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Traveling in the UK outside of London felt like I was getting to see something closer to an authentic English experience
Virtually unheard of by nearly everyone I told in advance about our visit, the Lake District is mostly visited by English tourists. The area is a combination of rolling hills, delightfully friendly sheep, and architecture that you’d be sure inspired Hogwarts. Hike during the day, head to the pub at night.
Plus, it gave me the chance to try using British English sayings without sounding like a douchebag, which I quite fancied. At least no one had a go at me for it, so I cracked on. If you aren’t yet tired of my British idioms, continue below.
Just a short 1 hour flight away from Amsterdam, we headed to Manchester where we picked up our rental car and drove 2 hours to our destination… luckily I didn’t have to drive on the “other” side of the road and could shout directions from the GPS like “Turn left… You’re in the wrong lane… We’re gonna DIE!!! Oh no sorry, you’re good, we are on the right side.”
Since it was our first time visiting, we thought we’d play it safe by staying in Bowness-on-Windermere, the largest and most touristy town in the Lake District. One of the best parts about visiting the Lake District is that nearly the only options for hotels are cozy B&B’s complete with an English breakfast served every morning. Its great for A) getting that English experience and B) raising your cholesterol. Our B&B was owned by an older lady who seemed irked at the sight of me and let me know that while her son lives in Arkansas, she can’t understand why he would ever want to live there. Great…I’m from California so I’d never want to live their either. Anyway, I think she made a try to connect with me over the US. Or maybe she hates Americans. I wasn’t really sure in the end.
Day 1
The forecast for the rest of the weekend was pretty dismal, so we headed out ASAP while the sun was still shining to Grasmere, which is just north of Bowness. This little village is the stuff dreams are made of. Seriously. Stone houses, trickling streams, original gingerbread, and all that before you even start the hike. If you’re in the area, head up to Helm Crag Summit, where we hiked, to earn that afternoon gingerbread.
The hike up Helm Crag led through stone fences, and winded up and up giving impressive views of the area below with every new height. The rolling clouds added to the drama highlighting areas of the landscape – almost better this way than to have pure sun.
After our morning hike we couldn’t help but continue to take advantage of the limited sunshine, so we headed to Tarn Hows where we wandered around amongst the beautiful scenery.
What is Tarn Hows? Well, its a tarn obviously. Clearly, I don’t know what a tarn is. But its a picturesque area to go on an easy walk in nature.
Tarn Hows above
Day 2
The Lake District can be, shall we say, wet. Incredibly, chillingly wet. But that wasn’t going to stop us! We went there to hike after all, and hike we would. So on day 2 we headed out to Conniston hoping to take on the Old Man of Conniston. That’s the name of the hike. Not some old guy we wanted to fight.
Our start was pleasant… it was raining, but not terribly. We both had jackets that we thought were waterproof… I was wearing running tights so I thought “how wet can they really get? they wick of sweat so… probably the rain won’t really stick.”
1 hour later and nearly to the summit after being pummeled with hail, blown sideways by the wind and with my feet soaking in my ASICS, I said “uncle” and ran down the hill back to the car as fast as possible, feeling incredibly sorry for myself that it was so cold that I couldn’t even consider continuing our hike. Meanwhile the sheep lazily looked up from their constant grass chewing to see a very wet and very irritated tourist cursing her way down, and local tourists continued their hike up the hill, properly kitted out in rain-proof gear.
So, lesson learned, and after very long hot showers, we headed to the Mountain Warehouse to avoid this situation the following day. Waterproof hiking boots, hiking socks, and 2 pairs of sexy rain pants later, we were ready to take on whatever else the Lake District weather had to throw (or blow) at us.
Day 3.
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing” – Alfred Wainwright
With new gear and a new attitude we headed northeast of Bowness to visit Aira Force in Ullswater. My usually trusty Lonely Planet didn’t do it much justice – I found it on TripAdvisor instead and I’m so glad I did.
Aira Force is what Pinterest dreams are made of. An arched stone pedestrian bridge over a dramatic waterfall in an English forest – I mean come on, it doesn’t get better than that. At least not for an American who had been pinning the shit out of all the romantic looking places around there.
Anyway, nearly immediately after walking away from the car toward Aira Force, the hail set in. Normally this would have been a downer, but with our new gear I was ready to suck it up and hike, damnit. Lucky for me, the pants and boots really were waterproof and we enjoyed stunning Aira Force.
At the top of the waterfall is a stream (river if you will), which we followed up, up, up the hill, farther and farther until we were suddenly reaching another peak.
Day 4.
Our last day in the Lake District. Despite the rain, wind, and hail the area had sincerely charmed me, and I was sad to leave. Our flight was around 9pm, so we had a decent chunk of the day to kill – but weren’t too keen on hiking another day and getting on the plane wet and covered in mud. Instead, we took a boat ride across Lake Windermere, which I can say was worth much less than the £12 we paid. I’d recommend seeing the lake from above.
On our way back to Manchester we made a lunch stop at Hawkshead Brewery. If you like checking out microbreweries when you travel, definitely make a stop here. Not only is the beer great, but the food was pretty impressive for a brewery: sweet corn & coriander fritters, duck & chili sausages… this is the place to sip some brews and have lunch. In the same area they have mountain bike rentals, so there you go – I’ve already planned a day of your visit in the Lake District!
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My telling you about the Lake District would not be complete without telling how how freaking cute the sheep are there. They are no ordinary sheep. Well, at least not to me. The Lake District is home to the Herdwick sheep – one of the most adorable creatures you will ever see. They are on nearly every hill you cross, munching grass and looking curiously at you as you walk by… or as you take a selfie with them.
Each day in Bowness-on-Windermere we passed by Herdy, a precious little store that sells Herdwick sheep trinkets and supports the local community. How could I say no? So a set of espresso cups, a key chain and several stickers later, I left the store very happy – and very much in love with the Herdwick sheep.
If you visit:
We kicked off our two week Portugal roadtrip in Lisbon, and stayed at an AirBnB in the Alfama. The Alfama is the oldest district of the city, which, I now see on Wikipedia, was built around the 12th century. Obviously I did tons of investigating before and while I visited the city :) The area was a sort of labryinth, with tiny streets that suddenly seem to dead end or veer off, and steep hills.…
Living in Amsterdam, I get a lot of questions from friends of friends about where to go, and what to do while in Amsterdam. I’ve added my tips to my blog, partly out of my own selfish convenience so I don’t have to always rewrite them, and to help you out!
Without further a-do here some tips what what not to miss out on when you visit Amsterdam.
1. Gezelligheid : Yes, a word that is nearly impossible to pronounce by non-Dutch speakers, this is the main thing to experience. Gezelligheid means coziness. This can be experienced a lot of ways, but the best is to sit on a terrance in the sun (in the summer) with some friends, or head to a brown cafe lit by candle light in the darker months, order some bitterballen (a must try), and a few biertjes (beers) and spend your time unrushed, chatting, watching the world go by. Gezellig!
2. Rijksmuseum : Yes, this really is a must see. It is very impressive and very much worth the visit. Download the Rijksmuseum App on your phone to listen along to the guided tour (make sure to bring your headphones), so you don’t have to buy the audio tour. Try to book tickets in advance online.
3. Rijks Restaurant : feeling a little swanky after your visit to the museum? Check out the restaurant next door. They make the best Dutch food I’ve ever had… and that is really saying something. Its probably safe to book in advance on this one. Check out my Yelp review for more info
4. Van Gogh Museum : Also a must see - book tickets in advance and make sure to get the audio guide.
5. Vondelpark : A huge park in the center of Amsterdam. As my mom described it “everyone is so happy there!” Its a great location to sit and have a picnic in the summer - if you visit then, you’ll wonder if Dutch people actually work, since so many people will be sitting out on the grass drinking wine in the summer sun.
Below: Vondelpark
6. Boating along the canals : Weather permitting, I really recommend renting your own boat and touring the canals. It is really easy to steer the boats yourself, and you can go where you want, bring snacks and beer, and the company will provide a map for you. This is really the best way to see the city, you can really experience the canal houses in all their splendour from the low perspective on the water. Plus you’ll probably pass a lot of other boats with music and drunken revelry, so that’s an added bonus. There are many companies you can rent a boat from - most cost about €90. A few companies you can rent with are listed below
- Boaty.nl
Below: a sunny day on the canals
7. Watch out for cyclists! and taxis! and buses! and trams! and cars! : Most visitors to Amsterdam are not familiar with the amount of bike traffic they will experience as a pedestrian. Please, for the sake of me and all the other bikers in Amsterdam, look both ways several times before crossing the street. And unless you are a very alert and good cyclist, do us all a favor and don’t rent a bike.
8. Drugs : If you want to hit up a coffeeshop and smoke to your heart’s content, go for it! Ga maar lekker roken! Most people in Amsterdam don’t really smoke weed regularly, but you’re on vacation, so go for it. Just whatever you do, don’t buy drugs from people on the street. Your mom was right when she said don’t talk to strangers. In the past people have died in Amsterdam from trying white heroin thinking it was cocaine - and that’s not a good way to start your trip!
9. Tipping : This must be the most practical question I get. We Americans (well not so much me anymore since I’ve lived here too long), are accustomed to leaving hefty tips of 15-20% for waiters, bartenders, etc. You will be happy to learn that in the Netherlands this amount is not necessary! Wallets everywhere rejoice! After a meal its fair to leave up to €5 as tip, but I wouldn’t go too much over that unless you’ve dropped over a hundred on the meal. Don’t worry about how the waiters will survive - they don’t have the poor pay that ours in the states have - they get by on a salary that can support a decent living standard!
After our time in Miami and Key West, it was time for us to spend a day in the Everglades. Admittedly, we didn’t really go at the right time of year. It was too hot to do any guided tours through the Everglades, but since we were there, we figured we’d check it out anyway. Plus we had already booked our hotel.
After our time in Miami, we continued our girls trip, renting a car and heading south to Key West. I highly recommend renting a car just so you can drive yourself over the Macarthur Causeway, bumping out the jams and getting an epic view of downtown Miami - and of course to drive yourself to Key West.
Our mission - reach the southern most point of the continental US. When we hopped in the car Sarah was sure that given the 305′s obsession with Pitbull, there must be a Pitbull radio station. I foolishly didn’t believe her, until I turned on our XM radio in the car, and discovered we could jam the entire drive down to Key West to Pitbull’s Globalization Radio.
Before heading off on my next trip home to the US next week, its about time I post on my trip to Miami, Key West, and the Everglades from August.
One of my best friends and I thought decided to meet “halfway” between Amsterdam and San Francisco. With neither of us in the mood for a city trip to NYC, Boston, etc, we figured Miami would be the next best bet. Neither of us really had much of an idea of what to expect about Miami, except that it would be awesome. And that much of our time would look like this:
and it did
Being born and raised in California, I get a lot of questions from my friends and colleagues here about what to do on their trips to California. If you are European, you are probably either remembering the great roadtrip you had around California, planning it, or dreaming of it. Yes, my fellow Californians, people here flock to California to drive Highway 1.
Although I’m sure there is plenty out there to read up on for your roadtrip to California, but I’ve attached some of my personal tips on my favorite places to recommend. Again, just as with the Amsterdam post, so I selfishly don’t have to continually write the same email to friends!
Luckily, I visit my homeland every year, so this list is a work in progress. My tips are mostly Northern Californian skewed of course, so bear with me.