The Interview.

So Trish, you've been in Britain now for 10 weeks! You’ve managed to see a few sights around London so far, but how do you spend most of your time?

I spend the majority of my days here working. I mean, my job is the reason we got this great opportunity to live abroad. The past few weeks have been going great at work too. I’m getting all my tasks completed in a timely fashion and really getting a grasp on how the company operates. I am the only girl of 21 people on the Pipeline Team, so I’m also trying my best to fit in with the guys, going for coffee breaks, talking about video games, etc. [Which is quite funny because she doesn’t play video games.] But aside from work, we really try and explore this country as much as possible.

(Leaving work)

From Exploring the City

So your first sight seeing trip, where did you go?

We went to Windsor Castle! My first time seeing a “proper” castle.

Great...tell me why you chose to go there?

Well, America is sort of lacking on the castle front. It was pretty amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.

How far away was it?

We were staying in Marlow at the time and it was about a 45 minute train ride.

Tell me the one thing you remember best about your time there.

I have to choose one thing! Hmm, well, just the exterior of the castle was pretty spectacular. But so was the inside...damn, I liked all of it!

So that was a pretty quick trip then right? Just for the afternoon?

Yep, just a quick Sunday trip. I definitely need to go back though. There was so much of it I didn’t get a chance to see! Maybe when all our family and friends come visit, we can take them there.

(by the moat)

From Windsor Castle

(the walls)

From Windsor Castle

Have you been anywhere else outside of London?

Well, yes. We took a two day trip to Bath.

I hear Bath is quite a charming town. What led you to it?

Lots of people had mentioned we should go to Bath. Rick Steves has a great section on Bath in his book about Britain and also Gwen had some great things to say about it.

How long did you stay for?

We stayed for one night at the Hilton and this was the most expensive hotel we’ve stayed at so far. And they charged for Internet. So surprised!

What makes Bath special, and how is it different from London and Marlow?

Bath is so special because of the rich history of the Roman Baths. We did the audio tour of the baths and it was so amazing. It was just so cool to be standing in a place that was so old and just imagine what it was like back then.

(the park in Bath)

From Bath

(Chips exploring the roman baths)

From Bath

They have a modern day bath right next to the roman baths that you can actually take a dip in. We definitely wanted to do this but we didn’t bring our swimsuits, so we had to buy one in Bath. I found mine right away, but you on the other hand, oh my. We spent over an hour scouring the streets of Bath looking for suitable trunks. You were not pleased because every pair had the built-in underwear, which you are not a fan, or they were super short! I said go for the sexy short ones but you weren’t having it. So, we finally found a Quicksilver store (can you believe they have one in Bath?!) and got some proper trunks. It was definitely worth it. The rooftop pool overlooked the whole town which was quite a view to take in.

What were some of the other highlights?

Some highlights of the trip were great food! At that point, it was the most delicious food we’ve eaten here so far. We ate at this restaurant called “One Fish, Two Fish”. This place was so cool, it was like hidden. You would totally walk by it if you were just walking down the street. There is a small sign on the sidewalk and you walk down a steep set of stairs to the restaurant, which is in some sort of wine cellar. It’s all dark with such good mood lighting, including twinkling lights. We had the best haddock and gruyere yorkshire pudding and not to mention the delicious fish entrees. Yum!

(blurry one fish to fish)

From Bath

Another highlight was the Fashion Museum. I loved seeing all the styles from back in the day.

(trying on some old school fashions)

From Bath

Oh, and I can’t forget about Afternoon Tea. We had a classic afternoon tea at the Pump Room (recommended by Gwen) and this was one of my favorites. We got two pots of tea, peppermint and earl grey tea. We also got this awesome sharing plate. It was served on a three tier serving stand. The first tier had little tea sandwiches with no crusts. The second had warm, fresh scones with cream and jam. The third had a few other assorted desserts. So good!!!

(Tea time for Trisha)

From Bath

Sounds like a good trip, where do you think you will go next?

Next up is our wedding in Maui! We leave one week from today actually. I get to take three weeks off work and am very happy about that. We get to spend some quality time with our fabulous friends and family on the beaches of Maui. I don’t know what’s better than that!

Okay, after Maui?

Over Christmas we are going to go to Edinburgh, Scotland. Jen (your lovely cousin), will be coming to London for a visit and then we’ll head off to Scotland!

Sounds like you are doing a pretty good job of dominating Britain!

Oh yea, dominating day by day.

Cheers!