On the way to the airport! Leaving Houston and hello England!

Hello England…I am back!

I can’t believe I made it here after a 1-1/2 year hiatus. I am back in my ” second homeland” visiting my sister, Jessica, who has lived in England for the past seven years. She married a Brit she met in Houston. They fell in love, got married and lived in Houston for 8 years until he convinced her to move across the pond! So lucky for me, I get a new place to “frequent.” 🙂

I arrived safely after a fairly smooth flight thanks to the fact that the last eight rows were practically empty. I was able to spread out and take a lengthy nap for five hours after watching the cheesy (in a good way) Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart movie, Central Intelligence. I laughed.

The lights went back on in the flight cabin after what felt like a few hours but was happy to discover it was actually five hours. Usually my main goal is to brain rest and catch up on movies. Sleeping was the right call. So currently its 10:35 England time and 4:35 Houston time and I am doing okay.

My sister and brother in law John picked me up at Heathrow airport and off to the quaint big town of Cheltenham, home of 150,000 peeps located in the Cotswolds. We got to the house and I unpacked and off we went into town. We actually walked, yes walked. lol. Which is something as a Houstonian you don’t do or think to do for various reasons but that is a tale for another time.

A view during our serious stroll through town.

So off we walked through town, enjoying the chance to “exercise.” I always say as long as I am able, I will walk, take the stairs, etc.” But also that is just what you do in England. People walk or cycle. And you can tell! Where in America will you see an 80 year old pedaling down the sidewalk to the grocery store. The first time I saw this I thought she was senile and somehow found a bike and was escaping the nursing home. lol. But really people are just more active even in the golden years, which I HUGELY admire.

John was hungry so we went to Grid Iron for a quick bit to eat. John ordered an a-mazing burger. I mean it was killer and it also came with sweet potato fries. I did not taste the burger but according to John it tasted as amazing as it looked. The sweet potato fries were perfectly fried – softly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside which is how I liked it done. Décor and ambiance was spot on. Causal hip with farmhouse flare.

GOATS CHEESE BURGER Portobello mushroom, aubergine, avocado, herb oil, garlic mayo & red pesto (v) @ Grid Iron found at THE QUADRANGLE, IMPERIAL SQUARE, CHELTENHAM, ENGLNAND.

Honestly I would give this place 5 stars though I saw on TripAdvisor, it only had only received 3.5 stars. I am going to guess being from the States perhaps let me love it more? Some of the reviews complained of things that I actually liked.