Durham

Ha, Durham... This is surely one of the most beautiful town I've visited in my life. The cathedral, the castle, the walk along the river...

The first time I went to Durham was thanks to Emma, the daughter of my landlords. She offered me to go shopping on a sunny day. She drove to the town. I remember how glad she was that she could borrow her mother's car, because she had just passed her driving licence. During the journey, she told me a lot about it: that she was in school there, the library was great, she was at a ceremony in the cathedral in which some scenes from Harry Potter have been filmed... WHAT??? Can you repeat the last bit please?!? "yeah, you didn't know? Well, I'll show you the cathedral and Missus McGonagall's classroom!"
HHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
*calm down Julie calm down*
So, Emma parked the car next to the roaming club, and we walk along the river to reach the town centre.

It was a wonderful day, really. A man was mowing the grass and it smelled very good. I may not remember all the things that happened to me during this year abroad, but I remember the props which made the magic worked. When we finally reached the town centre, we had a sandwich at Esquire Coffee, outside, with a view on the bridge and the river. The only thing which bothered us were the seagulls upon our head. They were so numerous! At first, Emma offered to go shopping, and so we did, a little. But I must admit, I was rather excited at the idea of visiting the cathedral!

And there we were! Oh My God! What a beauty she is... I had tears in my eyes, I was mesmerized.
The cathedral is incredibly huge. We visited it. The man explained us a lot of things that I didn't not really understand (shame on me, I know... but I had only been there for two weeks!) about the architecture, the History of St Cuthbert, the stained glass windows (which are amazing by the way). But what I really wanted to see was the place where Harry Potter was filmed!

And... Here I was! In the corridors! Remember when Harry and Ron run in this corridor in The Philosopher Stone because they are late?            







                   And they were late for... Missus McGonagall's lesson! Here, there is her classroom!

 

This first visit of Durham with Emma was great, but has not been the only one. Indeed, I go to Durham as often as I can - to shop, to meet someone, to wander in the streets I love so much, whatever the weather is. And every time, I take the same picture of the town, from the bridge, with a view on the river, the cathedral and the castle on the left.

       

                                                    

I also went to Durham for the Lumières Festival on the 19th of November 2011. I was with Anna, her husband, the Spanish assistant who works at King James, Raul, and his girlfriend, Daniella. The town was absolutely wonderful. There were, as the name of the festival indicates, lights everywhere. Light was projected on the cathedral, illuminating the old stones with coloured shapes, the stained glass windows and the story of Saint Cuthbert. Though we were really cold and wet, the place was crowded and we were delighted. When the show on the cathedral was over, we struggled our way to the market place. In the streets - well, rather in the sky- were golden human shapes, which stood for angels. It was, as the whole place was, magical. Down to the river bank, we discovered that a waterfall has been built for the occasion, with lights making a rainbow in it. Wonderful. Then, we arrived on the market place. To our great surprise, one of the statue was trapped in a kind of snowglobe, indicating "I love Durham" with a blue neon.

     

Seasons past and change the time, when I grew up... I still loved Durham! Christmas market, Christmas shopping, sales (yes, I'm a girl), new books for the new semester, a nice afternoon before the Easter break... I even went to the mass once, just to see how it was in England, especially in this cathedral. I was surprised that we were not numerous at all, maybe twenty persons... Well, it was in December, and I understand that on Sunday morning, when it's cold and wet, people would rather stay at home with a cup of tea! It was nice, though.

I'm talking (writing) about Durham at the past tense, but my "British experience" here is not over-not yet. I still have a whole month to enjoy walking in the streets, to discover a new place I have never seen before, to have fun there with the people I met in England and that I will never forget :)