england : day two

Wednesday morning I felt refreshed after getting a good night's sleep to catch up from the overnight flight. Tom unfortunately had to attend the funeral of a fellow councillor, so I unpacked while he was away.

When he returned, him, his mum, and I took a trip to The Animal Refuge. We wanted to check out a super grumpy looking cat ("beautiful", as Tom called it...) that was up for adoption. Sadly, Bagpuss didn't get on with other cats (or children) and had been sent back to The Animal Refuge three times previously. Since Tom has three other cats, they didn't want to allow Bagpuss to go home with him.

There were loads of other animals to see, including horses, goats, dogs, and cats. It was really a nice place and much bigger than I expected it to be. They also had a little gift shop where I bought a quaint little tea pot (I'm obsessed with tea pots) and an England pint glass.

After leaving the refuge, we headed back to Tom's to get cleaned up because that evening we were meant to be having dinner with the mayor... Yes, the mayor. The actual real live mayor of Carlisle. 

I must say it was one of the more nerve-wracking things I've done, but it turned out to be a really nice night. I wish I had pictures; their house was seriously lovely! I ended up deciding against whipping out my iPhone to document things...

In attendance were the mayor (Steven) and his wife (Christine), Tom's parents, and the two of us. When we got there, we sat in the garden (which was so cute and cozy) for an hour or so, drinking wine and chatting, before going in to eat. Everything was so relaxed and Steven and Christine were so welcoming and friendly. It was really nice getting to know them a little bit.

The dinner they had prepared for us was perfect. We started off with fruit bowls and bread. Next came salad, potatoes, and Ullswater Pie. I was a little apprehensive of the pie to begin, as I'd never heard of it before, but it turned out to be soo tasty. I wonder if there's anywhere around here that makes it... highly doubt it.

Pudding (dessert) was an apple crumble and vanilla ice cream, washed down with coffee.

By then it was getting late, so we called a taxi and got ready to go. Whilst waiting for our ride, Steven gave me a tour of his basement. Now, if you're from Michigan, you're probably wondering why in the world  we'd want to see his basement. However, this was much different from your typical "Michigan basement".

He informed me that servants had lived in the house until the 1950s, and the basement had actually been their living quarters. I got to see where they slept, cooked meals, and did laundry. It was fascinating.

At the end of the mini tour, we walked out of a door that took us into their garage, where Steven showed me his gorgeous, shiny, bright red 1960 MG. I can't pretend to know much about cars, but I will say that this one was a true beauty. He was very proud of it, and I don't blame him!

By that time, the taxi was waiting out front. Tom, his parents, and I got in to head back home.

All in all, it was an exceptional evening.

-teddy x