London, Scotland and all things in between

I just returned from a business trip to the UK. It was interesting to see how the recession has affected the UK and certainly my impression from everybody I talked to particularly home owners is that they have not been as adversely affected as the US well certainly not Arizona in any case. My home is now worth 2 and sixpence not quite what I expected after 10 years in the same place.

Anyways on to the good stuff. The trip started very well with a great trip in Business class out of Phoenix to Heathrow. Terminal 5 is a tranquil place and not yet suffering from the mayhem I was used to in the other terminals. I had a wonderful time in London and completely lucked out with the Indian summer. Seven full days in the UK and not a drop of rain. Visited some great restaurants and of course Harrods food Hall which is still one of the best in the world. I travelled to Berwick on business which is a few minutes from the Scottish border. I had the privilege of staying in this beautiful Berwick Holiday home. This is a fully restored and modernized country home and I was fortunate enough to stay as the guest of our friends at swiftrank. We travelled across the border to Scotland a full 10 minute journey to have dinner one evening and ate at a simple Scottish pub called the Cross Inn a perfect example of how good home cooked food can still be the very best option. When they first told me the salmon was farmed I looked concerned and almost did not have it thinking of the farmed salmon in the US full of red dye and waiting to poison you on every bite. I relented and they are definitely kinder to the salmon on the farms in Scotland as it was delicious added to the homemade soup and desert it was a truly great meal. If you are ever in Berwick I strongly recommend this great pub and restaurant. You can see more details here on Berwick Restaurants.co.uk.

I was truly shocked at how expensive British Rail was 262 pounds round trip to the North of England for a three hour journey. How can they justify that?. The trains did arrive on time though and I was very pleasantly surprised to get on a train with free wi-fi and electric power so no running out of battery. Not the British Rail I remember from my old days as a British rail commuter in the UK but I digress. I have posted a picture of me with two of my beloved nieces outside a phone box in London. I thought these phone boxes were now part of history but was pleasantly surprised to find this one in full working order in the City of London.

I was heartbroken to hear from British Airways that effective October they will no longer allow 2 bags per person just 1 at 23 kilos. How on earth am I going to bring back 40 lbs of chocolate and 1000 tea bags now?