So Here's My Journey: Easter Hols

It's already 1:52 thanks to the longevity of Pride and Prejudice, so this really IS going to be a relatively short post this time.

Today was truly a lovely day.

We all had a nice "lie in" (sleep in) and hung around the house until after a light lunch time (hot cross buns and lattes!). Anna managed to find some photos of when they came to Canada 10 years ago, and we laughed for about half an hour at what we were wearing and how incredible it was that we remembered so much of that time. Apparently socks and sandals were permissible back then?? What were our parents thinking?! We got talking about it, and realized how amazing it is that I'm actually here and that I'm so comfortable here. We had literally only met each other for about 2 days, and at that time we were about 11 and 9 years old. Then we simply kept in touch through letters, email, and eventually facebook, and now it somehow feels that I know them so well. Perhaps it was the fact that they were all so inviting into their home, or the fact that our families are so similar (I suppose I'm the only one who would really see that, as I'm the only one who has really experienced both families), or perhaps it was because both Heidi and Anna are around my age...but it's so amazing that I feel like I've known them for years, that I've grown up with them. There was such a big risk that I might not like it here, or that I might not fit in with their family, or that, for all they knew, I could be obnoxious or rude or a crazy person (may, in a sense, be guilty of that last one, I suppose...). But I didn't seem to think about the option of things going wrong, and neither did they. And somehow, everything just worked out perfectly! There is rarely a lull in our conversation, we find the same things funny, and I would really go so far as to say that this week I feel like I have two new sisters. Two new, hilarious, light-hearted, British sisters.

For the events of the day, Heidi, Anna, Jen, Bev and I all went on a nice country drive together. We wound through the roads of Devon in hopes of getting to a historic site in Tiverton where they teach you about how the village was in the 1600s (I think?), but UNFORTUNATELY, when we got there, we had only just missed last entry (same thing that happened at Dunster castle). It's a shame they didn't put that information on their website, because we easily could have planned to be there half an hour earlier...but anyway, it wasn't all in vain, because

1) on the way to another location (north coast again :) I'll get to that soon...) we stopped and were treated to Hocking's ice cream. And I tell you, it was hands down the most delicious ice cream I've ever had. The family-run business has been around since 1936, and has won lots of awards for their hand-made ice cream. If you're interested, click on this to see more info:

Hocking's Ice Cream

and 2) we saw a BEAUTIFUL rainbow. I'm talking beautiful. Maybe it was just so much more amazing because it was in the beautiful countryside...but I have never, ever, EVER seen a rainbow that was a) that giant, b) complete from start to finish, and c) went all the way to the ground, where you could see the rainbow colours projected onto houses/trees in the way.

I was in awe. I took a few pictures, you can see here!:

So anyway, since the historic site wasn't an option anymore, we drove up north to a coastal town called Croyd. Here's some pictures we took:

By the time all this happened, we were getting pretty hungry, and decided to have fish and chips with Heidi and Anna's aunt and uncles. We went to a restaurant called Squires Fish and Chips restaurant in Braunton, which has a famous cod and chips dish that I obviously had to get. The place was PACKED FULL and after queuing for a while, we eventually got a table for the 8 of us. I was laughing so hard when I heard a waitress walk by us while we were waiting for our table and said "So, urinate here"....and I only realized a few seconds later, that she was asking, "So, you're an 8 here?" (asking if ours was the party of eight). HAH! Anyway, here's a few quick shots of suppertime:

It was MASSIVE, but it was freakin' delicious!

I've definitely had a plentiful supply of typical British food since I've been here -- and this one may have just topped the charts!

After supper we headed back home, and all the way were talking and chatting together and laughing about the differences in accents and word choice and pronunciation/emphasis on words between Canada and Devon, among other things.

We came home, had a cup of tea, and finished watching the mammoth that is pride and prejudice. And now, friends, I am tres sleepy! Tomorrow Anna is heading off to do diving training for the army, and so she's taking the car and Heidi and I are going to hang around here, maybe take a walk if its nice out, or take a bus if we decide to go anywhere further.

Oh yes, also had to include this -- COOLEST HAND WASHER EVER!!! It's a 3-in-1, no-touch hand washer station. You put your hands in there and it automatically squirts some soap into your hands...and then in a few seconds, the water comes on, just the right temperature, just for the right amount of time...and THEN, without moving your hands out, the water stops, and the dryer starts! SO COOL. I had to take a picture...