UK Heather went on an adventure this past weekend and completed a +10 mile journey on foot between the quaint villages of Amberley and Arundel along the South Downs Way in East Sussex. My friend Brian was visiting the UK for work and encouraged me to join him, his sister and brother in law who live in London for a “walk between pubs”. Brian assured me it would be more pubs than walking and that someone not as acclimated to the outdoors like myself could keep up; however I quickly discovered once we stepped off the train and started our journey that it was a proper hike. Luckily I was smart enough to leave my heels at home and even wore a backpack to submerge myself in the outdoors spirit. We had a really great time walking along, chatting and stopping for a few ales and ciders between the towns. We reached our final destination of Arundel on Saturday afternoon and still had smiles on our faces which of course meant we needed to celebrate our rambling success with a few more pints. On Sunday, we explored Arundel castle which has a recent claim to fame for being part of the movie sets for the film The Young Victoria. It is amazing how a dash of pop culture makes history a little bit more exciting. The castle is still occupied by the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk and I can say that wandering around the home of royalty is not a bad way to waste away a Sunday afternoon. My feet are still a little tired from the weekend adventure, but I now have a brand new appreciation for exploring the English countryside and am hoping to have the chance to take a few more walking trips. Now that I know I can do it, it also gives me a reason to invest in some outdoor fashion to fully expand my experiences. Brian’s sister Monica has proved to me that a rucksack and tearaway pants can be on trend and I am looking forward to a shopping spree at the North Face store. I would say I am still not ready for camping, but now that I have entered the world of the great outdoors I could probably rationalize starting to carry around a walking stick or storing a lantern in my giant handbags.
This week I finished a really great book which I would definitely recommend. It is call "One Day" by David Nicholls. It’s a simple story about a man and woman who meet at the end of university and follows their friendship and lives. Despite it’s simplicity, it is a page turner and one of those books where you feel like the author must have gotten inside your head since the characters are clearly just like you. I felt myself wanting to read it under my desk at work to find out what happened and am now suffering a mini depressive state that I am finished with the book. For me, a story is really great if you feel like you miss the characters when you reach the last page. I hope to write a story like that one day. For now, my story writing is on hold and I am on the train to Brussels for a work assignment and then a mini break to Bruges for the weekend. My coworker lent me a guide book titled “around Bruges in 80 beers”. If I come across a pair of tearaway pants on sale, I am totally buying them. You never know when the terrain between outdoor cafes can get rough ….
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