This one will have to be in 2 parts

Today I only had to back down the one-way street once, for which I am thankful.

So I guess I left off when we got to Durham. Once we got into the B&B, I of course went for a walk. In this town, that means straight down a steep hill, but you only have to go a couple of hundred feet before you're there. The main part of town is across a bridge, but there's a shopping street right at the bottom of the hill.

I crossed the bridge toward the famous (around here anyway) Durham Cathedral and was immediately hemmed in with a fence. Ahead I could hear some sort of commotion and people were running this way and that. When I got to the middle of town, I realized that there was a large run about to start. There were easily a couple of thousand people in a very compact town square. It was hard to move around, but I made my way up to the cathedral, which is impressive from the outside. I'd have to wait until the morning to go in.

I went up and down the streets in the town. It's actually a small city with about 50,000 residents. All mobbed with runners and with the narrow sidewalks fenced. Again, I guessed I would have to wait until tomorrow to really have a look around.

So I checked out all the coffee shops to see which ones would meet my morning requirements, that being (1) be open, (2) have decent coffee, and (3) have a bathroom, or toilet I suppose here. It is more literal than bathroom. The Pret a Manger was open earliest, so that would be my choice.

We had dinner at a mediocre French café by the river and then went back to the room and videochatted with one of the daughters. It was finally starting to cool off by the time I went to bed. I had time to check on some of the craziness happening at the Republican convention, which honestly I would have been best off ignoring.

I had to set an alarm for the morning to make sure I had time for a walk, because we needed to leave early for the day's activities, plus the B&B's &B was only from 8-9. But that was okay. The air was fresh and cool and it was neither deserted nor busy. I walked up and down a few streets, used the Pret for my intended purposes, and then walked some more. I don't have a complete handle on the geography yet- I need to look at a map and compare it to what I've seen. Saw some pretty places and some less pretty ones.

The cathedral is very beautiful on the inside. It has a lovely rose window over the alter and I think it had naves and transepts and all all those cathedral things. There was an organ playing, but otherwise it was very peaceful- only a couple of other people in there, lighting a candle, plus two women cleaning the window. It had the hushed feeling you want in a place of worship, versus the madness at a place like St. Paul's or the Sistine Chapel.

Tried a few more streets until I passed the bus station, and that seemed to be enough. Time for a day of ancient stuff!