The Place We Call Home

The Boathouse

Durham Cathedral

See that dent in the Lion's forehead? Legend has it, a few thousand years ago, a man was denied entry into the Cathedral-and in his anger he shot his bow and arrow right into the Lion's forehead.

I took this picture right as we walked into the cathedral, and right after I did, I read a sign that said no pictures or videos, so oops. Glad I snapped this one real quick though! This picture doesn't even do it justice. It was amazing inside.

Just walking the halls of Hogwarts like Harry Potter!

All of these were taken with our iPhone-my camera hardly had any battery left, so I settled with that. Yesterday Daniel and I decided to figure out the bus system, and take a little ride into Durham City. We technically have a Durham address, but we live a little over 2 miles way from the city centre in a little village called Langley Moor. Tuesday morning we tried to figure out the bus numbers and times as best we could (it is kind of confusing) and we headed across the street to the bus stop. It was a little bit nerve racking, not knowing if we had the right bus, or if we had the right amount of money, but it really wasn't hard at all. We got on the bus, told the bus driver we had never done this before, so he helped us know how much it was, and where we were going to get dropped off. When we got to the bus station in Durham City, we got off and started walking down the old cobblestone streets, with cafes and boutiques on either side of us. A few minutes into our walk, a cute old lady came up to us and said, "Do you know where you are going now? If you head straight up this road, you will come to the castle." She must of been on the bus and heard us asking the bus driver questions, and she just wanted to make sure we were ok! People are so nice here!! Two minutes later, another woman who must of been on our bus, came up to us and kindly told us that it doesn't cost any extra to buy a return ticket on the bus (we hadn't bought a return ticket, we were just going to walk home to save money). We thanked her, and we were on our way. We couldn't stop talking about how nice people are here. They will do anything and everything they can to help their fellow men! It is very cool. I thought people would hate us and think we are just dumb Americans, but they love Americans! They love to ask how we like it here in their country, and they love to hear that we love it. We spent the rest of the afternoon browsing little shops and touring the amazing cathedral on campus. I have never seen anything like it in my life. You think the outside looks cool, and then you get inside and it just makes you speechless. I was glad I was able to snap at least one picture of what it looked like right as we walked in, but after that I obeyed the rules and didn't take any more pictures. It was amazing to see something that was a few thousand years old! In America the history is usually hundreds of years old, but here in England things are thousands of years old! There were cute little English school kids in uniforms touring the cathedral, along with numerous families and older couples. I LOVED seeing all the places where Harry Potter was filmed. Daniel totally makes fun of me, but I love it ok! Daniel will just have to get used to the fact that he goes to school at Hogwarts. We stopped at a little pub called Varsity-apparently where all the Durham football players go to drink after practice, and we each had a 2.99 pound chicken wrap that was really good. We went and set up a bank account here, and they guy who was helping us kept saying "em" instead of "um" it was all I could do not to giggle a little bit. We shopped around and got a few things that we needed like bed sheets, some mugs and hot chocolate, and chocolate, and did I mention chocolate? The chocolate is amazing and cheap here. SO GOOD!! Mom I know you are jealous, but don't worry, I am going to send you a package full of the good stuff! Overall, it was such a fun day exploring our little city. I fell even more in love with this place than I already was. Later that day, Daniel headed off to practice, and I decided I was going to go on a little jog to campus to watch some of it. I had to bundle up really good because it was freezing outside! I ran the 2.7 miles to the sports complex, and when I got there I saw a sign that said "Appeal for more information," and it went on to talk about how a guy was fatally stabbed there just two weeks ago while he was jogging! So I decided I probably shouldn't stay and watch Daniel's practice, but that I should get home before it got dark! So I practically sprinted the 2.7 miles back home. I have never been so exhausted in my life! That day was also the first day since we had been here that I hadn't taken a nap, so I was still a little jet lagged, and my legs were about ready to give out, but I made it home quite proud of myself..5.4 miles! I guess running like a murderer is chasing you is pretty good motivation! Well that's it for now. We are excited to see what the rest of this week has in store for us. Cheers!