We recently found ourselves in the midst of another holiday weekend. Whitsunday is an annual holiday in England. It is the feast of Pentecost, and falls 7 weeks after Easter. In true English fashion, the weather was dismal. It was cold and rainy the entire weekend. We had rented a car for the weekend and had big plans for a wee day trip into the countryside. We were not about to let the weather stand in our way. We packed the car first thing Saturday morning with raincoats, a change of dry clothes and maps. All of these things came in handy during our road trip except for the maps! We managed to get lost on our way out of Leeds (again!) and on our way to our first destination. We have decided that when driving in England it is best not to follow the mapquest directions, but just to follow the sporadic road signs marked with town names. It was definitely an adventure.We arrived at Fountains Abbey after our slight detour (http://www.fountainsabbey.org.uk/). It was a great place to visit. It is England’s largest Abbey ruins and dates to 1139. The Abbey ruins are stunning, as are the extensive grounds and gardens. We could have easily spent the entire day there, but we still had the rest of the day ahead of us.
We got back on the open road and made our way over the winding roads to our next destination. We are getting quite adept at driving on the left side of the road. Our little Nissan Micra was a great car for scooting around between the hedge rows.
We carried on to Castle Howard (http://www.castlehoward.co.uk/). When we arrived we were excited to hear that they were hosting a food festival and my favorite English chef, James Martin (http://www.jamesmartinchef.co.uk/), was in attendance! Castle Howard itself was a bit disappointing. The tour included only 6 rooms despite the expensive entry fee! I guess we’ve been spoiled by Chatsworth House which is significantly more enjoyable. We are becoming quite the country estate snobs! The highlight of the visit was when Brent got in trouble from the tour guide after only a few minutes inside. The guide informed us that pictures were not permitted of the house. As he shook his scolding finger Brent snapped a picture. Nothing like taking a picture of the person telling you not to take pictures! 
After our brief tour of the house we ventured outside to see the food festival. However, by this point it was pouring rain and was 5 degrees and windy. The queue to see James Martin was miles long. He may be cute, but I wasn’t about to stand in the cold and rain for an hour just to get a glimpse of him and to sample some revolting British cuisine!
We decided it was time to change into some dry clothes and make our way to our dining location. We spent the rest of the evening at The Star Inn in Harome (http://www.thestaratharome.co.uk/). This pub has been in existence since the early 19th century. In recent times, it has been awarded Gastropub of the year and a Michelin Star. The food was outstanding and the ambiance was incredible. The low ceilings and thatched roof remind you of the many generations who have enjoyed a pint within its walls. As for us, we enjoyed the best dinner we’ve had in England. We are already dreaming of our next trip to enjoy a delectable feast.
It was a great day. We really enjoyed getting out to see more of the Yorkshire countryside. Even though we've travelled around quite a bit, it still seems that we haven't seen very much at all. We are looking forward to seeing the sites with our upcoming visitors. With any luck the summer should see us travelling to Edinburgh (again), Glasgow, Durham, a Well-Dressing Festival in Derbyshire, Dublin, the middle of Ireland and the West Coast of Ireland - in particular Ballina where one set of Brent's Irish great-grandparents are from, Oban, the Isles of Mull and Iona, Stirling, Amsterdam and Perthshire.
After all that, I think for the foreseeable future, any vacation we go on will be on a beach somewhere where the longest trip is from the hammock to the bar.
