It's been a week in Bristol and I thought it was a good time to record some of my first impressions of the place. Remember I'm coming from 5 1/2 years in Abu Dhabi so some of my impressions might seem a little bit strange, but here goes.
Everyone's so nice! I wasn't expecting anyone to be mean, but I guess I was expecting folks to be a bit more standoffish or aloof. An example: we visited the Post Office to pick up our National Residency cards and the 2 women there were so friendly and interested in our story - I'll bet we chatted with them for almost 10 minutes. At the POST OFFICE!
It's so green! Okay, I knew this would be the case, but I still underestimated my reaction to all the green. I still burst out smiling at random times because it's so beautiful. Grass, trees, shrubs and lots and lots of flowers. The gardens are simply amazing and pop up everywhere.
The food is really good. We've heard so many jokes about bad food in England that we had low expectations, but so far, we've been really pleased. Of course, we've also spent a lot of time in Pubs drinking Cider so that might have influenced our assessment.
Our first night, we stumbled on a cute little pub right on the river bragging about their burgers and cider. They have every right to brag - never had a burger that good in Abu Dhabi!
And of course there is the traditional fish and chips - yep, another pub - and it was delicious.
And a spot of tea one breakfast. Note the cute little timer to make sure it steeps for the appropriate amount of time.
Dogs are allowed in restaurants, kids are well behaved (for the most part), everyone speaks English and seems to understand customer service, and the cars needs to yield to pedestrians.
But of course, the greatest thing of all is the change in weather. When we left Abu Dhabi, the temps were 110-115F and 90-92% humidity. Now, we're enjoying 70-80F and while a bit overcast and rainy, I LOVE IT!
Everyone's so nice! I wasn't expecting anyone to be mean, but I guess I was expecting folks to be a bit more standoffish or aloof. An example: we visited the Post Office to pick up our National Residency cards and the 2 women there were so friendly and interested in our story - I'll bet we chatted with them for almost 10 minutes. At the POST OFFICE!
It's so green! Okay, I knew this would be the case, but I still underestimated my reaction to all the green. I still burst out smiling at random times because it's so beautiful. Grass, trees, shrubs and lots and lots of flowers. The gardens are simply amazing and pop up everywhere.
The food is really good. We've heard so many jokes about bad food in England that we had low expectations, but so far, we've been really pleased. Of course, we've also spent a lot of time in Pubs drinking Cider so that might have influenced our assessment.
Dogs are allowed in restaurants, kids are well behaved (for the most part), everyone speaks English and seems to understand customer service, and the cars needs to yield to pedestrians.
But of course, the greatest thing of all is the change in weather. When we left Abu Dhabi, the temps were 110-115F and 90-92% humidity. Now, we're enjoying 70-80F and while a bit overcast and rainy, I LOVE IT!
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