"...England swings like a pendulum do...." -- Roger Miller

 Roger Miller, like me, was a Fort Worth native. He died too early in 1992 at the age of 56 from throat and lung cancer after a life of cigarette smoking, drinking and a brief encounter with speed. Like Frank Sinatra, he had a tremendous career in music without being able to read much of it. I can read music but that doesn't make me a musician. Talent is a great trump card. Miller's best skill was as a storyteller apart from his legendary songwriting. He sobered up later in life and could tell tremendous stories about his sodden adventures "when we were high enough to hunt ducks with a rake." His list of interview quotes is a freaking goldmine of language and observation.

We arrived in Liverpool Friday evening without incident, our flight from Vienna being uneventful and on-time and our luggage all in place and getting a cab in reasonably short order -- largely not what our arrival in Vienna had been. We found our flat much smaller than the one in Vienna but also clean -- another difference. There is no elevator so we walk up three flights but we figure it's good for us in an old-school way and we're on the top floor of a 109-year-old home in a neighborhood full of similar. This is, like Vienna, not the tourist part of town. The view is a Mary Poppins landscape of even chimneys and peaks at the same level.

I am treating our place in Vienna gently in the Airbnb reviews because harshness can have long-term effects. There were definite positives, such as a responsive owner and a great location and the fact there was enough for us to make it an actual home for three months. But we had to work at it and take a long-term view past the fact the place was filthy when we arrived. It took several days of scrubbing, sweeping and swiffering to get things right, not to mention we spent two nights with a sheet in a window because a window shade had fallen. The owner's reps arrived with a new shade and also began dusting and cleaning but seriously dude? Airbnbs are not hotels, so we did/do not expect Radisson or Hilton room quality on arrival. But it'd be nice to have decent linens and a kitchen without a stinky, dirty and non-functioning 1970s refrigerator. The college-dorm cold box is not a substitute. Enough said. The place had a nice in-line water heater too -- but the pilot light went out a few times. Austrian spring water is clean and clear but also cold shit.

Anyway, we're here in England and the place is nice (and clean) but soooo different. We can read the signs and the wording on the cars. We recognize more brands in the stores. The commercial areas are closer and more varied, though the public transportation is more expensive. There are more cars. The neighborhood is single-family homes/flats instead of multi-story apartments. The kids go to school in uniforms (the boys in ties and sportcoats) instead of designer labels. No more Europop music -- it's basic rock or blues. Our beloved croissants are replaced by, well, other stuff. We're still deciding how to start the days. Denise has her tea (much better tea in Austria, she says. So far. But that's another adventure) and I have some decent coffee from, well, Java. I got some "bacon" from a local butcher (it's what we know as Canadian bacon) and some sausages from a nearby grocery and both are very good. Denise has her egg and toast and my experience with crumpets isn't good so I have what here is called "muffins" but we've only been here a few days so far. A work in progress.

My beer photo is from Sunday morning, when I went out to just stroll the area and get oriented. I am thankful every day I can walk 6-8 miles a day without a problem to just explore. There is so much more here within a tighter area, so my stroll took me past several pubs until I came to The Raven, which was open for breakfast. I walked into your classic British pub with cask beers and sat down at 9:30am to have one. Life can hardly be more sublime. I learned long ago in New Orleans that there is no "proper" time of day to drink and sometimes getting up and going out on Mardi Gras day with bourbon at 6:30am is the best taste of all. So it was on Sunday.

We're still getting things together to make our flat more livable. It's a good place but not equipped for those who cook much in-house. We'll spend on cheap stuff like a plastic colander etc to make it work and then leave it like we did in Vienna for the next tenant. We consider it just the cost of life on the road. We're also paying as we go for our utilities -- so far about $30 to keep gas and electric going for another week. The UK is supposed to come up with a new utility cap on or around October 1st to deal with rising prices so we'll see. But so far our cost is about $3/day so we're entirely in budget.

Being so early into England, there are still so many questions about the rail system, the local buses, where things are and how long it takes to get there. We want to go to Scotland and Ireland and London and other spots and we're rejiggering attitudes and money to do things we didn't do in Austria. The best thing about this entire adventure has been the ongoing adjustment. Both of us are just gliding through some things that would have brought a "hell no" response a scant six months ago. We still have a "hell no" response to a lot of things but, frankly, nearly all have something to do with shit we don't find in the UK or in the EU. Each day away from the US confirms we're doing the right thing for us.

Roger Miller had another quote. "Some people walk in the rain. Others just get wet." We're walking in the rain every day because it's pretty damn sweet.