St. Andrews/Whitefield Reunion

After our free Tesco holiday in North Berwick, Nathan and I drove around the Firth of Forth and paid a visit to our friends the Shivelys. On the other side of the pond Todd and I taught English together at Whitefield Academy in Atlanta. The kids would always ask him what his first name was (S. Todd Shively) and he would reply "Sir." I don't know why but I think that's really funny.

Whitefield reunion in the UK! The only one missing was our dear Alicia Stark (former Whitefield drama teacher) down in Wales (busy getting her PhD).

Todd and his dog Wyn were great tour guides.

Here are some pictures of the remains of a cathedral...

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and some very cold people.

Here we are in a quad of a college. I pictured Prince William and Kate picnicking on the grass in their university days. :)

More beautiful architecture

Nathan was very cold so he borrowed my hat. And he's standing next to a sign that talks about the first Scottish Reformation martyr, Patrick Hamilton. Hence the grim face.

Here is this stone brand where the poor guy was burned at the stake. This was the only picture Nathan requested I take. Graveyards and libraries and martyrdom spots. He is a strange one.

Next up, the famed Old Course with the whole Shively gang, a golfer's dream come true, and the real Chariots of Fire beach.

Scottish Holiday (Thanks Tesco!)

So, Nathan and I saved up our Tesco points and traded them in for a two-night stay in a four-star hotel in North Berwick, Scotland. It sounds a lot more straightforward than it really was. It was a huge hassle, but it was FREE!

We started out in this room. The standard room. It was amazing, but it looked at the street instead of the Firth of Forth. After dinner, however, there was a nasty smell coming from the bathroom, and lo and behold - a plumbing problem. We got upgraded to the top floor sea view. It was smaller but cozier and just more "us," as if we have an "us" at nice hotels! 

Nathan was immediately glued to golf on TV even though he could have watched golf live out of our window.

We had amazing breakfasts at the hotel (again, for FREE!). So amazing that we didn't eat lunch. Dr. Parker is really into his granola. 

Here is the view from our window!

And here are some crazy penguin looking birds with long pointy orange beaks on the golf course.

We went exploring on the beach, and I just had Chariots of Fire stuck in my head all day. I know that the Chariots of Fire beach is actually in St. Andrews, but this really reminded me of it.

Classic pose

Dum dum dum dum duuum duuuuuum... ch-ch, ch-ch (that's the Chariots of Fire song, in case you didn't know).

Amongst the craggy rocks

Another classic pose

We went to an amazing Italian restaurant for dinner two nights in a row. Yes, I know I look windswept and that my scarf doesn't mach my shirt. Our waitress the first night was from Newcastle. She gave herself away when she said, "I can take them plates away fo' yus." Everybody else in Scotland just made me think of Mrs. Hughes from Downton Abbey, especially the hotel staff who asked us what we'd be having for "brrreakfehst."

Next up, our time in St. Andrews. Lots of pictures of The Old Course and our friends, the Shivelys, coming up!

York and Durham with Katie

On our last day together, Katie and I went to York. 

Here we are on the city walls overlooking the minster.

Katie loved seeing Poundland. She said it was much more exciting sounding than Dollar General or Family Dollar.

We found a boot scraper.

We really liked this belt too.

We made it back just in time to get some chai lattes at Flat White in Durham before they closed.

Cheers!

Nathan really wanted to take Katie to Colpitts, his favorite pub, so tired though we were, we went.

Cheers again!

I can't decide which picture is weirder. This one...

or this one. Your thoughts?

Beachy Keen

After church on Sunday, we and Katie had Brent and Aline over for some Indian food. After that, we did what we always do when it's sunny (but still freezing), hit up the beach!

Katie was amazed by the dark sand.

Brent and the ladies

Freezing cold fun

My beautiful friend!

Here we are striking a Nathan pose from one of our previous beach trips.

Isn't it just picturesque?

When we got home, Aline made German waffles!

Yum!

Here's the recipe if you can read her German handwriting.

Tea time!

A Celebratory Walk

Our first English friends, Sam and Emily, had us over for a celebration lunch for Nathan's completion of the PhD. After that, they took us on another lovely English walk with our friend, Katie. And... I can't figure out how to get the wide lens shot thingy off of my camera and get back to the regular lens. Enjoy the photos!