February 9th
I guess the best place to begin is my walk to the train station and the drunken/hungover/confused young man I encountered.
It was fairly early in the morning for me, but I was excited as there were some things I really wanted to see in Durham and I love taking the train. I decided to go the same route I went the other night for the play. The weird under passage was still hella creepy, but not as scary/unsettling as the boy covered in his own puke, holding his belt buckle up as he asked me "Where are the shops?"
He was obviously out of it, probably just woken up from his night out. Honestly there were shops in either direction so I pointed and he went, "What about the shops for towels." Honestly, I'm not too familiar with all the shops that sell towels so I told him I didn't know and just booked it. I didn't want to be late for my train. I hoped he found a towel as quickly as I found his vomit. Had to sing a few nursery rhymes and think about some annoying statistics to prevent my own upchuck. Disgusting,
I made it to the train station with plenty of time to spare. There were quite a few coffee shops about, but I headed to the one where the group of people I was going with seemed to all be waiting at. As we all waited in line, more showed up. I didn't realize that this many of us were all going. Planning was a bit weird. You never truly know who all bought a ticket until you get there. I told a couple of them that I had a plan for where to go when I got there and they were welcome to follow along, because I knew we'd get separated on the train.
Boarding the train was really weird. I thought we'd at least have to scan our QR codes to get to the train platforms, but you don't. I got on and went to my assigned seat, which I believe was in First Class (I didn't book first class, but it was basically right beside it). There was an adorable baby in front of me. She had a little Peppa Pig doll, which is quite British.
My friend sat beside me as you could see when each seat is reserved for. It was only a 12 minute ride. Literally, the next stop was Durham. No one checked our tickets. I could've have just gotten on the train for free. Add this to the criminal things I've discovered but have not done (and would certainly not advise *wink wink).
Once off the train I became the tour guide, my bright blue jacket was like my flag, and led everyone towards the city centre and then to the World Heritage Centre. At the world Heritage Centre (basically a place for tourists to go to get information) I asked about the castle tours and for any other recommendations and then regurgitated as best I could to everyone else. We bout our castle tour tickets there for the earliest tour at 1:15pm, as the tickets sell out fast (as I had read online and was told by the worker inside). It was 4 pounds for students (they didn't even check out student cards).
We had lots of time to spare before the tour, so I said I was going to explore the Town Hall, as she had recommended it, being as it was free, and to go earlier was better since they had the Chinese New Year Celebrations going on, so it could get crowded.
The Town Hall was interesting, it was almost like an art gallery with the amount of portraits on the walls. They had these free audio guides, but it was too complicated and I couldn't get mine to work, so we gave up on it.
Next door was the Market Hall, which was like your typical indoor market. Reminded me of an expanded Boyce Farmer's Market (from Fredericton). I checked some of the souvenirs that had names, but they had a limited selection. There were these wine bottle covers that I nearly bought for my aunts, but could find neither of their names (but they did have their kids).
We ended up splitting up during the Market hall and we all explored a bit of the streets on our own, with the plan of meeting back up for the tour.
While walking around we got hungry and went for some brunch, which was a bit chaotic to find. We were still a big group, but ended up finding a spot at a pretty good brunch place. I enjoyed the 6 piece breakfast (for 4 pounds). This consisted of toast, fried egg, bacon, sausage, a hash brown, and beans (which I gave to someone else to try).
We headed up to explore the cathedral after brunch. I was told it was free, but a donation is asked for. When we entered we were basically forced to donate 3 pounds and not given much of an option of giving anything less. I know they needed the funds for the upkeep of the place, but I felt a little like Martin Luther.
It was a beautiful church (sadly not photography allowed). Every window was a stained glass masterpiece. My neck ached from looking up so much. We then went outside to the courtyard area, and I was so thankful as that was where the first two Harry Potter films had filmed. Basically, there were scenes of them walking and talking between classes, talking to Hagrid, and a popular and memorable scene in the second movie where Ron defends Hermione from Malfoy by casting a spell with a broken wand and accidentally making himself puke up slugs (man puke just came full circle today). I took lots of pictures, sat on the sills, even stood up on them to get the best shots. It was very sunny for England that day, so I had to change angles (I love lens flares, but not that much). I couldn't walk fully around, as there was an unattended Tesco bag someone had left behind, as I was informed of by the priest. This reminded me of when I had arrived in the UK at passport control and someone had left their bag by a pole instead of carrying it with them through the lineup and the security officer had to keep yelling and nearly had to call for back-up because of it.
At the gift shop they had a giant lego display of someone's recreation of the cathedral. It was brilliant. I was looking for a little ornament (as that was something I was going to get for all my excursions, as then every Christmas I'd get to reminisce about my trip) instead I ended up getting a little version of the cathedral, as it fit with the other little castles I already have.
We then headed to the castle tour, as it was nearly time for our tour. The problem was that the directions I'd been told were confusing and google maps didn't help much. We found it with a couple minutes to spare and waited for it to begin. The tour guide was a student at Durham college, she was dressed in a similar fashion to Hogwarts students and was quite nice.
The castle had originally had a moat (as most did back in the day), but that was gone. Also the original structure was basically gone and was redesigned by Bishop John Cosin (more on this interesting figure later). It had originally been less bodacious, as one would say, and was unsymmetrical before he came along. The people nicknamed the architect, John Wyatt, the destroyer as the cathedral also went through drastic changes from it's original 11th C design.
She spoke a lot about history and how the castle was built etc, but it all went in one ear and out the other. There was this snake eating it's own tail under the archway that she told us about on our way in. I quickly snapped a shot, but I can't recall its significant meaning.
Once inside I took the last photos of the castle I'd be allowed, as it is used as residence for the students at Durham college, so for privacy reasons we were not allowed to. Imagine living in a castle that had originally been built in the 1000s.
The castle had a keep, but it was not built as original keeps were usually built for. Instead it was built solely for the purpose of housing the students. This college was the third college in the UK, after Cambridge and Oxford. For some odd reason they thought a castle would be a splendid location (which I agree). Inside we say some praying types of rooms, with marvellous decor. They had these mercy benches, which were built for people to appear as if they're still standing during service, but allow them to rest their knees.
Then we went to this museum area, where there was a very old chest that had most likely carried some bones in it. there was the mention of whale bones. I wonder if it's the curse of Moby Dick? They also had some plaster art originals that had eventually been copied by others and sold on a mass market. We saw the staircase, the magnificent and spectacular Bishop Cosin had specially designed. They had small steps so that one may glide down the stairs in them, as if flying. To quote the tour guide, "before Beyonce, there was Cosin," as he had his signia/coat of arms thingy placed all over the castle. It ironically looks like a hashtag.
Then, we went to the great hall, where students were having their lunch. It was a bit smaller than Hogwarts, but still pretty magnificent. They apparently have special dinners where the doors are locked and they're served a three course meal, they all wear those black robes, and aren't allowed out until the dinner is over. I imagine many wear depends.
After the tour we went to explore the city again, but there wasn't much to look at, as a lot of the stores were also located in Newcastle. We went to a pub to see if any of the football matches were on, but there was a rugby game on that people were watching.
Most of our tickets said 7:50pm departure, some had off-peak so they could leave whenever, but we really did not have much to do. We decided to risk it and take the train back three hours early. We hopped on and sat in unreserved seats. I nearly had a panic attack as a station attendant like security guy hopped on right after me, but I think he was there just to make sure the boarding process was smooth, as no one checked our tickets.
Only a couple of us went for dinner upon returning. We took the metro up to the city centre, as it was an uphill walk our feet could not handle. As two of us are from North America, we avoided TGIF and other American style places, and ended up going to this place called Giraffe (thinking of you Sophie). It had a mix of food from all over.
I had some spicy rice, and ordered the only beer I've come to enjoy here. The food was very good and had just the right amount of spice. I wasn't sure what it would taste like, as rice is made differently from all over, and this place was advertised as a world-wide restaurant. I then ordered some churros to go, as there was a deal for having two courses. I ate them later and they were not as good as Taco Bell.
After we ate, we had to sort our bills and the guy working asked if I spoke Spanish. Most of the people (well from my last few experiences) seemed to prefer speaking Spanish. Sadly my friend who could speak it wasn't with us, but the lady who did our orders was able to sort things out.
We then went to the bigger Tesco, where I got some more Yogurt, which I found out is a German brand of yogurt.
Back at my flat, it was only 9pm and I was exhausted. My feet were in very bad shape. I have this ginormous blister on the bottom of my heel from wearing my orthotics, because they're made for a 6.5 shoe, but my runners are size 7. I'm also low on clothes right now as I really can't find the laundry room. I've checked a couple of places, but everything is so confusing to me. Also I have to go at non-peak times, otherwise there's a chance there won't be any machines available. It's really expensive too (like 5 pounds a load). It might be cheaper, and better for my clothes if I take them to the laundromat instead, where they have bigger machines that might take better care of my clothes.
I also mistakenly watched the documentary "Abuducted in Plain Sight" and the father in that just completely upped the Fyre festival Evian water guy. Also, really thankful for who my parents are and the lack of naivety in my family.
Here's a short video with all my pictures and some clips from my trip today. I hope you all enjoy. You'll probably need a Youtube account to view the video.
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