Rain? What Rain?

Today I went to the Lakes District in Cumbria County. Beautiful area! We stopped in on the village of Keswick. It is similar to the village of Durham, but a little smaller. Here are some pictures of some of the "fells" (mountains) in the area. It poured rain all day which in turn flooded the roads, so if you want to see what the Lakes District looks like when it's sunny, then you can check out the following website. It is a fabulous area!

http://www.golakes.co.uk/places/

People come to the Lakes to "walk" which really means they are hiking. So walking around, you will see about 80% of people in hiking/backpacking gear. I would have LOVED to have had the opportunity to go hiking, but without waterproof gear, it would have proved a little damp. It poured profusely while we were in the village, but it seemed business as usual. There were all sorts of shops to go in to get out of the wet weather. Very eclectic shops, jewellry (yes, that's how they spell jewelry here) shops, clothing shops, but most importantly outdoor sporting goods shops. Not just 2 or 3, but 14! Fourteen shops containing everything needed for hiking and rock climbing. I loved all of the stores! It was fun to see all of the different items you wouldn't normally see in the states. In addition to all the stores, there was a "market" setup in the village square. Vendors selling their wares under tents in the blustery winds and cold rain. It was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit. We ate at a "posh" cafe, as Nina called it--I understand that to mean fancy. As we started to drive back to Carlisle, we stopped at a place called Surprise View. I took the three pictures seen below from this point, which was a crag, rock face, drop off (scary!) From top to bottom, if you were to line them up from left to right it would be a panoramic view of the lakes.When we went to leave, the roads were flooded, so we drove the long way home! Yay! I got to see more of the countryside! Nina and I stopped at the co-op (the mini grocery store, fits in a building smaller than a 7-11) to get some stuff to make dinner. Nina cooked myself and her roommate, Adam, some great food! She was so nice and used some spices for me! What a girl!

I am now about to leave the suburbs of Carlisle to head back to my hotel in the middle of the party zone. Last night was crazy! Gary, Nina, Grant and I went out for Indian food, or as they call it, Curry. My first experience with Indian wasn't too bad. I liked some dishes more than others, but over all it was better than the bland food I'd had all week. I got back to my hotel pretty early. So I got ready for bed and flipped through my 20 channels of "rubbish". It got pretty hot in my room and they don't believe in A/C's here so I opened my window. Low and behold, there was American music blaring from ALL 5 pubs on the street I am staying on. Ugh. Throw in the mass of people that traveled into town to get "pissed", and you have a never-ending echo of madness. I fell asleep to the white noise outside...to wake up to a wonderful call from Kary. It's been a great day, although I've been a little distracted. I will post more pictures soon. I am traveling to the east coast tomorrow. Durham Marriott...oh, the plush bed that awaits me.