Sue and One-eyed Steve bridge the gap in the UK! COMPLETED 7/1 About This Page:

[rescuesk]

The rest of Day 5...

We headed out of London. It had been a whirlwind few days, but we had seen and experienced so much...so many memories! We headed out along the Motorway to Mark and Chez's house. We dozed in the car, and soon were in Maidstone. We stopped at a Tesco's for some groceries and milk. I checked for half and half...none! By now, Steve was pretty much drinking only tea, so we were OK. We got some cheese and a few other items, and before long, we were turning onto Sandling Way!

In the States, their house would be known as a half-double. Many houses in England seemed to be half-doubles, and real estate prices are....well....pricey! You enter into the foyer, and can either go straight to the dining/living area, or upstairs to the second floor bedrooms. Of course, we asked for and got the tour!

Their house is just lovely, comfortable and cozy! I took a picture or two....
Front of the house:

Living room:

Dining room:

Den/exercise area. The doors lead to the backyard and garden:

Out the kitchen window:

Chez's tomato plants:

An Eeyore (wait, there's more to come.... )


We went upstairs to the guest room, and were greeted by this:

It's a basket full of all things English, from real Cadbury chocolate to marmalade, coasters of Leeds Castle and tea. But I think my favorite was a photo book from our Dec 2007 trip!
The room is decorated in suspiciously familiar colors....

Looks like Beach Club!
This is the view from the window:


Chez went down to check her email and the Boards, and I wandered into the infamous Eeyore room! It had a few Eeyores in it. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!







I took a few pictures of the garden:











We relaxed for awhile, and then began to talk about dinner. We were going to get Indian take-away. I was pretty surprised to learn how popular Indian food is in the UK! Steve is not into spicy food, and we all know how he doesn't do "stuff"! With Mark's help, we decided on a Tandori chicken dish for him, which was mild and seemed to be something he would like. Mark said he would, and I believe everything Mark tells me!

The food arrived and...surprise...Steve liked it! He thought it tasted similar to barbecue chicken, and he really enjoyed it. Another thing to check off the list!

Steve is at home:


We watched some TV, and I got to see some of Cheryl's incredible scrapbooks, but we were pretty tired and still under the weather. We headed up to bed pretty early, took our medication and were soon asleep!

Next....A trip through Kent, Windsor Castle, and the Queen is in! (Lots and lots of pictures coming!)

[Colexis Mom]

Glad Steve enjoyed the Indian food Great pictures of Cheryl and Mark's house More please

[Grammy Grumpy]

I am all caught up! Spent some time on a Sunday sharing your experiences in London. Sorry to hear Steve was feeling less than 100% I agree, Cheryl and Mark have the "awwwww" factor, but you and Steve are lookin' marvelous!

Can't wait to hear more.

[lauren-roxy]

What a beautiful home!! Glad Steve enojed his food, now I know what to get since I don't like spicy food either!!

[JaimeandChad]

What a beautiful house!! the Eeyore room, her flowers were pretty

[BritDisFan]

I'm so glad you four are having such a lovely time. Cheryl and Mark do have a lovely home and I just love the Eeyore room . I'm sorry Steve is feeling so poorly but hope that the Tandoori Chicken made him feel a bit better.

BTW my DH works about 30 seconds away from The Hung, Drawn and Quartered.

[poohsgirl]

Cheryl, you have a beautiful garden! Your Eeyore room is exactly how I'd pictured it and if I'm not mistaken there were quite a few Pooh bears mixed in with your little buddy! Wow, Steve liked the dish Mark selected! Mark was telling the truth!

[chezp]

Wow - all caught up again! You have been busy while we've been away for the weekend. Great updates - and so weird to come to the update and see our house - I'm kinda looking at those photos, thinking "that place looks familiar."

Yes, there are a few Pooh bears and even the odd Tigger and - dare I say it - bacon, oops I mean Piglet in the Eeyore room, but mainly it's my donkey boy. Sad story - those tomato plants died, all but one, about a week later. We don't know what happened, but we think they got cold when we put them near a door. A happy ending though - I'm on to my second set, thanks to DMIL and DM and hopefully those will fare better...

[WDWfan]

Sue - the pictures. Cheryl and Mark's house looks much as I would expect it to. The Eeyore room is so ! I hope you both started feeling better soon.

[MBUS]

What a wonderful TR!! All those photos of London make me nostalgic for the semester I spent there.... twenty years ago. Where does the time go?

Thanks so much for sharing. I am always so impressed when Passporters meet up for trips. Chez, you have a beautiful home! And what a hostess.

Hope you and Steve feel better, Sue.

Beth

[Nimros]

Originally Posted by MBUS

Thanks so much for sharing. I am always so impressed when Passporters meet up for trips. Chez, you have a beautiful home! And what a hostess.

So much to comment on! So sorry Steve's still not feeling good - but looks like he's relaxing at Cheryl and Mark's.

There's an Eeyore in the garden, too!!

Sue, I love your photos of 'things British' like the signs - it's what we Americans would look for because it's so different from what we see at home. Makes me wonder what Cheryl and Mark will notice on their American tour coming up!!!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Nimros

There's an Eeyore in the garden, too!!

Sue, I love your photos of 'things British' like the signs - it's what we Americans would look for because it's so different from what we see at home. Makes me wonder what Cheryl and Mark will notice on their American tour coming up!!!

You'd be disappointed if there wasn't an Eeyore in the garden! Like many of my other Eeyores, you can blame my mother for that one!

As for the American tour, I guess we'll find out in a few months' time - I'll be sure to photograph anything I think looks different.

[rescuesk]

Day 6....

We woke up after a great night's sleep. Must have been that fresh Maidstone air! Steve was still feeling pretty bad, but I was doing a little better. Today we were going to drive around Kent, and then head over to Windsor Castle. It was another dry, beautiful, sunny, warm day!!

We started the day with English muffins...in England! Actually, I had toast and Steve had a muffin, and tea. Then it was off to explore.

Just a nice shot:

Some of the houses:



See, honey, there is a hospital if we need one:

More pictures:






Check out the date:


After our tour, it was off to Windsor Castle. As we approached the castle, we got a great glimpse of it through the trees. It is really beautiful against the bright blue sky.We parked "down the road a piece" (again, no such thing as free parking!) and headed up to the Castle. One thing that surprised me was that there was a town built up around the castle...the town of Windsor. For some reason I had in my mind that Windsor Castle would be out in the middle of the country, surrounded by nothing but rolling green hills. Now, while this was not a bustling Metropolis, it was still a bit surprising!

From the outside:






Chez told you the adventures with our London Passes. The manager at the Castle was very helpful, and it wasn't his fault. We were soon on our way in.

We got our video players, and Steve asked what the Family version was verses the Adult version. The guide told us that the Family version was geared for children. For example, while the adult version would give the history of the banquet room, the Family version would start the narration with "Wow! That's a big room!" So...guess which version Steve picked?


Soon we were on our way!

The first thing we noticed was the flag flying:

The Queen was in! Apparently, she never got me email because we weren't granted an audience with her! Cheryl did tell us that Windsor is her favorite place to be, and I can see why!












Ye olde ER!

Ka-boom!


Good thing we left the puppies home!

The landscaping:




Off to St George's Chapel:




The important things in life:


The Castle was just stunning. We learned quite a bit of history, as well as the story of the fire that destroyed part of it. Can you believe it was 16 years ago? The restoration is complete, and it looks wonderful. And the landscaping! I was thinking of hiring whoever did it to do my house, but I think they might be a little out of my price range.

We walked down through Windsor, By now, we were all getting hungry, so we decided to stop for something to eat!

Next...The George Inn, Eton College and "What? You think a first class girl can't drink?" (Extra points if you know what movie that's from!)

[DrDolphin]

Great update Sue!!! The photos are wonderful!

[DawnDenise]

I have spent that past hour reading your report and it's been a funny and terrific read. Your pictures are great!!! On your latest update, the pic of Steve getting the kid's version had me laughing because the attendant handing it to him was laughing.

Originally Posted by rescuesk

"What? You think a first class girl can't drink?" (Extra points if you know what movie that's from!)

I know, I know!!! Titantic