Chatsworth House

Tuesday August 7^th:

The day started off pretty good. I got up on time, got ready, Jo took me to the station, and I made my train. The train ride was just fine and then we arrived in Chesterfield. I didn’t get up early enough so I had to wait for a huge line of little kids to go by and I was so worried the doors wouldn’t stay opened for me. Eventually I couldn’t stand waiting anymore, so I pushed my way through and got to the doors but they had closed. I kept pushing the button to open the door but then the train started moving. I missed my station. Suddenly for the first time in a LONG time, I got angry. Hulk –transforming angry. I was beating myself up (verbally) about it. “Why did you wait so long to get up? Why didn’t you just go to the other door? Why didn’t you push your way through earlier?” It was a very long ride to the next station.

Luckily, there was a train going back to Chesterfield 3 minutes after my train had arrived. When I got off the train, I began my search for the coach (bus) station. I asked a lady about my age if she knew where it was and she said that she and her mom were looking for it as well. We found a map of the town outside the station. The lady and her mom went ahead and I stayed to try memorizing the map. Then I saw a sign that said “To get to the coach station, follow the signs that lead to the tourist center” so I did just that. Found the coach station just fine, the lady helped me find the bus I needed and as I exited, the couple from earlier was entering.

We ended up going on the same bus and when we all got off at the same stop, I finally asked them if they were also going to Chatsworth house and they were. So we walked up the trail together and ended up spending the day together. Her name was Cheng and she had been studying in the UK for a year and her mom had come from China to visit her.

On the way up, we saw lots and lots of sheep doing sheep things like eat grass and sleep. That’s the life. We should have a sheep day where all we do is eat and sleep. That would be a fantastic holiday. Then again, that’s how I normally spend my Saturdays during the school year.

When we got to the house, I went into a Pride and Prejudice daydream. I was so excited to see “Pemberley” in real life! I was even more excited when the gate person said we could take pictures inside. AWESOME!

I think my favorite rooms were where scenes from the movie took places. I especially loved the sculpture gallery. I looked around for the Darcy bust and the veiled lady, but they were not there. That did make me a bit sad, but I wasn’t going to let it ruin my fantastic experience.

When we got outside, Cheng, her mom, and I took a lunch break. Cheng shared some Chinese Pork jerkey that was DELICIOUS. I hope they sell it somewhere in the states. Really hope they do.

We then walked around the gardens some. We spent most of our time at the Cascade fountain where I played in the water while Cheng and her mom climbed up all the way to the top. We saw the Trough waterfall (not a real waterfall. It was just a tiny stream. Bleh), a pretty pond with a gazebo overlooking it, some giant rabbit sculptures, the Emperor fountain, and some cool rock sculptures.

When we got back to Chesterfield station, Cheng and I exchanged email addresses, hugged then said our goodbyes.

Today defiantly had taken a turn for a terrible day, but it ended up turning into a fantastic time where I got to make a new friend. Just comes to show that the big guy upstairs knows what He’s doing :)