The whole reason we decided to spend our vacation in England this time around was to pay Ken's grandparents, whom I'd never met, a little visit. (Ken's dad actually accompanied us on the first leg of our journey for the same reason.)
The first part of our trip to Britain was spent in the lovely town of Essex, where Ken's family resides. The city's reputation, by the by, is far worse than we found it. I'm acquainted with a few transplanted Brits here in Toronto and the way they described Essex, I was imagining the whole city to be like one giant trailer park with pregnant 12-year-olds running around carrying pints of ale in one hand and burning cigarettes in the other. Thankfully, it turned out to be nothing of the sort... proving my imagination is a little vivid at times. (Although we didn't really explore Essex at all, so those chain-smoking toddlers may still be out there.)
We spent the majority of our time there sitting in Ken's sweet grandparents' living room, chatting and catching up (or, in my case, getting to know one another).
I also had the opportunity to meet Ken's aunt and cousins!
(His aunt was extremely kind and acted as chauffeur for us on many occasions, saving us loads in taxi fare.)
It was a lot of fun getting to know this side of Ken's family over (many) cups of tea.
It also happened to be Ken's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary that weekend.
(They're really very sweet.)
We spent our last night in Essex celebrating their anniversary with them over dinner.
T'was a good time had by all, and both Ken and I were sad to leave everyone behind for the second leg of our journey.
(Part two will follow shortly....)
1 comment:
Oh, my dear! With your hair pulled up, you remind me of Victoria Stilwell in these pics and I can just hear you speaking with a delightful British accent!
You look right at home with a "spot of tea." ;o)
Post a Comment