The Lake Dist.

Mikes "Beef & Ale Pie"
Us at the not so art deco hotel
The "Happy as a Clam" artists

people laughing on a bench
what happens when you say "no more food" to a swan
just the four of us
Cheers! dinnertime

Dave and Mike
Am I stylin' or what?
Nora & Carol
Me & Dave & the lake


Dave says "okay" to a cold pork pie




The next morning the four us (Mike, Carol, David and I) of headed out for the Lake District. Dave and I really didn’t know what to expect – so we left our day in the capable hands of Mike and Carol. We stopped several times in charming little towns – tea towels, honey, chocolates, butterfly nets, jewelry – anything you could possibly want to either look at or buy – these little towns have a knack of supplying just what you desire. There are old stone buildings covered in climbing ivy, pubs, bakeries, and butcher shops – where Mike coaxed Dave into trying a pork pie. Dave was cold and looking forward to eating a hot meat pie – Surprise! It was cold pork that had been cooked and encased in some sort of gelatin then baked into a crust – Dave was a little disappointed but ate with gusto. I being a vegetarian (luckily) had a chance to go into a bakery for a whole wheat roll – even though Dave ate most of his cold pork pie – he saved some of it to feed to the swans and ducks farther on down the road. Our next stop was Oaks Café on the Lake – we ordered hot tea and tea cakes – which tasted like hamburger buns with raisins and dates, sliced and toasted with butter on them – yummy – it was chilly and these tasted wonderful. We wandered down the lake and saw ducks and swans – have you ever seen a swan in real life? They are scary huge! When they stand up and extend their neck they can peck you on the neck – very intimidating to me – Dave was feeding them but apparently not quick enough because they peaked at his elbow! There were docks with cool sailboats made and unpainted wood, just varnished, I loved these boats. We stopped in the town of Windermere for over an hour trying to not get pecked by swans and soaking up the scenery. It is so different than what we are accustomed to at home – Pubs with cool names like: “The Kings Arm” and “The Albert” – who are these people? We bought some clotted cream fudge – but only a small portion because it is like TNT – very dangerous!
We stopped in small town after small town all in the Lake District – our last stop was a charming little town where Mike and Carol had stayed before – Ah yes, The Ivy House Hotel – confessing that a child of theirs might have been conceived there. Ohhh do kiss and tell! The town was everything you would want a small English town to be – complete with a pub called “The Red Lion Inn” and that is where we had dinner. Carol and I had wine and the guys had a pint of beer – Mike, being the driver limited himself to just one pint – I don’t think I can make the same claim for David. Mike ordered Steak and Hawkshead ale pie, meat topped with a pastry crust - served with chips (French fries) cooked corn, carrots and green beans (the menu said it was – beef marinated in Hawkshead ale and cooked to perfection) The rest of us has Fish and Chips with mushy peas. I don’t mean overcooked peas – I mean that once the peas are cooked they are mashed – and they are superb! Not just because they stay on your fork, but the flavor is enhanced with some spices and butter – really “cracker” which means fantastic!
After dinner Mike wanted to go to a hotel that had been restored to its original art deco design. When we got there it was quite impressive from the outside – The Midland Hotel – a rounded entryway welcomed us. Once inside, we all had a drink at the bar, then nosed around and took many photos. Mike and others patrons he talked to were a bit disappointed that the art deco theme wasn’t as elaborate as they had hoped – but we enjoyed our time anyway. There was an competition for artists to make a “beach cabana getaway” One of the top winning entries was there outside of hotel in the back facing the ocean. It was a lovely clam, clad in copper with enough room inside for people to sit. We sat inside with (believe it or not) the artist who designed it and two of the team members who constructed it. The sun was still out at 10:30pm – we sat there chatting as the sun set and the wind became cool. It was a delight to meet the woman who conceived this clam idea and brought it to fruition. Can you say “Happy as a Clam?” well we all were – happy and sitting in a clam and enjoying each other’s company immensely. What a “cracker” ending for our day. Mike and Carol were gracious in showing us around their country in British style and we are truly grateful. What else can I tell you about Lancaster? That the farmers market had flat beans I had never seen or cooked with before? That the castle tour was actually an old prison? or that we saw gypsy wagons by the roadside? All of this would be true – but I must leave something interesting to tell you about when I get home now, don’t I?

Cheers!

Lancaster Part II

The huge beans I had never seen
Carol and Mike
Blackpoole "Pleasure beach"

Jackie and Crawford
Rock candy stand in Blackpoole
People talking on the street in Blackpoole
A little sewing store near Lancaster
sweets for sale


During our stay in Lancaster we invited the friends we made in Cromer, “Crawford and Jackie” to come out for an evening visit. It was pouring rain and I wasn’t sure they would make it – but in true British style a little rain would not deter them. I made some homemade split pea soup ‘ala Nora’ – salad and bread. For dessert I baked sliced apples with cinnamon, nutmeg, dates and walnuts – I served them warm over vanilla ice cream – we sat in the living room and talked for several hours. It was great that they came to visit us – and we hope to keep in touch.
A few months ago we took a Panama Canal cruise and met a couple – Mike and Carol, originally from England but who now live in Scotland. All of us love to travel and we enjoyed each other’s company – we have kept in touch with them via email – we invited them to come out and stay for two nights with us in Lancaster, they said yes! Mike said they used to live in England and would be more than happy to take us around and show us some sights – Mike is a bighearted guy and calls almost everyone he meets ‘Love’. Carol is a retired nurse who is an adoring woman who loves her grandchildren. They arrived in the afternoon and shortly after took us to Blackpoole. Mike was a police officer there for three years and he had fond memories, not only of the streets but of his favorite ice cream parlor – there is one flavor and that is vanilla – you can have it with a cookie, but don’t ask for another flavor, it doesn’t exist – why? Because you don’t tamper with perfection, plain and simple. I am not a big sweet eater, but this vanilla ice cream could take anyone right back to their childhood – rich vanilla, so glorious you can taste the cream and when your chilly treat is finished, you only wish you had more. It was luscious, decadent and wonderful, eating that ice cream walking down the street. The only way I can explain Blackpoole to a Californian is that it is like Santa Cruz boardwalk area but bigger, much bigger – they start selling the rock candy and other assorted sweets blocks from the amusement rides. We did go into the ride area and walked around – but none of us would go on the roller coaster with David, so we just looked at all of the screaming people hanging upside down and whizzing by overhead. It was a cold and very windy day at the coast so we headed back to the condo for some hot homemade vegetable soup that I had on the stove (or as the British call it “on the hob”) We came back to soup, bread and salad, dessert and a few glasses of wine, tea and wonderful conversation.

Lancaster England

The grandmother and grand daughter bake team
a view from the condo grounds
Dave outside of the 'castle' condo
the sweet people who were in charge of the raffle table

For our second week in England we would be staying in Lancaster. It was a five hour drive from Cromer, but I am happy to report we did not hit any curbs on the way. I love our GPS – it has a female British voice and she guided us right to our new front door. The front door of a castle! When we arrived we could not believe our eyes – it looked like a real English Castle, complete with a fountain in front of the circular gravel drive. – We stayed at Thurman Hall, actually an old residence. We were fortunate enough to be able to stay in the main house (the castle part) instead of one of the sprawling condos on the grounds. When you look at the photos, we had the three windows on the right hand side of the top floor. We originally thought that our daughters Lyndsey and Jennifer would be joining us, so we booked a two bedroom condo – now what would we do with all of this room? Once inside of the condo I couldn’t believe how enormous it was. Two of the stone walls in the living room were original and had not been replaced; they were old, uneven and rugged. The kitchen was a complete redo and was very modern, but still had quaint English charm. One thing I have to tell you – every place we have stayed in Europe has a hot water kettle that plugs in to heat water for tea or coffee. The electrical wiring here is 220 and the whole water kettle heats the water to boiling in less than a minute – I don’t know why but I just find this amazing.
The grounds of Thurman Hall were spectacular too – lots of low stone walls with greenery flowing over them, hanging baskets filled with flowers all bursting with color, green lush grass, a small fishing pond, there were ducks waddling around that you could feed and bunnies in the grass – all of this just ambles softly one into another all dispersed around the large grassy area. This outdoor expanse was so tranquil and relaxing – you could pull up a chair or lounger and sit there resting for as long as you felt like it – or of course until it began to rain. Beyond was the gym – an indoor pool with the original family crest inlaid in tile - so large it took up the entire shallow end.
We were there for Father’s Day and didn’t feel like driving to town – so we stayed in our castle for most of the day. Down a lane, you could walk to the Catholic Church. We were told that it was a short walk, we walked there in the morning and met the Father of the church, he was kind enough to give us a private tour and wholeheartedly invited us back for the rummage / bake sale at 2pm. So after lunch we took a walk back to the church – the first person we met there was the Father and he promptly sold us raffle tickets for a few bottles of Whiskey! We meandered around and each found treasures – Dave bought a small antique bottle for 50 pence (about $1.00 US) and I bought 2 small plates and a pin of lily flowers. Next it was time for some indulgence – Dave bought a homemade scone that was topped with cream and jam – I ordered a hot tea and was asked if I wanted it weak, medium or strong, I said medium because I had never been asked that question before. The tea was quite good and I have become a little British by adding a wee touch of milk. We bought some homemade cookies from a grandmother and granddaughter team of bakers – I knew this was a surefire way to really taste some home made goods. There was a table being hosted by the loveliest English women –she was adorned in her straw hat with a proper silk scarf tied around it. All in all it was a charming event – we did not win whiskey in the raffle, but that’s all right, we don’t really care for the stuff.

we had a good time with these people.

Cromer - our first place in England

Nora in a phone booth
Stalks of Foxgloves
Cromer - a seaside town
Cromer view

Whippy ice cream (soft serve)

a garden gate

our condo
in the trees on the way for a hike to town

Our first place of residence in England would be Cromer, a small seaside town. When we said to people “we’re staying in Cromer” they would reply with either “where?” or “Why?” This painted a rather gloomy picture for me – I imagined some dismal condo in a lost and forgotten town. First we needed to do a little grocery shopping for the week – as finally I would get to cook. We stopped at a large market called Asda – translation – Wal-Mart of the UK. Yes, they are the affiliate – it sucked big time – After the long drive I was hungry and A Mc Donald’s inside beckoned me for a bite to eat – I was thinking a green salad and fries. I ordered a fish stick happy meal, so my first fish and chips in England was at a Wal-Mart Mc Donalds. Oh God! (Please pity me now) Actually, it wasn’t that bad and it’s a funny story. We bought our groceries – then headed out for our Cromer condo. I was pleasantly delighted and extremely content with the location and accommodation. Inside our condo … it was a decorators nightmare … it was mauve, green and beige – like 1980 exploded and never left. The dining room was elegantly furnished with an antique dining table and a china cabinet. I decided to make a pot of bean soup – I found the directions and it read: for a bean salad add tuna … not this isn’t what I wanted … To Hob – soak beans overnight – boil add onion etc. okay that sounds like soup – but what is Hob? A hob is the stove. So I cooked the beans on the hob and made a list of words I needed to learn whilst in the UK. David and I went that evening to play trivia and met a couple who were on “holiday” with their daughter and her friend. They invited us to their condo for a glass of wine and we talked for a few hours. Crawford and Jackie were their names and they helped me with my new British vocabulary – which included hob.
Our next morning in Cromer we decided to take a hike into town – we past the gate, onto the dirt / mud pathway, through the wooded forest and out onto the cliffs overlooking the ocean – the beauty was astounding and I couldn’t help but snap photo after photo. Once along the cliffs and overlooking the ocean, the sun was on my face and the wind kissed my cheeks. We walked past wild fox gloves in shades of purple, pink and white – they were everywhere … glorious, abundant, bursting with color and breathtaking. How could anyone ask us why are you staying in Cromer? Isn’t this bounty from Mother Nature quite enough to take anyone’s breath away? The sky was blue, the hills were green, the wind was cool, the sun was warm … this was England … pure and simple. Every so often there was a bench placed perfectly to sit upon where you could gaze at the blooms and see down to the crashing ocean – could this get any better? Only if the God’s were to zap chocolate and red wine into my hands!
We found the town of Cromer to be enchanting – like a storybook. The streets were lined with shops so different than the ones back home – Brisbane Antiques, seafood shops selling dressed crabs and cockles, Waverly cake shop, Whippy Ice Cream (soft serve), Mary Jane’s fish and chips (where we were advised to go for “proper” fish and chips), many bakeries and shops selling items to go crabbing off the side of the pier. To us, Cromer was a quiet town, similar to Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard – a seaside community that is proud of its heritage and provided us a warm welcome.
Cheers! nora gail

Driving in England

Whilst hiring (renting) a car to drive in England there are many thoughts going through your head all at the same time. Some of which are … “This will this be exciting, different and thrilling”. There are also parallel thoughts that overlap your first thoughts and those would be –“This is going to be frightening, unfamiliar and terrifying”. All of these are true and correct descriptive words. When the keys are handed over to you, I wonder what the rental car agency must be thinking. Perhaps – Good luck sucker? Although I was added onto the rental agreement as a secondary driver, the thought of driving in the UK was not really appealing to me at all. We got our car loaded up, plugged in the Tom-tom (GPS) and headed out. In England they have roundabouts – (this is in lieu of off ramps – and they can happen while you are driving on the freeway) when you get to one it feels as if all the cars are gushing into a whirlwind circular drive without much concern except to exit at their desired point. We soon learned that the blue arrow urging you onto the roundabout should be taken as a stop and look before entering arrow. We made it out of the city and onto the motorway (freeway) without too many hitches. For me, as a passenger, in what I felt like should have been the driver’s seat was a total nerve-wracking almost out of body experience. I would look into the cars next to me and see a person reading a book in what I thought should have been the driver seat; I would do a double take and remember they were the passenger and I was in England. I had to get used to this, and it took some time, to say the least. As for Dave – the driver – well, lane position seemed to be the biggest optical obstacle. I kept saying “you’re too far to the left” Dave would reply, “No I’m not” and then we would feel the bumps that separated the lanes under our tires – thump – thump – thump … Can you say Nora was correct? Our rental car seemed to graze many left side curbs over the next three weeks of UK driving. Our destination the first day was a five hour drive – as we edged our way out of the city, down the London motorway the landscape gradually changed and the scenery began to transform into soft rolling green hills – that melting into farmlands where fluffy sheep grazed by the roadside and I truly felt like I was in England.

More to come, Cheers~ Nora

European Adventure Cruise

Barcelona grocery store

An artist sketches in Barcelona

Norita on Las Ramblas Blvd.

A cool building

Dave samples a fruit drink

Orange slices dipped in chocolate

The wool of Spain

Church cave
Dave in a cave

Ape head Dave

Ape head Nora

The rock of Gibraltar

To the left is Spain, to the right is Africa

A fence in Vigo Spain

Dave in Vigo

Fresh Spanish Olives - oooooh!

The churro man~

squeeze that Churro dough

Beans for sale

If you know what this is, please tell me. Farmers market in Spain.

Casablanca with bell ringers

2 euros for this shot







Pastry in France

which one to pick?










Biking in Le Havre France


The happy sailor barber - Le Havre France


Ahhhh … well, well, well - It has been too long, I might say, since I have had my fingers on this keyboard updating my travel journal – time goes so quickly and the days seem all too short. Since I was last here, David and I have taken a cruise called the “European Adventure” … kind of a silly name, but nonetheless, a fantastic voyage and I am here to tell you about it. But first a word about leaving a comment - I think I have set it up so that you must enter a small string of letters to prove you are not a computer generating junk mail – no preregistration is necessary, just type in the letters and you should be good to go to leave a comment. Okay – our E.A. Cruise took us to: Barcelona Spain, Gibraltar, Casablanca, Cadiz and Vigo Spain, Lisbon Portugal, and Le Havre France.
I will start with Barcelona – Not what I expected … this is a huge city. The main entryway to the city is called “Las Ramblas,” a boulevard lined with shops on each side, the center of the blvd. is filled with open air merchants and aspiring artists – many copying the style of Picasso. There were places to eat local food and people dressed in costume ready to pose for a photo … for a price of course. They stand still like a statue – a little eerie, but really cool at the same time. These people have honed the art of posing for hours, until you drop money into their basket – then they come to life and strike a pose. The side streets were really magical, trendy shops alongside of hippie shops – we ventured into many of them. I bought a green T-shirt with a Vespa scooter on it and also some special Spanish wool for my daughter Lyndsey to knit with. There were many street musicians – I love to listen to the varied music I am hearing from around the world … and I must always tip the musicians – even if I don’t like them – it is a gutsy move to put yourself out there for strangers to judge you as they listen to your music. We did go to the Picasso museum, but it was too crowded – we will be back again in a few months and will go there first.
Gibraltar: Riddle me this, Batman? “Where in the world can you walk through a cave and then have an ape sit on your shoulder?" If you answered Gibraltar – then you have been there, or you are an incredibly brilliant guesser. And that my friends, is what we did – we took a van up to the top of the “Rock of Gibraltar.” Once on the top, we walked into a cave that is made into a church – dark, damp, and superbly magnificent. I thought I would feel claustrophobic, but that was not the case – It was magical and amazing – a church in a cave – come on – wouldn’t you want to belong to that church? Our van driver took us to the very top of the rock – the day was bright and sunny, and the views were breathtaking – we could see Spain and Africa … can you do this on just any day at home? No! My God, this is astonishing. Our guide told us not to approach the apes (medium-size monkeys) unless he “helped” us – so I said “I’m game for a photo with an ape.” He coaxed the ape onto my shoulder and head with a bit of chocolate between his fingers … don’t worry – I took precautions – I zipped up my jacket and wore David’s baseball cap! For sure I would be free of ape germs and bugs … or would I? No fleas, ticks, or other vermin were found on me, but I did shower and shampoo upon arriving back at the ship. During the photo taking, I was excited and nervous - I didn’t travel this far to not have a photo but at the same time I was apprehensive. We were the only people I saw having a photo taken. These apes were intimidating to say the least – as vans were driving away, the apes were on the roofs hitting the tops with their little ape fists and some were climbing into the open windows for food. Just so you know, the government feeds the apes - carrots, onions, potatoes, and celery. There are large bricked areas where the ape food is placed for them. They are not endangered or mistreated – although I doubt if chocolate is a dietary staple. The apes are cute, but you must be careful. A woman who was there with a small child was given a riding whip – in case an ape started to maul her child. They might have mistaken the child for a predator – there was a nursing mum ape that was very protective, and the father ape did swat at people who came to close to his mate and baby. Don’t fool with animal instinct. But the apes looked cute, and I wanted to pick one up and cuddle it in my arms … but oh no, Beware Nora – not a thing you should do at all.
Cadiz and Vigo Spain: Olé ! ~ Cadiz rocked me – narrow streets – Flamenco dresses adorning the shop windows – a totally different culture. The grocery store is always a way for me to get a pulse on the culture – I spied canned spicy tripe, El Diablo (the devil) hot bread sticks, spicy olives, lots of fresh seafood, clams, scallops and fresh vegetables. A country thriving on fresh spicy food and seafood – I was digging it totally. We wandered into one of our favorite places to be – an open air farmers market – I didn’t know what some of the items for sale were and I had a language barrier which prevented me from asking. Bananas, fresh fruits, vegetables, and dried sardines filled the stalls. There were small melons I had never seen before and a large bowl filled with what looked like orange Crisco lard – what was it? I have literally no idea at all, but when I asked, the woman wanted to sell me a pint of it – I declined graciously. Outside of the market was a man selling churros. He filled a cylinder full of the dough, squeezed it into hot oil, cooled it for a few moments, then placed it on paper and it was sold as quickly as he could make it. Oddly, he did not add any cinnamon or sugar to the hot doughnut mixture when it was finished frying – the line was long and we were not able to purchase any. Really truly a unique experience, he posed for me to take photos of his churro business and it was thriving. We walked into a fantastic smelling bakery - there inside was a scale – not to weigh the baked goods, but a scale where you could weigh yourself! Why? Is this how you determine if you should buy less baked items? I just found it strangely fascinating and oddly curious all at the same time. Bizarre – we would never have that in the USA. We wandered along the sea, went into an old fort, walked into an art gallery and then went for a bite to eat. I wanted to try sherry from Spain – Dave took a photo of me before taking a sip – he said “I want to capture your first and last taste of sherry.” He was right – eewweee … about three sips and I was finished – just not the taste I prefer in my mouth. We had a skillet of rice with vegetables – paella – and a green salad. Very expensive but the ambience was worth it. At home I do not drink sherry or eat rice, but when in Spain … well you get it.
Vigo Spain: It was a chilly windy day – so what the heck else would we do? We went to the grocery store - yippee – we bought our typical – coffee, water and wine … I wanted some Spanish olives and I bought canned olives that had a sweet little bird on it. (What I really wanted was Italian olives) That damn bird lured me and tempted me – once I opened them, they were filled with mooshie anchovies – ewwee – that bird lied! Or I can’t read the cans in a foreign country – I prefer to blame the bird! Okay, on with Vigo – we hiked a rather high hill to reach a castle with garden, it took a lot of energy – good, now I can work off the food I have been culinarily exploring! We huffed and puffed and made it up the hill – my arthritic knee was hurting, but I made it. The view was vast and spectacular, the gardens were lush, and it was nice – not overwhelming fabulous, but it was a fabulous view. Vigo was very clean and we had a fantastic time.
Casablanca: We have been here before, and we did not do too much – if you haven’t read about it, see my previous entry. This trip we just took a bus to the center of town. It was a Sunday, and almost everything was closed – so we took a walk. There were some men dressed as traditional bell ringers. We took photos with them for a small fee – afterwards I wondered why on earth I shared a dirty hat with a man who’s grooming standards were unknown to me. I amaze myself when I act so stupidly.

Le Havre France: Bon Jour! What an excellent day we had in France. We rented bicycles! Two red bikes, s’il vous plaît? We played follow the leader – Dave led… I got mad, and then I led. No, it wasn’t that bad – I am exaggerating somewhat. I wanted to go into antique shops, and Mr. Adventure wanted to explore – what to do? Both! Thus the game of follow the leader. In the morning, it was chilly so we stopped for a double espresso – exquisite and wonderful tasting – a delight on a cool morning – hot and caffeinated. Dave took us up hills, over bridges, to a quaint place for lunch, and past many churches. In France they sell antiques on the street corners at small flea markets, and there are stands overflowing with fresh flowers – there are fountains and bridges - During lunch a woman walked by with a black French bulldog – I asked if I could take a photo – such a great dog – I took the photo for my daughter Jennifer – After lunch I led, we cruised along the seashore, and I somehow (don’t ask me how) found a French bakery – “boulangerie.” Can I please have one of everything? Gorgeous pastries, breads, and chocolates lined every shelf – what should we do? Some for now and some for later would be the only sensible answer – right? Across the street was the world’s most bizarre barber shop either of us has ever seen in our life. There was an elderly man clad in an old-time sailor suit. Tight white bellbottom pants, a white long sleeve sailor shirt with the blue and white inset V neck, the long sailor collar trimmed in gold, complete with a little white hat that had a blue brim embellished with gold writing. He was the barber, a flamboyant coiffur-ist, to say the least. He had a thin mustache and a smile that literally reached from ear to ear – as his client sat receiving a haircut, I asked if I could snap a photo – the barber was so flattered to be noticed in this way, he posed and beamed as I took a snapshot. His shop had so much sailor / nautical bric-a-brac inside that the sheer weight of it all could topple the walls to rubble. If we had more time on our rented bikes, Dave would have had his hair cut there, but we had to return our rentals. The salon was named “Salon de Navigators” (if you’re ever in the area). We may be back in La Harve and Dave said he would go in for a trim – keep your fingers crossed – they would be great photos.
Well, we’re off for a month in England – looking forward it to. See you there!
Havin a total ball seeing the world and being a guest in so many countries - Love ya!