I (Heart) UK

Friday night I went out with some coworkers and their friends and had a blast. It seems like every town here is a drinking town. And they know how to drink. People love my accent, but they ask where I am from and I have to explain New Mexico’s location relative to California and Indiana’s location relative to Chicago.

Saturday I went to Durham and got a tour of the city. It is a beautiful city with a castle and cathedral that date back to the 10th century. The castle was closed for a private tour, but I got to go inside the cathedral. Pictures weren’t allowed inside, since it is still a functioning catholic church with regular mass, but I was able to take pictures from the top, after ascending the 327 step, very narrow, spiral staircase.

Today I went car shopping. America needs these cars. Even the cars that we get need these options. The focus has an optional 1.6L diesel engine that gets 48mpg in the city, and 74.2mpg on the highway. The ST version is 225 HP tubocharged 2.5L that gets 20.5mpg in the city and 41.5mpg on the highway. Plus it looks great! I also looked at the Ford Ranger, which has an optional 3.0L I-4 diesel that is capable of 25mpg in the city and 36mpg on the highway in a 4 door, 4x4 truck, and still can pull 3 tons. The Vauxhall that I have been driving around got ~40mpg on petrol, with mostly city driving.

I drove up to Newcastle today to look at living there. It’s a BIG city compared to what I am used to. It’s nice to be close to it, but I wouldn’t want to deal with the commute (even on a train) on a daily basis. I think I am going to live in Darlington. I am pretty sure that my car will fit width wise in the garage, not positive about depth. I need someone with a garage to measure the internal dimensions. Apparently the older homes have larger garages.