This is the 2011 fireworks display from London, UK. Spectacular. The Brits definitely did it right. I really wish I was there watching this. I would love to have posted the 2012 version, but am doing a scheduled post (Life has its own commitments), and really wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year. I suggest hooking up your machine to the closest 80 inch TV and crank the volume.
Let’s face facts, we all love to eat. As Canadians, we are very lucky in the variety and styles of cooking that one can sample without leaving the country. Having said that, I find it far more exciting to actually eat an Italian dish when in Italy. Seems more logical to eat a Caprese salad in Capri than to pick one up at the local Sobeys. I have yet to find buffalo mozzarella, olive oil or roma tomatoes that are even close to what we ate in Italy, the same yet vastly different. Eating catfish in New Orleans, English breakfast in England, pannenkoek in Holland, Belgian chocolate in Belgium, pasta in Sorrento, pizza in Rome. I could go on, as both Lori and I have no issue whatsoever sampling what is local, and jump at the chance to try new foods. Here are some of our prize meals.
On our very first trip of this magnitude (as in leaving North America), we chose to travel to the UK. This was an easy decision as Lori’s mother was born there, and emigrated to Canada in 1948 as a war bride. She had never been back. We decided to take her and anyone that could come from Lori’s family could come if they could. As it turned out, two of her brothers came along. They had cousins in the UK, who we reached out to and were ecstatic to have us come. As a result of this, we have established a strong bond with the UK group and we see them all on a regular basis, either them coming here, us going there or meeting up with them somewhere. This particular post comes from that first trip and highlights a run we made into Brighton, with Peter, Lori’s cousin, as our guide. Once there we met up with Lori’s mothers friends from the old days, Don and Margaret.
We drove down from East Grinstead and found a spot to park fairly close to where we wanted to be. We started to walk through the city towards the ocean.
I drove this road multiple times when we visited our friends and family in the UK. The first time, a little shaky, driving a seven passenger fan on the other side of the road, on the wrong side of the vehicle. The best part was signalling, I continually turned on the windshield wiper. That is the only thing different, all the pedals are the same as what we are used to. Eventually got used to it, but never got used to Cec and Lori screaming in the back seat.