Rewind...Wedding Eve
We landed...literally...at Zoe's parent's house about an hour ago. Thanks for all of the comments so far, they have been hilarious. Zoe's Mum & Dad have been reading the Blog as well and are up to speed on what we have been doing.
Outside of my text messages, I have been internet less. I guess that tends to happen when you are staying in a 300 year old manor house in the English countryside. To keep everyone up to speed, I will rewind to Wedding Eve...
As I previously posted, I stayed at James' house with Keith for wedding eve. That eveningexemplifiedd how nice it is to have an "untouristy" vacation. We talked about politics, health care, beer and their past friendship together. James is theconsummatee chef and literally threw together a dinner. It was fabulous. James & Keith have known each other for over 20 years and their vast history together shows with their exchanges. James seems to have not onlytraveledd, but lived all over of the world. As I have been lamenting the last couple days, there is no difference between the great people I have met here and our friends back home. Aside from accents, currency and geography, we are all basically the same.
After dinner we went to The Hospital Arms where I met Gavin and Steve. Keith pointed out to the group that I was a member of CAMRA. Apparently, James' grandfather was a founding member! From that point on, they began to introduce me as the only American member of CAMRA. Not true, but quite funny.Apparently my love of English Beer was a surprise and to be a member of CAMRA and even bigger disbelief.
The biggest uproar of the eveningoccurredd when it was found that I have not eaten a proper curry dinner. Curry, an Indian dish, is replacing Fish & Chips as thequintessentiall British meal. According to the guys, Colchester is the place to have Curry and plans must beimmediatelyy made to return and make that possible on our next trip.
It was truly a memorable evening that I will not forget. I also scored some beer mats, coasters and post cards. Thanks Keith!
Outside of my text messages, I have been internet less. I guess that tends to happen when you are staying in a 300 year old manor house in the English countryside. To keep everyone up to speed, I will rewind to Wedding Eve...
As I previously posted, I stayed at James' house with Keith for wedding eve. That eveningexemplifiedd how nice it is to have an "untouristy" vacation. We talked about politics, health care, beer and their past friendship together. James is theconsummatee chef and literally threw together a dinner. It was fabulous. James & Keith have known each other for over 20 years and their vast history together shows with their exchanges. James seems to have not onlytraveledd, but lived all over of the world. As I have been lamenting the last couple days, there is no difference between the great people I have met here and our friends back home. Aside from accents, currency and geography, we are all basically the same.
After dinner we went to The Hospital Arms where I met Gavin and Steve. Keith pointed out to the group that I was a member of CAMRA. Apparently, James' grandfather was a founding member! From that point on, they began to introduce me as the only American member of CAMRA. Not true, but quite funny.Apparently my love of English Beer was a surprise and to be a member of CAMRA and even bigger disbelief.
The biggest uproar of the eveningoccurredd when it was found that I have not eaten a proper curry dinner. Curry, an Indian dish, is replacing Fish & Chips as thequintessentiall British meal. According to the guys, Colchester is the place to have Curry and plans must beimmediatelyy made to return and make that possible on our next trip.
It was truly a memorable evening that I will not forget. I also scored some beer mats, coasters and post cards. Thanks Keith!
Mike Lang