By Daisy Jones

When I first moved to London and people said they were going to take a holiday (vacation) “on the Continent” I would think to myself, “Which one?” I soon learned that when people say this, they mean Europe, the continent directly south of the island on which they live. Sometimes people would even say, “I am going to Europe.”

It took awhile to get used to the phrase, “I am going to Europe” because London is in Europe. It is confusing. How can you go someplace you already are? When people said they were headed “to the Continent,” it became more clear. Technically, people in the United Kingdom recognize that they are part of Europe, but as they live on an island, continental Europe is also a destination, and somewhat of a separate entity.

I get it now. The statements, “I am going to Europe,” or “I am headed for the Continent,” are still striking though, because they remind me that I am on an island. For most of my life, I have associated island living with Caribbean accents, white sand and pina coladas. Island living in London means participating in the hardest-working culture in Europe (supposedly), visiting pubs, and never really putting away your winter clothes, let alone your umbrella.

The one time that it is easy to remember that I am on an island is when I fly to the U.S. The movie screens on the plane show little maps to help you locate where you are, and for the most part, the screen on a flight from London to the U.S. just shows blue. The long flight across the Atlantic was particularly annoying on my recent trip to Cleveland because I could not wait to get there. I never can. Not only was I going to see my family, but July is National Ice Cream month in the U.S. How could I stay away?

London does not have an abundance of good ice cream shops. There are a few Ben and Jerry’s stands, and one Baskin Robbins, but it is an hour away from me and it is hard to justify traveling for two hours for ice cream (I have tried many times). I love ice cream at any time of year, but it is an essential part of summer.

Thankfully, in my local stores, I can buy some flavors of Ben and Jerry’s, and Haagen-Dazs is popular. But it is not as fun to eat ice cream at home as it is to eat it somewhere else, and those are premium ice creams anyway. What about those days when I want a simple scoop of lime sherbet? What about when I want frozen yogurt? Frozen yogurt is also extremely difficult to find in London. I cannot wait for the U.K. to catch up on the frozen yogurt culinary trend in the U.S.

Finding ice cream and frozen yogurt is not a problem in Cleveland, where Pierre’s is headquartered. Count your blessings. You want a choice of flavors? Try Cinnamon, Turtlicious, or Double Fudge Brownie, and for frozen yogurt, try Cherry Vanilla or Butter Pecan. And these are just a sampling of Pierre’s flavors, let alone Breyers, Dreyers, and your local store brand. You can also visit establishments such as Dairy Queen, Baskin Robbins, Friendly’s, Honey Hut, and your favorite local ice cream shop. Even if National Ice Cream month has passed, it is still summer.

Making time for an ice cream cone is not just a way to satisfy your taste buds, it is a classic way to spend time with someone and show them that you care. You do not have to order pretentious sundaes with hot fudge, cherries, whip cream, bananas and three scoops of colorful yumminess, but just take a minute and a single scoop to enjoy a summer afternoon or evening with someone you love.

I may be sentimental about sharing a conversation over an ice cream cone because it is something my family does well (and we have the waistlines to prove it!). Eating a lot of ice cream is something I miss about living in the U.S (what kind of statement that makes about me, I am not sure). But as I was visiting with my family, I could not help but feel blessed to be able to spend some time with them. In this summer heat, I also cannot help but think about distant relatives, soldiers, businessmen, Peace Corps workers and others, pursuing whatever it is they are pursuing, in foreign climates. I imagine that every one of them would like to share an ice cream cone with someone they love, regardless of the continent on which they share it.