Day 1 – This was a day of travel.   The dogs had been dropped at the kennel.  The child had been dropped at her father’s, and I headed for the airport 2 hours in advance.  I was frazzled.   I couldn’t find the airport.    The construction around the area had eliminated a few signs indicating the logical route to the airport.

Ok.   Who has taken the airport?   Oh.   There it is!

I parked in far-away parking and rode the shuttle to the airport, checked in my luggage and waited for the plane to leave.      Ian and Jane were texting me all along.    So exciting.   I am leaving the COUNTRY!

Day 2 – Starts at 6am when the plane lands in London, having not slept most of the overnight flight (but tried).    I notice the directional traffic differences from the air, the fact that the sun is rising already (it’s midnight my time) and then….. it occurs to me… “OMG!  Ian is in the airport, waiting for me!”

I proceded through security after speaking to a very thorough border patrol agent.

My luggage was immediately available.  I grabbed it and headed for the restroom, since I’d needed to “go” for the last 45 minutes.   LOL     Eventually, I found the correct customs line and proceded without incident (or person to talk to) in a matter of seconds.

I spotted the man in the Spider Pig shirt.   He was EXACTLY what I expected.    He smiled at me and said, “See?  I knew you’d be perfect.”     We shared a hug and kiss, he grabbed my suitcase and we started walking… smiling at each other.    We talked about how bizarre it was that I was actually there, then I grabbed his hand and it was off to find the car.

We took a long country route home.   I saw loads of old architecture and deer, as my handsome tour guide began to describe what I was seeing.   Part-way through, the jet lag started to hit me.   I felt nauseous, especially on the round-a-bouts… many, many round-a-bouts.

We spent some of day 2 going through Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, looking for various items for my personal chef to cook!

We slept for awhile.   We called Jane to say “HELLO!” (as we say it to each other) and we arranged for Day 3, visiting Jane and Fletch.

Day 3:   Saturday in the market.   We don’t have many (if any) open air markets where I’m from, especially filled with Indian food, fresh fish, clothing, and especially my handsome British tour guide.

After walking through the market, we walked through the shopping mall, looked around at various things, found Butterfinger candybars and returned home.     Soon after, we took off to meet Jane and Fletch, where some really bouncy woman met us in the parking lot, very excited to see us, and very much like I imagined.

I’ll leave you with these photos for now.   More to post on Day 3 later. 

The meat and cheese case in the market

My handsome tour guide

Lots of interesting/fresh fruits and vegetables