Lake District, August 2008

only a year late!
my project for what remains of my summer holidays will be to post pictures from my travels during my first year of teaching in the UK. thanks to half terms and a decent paycheck i made it quite a few places.

at the moment though...these are from the Lake District in North England...camping in the rain with some friends from summer camp. there were a few things i couldnt' figure out: 1. why the english would decide to put a 'campsite' that really was a field in the valley between several mountains. 2. why the english camp in the first place.


Keswick or Kendal?


Keswick or Kendal


Windermere


Windermere



The valley campsite



World's smallest ice cream truck!



another one of the pretty lakes


semi foreboding weather

Brighton

Back in the days of Hays Education (juneish) and my job as a recruitment consultant I had the privilege of briefly being trained for a new post (that I later quit for various snafus in roll-out of said post) in the seaside town of Brighton. The city is known for a few things:

1. Its famous pier written forever into history by the illustrious Graham Greene (read Brighton Rock)


down the boardwalky thing (a three minute walk from my temporary office)



the pier and lifeguards guarding those stupid enough to swim in the ice cold water


2. its beachy goodness


long shot down the coast


chairs for hire on the beach

3. its gay population (the hotspot of britain, apparently).

(sorry, no photos of this)


I didn't do/see much because i worked for most of the day but a few things do stick out of my mind. When asking for directions for how to get to the office, my manager told me: "go straight out of the train station and walk down the hill until you see the sea. When you can see the sea, the office is just there on the right". awesome.

i also got to take my lunch break on the beach. Keep in mind that this beach is rocky and the weather was a balmy 57 degrees. but in a company where "lunch breaks are discouraged", it was the best hour of respite i've ever taken. the staff in the brighton office chipperly pointed me towards the nearest fish and chip shop, and i had my stereotypical day on the english seaside.


heart attack in a takeaway box


feeble attempts at sun-seeking

when i one day escape london, i could see myself living in brighton. it was like burlighton, vermont only a tidge bigger.




the brighton doughnut
(here's your local factoid: "Right on the beach, next to Brighton Pier, jutting out into the sea, is a large circular sculpture, a gift from the Mayor of Naples, officially called The Big Green Bagel but known locally as the "Seasick Doughnut". This unique piece is both loved and loathed by the residents of Brighton and has been the subject of many a heated debate in the past.")



walking back into town...the palace-like building is called the Regency Pavillion. i have a feeling George IV had something to do with it...

Thira, Kamari, Perissa, Thirasia (Santorini)

it's a snow day here in london...the first in something like 18 years. naturally, it's a great day to be a teacher. Unfortunately the whole fan out system of closing schools/informing parents/teachers/etc is a lot worse than in michigan, where these days are a regular occurence. thus, i hopped on the tube at 7am only to hear that one foot of snow has closed many underground lines, delayed overground trains significantly and closed london buses entirely. wot! so i made it thirty minutes into my commute, called school to find out it was cancelled and hopped back on the tube southbound. now i'm snuggled up in bed with a hot water bottle watching the snow fall. ace.

and now i'm catching up with picture posting.

in so many ways this seems like a useless blog...i post so infrequently and i'm not sure if anyone is really staying updated this way. regardless, i'm still posting pictures from 2008. coming up: the rest of santorini, a day in brighton, the lake district, dublin, budapest and the snowy rooftops of london!

the rest of my greek photos are from around santorini--Oia (and the beautiful sunsets), Fira (and the huge caldera), the teeny island of thirasia (off the west side of the caldera) and the beaches of kamari and perissa. i know i've said it before, but santorini was everything i could have hoped it to be...heat, lovely beaches, lovelier people and amazing food. how could you go wrong?


jen, my fab travel buddy/housemate/friend, and me


drinking coffee AND ice cream with a spectacular view!


one of many churches down a narrow alley in fira


fishing boats in fira port


sunset over the caldera


pirate ship tour boat we took for 30 euros (took us to climb a volcano, swim in a hot spring, eat at a tiny little village and see the Oia sunset...best money spent, ever)


in Thirasia


lovely, lovely thirasia


approach to the "dormant" volcano


swimming to the hot spring (look closely for bodies in the water)


church bells in Oia


art shot, before the sunset


Windmill in Oia


sunset into the sea


our daily sustenance



black sand in Perissa


and back to Kamari beach


our last meal in our fav. little taverna with the best homemade baklava

i'm hoping for the return of summer one day. and i've just had word that our snow day might be snow days!!

Santorini (in August)

My friend Jen and I headed to the lovely greek island back in the month of august for nine days of sun. Since coming back, our airline and travel agency have gone bust so perhaps we enjoyed the last goodness of Kaforous resort for a long time. we were well impressed by the weather and beachiness, good food and amazing people. we'll be trying again for a different greek island next summer but would highly recommend this little santorini:0)

more photos to come! this is day one and two...


first stop


our local beach (three minute walk from the hotel and three kilos from the airport)


our home


caldera view in fira



the beginning of the 589 step descent to fira port

Calpe, Donkey Sanctuary, Guadalest, etc

Dave and my trip to Spain in June to visit his parents. The weather was surprisingly cold and rainy, but we managed to meander up to the hill town of Guadalest, do some wine tasting at the Virgin Pobre winery and eat lunch on another steep precipe disguised as a donkey sanctuary. odd, but good.


great tapas in calpe


spanish steps

Surrounded by the Aitana, Serella & Xorta Mountains, Guadalest was a strategic military stronghold with fortifications dating back to 715AD and the period of Moorish occupation of Spain.


from the other side


trying to be arty


ridiculously sweet wine made from grapes picked in the region


big


donkey sanctuary!




our last day

The Brecon Beacons

Alive! and with lots of travelling updates!
So the next few entries will be the bare essentials.

Date: Easter weekend, March 2008
Place: The Brecon Beacons in Wales...five people in a cottage made for three
Weather: cold and bloody snowy
People: my lovely England family--dave, jen, laura and matt




the view from our cottage


panoramic up the hill shot


waterfall


tree


signs in welsh


typical flag shot in brecon town centre


another mountainy view


the fam on top of the big hill


matt and dave