All posts by karenfranza

The Dales Way – Cowgill to Sedbergh

June 16, 2018Backpacking, Dales Way, England, Flashpacking, TravelAdam Sedgwick, Cowgill, Dent, flowers, Sedbergh, trail markerskarenfranza

June 15 – Eleven miles planned for today. No rain in the forecast, but no sun either. High temp will be around 55 – fine brisk hiking weather. After yesterday’s adventure, we are looking forward to an uneventful walk. Want to see more sheep and cows? Didn’t think so. Here are my first pretty pics walking out of Cowgill.

So, just to catch up, at some point during the past few days, we left Yorkshire, and are now in Cumbria. The town signs tell us we are leaving the Dales, and entering the Lake District, although we have not yet seen a lake. Stay tuned.

On previous journeys, I’ve described how the trail is marked, to help hikers follow the right path. The marks on this trail are small and far between – a little white or yellow arrow on a fence post, sometimes reading Dales Way, and other times just Public Path, Bridle Path, or Footpath. Jim has a guidebook that he refers to throughout the day to keep us on track.

We haven’t gotten lost, so I guess the markers are sufficient!

Some more prettiness.

By lunchtime we had reached the little town of Dent, birthplace of Adam Sedgwick, the father of modern geology. They are very proud of him here. His father was the vicar of the local church.

More prettiness.

We see Sedbergh, our destination for this evening.

Once again, the gardens do not disappoint!

We are staying at a two bedroom B&B with a shared bath. We walked down the Main Street to a Bangladeshi Indian restaurant where the food was absolutely scrumptious. A good walk will give you a good appetite!

The Dales Way – Swarthghyll Farm to Cowgill

June 15, 2018Backpacking, Dales Way, England, Flashpacking, Hiking, TravelCowgill, gale, Nice People of England, Sportsman Inn, Swarthghyll Farmkarenfranza

Our Swarthghyll Farm hosts John and Freya came over and introduced themselves after their daily chores were done. Although Freya used to work in Los Angeles, they love the life here, and wouldn’t trade it. They purchased the farm as a ruin – no roofs – and have been building it back a bit at a time. Freya had prepared us a lovely pasta casserole for supper (yay! no chips!) that we just had to pop in the oven.

June 14 – It was a treat to cook our own breakfast in our little kitchen this morning, with farm fresh eggs and lots of coffee. We watched the weather closely, as we read that a big storm was due in this area. Not sure how they define a gale, but they name them like hurricanes, so they can’t be good. This one is called Hector.

It looked very windy, with tree limbs thrashing about, but no rain, so we set off. Leaving the farm and walking out onto the moor, the wind gusted so ferociously that it almost knocked me over, and we were pelted by icy rain. My hat and glasses flew off, and I’m shouting, “Help! My glasses!”, but the wind tore the words from my lips. Finding my glasses on the ground, Jim about-faced, and we marched back to our cabin.

Jim went back to the farmhouse to ask John’s advice about whether to wait an hour or so in the hope that the severity of the wind might abate, but John counseled him to go now, as it was supposed to get worse later! We put on our pack covers and rain gear, tightened every strap, and set off again. Remember: we are in the middle of nowhere. There is no phone service and no Uber (not a thing here) or taxi we can call. We can’t stay here another day. We have a reservation in Cowgill. We have to walk.

Okay, do you remember the scene from The Wizard of Oz when Almira Gulch is pedaling her bicycle furiously through the twister? Start there. Add the music if you wish. Then add driving wind that knocks you backward at every step. Gusts of rain like needles on your face. Now trudge uphill, directly into the wind! Don’t forget to climb over every stile, holding on for dear life! The big rocks that we clambered happily over yesterday are now slick and treacherous. The dry gullies are now filled with rushing water. The only blessing is that sheep turds are sufficiently heavy that they do not become airborne, because flying sheep dung in the face would just really be the last straw!

Jim’s pack cover went airborne, and he just managed to grab it. After four miles of this torture, we reached the cairn that our guidebook said was the highest elevation of the entire hike. Of course we stopped for a picture!

In the distance, we saw a truck parked on the other side of the next stone wall. As we approached, a young man rolled down the window and asked if we would like a lift. Just like that. Calm as you please.

David is the forestry manager for this part of the Dales, and was sitting there in his truck as it’s the only place in the entire area that has cellphone reception. He was waiting for a client and had a few minutes to spare, so he drove us down a ways, off the ridge, where the wind was less intense and we could resume our trek. Thank you David – Nice People of England!

The inclement weather continued for the rest of the day, with periods of rain, gusts of wind followed by a moment of sunshine as the clouds blew across the sky. Now that we were off the ridge, it was a fine day as far as I was concerned. We walked along the River Dee, and ate our sandwiches sitting on mossy wet rocks.

We passed by a huge aqueduct, built in the 1800s.

There were pretty flowers, refreshed from the rain.

A farmer’s fence proudly displayed a collection of dead rats.

We arrived at the Sportsman Inn. I like their sign – a chain of one!

They had a carved tree in the back garden.

Now we’ve had a bath (showers are not an option here), hung our clothes to dry, and are feeling much better about the day. We ordered Beef Madras for supper, which was just spicy enough to make my nose run, just the way I like it. Now the sun is out (did I mention that it is still light here after 10pm?).

No WiFi here, so this will have to wait before I can post it. Friend Tom, I can hear you laughing and shaking your head. Don’t we just have the best stories?

The Dales Way – Kettlewell to Swarthghyll Farm

June 13, 2018Backpacking, Dales Way, England, Flashpacking, Hiking, TravelCalendar Girls, Cows, Dales Way, flowers, Hubberholme Chapel, Kettlewell, mice, sheep, Swarthghyll Farmkarenfranza

We’re staying in Kettlewell at a little B & B above the Cottage Tea Room, where all the kids lined up to buy an ice cream cone after school. We have a beautiful view of the hillside from our bedroom window.

Once the tea shop closed at 5pm, we had the building to ourselves. Maybe we should go downstairs and have an ice cream? Maybe some cake? Tempting, but we resisted. The owner left us little glasses of sherry and chocolates to tide us over until supper.

We crossed the street to the pub and ordered a Mediterranean Vegetable Wellington. Turns out, a Wellington is anything baked in a puff pastry. Very tasty, although the chips and peas are becoming standard fare.

June 13 – Today we trek 12 miles. While downing our breakfast (full English for Jim, just eggs and veggies for me), our host tells us that today’s walk is the prettiest part of the Dales. We’ve been told this every day so far, and every day it’s been true!

Now, here is something you may not know. Kettlewell was the town used as the set to make the film Calendar Girls, in which a group of old English matrons decide to pose nude in a calendar to raise money. Here is the Kettlewell Garage, where the matrons got the idea after seeing a girlie calendar on the wall.

Would you like to see more sheep? Here’s one doing morning yoga – downward facing sheep position.

Here are some cows who did not want me crossing into their territory.

Lots of buttercups today.

By mid morning, we arrived at the chapel at Hubberholme, which is famous for its mice.

We ventured in, and looked high and low, but no mice did we see. Then Jim spotted one! Do you see it?

Here’s the close-up – tiny mice carved into the front of the pews!

Well, that was our excitement for the day.

We stopped to eat our lunch in front of an old lime kiln. Evidently, you fill the kiln with limestone, set a fire, come back in three days and shovel out your lime. Voila!

After more sheep, more cows, and many more gates and stiles, we came to the cross carved into stone in honor of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

This was our landmark to turn onto the road to Swarthghyll Farm.

We walked, then walked some more. Saw pretty flowers.

Walked some more. Where was this farm?

Finally, another sign, but still no farm!

Well, eventually a farmhouse did appear, and we found our walker’s cottage, with a kitchen, bedroom, living room and bath just for us. Our invisible hosts left our supper in the fridge with instructions on how to light the oven. A different kind of adventure!

The Dales Way – Burnsall to Kettlewell

June 12, 2018Backpacking, Dales Way, England, Flashpacking, Hiking, TravelBurnsall, Dales Way, fish and chips, flowers, full English breakfast, Kettlewell, sheep, shepherds piekarenfranza

So now we’ve reached Burnsall, a very small village with no shops or amenities, dominated by the 500 year old Red Lion Hotel, where we are staying.

There is a bridge here.

And a church.

After a refreshing and much needed shower, we went down to supper in a traditional English pub. Although this is definitely not a food blog, we are trying to experience and share info about traditional English dishes while we are here. If you are already acquainted with these dishes, my apologies.

Jim ordered shepherds pie (lamb, carrots and gravy under a fluffy mashed potato crust) with cabbage on the side.

I opted for the even more traditional haddock and chips, accompanied by a serving of mushy peas. After liberally applying salt, pepper, catsup and brown sauce, we pronounced all the food delicious. Everything you’ve heard about the blandness of English cuisine is, as far as we can tell so far, true.

June 11 – We walked around the tiny village of Burnsall this morning. The buildings are uniformly rectangular and made from the same brown stone, so the residents pour their energy into their front gardens.

This morning was our first opportunity to order what is called “the full English” breakfast, which consists of (clockwise) eggs any style, fried mushrooms, black pudding (a sausage that tastes sort of like liverwurst), bacon (we would call it ham), fried tomato, fried toast, sausage and baked beans. I’ve heard this meal also called “a fry-up”.We now understand why defibrillators are available here on every corner!June 12 – This morning we proceed nine miles to Kettlewell, which our guidebook promises will be a pretty and pleasant walk.

We started by getting our daily dose of sheep and cows.

We crossed the River Wharfe one more time, over a bouncy suspension bridge.

Here’s another tree stump filled with coins. Maybe for good luck?

We left the river, and climbed up into the hills, where there are lots of stone walls. Yes, for every wall, there was a stile to climb over.

We walked through the village of Grassington, which has a little waterfall and an interesting carving.

So, as we were walking along, all the sheep in the field we were traversing started maa-ing and baa-ing. Dozens of sheep. Maybe a hundred sheep. Jim wondered if we upset them somehow. Next they all started running toward us. Oh no! Trampled to death by sheep? What a way to go! Over the horizon we heard the drone of a tractor, and here was the farmer, coming with the morning meal. The sheep ran right past us, continuing to make an unholy racket until the tractor stopped and the first handfuls of grain were thrown. Then blessed silence. Sheep!

The Yorkshire Dales Way – Ilkley to Burnsall

June 11, 2018Backpacking, England, Flashpacking, Hiking, TravelAll Saints Church, Bell Ringers Window, Bolton Abbey, Burnsall, Dalesway Hotel, Ilkley, priory ruins, Yorkshire Dales Waykarenfranza

June 9 – This morning we walked back to Leeds Station to catch the train to Ilkley. Jim got us a discount rail pass for off-peak riders, so all our tickets are 30% off. Once again, we were reminded of the dreaded gap!

Ilkley is a lovely little town, bustling with weekend tourists on a bright Saturday. We checked in at the Dalesway Hotel, and took a little walk about the town. It seems to be a canine-friendly place.

We ducked in to All Saints Church, as I knew there was a special stained glass window there, dedicated to handbell ringers, in memory of Jasper Snowden, killed in WWI, and his family. Grandfather John Snowden was the vicar here, and both his son and grandson were avid change ringers and writers of handbell music.

There were also some eighth century stone pillars:

I particularly liked the embroidered kneelers at every pew. No two alike!

Quaint country buildings that look like they could be in Germany or Austria:

And lots of flowers in bloom!

As we are officially in Yorkshire, Jim opted to have Yorkshire pudding for supper. This is nothing like pudding as we know it, but is a baked bread-like shell, filled with roast beef, potatoes, peas, carrots and gravy. The pudding refers to the shell, not the contents. We didn’t think to bring a camera to supper, so here is an image from Google to give you an idea. Jim’s was much prettier, and huge. The barman was very impressed that Jim was able to finish it.

June 10 – This morning we started our Dales Way hike. It is Sunday, and our hotel offered breakfast at 9am, but we opted for coffee and oatmeal in our room and an early start. We were on the trail at 7:30, with 14 miles ahead of us.

Here is the map provided at the starting point. Do you see Ilkley all the way to the south?

The weather was foggy and a bit chilly in the morning. Today’s route follows the River Wharfe all day. It didn’t take long for us to run into some sheep.

We crossed one farmer’s field after another, pausing at each boundary to open and close a gate or climb over a stile. A stile is a simple ladder that allows people over, but confounds the sheep. By the twelfth stile, they confounded me too – my first leg went over easily, but convincing my back leg to join it became harder each time!

Unlike the US, where property is private and “trespassers will be shot”, England and most other countries have what is called the right to roam. Don’t litter, don’t disturb the livestock, and please close the gate behind you. What a wonderful philosophy!

We walked past some cottages that had originally been a mill built in 1787. Wouldn’t you love to live in Cobweb Cottage?

In an hour, we came upon a Friends Meeting House built in 1689. Inside, there were transparent silhouettes to remind us to honor the soldiers who died in the Great War.

By mid morning we reached Bolton Abbey, with the ruins of a priory attached to a working church. A sign said people have been worshipping here for 850 years.

My mom instructed me to take pictures of castles. As Windsor and Buckingham are not on our itinerary, here is a building in the Abbey and a bridge that look sort of like castles!

Bolton Abbey is part of a large park that we walked through for the rest of the day. Lots of families enjoying the River Wharfe, either fishing or wading. Here’s a place where you can opt to cross by jumping on stepping stones or going over a bridge. Which do you think we chose?

There’s a fallen tree into which hundreds of coins have been hammered. Couldn’t tell you why.

As we left the walk to get some lunch, we were surprised to find we had been walking through the Valley of Desolation. We thought it quite cheerful.

We encountered a full complement of fauna as we tromped through the fields on what turned out to be a warm and sunny afternoon, with the River Wharfe always at our side.A wonderful first day!

Mad Dogs and Englishmen go out in the Midday Sun

June 9, 2018England, Flashpacking, Hiking, TravelCustoms, Heathrow, King’s Cross, Leeds, London, Nice People of England, Platform 9 3/4, Tharavadu, Trainkarenfranza

Will you still need me,

Will you still feed me,

When I’m 64? – Paul McCartney

June 6, 2018 – Where better to celebrate my 64th birthday than the home of the Fab Four? Today we embarked on a trip to England for a two month hike through the English countryside and national parks. We hope to hike through the Cotswolds (marked on the map below in green), the Yorkshire Dales (pronounced Dells and marked in blue) and go cross-country on a Coast to Coast Walk (marked in yellow). We hope to encounter some midday sun.

June 7 – We arrived at Heathrow after a no-drama all night flight, to stand in an hours-long queue at Customs that moved agonizingly slowly. We theorized that this was the Brits’ way of training newcomers to queue compliantly, like civilized folk. Just a theory.

We eventually retrieved our packs and made our way via the London Underground (mind the gap!) to King’s Cross Station, where there actually is a Platform 9 3/4 for Harry Potter fans, and several Hogwarts shops. Photographers were doing a brisk business snapping would-be wizards running their trolley through the brick wall.

The station also sported a huge tyrannosaurus just erected to advertise the latest Jurassic Park movie.

We boarded our train for a two hour ride north to Leeds, where we will spend a jet-lag recuperation day prior to commencing our Dales Way hike. In our sleep-deprived state, we stopped frequently to ask for directions and for help with ticket machines and such. At every turn, the folks here have been smiling and helpful – Nice People of England!

June 8 – After 12 hours of sleep (interrupted periodically by young men singing lustily about their favorite teams in the pubs below until the wee hours) we felt much perkier this morning. We looked out our hotel window to get an idea of the weather by what folks were wearing, and saw some in tee shirts and some in heavy jackets with scarves and collars turned up. We opted for jackets. We walked around Leeds, where the weather is chilly and overcast, scoped out some future food options, found a cash machine, and dropped a box of maps and supplies for our future hike off at the post office. We’ll pick it up farther north next week.

It turns out you must also mind the gap at the post office. They have lots of gaps here.

Leeds is a working class city with lots of shops and restaurants, that boasts absolutely no tourist attractions. The Who recorded an album here (Live at Leeds) back in the day. There are some nice brick buildings, and double-decker buses.

Unfortunately, there are homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks here. I don’t take pictures of homeless people.

A new use has been found for the old red telephone boxes!

We had a perfect Kerala Indian lunch at Tharavadu, with three different curries and delicious thin naan. Spicy enough to make my nose run, but not so spicy that I broke out in a sweat. Yum! There are many Indian restaurants here, and they advertise which part of India the dishes are from. Kerala is southern cuisine.

There are statues here, which seem to attract pigeons just like in other parts of the world.

There is wall art here!

A relaxing day. Tomorrow we travel north to Ilkley!

Home to Mexico City and then to Home

March 17, 2018Mexico, TravelCaravaggio, Metro, Mexico City, Museo Nacional de Artekarenfranza

Mar 15 – A two hour bus ride took us from Puebla back to Mexico City, where we hopped onto the Metro, then walked back to our original B & B. Coming from this direction, I got a totally different feel for this city – we walked down a street that contained all music shops, and the music made me tap my feet and smile! Nicer shops, better restaurants, just a more affluent feel than my first impression, I guess.

What to do with just one day? For the first time in our entire trip, the sky was cloudy and threatening rain. We opted to explore the National Art Museum, where the weather would not affect us.

The first exhibit was of Mexican painter José Maria Vasquez. His landscapes reminded me very much of the famous Brooklyn artist Jeanette O’Keefe (also known as my grandma). AJ and MH, don’t you agree?

The museum advertised a special limited exhibit of Caravaggio, who was not Mexican, but still a very good painter.

We walked through several rooms of paintings by others who were inspired by Caravaggio, and then finally to the room where his painting, The Fortune Teller, was displayed. Dozens of art students huddled around it, taking notes. It was the only Caravaggio on site, and was one of his earliest works, showing a pretty young fortune teller smiling beguilingly at a handsome young man while she takes his palm and steals his ring.

We then walked through a multimedia video display of many other Caravaggios, showing his attention to light and shadow, and the detail he painted into every inch of his work. The paintings were displayed on the floor and walls, magnified so you could see every detail. Very impressive.

Some Mexican inspired sculptures:

Bacchus always has a good time!

Smart looking Jesus:

Funny looking Jesus:

Meanwhile, the sky opened, the thunder boomed and the rain poured down. The museum workers scurried about with squeegees and mops, drying the floors, as the museum is built around an open center courtyard that let in all the wet.

A good place to be on a soggy afternoon.

Mar 16 – Just to prove that you can’t step in the same river twice, we got a terrible room with no hot water at our previously beloved B&B. Oh well. The breakfast was still great!

A bus ride to the Aeropuerto, two on time flights, and we are home! Thank you, PB for picking us up at the airport. Tomorrow we will pick up our dog, and life will return to normal. Until next time!

Puebla – Pottery!

March 16, 2018Mexico, TravelPuebla, Talavera pottery, tileskarenfranza

Mar 14 – Now here is the reason Jim wanted us to go to Puebla. Whenever we are able, we purchase a decorative plate from whatever country we are in, to add to our colorful plate wall at home. Although we looked everywhere we stopped here in Mexico, we didn’t find decorative plates anywhere. Jim knew that Puebla was the home of world renowned Talavera pottery, famous not only for plates, but also for the tiles that adorn many of the buildings here.

The tiles reminded us of our time in Portugal.

We walked down to the Artists Quarter (Barrio de Artistes), and we found plates, cups, and pottery like crazy! Although we looked at the very beautiful and expensive Talavera pottery (in the first pic below), we settled for a regular ol’ colorful plate that will remind us of our time in Mexico.

So now we can go home…

Puebla

March 15, 2018Mexico, TravelBiblioteca Palafox, Cathedral, Convento de Santo Domingo, Pueblakarenfranza

Mar 13 – If you recall, we started this trip by flying down to Mexico City, then took a short flight all the way south to Huatulco, and have been working our way back north by bus. To break up the last long stretch from Oaxaca back to Mexico City, Jim added one more stop for us – the city of Puebla, a five hour bus ride from Oaxaca. This was a full sized, very comfy bus that showed movies as we traveled. We got to watch “Sing” in español, one of our grand girls favorite movies!

Puebla and Oaxaca have a friendly competition going on. They both claim to have invented molé, although Oaxaca has seven different colors, and Puebla is most proud of molé poblano. They tell similar stories of the poor nuns who had nothing to serve the bishop during his visit, so they scraped together bits of many spices, boiled the melange down and served it over an old turkey. The bishop loved it, and molé was born.

Puebla has beautiful architecture and many colorful buildings.

Puebla has the second largest cathedral in Mexico, second only to the one in Mexico City. To my little mind, this cathedral is so much prettier – lighter, brighter, shinier! The ceilings are particularly lovely.

Puebla is also the home of the Convento Santo Domingo. I particularly liked the main altar.

The Convento also contains the famous Rosary Chapel, or Capilla de Rosario. So much gold!

The first public library in Latin America is here, with over 5000 volumes donated by Bishop Palafox in 1646 with the mandate that the books be shared with the common people:

There is an interesting statue here. Do you prefer the front view or the rear view?

Want to know what else there is in Puebla? I’ll tell you tomorrow!

Oaxaca – Chocolate, Cheese and Churches

March 14, 2018Mexico, TravelBasilica de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, Cathedral, Oaxaca, Oaxacan cheese, Oaxacan chocolate, Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman, Templo San Felipe de Nerikarenfranza

Mar 12 – One of the things Oaxaca is famous for is chocolate. It is the basis of molé sauce (which tastes much better here – I think I’m becoming accustomed to it), but is also sold in all its forms. Today we stopped at Mayordomo for a classic hot cocoa made with milk, which is what many folks here drink in the morning instead of coffee:

While we were waiting for the cocoa to come, we were served a dish of corn chips with molé negro (black). It turns out that molé comes in many colors:

On the menu of the chocolate shop was a list of postres (afters), which usually means dessert. Not knowing what any of them were, Jim picked one at random. We expected a cookie or a pastry, and instead we got…

…tortillas with molé and Oaxacan cheese! We have really enjoyed the cheese made here, which crumbles like feta, pulls like string cheese, melts like mozzarella, and is served on everything!

Oaxaca has several beautiful churches, a cathedral and a Basilica. We’ve been sampling them in between shopping, sightseeing and eating. Here are some highlights.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Solitude (la Nuestra Señora de Soledad), was built in the 1600s out of green cantera stone. It was built without tall spires to better withstand earthquakes: