Be It Ever So Humble …

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.  It is good to be home after some time traveling about.

It has been a long time since I checked in with you all–my apologies.  However, we have been quite busy.  I have been working hard finishing off as much as I could before the end of our second term, which was a couple weeks ago; 27th March.  Now we are on three weeks break before the third term begins.  In some ways I really didn’t want a break because it seems like there is a lot to do at school, but I am also glad for the break because it is the last one that I will get before the end.  People on the normal courses at West Dean end in mid-July for the summer; Master’s students continue through summer without a break after the third term.  I am hoping that I will be organized enough to be able to take some small breaks in the summer anyway so that we can do some short visiting trips–we’ll see.

So since this recent term ended we have been to Vienna to see my brother Norman and his family, we have also just returned from parts in the southwest of England: Winchester, Bath, Wells, and Stourhead, plus some more.  After all the travels–and they were very nice–it is still really good to get back home.  Yes, I did say home–we have been here long enough now so that Chichester does feel like home and be it ever so humble, we do feel comfortable, relaxed and are enjoying our little flat here and our little town (though they call it a city).

In addition to visiting and sightseeing, this time off has been full other things too.  I completed our income taxes (thank goodness for internet filing), and I also have a 2000 word paper to write in the next couple days–and, believe it or not, we actually made flight reservations to return to the US, first of October.  To finish off this three week break, we are taking a trip to Malaga, Spain, to see my nephew and his family and to spend a few days reminding ourselves of what it was like to be by the Mediterranean.  Debbie and I spent two years on the island of Crete many years ago–but that is definitely another story.

To finish off this blog, I am going to leave you with some of the highlights of our trip to Vienna.  Following soon, I will share some photos of our visits in southwestern England.

cheers,

We walked up to the hill behind Schonbrunn Palace for some nice views. Do we look cold? Despite the cool weather, we did get some lovely sunshine.

Lots of horses and carriages around. They sound nice clomping in the street. This is taken inside a courtyard next to the Imperial Palace. Notice the Sundial right below the clock–guess they didn’t trust the clock!

A street scene across from the Naschmarkt. The architecture all around the city is amazing!  (Hey, they drive on the right side of the road here.)

Inside the Naschmarkt–a fun place with all sorts of goodies–foodies would never be able to leave!

We took plenty time to sample the local cuisine.