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 76 (June 17): Durham

Last Sunday in Durham.

we have really enjoyed Mass at St. Cuthbert's

there's a sweet little garden in front of the church

After Mass we had the pleasure of a visit and lunch with a family and some of their friends from the church.  Their two oldest children had their First Communion at that morning's Mass.  We enjoyed eastern Carolina-style barbeque, yummy quesadillas and salsa, and sangria!  It was a very nice way to spend our last Sunday afternoon in Durham.

Long naps, a long walk for Chris, reading, and a bit of TV.  Good day.

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 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!

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.