Firstly, a happy birthday to my dad, who probably celebrated the day by working on his new boat. Here's a picture of him (R) and our good family friend, Hugo (L) a few years ago. The living room was undergoing renovations at that point in time. Dad's done some tinkering around with the rest of the house and the place is looking great, with new doors and quite a bit more space. I can't wait to go back and visit - hopefully next spring.
Things continue to go well over here, despite us getting all of July's expected rainfall in one day yesterday. B and I visited Kew Gardens last weekend. He gets in free through a work deal and is able to bring in a guest (me!) for half-price. Parking is usually £5... we were driving through the parking lot and saw a fellow waving at cars. None of them stopped, but we rolled down our window to see what was up, and he handed us a ticket he didn't need! So hey, free parking.
I'll write more about Kew next time. The camera is still charging and I'm only posting because I can't sleep. And trust me, I know I should sleep. I know.
I know. But if your pelvis was as sore as mine, you'd be more sympathetic!
Anyhow, here's a few pictures I've been meaning to post. I really enjoy looking back on all the photos of the places we've been, and if I ever get access to a scanner, I'll definitely put a few more up. For now, I'll just keep posting the ones I've got on the hard drive already.
Aira Force, near Ullswater in Cumbria, England. Its waters inspired Wordsworth, and the word Force derives from
fors, the old Norse word for waterfall. It's a bit of a hike, but all the trails are well-beaten. It's nowhere near as tough as Helvellyn (see previous postings).
We took a trip on a vintage steamboat across Ullswater, which is the second largest lake in the District. From Pooley Bridge (which is where we stayed), we went across to Glenridding, Howtown, and then back again. This is one of the islands in the middle of the lake. Any Arthur Ransome fans out there? Does this picture remind you of something? (Although the island in the book wasn't "real," it was an amalgamation of Windermere and Coniston Water, where Ransome stayed in his childhood.)
In closing, here's a picture of the Portara in Hora, Naxos, Greece. It's the last thing you see when you pull away from the island. Countless generations have stood upon that hill, looking for faraway sails or waving goodbye to loved ones as they sail into the distance. We stayed a few miles from the port town in Plaka, near Agia Anna. Rural enough to be relaxing, but within an easy bus ride to town. We were right on the water, but had views inland to Mount Zas - the perks to staying on an island is having it all in front of you all the time. And we definitely plan on going back.
That's all for now.
Things continue to go well over here, despite us getting all of July's expected rainfall in one day yesterday. B and I visited Kew Gardens last weekend. He gets in free through a work deal and is able to bring in a guest (me!) for half-price. Parking is usually £5... we were driving through the parking lot and saw a fellow waving at cars. None of them stopped, but we rolled down our window to see what was up, and he handed us a ticket he didn't need! So hey, free parking.
Aira Force, near Ullswater in Cumbria, England. Its waters inspired Wordsworth, and the word Force derives from fors, the old Norse word for waterfall. It's a bit of a hike, but all the trails are well-beaten. It's nowhere near as tough as Helvellyn (see previous postings).
We took a trip on a vintage steamboat across Ullswater, which is the second largest lake in the District. From Pooley Bridge (which is where we stayed), we went across to Glenridding, Howtown, and then back again. This is one of the islands in the middle of the lake. Any Arthur Ransome fans out there? Does this picture remind you of something? (Although the island in the book wasn't "real," it was an amalgamation of Windermere and Coniston Water, where Ransome stayed in his childhood.)
In closing, here's a picture of the Portara in Hora, Naxos, Greece. It's the last thing you see when you pull away from the island. Countless generations have stood upon that hill, looking for faraway sails or waving goodbye to loved ones as they sail into the distance. We stayed a few miles from the port town in Plaka, near Agia Anna. Rural enough to be relaxing, but within an easy bus ride to town. We were right on the water, but had views inland to Mount Zas - the perks to staying on an island is having it all in front of you all the time. And we definitely plan on going back.
Bruno and "Hector," the retired racing greyhound his parents adopted. Hector is a great dog - calm and happy and affectionate without being overbearing.
And a less-recent picture: B about to set off on the trek up Helvellyn, in the Lake District (near Ullswater, the second largest lake in England). He's stayed in that building behind him a few times; it's a youth hostel. Actually, it's fairly off the beaten path. The gravel road he's standing on extends quite a ways from the outskirts of the small town it borders. And woe betide you if you're driving and you meet another car. One of you has to back up until the next turn-around.
Here I am in Budapest last September. B has a knack of taking photos before I'm quite ready! This is overlooking one of the bridges over the Danube. We took the funicular (pictured earlier on the blog) shortly after this.
And here I am in Greece, again last September. This is in Chora (the port town) on Naxos, at the top of the hill near the church. You get here by walking up a series of convoluted streets and alleyways and hills and steps. It's a very pretty town, our favorite island (so far).
Against my better judgment, here's a picture of me looking fat and pregnant. Yes. That is a chocolate eclair in that takeaway bag. And yes, I did eat it. Every bit of it. And I make no apology for that. This is actually just across the street from the cafe I wrote about earlier, in Clapham Common.
We headed to Bath (Bawth, as the natives say it) via train this weekend and enjoyed a few days of hot weather and sightseeing. I took this picture at the Roman Baths - you can see St. George's flag fluttering away atop the abbey in the background. Bath is an interesting mix of history. The statues were built in the mid to late 1800's, the abbey hails from medieval times, and the baths underneath were constructed by the Romans:
We were there on a Monday, so it wasn't too busy. Still, I was surprised by the amount of tourists gadding about (note my very British terminology there) town. I can honestly say that despite the kooky hat B made me wear, I fit right in.
Now, I don't consider myself a gourmet. I'm not pretentious. I can enjoy something without making stupid exaggerated faces of enjoyment, and I keep my comments about restaurants simple without going into the details of how horrible/good it was because the sauce had too much coriander in it and therefore that threw off the lemony-basilness of the dish. To wit: Mexican food in the UK generally sucks. Full stop. So when we found a good Mexican restaurant in Bath, we ate there two nights in a row. It was even better than the full-on tea service we had on Monday afternoon.
Note: You don't have to use salt. I didn't. I added some black pepper and some garlic pepper. It worked nicely. In the future I might add 1/4 a cup of wine and some diced garlic. At the end, I diced some aged cheddar and mixed it in for a nice cheesy flavor.
Mmmgh, yum. I don't have a recipe book or anything fruity and housewifey like that but I'm definitely going to remember this and make it again.
It snowed on Sunday, and a bunch actually stuck to the ground (well, until noon or so...). I took this picture from the kitchen looking out onto our balcony and down the steps to the yard. Our back yard isn't shown - the two you see on either side are our downstairs neighbors'. Our yard is actually behind that reddish snow-covered tree and a bit off to the right. 
