Down in Duuuurty Durham!

Today I write from somewhere between New York City and Washington DC, having spent two days in the Big Apple with Lindsay and Sam (who you are sure to hear about when I finally catch up to writing about Africa!), and having spent more money in 48 hours than in the past two months! My time in New York city is not over yet, however the three of us have decided to head south for a couple of days to give the credit cards a break, and I have another four days back in New York later in the week.

New York City

Not only does this week mark another continent on my trip, it also marked 10,000 pageviews of this blog – an achievement I never dreamed possible! When I left home almost ten months ago, I was expecting my mum to check my blog eight times a week (twice on Sunday), my dad once a fortnight, and then three ‘randoms’ to accidentally stumble on it each month while trying to find the nutritional information of ‘smiley fritz’. This would have provided me with 390 pageviews to date, and I would have been an incredibly happy blogger. However, somehow we have managed to reach 10,000 pageviews (I think it’s more likely my mum is forcing her entire year 2 class to keep my blog as their homepage, and making them reopen their browser before every class!), and for that I want to say a very big THANK YOU! Thank you to those people who have encouraged me along the way, thank you to those who comment and let me know you are reading along… and thank you to my dear friends Stan and Stacey for ensuring I have always had a fair bit of information to keep the blog going (and thanks mum for having a big class!)

After having way too much fun, way too little electricity and even less internet, and way too many bumpy roads through Africa, I am now only about eight weeks behind with my entries… which today I pick up from Durham, Eliza’s home for the year.

Eliza has been living in the UK since early January, working as a gap-student in a local school, and traveling (mainly with me!) in her spare time and school holidays. She lives on campus at the school she is working at, and as it was school holidays, I was lucky enough to get to stay at the school in my very own Harry Potter-esque dormitory.

With a week to spend in Durham, we had great intentions to achieve a great deal of ‘stuff’ we needed to get done – however, of course good weather, great friends and Mr Bean came between us and our mission to achieve, and instead we spent our week having fun, celebrating my birthday (thanks for the cakes Josh and Niamh!), and catching up on much needed sleep.

Durham, the capital of County Durham, is a city in northeast England, most famous for its 11^th century Norman cathedral, and its castle – both of which are UNESCO world heritage sites. The River Wear, which meanders around both the castle and cathedral, dramatically divides the city, and the town centre spreads out from a picturesque central marketplace. The quaint ‘Bailey’ – a small, yet busy street which winds through the town – was our local ‘mainy’, and we spent many a memorable moment stumbling along the cobblestones… at times because of the strain caused by my over-shopping at the local Tesco, and more often because of Eliza’s drinking habits, which she managed to rub off on me!

While it was school holidays, there were still plenty of people around the school for me to meet, and our first day was spent finding out what Eliza has really been up to this year from the people who have had to tolerate her most. The boarding school housemistress, Rachel, and her family live in the boarding house, and welcomed me with open arms, and more importantly… an open pantry! Rachel’s two kids, Niamh and Josh were great fun, keeping me busy running around the schoolyard, chasing the dog around the house, and showing me around the town centre (where we stumbled upon Eliza’s secret boyfriend… but I’ll leave that for her to tell the world!). I was even fortunate enough to be invited around – along with one of the housemother’s, Mandy – to a family dinner party, complete with place-cards, floral table arrangements, cocktails, and dinner party games and activities! And if the great company wasn’t enough for me… the food was brilliant too!

We spent the next couple of days catching up on our washing, catching up on sleep, and catching up on the entire Mr Bean collection, of which I was well behind Eliza and her sad obsession with everything Rowan Atkinson. I also managed to continually get myself lost inside the rabbit-warren style boarding house, which seems to have more staircases than students, and more doors than Buckingham Palace! When I wasn’t lost, I was no doubt in the school kitchen, whipping up yet another masterpiece to make Jamie Oliver proud. Food was very much a focus of our time in Durham, and with a full kitchen at our disposal, we made the most of the chance to cook for ourselves – and without talking myself up too much, I think my Turkey Parmigiana might actually have been a highlight of Eliza’s entire year away!

Dragging ourselves out of our life of laziness for just one day, later in the week we ventured outside of Durham, catching the local train to Newcastle. Much like my visit to Sheffield three years earlier, I have actually been to Newcastle before, however there was little to see other than snow, snow and snow. This year, the weather was slightly more favourable, and we spent our day wandering the bustling shopping streets of the city, strolling along the River Tyne, and devouring a chocolate donut – just in case I hadn’t eaten enough for the week!

I was lucky enough to be in Durham to celebrate my birthday, and in what is typical style in my family, had absolutely no desire to celebrate whatsoever. However, this option was clearly not acceptable for the people of Durham, and my plans to do nothing for the day came crashing down, and I was instead spoilt rotten! I woke up to a beautiful rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ from Niamh and Josh, who were armed with a plate full of homemade birthday cupcakes, and handmade cards which I must say made me look very fetching indeed. Nick and Ali were also super organised, and had a card ready for me, and Eliza really spoilt me by allowing me to make her breakfast to celebrate! What a girl!!! Cautious of overexerting myself physically, I spent the rest of the day lazing around (just to mix things up a bit), before heading out into town later in the evening with Eliza’s friends Rachel and Soph. I’d like to elaborate on what happened in town, but I really don’t remember much!

After a whole week in one location, spoilt rotten, and no doubt heavier than when I arrived, it was time to say goodbye to the Dirty Durham Family, as Eliza and I (eventually – we missed our train!) made our way to friends, fun, and questionable comedy at the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival.