Seeing the sun on the horizon while flying was a weird feeling, but only because I wasn't expecting it when I woke up from a short snooze. Very soon I was seeing English coast and spans of green land with bright gold patches of canola fields as I landed into Gatwick Airport. The scenery reminded me of Wisconsin, but it was definitely English with the pastoral theme. I could see clusters of buildings where little towns were located, other similar clusters peppering the countryside. British Airways provided a smooth landing to a very smooth flight...
Like rats in a maze, we passengers shuffled along the walkway to Immigration. I filled out my forms and shuffled again this time in a Disney-type queue weaving us around each other while waiting to be called upon by Immigration. The lady who called me interrogated me in a too intimate manner that was not to my liking. I played along because my bladder urged me to and I needed her to stamp my passport so I could empty said bladder.
Trying to locate my luggage was just another part of the game. I finally hustled to the BA counter and was told it would be on Carousel 5, but I only heard crickets when I arrived at that carousel. It looks like it had never been turned on. How lovely. I turned around to be greeted halfway by a BA employee who asked me if the suitcase he was toting was mine. He answered for me, "I can tell it is yours. You have a big smile on your face." Thankful, relieved and anxious not to be any later, I made my way to real air.
Peter/Yummy knows that I have crowd blindness that befalls me sometimes and I made it clear that I may not see him, but he had assured me that all I needed to do was put one foot in front of the other and he would get me on the way out. I didn't even have to concentrate that much; I picked him out right away.
It was like opening a present seeing him for the first time in person after months of e-mails, IMs, skype conversations, text messages and phone calls. We had sent enough pictures of each other, but seeing the real person was a treat. It turned out that he was late too since he went to the wrong terminal first, but thanks to immigration chickie, I was still later than Yummy for our meeting.
Trying to locate my luggage was just another part of the game. I finally hustled to the BA counter and was told it would be on Carousel 5, but I only heard crickets when I arrived at that carousel. It looks like it had never been turned on. How lovely. I turned around to be greeted halfway by a BA employee who asked me if the suitcase he was toting was mine. He answered for me, "I can tell it is yours. You have a big smile on your face." Thankful, relieved and anxious not to be any later, I made my way to real air.
Peter/Yummy knows that I have crowd blindness that befalls me sometimes and I made it clear that I may not see him, but he had assured me that all I needed to do was put one foot in front of the other and he would get me on the way out. I didn't even have to concentrate that much; I picked him out right away.
It was like opening a present seeing him for the first time in person after months of e-mails, IMs, skype conversations, text messages and phone calls. We had sent enough pictures of each other, but seeing the real person was a treat. It turned out that he was late too since he went to the wrong terminal first, but thanks to immigration chickie, I was still later than Yummy for our meeting.
What seemed like a flash, I found myself riding the train to Brighton next to Yummy. I couldn't decide whether to talk to Yummy more in my nervousness or gaze outside and feast my eyes on the land passing by. I managed to do both, I think. Too nervous to commit everything to memory apparently. The surprise in gazing outside how the land reminded me of drives in Wisconsin.
We arrived at the Brighton train station and hiked it up the street where his home is tucked in. I was caught by the big lily display near left of the door. Long stems rose in the front garden not to be outdone by the fuchsia blooms by the gate. Pictures of the lily blooms below.
Yummy opened a bottle of champagne and we made mimosas with orange juice. We laughed much and later he made us a hearty breakfast which was a nice first meal on English land. Time flew and we found ourselves gathering our gifts for his godson's Oskar's first birthday being held at a park.
Children & Chinese...
My recent forays into children's parks in the Trampa Bay area couldn't even hold a candle to this park. My God. The grass undulating around the sloping park and around the trees was absolutely beautiful. The children's slides and swings were not surrounded by rubber floors or ground rubber tires. It looked normal instead of an industrial accident for kids.
Meeting Yummy's friends after hearing about them and talking to them a bit on the phone was great. They were a happy bunch and were very active with their own kids on the equipment. I liked that part a lot. Below are pics of Oskar's big sister Klaudia (Yummy's goddaughter) with her paternal grandmother and another pic with Yummy's best friend Anton and his son Oskar. I was intrigued by his new ride.
The party disbanded and we walked with the birthday boy to his house and shared more champagne with the family. By this time, the day was starting to get to me a bit and Yummy took mercy on me and we went home and ordered Chinese. Let's just say Chinese food is not the same on every continent, but it was still good. Day One in England with Yummy receives five smooch marks out of five.
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