Welcome to Albania!

Our flight wasn't scheduled to leave Bologna until 4:30pm, so we had some time to go back into the city to have another look around.

And, we had to find a stationary shop with a printer because when I checked in for our flight, it said "one or more passengers on this booking needs to have a printed boarding pass".

Mamma Mia... Eating Pizza Pie in Bologna, Italy!

It was an early start to the day when we got up at 5:00am, which is almost silly o'clock except for the fact that at least it was light out in northern England at that time!

On the road by 5:30am and headed out for the hour and a half drive to Edinburgh Airport.

On our way to Italy!

We said goodbye to Elaine, Zed, and the doggies. They were such easy dogs to look after and we'll miss them.

Before we left, we had a quick look at their campervan. It's a white cargo van that they had converted to a camper van, and the company that did it did a really nice job!

Nice day trip out to Richmond and the Easby Abbey

Our new friends Greg and Kerri came and met us where we are housesitting, and we all piled into one car along with the dogs and went for a drive inland to the town of Richmond.

Richmond is a market town and has a big open central square as well as an abbey ruins located two kms down river from the town.

Day trip to Whitby, North Yorkshire, and met some new friends!

A bit of an overcast blustery day... it sure didn't feel like early July! But, we wanted to get out, so we took the dogs and hopped in the car for a drive over to the seaside town of Whitby.

First though, we said goodbye to Helen and Tony. Always fun times with them, and we look forward to the next time! 

Beautiful day for a hike up Roseberry Topping

Funny name for a place... Roseberry Topping. 

We set off with Helen and Tony and the three dogs. Only a 25 minute drive to the parking area. It's paid parking, because it's quite a popular spot.

Who says that cruising is expensive?

Well, of course cruising can be expensive. But if you do it the Kevin and Ruth way, it can be very reasonable!

We received some good news yesterday regarding our cruise!

Visitors!

Monday was the last day of the hot spell. We ended up not doing anything that day... it was cooler to stay in the house, and really too hot to take the dogs for a walk of any length, although we did get them out for decent local walks in the morning and evening when things were cooler.

Yesterday, we had two sets of friends visit!

June Expenses - slightly over budget

We had a budget of $3,200 CAD for the month of June, and we ended up spending $3,600 CAD ($2,650 USD).

We started the month in Spain, and flew to Edinburgh, Scotland where we rented a car and toured around. Then drove down to northern England where we ended the month.

We spent a couple of hours on the Coast to Coast Path

We had a beautiful day yesterday, and we took the dogs for a walk up at the edge of the North York Moors National Park. This section is part of the Coast to Coast path that runs 192 miles (309 kms) across northern England.

We had actually considered doing the entire walk this summer until we found out how much it would cost in accommodation and meals!

Wandering the town of Yarm

Our hosts departed around 8am, and we were left in charge of the two doggies. We decided to take them for a long walk into town and around to a path on the other side of the river.

Yarm is a market town known for its busy high street. The area has been settled for over a thousand years, and they even found a 9th century Viking helmet back in the 1950's.

We are in North Yorkshire, England for the next eight days

On Friday, we arrived at our next house sit. We are in the town of Yarm, on the river Tees in North Yorkshire, England, having driven down from Aberdeen, Scotland over a period of three days. I'll include a map down below for you.

Scotland is where the game of golf originated

And I have family history that involves the game of golf!

Yesterday, we left the amazing Balintore Castle, but not before we had a look at the Great Hall. I was actually surprised and impressed to see the completed condition of it, as I was expecting it to be still under renovation.

Well, we weren't awoken by any ghosts!

Balintore Castle was built in the early 1860's as a hunting lodge for the Victorian elite. Even at the time, it was only occupied during summer and fall. The original owner died ten years after construction, and it went through several owners until the last one used it regularly until the 1960's. 

It was then that it began to deteriorate. 

Hiking near Balmoral Castle

Scotland's Balmoral Castle is the summer residence of the Royal Family. Queen Elizabeth loved spending time there, and she was there when she passed away in 2022.

Ruth had wanted to do some walking on the estate grounds, however it's very expensive.