Wanna come with me?
None of the boys did. The TV was on! Friends! Two and a Half Men! South Park!
Oy.
So I happily went by myself. Gave me a chance to pray.
The clouds looked like they wanted to do something significant:
This (above) is the view out of our driveway. Yes. Cobblestone streets.
Almost all new (ish) homes are made of brick. This whole cul-de-sac area has identical homes.
Some have ivy growing on them.
Either they have lots of flowers or no flowers. Nothing half-way.
This (above) is the corner house. I drive past it at least 6 - 8 times a day.
The neighbourhood that we live in is called Cubbington. Adorable.
Just across the street and down the hill on the right:
And on the left? A very full cemetery. (Clint and I will go back on another stormy night to take HDR pics.)
Remember how I was talking (whining) about narrow streets? Well, here's an example. Imagine I'm driving. On the left side of the road.
Like I'm supposed to.
And there? RIGHT THERE in MY lane is a parked car, FACING me.
(This happens over and over again.)
My almost-50-year-old brain that has been driving on the other side of the road for 34 years, swerves to the other lane and has a slight adreneline rush pumping through her veins ...
Except I'm not supposed to be in the right lane because on-coming traffic is in that lane:
And there isn't room for all of us.
It seems that cars just park wherever they stop moving.
And those of us in vehicles that are in forward motion just weave in and out of them. And after the weaving it's important to get back into your correct lane or else your passengers will make loud suggestions from the backseat.
And regarding the parking? You can switch lanes and park on the other side of the street, facing whatever direction you want:
Very uncivilized.
Not good form a t'all.
OK.
'nuff of that.
(Let's just say, I'll be thrilled when John and Rick get here and take over the driving.)
At the bottom of the hill, is the local church:
And the church grounds:
More grave sites. LOOK how close together they are. Do they bury (plant) them standing up? They're only a few inches apart.
And at the end of the road, this lovely home:
LOOK how close this house's front door is to the road:
(Like, 2 steps from the bottom step to the curb.)
I'm still on my walk and it's getting a bit dark, but I haven't found the "village" centre yet...
Did see this old courtyard though:
And then I walked up another hill (and yes that pinched nerve was not happy with me. Shooting pains in every direction to get me to stop, but who wants to sit inside and watch TV in England? Well, besides the morons I'm travelling with ...)
:)
One more shot of the narrow streets.
Those cars are PARKED.
All the roads, ALL THE ROADS are curvy and windy and perfect for a motorcycle, but a VAN?
These roads were not designed for VANS.
Oh, just before it gets completely dark, I have one more pic. Something interesting...
They put up one power pole and all the lines go to the houses in every direction.
No underground wiring on most of these streets. And overhead wires fanning out in every direction:
By now it's past 9 pm and too dark to take pics, so I found my way back to MY hill and noted the lovely pub at the bottom of it: Kings Head. Looks like a warm, family friendly, flower-filled establishment. I decide to take the kids to supper there tomorrow.
Just as I get to the top of the hill, I see Clint walking on the other side of the road.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Where're you goin?"
"For a walk."
"Now? Why didncha come with me an hour ago?"
"Actually I was coming looking for you."
"Worried?"
"Not really."
"I found a place to have supper tomorrow night. A great pub at the bottom of the street."
"Let's go look. OK? Is that cool?"
"Back down the hill?"
"Yeah."
"OK. But you have to carry the bag and camera..."
We walk in silence for abit.
"What's up there? A school?"
"Nah. A great graveyard. With the black cloud and western sun setting, it looked awesome about an hour ago."
"I shoulda bin here."
"Yeah. That's what I was thinking."
"We should've walked around the neighbourhood on our first night here."
"Well, if you were all younger, I wouldn't have given you a choice. I simply would've said 'time for our night walk' and you all woulda come. It's different now..."
We walked in silence, enjoying the cool evening air, the new surroundings, the loveliness of it all.
"Are you happy here, mom? Do you like England? How has the holiday been for you so far?"
"It's been awesome and I love it. How about you?"
"Yeah. I really liked the Castle and the Palace and being here. It's good."
"See? Over there? That white house with all the lights on? And all the flowers? That's the neighbourhood pub."
"Perfect. We're going to eat here tomorrow?"
"I think so."
He went in and talked to the owner/hostess and made reservations for us for tomorrow night.
We walked home, back up the hill, chatting about our sightseeing options tomorrow.
I love travelling.
Three things I'm thankful for:
1. Got a blow dryer today. Yeah, can finally wash my hair.
2. Bought the latest Delirious? CD - Live in London Farewell Show. I be listening to it right now. (Thank you for saving me. Shout to the North. Did you feel the mountains tremble?) GOLD. It's all good.
3. The "Entertainment" style coupon book the Lawrences left us. 2 for 1 at Warwick Castle, 25% off total bill at Pizza Hut, 2 for 1 at Shakespeare's House, and so on.
Grace and peace to you, friends.
Thanks for stopping by.
By the way, we spent the day at Stratford Upon Avon (Shakespeare's birthplace) today. All pics from that adventure can be found on facebook, here.
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