Saturday June 1st
Currently I am sitting in a Pret A Manger waiting to check
my bag so I can fly to Florence at 11am and start my study abroad. I am also
trying to recall everything from the last few days.
Tuesday evening was slow, we went to Tesco where I found a new
bag, and Wednesday we took a little jaunt to Hitchin after taking Mae to “Puddle
Ducks” her nursery school. Hitchin was fine even in a drizzle and chilly wind
and we enjoyed walking the city center. I realized my view of the city had
changed, and I remembered it in my head so differently than it actually was. I
am now wondering what else I remember wrong, or different from reality.
Wednesday night we had Kristian’s parents and Great Auntie
Kay over for dinner where around rounds of drinks and another fantastic dinner
from Angie we swapped stories and what nicknames we loved and hated. I also
learned a lot about Kristian’s family and where everyone came from, what they
did and who they were in the scheme of things. Kay’s husband and Kristian’s
grandfather had both been Prisoners of War in World War II. I love these family
stories, passed on from one generation to the next telling the story of the people
that were. They fill me with warmth and understanding of these people in a
whole new light.
Thursday was a lazy day, I watched Mae when Angie took baby
Bonnie in to meet her coworkers and then again when Angie took a nap. Raising
two children under five is extremely hard work, I don’t know how she does it,
but naps are a great way to stay sane.
Then Friday came and we decided to get up early, get
everything together and take a drive to the seaside. We chose Holkham in
Norfolk for our place to go. Of course, as British beaches go everything was
misty and foggy and we couldn’t actually see the ocean from the beach but Mae,
Kristian and I enjoyed putting our toes in some puddles and walking in the
sand. The smell was not overpowering but fresh enough to enjoy a seaside
experience. After an hour or so, we went to catch a small narrow gauge train
which was impossible to find, but we did and half an hour later arrived in
another little town. We were under the impression we had 15 minutes to walk to
the farm shop about 100 yards away and make it back to get our car. So we went,
Kristian grabbed a few beers, and we walked back to the train, arriving just
after it had left. We came to the conclusion the elderly conductor forgot about
us and left early assuming we were aboard. Stuck in a town we knew little to
nothing about we asked the local pub where to catch a bus, which lead to us
asking a local who had a bus schedule when the next one would be. While we
waited we looked around the very old town of Walsingham with its
mystical and holy wells that was once a medieval pilgrimage site, and today
still brings in the religious. I bought some award winning jam, we caught the
bus, and made it back to where we had left the car. About the same time as the
train had.
We piled into the car, stopped in Swaffham for fish and
chips, gluten free again! YAY! Then made a rather quick drive back to
Steeplemorden to get Baby Bonnie, drive back to Letchworth for me to shower,
check my bank account (I finally got my school funds!), pack my bags and
collapse into my futon bed on the floor.
Today I was up at 5am to call Ryan before leaving. He told
me about his wacky day of getting lots of crap about the state of the store he
manages from his boss. His boss then was leaving, parked next to our car and the
lovely Fort Collins wind came off the mountain slamming her driver’s side car-door
into the passenger’s side of our NEW Mazda 2. She says she will pay for it…I’m
wondering why we bothered buying a nice new car when this in the 3rd
ding in six months. Oh well, Ryan hopes to find a garage and just get
everything fixed. I’m just sad Kermit is getting so beat up.
On the bright side I will be in Florence VERY soon and I
will try very hard to leave the drama back home. Leaving it, is the key I am on
an amazing adventure!
Love,
Rebecca
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