This was the longer portion of our journey up north to the Atlantic Northwest of the UK in the lake district. We thought it would be about 2 hours of travel... but we had no idea how long it would take us since this was our first time traveling there. It was two trains and we had planned on a bus from the train station in Windermere to go about 45 minutes north to Keswick.

This expected two hours of travel actually took us about 4 hours of travel time, and we found out after arriving at the Windermere station, that the bus transportation ended about an hour before we'd gotten there. So, we had to call a cab. You don't wanna know how much it cost us to get a ride. Pretty spendy. The good news was, we got to our beautiful hotel in Keswick, met our welcoming host Jason, who gave us great information, and all just in time to go find dinner within a short walk over to the next doors restaurant. That night turned into a night of recovery after our long journey.

The following day was a beauty. Neither of us had seen the area in the daylight yet, so we opened the curtains like kids excited on Christmas morning to see their first decorated sparkling tree and all the shiny presents. We looked out the sun filled window at the same time to see a splendid view of the surrounding valley, autumnal colors, and soft green hills. We knew immediately, that this was going to be the beginning of our magical vacation.

It was our day for a hike up the Skiddaw trail (the locals call it a walk), after a hearty breakfast, & a quick shopping trip to find a new purple rain coat for me.

The hosts of our lodging at the Ravensworth Bed & Breakfast, were so very helpful, welcoming, and accommodating with open arms. We could not have been in a better hotel. I highly recommend this establishment. It was clean, neat, charming, and the owners were very proud of their locally organic foods. If we do get to go back, we will definitely choose to stay there again!

As far as the hike (walk) around the lakes went, everything was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! The views, the weather (on the first day), the rolling green and golden hills, the blue sky with white clouds, running water and bridges, the peaceful quiet, and the animals we saw - horses and herds of sheep.

While we were out, we actually saw a rainbow! Jeffrey was able to capture it on his camera & when I get it, I'll have to post it later. What a great day! The round trip hike was about 6-7 miles and a medium to easy level. We had hoped that the weather would improve, but as we came back on our return leg, we found that it just became more cloudy and windy.

After making it back to our home base, we changed clothes, warmed up, and went out for a bite to eat... then we decided to go back into the playful wind, and go on a much shorter walk around the town to go see a park nearby. It was that kind of wind full of energy that just gets me super excited to be alive.

The following day, we decided to avoid the big rain& wind storm that came in, and to go on a bus tour around the various lakes. It was a twisty and bumpy road up and over hills and through neighboring towns. We were able to see quite a lot from the narrow roads. While I enjoyed the first half, by the return trip by tummy was flip-flopping. After we got off the hour long bus ride, I was much happier to brave the cold wind and rain for a bit.

This was our second day, and we only had one more half-day before we had to return back to London. It was a bittersweet journey. We found that we fell in love with the area on many levels. Even if there were stormy clouds on the horizon, the lush green fields, autumnal colors in trees and bushes, the rolling hills, and dozens of trails beckoned us to stay longer. I know in my heart, that if I'm given another opportunity to travel to Europe, I will make the time to come back here.

On the last day, we took a long travel south back to London... to stay one last night before Jeffrey had to catch his flight back to the states. It was another late night of arrival to our hotel, but, we made the best of it by going out to find a pizza restaurant and local pub for a pint.

The next morning...

The next morning we set out to enjoy a bit of the nearby area. We set out for a walk to Baker Street and to Hyde Park to see a rose garden that Jeffrey had seen once before & wanted to share with me. It was such a beautiful day to go for a stroll and enjoy a small piece of London together... once again out in nature.

Later, we found one of many London souvenir shops, so he could find a few fun things to bring back home. These shops have so many things to choose from - anything from clothes to hats, scarves, jewelry, teas, postcards, magnets, chocolates, biscuits, bags, toys, pens, pencils, sharpeners, stationary, posters, shot glasses, to mugs & tea cups. I will have to take a few pics to show later. It really is like a tiny shop of the bright and shiny London-land.

This was to be the end of our trip together. However, I did escort him back to the airport for a couple of remaining hours to visit... it was so wonderful and so hard to say goodbye. I will never forget these 2 weeks we shared & hope that the memory is imprinted on my brain as clear as these photos I took on our trip.

This portion of the holiday began on October 23rd in London, where I met with my love, Jeffrey, at the London Heathrow airport at noon. Earlier in the day I had repacked my bags for our travels that would go from Dorking to York, then from York to Keswick in the lake district. It was a busy day of plans, packing, and prepping for our travels together. I had pre-booked the first leg of our train tickets - all the while feeling super-excited!
While I was making my way to the airport, I was also taking note of how long this took for my future return flight, since I will have to get myself back to the airport in December. It was a bit long: one train and two connections via the underground. On the subway connection close to Heathrow, I struck up a conversation with another passenger. She was headed to the same terminal and it was a first time just as it was for myself, but she had a luggage with her. We talked about where we were going. She shared with me that she was traveling back home from Canada to Africa (where her husband works for Nestle & they live in different country a couple years at a time & then move to another place). I told her how I was meeting my long-time boyfriend for a week holiday in the UK together & that I was here as a study abroad student teacher. This nice lady gave me insight to other teachers in Canada & how they cannot find employment so some choose to teach internationally. It is times like this that energize me in learning more about other people, places, and cultures. I could see myself teaching in another country for a year of great experience... as long as I wasn't away from all of my loved ones for that long.

Once I made it to the airport, I found the international arrivals & stayed there to await for his arrival... which was scheduled for another 30 minutes. There were two different exit doors on the west and the east sides of this waiting area, so I kept turning my head back and forth like in a tennis match. While I waited, I kept thinking of how much fun we would have together on our adventure. I was daydreaming... and a man in a tan casual sports jacket, black jeans, & white shirt approached me. "Hello. Excuse me, but do you mind telling me who you are waiting for? I'm Ken from the British television show called... yadda-yadda... and we are doing exclusive interviews with families waiting a long time for their loved ones to return to them." So I politely answered in a short version of who I was waiting for... Ken, "Would you be interested in sharing your story on camera?" I thanked him but declined the offer saying, "Oh no, I couldn't do that. I'm already full of nervous butterflies and hummingbirds in my stomach - waiting for him." So, he went on to asking other people in the area - and I was able to see other people reconnect and hug one another as they met. It was a great idea for a story, but I knew I would be embarrassed and Jeffrey might not know how to react after such a long flight.

Soon enough, I was back to daydreaming & he found me before I saw him. What a wonderful feeling it is to meet a loved one in an airport after so long! We kissed and hugged, then headed over to a cafe for snacks and a talk before the Underground trip. It was such a good start to our week - sitting next to each other & sharing stories. I told him about the TV host asking me to be interviewed and recorded. It was a mutual agreement between us that it would not have been our preference... we like it to be a bit more private.

 I escorted him back to the London Underground to travel back to the Victoria train station & then onto Dorking, UK. It took about 2 hours to travel there. Then, we walked from the Dorking train station to the hotel, took a walk around the town to show him the area before the sun had set, got dinner, and headed back. When I showed him the gifts I'd made and found for him, he was delighted with every single one. It made my day to share stories and presents. Love was certainly in the air.

The next morning, we went out to breakfast to Cafe Rouge for a delicious classic British Breakfast -a cafe latte, a mushroom and cheese omlete with toast for myself, and he had orange juice, 2 eggs, herb sausage, back bacon, toast, & sauteed mushrooms. It was such a treat, since I normally just have yogurt and fruit with a piece of toast in the mornings before school. Walking around town, I was able to show him the local park I walk through on a regular basis, the shops in the old downtown area, and my place of residence. He took pictures of these places that I showed him, then we started our journey by train to York. We did luck out in the weather with sunshine and a few clouds for the start.

We made our way to Kings Cross and Pancrass train station to get from London to York...

Little did we know that this station held a tourist attraction: Harry Potter's Platform 9 3/4 wall for photos... it was pretty entertaining to watch while we waited for the train. I was more amused by this than he was. This was only about a 2 hour trip to York & we got there with enough time to walk around the cobbled roads, and see the York Minster Abbey, shops, before finding a place for drinks and dinner. We were lucky enough to find a great wait staff at a place off the beaten path, who gave us a round of free cocktails. It was a fun night of walks and sights of old taverns & even saw the town had a ghost tour through out York. It gave us endless amounts of banter to joke about.

The next morning, we decided to go take a look at both the battlement walls, and inside the York Minster Abbey - also it's undercroft. IN the undercroft, you can see the history of the previous Romans & Greeks city foundations that were found in the 1970's when the locals were investigating the reasons for their historic Yorkminster was sinking. During these excavations, they found it was rich with history & relics.   

After our one night and one day of a visit to York, we headed out to our third leg of the trip - only two more trains up to the lake district to Keswick, UK. This will be updated in the following blog. Enjoy!

On Saturday the 26th of October I headed out to London for one day and a night, before heading out to Paris the following morning. I found a great place near an eclectic part of London called Paddington Square Hostel, in the Paddington neighborhood. After finding the location, I was able to drop off my bag before check-in, and then go be a tourist by myself. I decided earlier that I wanted to go see the National Gallery of London. One of my cooperative art teachers gave me the recommendation & they couldn't have been any more correct in this being a must-see!

The National Gallery, London: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

I saw masterpieces from the following artists: Van Gogh, Monet, Leonardo da'Vinci, Manet, Egon Schiele, Pablo Picasso, Guercino, and many more. Unfortunately, they did not allow any photographs within this gallery. So there are no pics of the artwork this time around.

That evening, I went back to the hostel & enjoyed some great food in the Paddington Pub & after I began to write in my Wonder Woman journal while drinking a Strongbow cider. A few minutes later, a group of three women asked me if they could join my table, since there were none left. I offered them seats & we began a great conversation. They were a Swedish family of a mother, a daughter, and an aunt on a vacation trip to visit London for a week. It was wonderful to hear their life stories and share mine.

The night spent at the hostel was overall a great one. It was clean, quiet, and the other females who were in the 4 person dorm, were respectful. I headed out as quietly as I could early the next morning to go catch the Eurostar train to Paris. It was only one underground away & easy to find. On the 2 hour train ride, I had time to think and write in my journal in the business class seating that I was freely bumped up to. All of this was a very nice way to travel in the fastest trains in Europe & going under the water in a tunnel to another country.

Once I arrived, I found that it was indeed a challenge to figure out where to go to get to the Paris Metro transit station & find my hotel. I managed to find a machine to purchase tickets fairly easy, but to try and find the right Metro car was a whole other matter. I knew it would be a challenge since I don't speak French, but to understand their maps is not nearly as easy as London's Underground system. After a while, I found the right one, but once I got above ground, I had to find the right address amidst small narrow old streets. I had no problem asking  a lady who was walking by, and she was kind enough to show me in broken English, where to go to find the hotel.

The Hotel Annexe was quaint and I was greeted by several nice representatives, who were able to hold my belongings and give directions back to the Metro station. From there, I decided to go find a cafe fr some lunch and then onto Notre Dame. I found I was in the neighborhood of Republique & there was a Cafe named after it. There, I had the best shrimp & bacon Ceasar salad, French Baguette, cafe o'le, and a glass of wine. Next, Notre Dame...

While I was at Notre Dame, I wondered around the river Seine, crossed a few of the old bridges, and decided to be a little romantic.

That was the "Love Lock Bridge" the Pont de l'Archevêché is a stone arch bridge facing teh Notre Dame & it is covered with pad locks & even bike locks. All with initials or names written or carved into them to wish for their hearts to belong to another forever locked, and the keys are thrown into the river - symbolizing their eternal love. Here is a recent article about it: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887323511804578297832498983360

On the following day, I awoke right before dawn & took some shots out of my romm window, then went downstairs for a lovely French buffet breakfast. I loved their cafe' o'le, breads, pastries, waffles, fruits, yogurt, & cheeses. After, I went to go see the infamous Louvre Museum & in it many masterpieces like the Mona Lisa...

I spent about 5 hours inside the Louvre & got lost trying to get out from it & into the open air. By this time, I was just so tired of walking, climbing stairs, and needed a break off of my feet. So I decided to take a double decker coach bus tour of the city. This gave me the time I needed to recover in so many ways, while seeing more of the highlights, & it allowed me to get off & back on the bus again at any place I wanted. Of course, I had to stop at The Eiffel Tower!

On the last day in Paris, I chose to go see one more museum called Muse d'Orsay, which is almost exclusively about Expressionism. Since a few of my favorite artists fall into this genre, as well as I am currently teaching a class about Monet, I just had to go. This was probably my favorite place in Paris. I didn't get lost within the museum, but rather felt at home. I wanted to soak up as much as I could. I found myself in tears when I saw Monet in person. It was a surreal moment for myself. I loved it.

After spending about four hours in the Muse d'Orsay, I had to quickly go get my things from the Hotel & head back to the Eurostar station to catch the train at 5pm. I gave myself what I thought to be enough time - 2.5 hours, but as things are confusing in this conjested big city, I barely got there with only 5 minutes to spare.

The rest of my evening consisted of travels back from London to Dorking, laundry, and sleep. The next day was to be the day I meet Jeffrey at the London Heathrow airport to start our holiday together!

Saturday was a day planned to go on a coach tour bus from London to Windsor Castle, to Bath, to Stonehenge all in one 10 hour trip! Yes, it was a long day full of travel and walking on tours. As a result, I was so sore by the end of an even longer 14 hour day, but it was totally worth it!

First, we headed to Windsor castle. It is said to be the oldest and longest occupied castles in the world. I recognized it from an old Hamlet film, but can't recall which one. I'm sure they have had some parts of it used in films. I hadn't realized that there was a fairly large town surrounding the castle as well as many shopping stores, and a highly regarded Oxford University near by. It was great to have a tour inside the castle and see all the richly decorated rooms in velvets & gold. The drawing gallery of various royals who were artists. The history of the castle was pretty amazing to hear about William the Conqueror, and  the fortified structure on a site above the River Thames. This was the second place where they were very serious about NO photographs of any kind within the building. I was pretty sad that I couldn't take any of the beautiful architecture, crown molding, interior decor, shiny armor, and some of the amazing artwork. Also, I was hoping to be able to go on top the big tower that this castle which it is also known for but it was closed...

Next we went to Bath... Oh, how I loved it there! Bath was all about how the Greeks & Romans bathed at a hot water springs. A temple converted to a bathhouse had been build around it all due to stories that it was said to have healing properties. The amount of treasures that have been excavated and kept for show was amazing! The tour guide even explained that ALL of the houses, buildings, & structures are built out of the same local rocks as was Bath itself. They are called Bath Stone, which is an ooilithic limestone in an off-white color ranging from light gray to a honey yellow. It was interesting to see every building is made from this same rock and how the city grew out from the Bath's center in ladders up the soft hillsides. There were other stories told, and all of them were great!

Lastly... Stonehenge. To be honest, ever since I was young I imagined myself traveling to a place like this. A place that is ancient and a mystery. On the drive there, I noticed so many fields of green hills, herds of sheep, and pigs. Most of the area of Wiltshire is sparse with buildings, and most of them are old homes and farms.  One of the tales that our tour guide shared was about how the area of Wiltshire is riddled with folklore and mystery. People in these parts believe in things that cannot be explained. The Stonehenge is the largest of rings of stones found in the area, & has become famous, but there are many many more. One story is about the fields that have crop circles, and another is even older and preserved to this day. Up in the hills she pointed out a white horse. It is created by taking away the green grasses to reveal the white chalk stones below & it has been there in that same hill since the 1st century BC. As long as the Stonehenge. I was able to capture it in a photo while the tour bus was driving along the narrow roads.

Once we arrived to the site, the guide explained that there is a space before it that is undergoing construction for a new Rec & History Center in 2014 for Stonehenge. When it is finished, the fee will go up, and there will be more access for families to have a place to read and learn about the history of the stones and the various places near by to go see other important spots. We drove by it, into the parking lot area... and that's when I spotted them in the distance. As soon as the bus stopped, I got out as fast as possible. They offered us an audio tour guide (headphones & such), but after the 2 other spots with the audio devices, I was really quite done with wearing them & just wanted to go for a walk and enjoy the outdoors and the beauty of the stones by myself. Before we were set free, the bus tour guide explained that the first 2 stones in front of our entrance was for touching, and some hug the stones for energy... "Some who come here are tired and they hug the stone and they are no longer. Others get here and feel energetic from the experience." I just smiled at her, and almost ran off through the tunnel entrance
into the field. I just wanted to feel free from everything and everyone.
It was a pretty epic feeling to see what is left of the ring of stones at this site. I have only ever felt this insignificant, (in comparison of age) in awe, a few times in my life, and this was one of them. Did I feel tired or weird? No. I felt alive! So happy to be here and get this experience! I took many pictures of the Stonehenge, some with myself (I had help from a few nice neighbors), and a few of my traveling tea cup, (from my art installation). I will say this again... I felt so alive and happy! Kind of like a kid in a park. We only had 1.5 hours here, and it was certainly not long enough. I walked around the perimeter of the main path, and saw other trails up and around hills that I wanted to go take, but knew that there wasn't enough time. So instead, I soaked it up as long as possible... followed by a quick look at the store for a keepsake.

Would I go back to these places again? Oh yes! Although my favorites were Stonehenge and Bath. After the long day, my head hit the pillow about 14 hours later. Exhausted and happy. :)

It's another week in the UK, at Boxhill School, and being a part of this interesting world. I've had so many different kinds of experiences: walks, conversations, meals, drinks, and sights. Last weekend on Saturday, Annie & I went back to London for another day trip. Her co-operative history teacher gave us a list of places to see, that are listed in sections of the city. We knew that we wanted to go see the Tower of London and the London Bridge, so we took at look at a map and the list to see where else we could go see in that neighborhood. I was pleased to find out that the TATE Modern Museum was also along the waterfront.

We headed out early & got to the Tower of London at about 10:30am, with plenty of time to follow along a 1-hour tour group led by a Yeoman. There, we were able to hear some grand tales about the castle, love, prisoners, executions, ravens, buildings, burials, and the royal jewels. It was quite an experience that I doubt I will have another like it. We also were able to go see the Royal Jewels and walk along the wall & inside the turrets to see things from a different perspective. There were some amazing wire sculptures of animals here and there like elephants, lions, and baboons on the walls. Outside, there were 8 large ravens that are kept under a watchful eye in hopes to keep them at home in the Tower for good luck.

After, we headed onto our next destination: to walk over the Thames River across the London Bridge & follow the Queen's Walk. This was another beautiful sight to behold. Now, I can say that I have seen two beautiful bridges in my lifetime - San Fransisco's Golden Gate, and the London Bridge.

On the other side, we enjoyed the wide range of cafe's, shops, restaurants, parks, pubs, and colorful people! We found a sandwich shop for delicious toasted baguettes with cheese and savories. The staff was so pleasant and gave us our own lunch bags for our carry out. We found a nice spot to sit in front of the river to eat and just enjoy people watching.

Following that, we headed onward to the next spot on the map... the TATE Modern Museum.  http://www.tate.org.uk/
The outside grass, birch trees, and stairs sculpture were only the beginning of what was to come next. Inside, I was thrilled to see some of my favorite artists: Annette Messager, Claude Monet, Henry Moore, Pablo Picasso, George Braque, Salvidor Dali, Wassily Kandinsky, Edgar Degas, and Marcel Duchamp!

And here are a few more picks from Dorking...

You can view all of my sets of photos here on Flikr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/102582703@N04/sets/
I'll have to make some more time to write about my teaching experience here in Dorking this weekend. It's been such a busy week I have barely had any time to upload my pictures. However, it has been a very productive one at the school. Now, I must try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is Friday and that means Saturday is another day to travel and have fun in a different place. Prelude: I'll be going on a coach bus tour from London to Stonehenge, to Windsor, and then onto Bath! Exciting times!  :)

On Saturday, Sept. 21st, Annie and I went to London for the day. She had been there twice before, so had a good understanding of how to use the trains & underground system. She is such a life-saver to help me figure things out.

The train station is literally 5 minutes away from my residence and the train leaves every half hour, so it is super easy to get around. We wanted to go see a couple of the many museums in London, and walk through the Kensington Park, then onto Oxford Street for a bit of (window shopping for me), shopping. We first went into the Natural History Museum where we saw a plethora of nature, anmials, fossils, rocks, minerals, and even some awesome dinosaurs! Then, we crossed the street to the V&A Museum (where I was advised holds many textiles), and saw to our amazement that they had not one, but four floors of various hostorial periods of art work, architecture, stained glass, sculpture, paintings, and much, much more. There was so much, that we were only able to see a tenth of it in about 2 hours.

The walk through Kensington Park was just beautiful. We walked for quite a while, in hopes of following our maps to go see the Kensignton Palace. There were directories in the park, but the lines of paths were like spider-webs that were difficult to follow. But, as we followed the Serpentine waters, we found the Landcaster Road that led us to the Round Pond and the sight of the palace was clearly visible. I was so thankful for my Uncle gifting me a pocket book with detailed maps of London. All in all, it was a sight to see, along with all of the birds, paddle boats, and horses.

Even though we didn't get over to Big Ben, the Eye of London, or London Bridge, It was an amazing day to walk all over and visit a great variety of sights. I now know what it means to be in a LARGE city. At one point, there were wall to wall people on Oxford Street, so that I was unable to get a clear spot for a picture of myself in the area. It made me want to hop on a double decker bus to be above the traffic and crowds. That will be on the agenda for next time.
Below is a link to my Flikr with more photos to view...