First Two Days. . .Recap

Alright, time to fill you in :)

I tried to post this two nights in a row, but was having technical difficulties. So when I say "yesterday" I mean three days ago, Wednesday.

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Yesterday was delightful!! We all got some good rest that first night. I was the only one who didn't wake up at 3 and 4 in the morning...I slept through the whole night. YAY.

We spent most of the day in Huntington yesterday. After we got some money exchanged we went to one of my grandparents' favorite little cafes (pronounced "kaf" instead of "kaf-ay", here) for brunch. The restaurant is owned by a Turkish man and his family (they were so happy to see my grandparents again:) and is a very nice, quaint cafe. The British breakfast contains eggs, bacon (which looks like ham), sausage (banger), baked beans, grilled tomatoes and toast. It is very, very good. Oh and chips. Can't forget the chips! There is even a chip restaurant. "Chips" are like American fries, by the way. And American chips are "crisps."


^^^^^ This little downtown area was absolutely fantastic. I could have stayed there all day. The streets were for pedestrians only (except for a few business vehicles) and you just walk to all the little shops everywhere! It was a lot of fun! There was a market area where we got some bananas, grapes, strawberries, blueberries and avocados. There as also a "99p shop" (99 pence/99 cents) right across the street.


We are staying in Great Gidding which is waaaay out in the country. Which is amazing. <3 Makes it feel a lot like home. Except for it being actually in a town though of course. We are in the middle of a village, but to get anywhere else we go through lots of open countryside. A couple people on horses have gone by our house, and even a few big farm tractors (which REALLY made it feel like home.)



Our little home for the next few weeks :)



View from my window:


View of my window: ;)


We've seen lots of hawthorn hedge rows, which I think are brilliant. Why don't we do that in the States? It seems like a much better fencing than typical fencing. I mean...back in WW1 the tanks even had to blow them up to get through.
There also seem to be a lot of sheep out in the fields. The local farms are absolutely gorgeous. We've seen a few cottages with thatched roofs...we heard that a lot of them used to catch on fire from their chimneys. Yikes! =P


First Royal Mail post box sighting..... ;)



Ten pound (£) notes



I think the British money is beautiful! But the exchange rate stinks. x-P My hundred dollars gave me 55 pounds and 55 pence. Guess I'll be looking for cheap souvenirs...



The "pound stores" are much better than our dollar stores!! It's so cool.





Everything is so different. I love it :)




I was so tempted to get this phone case...I mean, what could be better than a British Jack case FROM England? But I'm happy with my "Lifeproof", so I didn't get it.




First Doctor Who-y sighting...dad actually pointed it out to me.
Would have been fun to purchase...but it would be almost 26 US dollars. Sorry, Doctor...couldn't justify it.



Went to a lovely little coffee shop after a while! I had a ginger muffin in honor of Aaron S.
I've never been a huge fan of ginger, but knowing that he liked it so very much I thought I'd give it a go. And I liked it! I think I could get used to the whole ginger thing.



There are charity shops on nearly every street. They are all really great! We have found lots of little things to get :) There is even a charity shop that supports an animal shelter thing! There's one for cancer, lung, heart, etc., etc. Each shop gives their proceeds to whatever charity they are supporting. I like that idea better than consignment shops.



There are spikes and netting everywhere on store signs. Again...why don't we do that more, in the States??? I'm pretty sure it would keep American birds away, too.



Went in a music shop for a little while. I WANT ALL THEIR UKULELES. Except for the pink one...I could do without that one. But the others are so lovely!!



Another Doctor Who-y sighting. Kinda laughed when I saw this.




And here is a photo of your host.
I love being a photographer!!! The opportunity to capture everything is so spectacular.
The very heavy equipment bag is a con, however...


Dad got me these yesterday, he says they are the REAL gummy ("goo-me") bears. :) The kind he grew up on in Germany! I think we've just about eaten them all.



Jammy Dodgers are my new favourite biscuit (cookie) by FAR. :))))))

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Here are a few photos from the plane and our first day here.


My lovely aunt and cousin were able to see us off at the airport :) <3 <3

(L-R: Mum, dad, Katy, Aunt T & me)


This is my "I'M SO EXCITED I'M GOING TO ENGLAND" face, and Katy's "Whyyyyy are you leaving meeeeeee" face. ;D



Small first plane....... ;-P



Oh look! The Doctor is flying! ^_^



Landed in Detroit, MI.



In the Detroit airport there was a reeeeally coooool lighted tunnel thing you walked through from one part of the airport to the other.



MUUUUCH larger second plane! :D They had little tv screen things where you could listen to music, watch movies or play games. I listened to some music for a while then watched "Thor: The Dark World", ate a diner of salad and pasta and then slept. When I woke up I had their breakfast of muffin, banana and orange juice, then watched "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" which is one of my newest favorite films :) :) :)



I'm always jealous of these guys' little mini lightsabers. ;)



Train station! Another first for me!



PIGEON. LOTS OF PIGEON.



We took the train from London to Huntingdon where we picked up a rental car and went on to Great Gidding.




I think everyone has a bicycle. I sure wish I had one to ride around here!

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We ate at an Indian restaurant, which was really, really good.

There will be better photos eventually....these are just what I've taken with my iPhone and put on instagram (follow me: @kyshutterbug!;)

Hope it's not too cold and icy where you all are! We only had a spitting (sprinkling) rain here this evening.

Cheerio!

~Emily