BRUNETTANS

A few weeks ago Jo, Sarah and I drove up to The Lake District aka Cumbria which is on the very top of England. Before I even came to England I'd read and seen beautiful photos from this place and was determined to go there some day! When I found out that Jo and Sarah had friends there I told them we had to go there before I left and so the day finally arrived :D Monday morning we were ready to go just after 9 am. Our first nice stop was in a village in Yorkshire Dales where we had lunch, a cake in a tea room, took some time to explore and shoot jumping pictures. The weather was wonderful and things couldn't be much better :D The next stop was in the village of Hawes where Joyce, very close friend to Jo and Sarah, grew up. It was even more cute than the first place with small stone houses, quirky shops and a pretty waterfall :) We had a wander around and then jumped into the car for the last couple of miles to Kendal, our final destination. 5ish we arrived to Judy and Chris's house(Joyce's sister/the friends of Jo and Sarah) where we were staying. The house was what I would say, a typical English house, with three floors, lots of paintings, carpets and loads of charm. Our room was on the top floor so you got plenty of exercise running up and down those stairs ;) Judy cooked us a lovely dinner and after that we walked to a pub for a music session with some other people. This was all new to me but I loved it! Judy and Chris insisted on me and Sarah bringing our clarinets but I had already set my mind on not to play since I don't feel very confident playing solo in front of other people, although I know nothing bad would happen. Something I have to work on ;) Sarah on the other hand was very brave and played "Puff the magic dragon" after some encouragement. I feel kind of lame being less brave than a 9 year old haha!! We stayed late but had a lot of fun meeting new people and listen to their passion for music, I felt like a amateur compared to most of them.

 

Day two Judy joined us on our adventure, the weather was as beautiful as the day before so roof off the car was unavoidable. We drove through a place called Hardknott pass where the hills were 30% steep! I couldn't stop thinking of what would happen if the car broke down that exact moment, luckily it didn't. We did a few stops along the way for food and photos and arrived back to the house around 7 pm. I had a shower and when I looked in the mirror afterwards I realised I totally forgot about sunscreen which had resulted in me looking something like a tomato with two white stripes from where my glasses had been!! I have now bought myself a small tube so no more sunburn from now on hopefully... After yet another nice dinner me and Sarah played a few songs together and Chris taught me how to play the melodium(sv:litet dragspel) so you will soon see me appearing in the telly as the rising melodium player I've always meant to be, or not ;) It was really hard but I did manage to play Twinkle, twinkle quite well :D This evening came to an end and the next day begun..

 

Wednesday - The sun was shining once again and I was told this was very unusual as it is the wettest part of England. Sarah and Jo went off horse riding, I decided not to go since it was a bit expensive, perhaps next time. Meanwhile, I stayed in a place called Bowness-on-Windermere beautifully situated by lake Windermere and also a big tourist magnet I could tell! Wandered around enjoying the weather and had a look in some of the shops. After a few misunderstandings involving me thinking if the others deserted me, I was picked up and we went off towards a place I read about in one of my guidebooks called Aira Force near a lake named Ullswater. Not even Judy knew about this place so she was very grateful once we arrived cause it was really pretty. We followed a footpath around the area and it all looked like something from Lord of the rings! After this we had to return to Kendal in time for tea. Later that evening all of us walked to Ruskin's bar for some more music playing. I was especially impressed with one of the women's version of "Caledonia", oh gosh so wish I had it on tape... Would play it over and over again! I made a new friend as well and he works as a magician which I think is pretty cool :) He showed me a few tricks and had absolutely no clue how he did it... Had yet another lovely evening which ended late just as the previous ones.

 

Thursdag, final day buhu... Today the weather was back to how it usually is, so dull and rainy. We had a walk around Kendal with Judy and took a break in a café called Scrumpilious or something, not sure I even could pronunce it hehe.. I had half a huge but delicious scone with cream and jam and some tea. With stuffed tummies we walked up to a park called Serpentine Woods which had some really nice views over the town. Later we did some shopping, I only bought a postcard though, haven't really been in a shopping mood lately. Good for my wallet I guess ;) After that it was time for us to back our bags and leave and I had to keep myself from getting emotional when saying goodbye to Judy and Chris, almost made it haha... Unfortunately we got a flat tire just before leaving so we had to pay a visit to the car service station. Me and Sarah kept on telling Jo this was a sign that we should stay as well as the suddenly change of the weather which was now sunny and warm but off we went and four hours later the mini was parked outside the green gate. I had an awesome holiday up there with many fine memories, thank you!!