Last night in Bognor

Just for the record we didn't fly BA, we flew with United. 

As per my previous post, Matthew and I arrived back in Minnesota on July 9th. We had a pretty long journey. 

We also only had two days from the time we arrived back from Uganda to get everything ready to go. Originally we thought we were going to be coming back in August, but things changed. We only bought our flights back to MN while we were in Uganda. Thomas, being the kind brother in law that he is let us stay at his house. 

We went down to Bognor on the Thursday and the day before we left we had a really nice evening out with friends and family.

We all met up at the local Indian and  had a farewell chicken tikka masalas. It wasn't an official leaving do, just a nice dinner with Tristan, Sue, Thomas, William, George and Ryan. 

Sue gave Matthew a really lovely present. She had printed out a bunch of photos of Matthew and the Bognor gang. Some real gems from over the years. It was a really touching present.

Since it was our last night in England, that meant a trip to the pub. We went to the Claremont, a pub that can only be described as a hardcore boozer. If you ever find yourself in Bognor and are looking for an authentic local experience head there and tell them Matthew sent you. You'll get a free serving of whelks to go with your pint.

We decided it would be a good idea to leave some packing for after the pub, so that meant we were up until 1am. We had booked a minicab to come collect us at 3:45am so after a brief sleep we were off to the airport. 

I am always a bit nervous about taking a taxi at ungodly early times in the morning. Matthew and I had a terrifying experience a few months back when we were on our way to Lithuania.

Long story short, the taxi driver fell asleep behind the wheel and we ended up shouting at him to wake him up. Once he was awake Matthew convinced him to pull over on the motor way and to let him drive to the airport. So, now Matthew can add taxi driver to his CV.

Thankfully our driver was bright and chipper despite the early hour. We had a 90 min drive up to Heathrow that was actually pleasant. 

Once we were at the airport all we had to do was check in and make one last trip to Boots* before boarding the plane back to America.

As everyone knows the airline industry has tightened their belts and clamped down on the amount of luggage you're allowed to check in. I used to be able to check 2 bags on an international flight, but that was back in 2009. 

Our carrier only allowed us one bag each, although I did look at the website and I could swear it said 2 bags, but I wasn't in the mood to argue at the check in desk. I had also caught a cold the day previous and wasn't feeling too feisty.

The woman on the check in desk was more than happy to point out that we were over the allowed baggage limit and I think she was hoping that I would melt down and be reduced to tears by the news.

I was like, whatever. I am happy to pay the extra fee, it's not a problem. 

I am also not ashamed to say that I was secretly pleased with the look of disappointment on her face when I just slide my credit card onto the counter and paid the fee.

We checked in and headed to the lounge. I don't remember too much after that, probably because I was so exhausted. Matthew and "slept" for pretty much the entire flight.

Next thing I knew we were landing in Chicago. Oh yeah, we had to go with a connecting flight. Flights to MN in the middle of the summer aren't as cheap as I had hoped. It was definitely worth saving that $25.00 by having a connection. We also got to recheck our luggage and go through security again!

During the connection Matthew had to present his green card packet to the US Border Authority. That was pretty straightforward. When we came through customs Matthew showed his visa and then we were ushered into a separate office area. We were in and out in 20 minutes.

The flight from Chicago was short and sweet and then we were in Minnesota! I called my friend's dad from a pay phone (yes, you can still find a few pay phones kicking around the place). My friend's parents have had the same phone number for my entire life, which comes in handy.

We collected our baggage and headed out to the pick up area and waited for Dennis to come and collect us.

We were whisked away in a lovely air conditioned car to their house in West St Paul, where family was waiting to welcome us with hugs, kisses and food. That was two weeks ago.

Lots has happened in that short amount of time. I also realize that I haven't blogged about our trip to Africa. Don't worry, I'll be posting shortly. There will be lots of fun posts about life in Minneapolis, because it is great to be back!

*Going to Boots at the airport is an English tradition

A very British Christmas indeed

I can't believe that Christmas is over! As I write this I've still got my Christmas table cloth on and the tree up with the lights still twinkling. Christmas was very nice this year. It's the 3rd one I've spent in the UK, last year we went to visit my friend Taylor in Japan. Christmas Eve was a weird day. Matthew had to work part of the day and I still had shopping to do. We were going to be driving down to Bognor that night, but we weren't going to celebrate until Christmas Day. 

I am used to do the bulk of the celebrating on Christmas Eve and having kind of a chilled Christmas Day. This year I had a nasty cold that decided to get really bad on Christmas Eve so I spent the car ride asleep :) We got down to Bognor and stopped by Matthew's Nanny's house for a quick hello before I had to go to bed. 

I felt better on Christmas day and we spent a nice day with the family at Nanny's. Christmas Day was spent with Matthew, Thomas (brother in law), Charlotte (sister in law), William (brother in law), Nanny (Matthew's Grandmother), Mum (Matthew's Mum) and Rosemary and Tony (Matthew's Mum's sister and husband). It was a good sized group and everyone was in good spirits. Charlotte and my Mum in law, both had a touch of a cold as well. 

What I like about get togethers in England is the nibbles that are served. We always have M&S duck rolls, salmon bellinis and cranberry and brie parcels washed down with several glasses of prosecco. You will never see a veggie platter with raw broccoli and cauliflower! My English family shudders at the thought :)

We sat down for an amazing meal at around 3 p.m. and this year's dinner was beautiful. I also like how English people like to describe food as being beautiful or gorgeous. As an American I like these two adjectives for food :)

I am telling you that it was fantastic, beautiful and gorgeous! Nanny is one heck of a cook and her roast beef was to die for. After dinner we all just hung out, opened presents,played a bit of brandy fueled monopoly and then watched East Enders as we enjoyed our trifle. 

We then spent Boxing Day with Matthew's dad side of the family and that was very nice as well. There was a tiny bit of mother in law drama, which I won't get into. Families at Christmas can always be interesting :) All in all it was a very nice Christmas indeed.

Weekend with family

I had a really nice weekend. Matthew and I drove down to Bognor Regis with his sister Charlotte and her boyfriend Jake. Matthew grew up in Bognor, a little town next to the sea. I like going there for the weekend. Matthew's mum, brothers Thomas (27) and William (16) and nanny live there. As well as some of Matthew's friends from school. We got in on Saturday afternoon and Matthew, Thomas, Wills, and myself went for a lunch in Chichester. I also like Chichester, it's an old Cathedral city and it's very quaint. It was nice having lunch with the boys, it was good to see them and hear what they've been getting up to.

Later that evening Matthew and I went round to Nanny's for a visit. We ended up having a bit of Southern Comfort with Nanny and watching Mama Mia, I know a wild Saturday night. On Sunday we went with Nanny and Matthew's mum over to a pub called the Cricketers in Bignor a village just about 20 minutes away for lunch. That was nice too. I really like the English tradition of a good Sunday lunch. The pub had a nice fire and there were plenty of people eating and drinking with their dogs by their sides. I love seeing dogs in old country pubs. I like the idea of going for a walk through the fields with your dog and then sitting in a warm pub all afternoon. Call me crazy!

After lunch we went on a little drive through the country and stopped off in the small village of Bury. The photo posted is of the Aran river and we drove our car until we couldn't go anymore and then got out and walked toward this rive. If you looked over your shoulder from the river you saw the church behind you. It was so picturesque. I had forgotten my camera and thankfully I found these photos up on Flickr. After lunch and stopping in Bury I wanted to go by the sea before we went back to the house. I love the seaside and it looked amazing. It was a grey drizzly day and the it was low tide, the water still had the pale aqua color to it. You can walk to the sea front from Matthew's mum's house. It's just a nice place to be. After the short walk on the beach we sat around in the lounge next to a fire.

It was just a nice relaxed weekend with family. I feel very fortunate that I really love Matthew's family and that I honestly like them. I enjoy spending time with them and I feel very lucky to have them in my life. They are a great group of people and I always have fun when they are around. They have always made me feel welcome and that has always meant a lot to me. Cheers to family!

**photo credit goes to PhillipC on Flickr