Our first day in America

After what seemed like an eternity in the air, we landed at Newark International Airport, exhausted. After all I had been told about border security and passport control being a time consuming bore, it was actually quite a swift process. What we had foreseen as being a swift process was hire car rental. It took an age, even after preordering, to be allocated with our two cars, but that's when the problems began...

One of the cars we had been issued with, a Kia, was fine. However, the other one was a problem. It took over an hour and a half from arrival until leaving for the problem to be sorted, and by car number 5 we were ready to leave. 

It took around 2 hours to drive to our hotel just a mile down the road from Longwood Gardens. The thing that has stood out for me so far is the customer service as hospitality, it's incredible, almost insincere as it almost feels contrived. In a good way though. We could learn a bit from them. 

In the evening we decided to eat at a place called 'Applebee's' as recommended by a visitor at our hotel. It was a typical American restaurant with neon lights outside and served burgers, steak and the like. All in all a good night, finished off with a few apple sangrias. Let the trip begin!!

Brendan Arundel, Kennett Square, Philadelphia, 02/05/15