9 Countries in 8 Weeks

Up early to catch our 5:30 am shuttle to the airport. Once arriving at the airport there were huge queues of people waiting to check in on Ryan Air, as they serve all of their passengers through a handful of check-in counters. We were impressed with their efficiency, however, as we were through in less than 20 minutes.
Once through customs we found a place to enjoy some breakfast before heading to our gate. We had a quick one hour flight to Dublin where we were to catch our flight back to Canada.
We then arrived at the Air Canada check in desk to pick up our boarding pass and drop off our luggage. Again we stood in line but this time maybe twenty people ahead of us. It took a full hour to finally get to the desk! It was pathetic service and the young ladies had no regards to the people standing in line. They would visit between themselves before taking the next persons in line or just get up and leave their desk and come back when they felt like it. Horrible service. Finally we had our boarding passes and luggage dropped off so we continued on through customs before heading to our gate.
The plane was about a half hour late leaving, but it was an enjoyable flight and the 7 hours passed quickly. We arrived in Toronto where we had 5 1/2 hours to pass before flying onto Kelowna. We checked in to one of the lounges and relaxed there.
Our last flight of the day was on Air Canada Rouge and it was an uncomfortable flight and we hope never to use them again.
On arrival to Kelowna at 10 pm we caught a taxi home and it was lovely to sleep in our own bed again. Hopefully our jet lag won’t last long!
We were away for two fabulous months. We enjoyed visiting 11 different countries; slept in 16 different beds; travelled on 9 different trains, 3 different buses, 2 ferries and 2 cars. And we walked a total of 370 kilometres. Drank ?? cappuccinos, and ate ?? scones!

Today we drove to Preston to return our rental car. Before arriving at the car rental place we stopped at a lovely little coffee shop for a coffee and pastry! Once the paperwork was finalized at the car rental place we had a taxi pick us up to take us to the train station. Typical taxi driver always trying to rip you off! He said we had to pay cash as no taxis in Preston take credit cards. A lie because we paid with a credit card for our taxi to the car rental place! Jim only had a few pounds left in his pocket, so had he had to go make a withdrawl to pay the jerk! Taxi drivers are such assholes.
It was a quick trip to Manchester on a very busy train. Today was the first day of summer holidays for the Brits. We caught a shuttle from the train station to our hotel where we will spend the night. The train station and airport are beside each other in Manchester, which was handy. We relaxed in our room for a bit before heading down for some lunch. We enjoyed a quiet afternoon before heading down to dinner later that evening. The hotel was packed with lots of Brits heading off on holidays.

Today was our last day in our exchange home here in England. We spent the morning getting the home cleaned up and the rest of the day relaxing and catching up on emails, our blog and organizing our suitcases. It was another hot day here in England and unfortunately homes here don’t have fans or air conditioning!
In the evening we went out for a nice pub dinner.
Steak and ale pie
Chili con carne

This morning we started our day with a delicious home cooked breakfast at our B&B. Our B&B hosts were a lovely English couple who knew the area and were a wealth of information. They gave us some assistance to find an historic site nearby.
We left our B&B and drove just out of the town of Aysgarth. Parking our car, we walked along a lane way, between some of the thousands of stone walls we have seen, and into the country. We were looking for a prehistoric "henge" called Castle Dykes. After walking about a mile, and with a short walk into a sheep pasture, we found the henge. A henge consists of a circular ditch with an outer embankment, around a flat platform. This henge is about 200 metres cross, and is in very good shape, considering it may be 4000 years old. The purpose of henge is unknown, but they are relatively numerous in Britain. We marvelled at the amount of work that went into constructing this feature, and the fact that modern science has no idea what purpose they served.
After our lively walk in the countryside, we got back in the car and continued our drive through the Dales. It really is beautiful scenery.
We stopped to see the Ribblehead Viaduct, a 400m long railway Viaduct that crosses the dale. Coincidentally, as we are looking at it, a train crosses.
We continued on our way, out of the National Park and back into Lancashire. We stopped in Garstang for a light lunch, before returning to our exchange home. It is a blistering hot day here, about 30 degrees.

Along our lovely country walk today
Lovely view
Out on the hedge
Castle Dykes Henge
Everywhere we travelled through England there were sheep.

Enjoying the View
A farmer shearing his sheep
Ribblehead Viaduct

After a nice breakfast at our B&B we set off to the Yorkshire Dales.
Our trip today was only 70 km, but with photo stops and coffee breaks, it took us nearly 4 hours!
The Yorkshire Dales National Park is a beautiful area of rolling hills, farms and moors. We stopped in the nice little town of Grassington for a coffee.
We reached our B&B in the town of Aysgarth, and asked our hostess for some advice. She sent us on a walk to the Aysgarth Falls. En route we stopped at a Tea Room for a light lunch. Then we explored the three sections of waterfalls along about a mile of river, stopping to soak our feet on this fiercely hot day.
Late in the afternoon, we headed off on a Circle drive through Swaledale. We loved the hills and valleys of the Yorkshire Dales, and preferred it over the Lake District. The Dales are stunning, extensive landscapes, with relatively few tourists. Our route took us over the Buttertubs Pass, and back to Hawes, before returning to Aysgarth.
In the evening we acted on a recommendation if our hostess, and had dinner at the Aysgarth Arms Hotel. It was a very nice dinner.

The village of Grassington
Aysgarth Falls
Scone and apple cake!Homes in Grassington
Home in Grassington Along our picturesque drive through the Yorkshire Dales
Along our drive
Aysgarth Falls
Aysgarth Falls Aysgarth Falls
Yorkshire country pie