Things I Like Tuesday: England

This time five years ago, I was navigating cold, damp, cobblestone roads and trying not to say y'all too much in public. I was listening to lectures about British history and culture and rowing on the Thames (and learning that it's pronounced "Tims").
Also, I was falling in like with England. [I would say falling in love, because, really, I was, but this is Things I Like Tuesday. I'm trying to stay true to the title.]

Here are a few things I love..like...about England:

I like that they love their tea. With cream. As do I.
I like their food, too. Not all of it, but they have excellent scones and pastries and these things that are called "pasties" that are like hot pockets if hot pockets were homemade in the 18th century and delicious and bigger than a hand. Okay, so not really like hot pockets. They're more like pot pies to go. By far my favorite food there.
I like their little markets and that you have to specify whether you want a pound weight-wise or money-wise.

I like that they still use pounds and pences. They refuse to join the rest of Europe with the euros. Stubborn, but admirable.

I like their libraries. And that the whole country seems to love reading and writing and books. [yes, this is a vast generalization, but look at all the authors from there: C. S. Lewis, Jane Austen, J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and some guy called Shakespeare, among many, many, many others.]

I like their vocabulary. They call people "love" in the way some Southern women call people "hun," except this time it's everybody, not just big-haired ladies. Surprisingly, when a big, scruffy man you've never met before calls you "Love," it is only endearing, not creepy. I like that they say "brilliant" similar to the way we say "cool," but it's so much richer than "cool." While I lived there, I did manage to incorporate this one into my vocabulary, but it has since died out--I'm going to work on bringing it back. I like that they call the letter Z "zed," as in, "Do you spell your name with a zed?" ummm.....yes. (my exact response when asked the first time).
Obviously, I like their accents.
I like how very polite everyone is.

I like their old buildings, and the "new" ones built before my country was founded.
I like that there are castles and colleges and cathedrals everywhere.
I like that a lot of people walk or ride bikes or buses around. I like that every single person on the road/sidewalks believes they have the right-of-way. It makes life more interesting when you're walking along the sidewalk and a bus slightly brushes the bag on your shoulder or a bike practically runs you over. I like that they have tandum bikes for five--they're full on the way to school, and only have one rider on the way back home after the kids are dropped off. Adorable.
The public transportation is also wonderful.
I like that they have a queen. And that her name is the same as mine.
I like that they have such a fantastic, long history, rich with traditions that are still practiced today.

I like that they row. I like that they play football (soccer) and get so into it. I like that they call our football "American football" and think that it's mostly like rugby. I like that they play cricket and croquet enough to have a croquet course on the college campus. I like that they're not very good at "hoopball" and that they don't care. I like that they think curling is the Olympic sport that most people want to watch 87hours of during the Winter Olympics.

I really like England. I would not mind visiting there again, or living there again.
[There's also a pretty good chance you'll read more of my adventures there on this blog at some point.]