North Trip

The Youngs, Kris, and I just returned from a coach trip through nothern England with the students. Finn and Harry did great. Our first stop was at Chatsworth, the splendid 17th-century home of the Duke of Devonshire. The house is great but the gardens (by Capability Brown) are spectacular. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed a picnic on the sprawling lawns.

Egg salad sandwich and salt and vinegar crisps -- yum!

Picnic at Chatsworth -- note geyser in background

Joined by the Bartons and Ringers

Chatsworth was Pemberly in the most recent version
of Pride and Prejudice

The cascade at Chatsworth

Finn and Gavin at the cascade

Finn admires a lion in the Chatsworth sculpture gallery

The next stop was Haworth, Yorkshire-moors village where the Bronte sisters lived and wrote.

Kris and the Youngs in search of supper

Mission accomplished

Cool Victorian hostel in Haworth

View of Haworth from the hostel

The following morning we visited Fountains Abbey, the ruin of a Cistercian Abbey with a beautiful garden that connects with the formal garden at Studley Royal. We spent the afternoon in York visiting the Minster, the Shambles, and walking the walls. We then drove to the North Sea coast and spent the night in a former old mill at Boggle Hole.

Yew with lantern-like berries at Fountains Abbey

The Youngs and Kris at Fountains Abbey

Studley Royal Gardens

Maren in the Shambles at York

Walking the medieval walls of York

Ditto

Nightly Bile Beans spied from the wall walk

Finn and Pop Pop sorting things out in York

Boggle Hole

Sunrise at Boggle Hole

We had a beautiful walk along the coast from Boggle Hole to Robin Hood's Bay which I will include in part II of this blog.

OXO

D.

The East-End Walk

The Youngs have arrived. We went first thing to Portobello Road and toward noon we walked the east end of London. We visited Covent Garden, Lincoln's Inn Fields, and The Old Curiosity Shop. We got lunch at Pret and then nipped into the Temple. We ate lunch beside the Temple Church and the proceded to Dr. Johnson's House, St. Paul's, Postman Park, Leadenhall Market, and Lloyd's of London.

On the steps of 27 Palace Court

Portobello Road Market with jet lag

The Youngs at Covent Garden

One of the only surviving Routemasters on Fleet Street
(Gavin's photo)

Lunch by the Temple Church

Pret juice with "no nasties"
(Gavin's photo)

The Temple Church of Da Vinci Code fame -
the Knights Templar Church

Postman's Park with its sad memorials

The Youngs at Leadenhall Market

Lloyds of London with the "Erotic Gherkin" in the background

(actually the Swiss Re Building)

Tonight we will pack for our trip north to York and the Lakes, so we will be unable to blog for a few days. When we return we will be back in touch.

OXO

D.

From the River to the Bush

Yesterday we did another of the walks assigned to the students. We started at the Tower of London and crossed over Tower Bridge to the south side of the river. Pictured here are the three directors: David, Gary Barton, and Jeff.


It is familiar territory, but I always hope to see something new and different. The new bit was a Victorian operating theater that was discovered a few years ago while they were refurbishing an old church behind London Bridge Station. The theater was hidden away in the attic for years but is now open to the public, accessed by a spiral staircase in the tower of the former church. Very interesting -- made me glad surgery has become less painful (how would I know?).

Contemplating the marvels of modern surgery

Southwark Cathedral

Today, Kris and I went to the Bush (Shepherd's Bush Market) to find a table cloth for the flat. We had some success and enjoyed the cultural experience: Shepherd's Bush is primarily North African and West Indian with a few old fashioned Cockney stall owners. It is a colorful and cheap place to buy housewares, groceries, and clothing. I had intended to snap a photo, but the camera battery was dead, so you will get a photo at some future point. I was also able to pick up a couple of bars of soap, which should last most of our stay -- score!

The Bush: Shepherd's Bush Market

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Walking London's Walls

The students have started their walks class and we took the first walk too. We started at the Tower of London and walked the perimeter of the ancient Roman London walls and saw many of the bits that still remain. The Tube strike ended yesterday, but as those of you familiar with London will understand, the Circle Line was struggling to get up and running.

A short pause in a green and leafy church yard along
London Wall Street

The walkers checking the map - the Barbican is seen in the distance

Me with a chunk of the London wall

Postman Park with its memorials to young heroes
who died saving others

A poignant example of one of a few hundred plaques

This walk was fun because I even encountered some new places, like Postman's Park, a small pocket of green in the hustling, bustling City. Today we will walk through Southwark on the south bank of the river.

A Day on the Heath

So, it's 11:00 P.M. and we just got home from the Magalhaes where we had family home evening. They are our Brazilian friends that we met three years ago in church. We had a delightful time, but transportation is a little wonky because the Tube went on strike at 6:00 P.M. We managed on the buses and all is well. The strike is scheduled to last 72 hours, so will be done by Friday Maren - lucky you.

Today we got our travelcards and to celebrate we tubed and bussed up to Kenwood House and Hamstead Heath. It was lovely: art, architecture, beautiful views, great weather, and the blackberries are ripe.

Bartons, Ringers and Kris on the eastbound platform at Queensway

The view of the City of London from Hamstead Heath

Enjoying the view from Kenwood House

Some prefer a bench to the grass

Kenwood House

The wild blackberries are ripe

The forest primeval on Hamstead Heath

The students arrive tomorrow (Tuesday) and so the present round of fun will end (sort of).

Good night. We love you all.

OXO

D&K

Nest Building

I promise, I won't do so many posts in the future, but we are trying to stay awake and I wanted to show you the digs.

We dragged our luggage up 48 steps and unpacked a tiny bit. We went to get some lunch at Tesco on Queensway w/ the Ringers and Bartons and met up back in Kensington Gardens for a little picnic.

We returned to Queensway to buy some supper and food for Sunday and then came home to settle in. We moved the furniture around, put everything away, and cleared out some junk. It makes it feel more like home once you build your nest. Here are some photos of the flat. It is like the back half of the flat we have stayed in before, so just imagine that part of flat 4.

Stairs to our flat in #29 Palace Court

View into Flat 2 from the door

Our cozy kitchen

Our bathroom with an even cozier shower

Our bed practically fills our bedroom

Lounge (living room) with Ossington St. out the window

Kris, learning her way around the new computer

This is the view of Ossington Street from our window.
It never changes much --it is still very cool.

So now you know where to imagine us when you read our meanderings from London.

OXO

D.

We Have Arrived

We have arrived safe and sound. It feels good to be back in London. We did not take the Gatwick Express; Jeff had arranged for two minivans to pick us up and they brought us straight to the centre.

Gatwick was a bit of a nightmare: the lines to clear customs were huge and when we got to the luggage halls there were no trollies. Other than that, the trip was uneventful. I had forgotten how tight tourist-class seats are -- sleeping was difficult, but we managed.

Waiting for departure in SLC

So we will be in touch again soon, but for now we are here safely.

OXO

D&K