The Four Seasons

We arrived in England last summer. However, I didn't notice this tree until autumn, when its colours were just spectacular. (To the right is our church hall, from where I observed the changes throughout the year during my Wednesday activities.)



Somehow I made it through the short winter days.



Spring arrived, and the green leaves returned.



We've now come full circle, and the long summer days are wonderful - again.



There are many more events from these past few weeks about which I should write, so maybe I will continue the blog for a bit after we get home. But for now, we've got a lot of other things to do before our plane leaves on Wednesday....

return to chiswick

in april judy took me on the train to the fuller's brewery in chiswick. i had such a great time that i decided to return, this time on foot. it turns out that fullers is only about seven miles from king's, and as nothing tastes better than a fresh pint after a long run ... off i set :) the following map shows the approximate route (pronounced 'root' for you colonists) i took.



this took weeks of planning because i had to do a number of reconnaissance runs to learn the terrain and the turns. as an added bonus, one of these took me (after a wrong turn) through chelsea! it looks like this run will be my last in london proper for some time :)

129 Warmoesstraat

the winston is just down warmoesstraat from the train station. here is the front door.



looking back toward the train station you can see that amsterdam is all geared up for euro08, in particular the match tonight against france. (future edit: with a final score of 4-1, there was a party all night long!)



after an early morning run i snapped this shot of the same street ... "preparing" for the day.



inside, the winston has many art rooms. i liked space, the room i had at my last visit best. this visit my room was titled something like "visit my family," which i don't get ... but then it is art :)
here is a picture. perhaps you can explain it to me?



i could not resist snapping this door ... wonder what color the walls are inside??



finally, a picture taken on my walk from the winston to the royal netherlands academy of arts and sciences - a classic journey in amsterdam showing a canal, a bridge, and of course lots of orange!



sorry i can't post the picture from later that night when i walked home. for some reason the camera can't focus with all the red lights glaring :(