July 10th. View from the roof

Today we learned about a few differences with how the stuff is organized. First and foremost, the caps on the whole milk in US are red, while in UK red means they are fat free. Like driving, the whole color scheme is reversed. Next, zip lock bags are luxurious US staple. In the UK, you tape up your precious sandwich. Or read directions to buy a real zip lock bag if they exist. To be fair I really should not have assumed that easy seal means zip.

For the future reference, we crisped our only extension cord that allowed multiple devices to be plugged in and so now have to buy individual plug convertors for each US device we plug in to the tune of 5 pounds each. At least for that amount of money you get something that weighs as much.

Another note, most places only accept a credit card with a chip inside. None of ours do so it is helpful to have cash handy. By the same token, as I've mentioned before, many places like advance reservations via the Internet. Unfortunately some sites do not allow to enter US-based billing info for the credit card and reject transaction. We tried a number of options with Eurotunnel and finally were able to reserve the tickets on the train through DirectFerries.co.uk. They made us email them copies of our passport and credit card. Not complaining, it is just not very nice from the security standpoint.

Kids got official British breakfast today: clotted cream, jam and scone. Isabella flat went to her Cheerios, while Georgia gave it a try. Clotted cream is very nice. It tastes like butter but has texture of a yogurt.

We bought the printer and attempted to get the tickets for Hampton's flower show. Apparently today was still only for the members of the Royal Horticultural Society. Must be a lot of members based on traffic we hit on Monday returning from work. They were sold out. The company had offered to come up and see if there are any left at the door. Provided we get the membership. Pretty exclusive business. Incidentally even if you buy the 26 pound per person tickets to the flower show you still cannot get into the palace. For that, it is encouraged to sign up for membership at Historic Royal Palaces. I think we'll wait for the sale on those :)

In the afternoon Georgia, Dan and I went to the Russian deli - Papa Karlo. Just like in Georgia, it featured an excellent selection of Lithuanian food. There was not really anything Russian there. But that's OK, we got Virta Desra, Varskes Suris and other goodies :) I am very glad that Lithuanian had established such a good export system. They need it. Good for them!

In the evening we went out to the ice-cream parlor on the High street. We realized that kids probably were not in the ice-cream parlor for a long time because they've panicked at the right of the many things you can do with ice-cream. In the end, they were absolutely happy with their choices and consumed them at incredible speed.

Finally, Georgia and I went up on the roof of our building. They have landscaped pathways great for watching the river and sunbathing. We'll be back :)