Christmas Market in Lincoln

December!  It's actually starting to feel a little like Christmas.  We'd better start thinking about shopping . . . hard to believe we will be back in the States in less than 3 weeks.  The kids are starting to get excited.

We had a very busy weekend on the back of a busy week at work.  No rest for the weary this time.  On Saturday, we got to feel like productive members of society again by helping our friends the Seppanens.  After 6 weeks here they finally got there shipment of furniture from IKEA.  Having put together quite a few pieces myself I thought they could use a hand.  We didn't finish it all, but we made great progress.  I'm sure their place will feel more like home now.  Capped off the night the pizza delivered from Pizza Hut (a first for us here).  Really hit the spot.

I guess it was an all Seppanen weekend as our 2 families took a day trip to Lincoln, about 75-80 minutes to the northeast from Derby.  Lincoln has a huge Christmas Market every year and we thought we would try it out -- glad we did.  Lincoln also has an impressive cathedral and castle too.  You can eventually get Jay's take on the weekend at his blog if you want another view.

Here's a nice photo of the Cathedral (it's so nice, I clearly didn't take it --credit to Herb West on the internet for this one).  The Cathedral dates back to 1185 though most of the big bits were done a little later (building was completed in 1310).  Quite an impressive building.

Here's one of my attempts at it.  As you can see, I didn't quite have the vantage point that Herb did.

Here's a shot of the Lincoln Castle.   The castle itself was closed due to the market.  You can kinda get a feel for the crowds in the shot as well.  Many stalls; many people.  This is another good example of something I wouldn't do at home -- too crowded, etc.  Hopefully we'll take some of that adventuresome spirit back home with us.

Another picture inside the castle grounds.  It was a cold (low 40s) and sometimes wet day.  The stalls/booths were set up on the castle grounds and there were other stalls throughout the city (we would call it a town, but it's a city since it has a cathedral).  We enjoyed looking through the various booths and came home with a few items as well.

After a few hours of shopping and fighting the crowds, we headed to the Cathedral (around 1 pm when open hours started -- it was Sunday after all).  

There was certainly a "wow" factor when walking in.  The kids appreciated the chairs after all that standing too.  (Have to admit, we did too after a self tour of the building).

Lots of stained glass.  Here's a sample.

Looking back at the entrance

You'll have to take my word for it, but this is a copy (facsimile) of the Magna Carta.  One of 4 surviving originals resides in Lincoln Castle which unfortunately we didn't get to see so this had to suffice.  One of the witnesses of the Magna Carta was Hugh Wells, Bishop of Lincoln.  We'll see one (or more) of the originals during our time here.  I'll make sure of that.  (The other 3 are at the British Library (2) in London and Salisbury).

stained glass at the far end

In addition to the craft stalls, there were plenty of food stalls.   How could I pass up a picture of a half-eaten roast pig?  I had to help the cause and have a pulled pork sandwich too.  Yum.  I didn't eat it while looking at Wilbur here though.

We had a nice day at the Christmas Market and we were glad to be able to share the day with the Seppanens.  

We didn't ship any of our Christmas decorations to the UK.  I was going to let it pass but the rumors of Ebenezer Steve McScrooge were starting to sink in.  So, I bought this little guy.  I must say, it's nice to have a little Christmas in the house.

Of course, Homebase made it easy for me:  Christmas in Bag!  Perfect for the college student or frugal ex-pat family abroad!  Complete with small tree, lights and decorations!  Can't beat that.

Finally, here's Nicole's meal-o-the-week.  Homemade baked mac-n-cheese.  Another nice job!  It was nice and creamy.  We all agreed that it could have been cheesier though -- we'll have to tweak the recipe next time.

Have a good week and thanks for reading.