UK Road trip

26th
Sheffield and Sarah & Dan's new house

The road trip started impressively- I stayed at my parents to break the journey to wales and my sister asked me if I fancied going to hand her coursework in with her.
To Sheffield.

I'd never been to sheffield so I agreed to go. with enthusiasm.
then she told me we were setting off at 6am so I needed to be up at 5:30.
:(

We got to sheffield just before 9am- handed in Rays work and had breakfast in Care Rouge- I had the bread basket with butter and honey- which was yummy- I was jealous of ray's french toast though.
next time, french toast.

We went round the peace gardens and the winter garden too- and to the art gallery shop.
It has a sculpture of a giraffe made of sheffield steel cutlery called "barking up the wrong tree" when you made a donation, you can press the button and it barks.
We were not expecting it to be so loud!
Once we got back and had some cereals for lunch I headed off to Wales- To stay with Sah and Dan.
Their new house is awesome!
Although, I did have a bit of a run in with a flock of boy racers. I think it's my car. it makes me look like a teenage boy.

27th 
Dress fitting

Alice took her first steps! Holding on to my wrist-bones. not very comfy, but incredibly cool.

We went up to Carmarthen for my dress fitting- If you read this rubbish on a regular basis you'll know I've been ill, and I've lost weight.
The dress had to be taken in by 4 inches.

So we needed a second fitting.

28th
Cardiff- and BBQ

We had a BBQ in the garden at Sarah and Dan's- with Jay, Lis and James.

James is feeling really broody at the moment- he wasn't even put off when Alice managed to kick him in the balls.

It was lush to have a catch up with everyone- and to have BBQ food- Even if it did rain- but hey, it's wales- what did we expect?

I also made a culinary discovery- vegi fingers are amazing on the BBQ!

29th
Abingdon

Staying with my parents is weird now that the power station has closed.
my dad and his nexus net book have become a permanent fixture in the conservatory.

Although, he did promise to take me out door swimming- having said that- when we got up the weather looked grey and overcast and not too promising.

We settled on Abingdon outside pool (in the abbey meadows) in the end as it's closer to home- I don't ever remember swimming in it but apparently I have plenty of times as a child.
It is also where my dad learned to swim.
in the 1950s. in his knitted swimming costume.
well, thankfully since either of these events took place someone had the brilliant idea of heating the pool- it was still freezing, but in an exhilarating way. not in a drowning one.

We did 20 lengths (500m) and then it looked like thunder and lightening so we thought we'd better get out and go home.

It did rain really heavily and was stormy, but by the time we got back to Didcot it had passed there so I walked into town.
They have a cool new shop called "no two things" so I went to mooch in there, and they had a "friends of manor school" (my old school!) fund raising quiz.
it was photographs of Didcot and we had to  find the places- I paid for it, put it in my bag and promptly was distracted by the aquarium.

It was only later after dinner, when Dad and Traff went to play squash and my mum and I were at a loose end I remembered it.
Some we could do at the kitchen table.
others we had to check.
So, we took the bikes out and went on an adventure!
We cycled 6 miles round dicot filling in the quiz. we're pretty sure they're all right now!

30th
Newbury
Traff had a work meeting in Newbury so we dropped him off- He's only recently started driving again- I doubt very much that he would have enjoyed the newbury M4 roundabout.

My Dad and I continued on to chippenham- he showed me the house they're trying to buy and the town.
We just mooched around.
It started to rain so we went to Chippenham museum and tried on all the hats in the childrens dressing up section.
When we got home and had dinner it was more-or-less time for me to go and get Traff from Newbury.

In the evening I went to see Sophie at her house she shares with her Mr. (He's called james, and he has impeccable taste in cakes).
I was planning to walk, but my mum insisted that I cycle and she accompanies me. She got us very lost.

It was lovely to catch up with Soph- We usually end up seeing one another at christmas only because we're just so busy and a have opposing working hours.
We watched holiday disasters and caught up- since I saw her last sophie has changed job and moved house so we had loads to talk about! and Soph made lemon drizzle cake (it was awesome! her cakes always are!) 

31st
Outdoor swimming

My dad and I went swimming again- at abingdon pool- I had wanted to go to Shillingford bridge hotel but when I rang them they weren't sure if the pool was "available".
weird.

When we got home the estate agents had dropped by a leaflet about our house with all the photos and the floor plans and stuff.
it's odd seeing your home on a leaflet.

In the evening I went to see Kirstie and we invented a new cocktail.
We started by blitzing frozen raspberries and ice, and adding gin, orange liquor, lemon san peligrino.
And then kirsties mum asked us if we were making jam.
So we sieved it.

Very nice in the end though.

She's just come back from a jealousy inducing trip to hawaii so she told me about that, about work and about her adventures. We ended up being locked in when her parents went to bed- I took that as my cue to go home.
I thankfully was not locked out when my parents went to bed.


1st
Cliffton suspension bridge and the national trust

I arrived in bristol quite early to stay with Helen so that we could have the day to mooch around- After we'd ditched my stuff we went to a national trust property with parkland on the outskirts of bristol- it was good to stretch my legs after all that driving- we walked about 4 miles up and down the hills and looked at the view- bristol is bigger than I thought.
We also found the fattest tree and had ice cream.
And got more sunburn.
On the way back helen pointed out the suspension bridge, so we thought we'd go up and see it.
it is an impressive feet on engineering.
We walked accross it and looked at the views- and she pointed out where she goes climbing- which looked quite scary.
In the evening Helen made thai stirfry for dinner- I will post the recipe later so that I don't lose it and can make it again.
We also made sorbet, gespatcho and lemonaid.
Superproductive


2nd
Cheddar gorge, sushi and postcards

we got up early and headed to cheddar gorge- I've never been before despite always saying I would ahen I lived in cardiff- so I was excited for this!

We started the adventure with a cream tea.

then we walked up jakobs ladder and on the circular walk around the top of the cliffs- and got chased a bit by a goat.
On the way home we stopped off and picked out own raspberries and black currants.Helen said she was going to make them into jam!

Very creative of her.
I mostly ate the raspberries on the way home.

In the evening we drove into bristol and went for sushi. we had to make a reservation as the restaurant was mental busy so we went to the deco lounge and had coffee cocktails whilst we waited.
We both bought postcards at cheddar gorge so we wrote those and posted them on the way back down to have dinner.


3rd
Sarah's Hen do

I started at Helen's in Bristol- in my head, that meant I could get up at 9 and be at Beccas in cardiff for 10.
Helen laughed at me and was like "it will take you almost 2 hours to clear the traffic in bristol" so we had to get up at 5:45.
I got into cardiff at 9:35.
So, for future reference- it takes longer to get from central bristol to the M4 than it does to get from Didcot to Cardiff.

Lazertag- which was AMAZING!
We will do that again!
Although, next time I'd wear my boots, not my ballet pumps.
Then we went back, put on our best dresses and went for dinner in the gatekeeper then out in town! I stayed with Becca and Emma started too which was really lovely.
We got in about 3, and then chatted for hours.
It's lovely to catch up with really god friends- it always feels like you've just picked up where you left off last time.

4th
The hangover and 3pm breakfast in chapter Arts

Emma and I both work up about 7am when it rained really heavily and then again about 10am. We finally made it to the kitchen at about midday.
Becca made us all lots of cups of tea- and we decided that toast just wasn't going to cut it.

We decided to go and get food at Chapter- as Becca lives in Pontcana but we couldn't face walking so I drove us!
We had burgers and fries.
And then coffee and cake.
We then felt brave enough to go and see the exhibition but it was bizarre.
Loads of boxes stacked on top of each other and a framed mixing desk instruction book. I don't understand.
We went back to Becca's and her house mate rose made us all more tea.
Then we ran out of milk so we decamped to Sarahs to see if she would make us tea.
Success.

She was an awful lot more hungover than we were,
and had an array of weird drunk bruises.

5th
TV day and Carmarthen

I find now that I am old, it's not the hangovers which really get to you- it's the tiredness!
We were exhausted.
We watched whip it, which is a cool film about roller derby- and fnally got dressed and had breakfast about 1pm.
This was when we realised we'd made an error.

We had arranged my dress fitting for 11am - which meant leaving Sarah's at 9am- easy enough as one person- or two people- quite another adventure with a baby.

We decided it would be easier to stay at Sarah's mum's house.

We all spent the evening watching programmes about peoples "supernatural experiences". it was really nice to just chill out and mooch around! And, Sarah's mums spare room has a bed with a memory foam matress topper- I don't think I've ever slept so well!

6th
Dress fitting, Wrexham and  Runcorn services 

now, Despite being organised enough to go to Sarah's parents- and setting our alarms to give us 2 hours- we still managed to be late.

I got up, and Sarah was in the front room with tea for us both- We had tea, then welsh water came and she had to deal with that- then I watched Alice whilst she had a wash- then I had a wash, the we go sucked into watching some baby TV about jigsaw puzzle pieces.
And it ended in the dress having to be fitted without breakfast.

We grabbed breakfast in town, in the humble pie cafe.
:)
I had a toasted teacake.
And welshcakes for breakfast-pudding.

Sarah had a sensible breakfast of a sausage sandwich and declined my welshcake offer.

I decided to drive from Carmarthen to Durham- rather than go back to cardiff and join the M4- as on paper the travelling time is the same.
is it fuck.
I left Carmarthen at midday and arrived at 8;30 from my "4 hour drive".
Admittedly, I decided to turn off my satnav for a while because it wanted me to go back to cardiff and kept trying to redirect me- So I headed towards Oswestry to go up past liverpool and a ccross the UK. I ended up missing shropshire completely and driving to Wrexham.
North.
Just the wrong country.

Abi, who I stayed with in Durham is just finishing her PHD in Geography.
She hasn't let me live this down all week.

7th
Beamish and Finbarrs

The Beamish museum was the basis for my entire road trip- I read an article on the BBC news page in about may time that said they had acquired an ice cream parlour from one of the mining villages near to Durham.
It had remained unchanged since the 1920s
all polished wood surfaces and cut glass mirrors- right down to the ice cream they sold which was made to a family recipe from italy.
The owner of the shop had passed away, and so that shop had finally closed- it was due to be sold and that was the point at which the beamish had heard about it and decided to buy the building and move it brick by brick to their museum.

Needless to say, it wasn't there when we went to the museum.
it takes more than 2 months to even buy a building. let alone deconstruct and reconstruct it!
We did EVERYTHING.
We went to the pit village first.
Then to the home farm.
Then to the railway centre and to the town- we went round backwards so everything we went to before the town was empty!
it was ace.
however, the town was heaving and we had to elbow small children out of the way to buy cola cubes in the sweet shop.
Then we went to the georgian section and went on a train ride- the train pulled by a replica of stephensons first engine.
very enjoyable.

We walked miles. and got sunburned.

We went back to Abis, got changed and walked into town to go for dinner with her PHD research department.
I stopped off on the way and got myself some fish sauce and oyster sauce from the oriental shop- as helen showed me you just add 1/2 the amoung of fish sauce to oyster sauce and it's the basis of almost every sauce in asian cooking.
So I thought I'd give it a go myself.

We went to Finbarrs restaurant for dinner- it was really fancy.
The'd done us a special deal as a group and we had 3 courses of fine dining for £20.
the food was awesome- I highly recommend it!

The company was also awesome- Abi's colleagues were so funny and friendly- They made me wish I was good at geography.

8th
Sunderland, the national glass centre, the penshaw monument and vintage shopping

I'll be honest, I scoffed at Abi when she suggested we go to the glass centre.
She was telling me that last time she went the had an exhibition of snow globes. I would have loved to have seen that! So, Swayed we drove to Sunderland.
Driving through Sunderland town centre was quite frightening, but worth it in the end.
We stood on the roof and looked at the things in the museum! glass roof! it's quite a giddy experience.
Then we went and watched a glass blowing demonstration.
Glass blowing is quite fascinating.
It looks really dangerous.
We picked up a leaflet about making baubles towards christmas time- I really want to try it! I shall keep you posted if we manage to book.

We went and looked at the exhibitions- I really likes the glass viruses. Abi preferred the glass hearts designed from scans.
I managed to be very restrained in the shop- but Abi bought marbles. We drove all the way to sunderland to buy marbles... *shakes head*
On the way back to Durham we stopped at the penshaw monument- it is a biiigggg climb as the stairs are much steeper than they look.
Worth it for the views though.
We sat on the monument and ate our lunch (crisps, apple, oreos).
We nipped into town once we were back to look for photo frames and to have a look in the vintage shops.

We made stir fry for tea and I got to try out my new sauce making skills- I was pleased with the results.


9th
Newcastle, Baltic and the tyneside cinema

This was my last day on my road trip- It felt for the whole time I was away likeI'd been gone forever. I woke up on friday and felt like my holiday had gone in a flash!

We went into Newcastle by train and took pictures of the angel of the north. We got the hang of it b the return trip!
We did some shopping round H&M and the fancy new TK maxx- they had loads of valentino and ralph lauren stuff- and some cool reiss jackets and skirts too... we did lots of trying on.

We then went to the Tyneside art deco cinema and watched an art film about a girl gang called fox fire.
It was pretty weird- it was good, but it felt like there were some gaps in the storyline.
It was very engaging though- It was almost 3 hours long but it didn't feel like it!
Coming out of a 3 hour film into broad daylight (at about 4pm) was odd too.

We went to the baltic but we didn't understand any of the art on display. it was a bit too weird.
So we just had a flapjack and some tea.
And I got a babushka kitchen timer for at work. now when I say "5 minutes" I really mean it.
When we got home Abi's boyfriend had dinner on the table- it was amazing! he made pasta bake with veggies in it- including sweet potato and he'd made his own sauce.
Impressive.

We went to tesco in search of cake afterwards.



10th
final number of miles: 1280

I really have enjoyed being away, but I'm really pleased to be home- Especially as le wifely one bought us both pizza from tesco!
:D

AND FONDANT FANCIES.