the easy durham day.

the durham cathedral.

after a crazy, crazy week with early mornings and long train rides we were all very excited to keep the day simple and spend it around town. the only real plan for the day was to meet katie and the girls for nails at 230p in the square then on to dinner the rehearsal dinner with the whole group. so that meant sleeping in a little bit then going for a run around the town.

i ran wednesday morning just around the college and the river, but we had walked around for a few days so i figured i could venture out a bit. it was a crisp morning and i had a plan after looking at the map, but that went ayre quickly when i took a wrong turn. i found a new town map and thought i figured my way around but got distracted by a trail and then got totally turned around! luckily there was a bunch of people setting up an event nearby and i was able to ask for directions. turns out i wasn't really that far off, just didn't go down far enough to hit the right streets.
                                                  
unfortunately with a few wrong turns meant i was too late getting back for breakfast so i went back to my room and got to spend some time talking to richard before he went to sleep:) afterward i went to meet up with andrea and amanda so we could spend sometime shopping before getting our nails done. turned out andrea wanted to sleep and read so amanda and i ventured out for coffee and to explore the city. she had been there before to visit nate meaning she knew her way around a little bit. we stopped to have a scone and a hot chocolate snack at a tea house that was so so good.

fresh cream :)

soon enough it was time to meet the group and lunch, i was starving! we went to this super quaint cafe and i even branched out to have the corned beef and potato pie. whoa, i know. i imagined it would be a little bit like a pot pie or at least have some sauce in it, not so much. it was very good and an excellent side of cole slaw (which by the way was super different at every place we went to!) with it. after everyone was finished eating we headed to a nail bar, which was exactly that. i had planned to actually have a pedicure only and not do my nails. turns out all they did were nails and it was only to paint! that means wayyyy cheaper, it was only 5 pounds, hell yes! they did an airbrush french thing, it was so easy and fast.

alyse, her mom, and i headed out to accesorize to buy alyse a super cute passport holder amanda and i had picked up there, but never quite made it. we walked through a very small mall and were stopped dead in our tracks by fish. yes fish. as in a fish pedicure! i had never seen anything like it but alyse was wild over it. she had seen it on tv and always wanted to try it. i have very ticklish feet and wasnt so keen on sticking my feet in a bowl with a bunch of fish. but when the guy told us we could have wine while we did it and it was only 10 pounds i decided just to do it.

seriously the coolest thing i have ever done!! you have to sign a waiver about not having open wounds/sores on your feet or major surgery in the last year then spray your feet down with something, and let him check them out just in case. then they literally go in the bowl and the fish swim right toward them! it felt super weird at first and i freaked a little, but wow it felt amazing. they eat all the dead skin off your feet and swim around in the bin. it was some of the best 15 minutes ever! it also gave alyse and i so much time to chat and really get to know each other. we had heard so much about the other from nate over the years but i dont think we ever even met. for seriously 2 days my feet were the smoothest/best feeling they have ever been in my whole life!!

ahhh!

we headed back to st johns to change and head to the rehersal dinner. as soon as we sat down i started to feel in a fog. dinner was good, we got to meet some people from katies side and others in the wedding. the lemon cake with the cream sauce we had for dessert was fantastic! the kids were heading down to the pub once we were all finished and i decided to make a better choice and just go back to my room and sleep. over half our group had various forms of sickness all week and i was determined not to catch it! plus we had the wedding the next day, i could not be sick for that.

they give great speeches :)

it was sooo cool to finally see where nate had been all the years and where he met katie. plus i got to bond with alyse and we have a great story to tell others! i fell asleep pretty early that night very happy :)