Driving Miss Daisy

Almost everyone has asked me, "How is it driving on the other side of the road?"  Let me tell you, I was terrified at first.  Not only to be on the opposite side, but also to deal with all of the roundabouts.  They rarely stop here, so you just have to jump in and GO!  My first week driving, I kept telling myself, "Stay on the left, stay on the left."  I must say that you are not really on the "other" side of the road that often.  Most streets are so narrow, and you can park on either side of the street in either direction, so you end up driving in the middle of the road more than anything.  You learn to yield to other drivers and take turns going through the small openings.

I must note that I was using very careful driving while taking these pictures.  I came to a complete stop to capture these photos, and a few of them were from the passenger seat.  I promise I was not driving while shooting photos!

Here is one of the streets in town.  See how they park right on the street, in both directions.  The double yellow lines mean no parking on that side.

Most of my driving is pretty close to home.  I take neighborhood streets to drive Dylan to and from school each day.  People park right up on the curbs, so there is a lot of back and forth as you are squeezing through the streets.  The streets twist and turn quite a bit too.  Oh, and they have several speed bumps and areas where it goes into one lane to keep the speed down.  My friends Kristi and Apryl would not want to ride through neighborhoods for very long! 

A typical drive through the neighborhood with vehicles parked on the curb

One of the areas that goes to one lane and the oncoming traffic yields

See, people park right before and after these one-lane sections, making it really easy to get through at times. 

In our neighborhood (or neighbourhood as they spell it)

There are not many stoplights around other than in town.  The interesting thing about the stoplights is that they turn yellow before a green light.  They still turn yellow before a red, as ours do in the United States, but also before a green.  Everyone goes as soon as they see it change from red to yellow.  I caught it here in Bristol while Eric was driving.

The red and yellow light together...that means GO!

Just a street shot of downtown Bristol.  Double decker buses all over.

Driving into "downtown" Chippenham under the train tracks

This was the road that led to the bed and breakfast.  If someone comes from the other direction, you pull up onto the side as much as possible.  No shoulders here.

We are sharing one vehicle here in England, which has mostly been mine so far.  Eric has been walking and riding his bike to work.  I hope that once spring rolls around and the baby is here, I can walk Dylan to and from school as well.  We ordered a 7-passenger, automatic (which is rare) Ford vehicle back in October.  It took quite a while for it to get approval through all of the right people at Eric's work.  It is expected to be ready in early March.  Nothing seems to move too quickly over here.  We have a new rental vehicle now that is much better for our family.  I don't hit my head on this one! 

Dylan about to hit Amelia in front of the new rental vehicle :)

I think one of the most difficult things about driving a larger vehicle like this here in England is the parking spaces.  They make all parking spaces for tiny, compact cars.  I have impressed myself with how well I have manuvered this vehicle to get in and out of tight spaces.  It is kind of like the houses here...right on top of each other.  I just prefer a little more space.

Huge parking spaces...if you drive a miniature car.

At least I am learning how to get around town.  Thankfully, I have my GPS to guide me.  Just like most things, driving is different here, but I am adjusting.  I am taking things day by day and learning as I go.