Brad and I drove out to visit Ginger again this weekend. The kennel is situated on the other side of York from Harrogate and we had been warned that traffic would be a nightmare going around York. In actuality, traffic was not bad at all and getting there was a breeze. We arrived early (visiting hours are from 12-3:30 p.m.), so we decided to go into Pocklington, the village near Ginger's kennel. Pocklington is what is referred to as a "market village" -- every Tuesday a variety of vendors set up stalls in the center of town. There are also many interesting shops, tea rooms, coffee houses and restaurants in Pocklington, as well as an impressive 18th-century church. In particular, there is a wonderful bakery from which emanated scrumptious aromas and a long line of people. We had lunch at Peter Wards' coffeehouse, chosen from the other cafes and tearooms because Petes' drew the largest crowd. (The locals must know where the best food is!) I ordered my first coffee in Britain -- after all this place is a "coffeehouse." My coffee was served in an individual coffee press (called a cafetiere) and was delicious! Brad sampled the Welsh rarebit and I had a Coronation Chicken sandwich. Coronation Chicken appears to be a staple on pub and cafe menus. It's chicken salad with fruit and curry mayo. After our lunch we checked in on Ginger at the kennel. It was Brad's first visit with our kitty and he, too, was pleased to see how well Ginger is getting on. He was quite relaxed and content.

We went grocery shopping on Sunday morning in Harrogate. We had already been to the Asda market (a division of Walmart) so decided to stop in at the Safeway. We arrived at 9:30 a.m. and it was not open yet. In fact, most stores and cafes even were not open yet. We are discovering how sleepy a town Harrogate is. Most businesses close by 5 or 6 during the week. And shops, cafes and many restaurants open late and close early on the weekends. You can always count on Bettys, however, to be open from 9-9 every day. (Special note to all punctuation mavens: Bettys is spelled without the apostrophe.) Bettys is Yorkshire's renowned tea room and cafe, famous all over Britain. The main branch is in Harrogate and there a few other branches in Yorkshire. On the weekends you will most likely have to wait iin a long line to be seated at Bettys. We discovered that if you arrive between 9 and 10 a.m. on a Sunday, you will have no trouble getting a seat. A little grey-haired lady played light jazz music on the piano while we sipped our tea and nibbled our scones. Scrumptious!