Durham, England: Hello from England! Yes, we had to leave perfect Bellagio to fly to England to visit even more friends.
Shirley (Valentine) and Martin also had to return to Surrey. There is no way to describe the beauty of Lake Como. I can only hope some of my photos showed the natural scenery - with the addition of the incredible villas built into the steep shores along the lake - so maybe you would consider visiting this incredible corner of Our World.
One last cappuccino at our hotel breakfast room.
One last pizza taglio at the Milan airport (we had a driver take us all from Bellagio to Milan Malpensa Airport). The four of us flew to Gatwick together and said our sad goodbyes. It is always sad to say goodbye to Shirley and Martin, but we know we will see them again soon.Our friends drove home and Dave and I caught a little commuter plane to Newcastle, to visit Woody & Kathy's eldest child, Kelsey, who lives in Durham, England with her husband and infant daughter. Kelsey's husband, Brian, is studying at Durham University. And we are lucky, as Kathy is also visiting this week!
Unluckily, our flight from Gatwick to Newcastle was delayed an hour and when it did arrive, Dave's luggage was not on board! We waited and waited and waited, while our friends were waiting outside the terminal with a very fussy baby. So fussy, in fact, I didn't even take a photo of Ailise. Kathy put her to bed and we went to the pub on the corner for dinner with the kids. DT's baggage is due on the 10a flight tomorrow.
Fish & Chips, with mushy peas, of course.Brian drove us to our hotel, which was a crowded mob-scene due to a wedding. We checked-in (they gave DT a toothbrush!) and the aged clerk said he would take us to our room as the lift was out of order. We assured him we could get to our room unassisted and climbed the stairs, turned left, turned right, went up three more stairs, turned left/right, went down three stairs, turned right/left, went up three more stairs... so on and so on... on creaky paths that were not level in any way... and finally found ourselves in a very nice suite. So surprising. We asked a hotel employee if the elevator would be repaired in the morning and she assured us it would be repaired very soon... and that it had been out of order for three weeks. Too funny.
We are unsure if we will ever be able to actually find the lobby again.
Kelsey and Brian have a full day of touring in Durham planned for us tomorrow. Check back. There is a remote possibility I will take a few photos of Ailise.
Pedometer: 9196; 3.92 miles. I don't even feel bad about not reaching my goal today. Basically every step was taken in an airport! That's just crazy. No wonder people are so tired after traveling.
Until my next update, I remain, your Durham correspondent.