Last week in Durham

This'll have to be quick because I'm now on the other side of the Atlantic and faced with the somewhat monumental task of moving our household and family across the country...  in a few short weeks!

Monday of our last week -- met our friends at the train station and enjoyed a lovely evening with their jet-lagged and exhausted selves.

Tuesday -- beautiful weather for the second day in a row.  The day included a cathedral tour, climbing-up-the-Tower, walking around town, card-playing...  Evensong at the Cathedral followed by a yummy dinner at a Spanish restaurant in town.

Wednesday -- day trip to Lindisfarne (the "Holy Island").  Perfect weather.  Really nice.  Dinner tonight at a Thai restaurant.

Thursday -- the rains came down.  Quiet day -- didn't do much, me just mainly getting ready to leave and the rest of us taking it easy, shopping, Chris finishing up his work.  Our plans to visit a local 13th century manor house and gardens were scratched due to the weather.  A Castle tour was on the itinerary but there were no guides...  I guess the students weren't available, it being a graduation day for a lot of them.   Early dinner at our flat.  Some of us went to Evensong at the Cathedral.

Friday -- our friends departed for Edinburgh, we packed up and headed in the opposite direction, for London.  Nice weather -- I took the Underground just a few stops to the National Gallery and enjoyed a few hours there, just me and my audioguide!  Very much the perfect way to do an art museum, I've decided.

Saturday -- last "full English" breakfast and then off to Heathrow.  Flight home was uneventful.  I watched 3 movies.

So there it is.  I would add photos but they are on my laptop and I'm too lazy to go get them.  Not really, I'm not lazy, but I am prioritizing, and moving the photos is NOT on the top of my list.

Thanks for reading over these last few months!

Day 70: Durham

Cloudy & rainy day here in Durham.  Chris and Caroline came home just after lunch.  We had a quiet afternoon.  I'm almost finished Nicholas Nickleby.

This evening I attended a Taize prayer service at the Cathedral.  It was great.  I'm so glad I went!

the skies cleared and the sun came out during the service and shone brightly through the stained glass

the river is calm and clear tonight...  what a difference a few hours makes

When I got home it was close to 9:30 pm and though the sun had just set the sky was still bright and turning pinkish so Caroline and I headed to our favorite hill to enjoy the prettiness and take some pictures.

the flowers on the hillside are perfect

the hills are alive...

so pretty and pink

p.s.  Erin is on her way back to North Carolina today.  She should be there by now.

Day 55 (May 27): Paris

Sunday morning in Paris, so we attended Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral.

International Mass (in French and English) was very well attended

lots of people and lots of languages heard -- on Pentecost Sunday

We chose to walk over to the Musee d'Orsay after Mass, which probably wasn't too smart as it was hot and by the time we got there, stood in line to enter and buy our tickets, and finally got into the exhibit halls, we were pretty wiped out!  It required a cafe visit and some ice cream & a very large and perfectly delicious chocolate eclair to perk us up.

me standing on the balcony of the Musee d'Orsay, overlooking the Seine with the Louvre on the other side

Of course no photos inside so you'll just have to imagine with me all the Impressionist paintings and marvelous statues and the incredible interior of the museum itself...  it was an awful lot to take in, but worth doing.

After our visit we headed back to the hotel for a rest and then a quick pasta dinner, before getting back on the Metro to the Arc d' Triomphe.

it's very big and very triumphant

After gawking for a bit we began the requisite stroll down the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, ending on the Place de la Concorde.  We still wanted to see the Louvre (exterior only) but were fairly exhausted so we decided to spring for a ride in a bicycle taxi.  Best 10 Euro spent all day.

it's very grand

Day 51 (May 23): Durham

This morning the girls (plural, yay!) and I met Grandad outside the Cathedral in the late morning and together we four took a walking tour of Durham.   We are on Day 2 of Weather Perfection here in Durham City.!  (Today was even a bit too warm, and I even sweated!)

Indoor Market...  from indoors

love this place...  what Walmart should be 

 

requisite stop for a photo...  the sky was much bluer than this photo looks

After lunch back at the flat, Grandad and Erin joined Chris for an official Cathedral tour and Castle tour while I did some errands (finally bought a watch!) and Caroline and I stayed home and took care of business, rested, etc.

This evening included finalizing some travel plans (Scotland again!) as well as dinner, a walk, etc.

Day 45: Durham

Today is Zachary's last full day in Durham.  After lunch we walked to the Cathedral to look around a bit more.

Zachary and Caroline impersonating Harry and Hermione

you can't take photos inside so this is the best I can offer you

Later in the evening we walked into town for dinner at a pub.

this photo didn't really work

that's better

On our walk back we had to negotiate our way through a cycle race that was happening in town today.

ready, set, go!

The day ended with watching American Idol and a long chat. 

Day 34: Durham

This afternoon we walked the 325 steps up the Cathedral Tower and enjoyed the sunny day view.

view towards Van Mildert College (where we are living)

view towards St. Cuthbert's

across River Wear, to the southwest

railway bridge in the distance

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 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 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 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 4 (April 6): Paris

First on the agenda this morning was to go up to the top of the Notre Dame cathedral towers.  Lines were long so best to get in early.  We managed it and got some good views all-around.

view out the front of the Cathedral

view back towards the cathedral itself

The afternoon's task was the Louvre.  We split our visit up with a break in the middle for lunch & ice cream...  that museum is exhausting.

central courtyard inside the Louvre--no entrance grander

It was Good Friday so after a quick break at the hotel we went to a service at St. Sulpice.   

Then bed.