After saying goodbye to Lola, I was on my way to England to catch up with another friend: Ellie from New Zealand.
Initially, I was planning on catching a train back to Paris, then taking the Channel Tunnel train between Paris and London, then catching several train connections up to Dewsbury. However, it turned out to be cheaper and much faster to fly to Manchester then train over to Dewsbury. London will have to wait for another trip.
Anyhow, after catching up with Ellie and meeting her friend Milly, we didn't waste anytime and hit the road. First stop: Ampleforth College, Ellie's Hogwartz-y school/workplace.
We also visited York, a quaint town nearby.
After swinging back to Dewsbury to grab the rest of our stuff, we headed out to Ellie's family cottage in Bigert Mires in Broughton-in-Furness on the west coast of the UK.
The next day, we played cricket at Silecroft beach and watched as horse tours and the clouds rolled by.
We went for a short hike to the Pike near the cottage in proper English walking headwear...
and played tons of board games down by the river.
I even managed to win a few of the games I had never played before (no Catan, though, unfortunately).
Overall, I fell in love with the English countryside and want to go back to visit already. Huge shoutout to Ellie for having me! Miss you, and I'll see you soon somewhere in the world!