What a week!

This has been a bit of an odd week for me. It began with the postponement of the driving lesson I was to have had on Monday. That was rescheduled for Wednesday. I can say that I'm very thankful to have had a driving lesson, but I'm really quite uneasy about driving here. It's not just that the steering wheel is on the other side of the car and that we drive on the other side of the road here. The signs are different, the roads are narrow, and nearly every intersection is a roundabout (traffic circle). About 2 hours into my lesson I began to wonder how it goes for Americans who get off a plane in Manchester or London and get into a rental car and drive away. Do they get in a lot of accidents, or do they just cause a lot of accidents? I drove around the countryside for about 3 hours and then parked my car here at the apartments. That was Wednesday and it hasn't moved since. I suspect one day next week I will want to go somewhere and I will work up the courage to take it out on the roads again. Maybe to go shopping ;-)!
Thursday I had a tour of the area and looked at a couple of houses that are available to rent. Our flat is a very nice 2 bedroom flat, but it only has one bathroom and that's not enough when we have guests. After looking at all of the little towns and available homes in the area we have decided to take the flat above ours, which is 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, and generally larger than this flat. We both love being in the town and the view of the harbour and Irish Sea are wonderful.
Tonight we are travelling! We are headed to Edinburgh, Scotland when Scott gets home from work. We are going to catch the train in Carlisle, about 45 to 50 minute drive from here. The train ride itself is only about an hour and fifteen minutes and the station is in down town Edinburgh. I have a list of places I want to see including the Edinburgh Castle and The Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is an official residence of the Queen and was the home of Mary Queen of Scots. There seems to be plenty to do and see, and the sun is supposed to be out although this weekend the weather is supposed to turn colder. We are looking forward to a fun weekend. I'll post pictures next week :)!

Keswick

This past Saturday we left Castlerigg Stone Circles and ventured into Keswick. Keswick is a quaint little town nestled amongst the largest fells in England. This area also has lots of beautiful lakes and is, not surprisingly, known as the Lake District. According to Wikipedia, Keswick was granted a market charter in 1276 and Saturdays in Keswick are still market days with vendors stretched for several blocks. Scott and I wondered up and down checking out fresh flowers for planting in the garden, handmade crafts (I had my eye on some ducks, but Scott vetoed that purchase.), art, and food. We bought some fresh made olives stuffed with something hot and spicy for Scott, and also some local cheeses. We wondered through many shops as well. Adventuresome folks visit the outfitters in Keswick to purchase gear for climbing the nearby fells. One interesting thing about Keswick: there used to be mining nearby and the first graphite pencils were made here. In fact, pencils were still made in Keswick until 2008. There is a pencil museum here which claims to have the longest pencil in the world!

We had a pleasant morning wandering the streets of Keswick, and headed over to Derwentwater, one of the large lakes in the area. Several people had mentioned the boat ride to us and, since it was a beautiful day, we decided to give it a try. We enjoyed the trip around the lake. The lake is surrounded by fells and some of the landscape is really amazing. There are also a few homes nestled along the lake. Actually, I think mansions, or manors, might be a better description as most of them are huge! 

From the boat looking towards one of the fells. Although the sun was out, the day continued to be misty.

After an hour's ride around the lake Scott and I went for a walk along the shore, enjoyed some soup in an outdoor cafe, and headed back to Castlerigg Stone Circles for some better photos. On the way home from Castlerigg, Scott took me for a ride through the town of St. Bee's. St. Bee's is home to a priory first built in the 1100's. Sometime soon I plan to take the train to St. Bee's and do some exploring, but for today a ride through the narrow streets and hills of St. Bee's was enough for me. We headed home to relax and enjoy the beautiful evening with a walk around the harbour. 

Castlerigg Stone Circle

We had glorious weather this weekend with bright sunshine and temperatures near 60 degrees. Scott and I decided to set off for Keswick ( pronounced Kessik). We thought we would start out at the Castlerigg Stone Circle, just outside of Keswick, and drove off into the fells (mountains) to begin our adventure. It was about a 45 minute drive and the
morning was a little misty up in the fells, but it was still beautiful. We had a bit of trouble finding the Stone Circles as they are located on a narrow lane and there are only small signs to direct the way. We did find them, however, and wandered in amongst the sheep to check them out. Like Stonehenge, these stones are ancient: believed to be about 4500 years old. They were erected by druids and no one really knows what their purpose was. Unlike Stonehenge, you can walk right up and touch them. In fact, several people sat on some of the smaller ones. We wandered around snapping pictures and enjoying the morning and the mountains around us. Because of the mist, we returned later in the day, after our trip into Keswick to try and get better photos. Stone Circles have always fascinated me. Why were they built? Where did they get these huge stones from, and how did they get them to this field? Is there a significance in their position? Some speculate that they have a religious value while others suggest they identify an area for trade. Inside the larger area of stones, there is a rectangular area also outlined by stones where axe heads have been uncovered. All in all, a very beautiful place.

St. Nicholas Church

St. Nicholas Church sits only a few blocks from our flat. It was originally built in 1693 and replaced a small chapel. It was rebuilt in 1883 by Miss Margaret Gibson in memory of her parents. In more recent history, it was nearly destroyed by fire in 1971, and was not rebuilt. This is the front view. The clock tower is open for visitors to see the clock workings and also to view a small historical display about the Gibson family. Inside is a small information area and a cafe. The entire block that the church sits on has been turned into a park with beautiful gardens and fountains.

This is the side view. Notice the plaque on the wall by the gate? It is of particular interest to Americans!

This is the plaque you can see in the photo above. Apparently Mildred's husband, George Gale, was buried on his plantation just outside of Princess Anne in Maryland. (Princess Anne, Maryland is in the U.S.)

We have been having beautiful weather this week, although not with the warmth you guys on the other side of the pond have been experiencing. It has been 50 to 55 here, but with sunshine for atleast part of the day. Scott and I are planning a day trip this weekend. We've not decided if we're headed to a manor house, castle, or stone circle. All are relatively close by. I'll update Sunday or Monday. Have a great weekend! :)

Hi Ya'!

"Hi Ya!" is the Brits way of saying "Hi!" or "Hello!". Every time we enter a shop or restaurant we are greeted by a merry "Hi Ya!" (accent on the "Hi"). As anyone who has been in England can tell you, British English and American English are similar, but definitely not the same. In this part of England things are even more complicated by a large segment of people who are from Scotland. That sort of English is even more difficult to understand. Since we arrived last week I have found myself translating the British/Scottish English into my American English almost non-stop when I am out. In the past two days, however, the tides have turned. I now am finding it unnecessary to translate the English around me. On top of that, I can hear them in my head...as in when I'm thinking now, I'm thinking in British English. Family will know what that means.....It won't be long and the British English will come flowing out of my mouth as if I've lived here all of my life. When we lived in Mississippi I developed a thick Southern accent, so much so that no one ever suspected that I wasn't born and raised in Vicksburg. Scott, on the other hand, was always pegged as a "yankee" despite spending his childhood in Maryland. Even after living away from the deep south for 30 years a weekend visiting relatives in N. Carolina is all it takes for the "southern" to return to my voice. My NJ and PA friends will tell you that I had picked up the "Trenton" accent while we lived in New Jersey, which really is not a good thing. I promise you it's not something I try to do, it just seems to happen. I think maybe it's because of my speech pathology training: I can hear all of the little variations in vowels and consonants. Or maybe it's my hidden talent. Regardless, don't be surprised if the next time I talk to you out comes "Hi Ya!" in a funny, slightly British, American accent. :)

Our First Weekend Exploring

This weekend was certainly beautiful weather-wise, so Scott and I took advantage and did some exploring. We walked the streets of our town Saturday morning and had lunch in a small establishment. I ordered egg salad on a bap. Hmmm.... Turned out to be a hard boiled egg sliced, with lettuce, tomato and onion on top. The top half of the bap (the bun) had a layer of salad cream (salad dressing). It wasn't exactly what we would call egg salad, but it was still good. Scott and I also spent a good hour or so climbing the hillside at the edge of the harbour. We ended up at a local restaurant and enjoyed a relaxing supper. For dessert we decided to try a British specialty: sticky toffee pudding. I will tell you it was wonderful. I won't tell you how many calories or fat grams are in a serving. Suffice to say it is a treat we will enjoy on rare occasions!!
Sunday we ventured to church where we met some very nice people. It was "Mothering Sunday" (a.k.a Mother's Day), so there were flowers for everyone. After church we joined the congregation for tea and talked to several folks. The minister, a Scotsman, will be visiting Minnesota this summer. He will be refereeing soccer matches and also he has an interest in the U.S. sport's team traditions of praying before games, so he will be doing some research as well. We visited another great restaurant for brunch, where I tried Yorkshire pudding. We had no idea what that was, and Scott offered to look it up on his cell phone, but I decided I'd rather try it first and find out what's in it later. Sometimes it's just better that way :). And, yes, we topped off brunch by sharing another wonderful serving of sticky toffee pudding. It was "Mothering Day" after all!  After brunch we spent an enjoyable afternoon wandering around a local lighthouse turned into a museum where we learned a great deal about the history of Whitehaven. There were lots of hands-on opportunities and at one point Scott climbed inside the front of a mini-cooper. Needless to say, it's definitely not the car for him. All in all we had a fun weekend exploring our new home.

Sticky Toffee Pudding - Yummy!

The view from our flat and the Whitehaven Harbour

Whitehaven is a lovely Georgian town with a great harbour on the shores of the Irish Sea.

The fantastic view from our flat

This is the Whitehaven Harbour and, beyond the sea wall, the Irish Sea.

The outer harbour and the guiding light houses.

 The locks leading from the harbour to the Irish Sea, happy sailing…

The end of a beautiful day!

Day 2

Today was another cloudy, rainy, chilly English day, but I had a great time wandering the streets of my new home. I found the "Pound Store", which is similar to our "Dollar Store" except that an English pound is worth about $1.60 US, so for me it's more like a "Dollar and a Half Store". Still, I did manage to find a few things to help get organised in our flat. Later in the day I walked to the Tesco Store to shop for a few groceries. That was an overwhelming experience! I quickly found the cheese but crackers were a completely different story. After searching up and down aisles that looked as if they should have crackers I gave up and headed to the checkouts. A box caught my eye and, sure enough, crackers! Only here they are called "Biscuits for Cheese". Finished off our day with supper out at Chinese Restaurant nearby. The weather looks to be improving over the weekend so I will try and take my camera out and, hopefully, post a few pictures.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog about our adventures in England! Scott and I began our adventures on March 14, 2012. We boarded a United Airlines flight and settled into our seats -- business first class! We were wined and dined all the way across "the pond". We had seats that we were able to actually lay flat so we took advantage and grabbed a couple of hours of sleep as we flew. Thursday morning we arrived at the Manchester airport. It was a foggy, cloudy, drizzly morning: typical for England at this time of year. Our driver met us for the not quite 3 hour drive to Whitehaven. Scott climbed into the front seat next to the driver and they chatted almost the entire way. I, however, was totally freaked out by the driver sitting on the "wrong" side of the car. I almost shouted out loud when he turned left, into the left lane, on the highway. This driving thing is going to take some time I think! Still exhausted from our wedding celebrations and the preparations for our move, I promptly fell asleep in the back seat. I woke up to brilliant sunshine, beautiful green mountains, and mile after mile of sheep farms. This is definitely not New Jersey! We arrived in Whitehaven and Scott showed me around our "flat". We are currently living in a 2 bedroom flat that looks over the harbour in Whitehaven. By this time the clouds and drizzle had rolled in, but even so it was a breath-taking view! We unpacked, ate lunch, and then fell into bed for a nap, followed by dinner at a local establishment. Our adventure has begun........