Top 10 things I love about England

10. Gorgeous gardens – at least all the rain makes the flowers and plants happy!

9. Lambs – I really love it when they jump up in the air

8. Great public transport – trains, the underground, double-decker buses… no need for a car here

7. All the charity shops (a.k.a. thrift stores). They are everywhere and you can find some steller buys.

6. Public footpaths – a enormous network of paths that may go throw private land but are open to the public – a hiker’s heaven!

5. Cider on tap! Yay Strongbow!

4. Charming old houses… perhaps stone or with a thatched roof, but all loaded with character

3. All the fair trade products – almost every supermarket sells lots of fair trade products

2. Ryan Air, Easy Jet, etc. Fly practically anywhere in Europe & a few other great destination as well for as little as £0.01 – yes please!

1. Friends and family (Especially all the PIZZOS!!)

Top 10 things I miss about the States

10. Mexican Restaurants

9. Target

8. People who speak the same language (I don’t speak English, I speak American!)

7. Stricter controls on sex & nudity on TV & newspapers. How can they call it a newspaper when the front page headline is that there’s a nudie spread on page 3?

6. Paths for biking and rollerblading

5. Being able to phone people rather than text them – phoning from a mobile is ultra expensive and it still takes me 15 mins to text 3 words.

4. Friends who are into the outdoors – backpacking, kayaking, etc

3. Sunshine & warm weather!

2. The prices! With the $ so weak and the £ so strong, everything costs twice as much here!

1. Friends & family! (p.s. we miss you & would love to hear from you!)

A Tour of Haddenham

Today you’re in for a treat – a virtual tour of Haddenham, the village where we’re currently living. First off, pronunciation. Basically, just forget the whole middle bit – and say it: “Had – Nam.”  In fact, we like to just call in ‘Nam for short. 

Haddenham is in Buckinghamshire, about an hour east of Oxford. With over 5,000 residents it’s the largest village in England. But it is NOT a town. It is old. The Anglican church, St. Mary’s, was built in the 11th century!

Haddenham is known for its “witchert” houses and walls. Witchert is basically a fancy name for old mud – but they do make it pretty!  There’s a lot of darling cottages with thatched roofs in the village.

 

Haddenham has a butchers, a bakers and… well, to be honest there’s no candlestick makers… but there is St. Tiggywinkles - a wildlife hospital! There are also 4 churches, 5 pubs (hmm…), a fantastic Indian restaurant and a train station that gets you to London in under an hour.

And, this year Haddenham was awarded “Best Kept Village” again. Wow! And for the next few months, Haddenham is home!