Driving & My Science Experiment

So last Friday I conquered the British road system. And when I say conquered, I mean, I got pretty good, AFTER some minor adjusting...stalling while trying to maneuver a roundabout, and going up on a curb at one point (haha!) but after a little time of getting used to driving standard on the opposite side of the road while doing confusing roundabouts, I finally got it! And now I feel so comfortable driving here, it totally makes me want to get my own car. I really didn't want to give it back, especially since it was a new VW Golf, TDI. It was a sweet ride.

Well, later that night (after I got home from driving my team to a work meeting in another city) Tom and I decided to go out, because it's so rare that we actually have a car! So we headed out to this nice little restaurant in the town of Wheatley, just outside of Oxford. We headed in that direction because we heard their was an ASDA out there (like a Walmart) and we wanted to see if it was any good (kinda disappointing, not as big or stocked as a Walmart in Canada but oh well). Anyways...after our great dinner of ribs, I casually asked the waitress if I could have the rest of my meal 'wrapped up' to be taken home...totally forgetting that they don't do that in this country, they don't really get the whole idea of 'taking the rest home' and most restaurants would flat out say no and look at you like you are an idiot. But she said 'yeah sure' and so I didn't think anything of it. Then she comes back with my ribs in this pre-used big huge plastic container! It totally looked like a science experiment. It took everything I had to maintain a straight face as she went on to present me with a document, which I had to sign. It was actually a waiver saying that they were no longer legally responsible for the food! Like if I brought it home, then ate it when it was bad, I couldn't sue them. Baaaa! How come we don't have to fill out waiver's in Canada? Anyways, I signed it, and took my science experiment home to eat the next day. I will put a picture of it below, but it doesn't even capture the full extent of how strange it was!

M.I.A: The English Muffin

This is one weird thing about England...Where is this ever famous "english muffin" we use so much in Canada? It's bizarre...

Sure enough it is in the super market here (just called a 'muffin' of course) but other than the super market, I have never come across one! No one has ever offered me one, no restaurant has had it on the menu, and even their most famous traditions such as "Cream Tea" don't include it...it is a scone and jam...not an english muffin and jam. McDonald's doesn't even use them to make their egg McMuffin here! I had eggs benedict served on a bap...not an english muffin. What's a bap? you may be asking. It's like just a regular bun (I think the word bap actually refers to a whole morning sandwich, but it's served on a regular bun, I'm not sure actually, and too lazy to look it up). So yes, needless to say, I am somewhat disappointed with the english muffin presence or lack thereof in this country. After all, they are delicious.

Jousting at the Palace & Other Adventures

First of all, sorry for the blog-lacking (It's my blog, and I can make up words if I want to!). I don't know what has come over me, possibly a seasonal bout of laziness. And it's not that we haven't had blog-worthy events happen...two weeks ago we 'hired' a car and went gallivanting all over the south of England and even into Wales. Beachy Head, with the white cliffs (see pic below) was my favorite of the weekend...it even beat Stonehenge in my mind (although Tom yelling, "It's not worth it!" to poor tourists as we left Stonehenge made that stop better).

What I do want to mention is the fact that we went to watch 'Jousting' at Blenheim Palace last Saturday. Yah, that's right, jousting. Like in a Knight's tale (am pretty sure they may have even being playing the movie soundtrack). It was sweet!!! They totally dramatized it, and made it way cool...And the fact that it was held on the palace grounds (the same palace where Winston Churchill was born) was slightly amazing. To top it off, the day was beautiful, and we all had sunburns to prove it. Here's some fun pictures for you.



The white cliffs at Beachy Head...the seven peaks behind me are known as the "seven sisters".

Jousting at Blenheim Palace....


Sorry these are kind of small I know...

By far the coolest spectator of all! Actually lots of kids were dressed up!