Last moments in Hitchin

 

Tuesday

30 July 

Day 30

66 to go

Boomers 83 - Canada 93

It was a warm night, even with the window open, but I managed some sleep. After getting out and sorted, Chell went off to do some shopping, while we walked down the road to the chiropractor, so that Paul could have his neck seen to once again. He was with the practioner for ages, and came out feeling some relief. 

When we returned home, we began the great unpack! We upended all of our bags, sorted through what we could leave behind and then looked at how we would sort our bags for Italy and then Scandinavia. Happy with our decisions, we then began the great repack! Once everything was sorted we did a quick weight check, hoping everything would be within the limits. We think it was good. 

Chell returned part way through our belonging explosion, but it was soon sorted and we were ready to watch the Boomers take on Canada. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the broadcast, so we had to settle for live scores instead. 

Chell’s mate Mark dropped in for a cuppa and a chat and when he had gone, we had a quick lunch and flicked through BBC, delighted to find they had taken on the basketball coverage and we were able to watch most of the second half. Unfortunately it was not great. After being up at the half, we lost our way and Canada walked over the top. 

With the game over, I was keen to get outside even though it was pushing 32, England’s hottest day of the year thus far. Chell drove us to Letchworth. We wandered the quaint town centre, stopping for a drink at a craft beer bar and then an icecream, from Fabio’s. 

We took the opportunity to do our food shop and grab a few things for our journey to Gatwick tomorrow and then returned to Chell’s to unpack our groceries, before returning to the car and making the journey to Stevenage to see Chell’s mum and Paul’s aunty, Carol. 

We spent some time chatting while sitting in her TV room. Most of the conversation centred around the family in Italy and who was who. 

With our visit over, we said our goodbyes and returned to Chell’s ready for our dinner. Paul and I were on cooking duty, putting together Mexican fajitas. After dinner, Paul and I went for a long walk, finding a great crop of blackberries to enjoy on the way. We were gone for about an hour, Chell though we must have got lost. 

Once back, we wound down in front of the TV, before finally heading for bed.

Wandering Cambridge

Monday

29 July 

Day 29

67 to go

Keenly aware of our dwindling time in the UK, we were keen to do something with our day. After getting up and organised, we said goodbye to Chell, as he returned from a morning run and made our way to the train station. We were intending on just buying tickets for our Gatwick journey on Wednesday, but instead bought tickets, $15 each, for Cambridge and jumped on the 10am train, which arrived 30 min later. 

We made our way in the general direction of town, skirting the Cambridge Uni botanic garden. I thought it might be interesting to check it out, but at $17 entry, we passed. We made our way passed the Fitzwilliam Museum, which heralded the start of many old and intricate buildings that screamed ‘photograph me’. Being a University town there were plenty of places to check out behind intricately carved and adorned doors. Again, it was unfortunate they were charging between 5 and 15 pound to have a look. We just can’t believe how nothing seems to be free to enjoy. 

We followed the road into town, passing by the Corpus Clock, a great golden contraption with a large, black metal fly adorning the top. This was a drawing a crowd of tourists. 

We continued into the square, checking out the market stalls, before grabbing sandwiches at Tesco and finding a place in the shade to enjoy them. When we were all done, we continued our wander of the interesting streets until we reached the river, where punting was being touted. At 40 pounds a punter, we were not going to be trying this out, but there were plenty of cashed up tourists happy to fork out the pounds.

The only thing I did was spend a penny and I was wishing I hadn’t needed to so badly, as the public conveniences were the most foulest smelling toilets I have ever had the displeasure of using. I wasn’t the only one feeling it. A group of Asian tourists walked in and Paul reported a couple quickly left, hand over noses and wretching. I was doing my best not to breathe in the whole time. Urgh.

We walked up some further quaint streets, before heading in the direction of the Bridge of Sighs. Down small lanes, behind parts of Cambridge University and Trinity College, we met the river again and crossed a bridge. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get the the Bridge of Sighs, as it required a lot of back tracking, so we enjoyed where we were, before beginning the trek back towards the station. 

It was a particularly warm day, getting us ready for the hot days to come in Italy. We stopped in at a bar for a drink and refresh, before enjoying the train ride home. We stopped for groceries and then hiked back up the hill to Chell’s for 330pm, glad to be back and to relax in the lounge for the remaining afternoon. 

We made dinner and watched the news, before walking back to the train station to get our Gatwick tickets, something we should have done when we returned from Cambridge. We enjoyed the evening stroll, but were happy to be home for the rest of the evening. 

Sunny Sunday

Sunday

28 July 

Day 28

68 to go

We both enjoyed a restful night’s sleep and were happy to be up and enjoying what looked like a beaut day. Chell soon followed, eager to see to the starter motor of his car. We took the opportunity to go for a long morning walk across the common and the nearby farmers’ fields. We found plenty of plums and blackberries to keep us going, as we meandered the paths. 

On our return, Chell was happy to report the car was up and running once again. Yay. We had an hour or so hanging at home. We chatted to Damon and Katie, who arrive here in a week, taking our spot. We booked The Pheasant Pub for lunch and then sorted ourselves out, before taking on the 30min drive. 

The Pheasant was a quaint old pub that had a delicious Sunday Roast that we all thoroughly enjoyed. It was quite busy, as there was a large garden area and with the glorious weather it was being well used. After enjoying dessert, we made our way back home, enjoying some Olympic coverage. 

We did an evening walk among the fields and forest, enjoying the balmy evening and the views, as the sun threw golden light across the scene. We did a big loop, before returning for the evening. 

Playgrounds & catch ups

Saturday

27 July 

Day 27

69 to go

Boomers 92 v Spain 80 Game 1 of Group A round

Thank goodness for lazy Saturdays. We were able to sleep in again this morning. By 9am we were up, Olympics on the TV and enjoying the morning. Chell was outside checking on his car. Seems the starter motor had given up the ghost. This was going to throw a spanner in the works for returning our hire car and catching Charlotte. In the end, Charlotte came to us with the girls and the boys knicked her car, so they could return our car and get back to the house. 

I hung out with Charlotte in the yard, before we decided to take the girls to the nearest park for a bit of a play. Paul and Chell joined us when they returned from successfully taking the car back. It was lovely to have some sun. 

With the kids warn out and needing water, we made our way back to Chell’s. Charlotte packed them in the car soon after and we got ourselves organised for our afternoon outing with Ian and Denise. They arrived at 1pm and we were soon heading for Crossover Blendery, a small farmhouse brewery. We were able to find a table in the sun and enjoy a few drinks for the afternoon. Litsa joined us for a short while, between family commitments. We stayed for a few hours enjoying the wonderful company. 

We were returned to Chell’s place for 4.45pm. We said goodbye to Ian and Denise and then thought about dinner, opting for a pub in town. We made the trek in and stopped at the first pub, where there was a good selection of pizzas. We ordered three different ones and enjoyed them while watching the Olympics on the TV.

When our bellies were full, we made our way back to Chell’s, stopping for a quick ice cream along the way. Once in, it was time to sloth on the couch, watch the Olympics as the sun set and then head on up to bed.