The Moorelands and Chatsworth House

Its been a few days since I've written and there is a lot to catch you up on. Friday night John and I taught his family how to play Rummikube and they really enjoyed it. I bought it for them before we left America as a "thank you for letting me stay here" gift. Then on Saturday John and I went for a hike on the Moorelands. Basically it is just a bunch of cliffs and rocks surrounded by fields of sheep and heather. When we left it was in the mid 50s but on top of the cliffs if was very windy and cold. I had on a long sleeve shirt, two jackets, and a scarf. It was cloudy and freezing! However, it was BEAUTIFUL! We took several pictures. It was my first time really seeing sheep up close, and in the wild, so I kept trying to get close enough to pet them. They wouldn't have any of it though. The best part was when we got to the top of the cliffs there was an ice cream truck waiting there...so we of course got another 99.

Later that night we went out for Mary's birthday. We went to a pizza place with several of Mary's friends, and this is where I made my first social blunder. We were eating our pizza and I didn't think anything of it until I heard John say, "I'll eat it with my hands too." I looked down the table and every single person was eating their pizza with their knife and fork. I totally forgot that eating with your hands was an American thing to do. It was sweet though because Pete (Mary's husband) and John ate their pizza with their hands to make me not stand out so much. Afterward we went to a pub for a drink and then went home.

The weather up here is so crazy, it changes drastically from day to day. For instance, Sunday John and I went for another hike on the Moorelands. It was beautiful! It was about 70 degrees, sunny, and not near as windy. We hiked to Robin Hood's cave and saw several people rock climbing and repelling. Then, we drove to this little church were we saw Little John's grave. The road up to this church was ridiculous! Barely one car could fit up this curvy road but it was still a two lane road. I took a video of it to show yall when I get back. I do get very car sick almost every time I get in the car because the roads are so curvy and they are constantly swirving around parked cars. Anyway, after our hike we went out for a pub meal (basically its just a restaurant with a bar) with John's family for Father's day. I had a Sunday roast and yorkshire pudding which a traditional English meal. Pete had this starter called black pudding. It looked odd so I asked what it was...it turns out it is pork and pigs blood :/ YUK!

This morning John and I got up and went to his Granny's house to look around. His mom is cleaning it out due to her recent death. It was very neat to see all of the old things she had, but it was also very sad. Afterward, John and I went to Chatsworth house. This is the Duke of Devonshire's house. It was in the Pride and Prejudice movie as Mr. Darcy's house. The house was enormous and beautiful. We had a picnic in the gardens and worked our way through a human maze. It was a beautiful day...the warmest yet. We toured the house and of course had an ice cream when we were finished. Tonight for dinner I was forced to have a meal of fish and chips. It actually wasn't that bad...it hardly tasted fishy at all. I'm sure I will be exposed to it again soon. Well....this novel must come to an end eventually. Sorry it was so choppy and broad.