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| On the beach in Bournemouth |
Hello, chickadees! I'm excited to participate in 5 on 5 this month, along with some wonderful photographers I know. We share our five favorite photos from the past month. My favorite photos from May are all from a journey Mr. Magpie and I took to England and Belgium, where he was giving talks for a couple of weeks. We were both teaching our online summer classes while we were there, too, so it was a challenge to juggle work, travel, spending time with friends and colleagues, and just soaking up the ambiance and energy of places that we love. I returned home completely exhausted, but feeling incredibly lucky that I got to be back in England--and was able to explore a bit of Belgium, too!
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| A grave in the cemetery at St Alfege's Church in Greenwich |
Over the years, London has come to feel like a home away from home for us. When we're there we often stay in Greenwich, which is a Borough of London, but it's located east of the city center, on the south side of the Thames, across from the Isle of Dogs. Greenwich is incredibly beautiful, and we like to stay at
a wonderful B&B there, hopping on the Docklands Light Railway or the Thames Clipper boat when we need to get into the city proper.
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| Gravensteen Castle in Ghent, Belgium |
Midway through the trip, we took the Eurostar to Belgium, so Todd could give a talk in Ghent, and we snuck in a day in glorious Bruges, too. Both felt like magical fairy tale cities, and I will be back to post much more about them very soon. I'd never visited Belgium before, but I hope I'll have the chance to return.
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| One of the many gorgeous store floral displays for #chelseainbloom during the Chelsea Flower Show |
Meanwhile, back in London, the Chelsea Flower show was in full swing by the time we returned. I didn't manage to snag us last-minute tickets, because I wasn't willing to hand over $300 apiece, but we spent a wonderful afternoon at the Chelsea Physic Garden and wandering past the gorgeous floral displays in the shop windows of Sloane Square.
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| On Princelet Street near Spitalfields |
We don't spend a lot of time doing typical tourist stuff in London anymore, preferring to go to neighborhood markets, or to wander through lesser-known gardens and quirky, off-beat museums, sampling street food along the way. I'm working on a fun post about some hidden treasures to experience if you're looking for something a little off the beaten tourist path in and around London.
Thanks do much for stopping in, my friends. If you'd like to take a peek at Stephanie's beautiful photographs, her link is
here.
