So, on our way to Leeds, where our hotel awaited our arrival, it was decided that because there's not much to do there in the evening for a crew like our's, it would be beneficial to stop and see a few things in a town along the way, as well as for the purpose of eating dinner, so we stopped in Harrogate. There were lovely flowers & gardens everywhere one looked, and each roundabout had a stunning centerpiece which showed that this town was serious about it's gardening. We wandered along their cobblestoned streets in search of yet another Tesco to grab sandwiches and any other snacks we couldn't live without!
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| We loved the novelty of visiting the UK so soon after the birth of their latest prince, & it was not uncommon to see congratulatory signs posted throughout England....we didn't see any of those in Scotland, & if you recall the statue picture from the earlier Glasgow post of the English monarch & his horse with construction cones on their heads, little George has his work cut out & waiting for him in the future if he is to succeed in endearing himself to that part of his kingdom.....there are of course those Scots who respect the Queen enough, but apparently it's rare to find an English statue in Scotland, without a cone head! Time will tell if that sentiment is strong enough to cause the majority of Scots to boldly vote in September 2014 to pull out of the kingdom and fend for themselves in our global economy! Interesting times! |
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| Flowers everywhere!! |
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| ...And monuments to their town's own WWI & WWII dead....like every other town in Europe, they will never forget.....which can only be proportional to the extent that they teach their children the lessons the grandparents learned; stone monuments on their own, no matter how many, are not enough. |
After finding food, we backtracked to the park where we started, settled down in a circle to eat, talk & rest before a fantastic game of bare-foot tag!! This was among student's favorite afternoons & was a blissful reminder of the beauty that comes from simple joys & pleasures.....a reminder too that childhood IS alive and well! I wish I could have video recorded for you, or at least taken pictures (my battery died by that point!) how much giggling fun these kids had chasing and rolling around in beautiful green grass with not a digital device in sight! It did this "new-to-parenting-a-teen" mom's heart very good and makes my determination to allow childhood to fully complete its season, that much more vigilant!
Oh the flowers.....glorious. And there are only many more to come! To Stratford-Upon-Avon we go!
Time did not afford me the opportunity to truly enjoy a proper tea, but this would have been a divine spot!! I didn't have the nerve to go to the window and snap pictures of the truly lovely delicacies that were being served - I only stared wide-eyed from a close distance - I'm obviously an American, so I figured that they would already assume that I'm rude without staring, so why not?! Clotted creams with lemony things, petite sandwiches, picture-worthy cakes & cookies on a great-grandmother's china and of course the loveliest tea cups with teas I've never even heard of - all those things and more that make me love being a lady, albeit one of American variety!
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