Drive on the left! Drive on the left!

Everyone remembers the great scene in European Vacation where Chevy Chase gets stuck in the round-about and can't get out. It gets much funnier once you've actually tried to navigate an English round-about. In fact, driving in England itself is quite hilarious once you've driven down a teeny-tiny-skinny road, on the left side, at 60 miles per hour!

I must back up a bit as I've gotten ahead of myself. We left London at the absolutely hottest it's ever been there. Mind you, it's not as hot as it was in the states, but the complete absence of air conditioning anywhere made it much, much worse here. The temperature on our train to Oxford was around 120! To make matters worse, there was a fear of a black out of power, so the train couldn't turn on the AC, and the windows were so small a chipmunk would have to work at squeezing through. Then, because of the low power, the train had to maintain no greater speed than 20 mph, when it was not waiting for another train to pass. The 90-minute trip took over three hours, and we were reduced to little more than puddles when we arrived at the Oxford station.

THEN, we got out car. I've never been so frightened in my life as I'm trying to navigate a busy city street, while driving on the wrong side of the road, and shifting gears with my left hand. Luckily, we got onto the highway quickly, and the hotel (non-air conditioned, again) was near the road.

Driving the next day was one of the few thrills that I won't be so eager to repeat. The speed limit on back country roads is somewhere around 60, so you can imagine how exciting it was to fly over these windy roads, which would be single lane roads at home, all the while repeating my mantra, "Drive on the left!" By the time I hit a curb and ran the passenger window across some bushes, I'd started to get the hang of it; in fact, I'm concerned about driving at home now.

As for the three cities we visited in three days, all I can say is lovely places to visit, but it would be hell to live there. Oxford, Bath, and Stratford-upon-Avon were so chock-full-of-tourists that I was sure I was in the states somewhere because of the familiar accents. Bath was my favorite town, mostly for its beautiful architecture. The Roman Baths were fantastic, and Nate actually enjoyed walking around them. Stratford was my sentimental favorite for obvious reasons. Seeing where Shakespeare was born and died was an incredible experience. The fact that most of the houses there now are the same as the ones that were there when Shakespeare walked the streets gave me the chills (I know, I'm weird). We ate at a thatch-roofed pub that has been a tavern since 1623!!!

The end of our adventure is nearing, and I'm happy to spend the last few days winding down with our friends. I'm not looking forward to the drive through Manchester to return the car, though. City driving -- on the wrong side of the road -- sounds truly terrifying.