My holiday (part 3)

Gratitude 28

I am thankful for getting to spend some time in beautiful England this holiday...especially since I didn't think I'd be able to this adventure abroad. 

Sunday morning, I got up bright and early to make it to the airport with plenty of time because I didn't know what type of security or customs I would have to cross. In one day, I received two stamps in my passport!...the extent of stamps I had been given over the bast three and half years since getting it...they just don't like to stamp them. The Prague airport is ridiculous, and I am not a fan of the set-up. Pretty much the extent of security there was looking at my passport and scanning my bag in a millisecond before getting on the plane. When I entered the UK, though, customs were crazy, asking all sorts of absurd questions and requesting to see my return tickets. She didn't ask, but that would have been something to try and explain that I came from Prague, am returning to Budapest, and have an Amsterdam stamp in my passport...and no Hungarian visa or residency permit notated in my passport. She looked very perplexed, though. 

Sophie's family is absolutely lovely. Her and her dad picked me up from the airport, and we drove through the countryside to her home. I felt like I was instantly dropped into As Time Goes By!! (I love that show!) The little roads we were driving through and the areas we were passing were practically identical to those in the scenes of that show. haha! Brilliant! Gotta love it! My brain was so confused with him driving on the left side and the driver's seat being on the opposite side. I mean, it wasn't a shock or anything, but it can mess with your brain a bit. We had a wonderful English Sunday lunch. Yum! 

In the evening, we went to their church. It was a contemporary Christian service. I prefer the more traditional, but it was nice. It was my first time to church since coming abroad. (Well, aside from the German mass I attended in Vienna. I want to attend a Hungarian mass at some point, but I'm sure that'll be slightly overwhelming, too.) The people there were very friendly and sweet. And...believe it or not, I met a woman originally from Columbus! She said she came here to study in her third year of college, as I am, met a man, and the rest is history. Again, what a big small world we live in! I also met this little old lady, Mary, who insisted upon giving me a "good, proper English hug!" :) She was such a sweetheart! 

Back at the house, we had some tea, Sophie's dad and I chatted about opera, and watched some British TV. They also made me try marmite on toast. It was...different. 

The time zones have been messing with my head. Daylight savings had me flip my clock back an hour, and then when I got to England, I had to flip it back another hour, so I ended up slightly jet-lagged on top of already being sleep-deprived. (I don't sleep very well in hostels no matter how nice it is.) There was a period of a couple of hours, though, that I had no idea what time it was because my watch said one thing, Sophie's computer said another, and when I called home on Skype, my sister kept saying a time there that was only four hours difference. Apparently, I am actually only four hours time difference from home this week because daylight savings happens this coming weekend in the States, and then I'll be back in Hungary, making it six hours again. All too confusing!

On Monday, Sophie and I went into "town" (aka London) for the afternoon. I absolutely LOVE London. I am a very blessed person to have already in my life had to experience and see and live so much of this incredible world. As with Vienna, I could spend a lifetime in London. (I have to say that those are my two favorite cities!) We went to Oxford Street, Regents Street, Soho, Carnaby, Selfridge's, China town, expored a few alley ways/side roads, and Covent Garden. It was a lovely day, which ended with a cup of tea at a cafe in the Covent Garden "piazza" listening to a street musician. He was quite good. We also heard an opera/classical singer there who wasn't bad but so tense she made me tense just watching her. 

We took a London taxi! to Waterloo station to catch a train back. Umm...super sweet! We passed West End and saw from a distance Big Ben, the London Eye, and St. Paul's Cathedral. And it really is true that London cabby's are the friendliest people. 

Today, we went into Guildford, a town nearby. It's mostly a shopping place...I'm not a big fan of shopping...but it was nice. And I found a beautiful floor-length dress for only £35!!! It'll be lovely for little recitals or fancy nights at the opera. hehe!

P.S. It is really strange to be in an English-speaking country for the first time in two months! You mean I don't have to act out what I am trying to say in a funny, ridiculous manner and try to muttle through some poorly-grammared foreign sentences? Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy doing the later...a great challenge...but it is a rest to the brain for a bit not having to.