Hot tea

My very first trip to the States  was a visit to my sister in Tennessee.  Excitement knew no bounds.  Although I’d grown up all over the world and been to most European cities, America seemed very exotic.  I had all these visions of it, fueled mostly by movies I’d seen and I wanted to experience all things American.  Well at least all the things that I believed to be the epitome of the American experience.

My hit list

Drive-in moves.  Sorry, don’t have them anymore. 

Drive in restaurants.  What?  You know where they put a tray on the side of the car and you eat a burger or something.  I have no idea what you’re talking about.  Come on, I’ve seen them in movies, you drive past a window and they give you trays and you fix them onto the car…You’ve got to be kidding, right?  You mean they don’t have these any more either?

Ok, how about apple pie and ice cream.  Now that we can do.

Apple pie and decaffinieted coffee

We were about to take a trip, my sister needed a holiday and we were going to drive all the way to Florida.  It seemed like a huge drive to me, coming from that tiny little island sandwiched between the Atlantic and the North Sea, and it was agreed that one of the stops on the way would be for apple pie.

We pulled into this tiny little town, into this tiny little restaurant and I ordered apple pie and ice cream and decaffeinated coffee please.

The waitress looked at me pityingly – It’ll have to be Sanka. I looked at my sister helplessly.  Is Sanka coffee I whispered?  Yes, but it’s instant.  

I turned to the waitress, that would be lovely I said in my oh so British accent.

I come from a strange place

When she returned with our goodies, she was visibly pleased with herself.  I know where you come from she said to me in her charming Southern voice.  It’s that place where they drink that hot tea sh*t.  I laughed out loud. She was exactly right, it is and I do.

Encourage one another.

Love Elle.

xoxo