Seeing that Heathrow Airport definitely does not count as a legitimate trip to England, this past weekend marks my first official trip to the land of Beatrix Potter, The Beatles, William Wordsworth, and Daniel Radcliffe, just to name a few (which is going to cause me to digress ever so quickly just to point out that the HARRY POTTER PREMIERE HAPPENS THIS WEEK!!!!!!!) Alright. Back on topic now.
The home stay was part of my study abroad program with Arcadia so everything was all organized and set up for us ahead of time, all we had to do was show up ready to take in the beauty of the Lake District. Louisa Williams (another Davidson student studying abroad through Arcadia) and I just happened to end up placed with the same family, so it was very nice to have a familiar face there with me and someone to freak out with every time we saw a sheep. Honestly, I'm not sure exactly what my obsession with them is... they are just so cute! I have been seriously contemplating how I can sneak one (or two... or three) back to the U.S. and let them loose to graze outside of my new apartment building at Davidson next semester. I'm sure Physical Plant wouldn't mind... in all honesty they'd probably my little sheep friends lightening their landscaping workload.
Our train arrived in Penrith around 7:00 on Friday night and we were greeted by our host family, Alan and Jackie Wright and their 13 year old son Paul. Our information cards had told us that both of the parents were teachers and that Jackie's hobbies included reading, music and needlework while Alan's included DIY, caravanning and home computing. They were both incredibly interesting and we learned much more about them throughout the weekend. It turns out that they have been caravanning all over the UK and Europe for many years now and they have friends all over the place that they like to meet up with for big annual events. So this meant that Louisa and I got all the 411 on the British caravanning scene and were driven all around the area by someone who knew the landscape like the back of their hand. Jackie also plays six instruments (let's see if I can remember all of them... piano, clarinet, flute, basset horn, organ... and... I'm blanking on the last one. But as you can see, her musical repertoire is quite impressive). Their son Paul is also really into cross country and had a meet on Saturday morning. We got to hear all about it while marveling at the intensely muddy state of his clothes when we picked him up after the race. We also got to hear Jackie giving him a hard time for dirtying his white shorts and white shoes to the point of being unrecognizable, which was quite funny and reminded me of the good old days when my very own mommy would nag me about such things. Good thing she'll be in Edinburgh just next week to get me back in line and make me do more than just the bare minimum when it comes to laundry and cleaning my room...
Here are some pictures from our full day of adventuring on Saturday. As you can see, we covered lots of ground!
Hiking down towards Ullswater, one of the largest lakes in the area
Aira Force Waterfall
Climbing back on up
The Kirkstone Pass Inn - the oldest pub in the Lake District
It's also the highest pub in the Lake District - 1,481 feet above sea level!
THE WORDSWORTH COTTAGE!
You know... just being an excited English major
Just in case you were really worried you might get lost on the one path leading through the graveyard
And there he is, William Wordsworth himself. He's got a pretty nice location too, situated right near the shop selling the famous Grasmere gingerbread. I was glad to see that good old Wordsworth gets to enjoy the smell of the top secret recipe wafting through the air on a daily basis.
After a jam packed day on Saturday we spent the better part of Sunday relaxing, catching up on reading and doing crosswords while nestled on their incredibly comfortable living room couches. Jackie prepared a delicious meal for us for lunch that day (we're talking lamb, neeps, mashed potatoes, gravy, the works) and even shared her recipe for golden syrup pudding with us. Louisa and I were quite proud of ourselves for crafting the dessert from scratch and it tasted amazingly exactly like the pancakes from my all time favorite breakfast place in Wilmington, Causeway Café. So it was quite nice to have a little taste of home all the way in England.
After I played the piano for a little while at Jackie's request, Louisa and I boarded the train and headed back to Edinburgh. The temperature continues to drop over here so we weren't surprised at all to see snow on the ground outside for most of the trip home. Looks like I'll be bundling up even more from here on out!
Well this will probably be my last post for a while since come Thursday I am on the go again, this time heading to Vienna to visit Patrick for four days! Now, Patrick is always way overplaying my role as travel guide in his blogs, whether it is in his entry from his trip to Edinburgh or the one recapping our time in Paris. So I would like to take just a moment to thank him for the incredible itinerary that he has planned out for my visit to Vienna. Highlights include ice skating, a Rapid Wien football game, visits to the famous Christmas Market, the Harry Potter premiere (alskdjf;aowijefoawiejfoiwJefl;KSdjclksdjf;lLAKJSOFAIWEJFOAWIEJFOI!!!!!!!! SOOO EXCITED!!!!! Ahem. Anyway...), and even a trip to the Coffee Museum (yes, they have a coffee museum. I'm already thinking it is one of the greatest cities on earth and I haven't even gotten there yet). He has also carefully selected a famous café for each day that I will be there, meaning that he is going to willingly sit with me while I marvel over each and every delectable caffeinated beverage. In a nutshell, I couldn't ask for more :)
After Vienna I will be stopping over briefly in London to meet up with Mom, Dad and Julia! They get into Heathrow on Sunday and once I get there on Monday we will embark on some whirlwind sightseeing before I head back up to Edinburgh early Wednesday morning to be a good student and get back in time for class. They'll be spending one more day sightseeing before taking the high speed train from London on Thursday morning. We are renting a flat just off the Royal Mile and I am currently planning a hodgepodge of a Thanksgiving dinner for us to enjoy once they get here. If anyone happens to have heard of stove top stuffing or canned pumpkin being sold in Scotland, please let me know ASAP. As of right now I believe our menu is going to consist of either some wimpy little turkey breasts (since I am striking out every time I go on a hunt for a legitimate turkey) or a pre-cooked Tesco roast chicken (I wouldn't want to assault my poor family with haggis right after they hop off the train) accompanied by traditional Scottish neeps (mashed turnips transformed into smooth, buttery, mashed up deliciousness), Mom's sweet potato casserole and the golden syrup pudding I have recently added to my dessert repertoire. So loosen up your belts family, it's going to be a random, but still delicious nonetheless, Turkey Day feast.
Until next time! I hope everyone is doing well. Thanks for reading as always!
Oh and just to end on a wonderful note... SHEEP!!!!!!
Come on... you know they made you smile.
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