BUS TO DURHAM

Today we were up with the birds once again and getting out the door to get to the Victoria Coach Station to catch the travel bus to Durham.  Goodbye to London and now looking forward to the next leg of our journey. Bus was cramped but we were ok in our little place.

We arrived at the station and in general chit chat with others around us…I found a fellow quilter Janet Laavery!  It was nice to have a few moments to get acquainted.  She and her husband were on their way to Newcastle – a little further on from where we were going today. 

Once Brenda and I were settled into our seats, we were ready to begin our 6 hour ride to Durham.  Along the way, we were rerouted because of a bad accident on the M1.  It was a happy detour as it took us through the country side…although it added 1 hour to our journey.  The trip was really lovely.  There are a lot of wind turbine farms over here.  Not sure why I found that surprising – but I snapped a few pictures of those too.  Lots and lots of sheep in beautiful green fields and picturesque rolling hills everywhere.

When we finally arrived in Durham, it was nearly impossible to get a taxi.  We had stopped in at a pub and were told that Uber is really the only way to get around.  I didn’t have the Uber app on my phone and the wifi and data were really slow, so the owner of the pub got us one on his account and wouldn’t let us pay.  How very kind of him.  The little B and B, The Shoes, is over a pub.  A walk up with no elevators – typical of this type of accommodation.  The lady behind the bar helped us up the narrow stairs to our room.  When the door opened, we were greeted by a very basic and spartan room - It will be fine for 2 nights  

We dropped our bags and went out the door in search of some dinner – we walked and walked and walked and finally found ourselves in the main downtown area in an area called the Market Square.  A little labyrinth of shops and eateries and a big church.  We wandered around and over a bridge overlooking a canal.  It was really quite pretty.  Looking for a place to eat something other than pub food was a bit of a challenge, but we settled on a place called the Turkish Kitchen.  I had a lamb kebob and Brenda had Beef Moussaka and we shared some stuffed grape leaves.  It was a delicious and proper meal – something we have been lacking.  We have been on the move so much – grabbing stuff was just easier.  Time to change our ways.

So we Ubered back to the Shoes and now it is time to get an early night after our travel weary day.  So today’s pics will show some of the scenery we were entertained with on our bus ride up here.