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 64 (June 5): Back to Durham

Uneventful day, travelling back to Durham via train through the beauty that is much of Scotland.

crystal clear loch and reflected hills

Day 62 (June 3): Oban to Fort William

Sunday morning was bright and sunny, another beautiful crisp day!  In the morning we took a walk up to McCaig's Tower, a "folly" built overlooking Oban harbour, and enjoyed the views.

unfinished but interesting nonetheless

looking to the left towards the ferry dock

and to the right (St. Columba's Cathedral is that tower on the far right)

Our train tour continued with a ride back to Crianlarich where we picked up the Fort William train. This part of the journey takes the traveller along lochs, around mountains and hills, over bridges and up into the Scottish Highlands.  We arrived in Fort William, a rather humble loch-side town, in the late afternoon.  The town is popular with backpackers, climbers, and walkers as it's the endpoint of the West Highland Way and is very close to Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles at 4,409 ft.

before dinner we took a walk along the loch

We had a yummy dinner in a pub called the Grog and Gruel (I had an extremely yummy mushroom quesadilla) and then embarked on an impossibly long walk into Glen Nevis to see what we could see.
 

Ben Nevis is behind this hill, not visible, and about twice as high, apparently

Our lodging for the night was rather humble as rooms were scarce in Fort William this weekend.  I shared a bunk room with two pleasant Japanese students while everyone else was together in a four-person bunkroom next door.  Shared bathrooms down the hall...  I felt very backpacker-y and student-ish.

Day 60 (June 1): Durham to Oban

Our second Scotland sojourn began again at the Durham rail station -- this time we were to take the train all the way to Argyll and the Isles, to the coastal town of Oban.  Our train ride involved a change in both Edinburgh and Glasgow, and took us through mile after mile of beautiful mountains and Scottish lochs.

on the waterfront

part of the little town of Oban

the "Seafood Capital of Scotland"

the sun does not go down up here until close to 11 pm and is up by 4 am

We had a yummy seafood dinner in a pub and watched some "Jubilee Weekend" TV in our room.

Day 56 (May 28): Paris... and then back to Durham

To the Tower this morning.  We had perfect weather and a very minimal wait for the stairs.

  I can't understand why people wait hours for the lift when walking up the stairs just isn't that hard.

view across the River

Nutella crepe is what one needs when one has conquered the Tower

blue sky and airplane trail

We still had energy and a few hours left in the city, so after buying some food in a small grocery and eating our lunch in our hotel's breakfast room, we walked a few blocks to the Pantheon -- a quite impressive and beautiful memorial to dead and famous French people.  (Lots of 'em are buried in the crypt.)

inside of the Pantheon

we went up to the top of that dome and enjoyed more city views

In the late afternoon we made our way to the train station and caught our Eurostar train across the French countryside, under the Channel, and into London's Kings Cross station.  Dinner was enjoyed there and then we got on our train back to Durham, arriving just after midnight.

Good trip overall, glad to have gone and glad to be back home again.

Day 54 (May 26): Durham to Paris

Lots of transportation today -- walking to the Durham rail station, train to Newcastle, subway from the rail station to the airport, airplane over the Channel to France, metro from Charles de Gaulle airport to the center of Paris!

We just made the last boat ride of the day, getting a glimpse of the city and enjoying the beautiful sights.

and then a river boat tour in the evening

 

Paris is crowded and warm this weekend

We had dinner sitting outside Parisian-style, watching the passersby and enjoying a lovely meal.

Day 50 (May 22): Durham

First thing this morning was to welcome the (almost weekly) Sainsbury's grocery delivery.

seriously could get used to this

The high point of the day was to come, however:  Grandad and Erin arriving this afternoon, coming up on the train from London -- directly after landing in Heathrow on the plane from North Carolina.  A long trip for them!  We're so happy to have them join us!

A bit of folderol ensued regarding Grandad's place of abode while in Durham but after a bit we got him "sorted" and he's checked in at a seemingly perfect inn about 20 minutes walk away over on the other side of town.

the folderol included some walking along the River in a different part of town

Adventures will continue on the morrow!

Day 47: Durham

Another in-between day.

made myself a "full English" this morning

Well, except for I left out the black pudding and the sausage, and I didn't have a tomato, so actually this is not very authentic, sorry.  Whenever I have this breakfast, I am not hungry until mid-afternoon.  Yum, and quite filling.

I made a trip into town to the beauty salon this morning -- sorely in need of a haircut.

Chris is home this afternoon, after several days in London and Oxford.  I am checking Zachary's flight every now and then, right now he is somewhere over eastern Canada, I think.  Erin is back in Hillsborough and tomorrow Sam (corgi dog) and Maybelle (fat kitten) will come home from Grandad's.

from my favorite hill on my evening walk

public footpaths are awesome

this is the Durham School (or part of it) near our flat

picturesque road on my walk

flowering bushes and trees are starting to flower

We'll have another quiet two days and then Erin and Grandad will arrive!  Can't wait to see them.

Day 43 (May 15): Back to Durham

Our first venture into Scotland comes to an end today with an early morning train back to Durham.

[I must say I do enjoy travel by train.  It's not particularly stressful, once you figure out the system and understand that you need to hang on to your ticket.  It's not tiring, and there's usually something interesting to look at out the window, or if not you can read your book or use your laptop or have a tea or coffee and munch on digestive biscuits.  It's especially nice when travelling with others to have seats together at a table.]

see that little building the middle of the photo?

Rest of the day involved unpacking, starting laundry, catching up on email, etc.

Day 39 (May 11): Durham to Edinburgh

Fairly early departure on the train to Edinburgh, arrival mid-morning.  Weather somewhat rainy but not too dismal.  Checked in to our hotel and left our luggage, headed straight to the Castle.

Robert Bruce and William Wallace are in the alcoves

After the Castle we walked down the Royal Mile, stopping to visit St. Giles Cathedral. 

back of St. Giles Cathedral and statue of Adam Smith

Rest in our hotel room and dinner and then another short walk down the rest of the Royal Mile to the bottom of the hill where Holyrood Palace and the new Scottish Parliament building is.

very interesting building/complex

words from I Cor 13 carved into stone on the ground inside the Parliament building

We had fun watching American Idol on the TV in our hotel room -- since we don't usually have TV and don't usually watch American Idol.

the sky outside our hotel room that night gave me hope about the next day's weather

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 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 6 (April 8): Paris... and back to London

inside St. Etienne-du-Mont

Easter Sunday morning we went to Mass at St. Etienne-du-Mont just a few blocks away, just behind the Pantheon.  Another really great service, even though I hardly understood a word.

Afterwards we collected our packs and got on the Metro, planning a few stops as we made our way to the train station.  We got out near Moulin Rouge for a quick look around and pictures and then walked several blocks to see the Basilique du Sacre-Coeur.  It was crowded.

Lunch and then off to catch the Eurostar back to London.

Day 3 (April 5): To Paris

Early morning departure from Kings Cross Station.  We met Zachary in line -- he was easy to spot due to the new hair color.  Boarded the Eurostar train which took us through the countryside and under the Channel into France.  In Paris just a bit later!

along the Seine

Lots of walking today -- we first took the Metro to our hotel in the Latin Quarter, right near the Sorbonne.  Travelling super-light with only a small backpack per person.  (So nice not to be fussing with cases.)  Dropped off our packs and made our way to the Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris.  Looked around inside and out for a while, then we followed Rick Steves' walking tour of the Île de la Cité (one of the two island in the Seine on which Notre Dame stands).  This took us a few hours as we made some stops along the way.  Then we went to the hotel to check in and rest for a bit and headed out again, stopping in at St. Sulpice church. 

After looking in the church, we headed back down to the river for an early evening boat ride.

so many bridges!

it was beautiful and a bit cold

Dinner at a small Italian restaurant (Santa Lucia) near our hotel.  A long, tiring, satisfying day!

Day 1 (April 3): Leave NC

Caroline and Chris at RDU

Grandad drove the three of us to the airport late this morning.  Our flight departed mid-day from RDU to DTW where we spent a few hours before getting on the plane headed to London! 

Our flight went over the upper part of the globe and back down across Ireland, landing in Heathrow.  Wasn't too bad.  I didn't even watch any movies.  Didn't sleep much either.  Read my book: Cutting for Stone.