The Adventures of Corey and Sarah

Merry Christmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone as quick as it usually does, but this year with a few differences...

My darling sister found a lovely house for us to stay at over Christmas (Wed - Wed) in a lovely little village called Dent. Dent is located in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, right at the top of England. If you visit http://maps.google.co.uk type in Dent and click search it will show you where it is. You can zoom in and out using the tools in the top left corner.
We (Simone, Mum, Dad Corey and I) arrived in the dark on the shortest day of the year (dark by about 3:30pm), so we couldn't see anything of the country side - it was an amazing experience waking in the morning to find what a spectacular place we were in. Justin, Shane and Aimee joined us Christmas Eve (they had to work till Friday). Not long after we arrived some locals came caroling at our door and invited us to join them on Friday night to sing some more.

On Thursday we decided to go for a drive to the fortified city of York. To get there we had to drive through the most amazing scenery on some very narrow roads. Even saw Corey and my Castle in the distance (Bolton Castle).
York is one of the oldest towns in England and has the most intact remaining city wall. We walked along the wall around the city and visited York Minister, one of the oldest Catherdrals in the world and I think its the largest one in the world too. Stopping along the way for a yummy roast dinner at one of the pubs.

Friday we explored Dent and met some locals at a delightful cafe and drove to a near by village. We did go caroling with the local folk. It was great fun. Not only do they sing carols but they also collect money for a children's charity at the same time. Its a great idea, Australia should start caroling again!

Saturday, Christmas Eve, I wasn't feeling so well, so Corey and I rested by the warm open fire, while the others went for a walk around Dent before Justin, Shane and Aimee arrived. When they did eventually arrive we all enjoyed another pub meal at the local Sun Inn before tucking in to bed ready for Santa to come.

Christmas Day - waking up to a world of white was amazing and santa had brought me loads and loads and loads and loads of presents ... Unfortunately, thats not how it happened. I actually woke up very early in the morning to a very sick husband, we thought it was food poising from the night before, but it wasn't as the bug was to strike again Boxing Day. I prayed for a quick recovery and left Corey to rest while the rest of us attended the local Church, St Andrews. It was very traditional but lovely all the same. I think being in one of the oldest churches in the world helps, built in 1417. See http://www.visitcumbria.com/sl/chk3.htm for some more info. Also, everyone over here knows how to decorate at Christmas time.

Corey was feeling better when we returned. He was on the phone to his family back in Oz. Mum and Simone started preparing for a Enlgish Christmas Feast while the rest of us lazed around by the fire. The feast contained the usual goodies: turkey, gammon (very similar to ham, just a differernt part), veggies, gravy, pudding etc. The English really go crazy at christmas with their food. They have all sorts of TV shows about food but the best thing is that they have a lot of pre-prepared foods at the supermarkets. And they actually taste great. By the time we sat down to dinner, Corey's appetite had returned and was able to enjoy lunch with us. After lunch we relaxed around the fire swapping presents. Some from "Santa" others from each other. Justin got a special Edition Manopoly with modern London places on the board, so we played a game of that. And finished the night of by watching a beautiful classic movie, "It's a Wonderful Life".

Boxing Day that bug struck again, this time hitting Justin. But he too made a quick recovery, so it didn't spoil his day too much.
We all took a drive to the Lakes District, stopping at a town called Windermere. (If anyone can tell me what book/movie the character Lady Windermere is from that would be greatly appreciated!) This is a most beautiful area as you can see from the photo. Visit http://www.enjoyengland.com/destinationguides/Englands_Northwest/Destinations/windermere.aspx?bbcam=adwds_life&bbkid=windermere&x for some more info too!

Tuesday. The highlight of my week, and I think everybodies ... IT SNOWED! That's right, it snowed. It was magical. It flutters down so softly like feathers. We had planned to visit the All Creatures Great and Small/James Harriot Museum, but the snow was getting so thick it was not going to be safe to drive over the mountains. So we had to stay and play in the snow ... what a shame - hardly. It was just so great. I love the snow. It does cause many problems on the roads, but for us is was just the best. Thank you for all those who prayed for a white Christmas! Because it happened. It was fantastic.
Justin, Shane and Aimee left in the afteroon to go home, after playing in the snow. We left the next day.

Wednesday we woke to a 'world of white'. On our way home we took a few detours, to see the pub used in the filming of All Creatures Great and Small for Mum and Dad's benefit. And for Corey and I we stopped at Bolton Castle. Bolton is quite a common name over here (supposedly). And there are 2 towns called Bolton and many pubs and street names. Very lovely.

So all in all, we had the most amaizing week and it was really sad to have to come home again. But we captured as much of the lovely town of Dent and region on camera and film. But it just doesn't do it justice. I would love to visit again in Summer. When its green, not white. But I do love white!

Stay tuned for more pic's coming soon...

posted by Corey and Sarah @ 1:01 am