Sunday Road Trip: Three Choirs Winery

This road trip was about a month ago. Having visited a cider brewery, we decided we should balance the scales and visit a winery as well. A winery in England? Yep, we were a bit surprised as well, but there are a few. And sparkling wine from England is starting to gain some momentum, we're told. Otherwise, England's not really known for great wine (and this visit didn't change our minds on that front.)

Three Choirs makes sparkling and also a number of whites and a few reds. We had the full tour and tasting, and while not impressed by the wines, we did have a nice day out in the country.

It was a beautiful fall day - a bit rainy and overcast at times, but that's fairly typical. The drive was mostly highway so we did see some colour, but not the great fall leaves until we arrived.

I know, it was a winery, but the only thing we bought was some Whittingtons Brewery beer. And then only because of the cute cat names and artwork on the bottles. Luckily, it's actually pretty good as well as cute!

This is the tasting room, although we didn't actually taste here, but instead along the tour.  No photos allowed, so the tasting room is all you get.

The vineyards were really pretty and along the rolling hills of the area. A nice fall landscape.

They had a groomed trail through the vineyards that you could walk along and even eat the grapes if you found any. We were warned they don't taste very good. Since it was a bit rainy, we decided not to take the walk.

A nice day and we can now add England to our list of countries where we've taken wine tours. I think we're up to around 7 now. US, Australia, New Zealand, England, Italy, South Africa, and France

O Christmas Tree: I'm sorry about those cats

Tis' the season and time to put up a Christmas tree. Having left our pathetic cheap plastic tree in Abu Dhabi, we were excited to have a real tree again after 6 years. Now I just had to find out where to find one.

I looked online and saw that IKEA sells trees, but somehow, that just didn't seem the right way to go. I was really hoping for a cut your own farm since we used to live down the road from one in the US and really enjoyed cutting our own, but there didn't seem to be anything like that close so we ended up at a large tree lot about 10 minutes away. And I mean large. A collection of tree lots actually all congregated in this same area. Kind of like how car dealerships seems to collect next to one another.

Selection was different from back home. There were 4 different kinds of trees, but all short needles. Fraiser fir, which seems to sell for a premium in the US was one of the cheaper kinds here. We ended up with a 6 ft. Nordmann Fir (locally grown). Into the back of the car and off we went to decorate.

When we moved to UAE, I had left our collection of ornaments behind as I wasn't sure whether it would be okay to celebrate Christmas in a Muslim country. By the time I realised it would be just fine, the ornaments were packed too far back in our storage locker back in the US to dig out. So, one of the best parts of this year's tree was unpacking all of our ornaments from storage.

And what about those cats? Petra (our kitty from Abu Dhabi) is experiencing a real tree for the first time and after a few exploratory walks underneath and a sniff or two, she isn't really that interested. Rogue (WI born), on the other hand, is very familiar with torturing real trees and has been happily getting reacquainted with the practice.

I'm just looking . . . I promise.

The good news is she doesn't climb the tree, just likes to walk under it, sit under it watching the lights, and bat the low hanging ornaments once in a while.

Sunday Road Trip: Christmas Market in Bath

There are lots of new Christmas traditions to explore now that we're living in the UK. Top of our list is the traditional Christmas market found all over Europe, and one of the nicest in nearby Bath. Yep, time for a Sunday road trip!

Bath is already beautiful with all it's history, amazing architecture and water running through the town. Add on a Christmas market and the town is even cuter.

It was the first weekend of the market so very crowded. We were told they bus in from all over to visit the Bath Christmas market as it's considered one of the best in the country.  The photo above is the main square outside the cathedral where they've put up a large tree.

No Christmas market experience is properly started without a mug of mulled wine or in this area of the country, mulled cider (hard cider that is). Keeps you warm and in the shopping mood.

So what is a Christmas market exactly? Basically a collection of small stalls selling everything from handicrafts to food to drinks. It's a craft fair with a Christmas theme. Some of the stalls are independent craftspeople selling their stuff and others are small versions of the larger stores on the square. According to their website, there are over 170 stalls and more than 80% are items from the local area. The photo above are the stalls on the other side of the cathedral. There was also a main set of stalls on the other side, but they were so packed I couldn't get a good photo.

One aisle was really small and close together and there were so many people we couldn't even get through to see what was for sale. And we noticed that there wasn't a proper flow to the traffic - everyone going every direction so it was chaos. Time to get out of the crowds and find some lunch!

Pies are big here. Pies of every kind you can imagine. This one was turkey, stuffing and cranberry. YUM!

Thanksgiving - Bristol Style

While Thanksgiving isn't really celebrated here, there are enough Americans around that you can find a good meal with some thankful people. We joined the Americans in Bristol facebook group for a potluck Thanksgiving last Saturday. It was a feast tasting of home with a few British influences thrown in.

We were at a church fellowship hall so set up tables and decorated a bit. Brian and I joined the set up committee (way better plan than helping with clean up! ;)

A few of the random decorations people brought. In the end, they all came together and the place was pretty festive.

And of course, there was lots and lots of food! I think there were 3 turkeys, at least 4 different kinds of stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, sweet potatoes a few different ways, and pigs in blankets.

Wait . . . what?  Pigs in blankets?

So, I mentioned that little British influence above? That would be the pigs in blankets. Back home, pigs in blankets are a breakfast dish - sausage links wrapped in pancakes or crescent rolls.  But here in the UK, pigs in blankets are cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon. Yes, it is as delicious as it sounds and something the Brits serve with Christmas dinner (although you can find them in the grocery stores all year round I think (I hope!). Being the inclusive and welcoming people we are, we decided to happily add pigs in blankets to the Thanksgiving meal tradition.

And for dessert there were a number of pumpkin and sweet potato pies, and apple pie and I brought a pumpkin struesel cake that was a hit. The challenge with anything pumpkin is that the canned stuff from Libby is hard to find here. I even tried Amazon, but decided I wasn't paying 8GBP for a silly can of pumpkin. I ended up making my own with a little pie pumpkin from the grocery store. Not too hard actually, but doesn't have the concentrated flavour of the canned stuff. Not to worry though, we had plenty to eat and no one went home hungry - just as it should be.

 

Someone even brought an American flag and below is our group photo from the day.

 

And what do a group of Americans in Bristol talk about over Thanksgiving? All the funny difference between American and Queen's English of course. Well, that and where to find the best fish and chips!

Musical Lunch Hours

As I've shared with many of you, my new job with the University is quite different from my last with the Airline. I now have a 35 hour work week which includes a 1 hour lunch. Quite a shift from the lunch at my desk that made up the last 5 years of my career.

And because I work at a University, there's always lots going on and often over the lunch hour. To date, I've seen a number of different music concerts and am loving every minute of it. Here are some highlights.

The first concert was the University of Bristol Laptop Band. Yes, they played their laptops and made . . . music? I'll admit it was a little out there for me, but still a fun way to spend a lunch hour. And interesting to hear how the School of Music is researching and pushing the limits.

This is the Victoria Rooms building - home of the School of Music and where a number of the concerts take place. A 5 minute walk from my desk so couldn't be more perfectly placed.

When not in the Victoria rooms, the concerts are often at St. Paul's Church, just up the street. I've seen a chamber orchestra group, a piano/organ concert, and a choral concert so far. The acoustics are nice and it's a cute little venue for the concerts.

This was back in the Victoria Rooms and was a piano duo concert. Apparently one of the most famous piano duet teams in the UK and known throughout the world. It was a very nice concert and reminded me of the duets I used to play with my brother way back when. (well, they were a little better than we were!)

A Little Wine Tasting in Bristol

When you move to a new city and have no friends or family around, you need to work hard to get out and meet people. It can be tempting and easy to stay home and burrow in, but we've learned from our experiences that the sooner you get out, the more chance you have of meeting some new friends. And while the friends part hasn't really happened yet, we have been meeting some nice acquaintances, getting to know the city, and exploring through our various adventures. A few weeks ago, that adventure was a wine tasting event at Avery's, which is one of the oldest wine cellars in Bristol. And I do mean wine cellar literally - have a look.

We were greeted with a glass of bubbly and, after a brief introduction to Avery's history, split into 4 groups. The afternoon would consist of four 30 minute sessions, each focused on a different region or type. The sessions were: Italy, Germany, New Zealand and Sparkling.

The Sparkling guy brushing up on his session before we got started. By the time we met with him (#4) he was feeling pretty good and I swear even slurred once or twice. Who knows if we got all the information or whether it was accurate. (We didn't really care by that point either!)

Yes, it's really a wine cellar! And it was gorgeous. Lots of character and a really fun venue for a nice afternoon of tasting and meeting new people.

Renee, do you think this bottle is big enough for us?

We were pleasantly surprised by the German session (some really delicious white wines) and the sparkling (of course that might be because it was the last session and we were tipsy!) 

Overall, a great time and a wonderful way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Bonfire Night

While I was looking forward to Halloween, most Brits were gearing up for Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawke's Day) which falls on the 5th of November. Per Wikipedia, Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.

Today, the holiday is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks in parks, pubs and community centres all over the city. We walked to some fireworks in our little neighbourhood of Bradley Stokes. No bonfire, but they did have some very nice fireworks. It was a little strange to be watching them with warm coat, hat and mittens but they were nice all the same.

Sunday Road Trip: A Visit to Chipping Sodbury

Don't you just love the names of the towns? I told Brian we should start planning our road trips by the names alone and see what happens.

Chipping Sodbury is actually not too far from where we live in Bradley Stoke, but it's part of the Cotswolds and the cutest little town so we added it to our Sunday road trip adventures. On this particular morning (full disclosure, a Saturday), we were actually just looking for breakfast and stumbled upon a town food fair, a little craft market, and Brian found a cute little barber shop to get his hair cut.

The centre of town is a big avenue with parking and shops on both sides. They had part of the main street blocked off for the food fair. Just look at that architecture.

As we walked along the street, we saw this decorated alley between two buildings so of course had to go an explore. Often these alleys are called Arcades and take you between the buildings from one street to the next. Since a lot of the buildings are connected to each other, they provide a nice shortcut.

This particular arcade led us to a morning market selling crafts, baked good (some amazing brownies!), plants and natural beauty products. It was very small, maybe around 10-12 stalls, but super cute.

Back on main street with a bit better view of the avenue.

This is the 'secret garden' area of a local pub. Quite common that you walk in off the street, wander through the pub and out the back to find a gorgeous open garden space. The houses in more urban areas are very similar.

And here's the barber shop. One chair, one barber so there's always a bit of a wait, but one of the nicest haircuts Brian has had in a long while. And, of course, the barber and the guy next in line loved his American accent so spent the time discussing Brexit and Trump. And this was weeks before the election. I can only imagine the conversation they would have now!

See the cobblestone sidewalk? Lots of that in this area. Thank goodness for the modern paved roads, but walking can be tricky.

I know, hard to believe this is the same place. Just outside of town is a B&Q, which is like a Home Depot or Menards. We popped in to find a few things for the house and felt immediately at home. A lot less space to work with, but still packed in everything you could possibly need for your home repairs.

More about the weather: mid-November

I promised myself to post about the weather every so often for our first year so i could compare my impressions later. It's now mid November, almost 4 months since we arrived in Bristol and here are my thoughts.

I still love it! Yes, I'm a bit cold and damp some mornings, and since I walk outside a lot more than in Abu Dhabi, the weather has a greater effect, but I love it! I love the damp smell of the autumn leaves (the Brits don't say Fall), I love the condensation on the windows in the morning that is from actual rain (not the vast difference in temperature because the air conditioning is on full blast), and I love the overcast skies that make me want to curl up on the couch with a good book or movie and two cats. I've missed fall and am enjoying every minute of it.

So, does it really rain ALL THE TIME as you've been led to believe?

No

There are beautifully sunny mornings or afternoons or whole days. In general, the sky is more overcast than sunny, but I'll bet careful observation would show a 60/40 split, not a 90/10. And as for the rain, there aren't so many big downpours, but there is a lot of misty or light rain, often hardly enough to open your umbrella. And lots of times it's just overcast, but not actually raining.

So far, temps have dipped to 35F (2C) a couple of mornings so we did have frost, which I'm told will be more and more common as winter arrives. Bristol rarely gets snow. I think someone said the last snow fall (a light dusting that didn't stick) was almost 10 years ago, so I'm hoping this is the year! ;)

The temps and damp make the perfect coat elusive. I've got a trench coat with a zip out lining that works most days, but there's no hood, which would be handy. I've also got a puffy short winter coat that I've worn on the coldest mornings, but because you're walking a lot, it's a bit too warm. Guess I'll need to do a little shopping and buy a British coat designed for the weather. (okay, yeah, that's just an excuse to go shopping!)

One thing I've learned is to always carry an umbrella (brolly) and wear good shoes. I do a ton more walking here and haven't even unpacked any of my heels - no need. My work environment is pretty casual, the city 'dress code' is casual so even a night out can be done in jeans if you want.

In fact, umbrellas are so necessary, there's even a vending machine for them at the bus station!

British Vocabulary Lesson (Common Phrases)

Today's vocabulary lesson is all about the common day to day phrases Bristolians use that I've come to notice. I figure I'd better get them down now before they become so second nature that I don't recognise them as different anymore.

Hiya - common greeting and typically followed by "ya alright?". Very casual and friendly with a nice lilt to it. I know this is one I will surely adopt so listen for it when I visit home.

No problem at all - used all the time in a kind of annoying way. Here's an example:
"Hiya. I'd like to make a service appoint for my car."
"No problem at all. What seems to be the problem?"
"The clutch is making a squeaking noise."
"Okay, no problem at all, let me get your registration please." (that's my car license number by the way)
"xxxxxxx"
"Great. No problem at all. When would you like to come in?"
And it goes on like that. The phrase is used so often it gets annoying.

Tag questions - If you're an English teacher, you know what I'm talking about. If not, it's when you add a question to reinforce your statement at the end of your statement. Did you get that? Let me provide a few examples.
"Well, she just needs to apologise then, doesn't she?
"This lunch is lovely, isn't it?"
"We've got to catch the bus, haven't we?"
"I've got a splitting headache, haven't I?"

By-eee - how to say goodbye when on a phone call. I actually noticed this in Abu Dhabi and it's even more common here. The goodbye takes a little while longer too. Let me illustrate:
"Okay, well I'll talk to you tomorrow then, won't I?"
"Yep, no problem at all. By-eee."
"Okay, then Bye, Bye."
"Bye, Bye, By-eee."

All sorted - One of my favourites and one of the first I learned from Abu Dhabi. In the US, we would say something like, organised, fixed up, arranged but they're all so clunky once you start using sorted. Let me show you:
I've got everything figured out for the trip .... becomes .... I've got it all sorted.
Is everything organised for your first day of work? .... becomes .... Have you got everything sorted?
See? It's just so much more efficient - give it a try, I guarantee you're phrases will be sorted in no time!

And that's today's lesson. By-eee!

Sunday Road Trip: Cheddar Gorge & Caves

A week ago Sunday's excursion took us to Somerset and the Cheddar Gorge & Caves. It's a busy tourist spot but beautiful with lots to see and do. And yes, this is cheddar as in cheese. The Cheddar family settled here and invented cheddar cheese. A bit different than the US variety (it's white and tastes a bit stronger than American cheddar). Enjoy your trip . . .

The cave tour was an audio tour so you could go at your own pace, which was nice.

There were some really pretty pools - you might have to enlarge to see the details of this one.

Our tickets included an open air bus tour of the gorge - only a 15 min ride, but nice to see from this vantage point.

Some of the sheep living in the gorge

The town was pretty too - very touristy with a junk (aka souvenir) shop every 2 feet, but still very pretty.

When is a Gallon, not a Gallon?

Guest post by Brian Stoll

As many of you already now by Renee's earlier post, we purchased a used Volvo V40 D4 shortly after arriving in Bristol. Given the smaller roads, we wanted something a bit more maneuverable and peppy than what we had in the UAE. I had originally started looking at the sportier VW Golf GTD and Golf R, but then stumbled across the Volvo V40 which was a nice cross between pep and refinement ... and as a bonus had an amazing mpg rating - 67.3 mpg city, and 78.5 mpg highway.

I must admit being a bit amazed by the mpg rating of a car with 190 horsepower. Being a bit nostalgic, I was comparing this to our 1994 (3 cylinder) Geo Metro that, for it's time, was one of the most fuel efficient cars available at a rated 46 mpg city, and 49 mpg highway. This however was a result of the lightweight (some would say tinfoil like) body, and the paltry 52 hp that it produced.

As I was doing some additional car research, I noticed something strange with the fuel consumption numbers for the same cars between the US and the UK. The UK mpg numbers were significantly higher than the same car in the US even though the horsepower and other specs were the same? How could that be? I was sure that the UK has similar emissions standards, and so would have expected similar mpg ratings. Do the Brits all buy magical gas from Hogwarts?

Turns out magic had nothing to do with it, but the answer was quite surprising. While both the US and the UK use a gallon for liquid measure, these are based on different measurements. The imperial (UK) gallon is equivalent to 4.54609 liters. Whereas the US (liquid) gallon, 3.785411784liters, is 20% less!

For some of you history geeks out there, you might know that the US gallon is based on the old English wine gallon (also know as Queen Anne's gallon), that came into effect in 1707 (1706 Act 5 Anne c27). Britian abandoned the wine gallon in 1826 when it adopted imperial measure. This was obviously after the US had separated from Britian - hence the different in gallon measurements.

After having lived here in the UK for a couple of months, I've developed an alternative theory for the change in size. Brits love a good pint. I'm convinced that some crafty Brit back in 1826, after bemoaning how quickly a pint went down, had the brilliant idea of increasing the size by 20% ... hence the imperial gallon was born.

Cheers.