Lucca was refreshing. Fewer crowds, walks and a bike ride in the park, and quality time in a lovely apartment lulled us into reconsidering the itinerary we had set months earlier. Instanbul was next up; our flights were two days away. Over dinner, we admitted that we had enjoyed our gradual slowdown. The idea of heading off to a large city had lost its appeal. So we contacted a monastery we have both been keen on visiting someday, on the off chance that we might spend a few days on its English/Scottish border. Ratnagiri quickly responded with a warm, welcoming yes. We arrived after two eight-hour days of train travel and a one-and-a-half taxi drive. The slog was worth it.
Meals were provided. We took long, meandering walks almost every day. It was incredibly peaceful and quite nourishing.
The contrast made evident how travel-weary we had gotten. Loving the downtime, we decided a few nights on the coast would be nice.
As is common in Britain, a short walk away is a ruined castle which we leisurely explored.
There was one more castle to see, located just a few miles away. The Bamburgh Castle has stood on the Northumberland coastline for over 1,400 years and is the largest inhabited castle in the U.K. This was, by far, the most impressive castle I've visited.
Shall we head up to the drawing room?
And enjoy some Tea and crumpets?
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