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 37 (May 9): Hadrian's Wall

Easy train ride to Newcastle + a day-ticket on Bus AD122 "The Hadrian's Wall Country Bus" and we were all set for a day out.

First stop was Housestead's Fort.

 

the Roman fort included the Wall along one side

Then we walked 3+ miles along the Wall which was really fun.  Lots of photo ops.

perspective on this is kinda funny -- the body of water is a HUGE lake that is very far down

up and down, up and down...  beautiful views everywhere!

At the end of our walk we had a nice lunch at a pub along the road and then got on the bus to our next stop which was Vindolanda.  This is a working archeological site and had some really wonderful ruins as well as a very informative museum.  Great spot.

crazy to think of all the people who lived here for hundreds of years

Easy bus ride back to Newcastle, train back to Durham.  Great day!