Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Good news! Phil has been found!!! Somehow, he's ended up down the road at a neighbor's house. It is still a mystery as to how he got out with the hutch in good condition, but we're all just happy that he is alive and well (and hopefully has not feasted on any of said neighbor's chickens).
Yesterday turned out to be really lovely. The weather has been a balmy 70 degrees F and I spent the afternoon in the Butlers' comfortable sitting room reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. Then James and I decided to go out for dinner and we found a lovely pub/inn in Stratford called the College Arms. Apparently, it was once owned by Henry VIII. A place with a bit of history like that always piques my interest! It was gorgeous inside, with stone walls, old books, and a large hearth, which they lit with candles since the weather was so mild. ( http://www.collegearms.biz/ - should you like to take a peek for yourself!)
After dinner and dessert (strawberry ice cream with meringue and berries!) we headed over to Warwick to meet up with James' mates. That is, if the pub had actually been IN Warwick. Obviously, not everyone is gifted with a sense of direction, or at least decribing how to get to a place, so with the directions that were given to us, James and I had a bit of an adventure finding a pub that was actually in another town entirely. Not all was lost, however, as in a half hour of driving around I got to see many new English round-a-bouts and learn many new English swear words...
It was actually a really nice place, once we found it. There were probably about 12 of us all together, and we sat on picnic tables outside by a river. The three other girls there were very lovely and welcoming. It was nice to meet everyone at once and took the pressure off. They were all quite pleasant and we had a rousing conversation about the difference between American and British pronunciations. (I really haven't the faintest why we don't say the 'h' in 'herbs'!!) At one point, there were about three different conversations going on at once and it reminded me of my weekly dinner group back home, which made me smile. Anyhow, I look forward to seeing them again in the future (James' friends AND my dinner group :P).
As for tonight, I think it will be an evening at home. James became a Mexican food addict when he came to California in April, and I am enabling him by having brought some staples from home...He and I are going to attempt to cook for his family tonight. Since I knew that finding most things here would be a bit difficult, I packed some tins of refried beans, tortillas, salsa, and rice in my luggage. So far, there's just been a bit of investigating to find the English equivalent to cilantro (coriander, apparently) and a mild orange cheese (red leicester).
I'm sure there will be a story about it tomorrow! Till then, adios, mates!
- comments