Full Report on Nottingham

Am back from Nottingham, safe and sound. Had a GREAT time with Sam and his family. Summary: a lovely weekend. Here´s the full report.

DAY 1:
Arrived to East Midlands airport at 8:15am. Was mildly hasseled by English passport control agent, as usual. They seem to hate Americans. Or just me. Sam was there to pick me up, and we made the 40 or so minute drive in to Nottingham, stopping at an ASDA (grocery store owned by Wal-Mart) to pick up ingredients for a Traditional English Breakfast. I embarrassed Sam twice in the store, once by reading aloud in announcer´s voice the names of their laundry detergents--Surf. Daz. Bold. Fairy.--and the second time when a Mika song came on over the speakers and I started singing along. Finally made purchases and drove to Sam´s apartment, where I met one of the roommates, Harriet, lovely girl who´s in law school with Sam. Sam & I made and ate lovely Traditional English Breakfast. Then sat around on couch for a couple hours watching TV, chatting with Harriet, and thinking about taking a nap but deciding to wait until later. Walked into downtown to see castle. Nottingham castle was slightly disappointing: has been turned into an art/knicknack museum. The Robin Hood Exposition was nothing more than a trumped-up promo for the new BBC Robin Hood series. Then went to the self-proclaimed oldest pub in Britain. Was very cute inside, with cozy little rooms and lots of dark wood and even a fire in one of the fireplaces. Had a coffee that was not disgusting and a glass of water, while Sam had a soda water with lime syrup in. Then walked over to the pedestrian shopping area and into the biggest mall in Nottingham, which was very nice and where everyone was ready for Christmas. Felt warm and cozy. Kept thinking of the movie The Holiday. Then it was dark and cold outside so we rode the bus back to Sam´s apartment and had a little nap. Then up and out the door to make our 8pm dinner reservation at a lovely little Italian restaurant in Sam´s parents´village, Radcliffe. Parked in Sam´s grandparents´driveway. Met the grandparents and they were lovely. Restaurant called Piano. I ate penne with salmon in a cream sauce. Yummy! House red wine was delicious. They asked for my ID. Do I really look younger than 21?? Then went to a pub close by called the Horse Chestnut, where we met Sam´s parents, Mark and Hillary, for a drink. They too were lovely. Then both Sam & I were very tired so we just went back to Sam´s apartment and to bed.

DAY 2:
Woke up at 9am without aid of alarm. Very impressive! Felt well-rested. Had slept marvelously well on Sam´s ultra-comfy bed (he was perfect host and insisted I take it while he slept on living room floor). Sam made us crumpets (really just English muffins) and we watched some of Sam´s videos of Camp Nebagamon. Then showers and getting dressed and out the door to go to the Belton House, which is the stately home in Lincolnshire that they used for Rosings Park in the BBC Pride & Prejudice mini-series. Hooray! The house itself was closed for the season, but we did range all over the grounds and even stopped into the restaurant and I had my first ever "cream tea" experience. Cream tea: two scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and a pot of black tea. Yummy! More exploring the grounds and then back into the car. Tried to see part of Belvoir Castle on way back but the castle and grounds were closed. Was dark by this time anyway. Returned to Sam´s apartment and joined the roommates on the couch, where we watched part of the British version of Dancing with the Stars. Then out the door again to go to a quiz night that Sam´s parents had helped organized. This particular quiz night is an annual charity event to support crib death research. Had a fantastic time drinking red wine, arguing over the quiz answers and learning how to toss a pound coin properly. Met friends of Sam´s family and they were all lovely. Then home and to bed because we had to get up at 5:45am to get me to the airport on time this morning.

To see more pictures of my trip, copy and paste this link in your web browser: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20541&l=539cf&id=595126014