family & friends tour

We returned from a trip to Europe late last week - we spent 17 days with friends and family and ended with a few days of couple time in Amsterdam.

Here's how it went- in a nutshell again - since I have so long neglected my blog posting...LOL-

Next month I reach the anniversary of beginning the blog EIGHT years ago and now over 150,000 views I think I am going to check out taking the winter off... we will see how it goes....

meanwhile back to Europe- our first stop on the whirlwind tour was in the north of England where our cousin Iddo is now living in Durham.... we had a lovely dinner at the new home he shares with partner Nicola as well as some nice touring in Durham.  Then we met daughter Angela in York and were later joined there by Iddo and Nicola.  Then we trained to London and had a couple of meals with Angela and Lee (newlyweds and newly settled into their new home in London's Stoke Newington neighborhood) We also met up with dear friend Iryna (from Ukraine - who was in England for a visit with her daughter and grandchildren- now THREE of them since we met more than ten years ago)

Then we headed on to the north of Denmark to Jutland where our dear friend Aase hosted us for several days of celebrating the 40 year friendship she and Phil have had! (She was the sole witness to our wedding ceremony in Aalborg in June 2001)

After that we went to Amsterdam for a few days and some fab meals before coming home to our busy fall schedules!

so here are some photos - Durham-

then on to York- Viking town and home to the Minster-

then on to London and tea at the Savoy with Angela and the British Museum with Iryna

then on to Denmark and time with Aase!

and finally off to Amsterdam-

then the next meal LOL-

 

and then to finish this off - back to the first dinner in Europe (our first night during transiting through Amsterdam on the way to Newcastle...

and now we are back and mostly caught up with our own time zone- so back to everyday life as we know it.... I have about six weeks until I head south and Phil has a few more... the pages flip by on the calendar like some 1940s vintage movie... and we look forward to the graphic of the plane heading off to somewhere exotic for the next trip.  OK maybe not SOOOO exotic but we are meeting Angela and Lee in the spring in Rome... so lots of things to see and do and in between, many cultural things and social engagements etc... so stay tuned - even if I do take time off later- I will complete my eight years before I take a leave.....