A Welcome Return
We're back in Scotland, land of the heelin coos! Woo-hoo!!! Here's how we got here...
We had one week aboard the Queen Mary 2 boat from NYC to Southampton. It was better than expected. We attended some cool lectures, ate a bit too much food (but not as much as last time), and met some really cool people. We shared our dinner table with two other couples. The English couple were lovely, and the American couple included one of the lecturers on the boat. We had to miss three of the dinners because we didn't have formal enough clothing, but we really enjoyed the three dinners we did get to attend. During the three formal nights, we roughed it in the buffet upstairs. The Queen Elizabeth 2 boat was making the same journey as us simultaneously (the last transatlantic sailing for the QE2), and they made a huge deal of it on our boat.
Then it was time to set foot on British soil once again. We got out at Southampton and were amazed at all the sunshine! Once all the shops opened, we ran a few errands, grabbed some very tasty cheese and onion pasties, and then got a bus to Cambridge. We spent the night there with Lib, James, Scoobs, Demetri, and the wee sheepie. It was about time we got to see their lovely new house!
In the morning, we got more buses to Manchester, where we made our way to Mary's house. We hung out for a while until Iff's mum showed up. She didn't know we were there, so it was a big surprise for her. We had a lovely dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant, and then it was time for Shelagh, Iff, and me to head to Garstang. We got to Garstang late and crept into Iff's grandmother's house. We spent the night there but unfortunately didn't manage to see Nanny (aka Iff's grandma). We were happy to spend a few minutes with Iff's cousin Damian while we were there, though. We hope to get back down to Garstang soon for a proper visit.
We left Garstang at 6:30am the next morning for Scotland. Except for a brief pit stop, we got to Aberdeen in a oner in very good time and found Dave waiting at the gate to greet us. It's been so lovely to be back in the Noden household. Plus in honour of Shelagh's birthday, both Lib and Mary came up for the weekend. Nick and Tom, Iff's brothers, were doing a 10km run in London on her birthday, but we at least got to see Tom before he caught his flight down there. Discounting the annoying cold I've had and unfortunately passed on to some of the Nodens, it's been a fabulous time for all up in Aberdeen.
Chris's parents were amazingly helpful to us while we've been travelling. We've already been through all the mail they received for us during our two years away (a lot of mail!) and been to Edinburgh and back to fetch all of our stuff out of storage. Now it's time to find employment and a rental flat in Aberdeen. Fingers crossed!
No matter, it's great to be back. And it's snowing in Aberdeen! I've heard of a white Christmas; we might wind up with a white Halloween this year...
We had one week aboard the Queen Mary 2 boat from NYC to Southampton. It was better than expected. We attended some cool lectures, ate a bit too much food (but not as much as last time), and met some really cool people. We shared our dinner table with two other couples. The English couple were lovely, and the American couple included one of the lecturers on the boat. We had to miss three of the dinners because we didn't have formal enough clothing, but we really enjoyed the three dinners we did get to attend. During the three formal nights, we roughed it in the buffet upstairs. The Queen Elizabeth 2 boat was making the same journey as us simultaneously (the last transatlantic sailing for the QE2), and they made a huge deal of it on our boat.
Then it was time to set foot on British soil once again. We got out at Southampton and were amazed at all the sunshine! Once all the shops opened, we ran a few errands, grabbed some very tasty cheese and onion pasties, and then got a bus to Cambridge. We spent the night there with Lib, James, Scoobs, Demetri, and the wee sheepie. It was about time we got to see their lovely new house!
In the morning, we got more buses to Manchester, where we made our way to Mary's house. We hung out for a while until Iff's mum showed up. She didn't know we were there, so it was a big surprise for her. We had a lovely dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant, and then it was time for Shelagh, Iff, and me to head to Garstang. We got to Garstang late and crept into Iff's grandmother's house. We spent the night there but unfortunately didn't manage to see Nanny (aka Iff's grandma). We were happy to spend a few minutes with Iff's cousin Damian while we were there, though. We hope to get back down to Garstang soon for a proper visit.
We left Garstang at 6:30am the next morning for Scotland. Except for a brief pit stop, we got to Aberdeen in a oner in very good time and found Dave waiting at the gate to greet us. It's been so lovely to be back in the Noden household. Plus in honour of Shelagh's birthday, both Lib and Mary came up for the weekend. Nick and Tom, Iff's brothers, were doing a 10km run in London on her birthday, but we at least got to see Tom before he caught his flight down there. Discounting the annoying cold I've had and unfortunately passed on to some of the Nodens, it's been a fabulous time for all up in Aberdeen.
Chris's parents were amazingly helpful to us while we've been travelling. We've already been through all the mail they received for us during our two years away (a lot of mail!) and been to Edinburgh and back to fetch all of our stuff out of storage. Now it's time to find employment and a rental flat in Aberdeen. Fingers crossed!
No matter, it's great to be back. And it's snowing in Aberdeen! I've heard of a white Christmas; we might wind up with a white Halloween this year...
posted by Trace at
10:33 am
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