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Hi All, thank you for sharing in the fun of my trip by reading my blog. I really enjoyed my time away it was an amazing adventure that I will never forget. I missed my family an awful lot and it has been so nice to look at their faces and hold them again.

I owe a big thank you to my awesome boss and big brother Lee for taking me along in the first place, being terrific fun and a great travelling companion, your the best! Thanks also to Seema for all your travelling wisdom and confidence it was great getting to know you better, I am sure the trip will keep us stocked with funny stories for a while to come.

So this is it for now, unless you would all be interested in what I eat for breakfast and the traffic on the way to work every day?.......No I guess not, ok thanks again for reading.

Love Amy xx

Monday 11th October Nottingham

So we left the gorgeous Harrogate on a lovely sunny morning and I must say it made me a little sad to go, as I thought I will probably never see this town again. Anyway it was a terrific day to see the country side and as we left the Tom Tom took us through narrow country lanes lined with green hedges. Past a tractor pulling a load of potatoes and the country vehicles of choice the Range Rover. I was trying to get photo's because it was just so pretty but not many turnes out well from inside the car, this one was ok:

The view of a village from the road, you can spot most villages from a way off as they all have a pointy church steeple.

So not long after this we were on the motor way and as much as English country side is beautiful driving on any motor way is booooring. Eventually we came to the city of Nottingham and as you enter there is a big sign that says ROBIN HOOD COUNTRY. We drove to the city centre and found ourselves a little unimpressed so we decided to go straight to the castle. After two lots of directions from kind locals (the Tom Tom couldn't tell us were the castle was for some reason!) we found it right there in town. Unfortunately the castle is closed Monday's like most of the castles in England it seems so we just had a look around the outside.  


The Castle wall



 

One of the secret exits perhaps?





Me and Robbo, I look like a homeless person here in this get up!







Lee showing how big he is compared to the olden day people, yeah yeah Lee your huuuuuge!



More of the wall

I was quite dissapointed that it was closed after having a look at the outside, oh well! Luckily Seema was told by a local that there was something special we should see just around the corner. It was an old Inn, very very old, in fact it is the oldest Inn in England. The "Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem" built in 1189 was very cool to see. Back in the day the word Trip was not uses to describe a journey rather trip ment to take a rest from travelling. The pub is attached to the sandstone rock of the castle wall and the inside is a network of caves carved into the stone. The passageways were quite narrow but it was suprisingly big with quite a few different little dining areas spread out over each level.



The amazingly old Inn





Lee in the first dinning area, we didn't end up sitting here as we explored further and found an area right on the top floor.



The chimney cavern



Me in the room we ended up in with the history time line art work in the back ground.

We had another great lunch, but I felt a little let down that while I was sitting alone for a few minutes in the room I was not visited by any ghosts!

Autumn Colours

Today after the show was finished we came outside to see that is was a gorgeous sunny afternoon. We went back to the room, changed and went out to enjoy the beauty of Harrogate. All be it in seperate ways, Seema went to meet a friend, Lee went to the pub and I went for a walk. This is what I saw:

After my walk I met up with Lee and we went to the The Old Bell Tavern which had come recommended by our B&B hosts. We had the £12.95 three course dinner, there were about 5 options each for entree, main and desert. Lee and I chose the same things which were turkey broth soup to start, which was much more than broth it was full of turkey and vegies served with lovely bread and a large serving too. For main we had roast beef with yorkshire pudding (I mean if your visiting yorkshire what else are you going to eat?), this was really tasty and perfectly cooked. For desert we had rhubarb and ginger crumble tartlett with custard, mmmm mmm mmmm mmmm mmmm. It was a terrific dinner for an amazing price, you have to go The Old Bell if you come to Harrogate. My tummy is a little distended this evening but very satisfied!

Harrogate

I hope that you are all enjoying reading my blog, I really like being able to share my trip with everyone this way. It would be nice to hear some feedback so don't be shy!

Today went well but we were all quite tired as poor Seema has quite a bad cold and spent the whole night coughing and struggling to breathe, so we all struggled to sleep. There was probably a better turn out than at Kettering but not a huge difference, it had a good feel about it so we are feeling positive.

This is the lovely country lane that leads to our Event Centre.

Love this gorgeous bridge not sure what its called, we can see this from the road above.


The view from the window in our room.



The Coppice!

The view from the street of The Coppice.



Walking through the leaves into town for diner

pretty tree

Me, Lee and Seema....such a lovely town!

So we had fish and chips for tea as I felt I should try this in the country it was created and it was ok! I'm just not a huge fish and chip fan I think. Apparently it is best to have it in the coastal towns which makes sense.
So after eating we come back to our lovely cosy room and Lee goes off for a shower. A few moments later I hear a crash and I call out to Lee and ask if he is ok. He replies "ahhh.....sorta". We wait a few moments and I say "what does that mean...are you ok?" Lee replies "ahhh....sorta". I go to the bathroom door and say "do you need me to come in?" Lee says I can come in and this is what I find....

Now this may not be that funny to you but this sight had me laughing so hard my stomach muscles went into cramp. Lee had some how accidently broke the shower curtain rail and was standing there naked trying to figure out how the hell to fix it. After my hysterical laughter had abated and I had taken the essential photo, I helped him wedge it temporarily so he could at least have his shower. It was priceless!

Harrogate Show

So we have made it safely to Harrogate and it is just beautiful here, really picturesque. The leaves are all starting to turn orange much more than the trees in London probably because it is colder here. The bed and breakfast we are staying in is really lovely full of warmth and charm unlike our accomodation in Kettering!

We stoped in Oakham for lunch at an Inn called the Ram Jam, odd name but very nice normal Inn with lovely food.

The Ram Jam!



The view from the back of the Inn, an old apple orchid




I thought this sign was quite funny, especially as walking through the sreets of London is an act in avoiding dog poo, perhaps they need to invest in a few more of these signs!

 As we drove north we passed the town of Markham which passed to quickly for me to get a photo but cool to see. Then not far from there we passed Sherwood forrest which looked very beautiful.

Arriving in Harrogate we were quite enchanted and very pleased to discover our B&B was so lovely. We made our way out to set up at the show after we had checked in and had a cupotea ocourse. We were quite peased that the convention centre was just 2 minutes walk away but surprised to meet blank stares when we asked for the emmigrate show at reception. To our dismay we were told the centre we were looking for was on the outside of town. So we got in the car and followed the directions we were given, which took us past the horse feed store then down a country lane and on and on till we finally got to our convention centre! It was kinda funny! I just hope people don't give up before they find us.

Luckily all the restaurants are close to our accomodation, according to our host there are 70 restaurants to choose from. We chose Thai and it was pretty good, afterwards we went for a walk and came accross a full brass band playing outside of an establishment called the Royal Hall. What a reception, thank you very much!

The Band

London Tuesday 5th October - Part two



Buckingham Palace and Lee informed me that as the flag was up the Queen was in residence. She didn't come out and say hello though, how rrrrrude!




Me at the front gate and......still no love from the Queen.



Howdy Govna!



This uptight fello just stood there and occasionally stomped his feet.



The gardens all around the palace are just beautiful and so neat and tidy I wanted to take a million photo's. Lee just loves it when I insist that he be in the photo too, can't you tell! The odd lump in my mouth is one of Lee's sweet peanuts...that sounds a bit off doesn't it?

Can't get much more Londony that this photo!

 It was about now that we realised it was getting late and we were expected at John's for dinner. So the problem in a really big city is that you have to know where your going to get on the right bus. Lee knew the address and aproximate area but not enough to know how we went about getting there, so much for having an ex Londoner as my tour guide! So anyway we started walking and eventually happened across an empty black cab so we snagged it, greatful to be in the hands of someone who knew how to get where we were going.


Lee and I happily insconsed in the black cab and we had the cockniest of all cockney drivers too.

 So after some time in the cab Lee decided he knew where we were so he said let us out here mate. Then after walking a few more minutes...Lee starts cursing because he in fact does not know where to go. So we stopped and got directions from a nice man and a couple of blocks later found our way there all be it about an hour late, oops sorry J.P.!

Police on horseback, what a cool job.

The view from John's roof on the 17th floor, pretty impressive!

Courtney and Lee on the roof, we went up to pick some basil for dinner and got distracted by the view.

Courtney and Ruth two lovely lasses.

London Tuesday 5th October - Part one

Yesterday Lee and I headed into London to see some more of the sights, while Seema headed off to meet up with one of her old college pals. On the way however we were happily sitting on the bus when we stopped somewhere in Kings Cross to discover a bunch of police at the bus stop. Seema and I thought oh my god what's happening, it turns out they were just checking for people who skip out on paying their fare. So the lady came around with her little doober lacky that checks your card or pass and it registers if you have paid. Then shock horror Lee's card gave a negative reading and he got pulled of the bus. Seema and I scrambled out after him and the interrogation began. Just kidding, they were quite nice about it but said they could not make any exeption for Lee even if they did beleive him because that would cause issues with all the other people standing there getting booked for the same thing. Lee was understandably frustrated and flabbergasted as he had swiped his oyster card as we got on the bus. So despite his protestations Lee received a fine of £25 which actually could have been £50 if they had so decided. So that was not the best start to our day but a lesson to all that you make sure you get a green light when swiping your card as you get on the bus.
Lee rallied though and we went on to have a great afternoon seeing the sights before heading to John's place for dinner.


King Cross station, I find it so incredible that this is just a train station it looks like a castle.



Lee buying his favourate sweets from when he was a boy sweet peanuts. Love these old fashioned sweet shops could have spent a while in here!

Me at Trafalgar Square



After this we went into the National Portrait Gallery, Lee said that Ann used to take him there all the time when he was a boy but he  appreciated it more now. We were not allowed pitures in there but there was some amazing paintings and so well preserved most where about 4-500 hundred years old.



This gorgeous little cottage is on the edge of Green Park in the heart of London and it had a full growing vegie garden right by the gate. Strange place for it  I thought but it was very quaint.

There were tons of these cute little squirrels in the gardens above and all through the park. I have never seen them before and they are just so sweet, I wanted to take one home.

Pretending I had food so it would come close, they are quite tame and used to being fed, I will have to have something for them next time.

Eating an offering from one of the other park goers.

Me in my new hat, what do you think?



My photo's do not do it justice the parks are so beautiful and you can see Buckingham Palace in the background here.



Can you see the couple on the right, they were rolling around kissing...so cute.