Richmond

Hello folks,

Mike and I have finished our week in England. We spent the past 3 days in the Yorkshire area where we explored some small villages and managed some walks to ward off some of the damage caused by pub lunches and pies. As part of our walk in the market town of Richmond, we popped into a microbrewery where Mike read about « cenosillicaphobia » and realized that this is the condition from which he has been suffering. This condition is the fear of an empty glass. He feels better knowing his condition is actually medical and that there may be a treatment.
In Richmond we also took a tour of the oldest working theatre in the UK. An old Georgian Theatre which has been restored to it’s original state with modern amenities like lighting and electric lights so that it can continue to work. Yesterday we made a stop in the city of York where we looked in on the York Minster cathedral and impressive gothic structure built for the catholic church but converted during the reformation.

The Yorkshire Dales are beautiful rolling hills and valleys with frequent small stone villages. Lots of tea shops , old pubs and farms. The people have broad accents like listening to BBC 1 shows ( eg Last Tango in Halifax)We had lunch on the North York Moors in a very old pub where Ron and Mike stayed last year. An overriding smell in many villages is that of burning coal as many places are still heated with coal. Have to say the Northern area is quite pleasant especially since we hit a dry spell weather-wise. It is far more scenic and pleasant than the very densely populated southern regions of England. Worth another visit. Mac there is a great air museum in York but we didn’t stop in.

Today we repack and head to Portugal on a Ryan Air flight from Liverpool John Lennon Airport. Looking forward to reconvening with our biking buddies Helen and Laura tonight.
Just returned our rental car to Enterprise. It was unscathed which was a feat considering the narrow ways we travelled. Our waistlines are not as unaffected!

That’s all for now. Thanks for all the comments and notes. Happy Easter!
Heather/ Mom xLes mer