Today I am leaving Bath-a gorgeous city where just about every building is made of bath stone. It is nearly perfect in every way. The achirtecture is gorgeous, there are beautiful hills surrounding the city with long winding roads. Yesterday on my walk, I came across a park with a playground with kids playing. The weather was a gorgeous 70-71 degrees. A perfect day in the perfect city, it seems.
As a matter of fact, all of the towns/cities I have seen in the UK seem close to perfect. The towns all have wonderful shopping districts of brick Victorian buildings, with bridges that cross over canals, hallmarked by a beautiful church in the middle of town. And these shopping districts are actually busy, including bookstores, pubs, travel agents, etc. And these stores are generally limited in hours. Some of them open at 9, close for an for lunch, and close at 6. (4 on Fridays). So a day in the life working at these shops would seem to be (a) wake up 8:15 (b) take the leisurely walk to work (c) go home again for lunch (d) after work, walk to the pub for a pint (e) do it again the next day. I see people in their 40's, 50's and higher working as cashiers in these stores, and small markets, and I wonder-is this their life?
And everyone is so polite, and speaks so properly! People use the word "cheers" in addition to Thank you. When asking for directions in Liverpool from a man sweeping the stairs by the rail station, he took the time to point out that the road I wanted was the continuation of the road I was on. In the US, how often does a man sweeping the streets use the word continuation? Even the bus is polite. (not just the bus driver). When not in service, the digital sign in front says "Sorry-not in service"
I am not naive enough to think that lives are this simple and there aren't any problems. After all, I have spent over a decade living in South Florida selling cruise vacations. To a man bundled up in January living in North Dakota working as an accountant, this might seem like a dream job without issues. While there we're certainly good days and many perks, was it perfect in every way? As anyone who has done it or is still doing it, they can attest to the answer.
Anyway, after all this pefection, after nearly 3 weeks I am leaving the UK, and flying to Lisbon, Portugal.
