Easter Weekend

Hadrian's Wall

The cottage in Elsdon

Durham Cathedral
Hello all! Sorry I've been delinquent in my blogging recently! Shane has been working like crazy so we haven't had anything too exciting to report. However, Good Friday and Easter Monday are bank holidays here so we were able to escape London for a long weekend and head to the North East England cities of Durham and Newcastle.

We decided to take this trip because we were interested in seeing Hadrian's wall - one of the best remaining Roman walls in all of Europe - near Newcastle and seeing the Durham Cathedral where N.T. Wright is bishop and was preaching on Easter Sunday. So, we hopped in the car Friday morning and headed north.

Our first stop was Hadrian's wall. It was built by Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD. He had decided that Rome was big enough and made plans to protect it, thus building an enormous wall around most of the outermost territories. We visited Vindolanda, an ancient Roman fort and part of Hadrian's wall. It is still an active dig and had a great outdoor museum showing what life would have been like for Roman settlers, as well as later British settlers. Next was the Housteads Roman fort which contains the best-preserved segments of Hadrian's wall.

After a few hours touring the wall we headed to Elsdon, a tiny town in Northumberland where a friend from London has a cabin that her family offered us for the evening. It was adorable, surrounded by beautiful countryside and horse farms. We felt very British :o)

The following day we decided to tour the area. First, we drove 15 minutes north to the border of Scotland and England. It was snowing in Scotland but we bundled up for some pictures and then headed back south. The town of Elsdon is tiny and didn't even have a stop light but it did have a beautiful cathedral and an excellent tea shop where we ate the best scone either of us has ever had! We drove into Newcastle but it is mainly a college town and we couldn't find many tourist attractions (the Newcastle brewery moved a few years back, much to Shane's dismay!). So, we stopped quickly at the Angel of the North - huge steel sculpture that is the pride and joy of Newcastle and the largest standing angel sculpture in the world - and then headed to Durham.

Durham is an adorable little town with a castle and cathedral in the town center, reminiscent of the middle ages. The castle is now part of the university and houses students, as well as the Bishop of Durham. There were weddings going on all weekend so we never made it all the way into the castle but did spend a fair amount of time outside of it and wandering through town. The cathedral (and the castle) is approximately 1000 years old, built over a period of years in the early 1100's AD. It is massive and has been well maintained. It is still a very active church and mass (first Catholic and now Anglican) has been said daily in the nave for 900 years. Easter service was excellent and NT Wright proved to be as good of a preacher as he is a writer.

After spending 2 lazy days in Durham we headed back to London. It was a very relaxing vacation in a beautiful part of England. We are hoping to do one more trip to part of South East England before T3 arrives so look for another blog in a few weeks! Also, more pictures are posted on Facebook.

Love to you all!
Sarah and Shane

Stefi in England

Hello again! The day after I arrived back in London my sister came over for her spring break. The first thing she did was surprise me by bringing me to Brown's hotel for tea (best tea in London!) and having 3 of my friends there for a surprise baby shower. I was completely shocked and it was very fun :o)

We also hit up the British trains one day for a day trip to Rye, England. This little town used to be an important costal town in the 16th-17th century but the water has since receeded several miles so that the coast is actually to far away to even see now! There is a small canal that still runs through the city and connects to the ocean. You can see cannons that now face the canal which were originally intended to protect the city and the country against foreign invaders. It is a very cute little town and we managed to have tea and scones at the oldest tea shop in Rye, as well as lunch at the oldest restuarant/hotel in Rye. The town definitely thrives on tourism now and there isn't much of that in early March so unfortunately a lot of things were closed (including the castle and Henry James's home!) but we made do by eating more and exploring the church :o)

Other than our exciting day trip we mostly hung out in London, seeing some of the sights that we hadn't been to in years including the British museum and the British library (where the Magna carta is kept). We also bought cheap seat tickets to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with James Earl Jones playing the role of the father. It is a sad play but was very good.

Unfortunately she had to leave last Friday (something about making it back for the SEC tournament!) so I am back to days on my own.
Hope you enjoy the pictures - there are more on facebook.

Love, Sarah and Shane

Michigan and baby shower

Hello everyone! To those of you who have been requesting belly pictures I will try and incorporate some here.

Two weeks ago I flew to Michigan to see my family and to buy some baby clothes. Turned out my mom's friends threw me an amazing shower (2 actually!) and I now have too much stuff to fit into my very small place here! It was great to go home and get to see friends and family. We miss you all in America and hope you can come visit soon.

Love, Sarah and Shane
PS: Go Duke and Vandy!!

Babymoon

So, I'm not sure that is really a word but I've been told that sometimes people take a big, fun trip just before having a baby as a farewell to the DINK life and transitioning into parenthood. That is what we did :o) Plus, we have wanted to go to Istanbul and Athens since we moved to Europe and now seemed like the perfect time.

So, we headed out last Saturday for Istanbul. What an amazing city! The history there is overwhelming. It was basically part of Greece since ancient times and had known civilization even prior to that. The ancient city of Troy (think Trojan horse) was in Turkey and the Bosphorous strait acted as the main port between the East and West long before Jesus was born. In the 4th century, Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Istanbul and named it Constantinople. It was the capital of Rome (and therefore most of the known world), the heart of the Christian church and then of the Eastern Orthodox church until 1453 AD when it was overtaken by the Ottomans. They ruled until around WWI when a secular government took over and is still in power today.

All that history led for some amazing site seeing. First there was the Hagia Sophia - built by Emperor Justinian in the 8th century AD it was the largest cathedral in the world until the Duomo in Florence in the 1500's. The name means Divine Wisdom. It was built by 2 geometicians who created an enormous dome that rests on several other domes with all of the support structures being hidden in the walls. The result, when you step inside, is an enormous interior that looks like it is floating. This church was the patriarchal church of the Eastern Orthodox church until 1453 AD. After the Ottomans took over it was converted into a mosque. It is now a museum and contains both Christian and Muslim artifacts.

Other great sites in Istanbul included the Blue Mosque - built by the Ottomans it is the largest mosque in the world and is known for it's intricate blue tilework done on the inside of the mosque as well as the blue hue seen from the outside; Grand Bazaar - world's first shopping mall and now a huge bazaar filled with anything you could imagine, Spice market - smaller than the Grand Bazaar but great place for all kinds of typical and exotic spices, as well as Turkish delight!; Topkapi Palace - built for the Sultans of the Ottoman empire it is called "Versailles of the East" and the Chora Church - built in 1100 AD and decorated with amazing mosaics in the 14th century that survived after being plastered over by the Ottomans. Other than these "showstopper" sites, there are tons of quaint Eastern orthodox churches, small shops, ancient obelisks and pillars and fresh squeezed orange and pomegranate juice on every corner! Shane and I faithfully did all of the recommended Rick Steve's "walks" and managed to buy a patchwork kilim rug for T3's nursery.

After 3 days in Istanbul (where it was, sadly, quite cold still), we boarded a plane and headed for sunny Athens. We actually left a day earlier for Athens since we found out that the day our flight was supposed to take off, the Athenian air traffic controllers were on strike. The following day the taxi drivers were on strike so we were glad we landed when we did!

Other than rain the first day it was 60 degrees and sunny in Athens! And the historical sites completely lived up to their fame. We visited the New Acropolis museum which houses pieces that were discovered on the acropolis as long ago as the 13th century BC! It also has several originals and replicas from the Parthenon and gives a good history before heading up to see it. After the museum we headed for the site only to discover it was closed - for a strike! But, the day was not wasted: we were able to climb up on Mars Hill, the spot where Paul delivered his famous sermon to the Athenians (a copy of it is on a plaque on the side of the hill) and get an amazing view of the city. We then headed for the Agora, main area of commerce during ancient times, and saw the Church of the Holy Apostles (built in 1000 AD to commemorate Paul's preaching on Mars Hill), the Stoa (main area of commerce in the Agora), the Temple of Hephaistos (main pagan temple in the Agora) and many other ancient ruins that have been very well preserved. That afternoon we saw Cathedral square where the primary Cathedral of the Greek Orthodox church stands (unfortunately under scaffolding), Hadrian's arch (built 132 AD) and the old Roman Forum from when Rome conquered Greece.

The following day the acropolis was open for business and we headed up the hill to see the Odeon of Herodes (ancient theatre that is still used for shows today), Temple of Dionysis, propylea (entrance gate to the Parthenon)and the Parthenon itself. The Parthenon is truly amazing - built almost 2500 years ago (432 BC), it stood nearly still complete until the mid 1600's when the Venetian army bombed it during a war with Athens, taking out part of the middle section.

Other fun sites in Athens included the Parliament building and the square around it - full of shops and eateries it is a great place to see the newer side of Athens; Lykavittos Hill - where Greeks believe honey was discovered (I was too tired from the Acropolis to make it up this hill so Shane faithfully hiked it for us both and took pictures while I "sunned" on a park bench!); and the Temple of Zeus - HUGE and took centuries to build, was finally completed by Hadrian (Roman Emperor and total Greekophile) in 134 AD.

Since we had an extra day (thanks to the strikes) we rented a car (they gave us the world's smallest Chevy!) and drove to Delphi to see the ancient oracle. It was amazing! Built into a hill that overlooks the Gulf of Corinth there is a long, winding path that leads you past the Treasury of the Athenians, by the Rock of Sibyl (predecessor to the oracle), by the omphalos (Greek for naval - was once considered the center of the world) to the Temple of Apollo. The theatre above the temple is one of the best preserved in the world and dates to the 4th century BC.

The next day we said goodbye to the sun and vacation and headed back to London (where we were met by rain and cold, of course). It was a great trip and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to take it. Please check out our pictures on facebook!!

Love to you all,
Sarah and Shane

It's a....

Boy! Shane and I are pleased to announce that sometime around June 3 we will be having a boy. We are very excited (shane is ecstatic) and wanted to share the news. Also, at the ultrasound we found that the baby is very healthy and everything is going along beautifully - which is the biggest blessing.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!

love, Sarah and Shane

Florence! Italy ctd

So, after Rome we headed up to Florence with Andrea as our driver once again. He took first to Siena where we were able to see the beautiful Duomo (cathedrale di Santa maria) and the Palio (where the famous horse race is each year). We stopped for an excellent lunch in a small town between Siena and Florence that is surrounded by a walled fortress. The town couldn't have more than 25 visitors a day but managed to have 4 restaurants, one with a Michelin rating! After lunch we headed to San Gimignano where we visited the cathedral, briefly, since it was closing, and saw some of the towers that are still standing from the middle ages. The towns of Italy used to have hundreds of these towers since each town was constantly at war with the neighboring town (Siena and Florence apparently hated each other for most of known history) and the nobility needed a walled fortress to go to in case of attack. It is amazing, seeing the flimsy homes we build in 3 months these days, to imagine building your house with the knowledge that you would likely need it for protection against an incoming army! We arrived late in Florence, grabbed an amazing dinner (food in Florence is incredible!) and headed to bed.
The next day we began exploring Florence. We took a walking tour of the city that included the Duomo (large cathedral in the middle of florence), several small piazza's and the uffizi museum. The Uffizi is another amazing museum that is full of Renaissance artwork and sculpture and well as some ancient work and a few pieces from shortly after the Renaissance. Our guide also taught art history so her tour was excellent. We walked across the Pont Vecchio and saw the jewelry shops. We also went under the bridge to where the jewelry is actually being made and were able to buy a few pieces (Shane got cuff links with Roman coins) from the jeweler himself. Lastly we went to Santa Croce which is a beautiful Renaissance church that houses the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, a memorial to Dante and several others! It was quite impressive.
The next day was New Year's eve. We headed out in the morning to Simon Taddei's shop. He and his family have been making leather products by hand for 3 generations. His grandfather worked for Ferragamo and learned the trade from him and then proceeded to open his own shop. He showed us around and then we perused his beautiful pieces. Next we headed to the duomo museum which holds all the sculpture and art that used to be in the baptistery, including the original doors done by Ghiberti. We interspersed our days with stops for espresso, gelato and huge lunches :o) That evening we had a fancy dinner at our hotel and welcomed in the New Year in style.
On New Year's day, most of Florence was closed so we wandered around the city and checked out the outside of several beautiful buildings :o) We did hike up to San Miniato to hear the monks chanting above the city. The views from the top of the hill where the monastery is located are beautiful. The following day the city was open again and we were able to climb the dome of the duomo - you are about 5 feet from the frescoes painted on the ceiling, it is quite amazing! We also toured the Ferragamo leather museum (no purchases there - sadly!). After a delicious lunch we headed over to the Brancacci Chapel that houses beautiful frescos from the early renassiance. We then headed quickly to another church where Michelangelo used to sneak in, with permission from the monks, to do his dissections. As a thank you, he gave them a cross sculpted from wood - his only known piece in wood.
And that about covers our trip. It was a great 10 days full of amazing food and wonderful sights. After the trip my sister headed back to Atlanta, Shane went back to work and my parents came to London where we were able to spend one more week on vacation visiting the sights of London and relaxing.
Hope you are all doing well! We miss you all!
love, Sarah and Shane

Rome for Christmas!

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! Shane and I were lucky enough to continue or European tour with my family in Italy. We spent a week and a half beginning in Rome, spending a day at the Amalfi coast, and visiting Siena and San Gimignano before ending up in Florence. It was rainy but warmer than London so we were perfectly content.
We started off in Rome at the Vatican where we had tickets to hear Christmas Eve midnight mass (done at 10pm this year) by the Pope. We waited in line for 4 hours, even after having tickets, just to get inside! We passed the time chatting with other people in line from all over the world and together trying to stop the Italians who constantly tried to cut in front of us :o) Once in St Peter's we had great seats, next to the aisle, so we had full view of the Pope as he entered. Unfortunately we also had full view of the woman 3 rows behind us who attacked him. It was a tense few minutes but thankfully the Pope was fine and continued with the mass.
The following day was Christmas so we slept in and then headed out to explore Rome. We wandered down near the river and saw the bridge where the original Romans landed and founded the city. We also toured the old Jewish district and one of the smaller neighborhoods across the river. That night we had a fabulous dinner at our hotel and all went to bed completely stuffed!
Then our touring really began; we got up early on the 26th to meet a guide who took us to the Colosseum, the Roman forum and through St Peter's cathedral. The history in Rome is amazing, especially with a guide who can point out all the small things that are easy to miss. Plus, Shane had re-read his Roman history textbook (yes, it is scary) prior to the trip so he was forever wandering off to some obscure rock, reading it to us and then grilling the guide on what it meant in relation to whatever we were seeing. All of our guides kept looking at Shane and saying, "wow, no one has ever asked me that before!"
After seeing most of ancient Rome we headed for the Galleria Borghese. This is an old home, now converted into a museum, with an incredible collection of ancient Greek, Roman and other masterpieces. The home had been owned by a Cardinal who had used his power, inappropriately, to acquire a vast fortune of artwork. It does make for a very nice museum now though!
The following day we headed for the Almalfi coast, with Andrea (my parent's friend and former tour guide) as our driver. On the way we stopped at the Via Appia, the first Roman road, and walked down a small length of it. It is amazing that a road built 2000 years ago still exists! The Almalfi coast is absolutely beautiful. We ate lunch at this incredible seafood restaurant that was perched out over the ocean so it seemed like you were surrounded by water. We also stopped in a small town called Rudolfo where we visited an old castle, a local church and bought some beautiful pottery. We stopped in Naples on the way back where Andrea swore to us we would have the best cup of espresso in our lives (it was quite good!) and then had pizza just outside of Naples that was absolutely wonderful. The day was excellent save the fact that Shane was rather violently car sick and managed to purge after eating at least once a day for the next 3 days - opps.
The 28th was our last day in Rome. In the morning we saw the Pantheon, St Peter-in-chains cathedral and the Ara Pacis, a memorial built by Augustus (1st Roman Emperor) to himself to tell his people about the peace he had brought to Rome (he was an expert in propaganda!). In the afternoon we visited the Vatican museum, which you could easily spend 3 days in, and the sistine chapel. Then Shane, Stefi and I were able to do the scavi tour which is a tour of the excavations that have taken place under St Peters. It was amazing. In the middle of WWII, when Italy was aligned with Germany, some construction workers were digging around St Peter and found that there was more there than dirt. The Pope OK'd for 4 experts to come in and excavate but they had to do it at night, in secret, and anything found was to be kept strictly confidential. This was to prevent Hitler or Mussolini from learning of any new treasures in Vatican city. So for the next 4 years these 4 archaeologists dug out an entire necropolis (city of the dead) that was found to have been built around the 1st or 2nd century AD. There was also a marking, very small and obscure but definite, that showed this is where the apostle Peter had been buried. Apparently, prior to the building of St Peter's this area had been a large field and burial ground both for wealthy pagans and the impoverished (and often Christian) Romans. In the 4th century AD when Constantine made Rome a Christian nation he had all of the roofs of the necropolis crushed and filled in with dirt and he placed a small alter over the tomb of Peter. Fearing grave robbers, Peter's bones were moved inside of the wall with only a small inscription stating their location. Centuries later after Rome had moved to Constantinople, Christians found this alter and built another, small church on top of it. As the catholic church grew in power the 1st St Peter's was built on this spot and finally, in the 15th century the former church was torn down and St Peter's, as we see it today was built. The incredible thing is that if you drop a coin from the top of the dome it would land on the apostle Peter's bones. It was a fascinating tour.
And thus ended our Rome adventure. The next day we headed out for Florence, which I will write about in the next post! So read on!
Love, Sarah and Shane