England Day One

Landed in London early in the morning and started my trip to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. The car I rented did not have a GPS unit in it so the rental car agent said "How about we give you an upgrade to a car that has a built in GPS and then you will save money. See the portable GPS is 16 pound a day"

"Sure, that will work." I said. Thinking that would be a wise idea.

"Well the only unit we have with a built in GPS is a new Audi. How does that sound?"

"Great, Let's go with that one!"

It's a quick bus ride to the Hertz lot at Heathrow. I get to the car and its a beautiful brand new Audi. I get in and it is just like climbing into a space ship. It took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to start the car. Once that obstacle was overcome it was time to set up the GPS for the trip. As I messed with the GPS unit it became clear that it did not work. Thinking that it was probably me and not the GPS, I went in the Hertz office near the parking lot, which is not the same as the one in the terminal where I rented the car. I explain the situation to the attendant and he comes to the same conclusion that I did...  I probably do not know how to use the GPS.

We both go to the car and he tries to get it to work. Well I am not an idiot, the GPS did not work. So after about an hour of trying to get another car with built in GPS or just getting a portable GPS, he finds a portable GPS. He looks at the rental agreement and says "You know it would be cheaper for you to go with the car you originally rented and have the portable GPS." Damn it! The first guy swindled me! Stupid conversion from dollars to pounds! So I go back to the first car. A Toyota Auris Hybrid, not quite the Audi. The attendant helped me program the GPS for High Street, Huntington, Cambridge and I was on my way. 

After a few hours of driving on the left side of the road in rainy England my nerves were about shot, but luckily the GPS said that I was nearing my destination. As I pulled into the village my stress level skyrocketed. Freeways were a breeze compared to village driving where there are no rules or sides of the road! I reached the middle of High Street and found a parking spot. I got out and found the first pub I could. I crossed the street and walked into "The Saddle" (26 High Street, Kimbolton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28 0HA) http://www.the-saddle.co.uk/home.

It's a nice quite place, there was a polite twenty-something-year-old girl working the bar. The bar itself was small and had a cozy feeling. Nice and clean and you can tell it was newly remodeled, but still had its Old English charm. Other than the bartender there is another girl in the bar. She obviously works there, but is not on shift. They talk about work and the goings on of the village, but it does not seem like they are ignoring me. More like I am just one of the regulars and this is just how shit goes.

Drink Numero Uno in the UK: Guinness
Cost: £5.30

After my first pint I was feeling better so why not have two. I tell the girls where I am headed and ask them if I am close, they discuss it for a bit and then proceed to tell me that it is about 25 mins away still!!! So much for GPS. Well they give me directions and I finish my second pint and out the door I go. Just before I left they did play "American Boy" by Estelle, could have been a coincidence... maybe. I make my way toward my hotel and can tell I am close, but I have to go to the bathroom and don't think I am going to make it. Just my luck, there is a pub on the way. I pull in and this pub is strait out of "Trainspotting," a run down little place with not much going for it other than a usable bathroom and beer on tap. I order.

Drink: Badgers Choice Smooth
Cost: £7.60

I should have stuck with the Guinness. The Smooth was good, but not worth the price. This place was seriously scary. I finished my drink quickly and got out of there before I got stabbed or some soccer hooligans kicked my ass for not knowing who played starting forward for the 1976 Man U team.