I was glad to have shared this whole England experience with my dear friend, Sonia. She’s absolutely one of my favorite people.
We laughed so much … mostly at each other … like when she pulled out her hot pink blow-up bath-like pillow for our overnight plane ride and attempted to nonchalantly blow the thing up like she was getting ready to take it to the pool … Or when we attempted to use tongs to get sugar cubes for our hotel breakfasts (we could not work those little suckers) …
(this was the aftermath … sugar cubes everywhere … embarrassing)
Or when one of us (not me) asked how far Cape Town was from Sydney, thinking it was in Australia … Or when she said I talked too much or to stop saying everything I’m thinking … Or when I told her she needed to stop looking at her watch.
We giggled most of our time together. I know the English thought we were strange. Because, let’s be honest … some of them are a little stiff. Wonderful, fun memories! This girl is definitely like the sister I never had.
After our long plane ride and traveling, we decided we would not go to bed, but force ourselves to get on England time. We flew overnight, arriving in England early morning. Neither of us slept a wink, despite the fact I had taken a Unisom and her a Dramamine. Not. One. Wink.
We were exhausted.
So, we got to our hotel, finally checked in after waiting over an hour, and freshened up to go out in Leeds on a cold, windy, rainy day with no sleep.
It was Sunday and the typical British thing to eat on Sunday is roast, so we did. This roast came with Yorkshire pudding, which was not pudding at all, but basically a bread bowl.
Our take on most of the food was that it all was very bland. Thank God for salt. We salted everything.
We ended our first day getting in bed at 7:30 p.m. and not waking up until late the next morning. We had been up for approximately 2 days. To say we were tired would be an understatement.
We had way more energy the next morning and headed downstairs to eat a full English breakfast. And, because we were in England, I did what I thought the English did. I put black pudding on my plate, vowing I would taste it, even after knowing what was in it. (Later on, every English person I met said they never ate that stuff. Hmph.)
That’s it. That ugly black circular thing right there on my plate.
Here goes … (Sonia did not attempt to taste. Scaredy cat.)
Not good.
So, let me get this straight … bread bowls are pudding and meat is pudding. I’m sure there are other puddings I don’t know about, but I’ll stick with chocolate and vanilla, thank you.
Off to Leeds we went for shopping. Thank God the sun was shining that day.
One thing’s for sure … England is expensive. Make sure you have lots of money saved up before you go. We only bought a few souvenirs and that nearly broke the bank.
But, there definitely were some great things I wish I could have bought. Great clothes & shoes for sure!
And, typical British hats. Ridiculous.
What great memories!
Ha, ha! Sad, but true!
"Pudding" in British English is like "sauce" in the US (which can be sweet/savoury, eaten with other stuff or on it's own, in small amounts or large).
Anyway; here's a definition: PUDDING:
a (1) : a boiled or baked soft food usually with a cereal base (2) : a dessert of a soft, spongy, or thick creamy consistency (3) British : dessert
b : a dish often containing suet or having a suet crust and originally boiled in a bag
'Nuff said!