Carrie vs. Keswick

Day 1: A Glorious Day

It was a very cheerful afternoon when our young travelers arrived in the small town of Keswick. The birds were singing, the sun was shining, the kiddies were playing, and the river was gently flowing outside their hostel. After settling in comfortably to their room, the sisters went out the soak in the glorious day. They set off through Fitz Park, ice cream cones in hand, and meandered over to Derwentwater Lake for heavenly views of the greenest grass, flluffiest sheep, wettest water, and hilliest hills. 

This refreshing country walk occupied the girls until their loudly complaining stomachs forced them back to town. Dinner was eaten. Stomachs were filled. Sleep came. All was well with our young travelers.

Day 2: A Less Glorious Day

Hi guys... Carrie here... I tried to make our first day sound as good as I could to make up for what's coming next.  I'll spare you the details, but here's how my morning went: I'll just say that the 'stomach that was filled' didn't agree with the ''dinner that was eaten.'

Our plan was to buy an all day, any bus pass and tour the Lake Country on our last day in Keswick. By the time we were supposed to leave I felt confident that I could still handle a day riding buses along small, winding, country roads. So we set off. We bought what we thought was the right bus pass but were informed on attempting to board the second bus we'd planned to take that our pass was only for a certain bus company... And, naturally on a day such as this, neither of us had enough cash to buy the correct full day pass. No matter, we would find an ATM and catch the next bus. Feeling a bit unsteady on my feet at this point, I more or less held on to KK's backpack as she led me through the little town of Grasmere. At the end of the one street we walked down, we inquired where the nearest cash point was. It was, of course, back down the opposite end of the road we've come. And the only ATM in Grasmere greeted us with a big sign stating "Out of Cash."

So, little sick me waited as patiently as a sick person can while little flustered KK figured out our next step... We ended up buying the cheaper day pass from the other bus company so between our two passes we could see what we wanted. It turns out that we should have just taken the bus straight back to Keswick. But we are world travelers! We press on no matter the obstacles! We did have a nice open-top bus ride from Grasmere to Windermere.

At this point in the trip, I was fighting a losing battle. KK here. And I was suddeny aware of this struggle when Carrie almost threw me bodily from the bus at one stop in the middle of nowhere and, well, got rid of more of last night's dinner over a stone wall. It was a bit of a surprise and slightly terrifying. But Carrie is a world traveler, and a little bit of sickness was not about to overcome her. But we still caught the first bus back to Keswick. She rested in the hostel while I roamed around the small town for a couple hours.

In the evening, I went to see Keswick Street Theatre as they presented Keswick's history in ten short scenes around the town. It was well done, and I was struck by the uniqueness of it. Most towns or cities have a bus or walking tour, but not many towns can boast of citizens willing to dress up and act out their city's history every Tuesday night for two months. It was pleasant watching these actors and actresses deliver their lines, engage the crowd, and insert their own little witticisms. 

While our stay was short and riddled with sickness, Keswick was a peaceful oasis to which we would happily return.