It's The Little Things

What I Wouldn't Give For A Quick Trip Into Freddie's Right Now...

It's been part of my experience here that I've been comparing the UK way of life, to my US Alaskan way of life. They are similar, but also pretty different.  And it's not a negative comparison. Just observations. There are absolutely some things that are hard to let go of.  Like my love of a really big bath sheet for drying after a shower. Or my affinity for really good soap.  And who knew that I loved my kitchen faucet & sprayer so much?

I have spent my time the past few days just settling in to Oban.  I was moving around so much, that I needed a little break.  My little flat is very comfortable in downtown Oban.  I decided to stay through November to give me breathing room to find where I need to go next.  

Cute plant "stand" - right?  An old ladder.  LOVE it!

Meanwhile, Here are some things I've noticed.  Firstly, the GPS in my first car reported distances in kilometers.  Maps show distances in miles.  So I needed to convert. My car was a Hyundai i20. Never have seen it in the states. It was a 5-speed and had a wonderful reverse camera in the media console. The new car is a Skoda Fiaba.  Skoda is a Czech auto. No GPS or back up camera.  I really got used to that camera.....

My first night in Oban - I took this out my living room window.

When I woke up the next day, it was not only raining.  But it hailed too. While the sun was shining.

Other local shots.

Oh, and speaking of driving.  Fuel is on average £1..40 a liter.  It was £1.59 just over the Scottish border in England at a rest stop off the M74.  They also limited the petrol fill up to £35 per customer. There are 4.546 liters in a gallon. So without exchange rate, petrol is £6.32 a gallon. Exchanged to US dollars that's $8.62 gallon. So $3.40 a gallon might not sound so bad, eh?

I have finally figured out the shower faucets. Some can be challenging. Truly!  And speaking of faucets, what is up with not wanting hot & cold water mixed together in sinks??  But I do enjoy those heated towel racks. Oops, I divert - other pricing differences.

**Orchids - big tall ones with lots of blooms.  £12.  At home they would easily be over $30.
**My favorite Greek yogurt Fage.  Medium container.  On sale at Carr's is $6.99.  Here at Tesco (local supermarket) it's £2.99.

**Dozen roses are £10

**Postage stamps - first class letters take the same postage as postcards = £1.75 per stamp.  Converted to US that's $2.39 per stamp!

**Butter croissants are £.39 at the local Lidl grocery store.

**Military time - no am or pm

**Concession = Senior discount (at 60 here)

After grabbing some milk at MS Grocery, I turned around & saw these.

The P&G dish soap that we call Palmolive, is Fairy here. Sure would like to know the history of that naming!

And spoons. I love the little spoons to stir my coffee. The big ones for my morning yogurt? Not-so-much. They are freakin' huge!!

So I bought 2 new pillows because well, I just couldn't let the B&B fates take care of my pillow choices any longer. I need dependability in that arena. The grocery stores have clothing. They have sports equipment. They have tools. They have linen. Do you think I can find pillow cases?  I even found pillows & sheets at Aldi. But NO PILLOW CASES. So I finally hop on Amazon Prime UK. I Sign up for a trial period - because I cannot use my US account. I Order the cases to be delivered at N/C to my flat. Now with my phone, I'm stuck with the UK Prime video account in UK. Which has no library. Which I cannot change back to DOT com - US. Because Amazon verifies the account with a text. To my US phone number. Which was switched off when I LEFT.  So I still don't have the pillow cases or access to my favorite video library on the smart living room TV.  Don't even get me started on my limited video choices.  No HBO Max.  No Many Saints of Newark (until it's theatre released). Yes, I do see a VPN service in my future very soon.

As I said, what I wouldn't give for a quick trip to Freddies.

See you next week!