yorkshire, unexpectedly



(Here's the beginning of the story if you want it, and here's the blog post I wrote when I first got back from this beautiful trip; it's one of my favorite posts I've ever written.)

So as I stood there (at the train station, a good 45 minutes early, feeling pretty excited that I was going to take a train from King's Cross to Scotland just like Harry Potter, I picked up my phone to get my ticket code from an e-mail. This is the part that is about my own stupidity. How did I not write that code down somewhere? Or even took a screen shot? What was I thinking? Anyway, done is done, and here is the part that is about dark magic: I couldn't open the e-mail. I saw it there, but it wouldn't open. All my other e-mails would open. I tried all the usual things: restarted the app, restarted my phone, downloaded another e-mail app (at this point I also frantically ran through the station to find a wall socket somewhere because I was running out of battery - at least I succeeded in that). I even called Jens at work (and got him worried and all; sorry!) to have him log in to my e-mail account and see if he could open the e-mail in question. But no. I tried standing in line to talk to an actual person, but the line was too long. In the end, I just stood there, watching the screen with the departure times, as my train disappeared from it.

Checked for new tickets. They were £151 (about 1600 SEK). Which is an amount I could have payed, and one I would have payed if I couldn't solve it any other way, but still! £151 extra for a ticket that I had already payed for once. That is like a whole weekend of dancing that I can't go to, right there. (It's completely normal to measure anything you buy in amount of dance weekends, right? :))

I was SO BUMMED.

The first thing I did was find the nearast café to get some lunch. Because if it's one thing I know about traveling, and about myself, for that matter, it's that nothing gets easier if I don't eat.

Then I got chocolate.

And then I posted on facebook, describing the situation, wondering if anyone was driving north anytime soonish. To which Isabelle (<3) replied that Rosie had said she was leaving London right now! Rosie confirmed this, and did I want to go with her to Huddersfield, stay at her place, and then take the bus to Edinburgh the next day?

Did I want to?!

And that is how I ended up here.


Just LOOK AT THIS PLACE IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL



"GLLRRRPBPLLRR I want to photograph everything!!!" I said.
"Would you like me to stop the car so you can take photos?" Rosie said.
And those of you who know me, know that that is the thing to say to make this girl happy. :)


(Who do I know that wants to take me hiking next time I visit?)



I took a bunch of portraits too, because of GORGEOUS:






When we got to Rosie's place (almost as fabulous as she is, by the way), it was rather late (oh and also we stopped by her parents' place and I was like a child, like "OMG it's so English it's like a MOVIE and they speak BEAUTIFULLY OMG!") but we still needed to spend a couple of hours on the couch talking, as if we hadn't just spent four hours in the car doing just that. It was just so good.


Apparently I'm in England, where people have a DRAWER full of tea. :)


<3


In the morning Rosie got up earlier than she needed to, to make us waffles. And I got a ride into Huddersfield with her roomie, Steph, who obviously also is amazing and was so kind to help me but who I forgot to photograph (sorry Steph! Next time!).


So I just spent the morning walking around in Huddersfield, which was so much fun. I still had that "everything is like in an English movie" feeling. Because it's not a place I would get to if it wasn't for knowing someone there, you know? It was just a regular town. And that's something I love to see.


And obviously I also just really love walking.




Then I took the train to Leeds and from there the bus to Edinburgh (which, by the way, cost me £18.50, instead of the £151 the train would have cost) and it was all just so enjoyable. Like, even the way I didn't understand what anyone was saying (!) was enjoyable, in the way that they all sounded like in the kitchen at Downton Abbey. :)

I'll just need to get back to Yorkshire, sooner or later.

David Gray | Forever Is Tomorrow Is Today

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