The Car Hire and "The Off"...

After breakfast in our room, we packed up and paid up, and got another cab down to the Hertz Car Hire place. It literally looks out over the airport, and you've never seen so many planes in your life. Forgot to tell you there is a take-off or landing at Heathrow every 60 seconds!!!

Greeted by a young man of Indian (?) heritage, with a thick English accent, and he's from Slough, (pronounced like plough, not rough). He pointed out there were renovations being done and directed us to the hire office, where a very efficient young man organised our car. (Having booked it back in October, it wasn't ready-and-waiting, but I was shown a couple of choices, one of which would have involved an extra 20 Pounds per day!)

Anyway we ended up with a brand new Audi A3 Sportback, and it is beautiful both in its comfort, and to drive. WARNING! All cars produced for the UK market are "european" in that the indicators/wipers etc, are on the other side of the column from what you are used to. 

So, indicate right, turns on the wipers, etc., etc.

The car is diesel, but they keep telling us it is more efficient, and we hope it is at 1 Pound 50 pence per litre (i.e. $2.38). (For the record, the hire is $3400 for 77 days, which works out at $44 per day, and if that sounds expensive, you do have the luxury of going wherever you want to)

Now came the big test (again), me driving in England. There are soooo many signs and directions, one shouldn't go wrong, but there are also soooo many other cars and vehicles too!!!

Anyway, we headed off to a place called High Wycombe, (which sounds like something out of Jane Austen), and is on the way to Oxford, and through very pretty countryside, (damn it ALL English countryside is pretty, especially in Spring!!!), and ended up finding one of the best looking nurseries we've ever seen, and it had a cafe, for our first proper coffee in England. (By the way, the coffee making has improved out of sight in the last four years!)

We were told by the manage we should go up to the Mausoleum on the top of the hill. It is a huge pile of beautifully constructed rocks, dedicated to just one family, the Dashwoods, who apparently owned (or still do), most of the land you could see in any direction!.

 

Next stop Oxford...