Biking, part two

We biked a 45 kilometer loop out to the beach for our second bicycle outing. It rained twice, and we found shelter both times. In Belgium, bike itineraries are indicated by a list of numbered intersections rather than paths. There's a nice little video here showing how it works.

Simon Stevin Square

Walking home from dinner one night, I noticed a photographer setting up his tripod in the Simon Stevin Square. 

The church in the background is the Church of Our Lady.

Almshouses

The triangular courtyard of a set of almshouses.

Turnips

We passed a farmer pulling turnips by hand on our first outing.

Belgium week - biking the canals

From Cambridge we traveled to Bruges by train, taking the Eurostar from London through the Chunnel to Brussels, 

where we switched to a local train. Two of the days we were in Belgium, we rented bicycles and headed

 into the countryside on bike paths that occasionally follow the canals.

The River Cam

Near the end of our tour, we heard tales of student pranks involving the bridges over the River Cam. 

Clare College stands in the background.

Pembroke College, Cambridge

On Sunday, we had rain during our walking tour of the town and colleges. The streets and sidewalks 

of Cambridge were narrow and full of people, but inside the colleges was tranquil.

Samson Slaying the Philistine

Unusual choice for garden art, I thought.

WWII day

The estate was hosting a WWII day with men in uniform and civilians dressed in a wide range of attire
 from fox stoles to coveralls.

Cambridge week

Leaving London, we headed up to Cambridge to visit American friends who live there.
On Saturday, we took a long bike ride out to the Wimpole Estate on another beautiful day.

Albert Memorial

Commissioned by Queen Victoria after the death of her husband.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Zak consulting our map under Thomas Heatherwick's traffic cone canopy at the V&A.

Tate Modern

There were large groups of students in every museum we visited.

Southbank Airstream

An Airstream in London. Of course I had to photograph it.

Changing of the guard

Our bike tour arrived at Buckingham Palace just as the guard were marching by.

Savile Row

We walked up and down Savile Row, enjoying the window displays of bespoke menswear.

London bike tour

A stop on our Fat Tire bike tour at the Horse Guards Parade. 

The beach volleyball competition of the Olympics was held here.

London week

The lovely floral display at The Hereford Arms, a short walk from our lodgings in South Kensington.

Summer 2012

This summer, we ate lots of salads and pies. I did a lot of genealogical research, and a few sewing projects.
And we stayed close to home.

May 2012

In May, we went for a hike near Solothurn with friends from Minnesota who are now working at Cambridge University, but were in Switzerland doing research that week. Zak ran four of the six Tour de Canton races, and I nearly photographed him once. We celebrated our second wedding anniversary. And we took a long weekend trip up to southern Germany to visit a friend from our Portland days. Paul took us punting on the Neckar River in Tübingen, to Bebenhausen Abbey, and to Hohenzollern Castle, and shared his encyclopedic knowledge of European church history with us.

April 2012

In April, we visited the UK for the first time. We stayed in Selside, a miniscule village in the Yorkshire Dales National Park; went for a hike halfway up Ingleborough mountain, turning back after the third hail shower; visited the Brontë Parsonage in Haworth; took a long walk around Bolton Abbey; and danced at Scandimoot's two evening dances. [I've updated the map page with pins marking these places.] For Downton Abbey fans, Selside is due west of Ripon, where the show is fictionally set.

February & March 2012

February: Valentine's day, the Prix de Lausanne ballet competition, more Ramseyer art, and the Lion of Lucerne.

March: We traveled to the US. I took lots of photos with my mind's eye, but none with a camera. 

Some of our adventures in West Virginia can be seen here and here.