Back to the grind...

Not academically despite the fact that classes are in full swing again. Nope, in the area of travel planning. I pretty much know what I want to do and where I want to go at what times, but its time to work out the kinks and details. So, it will mean some late nights doing research. I finally got to talk with Wade, good and bad news. Good news: I get to keep my luggage locked away at the castle and I have some of my accommodation booked! He is helping me get some good deals on transportation! Bad news: Some of the time I was banking on being at the castle, is booked. Therefore, I need to stay somewhere else for awhile. Naturally, I am looking into Portugal, don't worry I am just considering it at the moment. Wade is perfectly confident that I would have no problems traveling alone there. Of course, I won't book anything until I hear more from Wade about whether or not he has room for me. But, I may have already planned the whole Portugal trip, from flights, trains, buses, hostels, sights, and food. Haha. I haven't bought anything, but if I did eventually decide that where I wanted to go, I am already to buy! So, we will see what happens!

Today was kinda wild considering it was the first day where the castle was public and we had classes. This was not a problem until lunch. Normally, we have the restaurant to ourselves and now we have to share it with the tourists. I now just goes to show how spoiled we all have been. Anyways, the whole restaurant was redo into a more cafe style and its under a new manager. Now, we have to wait in long lines, have limited food selection, and have to go through the checkout (we don't have to pay, but have to sign invoices). Overall, its just time consuming and not relaxing like it used to be. O well, its only three more weeks we have to deal with it.

Last day of break!

I woke up early to work on my polo paper and do more research on Nacho Figueras which is hardly a chore. Then, I made whole wheat oatmeal biscuits for breakfast. Church was uplifting and heart warming as usual. I am really going to miss the little congregation which I have bonded so well with during my stay in Alnwick. Our services are always interesting. Today, we had a kayleigh Scottish dance at the end of the service to one of the worship songs. And of course Andrew who leads the services, right away says, "Karel why don't you come up here and you and some other volunteers can lead.'' Haha. I have only done the kayleigh one other time in my life but I was glad to help and its easy to talk me into dancing to be sure. It was a good time. 

Then, afterward I helped serve coffee and tea, which completed my service hours required for one of my classes. Then, I got all wrapped up in chatting with everyone and I had to run back to the castle through all the visiting tourists to grab some stuff in my room before being picked up by my homestay dad. I was nearly huffing and puffing when I got back out to the barbican and of course he was waiting and chatting with the guard. But, he is never in a rush and I never am late I just am not early. Haha. We got to their home and I could smell the delicious lamb roast in the oven from outside. I love lamb with Mary's homemade mint jelly. So tasty! For dessert, we had gooseberry, bread and butter pudding with custard. Very good as well. 

We spent the dinner talking about the history of the Dukes of Northumberland and their contributions to the area and personal interests. However, our discussion really revolved around the first duchess, Elizabeth. She was quite the character. She was the true heir to the dukedom and she was very influential in restoring the Percy family name among the peerage. She was quite the collector, traveler, journaler, and party thrower. In some ways, it would have been nice if Northumberland Hall wasn't torn down to build Trafalgar Square in London, because it was such a beautiful stately home. She threw all sorts of famous balls and events. She collected countless artifacts from paintings to historical pieces like coronation gloves worn Elizabeth I. She traveled all across Europe and attend many famous events which she wrote in her journals, such as attending the wedding of Marie Antoinette. There is over fifty remaining diaries from her daily life. Overall, she is so fascinating. 

For the rest of the afternoon, we went for a walk along the river in Warkworth. We also toured a great Norman church and gazed upon Warkworth castle. The long ago home and property of the Percys. We weighed the issues in death duties and inheritance taxes. Our trip was cut a little short because we realized it was almost five and they had an engagement this evening. Wow, afternoons can fly by. Our break is coming to a close and soon our program will come to a close as well. Hopefully, we all make the most of these last three weeks. Then, it will be on to traveling! 

I thought this Easter display was so beautiful in the church we visited. 

I love the glowing light coming from the tomb! 

Warkworth Castle. 

I can only imagine how it will look in a couple weeks when all the daffodils bloom at its base. 

Hiking Picnic

It was a lovely day here in Alnwick, even the sun made an appearance for awhile. I started the day with a nice breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes and headed into town, where I picked up some oat crackers and cheese from a shop just outside the market square. I got a Northumberland Blagdon Blue and a Northumberland Cheviot. I enjoy buying local. Then, I came back to the castle and invited several girls to go out hiking in Hulne Park for a wine, cheese, and crackers picnic. We picked a new route through the park and halfway through our five mile loop we stopped by the stream for the picnic. It was so relaxing to sit and share travel stories from the two week break while enjoying a tasty treat and listening to the sound of water rushing over the rocks. After our trek, we headed to Strawberry Lounge, our favorite place in town, for fruit smoothies. All in all, it was the perfect way to enjoy the warm weather!

Antiquing in Ford and Etal

Today was most wonderful! I went into town at eight, hoping the post office would be open along with the cafes. They were closed for another hour yet, so I went on a walk to Alnwick Cemetery. Such a beautiful graveyard. Then, I bought postcards and went to Strawberry Lounge and wrote while enjoying a cup of coffee with a honey and rhubarb scone. At eleven, my homestay mother Mary picked Sara and I up for a girls day out! We drove north to the Scottish border into the Cheviot hills. During our drive, we saw Chillingham castle and farm, which is home to the famous undomesticated, wild Chillingham cattle. We first visited the Heatherslaw Corn Mill, where we toured the museum and had lunch. I also got some oatmeal from the mill gift shop. For lunch, we all had stottie sandwiches. I had a corn beef and onion one. It was quite tasty. Then, we headed into Ford to look at the Waterford School Hall built by the widowed Lady Louisa Waterford. She was quite the artist and travel extensively as well. She herself painted the murals which cover the walls of the schoolhouse. Ford also is known for antiquing and we really embraced that. The Old Dairy is the best antique shop in town. We spent over an hour milling about the place finding all sorts of things. Mary, Sara and I each found our own treasures to take home with us to remember the day. Afterward, we went into the cafe for a treat. I got a macchiato and black magic pie (blackcurrants and chocolate). So delicious:) The man who served our drinks was an excellent burista and definitely impressed us! On our way back to Alnwick, we stopped in Wooler to see where Mary grew up. Overall, it was such a delightful day. 

Bruges, Belgium

After our day of bus travel and night of cruising, we were in Zeebrugge! Shortly after our arrival in Bruges, we located a cafe to start the day off right with Belgian waffles with strawberries. Then, we took a nice long walk about the city taking pictures. It was neat to hear all the different languages, mostly Dutch and French. None of the signs were in English. After our walk, it was time to buy chocolate. So, we headed to some chocolate stores, browsing and tasting. I settled on some orange truffles. We sat on the wall along the Dijver canal and enjoyed our treats. We had the touring motorboats on one side and the cars and horse drawn carriages on the other. As the day went on it got chillier. So, we warmed up with some hot chocolate, which was very rich and walked to the Markt where I bought a hot waffle from one of the stands in the square. Having satisfied our needs of chocolate and waffles, we relaxed and explored the rest of the city until it was time to leave. Last night's ferry ride was very rough. I am glad I was no longer bothered by the swaying and bouncing of the ship, because it would have been horrendous. Today was another bus day and tonight I don't really have any plans. However, I am so glad I went to Bruges; it was most charming. 

Burg Square

Church of Our Lady

Dijver

Belfort

Outdoor cafes along the Markt

Mini cruise round two

Off to Bruges, Belgium with Maddie! I am feeling like this one will go better than last week. At least, I hope so! The flowers weren't blooming in Holland, but cold weather cannot ruin the quality of Belgian chocolate:)

Easter Weekend!

Friday: 

Maddie and I went to the passion play put on by the three main churches of Alnwick in the marketplace. It was well done and my homestay mother, Mary, was in it. It was nice to see such a large crowd gathered from all over the North East to see it! 

  

Saturday/Easter Eve:

The Inner Keep

The Norman Arch

Lion's Bridge from a viewpoint on the Inner Bailey Wall

Sunset

I can't help but take the time to photograph and take in all the areas of the castle which we weren't allowed to roam while the family was in. I am going to make it a habit to go on tours and walk through the state rooms. The more I learn, the more curious I am to know more about the castle's history. Saturday night, Maddie and I went to my homestay for dinner. Chris showed me all the pictures he took at the last big wedding in Alnwick for Lady Katie Percy. Chris and Mary worked at the castle during the wedding. So, they got to attend the giant pre-wedding staff party and help out at the castle during the day of the wedding. They are so fortunate to see all the behind the scenes action and glamour of the events going on inside the castle walls, which the public doesn't get to see. Lucky for them, they get to work at the wedding again this June! I am so jealous. At least, I will get to see the pictures:) After our meal and wedding discussion, we attended Easter Vigil at St. Paul's. Oh Mom, Mary was acquainted with Father Joe and couldn't believe you spent Christmas with him and friends while you were here! Unfortunately, he passed about two years ago. I would have liked to meet him. 

Easter Day:

Richard and Carol took me to church in Felton, which is several miles south of Alnwick. St. Michael's and All Angels is a small, beautiful church. It was all decorated with at least a dozen flower arrangements for Easter, giving it a lovely springtime scent in the air. 

I brought Wholemeal, Oatmeal Glazed Cookies to share. 

Of course, Richard definitely won best pudding award for his delicious Bombe Dessert and traditional English Easter Simnel Cake (shown above). The spheres on top represent Jesus and his 11 disciples (Judas doesn't get counted). 

Carol and Richard in the kitchen. 

My Easter presents! Naturally, I was unaware that Easter was a time to share small gifts, but at least I brought the cookies. Carol gave me knitted finger-less wool mittens and truffles, while Abby gave me a chocolate bar.  

Carol and Richard's daughter Abby and her partner Dave joined us along with their grandson Gabriel. They came up from the Newcastle area for lunch. Gabriel is nearly 15 and has got to be over 6.1 already. He is really into basketball and hopes to play at a university in America when he gets older. Abby is a school teacher and I don't recall what Dave does but he is from Belgium. His accent was very nice, but I still think Welsh is my favorite that I've heard so far. For lunch, we had lamb's leg, potatoes, and plenty of vegetables since Abby and Gabe are vegetarians. It was a tasty meal which was followed by white wine from Normandy and the bombe dessert, which has a breading surrounding layers of ice cream. The homemade pistachio layer was my favorite! Then, we had coffee and my cookies. Afterward, Dave, Abby, Carol and I went to Alnmouth to walk along the beach with Dave's dog, Benji. During our North Sea walk, we saw a dead Puffin which had washed up. Richard and Gabe watched the big rowing race on the tele which takes place on the River Thames in London. When we returned, we had tea and the simnel cake, which is a fruit cake with layers of marzipan (almond fondant). After some more chatting, all of a sudden, it was after seven and our Easter celebration came to a close. I cannot think of a better way for me to have spent Easter day over here! It was wonderful.