A Holiday Away . . .

The British word for 'vacation' is 'holiday,' and, as I type, Isaac and I are returning from a very enjoyable holiday spent in Yorkshire, England. We stayed at the beautiful Clarence Gardens hotel in Scarborough, which was a delightful experience in and of itself: the website boasts spectacular sea views, and our room had a view like none I've ever before experienced. Here's Isaac reading through the guide to Yorkshire in our beautiful bay window (the view is almost as amazing as he is!) We ate supper in the hotel the first night, which was delicious and simple, and enjoyed several lovely English breakfasts on the ensuing mornings.

On our first full day in Scarborough, we awoke to the stunning view mentioned above (every sunrise was gorgeous, but I didn't try to capture one as no camera would have done it justice). We attempted to visit the castle (closed Mon-Wed) but ended up simply walking along the streets. During our stroll, we found the grave of Anne Bronte and, later, the Marketplace--an enormous two-story building containing dozens of market stalls and quaint little shops. Being a bit hungry on account of our walk, we took advantage of some amazing food (at startlingly low prices!) in the cafe in the vaults. (Isaac said the vaults were like a dollhouse). Note the very low ceilings. (We had tea, soup, quiche, and an "English Breakfast" for under £5, which is an amazing deal!)

On Wednesday, the second day of our trip, we visited the (relatively) nearby city of York. Alas, some of the sights we'd hoped to see were closed due to snow, but we spent many hours in the gorgeous Gothic York Minster/Cathedral, which was stunning. The crypts of the cathedral have been reworked into a chronological museum charting the development of the site from its origins as a Roman garrison to its later churches and, of course, this eventual building.

After our cathedral trip, we wandered the city for a while (it is possible to take a walk along the old city walls, but this was closed due to snow and ice, so we shall have to return), stopping by the Shambles, a medieval-esque street (according to my guidebook) that is (also according to my guidebook) the most visited street in Europe (I have my doubts).

We returned to the cathedral for an amazing Sung Eucharist service celebrating Epiphany. The choir was stunning, and the building itself only contributed to the atmosphere of peace, thankfulness, and even repentance. What an amazing night!

On our way back to the train station, we were distracted by this "grown-up pub," a tiny little tavern filled to overflowing and containing the widest assortment of ciders on tap Isaac and I have ever seen. I tried a sweet red scrumpy cider called "Ruby Tuesday," and Isaac had something a little more manly (whose name we have both forgotten).

Back in Scarborough, we spent a sunny Thursday trekking around more streets and taking a stroll on the beach. One of the truly amazing features of that town is the juxtaposition of very, very old things with very, very new ones. Here's the castle, which stands dominant over the entire town, exerting its ancient influence on the seaside taverns, casinos, and other sites for modern entertainment.

This morning dawned pink and lovely and snowy. Isaac and I again attempted to visit the castle, cosed again (this time due to weather), so we took a long walk along the coast and had fish, chips, and tea in a pub close t the train station.

The waves on our walk, which was and were truly gorgeous.

We're finally only a few hours from home on the train, and are looking forward to the relaxing weekend ahead before I jump back into my typical research schedule on Monday!

New Year (Ad)Ventures

Ah, holidays . . . over for another year, having succumbed already to the pressures of January sales. Ours ended quite as merrily as they had begun. After the excitement of Christmas and Boxing day had waned (I am informed by my British friends that Boxing Day is the biggest shopping day in the UK, although that did not seem to be the case for St. Andrews, which verily shut down even the grocery stores to celebrate), Isaac and I led my parents to lovely Stirling Castle, my favourite thus far both for its painstaking attempts to reconstruct the Stuart courts and fr its spectacular and breathtaking views of the highlands. Here's the "green," with the palace of a James in the background (the palace was closed, as it's their current reconstruction project):

And this: our spectacular view . . .

For the last full day of my parents' visit, we ventured into Edinburgh, the capitol city, where Hogmanay festivities were already beginning. We had far too little time to catch most of the city's popular sights, so settled for a tour of the National [Art] Gallery and dinner at Isaac's and my favourite pub. We stayed in a beautiful and cosy flat just off the Royal Mile (also called High Street on maps), which is a mile-long street that stretches from Edinburgh Castle down to the Palace. We arose painfully early on the last morning of their visit and had time for a quick breakfast, a staggered trek down cobbled alleys, and three leisurely cups of coffee/tea at the airport--before Isaac and I dashed back to our rented flat to retrieve the luggage we'd forgotten in the bustle of departure!

From Edinburgh, we ventured to lovely Linlithgow, a commuter village not far from Edinburgh. We spent several days with some good friends of ours, enojoying their company, beautiful flat, and charming village. On the second day of our visit, Isaac and I braved the icy paths to the nearest Loch, which was beautifully frozen over. As we wandered about, enjoying the birds and loch and castle, we were delighted and surprised by more snow!

We spent Hogmanay with many friends in the tiny but lovely village of Torphichen. We did not actuallt go "First Footing" at midnight (a tradition in which one treks to visit friends and take them gifts and, I believe, coal), mostly because I was exhausted. We spent several more days in the area, also visiting Torphichen Kirk on Sunday. With the fresh snowfall, I though it looked just like Narnia!


We've got a few more days to relax and breathe, and I'll be settling back into full-blown research at the end of this week. It's been a busy holiday but a joyous one!

God bless, and Happy New Year!