Dove Cottage

After my glorious morning sun salutations we loaded the bus and headed into Grasmere, an adorable little next-door-neighbor town and the home of Dove Cottage. This was the home of William Wordsworth, the wonderful English Romantic writer. What a beautiful place! I can see exactly why he chose this place--it inspires the soul in ways that are inexplicable.

Look at this place!

Wordsworth was here--right here--ahhh...

For oft when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude,

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the Daffodils.

Walking into town we passed by this awesome bird--just another day in England--man, walking down the street, you can see just about anything. Yeah, it's just that cool.

Divine...

In the heart of Grasmere we found St. Oswald's Church.

Grasmere has this awesome tradition of the Rushbearing Festival--back in the olden days the floor of the church was just the earth, a plain dirt floor, so they would cover it with rushes to keep the building warm and clean. The floor is a real floor now, but to remember those days they keep it covered with the rushes. Gives it a nice, rustic feel--and smell. :)

Behind the church is a quaint little cemetery where Wordsworth and his family are buried.

And of course, we were all LOVING the rain!

Afterwards we took a stroll (in a place like this it's most definitely a stroll) through downtown Grasmere--just charming. We had lunch at a sweet little sweet shop, where we had some scrumptious gingerbread--REAL ginger shortbread. Best stuff I have ever tasted. Such a lovely place!!