Notes from the Honeymoon in the UK

Number of flights: 3
Number of late flights: 2
Number of times through airport security: 3
Number of bags they let you carry on in the U.S.: 2
Number of bags they let you carry on in the U.K.: 1
Amount of time we lost in the security line, after being asked to leave the queue to consolidate our bags: 15 mins
Amount of weight I lost standing in security lines: 2 lbs
Amount I gained back: 5 lbs
Number of weddings we attended: 1
Number of conferences: 1
Number of hotels: 4
Number of B&Bs: 3
Number of English breakfasts: 8
Number of distillery visits: 1
Number of castle visits: 2
Number of garden visits: 2
Number of picnics: 2
Bike rides around lochs: 1
Sunburns: 1
Number of days the weather forecast said we'd experience rain: 8
Rainy days we experienced: .5
Average sunset: 10 pm
Average sunrise: 4 pm
Oddest experience: Playing pool at a bed & breakfast in the Scottish highlands until the sun set, around 11 pm
Number of biracial couples I saw outside of London: 1
Number of men with long hair: 3
Number of women in leggings: 3,875
Most seen American franchises: McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Subway
Most surprising American franchise: Papa John's, in Edinburgh
Variety of meals we had: Indian (Northern & Southern); Thai, Scottish, English formal, French, Italian, takeout, tea, pub
Best restaurant: Circus Wine Bar & Grill, in Ediburgh; with Halli is Leicester in second place
Number of people who were in Circus on the Monday night we were there, other than our waiter: 0 Most interesting concept restaurant: The Loft in Glasgow--a movie theater converted into a trendy bar and restaurant
Bottles of water purchased: 30
Bottles of whisky: 3 (two were samplers)
Ratio of the pound to dollar: 2:1
Cost of gas per gallon in U.S. dollars: $8
Cost of gas for trip in U.S. dollars: $295
Number of emails I responded to: 10
Number of emails received: 400
Number of business faxes I had to send: 1
Number of places I had to go to before finding a place to print my document: 5
Cost of a fax at an internet cafe: 1.5 pounds, or $3 a page
What came with my "Veggie" version of an English breakfast in Liverpool: Fried egg, toast, baked beans, heated tomato half, mushrooms, and a big slice of bacon
Biggest gastronomic surprise: Oatmeal, or "porridge", is salty
Biggest gastronomic delight: the flapjack, a pimped-out oatcake
Biggest gastronomic regret: That I ordered veg and mash instead of french fries
Number of times H-band thought I should apologize for looking at the food placed in front of me and saying, "Ummm yeah...no.": 1
Most dangerous alchoholic drink: Pimm's--so subtle you don't know you're getting loaded
What the flight attendant referred to when he asked H-band if he wanted "spice" in his tomato juice: Worcester sauce
H-band's cop-out excuse for not trying haggis, like he promised he would: It wasn't made locally.
H-band's excuse for drinking beer at every meal: You can't be sure the water's good.
Number of times we got lost on our way from Glasgow to Leicester: 2
Number of times Paris Hilton was mentioned in the drive from Glasgow to Leicester: 45
Number of times we had to endure mention of Emily getting kicked off of Big Brother for uttering a racist word: 90
Dumbest segment on a morning talk show: American authors promoting their book and describing how they've reworked sign language to translate into flirting
American artists played constantly in U.K.: Rhianna, Beyonce
Song I was relieved to hear after four hours of Brit pop: Old Brit Pop--Talk,Talk and New Order
Bad American movie that suddenly became cool when it was broadcast in a Scottish B&B: Roadhouse
American TV shows I saw in repeats: Entourage, Law & Order, Project Runway (the Santino season)
Most redeeming moment: Getting half-off our stay in Newcastle because our room was inconveniently located amidst a multi-suite bachelor party
Number of hours drunk men banged on doors on our floor, including ours: 3
Number of public restrooms with paper seat covers: Number of days I had to wear dirty socks: 2
Most surprising town: Liverpool (it's quite nice, even if our bus driver had to divert from the main road to avoid the rock throwers)
Most pleasant hotel experience: City Inn in Westminster, London
Nicest amenity: Free movie rentals
Worst amenity: A broken showerhead that had been ineffectively positioned back in place with Scotch tape
Number of times we had to pay for a wireless connection: 1
Cost for 24 hours of that wireless connection (in U.S. dollars): 30
Pictures that H-band insisted on taking of sheep: 5
Funniest question we were asked: (By a 19-year-old boy we met at a roaside inn, from Blackpool): What's it like in Detroit?
Second funniest question, from a 25-year-old Scottish man, trying to sort out the best hotel to recommend to us in Glasgow: "Are ye's loaded?"

Comments

[Denise]

All in all, sounds like a perfect honeymoon!

Welcome home!

[Anna Farmery]

Number of notes that I made during your speech - 917,642 or somewhere near! Thanks for an inspiring talk!

[MiGrant]

Sunrise at 4 pm? Are you sure you set your watch to the right time zone? ;-)

[Ellie Harrison]

Hi Jory,

Wow I love the post summarising your trip to the UK. Data overload!

I was at the conference in Leicester on Friday. Your talk was really interesting, I feel like I've expanded my tech-vocab three-fold. My blog - Tea Blog - is a bit of an odd one. It would be great if you could take a look.

Best wishes,

Ellie

[Matt]

Edinburgh is the city to which my wife and I most want to return. We absolutely fell in love with it. Sounds like you had a great trip. Happy Honeymoon!

[Hotels in Glasgow Guy!]

Hi good post - Glad you enjoyed my home city! - Loved the comment from the hotels in glasgow guy, and the loft is my local! - Cheers, hope you come back soon!

[Hotels in Glasgow Guy!]

Hi good post - Glad you enjoyed my home city! - Loved the comment from the hotels in glasgow guy, and the loft is my local! - Cheers, hope you come back soon!

[Maui Weddings]

Really awesome posting..thank you very much.