Weekend in Lancastershire

This weekend I went to Morecombe. Julie has told me lots about it and though I didn't always believe everything she said it all turned out to be true. I hopped a train to Lancaster where she met me and we had dinner on Friday. Saturday we drove a short way to The Lakes District. Wow, Julie is so lucky to have such a gorgeous area near her. This is an example of the grass is always greener because she thinks we are lucky to be near London. Of course she is right but there are so many great trails to walk up there and the scenery is stunning. Saturday evening we went to a Burns Night at the Lancaster Town Hall. Ashton Hall isn't like your typical American town hall. It was a huge, elegant room with a pipe organ. We enjoyed a three course meal after the toast and presentation of the haggis. I was surprised to find I enjoyed the haggis! Then there was a traditional Scottish Band and a ceilidh. Julie and I sat with some great folks (one of them had the personality of my Nana and was so fun) and we all enjoyed dancing. A ceilidh is a bit like a square dance in that there are set steps that are taught and then called from the stage. You also dance with many partners which is fun, especially when your husband is Asia.
Sunday we took a train to Manchester to see the Chinese New Year Celebration. I was amazed by the crowds, the dragons, drums, and fireworks were great. Unfortunately, as the parade ended the crowds just got thicker and thicker in Chinatown. The crowds became so thick we couldn't move and so we decided to leave. After about 15- 20 minutes we found our way out, even as more people were shoving into the area. We found a pub and had lunch, it wasn't Chinese but it was still good. Julie made sure I found the train station and then headed back to Morecombe. Thanks for great weekend Julie, you really are lucky! I will be back to hike to the tops of those hills, the views must be great.

Munich

The final leg of our Christmas trip was three days in Munich. We enjoyed Munich a lot- we saw more palaces/ castles, churches, gardens, etc. Munich has some beautiful churches. We also spent some time in the famous beer halls enjoying the large mugs and music. The city was great for walking though we sometimes used the trams and trains too. I especially took advantage of being able to have soft pretzels again. They were yummy!
It was a great place to bring in the New Year and we hope the new year is as exciting as the past year.