england, or yes, there were lots of wet sheep

by the magic of being a pilot's daughter (i recommend it to anyone), karl and flew first class to england and back [sound of champagne glasses clinking]. the best thing about first class is the wide seats that recline nearly all the way. the unlimited wine and the ice cream sundaes come in a close second and third. and all of that for a mere $306. (don't think it's all fun and games, though. because we have to fly standby, there's always the threat of not getting on at all. i once spent 3 days in the LA airport (before they remodelled) eating $4 hotdogs trying to get on any flight going to the east coast.)

we stayed with karl's parents in sheffield, but spent most of the 2 weeks travelling around england with them. we saw karl's paternal grandparents in liverpool (also, a statue of john lennon), curry mile in manchester, eyam (/eem/, a town whose claim to fame is that during the plague of 1665-66 they voluntarily quarantined themselves to save neighboring towns), the crooked streets and sagging tudors of york (also, york minster, where the fun-loving stonemasons are keeping with the spirit, if not the letter, of cathedral maintenance by carving modern-era gargoyles (e.g. star trek ferengis) into the facade), london (where the rebuilt globe theatre is the only thatched-roofed building allowed), and the many roundabouts (traffic circles, rotaries, "keepleftis") of swindon (where we had a weekend-long drinking and football-watching session with karl's uni buddies, discussing the merits of geordie lads and david beckham's right foot).

all the stereotypes are true: there are sheep everywhere, it rained the whole time (although the rain there is an entirely different animal: a polite, charming, british animal that seems to be apologizing to you in a lovely well-schooled accent as it falls), and every menu features fish and chips.

and now for your english pub-naming lesson. the majority of pubs in england have been named according to one of the following three rules:

1. The [Color] [Animal]. as in The Yellow Lion, The Red Bull, The Black Horse.
2. The [Town or Person] Arms. as in The Leeds Arms, The Helmsley Arms, The Queen's Arms.
3. The [Noun] & [Noun], where the two nouns have a thematic connection. as in The Horse & Jockey (horse racing), The Sheep & Goat (farm animals), The Rat & Parrot (things you find with pirates).