Lunch time came and someone brought me a menu so I could order in….you see today was a typical day in England and it rained…ALL DAY! When I politely declined the menu in favor of walking the short jaunt (read yesterday’s post on the jaunt) the woman looked at me as if I had horns. She said (and I quote): “Kayla are you completely mad?! It is raining and you have only walked to Elland once. You will get stuck in town in a down pour or get lost on the foot path!” I was determined to walk to get out of the office for a bit. Off to Elland I went (camera and umbrella in hand). On my way out I had several offers of nice gentlemen willing to drive me to Elland for lunch and I politely declined. The walk was wonderful – I took a different foot path and didn’t get lost! This place does not have street signs so I took pictures at corners just in case I got turned around and I didn’t have to use them ;-) I met some lovely people in town, chatted a bit and eventually found the lunch place. Ahhh lunch. I was a bit distracted…by what will remain my secret…and totally left my lunch at the store! I made it halfway back to the office before I remembered and had to turn around to go get my food….the woman just laughed and shook her head. I got back to the office and was told some of the guys think I am a looney HR girl! They could not believe I chose to walk in the rain…ahh I didn’t melt. My hair was ruined (note: naturally curly hair does not look well if it is straightened on a rainy and humid day) but I was refreshed after the walk. Pictures of the walk below…then scroll down to read about the rest of my adventures!
The foot path leading to the wooded trail from work...that is the fence I climb over..it is little but those darn blocks are slippery as is the mud...don't ask how it went today.
Another shot of the foot path
The backside of Lawson in Elland
This is the first foot path...green and wooded...BEAUTIFUL!
This is the next part of the journey
Another interesting sign!
I get to walk along the river for a bit on the way into town...it is so breathtaking
This is still the "short jaunt"
Another foot path on this jaunt...this time with buildings and flats on either side
Getting closer to town....this is the last picture I took of the walk that way...the rest are different views on my return walk
Afternoon meetings were stressful and on more than one occasion the term “bloody hell” was used…made me giggle inside while being sympathetic on the outside. The work day came to a close and the gals queried about my night last night. When I finished they were doubled over laughing! Apparently…pedestrians don’t usually cross roundabouts. I had told them about my super long walk and that it was difficult to cross all the roundabouts…so much so that at one of the roundabouts I had to take off my heels and run across because the cars come so freakin fast around them! They asked what I had planned for this evening and I told them about the adventures I had planned to get to the shopping mall in Leeds (20+ miles away). Before I even finished talking they had a lovely gentleman from upstairs that was going to drive me to the mall for my shopping adventure. They assured me that he would not allow me to run across any roundabouts (way to take away my fun!). I was a bit of a social butterfly at the mall as well and had a very successful shopping trip!
Another blog that I follow regularly…often has fashion topics. Mrs. B has quite the eye for style in everything (her kids are pretty darn cute and stylish too!). Well I have been admiring the European fashions since Amsterdam…even the flight attendants outfits are amazingly stylish compared to the US! Today I decided to purchase some European clothes for myself! Boy was I successful! It helps that items appear cheaper (1 pound = about 1.65USD). I am slightly afraid to see my credit card bill when I return! In any event, I made a dent in my list of souvenirs….and still have more to purchase. I don’t think my feet are going to recover from the abuse I have put them through over the last 2 days while wearing heels. Another relaxing night in the sauna and hot tub and swam some laps for a bit in the pool. Now I am exhausted and will hopefully sleep well tonight.
I am not sure what tomorrow will bring. Thursday and Friday should be quite fun and then I get to come home on Saturday! My flight time home is almost 11 hours (total travel time will be about 15-16 hours)! I hate that it takes so much longer to come home :-(
No other pictures to post today...It is 11:14 here and it does not feel like it is that late! I have a feeling my body won't feel how little sleep I am getting until I am back in the States...I am dreading going into the MN office next week!
Cheers!
1 comment:
Wow Kayla, your trip sounds like it's been lots of fun! Now you have your journal entries for your scrapbook
: )
Have fun on whatever "jaunts" you end up on in the next couple of days!
Love,
Abbey
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