A Picturesque Day

Mom and I went on a wonderful day trip today.  There's a bus system that you can stay on for hours that goes along the English Coast.  We got the "hop on, hop off" ticket and rode for a couple of hours to a town called Bridport.  We had heard that Wednesday is market day and thought it would be fun to experience that.  On the way, the scenery was awe inspiring (trying to use another word besides breath taking...but it was that, too!)  As we rode through the countryside we saw rolling hills with green pastures, sheep dotting the grass, and little cottages scattered about.  As we turned a bend in the road and came up onto the top of a hill the sea became visible.  On one side there was gorgeous pastures and hills and the other side the sea...it was amazing.

You just can't capture it with a photo. 

When we got to Bridport we weren't that impressed.  It was a nice town, but the "market" was kind of like a garage sale.  It was spread out by the main streets.  It wasn't bad, just not exactly what we were looking for.  You know we aren't too excited about something if we only take three pictures.

This place was just pretty so Mom took a picture. 

This is the  bus we rode on from Poole.  We sat in the top deck.

On our way back to Poole we decided to "hop off" at the small town of Abbotsbury. Oh my word! It was like we had stepped off the bus and traveled back in time about 300 hundred years.  It was quite, old, and so extremely cute.  It's a sweet little town with such beauty and character.  The buildings are made of stone and look really old.  Mom and I decided to have tea at one of the tea rooms there.  The experience was lovely.  We had a "cream tea".  Now, that's not just tea with cream in it.  It's tea (with cream) and a scone with clotted cream, butter and jam.  It was so wonderful.  Everything had such an amazing flavor. 

   

The atmosphere was close to perfect...quaint tables with flowers on them, classical music wafting through the room and sipping tea with your mother...just right.

My tea cup.

  

I apologize to all my male readers for the abundance of tea room pictures...I just couldn't help myself!  If you had been there, I know you would have felt the same.

Here's the outside.  Isn't it pretty!?

I hope we will be able to go back to that precious little town.  We didn't have time to go to the beach or visit the cathedral.  Maybe we can take Dad sometime (right Daddy?!)

Here's just a couple of more sea pictures that I got on the way over. I was so happy that there wasn't a major reflection on these:

 

I need to hit the sack.  Tomorrow looks to be a very busy day.  In the evening we have the start up event for the company here in Poole.  I'll be playing background music....so I need to get to bed so I can head to the church and get some practicing in real nice and early.  

Oh, one last thing before I go.  Last night I was reading the vacuum cleaner manual.  Don't get me wrong, it's not a habit of mine to sit around reading instruction manuals, but I've found this one to be rather enjoyable to read.  Anyway, it was late and Mom was in the other room and Dad was sleeping.  As I was skimming the page I came across this warning:

Keep hair, clothing, fingers (and toes), away from the end doing the sucking, and from the brush.  It won't drag you into the bin, but it may give you a bit of a start.

Does that strike you as funny?  It did me, for I immediately started convulsing with laughter.  All the while trying to not wake up the neighborhood with my delight at the Instructions, troubleshooting guide, and guarantee booklet.  It wouldn't have been so funny, it's just that vacuum cleaner manuals aren't supposed to be funny...they're supposed to be boring.   

Alright, those last three paragraphs are very random and have nothing to do with our day, but thought you might enjoy a glimpse into the delightful and humorous life of the English.