Tour of the Island

So I had a rather exciting weekend, visiting Tiz's friends and family. Actually right now I'm in South London, having just arrived today; on Wednesday we're doing a 4.5 hour bus journey to Leeds to stay with Tiz's uncle. Anyway, New Year's Eve British style was very fun, since I discovered that London's fireworks show (on TV) is just as entertaining as the Times Square thing we have in the states. We went to Tiz's friend Fiona's house and ordered Domino's. I learned that a UK large is a US medium, a UK medium is a US small, but at least you can get Tandoori chicken as a topping!
New Year's Eve was actually rather tame for me, as I was keen to go light on the alcohol having properly gone to the pub for the first time on the evening of the 30th. It was an interesting experience walking through a seemingly deserted village on a Friday afternoon, only to walk into "The Plough" and see dozens of people waiting around for 11:00 and last rounds. I have never been much of a drinker, but cider in this country is really, really good. On New Year's Day Tiz's mother cooked us a very English meal, complete with a Yorkshire pudding and gravy. I managed to bring some of the South to England with me in the form of my brother's pecan pie recipe that seemed to be a hit with the household.
In contrast to what you have been reading, this is not a food blog, but these past few days have been food-heavy and somewhat slow-paced. Hopefully by about Thursday I will have pictures of London and maybe Leeds/Bradford, where apparently some of the best fish and chips in England can be found. I promise I'll talk about something else in addition. As usual, comments are welcome!

                                       Outside the pub on a rather cold Friday night

              A variation of Yorkshire pudding (toad in the hole) on New Year's Day