous said...

Hi Tiff! I just got your blog site from Aunt Molly. Very awesome! Looks like you are having a blast and I must say you are doing an awesome documentary here!

Happy Travels! Love ya!

-Sarah