The Half Term Break

It's half term break--the first break of the year in the middle of the first term.

The break began with some fun around London.

First stop: The Golden Hinde. Drake sailed around the world in this ship.

Not much standing room---or room in general, considering there was a crew of about 60 men.

But Mat enjoyed it!

I enjoyed it too, though you can't tell from this picture.

Stop 2: Shakespeare's Globe.

It's actually a reconstruction, since the original was destroyed in the 1600s.

But there is a marker in the middle of a courtyard to show where the original was.


The last museum for the day was the Clink. It is one of London's original jails.
Just one method of medival torture...the boot. Once the criminal's foot was inside, the boot would be filled with wood and boiled, so that the wood would expand to crush the foot inside and the skin would become burned and possibly even fall off the foot. Sounds friendly.


After our day exploring London, we had a 5 hour bus ride to Manchester where we stayed for the weekend.

The main attraction is the Museum of Science and Industry, where Mat met heaven---working steam turbines!!!!

and a steam train.

See the absolute glee!!!!!!!!!

Newcastle-upon-tyne was where we spent most of our time. Mat took a course at the local college, and I spent my days visiting the sights and looking at the city.

This is St. Peter's Church in Sunderland, Europe's oldest functioning church. The original church (the brick wall to the right) was built in 764. There are original walls below the floors inside the church and even some skeletons of those who were buried in and around the church.

South Shields has the remains of a Roman Fortress. This gate is a recreation...
but this washroom facility is original. Nice privacy.

As the name states, Newcastle-upon-tyne, is actually on the Tyne river, and therefore is the home to some wonderful bridges. If you look closely, you can see 4 separate bridges in this one photo.

The Millenium Bridge is Newcastle's newest and coolest bridge. It looks like a giant eyelid and gets lit pretty nicely at night.

But the coolest building is the Sage Gatehead, a concert venue that is simply fantastic.

We're now in Edinburgh, Scotland (a post will follow shortly).

Life is grand. The weather has turned a little cool, but with gloves and a hat is very warm. I'll be heading back to work for Wednesday (the freedom of supply teaching) and Mat should be starting his new job around that time as well. He's gotten a lot of job offers, (4 in one day alone!!!), and he's chosen a great one!! He'll be working on the Thames River until after Christmas, then he'll be off for 3 weeks and begin a 3 week on, 3 week off rotation.

Absolutely Perfect!!!