The East Coast

We have just spent a week in Philadelphia where Mike attended a conference and I accompanied him as a good opportunity to see another part of the country. I really liked the city and it felt very much like we were half way home. It was older, shabbier and more rough around the edges, with lots more British and Irish influences especially. Narrower darker streets with brick houses and a real sense of history all helped to convey a more European feel; as well as football matches on the TV in most bars and a big selection of British beer on tap...

The B&B we stayed in was certainly not like the Californian America we have thus far been exposed to. It was quirky and unique and I'm sure some sitcoms have been based on less. The slightly eccentric and largely elusive owner was having some renovation work done so there was a chaotic air about the place, but you can stay in a highly sanitised featureless hotel room any day. How often do you get to stay in a room decorated in a French château style with a hand painted mural of a balcony with views to formal gardens by your breakfast table? Yeah, I thought not. Once I had got over the initial weirdness and fear, it was great! (I say this having had a good night sleep last night though.)

The first time I met the owner, she shuffled up to the room in furry slippers with an entourage of over excited tiny yappy dogs (called Lulu, Lilly and Saffy) who she appeared to have very little control over. All the while she spoke to me, she was shouting throatily down the phone (although he could probably hear her without it) to a man downstairs called George who was doing something or other to the electrics. Those same dogs woke me at 6am every morning followed by raspy loud chastising. The whole experience was a little like the League of Gentleman with American accents, but our host was polite and offered lots of help and the location was good. As long as you liked to OD on dairy products, the breakfast was fine too, and passing solids in the toilet seemed to be no problem too. All in all, we had a fun week!