March 28, 2012. Dove Cottage!

I made it!!!!

Dove Cottage (bottom) and the pretty surrounding area.

Let's set the record straight: I'm not the super poetry loving girl in the family. I think some of it is very pretty.... but lots of it goes a bit over my head. I prefer to see a beautiful place rather than read a poem about it.... So that's just what I did!! On my last days off before my final three working days at l'enclume, I went on a little adventure.

I woke up at 9am to catch the 9:30 out of Cartmel to Kendal. From Kendal I jumped on the 555 to Keswick by way of Windermere, Ambleside and Grasmere! Now because I'd never gone this way before and I was alone, I relied completely on the bus driver to get me there. I asked him how long to Grasmere and checked my watch. At the one hour mark, I (by some stroke of luck) saw this little white house just off the main road and a sign (very unobtrusive sign) that said "Dove Cottage-->". Almost missed my stop!!

Aha!

I spent a little time in the tiny gift shop / ticket booth then jumped on the guided tour! Unfortunately no pictures were aloud in the cottage which kinda sucked... but that just means you'll have to go there yourself sometime!

Looking out at the back garden at Dove Cottage

The garden there was fabulous and the view was stunning. The lady giving the tour seemed to know her stuff and was (fortunately) pretty patient with the older ladies I was on the tour with... they asked the strangest questions....

Front garden.

Next up was the Wordsworth Museum. I didn't spend too much time in there, I prefer things like the cottage over dark and stuffy museum. Also I wasn't sure when the last bus left (because there's no WAY I was being stuck in a little town overnight when I had a flat just an hour south!) so up next was the church where the Wordsworths are buried! Happy thought, I know. But apparently that's another popular place for the Wordsworth tourists to go... and heck, why not, who knows when I'll be back here again.

I stopped in a shop to grab some postcards and find out when (and where) the bus came through and 15 minutes later I was on my way back to Cartmel by way of Kendal and Grange!

Short trip but it was a nice warm day, sun was shining and I got lots of pretty pictures!

Going for a walk, send a search party if I'm not back soon!!

See that dog on the right... running to "greet me"...

February 13th, 2012.

Did you know that EVERYONE (well, nearly everyone) who visits this area does so for it’s “walks”? It’s true. Apparently walking is a VERY big thing in this country. There are “Public Footpaths” and walking trails EVERYWHERE!

Looks like a dream home to me!

So I figured, I’m already here, might as well try. Literally outside my door is the start of one such walks. From the Cartmel Racecourse “Car Park” (parking lot in “North American”) to Cark (near by town) is the walk I choose.

I began my walk by passing through a gate at the far end of the car park. After walking a short distance down a wet and muddy road through a field I was attacked by a couple of equally wet and muddy (but much more adorable) dogs.

The little stream that provided some music
on my walk.

Part way though the field I came across my sister’s future home if I ever bring her by this area (an abandoned farm but it looked pretty sweet to me, a fixer upper but nothing I wouldn’t be able to handle!).

Then next portion of the walk took me through a beautiful wooded area. There was a small river or stream somewhere beside me, some other walkers and some cyclists too.

When I broke through the trees I was at the back of fields full of sheep. A few more gates and after passing behind someone’s home / farm, I went through another gate and was actually IN with the sheep this time!

They're in my way...

A little further along and through another gate and I was in Cark! Because the sun was setting, I decided to go back the way I came and thus ended my walk!






What did I learn from this walk?
-Buy better boots, my shoes ended up soaked and my socks muddy...
-Gates are meant to be gone through (I got stuck at the first one because I wasn’t sure if I was suppose to go through it or not
-On that note, always close a gate behind you! There were sheep in that one field, remember!
-NEVER forget your camera :D

January Trip Home!!!

L'Enclume friends watching the fireworks
New Years 2011/2012

Lets jump right back into to work!! Things were slow for the winter months here. Fair enough, we had the odd busy evening (almost always Saturday nights), but for the most part, things were slow. Half way into December our old sommelier, Vincent, finished here and moved back home to France. In preparation for his departure, he threw a little leaving party for himself and his girlfriend Linzi. As we approached the night of the party, all the others from work arranged for that night and the next day off... the party was being held at the pub, you guess why they needed the time off.

I didn’t plan to ask for time off, I could work and let those who knew Vinny and Linzi longer, enjoy the party. It almost could have worked out that I have the evening off but in the end I had to work. It was with the party in mind that my manager reminded me that I’d gathered a bit of holiday time. I had planned to take it just after new years and somehow at some point, he suggested I take it to go home.

...Go home!?

HOME! :D

The manager didn’t realize what that meant to me!! I hadn’t planned on seeing my family until next September. But to go HOME half way in?! I was sold.


I booked my time off and my flight shortly after. Return from Manchester to Newark New Jersey to Toronto to Thunder Bay... whew!!

This was a good reminder of where I was when I work
up after my flight over the Atlantic...

As if the marathon flights weren’t enough, I had an almost completely full schedule from the moment I landed to the moment I flew out again. Everything from family dinners, nights out with friends, even a bit of shopping.

The best part about this whole trip was the fact that we were able to keep it a secret from most of the people back home. Only my parents and my sister knew I was coming so I got to have my fun; surprising friends, my aunt and uncle, my grandma and my boss.. to name a few.

I really enjoyed my trip home, made me realize how much I love the place and really look forward to coming home for more of an extended time.

Makes you love flying...

The only downsides of this trip were the return to the UK. Not because I was coming back, I love this place!! But the early and all day flights, the 7+ hour wait in Newark airport and the fact that I landed in the UK at around 7am (after leaving Thunder Bay the day before at 7am!), caught the train back up to Grange at 9am and was back in the flat by 11:30.... none of that was as MISERABLE as the fact that my manager decided that even after the transatlantic flight... I should work that night at 6pm. Let’s not forget that this day was still suppose to be part of my holiday. Thanks Mr. Manager for making me work on my holiday.

:(