I like visiting Great Britain. It is old, feels foreign but if you close your eyes and concentrate very carefully you can understand everything that they are saying. As a profeshunal English teacher, I can confidently state that it is well known that Canadians have the purest spoken English in the world, but those eloquent British are pretty darn close.
Our first stop was the beautiful, touristy city of Brighton where the newly minted, newly weds Leah and Will shared their flat (apartment for you Americans) and life with us for a few days. The weather was spot on (perfect for you Americans) and besides wandering around the city, we were treated to a walk on the wild side. Well, as wild as the south of England can get as the
y have been living here for a few thousand years. Sunday morning came early as Leah and Will had to attend an obligatory chapel at Hogwarts as Will lovingly likes to call the private school where they work. As Nonie and I were satorially challenged for attending chapel, we opted to wander around Brighton. We spent an hour visiting Brighton Palace. It was the summer home of Prince, then King, Charles V. He was a bit of a party boy and had an eye for decorating. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) and especially liked the Chinoise style of decoration. Bamboo and dragons can can be found throughout the place. Queen Victoria found the palace too small and sold it to the City of Brighton. In the afternoon, we enjoyed a three hour ramble (hike for you Americans) around Devils Dyke. (Dike for you Americans) The two days we spent with Will and Leah was a lovely start to our newest adventure. Monday morning dawned early for all of us as Leah and Will went back to work and we caught a train to London Station. I love the train system here. It is fast, convenient and on time. I find train travel very civilized and although it takes a bit longer than a plane, you arrive more rested, relaxed and with out any full body pat downs.
y have been living here for a few thousand years. Sunday morning came early as Leah and Will had to attend an obligatory chapel at Hogwarts as Will lovingly likes to call the private school where they work. As Nonie and I were satorially challenged for attending chapel, we opted to wander around Brighton. We spent an hour visiting Brighton Palace. It was the summer home of Prince, then King, Charles V. He was a bit of a party boy and had an eye for decorating. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) and especially liked the Chinoise style of decoration. Bamboo and dragons can can be found throughout the place. Queen Victoria found the palace too small and sold it to the City of Brighton. In the afternoon, we enjoyed a three hour ramble (hike for you Americans) around Devils Dyke. (Dike for you Americans) The two days we spent with Will and Leah was a lovely start to our newest adventure. Monday morning dawned early for all of us as Leah and Will went back to work and we caught a train to London Station. I love the train system here. It is fast, convenient and on time. I find train travel very civilized and although it takes a bit longer than a plane, you arrive more rested, relaxed and with out any full body pat downs.
A short tube ride (subway for you Americans) to another train station found us on our way to Menson/Ilkley and a visit with Lorelie. Loralie is a an old friend who we first met in Kamloops when Nonie and I were just newly minted newly weds. She has been part of our life for over thirty years. She has been the only friend who has been brave or perhaps crazy enough to visit us here in Harbin. In fact, she came to visit in the dead of winter. Dead is a very appropriate word to use when describing the winters here in Harbin. The day she arrived on the train from Russia, the temperature was -27 C. (See blog entries for January 2009) She lives in Menston, a photographic little village about 20 minutes from Leeds. We spent two fabulous days touring around, with some glorious walks in the countryside. Weather was a little spotty (poor for you Americans) but not enough to stop us.
Another contest for our regular readers. Based on the definitions below can you identify where we were walking in the two pictures above.
dale (n)- an open river valley (in a hilly area)
moor (n)- an open tract of land usually covered with heath and often marshy or peaty
Next stop, we bring light to the Dark Continent.
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