Summer week in Derby

Hey y’all,

So we haven’t written a blog post in over a week because we haven’t been traveling too much.  Well actually, Doug has been traveling a lot because he has been in California for 2 weeks for business, but I have been at home in Derby.  However, I’ve been keeping busy so that I’m not missing him too much!

One of the main things that I’ve been doing to keep busy is play tennis!  I am a member of the Rolls-Royce Tennis Club, and they have some really nice facilities including SIX GRASS COURTS!  Wow, I’ve never got to play on grass before, so this is amazing to me!  And the weather the past week has been incredible!  It’s been 75F and sunny almost every day!  You can’t ask for better tennis weather!  So anyway, I’ve been playing tennis on club nights and also in a ladies doubles league and a mixed doubles league.  There was also a Wimbledon lottery, and I managed to get my name drawn, which enabled me to buy a pair of Wimbledon tickets!  I got a pair for court 2 on the first day of Wimbledon!  It’s been my dream to go to Wimbledon, so this is going to be amazing!!

True lawn tennis!

BOOM! Wimbledon tickets!

I’ve also been hanging out with friends a lot!  We had a girls night out, and I went out with my friends Megan, Amelia, and Runa.  It was nice to have some ladies time!

Girl’s night out!

Unfortunately, it was also the last week here for our friend Fritz because he is headed back to Mexico.  I was able to have one last drink with him in a beer garden in the beautiful Derby weather.  Another friend of mine, Natara, that I know from Indianapolis, is here on business, so she joined us for the farewell drink.

Hasta luego, Fritz!

Doug managed to come back to Derby in time to enjoy some of the gorgeous weather!  He probably thought he was still in California when he landed!  Last Friday we had a picnic at Markeaton Park, which is just up the road from our flat.

Markeaton Park

Swans and their cute babies at the park

Picnic at the park

On Saturday, we had a BBQ at a friend’s place, and the weather continued to be amazing.  Finally, on Sunday, we did a hike in the Peak District, this time around the Ladybower reservoir.  Our friend Emilie planned the route and she gave us the option of a 9 km walk or a 15 km walk.  Since it was such a nice day, we opted for the 15 km walk (around 9 miles).  It was really gorgeous!  We saw some amazing scenery, and of course, some more sheep and lambs!

Ladybower Reservoir

Figuring out the route… a common theme on our walks

Sun shining through the trees… a truly rare sight!

Damn!

Lunchtime picnic spot

Ascending

I like the view (including Doug)!

Cool panorama

Group at the summit (or near it)

Some of the guys at the true summit with the highest point marker

Emilie enjoying the view

Cool rocks

And finally – some sheep pics!!

We did go to a pub after the hike, as is the custom, but I forgot to take any photos there.  It was very nice though – called the Fox House – and we sat out in the beer garden.

So that concludes the summer week in Derby!  It has actually already gotten cold again, just in time for my parents who are arriving tomorrow!  Next week, we are doing a week-long tour of Scotland so watch out for a nice long blog post!

xoxo

Tara