Harrogate

We jumped on a train that took us from King's Cross in London to Harrogate, via York. In total it was just shy of a three hour trip.  It gave us the opportunity to see the beautiful countrysides with the mossy green grass, the wondering sheep and the gypsy horses. There seemed to be an old church everywhere you looked. It did manage to rain on us for a bit but it was smooth sailing up north.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn which was connected to the convention center and it was so convenient.

The three days at the show were productive. While it was quite a large show, traffic to the booth wasn't quite as much as we were hoping for or expecting. We were able to talk to a lot of people about the brushes/teethers and also connected with some new distributors.  It's so neat to talk to people who have never seen the products before and when they realize what a great idea it is, they beam with excitement.  It's a product that every baby should have!

We spent the evenings walking around the town, finding great places to eat and taking in the feel of the quaint little town.  It was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of London. We had some of the best food on our whole trip in Harrogate. The first night it was recommended to us from a local that we go to Betty's which is a famous, well-known tea house with a huge selection of teas and coffees.  Since we don't drink tea or coffee we went for the homestyle cooked English food. We also enjoyed BBQ one night which wasn't quite like it is here at home but it had a nice twist to it. On the last night we tried an Italian restaurant. It was not exactly what we're used to but Rick said his lasagna was the best lasagna he's ever had.  Overall it was a good choice and I'm proud of myself for all of the brave food choices I made. I tried a lot of new things...and actually liked some of them.

 Ricky at King's Cross station waiting for our platform number.

Boarding East Coast service to Harrogate.

 On the train!

 Harrogate Station

Yes, it was cold, very cold.

Ricky at the town's center. 

This was the view from our hotel room over the city towards down town. 

The booth was set and we were ready to talk Baby Banana brushes.

 Dinner at Betty's. Rick had some sort of a pizza made from potatoes and I had a macaroni and cheese pasta dish. It was different but delish! Yes, it was nice to have a cold diet coke too.

 Dessert at Betty's.  It was a chocolate mousse truffle with a vanilla sauce that tasted like melted vanilla ice cream. Rick had a vanilla cake and both were to die for.  They sure know how to make great pastries and desserts in the UK.

 Rick at the booth eating what became his favorite snack, a caramel cake bar.

 The local church in Harrogate.

 Dinner at the BBQ joint. Steak, an unusual but edible salad and a loaded jacket potato.

 I had the most amazing ice cream that I've possibly ever tasted.  While I was served toffee, mint chip and chocolate, the toffee and mint chip were sensational.

  Me in city center.

 We happened to come across this little cupcake shop on our way to dinner.  (We had a good laugh with the guy who photobombed my picture afterward.) Since I have a tradition of tasting cupcakes from all over the world this was the perfect opportunity to stop in.  We took a few to go and saved them for the train ride home the next day.

 I wish we had these cupcakes near our home. They were fantastic.  I would have to say some of the best cupcakes I've ever had!  I couldn't believe how moist and delicious they were for being a day old. Yummy!!

This is the red velvet cupcake with a vanilla cream cheese frosting and it was superb!

 I tried to capture the view of the countryside but it was from a train that was moving really fast but I think these shots will give you an idea of just how beautiful it really was.