Greetings from the sunny Midlands. This is actually true, the sun is shining and it's relatively warm here. And by warm, I mean +5! Tropical, even.
Past few days here have been great. After arriving in London Friday morning, we met up with my mate Hayden for an afternoon of mussels and wandering through shops in Covent Garden. Then it was off to the English seaside for a weekend in Brighton! My sister's childhood friend Jen and her boyfriend Timo live in Brighton, and were very kind to invite us to stay with them. The city was quite stunning over all, particularly Hove, which is the area where they live. The street on which they live was amazing: lined with 19th century whitestone mansions, which were all built continously onto one another, and at the end of it (about 2 minutes downhill) the ocean!
We were fortunate to have mild enough weather for strolling along the waterfront on Saturday. I particularly enjoyed the collapsed Victorian West pier, which is quite surreal juxtaposed against the modern pier with all its kitschy attractions. We also went to a great vegetarian cafe for dinner. And right before we left Sunday morning, Jen and Timo cooked up a proper full English breakfast, which came close to making my stomach explode, though in a rather enjoyable manner.
N.B.: Congratulations are in order to Jen, for receiving funding to host a Sociology conference with her colleagues next fall!
Continuing from Brighton, we travelled up to London where we met up with one of Edd's family friends, Pam. We had a lovely meal with her, although all either Edd or I could manage after that massive breakfast was a salad each. We hopped on another train and arrived in the Midlands around supper time Sunday night. So here I am. I met all of Edd's roomates and went 'round to the local pub for surprisingly tasty food (not to mention 2 for 1!).
(If you're still reading this, then good on you!)
Yesterday was Valentine's Day and what a day indeed. The first portion of the day was spent in Edd's computer science lectures, which I struggled not to fall asleep in out of respect for the lecturers. I got a tour of Warwick uni campus and saw the over-hyped cone. We also went shopping along the Parade here in Leamington Spamington, which included my first ever trip to Tescoes. Grocery prices seems to be about par or slightly cheaper in some ways to Canadian prices which was a pleasant surprise.
We had a late dinner at a very charming restaurant in Stratford-upon-Avon which is normally about a 15-minute drive from here, or 45-minutes via Mike's car. We had a wonderful 5-course meal at Lambs, which is located in a Tudor home alleged to have been owned by Shakespeare at some point during his life. All in all, a much more romantic day than last year's which I can't even remember, less the roses I received.
So now you've all been caught up, day for day. Today's plans are yet to be figured out, but it seems a little veggie lasagna may be in order for tonight, perhaps followed by a little hilarious hijinxs? Only time will tell.
Past few days here have been great. After arriving in London Friday morning, we met up with my mate Hayden for an afternoon of mussels and wandering through shops in Covent Garden. Then it was off to the English seaside for a weekend in Brighton! My sister's childhood friend Jen and her boyfriend Timo live in Brighton, and were very kind to invite us to stay with them. The city was quite stunning over all, particularly Hove, which is the area where they live. The street on which they live was amazing: lined with 19th century whitestone mansions, which were all built continously onto one another, and at the end of it (about 2 minutes downhill) the ocean!
We were fortunate to have mild enough weather for strolling along the waterfront on Saturday. I particularly enjoyed the collapsed Victorian West pier, which is quite surreal juxtaposed against the modern pier with all its kitschy attractions. We also went to a great vegetarian cafe for dinner. And right before we left Sunday morning, Jen and Timo cooked up a proper full English breakfast, which came close to making my stomach explode, though in a rather enjoyable manner.
N.B.: Congratulations are in order to Jen, for receiving funding to host a Sociology conference with her colleagues next fall!
Continuing from Brighton, we travelled up to London where we met up with one of Edd's family friends, Pam. We had a lovely meal with her, although all either Edd or I could manage after that massive breakfast was a salad each. We hopped on another train and arrived in the Midlands around supper time Sunday night. So here I am. I met all of Edd's roomates and went 'round to the local pub for surprisingly tasty food (not to mention 2 for 1!).
(If you're still reading this, then good on you!)
Yesterday was Valentine's Day and what a day indeed. The first portion of the day was spent in Edd's computer science lectures, which I struggled not to fall asleep in out of respect for the lecturers. I got a tour of Warwick uni campus and saw the over-hyped cone. We also went shopping along the Parade here in Leamington Spamington, which included my first ever trip to Tescoes. Grocery prices seems to be about par or slightly cheaper in some ways to Canadian prices which was a pleasant surprise.
We had a late dinner at a very charming restaurant in Stratford-upon-Avon which is normally about a 15-minute drive from here, or 45-minutes via Mike's car. We had a wonderful 5-course meal at Lambs, which is located in a Tudor home alleged to have been owned by Shakespeare at some point during his life. All in all, a much more romantic day than last year's which I can't even remember, less the roses I received.
So now you've all been caught up, day for day. Today's plans are yet to be figured out, but it seems a little veggie lasagna may be in order for tonight, perhaps followed by a little hilarious hijinxs? Only time will tell.
3 comments:
I would like for you and Ed to meet me at Rover's Return in Weatherfield.
It's a lovely establishment.
Pints are on me.
Cheers
-Ango
I made it! I made it to the end! Come home soon! Canada is all covered in muck and we need you to hose it off.
:P
Glad you're having fun enjoying the famous English hospitallity!
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