Hadrians Wall, Mary Magdalene & a cup of tea at Rainbow Cottage, Alston - what a hoot!!

and off we go..along the gorgeous narrow, tree-lined roads. To explore Hadrians Wall and other ancient ruins and villages

First stop Lanercost Old Bridge. constructed in 1724.. that was before Capt. Cook discovered Australia!!

a chilly 5 degreeC.. and then onto Lanercost Priory.

and as we walked along the path to the ancient priory, I spotted a gorgeous church right next door.. a must see.. of course.

and for those who know me well, I am sure that you know just how I felt when I saw this sign at the front door!!

their service was just about to start but the parishioners welcomed us in for a look around. giving us both a bookmark that they give to every visitor. the Curator talked to us, giving us a little of the history, I paid to take some photos [which is suggested by a note at the font, proceeds go to the upkeep of the Church].. I could have hugged him when he told me,[when he heard my accent] that he thought I was an Australian who had been living in England for sometime!!

the Priory is dedicated to Mary Magdalene, she holds an ungent pot in her right hand and would have held a palm leaf in the left [which is now missing]. the actual statue is mounted at a high level in the west wall]

the ruins of Lanercost Priory - built from rock taken from Hadrians Wall.

as are alot of other buildings in the area.

and as I walked among the ruins of the Priory, ancient carvings and history, listening to the faint organ music coming from the church, it made me pine for my childhood religion of Church of England.. memories being stirred, among history older than I can fathom. I felt a belonging that I have never felt back home

did Mary Magdalene lead me here? I closed my eyes and just stood among the history. it felt part of my very being

an ancient carving of an angel in the walls of the priory

ruins of Hadrians Wall. built by the Romans as a defence against the roaming bands of Scotland. from one side of England to the other. from rock quarried from surrounding areas. an amazing feat.

arriving at a high point, a local offered to take our photo.. they came up every Sunday, just to look at the view..

and to see just how blessed they were to live in such a gorgeous part of the world. The Pennines. they suggested some roads that we might like to take.. nothing like having local knowledge to help discover places!! and we are so grateful that they did.. because I am sure that we saw places that we would never have stumbled across.. I cannot get over how at each turn there is yet another tree lined road, house after house from times past, beyond my comprehension. green hill after green hill dotted with castles and halls. fields lined with stone fences. the smell of coal burning. delicious to all my senses!! I am beginning to feel stirrings of not wanting to go home....

and then on to Alston. along roads where there was a very light dusting of snow

a little market village.. for a cup of tea
[if you look at this picture, the white house at the very end.... is Rainbow Cottage....

arriving in Alston, where the streets are ancient cobblestones.. and a very steep road.. shops seemed to be closed for the day.. we were going from inn to inn to find a place to have afternoon tea and use a toilet.. and asked for directions from a 'local' walking up the hill with cloth bag of groceries.. she explained that she was visiting her son and didn't know anywhere.. but invited us to her sons for a cup of tea.. we kept saying no, but she was insistent, she assured us, that her son would not mind at all.. so we followed her up the hill, wondering what the hell we were doing. she opened the door and invited us down a hall and into the kitchen.. where her son was making bread and cooking the evening meal. when she told him who we were, the look on his face said it all, but she sat us down anyhow and put the kettle on. we got chatting to 'David' while he continued to knead the bread.. he explained how he made bread, and I began to feel a little more comfortable being there.. his wife came out of the loungeroom and was quite taken aback to see strangers sitting at the table to have a cup of tea.. and we tried to explain that her mother in law had invited us in.. her comment and looks said it all 'oh did she'... then Theresa the mother, sent me upstairs to use the bathroom.. and the children were wondering who these aliens were with funny voices.. finally we could take our leave, thanking them for the hospitality.. and I asked for their address so I could send them something from Australia in exchange.. what a damn hoot! things like this happen to us often. not many make memories like this one!! we felt like stray cats!!

and then a last time to meet with Lydia.. for dinner

The City of Carlisle, beginning to be decked out for Christmas.. twinkling lights at this time of year, seem so perfectly right!!

it has been an amazing experience these past few days while in Carlisle.. being in 'Daisy territory', meeting her daughter Lydia, discovering the countryside for ourselves.. having adventures.. and now we leave to explore a little more of Cumbria.. the Lakes District....

[don't forget to click on photos to enlarge them]

a year later - 2013
I will never, ever forget that day when I walked into Lanercost Priory. This part of my trip was one of the best memories, meeting Lydia, the first days in England, the cold, the people. a 13th century priory church!!!  all beautiful memories. I had been told by some that the northerners were not friendly however they were the friendliest that I met. welcoming and friendly.

nor will I ever forget the look on David's face when his mother took us into his kitchen for a cup of tea.
memories of this time, really make me 'homesick' for what we don't have here in Australia.
my wish is to return there oneday.

the day I met Lydia

today was a very, special day for me. I met Lydia. Daisy's daughter. after being in touch via the net for a number of years, the time came when I actually got to meet her.

such a lovely, caring girl.. no wonder her mum called her 'Sweetpea'

we spent the day with her, driving through gorgeous villages. [but first of all, we went to buy some 'wellies'... for the rainy days] and you know, the meeting was easy, no awkwardness of those first meetings, just kinda chatty all day. she took us along so many lovely narrow roads, places that we would not have seen otherwise, I am sure

along roads lined by the hedgerows that I am beginning to love,

over bridges

and past more beautiful scenery.

this was one of Daisy's much loved places - I can see why she loved it so much

a simple day I guess, but one full of special moments - past and present

a year later - 2013
that day was special. Lydia and I are still friends [on facebook].
I still remember the gorgeous old bridges and hedgerows. And I will say that looking back, a year later, Cumbria is one of my favourite places that I got to visit.

crossing the North Sea

our taxi arrived at 12 to take us to den Haag Central. chatting to the driver on the way, we discovered that he lived not far from where Joe had lived and had been born in the same house where he still lived now. He was only a few years older than Joe so we do believe that their families may have known each other, serendipity at work again!! out of all the taxi drivers in The Hague and we had this one. such a lovely, chatty man.. name of Hofman, he told us. on F, one N.. he shook our hands when he dropped us off

we are now on the ferry... crossing the North Sea. The sea that my great grandfather had fought in during WW1. And as the sea tossed the ferry about, I thought of him, William Truscott and how he must have felt, back then ...I tried to eat some broccoli in the restaurant, but each time I put the fork to the mouth, I felt really queasy, so early to bed for me. I know now, why they call this sea, the Cruel Sea.. it was damn cruel last night. During the night, I had a strong sense of my G.grandfather sitting across from me, telling me to lay on my back.. i was tired and heard myself say 'no'.. next thing, I felt a tug on my shirt making me turn over. I immediately felt so much better.. and a voice that said 'on your back, your stomach stops churning'... I wonder, was it him? Was he looking out for me? I really want to believe so.

finally arriving in the UK! I can honestly say, that even seeing the coast, I felt as if I were coming home.. just a feeling I had.
A taxi took us to get our hire car and another chatty taxi driver gave us a guided tour of Newcastle on the way.
off we go to the A69, taking a wrong turn almost immediately, but it was a lovely mistake as the road took us through a few quaint villages along autumn coloured tree lined roads and hedgerows.  The colours of autumn here are unlike I have ever seen , it is like a deep burnished bronze.

a first glimpse

Gorgeous old villages. A grouse or pheasant nearly became road kill at one moment. Beautiful, beautiful old barns and farm houses, black face sheep dot lush green fields  I want to stop at every village!!
..as we drive into Cumbria, the temperature drops to 5degC.

so, here we are now, in Cumbria, staying in the city of Carlisle

in a gorgeous B&B - HollyTrees for 3 nights while we do some sight seeing of Roman Ruins, see where Daisy lived and meet up with Lydia and Ruth!!

a year later - 2013
I will never, ever forget the emotion that I felt when I first spotted the coast of England. I felt as if I were home. The burnt copper of the autumn leaves, the gorgeous villages as we drove and the feeling of history. Something that I miss so much.

last thoughts of Den Haag

this morning, off to the laundromat - the nitty gritty of travelling. funny that the laundromat, only a short walk of about 3 blocks - 1 kilometre, was in a 2nd hand/antique area. there was a wait for a washing machine, so the owner offered to do our washing for us as we went to have a coffee and a look around the shops. honestly, the junk here is brilliant and I was wishing that i could buy lots to ship home. weight and cost for shipping prevents me, however, this did not stop me buying an old Sunflowers painting..

there it was, sitting on an old chair.. waiting for me. It seems serendipity is at work. an original Van Gogh, the owner assured me.

then for a lovely cup of koffie. Here in Holland, when you buy a cup of coffee, they mostly always give you a little something to go with it. Pumpkin spice cake yesterday and today, a little morsel of sugar and butter cake [I am battling voices in my head over the whole eating thing though!!]

we went back to Crispijnstraat to knock on the door of where Joe was born.. and while walking, we  found the church that he was most probably baptised in. A gorgeous, gorgeous 16th century church. It seems Mother Mary is all around me here.

Samhain here today and every little cafe is decorated mostly with pumpkins and other autumn vegies and lots of little tea lights. the smell of spices, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg assault the senses.. to experience Samhain here in the Northern Hemisphere is special, even though i wasn't able to celebrate as I usually do at home. it just feels so right.

the afternoon we caught a tram to markets. thinking of flea markets back home.. not so. this was a food market. 500 stalls of fish, vegetables, nuts, meat and every other food stuff in between. an experience to say the least.

it is kind of bittersweet leaving Den Haag, knowing our time in Holland is over, but so looking forward to England and what that may bring. I have said before that this reminds me of Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. every time you turn a corner, there is another little laneway, narrow laneways with an assortment of shops, twinkling lights and those glorious cobblestones. it's like something out of a faery tale, every laneway is a picture postcard

 we spent alot of the time dodging trams and bicycles

it is a city full of beautiful churches and old building. I will miss the beautiful dutch language, the women who make smoking look elegant and I will miss the croissants. my hips and tummy won't.

Den Haag started to grow on us slowly at first, a city devoid of colour but it revealed itself to us bit by bit, allowing itself to seep gently into our being and
now it's time to leave..
yes, we will come back oneday

and that ends our time in Den Haag as well as Holland... for tomorrow, we set sail for England.

don't forget to click on the photos and you will be able to see a larger version xo

Den Haag. The Hague.

I must say, that The Hague does not have the same attraction as Amsterdam did. Amsterdam for me was one of joy, belonging, where as Den Haag is one of conservatism. A big contrast between two cities that share the title 'capital of Holland'.
Joe said that when his mother returned to the city, she found Den Haag dreary and drab. and I can see why.

that said, it is still pretty and quaint in places.

a little bit of colour to brighten an otherwise drab street

At times, I feel like a fish out of water, not sure why and for the first time since I arrived in Holland, I feel a need to re-centre my energies. Even this morning at breakfast, I felt 'different' to others. Many were business people on important business in the city, men in business suits with an air of 'distinguished' about them, women in black suits. I flounced in, in my colourful skirt and pixie energy and felt like a naughty little girl among stern grandparent.. afraid of using the wrong knife and fork! I wonder what the elderly gentleman thought when I licked yoghurt from my fingers?

After breakfast this morning, we set of to find where Joe was born. Crispijnstraat 16.  A short 1 kilometre walk from our hotel. Past alot of footpath reconstruction and truthfully, a little depressing at first.

Finally finding the street which he had not seen for 55 years. He was really delighted to see it, it brought back many memories for him..

The fact that it was such a cute street, took away that depression and drabness that had begun to envelope both Joe & I. We then walked along the canal where he remembered Paul, doubling him on a push bike very close to the edge, trying to scare him and then on to an old hotel which his grandparents had owned.

Back along the canal to find a little coffee shop for morning tea and then on to some Museums of art and history..

a lovely long walk around the city centre today,  had us thinking that this city is very, very much like Melbourne.

a kind local took our photo.. the first one together since our trip began

for some reason, this shop reminded me of Diagon Alley from Harry Potter.. not sure why, but it did

There are lovely little cobblestone alley ways with quaint shops.
One that I did find was an antique shop full, absolutely full of Mother Mary statues. Oh my lord, I was in heaven. A big one for 250euros, had me wishing that I could buy her and post it home. But I will have to settle on a smaller one.. and rosary beads! A collection.. be still my heart!!

When I stumbled upon this shop front, I gasped.. it was like She was calling my name.. inside, a treasure trove of Marian delights, plus more

I wish I could transport her home, but sadly the postage cost would be more than the actual statue

We had a simple lunch in an eco store and after we went to an eco supermarket, where I was thrilled to find all kinds of organic fruit and other bits. I was in heaven, not having had fruit to eat since I left home except at breakfast. I have developed mouth ulcers, so I gathered some blueberries, almonds and bananas to help my poor immune system which is kinda shattered from all the sugar I have been eating. Some organic coconut oil as well as a homoeopathic remedy for mouth ulcers and I should be right!!

an organic, eco supermarket..

such is the life of a traveller, eating strange foods and often too much.. but oh how those croissants call my name every morning at breakfast time!!

don't forget to click on the photos and you will be able to see a larger version xo

a taste of Amsterdam ~ two days worth

Yesterday, we took a bus trip out into the countryside, to visit the villages of Volendam and Marken. Traditional, pretty dutch villages. We drove through the flat, lush countryside of Holland.

past dykes, green pastures,cows and windmills. Joe is loving this place and I know why Tina and Paul visited so often. It is beautiful.

gorgeous homes with the traditional dutch lace curtains in the windows, with Mother Mary appearing often on window ledges.

neat gardens with a multitude of pots and birdhouses.

We wandered around through laneways getting some inspiration for our own garden back home in Katoomba..

Last night we went out for dinner and more wandering around the laneways, this time in the infamous red light district. No photos, as they are not permitted. It was an interesting experience to say the least

Sunday today, daylight saving ended, so we were awake quite early. More to mess up our body clock. I am sure that Paul had a hand in this 'mistake' in the hotel booking. I have felt Tina and Paul's presence with us quite often while here in Amsterdam.

the day was spent exploring

walking down laneways we found flower markets that sold tulip bulbs. divine.

and then we decided to visit the Vincent exhibition

these are words that I wrote as I walked around surrounded by the masters

"Monet, Cezanne and Renoir. But most touching for me was Van Gogh. I stood in front of sunflowers and felt tears coming to my eyes. I could not believe that I was in front of an original Van Gogh. My favourite painting
The name Vincent leaped out at me, Oh my god I am really here
I didn't expect the depth of emotion that I felt as I stood in front of sunflowers.
I am no art critic but I actually started to cry, overcome with emotion . Feeling a kindred soul in Van Gogh, wishing that I had studied art when younger"

"I desire nothing other than to live deep in the country and to paint peasant life" - Vincent Van Gogh

I want to paint. I want to discover my own technique and sign my name just like he did

There was an elderly woman in a wheel chair being pushed by a younger woman, maybe her daughter. She was pushed up to each painting and sat there, absorbing. Maybe a dream realized before she dies

and with that, we leave for Den Haag tomorrow. by train.

 

a year later - 2013
I will never, ever forget the emotion that I felt when I stood in front of Van Goghs Sunflowers.
nor will I forget the charm of Amsterdam. It is so different to Australia.. and I find myself at times, wishing we had the history and culture that they do. My home country is very harsh compared to the softness of Holland.

Amsterdam - first days

After a long red eye trip of 13hours from Singapore, we arrived in Amsterdam at 7.30am, the day still dark. Our bodies not really knowing what day or time it was. Collecting our baggage, we made our way to find transport to our hotel, we were told a taxi would cost 70euros. So we decided to take a train. Buying tickets became a battle with machines not accepting our cards until we realized that our debit cards would not work, so credit it was. Tickets finally in hand, we jumped aboard a train for Amsterdam Central, arriving in the city to find that there were limited number of taxis available due to a Muslim holiday. Eventually a taxi pulled up and drove us through street after street of beautiful architecture, to our booked hotel. We were both tired by this time and absolutely stunned when told that our booking was not listed. I had booked and confirmed this online back in March, so you can imagine how I felt. The receptionist was apologetic but had no rooms available but she found us one in the sister hotel across the canal. So with all our luggage in hand, we trekked across cobblestone lanes, across the canal to the beautiful old hotel NHDOELEN.

A little more expensive but things happen for a reason, [which I was to realize a day later].
I was desperate for a cup of coffee, so a quick shower and off we went. Back over the canal to Rembrandt Square, plonked ourselves into a chair

and ordered a coffee with pancakes for Joe and for me, a croissant with nutella [and so began the growth of my hips]. Sitting there, watching women riding their pushbikes, people drinking coffee in the sun. I love it. It is cool-ish here, much like home in autumn time.

the streets are like mazes - weaving in and out of everywhere. Cobblestones or bricks. Quaint and lots of character.

After a walk around the streets, we took a trip along the canals in a traditional canal boat

the canals are lined with gorgeous grand old homes and houseboats, which are actually permanent residences for some. All decked out with plants and individual eccentricities

Picture perfect.
we found ourselves slowly falling in love with this beautiful city.

a year later - 2013
Joe and I still talk about our time in Amsterdam. The pushbikes, the happy disposition of the people, the croissants. We loved it and it was a real holiday for us.
NH Doelen was a grand old dame, beautiful inside and out. Breakfast there, was the best of the whole trip and I will never, ever forget that first coffee we had, after a shower on the first day. Sitting outside in Rembrandt Plein, sipping milky coffee and having the first croissant with butter and nutella.
Amsterdam stole my heart. I loved it, unexpectedly, I might add.