Click here to oggle:
http://www.chatsworth.org/
I don't want to fall into one big negative spiral but needless to say we were in the library until after midnight Thursday night, having gone through two phones worth of skype credit trying to get in touch with the (good?) people of National Express. Three hours of effort, three attempted purchases of tickets (which showed up in our bank accounts as pending transactions) and no ticket confirmations to speak of, we headed home, resolved to show up at the bus station (at six in the morning) prepared to get somewhere. Five hours later, we were told that the ticket purchase had never gone through and yeah, they could sell us tickets to Manchester where maybe we would be able to get a bus to Chesterfield from there (and then another bus to Chatsworth House). Absolutely ridiculous.
I said I didn't want to turn this into a sob story, so don't worry, I won't. At the moment, we felt quite defeated and even more exhausted. At six in the morning after getting minimal sleep, all we wanted was to crawl back into bed and call it a day. Kathleen ended up retiring to her room but Kora and I were prepared to get our day's adventure. We made our way to the Chester train station, in search of an inexpensive day trip.
Okay, so there's this man that works at the train station and I wish I could recall his name because he deserves gold stars and kudos and an A+ on his report card. Every time the mob of American girls walk into the ticket counter, he is always friendly and helpful and I'm not sure if his remembering us is a good thing or not, but either way, I'm always happy to see him behind the counter. I'm sure he'll get his own post at some point, the gem. When Kora and I arrived, disheveled and sleepy, asking where we could get for £10, he was more than happy to offer up some advice, asking if we had ever heard of Shrewsbury. "It has a castle and an abbey". That, embarrassingly, is all he needed to say to get me to hand over my money happily.
Here's where my advice begins. ("Advice" is a term I use loosely because I honestly am just beginning to figure out how to survive myself). If something doesn't work out, don't go home. Don't call it a day. Make the day mean something and don't let yourself regret not being able to go on your previously imagined adventure. This doesn't mean that lazy days aren't amazing, and incredibly necessary (at least for my bed-buggy self), but if something doesn't work out the way you planned it, it is okay. It is just an opportunity to do something else that perhaps you had never thought of, and perhaps this seemingly negative event is there to help you get out of your comfort zone.
I had never before heard of Shrewsbury and yeah, maybe it wasn't as scenic and romantic as Chatsworth House, but Kora and I ended up having a jolly old time adventuring all over the beautiful little town. We got to visit the library in which Charles Darwin did research, the town's abbey had hosted parliament for Edward the Confessor and the castle had the most beautiful tower on property, called "Laura's Tower", built as a 21st birthday present for the world's most lucky young lady. PLUS, I finally got to get some good Chinese food in this country. ;)
That being said, I'm so glad I didn't just call it a day. I learned a very important life lesson and I hope to share it with you, convincing you that just because a day is rainy or too early or not going the way you planned, it doesn't mean it can't end with a great story to tell and some pictures to share. We're hoping to visit Chatsworth this Friday, after a little more planning. ;) Have your cake and eat it, too! :)
xoxo
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