Sand between my toes

An English Fall

Newcastle Science Museum

It's been a while since my last entry, and things have slowed down a bit this last month. The weather has turned and daily we check to see if we will be encountering a grey and rainy day. We can't complain too much as we have been pretty lucky overall, but it has forced us to stay indoors some days which isn't always a bad thing.

We are now in a village called Garforth which is basically a suburb of Leeds in the Yorkshire area of the UK. Garforth is a quiet village full of charity shops, a butcher, a few bakeries, and pubs (of course). To help with some of the down time I was able to find an opportunity to volunteer with the Neighborhood Elderly Team (NET) which provides social activities for the elderly as well as in-home visits, phone calls, etc. It is a wonderful program that I wish we had back in the states, sometimes just a few hours spent with friends can change a persons outlook especially for the elderly. I volunteered twice a week for 4 hours, serving coffee, chatting, helping with trivia (although I knew hardly any answers as they were all British related), it really served me more than it probably did them and I had a blast.

A yard in Garforth. All done with plant pots

Something about fall and baking

There is so much more to England than just London and since we were here for three months we decided to see some sites that most Americans don't do while on vacation. Transportation here is pretty expensive so we decided to buy a Rail Rover which allowed us to travel 4 days within 8 days; lucky for us the never checked so we traveled for 6. We have now visited both the east and west coast (Blackpool and Scarborough), spent a day wandering in York with our friend Ralph who I think bought something in every shop he passed. Wandered upon some of the most charming villages I have ever seen such as Newcastle, Hebden Bridge and Harrogate, and had it not been fall they may have looked like any other town. The orange, yellow and brown colored leaves were the perfect backdrop for the architecture that spanned hundreds of years, truly breathtaking and a must for all. We did all of this sans a car using only local transportation such as trains and buses.

York river front

York Minster

One of many stained glass windows

The fall colors 

Ralph and his infamous photo pose

York once was a walled city

Laura and Ralph on the train

Along with finding a volunteer opportunity I also had the chance to work with a life coach. The timing was perfect. I am on a 9 month adventure with the desire to be more present in my life, to do what truly makes me happy, so no excuses about time or energy as I have a lot!!! It is a work in progress and every day I am reminded of the gift I have given to myself and to be grateful for what I have. The bonus is spending every day with Laura and our 2 year old daughter for 9 months, watching her explore and discover,  grow and develop. It has been amazing and some days a little challenging I won't lie.

The Newcastle millennium tilting bridge

Newcastle city center

Avoided this :)

The Newcastle castle

Newcastle

Newcastle has as many bridges as Portland

We leave Garforth on the 28th and head to Bristol which is west of London. We will be close to Bath, Cardiff and places like Stonehenge and according to Laura we will get to see the most recent Banksy piece.  We will be able to enter the Schengen area again on November 13 and will start out in Malaga Spain and hopefully some warm sunny weather.

Scarborough

Playing in the sand

Harrogate

Fall beauty 

It's not about the gift it's about the gratitude

An amazing backdrop

Harrogate park

Downtown Harrogate

My life!

A month in an English village

Due to the Schengen Visa and travel limitations for US citizens, part of our 9 month travel must be outside of the EU area, so we are spending 90 days in the UK. This month we are spending it in the Ribble Valley of Lancashire in a village called Waddington. This is a quant picturesque village with no grocery stores, no high street, just three pubs, a cafe and a post office that sells ice cream, toilet paper, candy and bread (all of life's basic necessities) .  The closet market town is Clitheroe, a 4 minute $2.00 bus ride or a 2mi walk. It's a sweet village with a market dating back to the 1800's where you can pick up local meats, produce, cheese and home goods. There are a couple of grocery stores, tea shops, boutique stores, pubs and of course the Starbucks of the UK, Costa Coffee.

The view of Clitheroe

The Clitheroe castle

Pendle Hill Witches - 51miles of walks to learn about the witches of the 1800

Clitheroe City Center

Life here in the Ribble Valley has been quite and slower than some of our other locations but everything works out as it is meant to be. Since we have no car (I am to chicken to drive here) one has to be mindful of ensuring you have everything you need or its a 4mi round trip walk into town. Normally a 4 plus mile walk would be easy, well try it with limited sidewalks, on winding stone walled streets and cars driving on the opposite side of the rode at speeds well above the posted limits oh and a two year old who refuses to hold your hand and you have a heart rate well above normal. When we are not walking into town, we take the Foot Paths and walk the fells of Pendle Hill. Foot Paths are basically identified areas where you can cut across someones property and possibly even safe your life from the road dangers.

Some of the sites on the walk

My friend  Tequila

My other friend Claredale

Lovely old stone houses

Among some of the other highlights of the Ribble Valley are the pubs/bed and breakfasts. The focus here is on food and ale...I have tried to order a martini a few times and ended up with a beer, what bar doesn't have olives? I do have to say I have developed a fondness for the cask ales, ,sure they are not very cold but something about having to pull the ale has me hooked. As for food I would have to say most of it is pretty one demential, not a lot of spice, basically meat and potato but if you like comfort food then Shepard's Pie, a cheese, onion and potato tart or a Sunday roast are not to be missed. Now where the British have missed their opportunity is with their desserts...why have they hidden dishes like Spotted Dick and Sticky Toffee Pudding from us? Okay maybe the name evokes a juvenile giggle but Spotted Dick is this warm dense raisin cake topped with warm sweet cream and dont even get me started on Sticky Toffee Pudding, gooey yummy sticky cake made with dates, who knew.
The cheese in this area has been amazing but then again all cheese is amazing. The Lancashire area produces some tasty cheeses with one of my favorites being a salty crumbly cheese similar to a dry feta or Cotija that bakes up wonderfully in a tart and adds a nice kick to omelets and quiche. The cranberry cheddar cheese will always be welcomed in my home as well.

Creamy cauliflower soup

Sunday Roast - don't tell Tequila or Claredale

Lancashire crumbly cheese

Spotted Dick

Been spending my down time thinking about what it is I want to do when I return to the states. Selling the majority of our personal items, not replacing my car and having the opportunity to make the rest of my life what I want it to be is exciting and a little scary. Not many people take the opportunity to sort of reinvent themselves. I am working with a life coach trying to get clear on what it is I want from my life. Right now I am looking at careers in kidney dialysis and becoming a dialysis technician and I have toyed with the idea of working in the funeral business. I would love to help in the change around the attitude of death. Instead of a somber memorial I would love to offer a celebration of the persons life. Heck raise a glass and toast, have live music, it is all about celebrating the life of the person who has left us. So who knows where I will land next, I do know that it will be what I want it to be.

The village of Skipton

Walking behind the Skipton Castle

She loves flowers

Tin foil fun

Feels a little like home

Oh London, how do I love thee. There is so much energy in this city and I am surrounded by theater which really makes my heart happy. I think a large part of my excitement is the ability to not only have conversations with people in a common language but to also make funny comments (or at least I think they are funny).  I will say that London is not as British as I expected, maybe it's to much television or something but I really thought I would see more Fascinators and Bowlers, have high tea and watch a cricket match or two. I am still waiting to see spotted dick on a menu or in the store, there is such a thing and not just an item sold at World Market, right?

For the serious cider drinker

Where Big Ben lives

Scotch Egg

Changing of the guard

We were so happy to have some friends join us during our first week here, we did the Hop on Hop off bus which really gives you the chance to see the sites and decide on what tourist stops you want to revisit and did the Beatles/Rock and Roll walking tour. We stopped in a local pub where the Beatles used to meet with Brian Epstein and had a pint and some chips, we were the only women but it was very cool. We have rented a flat (English term for apartment) in the Herne Hill area of London, talk about diverse and eclectic, I love all the Caribbean markets, food, smells and people. We are only about 30 minutes outside of central London so we take the red double decker bus in to town which Tatum loves and it gives us an opportunity soak up the sites. I have made friends with the checkers at the local grocery store after sending them into a tail spin when I asked for coffee creamer (liquid). Multiple people were searching the store until we realized it was single cream (located in the yogurt section and in a yogurt looking container)...

Tower Bridge

Selfie on the Hop on Hop off bus

The London Eye

Our flat

Splash - neighborhood festival

We are 3 months into our travels and I wont lie it hasn't always been fun. Traveling is hard, we are all sick of our clothes and ready to burn them. I miss my family and my friends, I miss the summer events back home and yes I know I am living the dream and people would trade places with me in a second..it's still hard. I am also spending more and more time thinking about what is next, remember I left my job, health insurance and retirement plan, rented out our condo, sold our belongings and stored the rest...so in 6 months when we return I need a plan. I will be working with a life coach while on this adventure and looking forward to exploring the next part of my life.

One of many things I will take away from this is the need for human connections and how I have been doing it and how I want to do it going forward. Life is not how much you cram into it but how much of it you experience. When was the last time we sat face to face with someone we cared about without an electronic devise in our hands or a table seperating us and just enjoyed each other? The parks in Copenhagen were filled with people of all ages, kicking a ball around or sitting on the grass and enjoying a conversation. There was no concert, no festival or sporting event just time spent with each other. I can not wait to get home and get togther with my friends in the park!

I will be in a British commerical in September. I was asked to film a spot with the British Red Cross (ha ha almost typed American Red Cross) for National First Aid Day. They asked me questions about first aid to see how much I knew as they are promoting their new first aid app. So stay tuned as I may just post the link to the ad.

Buckingham Palace

The City

Fortnum and Mason

China town

Fun in London

Filming

 

Tatum's chum Tara

Tatum getting down in the park

The new hair cut

Cheers!