The Marys Blanket The British Isles.

By Mary Ann Fitzmorris Tuesday, July 25, 2017. Crossing The Pond (The following is the first of as many reports as the Marys find time during and after their journey to see everything in England, while I sit here at my desk with the dogs and this journal.--Tom) Road trip! Most people think of jumping into the family car and going to the beach, but the Marys (I'm one of them; the other is our daughter Mary Leigh) cross the ocean, rent a car and try to cover two countries in a week. Two countries whose driving structures are the mirror image of the rest of the world. This plan, hatched just a few days ago, was sketchy till this afternoon, when we sat in the Delta lounge in Atlanta waiting to leave the country. The trip started its usual way, with suitcases in the car on the way to the airport on Monday--until we got the word that our standby seats evaporated as New York flight cancellation set the dominos in motion. A day later, we left New Orleans at 8 a.m., to insure our arrival in Atlanta. The snafus always occur in that one-hour initial leg of any trans-Atlantic flight. We spent the day eating and planning. This is a food blog, but I can only offer a review of the spread in the Delta lounge, which has evolved into an all-day buffet that is really quite nice. Oatmeal, grits, bagels and eggs and cereal in the morning, with some specialty each day. Today's was mini quiche Lorraines. Lunch was a predictable array of salads and soups, cheeses and spreads. We know the menu well, but lately they've added a few surprises. Creamy shell mac 'n' cheese in one of the lounges (we dropped in on a few). Tuscany fusilli and Turkish rice pilaf in the international lounge. We headed there after stopping for a snack of spring rolls at PF Chang's, and a $9 slice of Cheesecake at Cafe Intermezzo. (We remember that Atlanta favorite from years ago on "normal" road trips there.) We waited to board on an outside patio, sipping a delightful blueberry lemonade that packed a punch. This was a welcome precursor to a seven-and-a-half-hour flight. ML spent this time trying to figure out how to fit stops at every manor house in England. I'm calling it the Chick Flick tour of the UK. It begins as soon as we get in the car tomorrow morning. Oxford, Blenheim, Highclere and a few others before even checking in at the hotel. There will be no time to eat (or interest in eating), except for my quest to find the elusive good fish and chips. And there will be our requisite visit to Laduree. Later in the evening, we will follow the hordes of hopefuls trying to snare a space at Dishoom.