Day 28: Durham

Quiet day here.  Not much to report.  It didn't rain.

muddy shoes and jeans

We walked into town to stop by the library and pick up some groceries, and decided to take a route along footpaths instead of the road.  Ran into some cows who had been moved into a different field and had to go the long way around, through some rather muddy places.

Also stopped in at a favorite charity shop and Caroline bought a very sweet dress she'd had her eyes on for these last 2 weeks.

Finished Cranford tonight.

Day 27: Durham

Cold and rainy today.  Church in the morning, home the rest of the day.

No photos for today, so I thought I'd share the books I am reading while we are here.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith (a Scot).  I haven't read these yet -- in my life at home I guess I just don't have time (or make time?) for this kind of reading, so it's fun to do that here.  I'm half-way through the second book.  I understand there is a BBC TV series made here, will need to look into that.

Mary Queen of Scots by Alison Weir.  I've read a few of her other English royalty titles and since we are going to Scotland and visiting Edinburgh I thought I'd read up on an important chapter in Scottish history.  It's tough to keep everyone straight but it's interesting reading.

Nicholas Nickleby  and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.  I'm about 1/5 into the first.  We'll see how far I get with these two!

We are also re-watching the BBC Cranford series right now.  So good.  And living in England makes these stories more meaningful.

Plus it is fun to see this again after recently seeing Imelda Staunton be so amazing in Sweeney Todd.

Day 26: Durham & Beamish Open Air Museum

The rain stayed away again today.  We took advantage of the good weather, walked to the bus station, and rode the bus to the Beamish Open Air Museum.  The weather cooperated and stayed really nice all day! 

The museum is divided into different sections, each representing an era in North of England's history:  a Georgian period gentleman farmer's "estate", a railway station with steam trains, 1913 Edwardian market town, early 1900s mining village and colliery, and an early 20th century farm.  There are fields and meadows in between and period buses and trams to take you from one part to another.  We didn't visit everything today since our ticket is good for future visits and we expect to go back.

we rode this steam train

garden at the Georgian-era gentleman's farm

view of the "Pit Village" and Colliery

What was most impressive from today's visit was when Caroline and I entered a mine and walked down a ways and saw the working conditions of the coal miners who worked here in the North East of England.   The Mahogany drift mine here was opened in 1850 and was worked for over 100 years. 

this mine originally went down 1.5 miles and 5 miles in each direction

I can't tell you how happy I was to get out of there and we were only down there for 10 minutes at the most.  Amazing what those miners did for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.

Day 25: Durham

The rain did not rain today.  Just when I was beginning to make my peace with it.  Such a tease.

After a relaxed morning (sleeping in, a few chores, computer stuff, reading a bit, etc.) I convinced Caroline to head out with me for a quick explore of the University's Botanic Garden.  It's just a short walk away.  We ended up spending about 2 hours there, even though not much is blooming. 

there were lots of lovely tulips in pots...  fading but still gorgeous

Unfortunately I have to pay £4 to get in so I doubt I'll be back much, but Caroline will go back with her camera and Chris, who can get in free with his "campus card".

timers are really helpful

 

huge old beech trees growing on a steep slope

they made a lot of noise when we showed up...  "baa--baa--baa"

The best part was the meadow full of sheep.  So English.

7 Quick Takes: Why Rain Every Day is Good

1.  Cute umbrellas.

2.  It can't be 90% humidity when it's raining.

3.  Cute rain boots.

4.  It (usually) can't be 95º when it's raining.

5.  People who have city garden plots appreciate it.

6.  Cute rain jackets.

7.  You don't have to worry about if it is going to rain.   [I've used this one before.]

Day 24: Durham

The rain came again today and did not go away until just an hour or so ago (it's 8:22 pm right now).  According to the cabbie who took Caroline and me from the City Centre back to our flat (it was just too wet and we had too many packages) it hasn't been "nice" weather here (he was very specific that the descriptor was "nice") since 1977.

Oh well.

It actually was nice here earlier this week but maybe he's even more demanding than I am.

the Chapel was just beautiful and this picture does not capture that

We had the privilege this morning of touring Ushaw College, a closed seminary with many lovely buildings on 300+ acres outside of town, that hopefully has a future awaiting it.

in the library

looking through letters written by John Henry Newman

This evening Chris and I enjoyed a lecture down at the University, given by Fr. Robert Barron (of Word on Fire Ministries).

A good day, despite the rain.

Day 23: Durham

Today was a stay-inside, travel-planning, emailing, not-doing-much day.  This is the only picture I have for you, 'cause at one point I did get around to washing the dishes, too.

just keepin' it real

Don't ask me what is in that bowl that is sitting on the top of the microwave because I don't know.  I am just sorta ignoring it and hoping it won't hurt anyone.

Day 22: Durham

sausage rolls for lunch...  another yummy English treat

Today was full of footpath-adventuring.  In the morning I ventured out to get some photos of Prebend Bridge.  I wandered down some footpaths on the way home.

this is probably my favorite--the river was like glass

This evening (on our way back from a special Mass where Fr. Robert Barron preached!) we diverged from the road and took footpaths instead.

all along this path there were views of city garden plots

here's what we saw at the end of one path

We also met some very sweet cows and their baby calves, but I don't have any pictures of them.

and here's the view that was waiting for us at the end of this path

Day 21: Durham

The sun was out here in Durham all day, which was a real treat.  Caroline and I walked into town -- I wanted to find the bus station, and she needed stamps and we needed to visit the Durham Indoor Market to find rechargeable batteries and a charger (to power her cute new, pink iPod dock).

blue skies, yay!

There are Public Footpaths throughout England and they are so fun; you never quite know where you will turn up (unless you have a good map and are actually using it).  

don't you want to know where this path goes? 

didn't go down this path today but I will very soon!

hardly looks real, but it is

Another cool thing about this place is that the Cathedral literally looms so large that it can be seen from so many vantage points and seems ever-present.   It's just really cool.

Laundry and grocery-shopping (online) were also on the day's agenda.  This evening after dinner I took another long walk through some new neighborhoods and found more paths and areas we can explore on another day.

Day 20: Durham

Another fairly quiet (and rainy) day here in North East England.  We started out with a 25 minute walk to church.  We'll be attending Mass at St. Cuthbert's while here in Durham.  It's a lovely old building (no surprise there) and it was packed with people -- many older folk but a lot of not-so-old and a handful of children and younger families.  It's such a blessing to be in Mass on a Sunday morning, so far from our home, and yet still hearing the same words spoken and doing the same things, knowing this is going on world-wide.

new polka-dotted umbrellas are always fun

I talked Chris and Caroline into walking a short distance into the centre of town and getting takeaway fish-n-chips for lunch.  It was yummy and the smell brought me back to my New Zealand childhood!

Naps, walks, tea & scones, books, and now they are watching Britain's Got Talent.  I don't think it is impressing them.

Day 19: Durham

A Full English breakfast, or my approximation thereof, this morning: buttered toast, tomatoes, English-style bacon, fried egg.

The real thing also includes baked beans, a sausage, and "black pudding"

Oh, and I think only one tomato half.

a sweet building with a rich history

We visited the small Durham Heritage Museum in town today, the best part was the building it was housed in, an old church which (of course) is no longer used as a church. 

Then a few stops in a couple of shops, and back to the flat, with a stop here and there for pictures.  Durham has some really cool old bridges.

Old Elvet Bridge was built in the 12th century!...  can you see the yellow fields in the distance?

I spent the rest of the afternoon and much of the evening deeply immersed in travel planning.  Now that I've had a week or so to recover, I am ready to think about new adventures!

Day 18: Durham

Caroline is enjoying the freedom of late nights and late mornings... and lots of reading.   She's read two books in two days and is well into a third.
 

I like to take the path along the riverbank into the city centre.

We walked into town mid-day to visit the library, the bank, and some shops.  Then we found the local Catholic church we'll be attending for Mass while we are here in Durham. 

Chris is loving his quiet office on Dun Cow Lane.  He said at dinner that he is loving pretty much everything about life right now, so that's good. 

Enter the green door on the right and go up two flights to his office.

The sun came out for a bit this afternoon.  Right now the sky is a pale yellowish-pinkish-whitish, with blue patches here and there, if you can imagine that.

7 Quick Takes: What's to Love about being in the UK

1.  Scones with clotted cream and jam.

2.  No car so I have to walk everywhere.

3.  No dishwasher so I don't have to load and unload it.

4.  Scones with clotted cream and jam.

5.  It rains every day so you never have to think about whether it's going to rain or not.

6.  The washer and dryer are so small that I have to do a load or two every day so there's no real possibility of the laundry piling up.

7.  Did I say scones with clotted cream and jam?

Go here for more Quick Takes.

Day 17: Durham

Another quiet day -- lots of reading, working on the computer, catching up with email and business and Facebook and all that.

Chris went into his office but Caroline and I didn't actually leave the flat all day. 

I started this blog.

Day 16 (April 18): Durham

Caroline and I walked into town again today and did some errands -- brought Chris lunch, shopping, got a library card, etc.

Spring is on its way

It was rainy today but we are getting used to that and are prepared with our rain jackets.

in the Cloister

We met Chris and went inside the Cathedral.  You can't take photos.

we'll go up the tower another time

Oh and I forgot to mention the highlight of the day was receiving the grocery delivery from Sainsbury's.  I could definitely get used to that!

Day 15 (April 17): Durham

Getting settled in -- some shopping, figuring out where things are, organizing our stuff.  Chris went in to his office today. 

Caroline and I walked into town but I didn't have my camera.  It was a beautiful sunny day.

Day 14 (April 16): York to Durham

Short train ride from York to Durham.

there's the Cathedral

Settling in to our 2-bedroom flat which will be home for two months.

we are staying in Van Mildert College

Walked into Durham City to look around a bit.

I think we will like it here

Day 13 (April 15): York

Sunday Mass at St. Wilfrid's this morning.  Then a short walk over to tour through "the Minster" -- York's famous Cathedral.

the church was full

photos are okay in the Minster

It's a pretty impressive one, as far as Cathedrals go.  And I've seen quite a few.

We took a break for a nice lunch and then finished our visit.  Then we headed out to walk on the rest of the City Walls -- it's about 3 miles total and we'd done a small section the day before.

daffodils are a nice touch

Day 12 (April 14): York

We started the day with a full English breakfast (of course) which is a definite perk of travelling in the U.K.  Then off to pick up a free guided city tour.  Unfortunately it rained through much of it and was very cold...  we learned our lesson to always be prepared with a rain jacket and warm layers.

cold & rainy & very historical York

After warming up with Cornish pasties and hot chocolate, we toured the York Castle Museum anc Clifford's Tower.

not really

Dinner at an Italian restaurant.  A full day.

Day 11 (April 13): London to York

Breakfast, packed up, took the bus over to the Museum of London and looked around for a bit.  Back to the hotel, ate lunch, and left to get a train from King's Cross Station.

York Minster

Several hours later arrived York and got a cab to our guesthouse.  Wandered around a bit, got dinner, called it a day.

Day 10 (April 12): London

Quiet day in London.  Caroline and I took it easy and went into the British Museum for about 45 minutes.  I did a bit of shopping.  Chris went to the Churchill War Rooms and the Imperial War Museums. 

In the evening we went to St. Paul's Cathedral for Evensong.

the dome...it's really incredibly indescribably gorgeous inside... no photos allowed, though

the front (can't see the dome)

And then we had a really nice visit with my cousin and his wife and adorable baby.  They live in Mayfair so we got to see a different part of the city which was also cool.

Emily, Chris, Vivaan, Devyani, Caroline

Day 9 (April 11): Dover

Off to St. Pancras for a train to Dover this morning.  We really didn't have a plan, just going there and figure it out as we went along.  Made it to the town, had lunch, and took a taxi up to the Castle.  Realized we needed to see the Cliffs first because the weather was getting questionable-looking.  (It never actually materialized into rain, but just threatened all day long!)

yay, we made it!

those cliffs are very white

Walked a few miles (!) along the Cliffs and then got a taxi back to Dover Castle which was neat -- spent a few hours there and then walked back down to the town & train station... back to London.

from the Castle tower