English Lunch

John told me on Saturday that we were invited to go eat lunch at Erik’s house.  He plays Dr. Bartolo in the opera.  I was excited for this because John said it was going to be a traditional English lunch complete with a walk afterwards.  So, we went to the bus stop to get picked up by 12:45pm.  As it turned out, two others were there as well, Tim and Giles.  Tim is in the opera- can’t remember the name of who he is, but he has a white face and a scraggly ponytail down to his butt- and Giles is the director.  I must admit I was a little nervous at first; meeting new people is not exactly one of my specialties, but as soon as I met these people, it really didn’t matter.  Everyone was so nice.  Erik picked us up in his car; I was delighted to finally get a chance to speed along in one of those tiny cars that drive on the opposite side of the road.  Since I was the smallest, I got to sit in the middle of the back with John and Tim on either side of me.  The car ride was about 15-20 minutes.  It went by fast because there were so many twists, turns, tiny roads where only one car fits, and roundabouts that I was mesmerized the entire time.

        On the way to his house we stopped at Castle Coch.  John took a bunch of pictures, which I hope to borrow and post with mine.  The castle was complete with different bedrooms beautifully painted and furnished, a kitchen, a keep, and one of those heavy wooden/metal criss-crossed things that you lower down in front of the door to keep intruders out. We paid to go inside and walk around.  I really don’t have words for it and so I’ll let the pictures do the describing. 

       After the castle we continued on to Erik’s house.  We suddenly stopped at the top of this hill on a curve in the road.  He pulled off next to this brick building and everyone got out and then we proceeded to go inside the building.  It was his home! It used to be an old welsh pub and as soon as I got inside I fell in love with it.  It was big, yet small, spacious and yet very cramped.  It had small curved doorways and little wooden doors.  Stone and wood floors and big glass windows that opened out onto a spectacular view from the back porch/patio.  The backyard dropped down away from the house in levels and it held many flowers and a little stone pathway that weaved back and forth till you came to more even land that housed a pond with bright orange fish swimming around.  This house also came with two little dogs, Molly and Mimi, and a black cat that kept to itself.  Dinner wasn’t ready yet, so we got busy with the wine, cheese, crackers, and grapes.  Even though this isn’t an unusual appetizer in the states, for some reason today it tasted even better.

        Now comes the best part, the meal!  For our main dish, we had roast beef (from the local butcher), carrots, broccoli, fried crispy potatoes, and regular baked potatoes, which are so common here (they are about the size and look of an egg), gravy, and my favorite- these unbelievably crisp, light and fluffy bread/pastry type things called Yorkshire pudding.  I thought they were filled with pudding, based on the name, but when you bite into them all they are filled with is air.  They were the best things and I think I had four of them. MMMM!!!  This meal lasted maybe an hour or so of slowly eating and talking.  Most of the talk I just sat there and listened, as I had nothing to contribute to the conversation. It mostly hinged on singing and music and the like.  I found it interesting- which was a little surprising. 

         Next came dessert.  This I have to say is one of thee best desserts I have had in a long time.  Of course I always say that, but this was REALLY good.  It was homemade apple crumble.  Which is just like our apple crisp.  On top of this bowl of gooey steaming crumble, you pour some fresh cream, and then we had ice cream from the local dairy to top it off.  This ice cream didn’t really have a flavor that I could tell, it was just white and creamy and what every ice cream should taste like. I enjoyed a second helping that was almost as big as my first. 

        And then last, of course, came the homebrewed tea and coffee.  The coffee came in the biggest French press that I have ever seen.  I had a cup of that with the fresh cream and a small spoonful of sugar.  The sugar alone is delightful.  It’s the brown, raw, really big granular kind- my favorite!   This could have quite possibly have been the best cup of coffee I have had yet while being here.  Of course, it could just have been that everything tasted so good because of where I was having it and who I was having it with, but who knows. 

        Okay so after our meal, and dessert, and coffee, and all that wine we kept on drinking through the entire three hours of our meal- it is tradition to go on a walk. So we set off- Giles, Tim, Erik, Erik’s wife (who was lovely in all ways), John and myself, and of course Molly and Mimi.  We start walking into the forests and immediately find ourselves at the ruin of a castle. I wish this happened in the US!!  Anyways, we walk for about an hour all along the forest, over open grassland, along ridges, and end up being a mile above sea level with the most wonderful view.  I hope to post some pics John took because -again- words can’t describe.  One of the delights of the walk was finding sticks for Molly and Mimi to catch.  They are hunting dogs and it was so much fun to watch them bound and leap through the grass in search of a stick.  Oh and I can’t forget! We ran into both cows and sheep.  They were just wandering about everywhere along the trail and open grass, minding their own business.  I was bummed because they didn’t really let us get too close.  Maybe next time!  It was a great way to work off that overly stuffed feeling in my stomach from the delicious meal. 

        We got dropped back off at the bus station in front of the Millennium Center and walked home.  It was a great way to spend a Sunday- in the company of some of the nicest people, eating some of the tastiest food, and then walking and enjoying the loveliest of views.  Let’s hope this keeps up!