I have always said this trip was going to be life changing, and it has been. I have absolutely no idea what i plan to do when i get home. I have so many ideas in my head and i will sit down with all of them, discuss with some friends, and see what i can create. Then I'll focus on one at time and make it happen. Midway through the trip i had a massive desire to go home and think about settling, and setting some foundations for a secure future for one very lucky woman and some rug rats. But now i want to do a tiny bit more, do some things I've missed. Maybe then i'll think about a car, a house etc. I can't prepare for the wife and kids.......yet, I'm single for gods sake!
After much debate (not a mass one) with myself i had made some decisions on the activities that Rach and I were going to partake in the next three days. I was very concerned about sleeping arrangements, one i didn't want for her to feel uncomfortable and i wanted a good night sleep. I have shared a bed with another girl before that was just a friend and i couldn't sleep. I was trying to stay right on the edge of my bed so as not to get anywhere near her. It was the worst sleep i had ever had and didn't want a repeat since I was the designated driver for our little journey. So i booked twin singles at the Radisson Blu Resort in Cardiff and twin singles for her first night in a castle, Studley castle. This was to ensure a good nights sleep for me and of course no sheet stealing.
As you read on i will call her stegglés or stegs, that's my nickname for her. When she gets cold, which is quite easy, she gets goosebumps and her skin looks like a stegglés chicken. A few months ago she was a bit sad, and i asked her what five things make her smile. Her answer was family and friends, bright flowers, cuddles, chocolates and surprises. I don't like hearing or seeing friends or family in a sad place in their life, so i do little things that are no effort but make them smile. She has had a massive solo trip around South America for the last few months and now she is in Bath, at a friends place. Now, i can make 4.5 of that smile list happen. Though to scale, her family (which is the part i didn't have) is much bigger than .5!! I hit the streets early with one thing in mind, flowers. Into town and i find my florist just setting up, perfect timing. A nice mix of yellow flowers would nearly top all things off her smile list. So a cadbury advent calendar (some catching up to do to get up to date), a very warm Paris beanie, a cuddle from a friend (me) and some beautiful flowers will greet her for the road trip. Bath to Wales, up to Birmingham for the secret location (CADBURY WORLD). I had been talking to a good friend of hers and mine the previous night and we came to a conclusion that i was to spoil her and tell her that Erin loves loves loves her! Which i did. So the plan was pick the rental car up from the train station, check out of my accommodation, pick stegs up and head to Wales, going through Chepstow and a few other places to see some castles, and get in the castle mood before heading to the medieval markets in Caerphilly. As you know my plans are shite and most of the time don't actually go to plan. I booked through a feeder website that finds cars for you in the area you are in, instead of you having to search each car rental company And it turns out their prices were cheaper than the actual hire company. So i got to the train station at about 9:45 for a 10am pick up. At about 9:55am i thought about giving them a call and seeing exactly where the drop off point was. I checked my confirmation emails from the feeder website, and the voucher/contract/terms and conditions, no phone number. Grr, had a feeling that something wasn't right. I had left my bags in my room so i could go back, check out and it's all on the way to picking up stegglés. And i didn't want to have to lug my bags down to the train station. My check out time was 10:30, i thought about checking out when i did leave to pick up the flowers and car, but the people running the hotel were busy sorting breakfast so i didn't want to bother them. I checked with the train stations information booth about where rental car companies generally do pick up/drop offs. Apparently i was in the right area. I also asked for the phone number for Europcar. Get back down to the spot and try the newly acquired phone number. This number doesn't exist, so i wait in hope that they will soon arrive with my car so i can get going. 10:10am and that's it i have to turn my phone onto data roaming to get on the net and get the number of europcar in Bath. I have managed to keep the data roaming off since it is very expensive. I've kept it off for the whole trip so far and I've managed to pilfer Internet from open public or open private wireless networks. But this was an emergency. It didn't take long to find it and the pages i used were made for mobiles so i know the data wouldn't have been that much. And the phone call went something or exactly like this. Is this the Bath europcar? Yes sir it is. I am standing at Bath Railway station waiting delivery of a car I've booked. Sorry sir, we do not do drop offs. Oh, ok. I have a confirmation voucher here saying i can pick the car up at the station. No sir, we don't do drop offs. Is my car still booked? Yes, it will still be booked. So i have to come to your depot and collect am i right? Yes sir, brasmill lane...... Jumped straight into a cab and headed to the depot. It took about 15mins to drive there so by the time I got to the car place it was check out time. I had tried to call the hotel five times just to tell them that i had a slight delay. I'd messages stegglés to let her know I would be around about 11am. Things looked up and went a lot smoother for a tiny bit. I had picked up the car, i had hired a Opel astra or vectra, but they said that they have had to give me a bigger car, yeah that's fine. Stegs and I both had big bags so the bigger the better. And then i got a glimpse of the keys in her hand...... It was a freakin Mercedes!! Massive, stylish, and it drove very well. It even had a paddle gearbox if i wanted to get a bit fancy, and i did of course, but only to demonstrate F1 style gearbox. I had paid for an extra driver but the following 30mins made me think otherwise. Getting to the depot seemed very straight forward, but getting through Bath was a very frustrating exercise! I knew which direction i had to go, I had walked the town a few times so i knew how to get to my hotel, then to where stegglés was staying. One way streets galore, lane ways that close between 10-6 all of these things worked against me. I couldn't be bothered finding my way through the streets of Bath again just to fill out paperwork to add another driver. So I'd be taking control of the driving responsibilities and stegs was the navigator. I got to my hotel and checked out, i think i said I'm sorry about 20 times. I told them that i had tried to call. "oh that was you," was his response. He was on the phone to his relatives. They said they were going to call the police to see if i was lost. I said to them i wish they had, then the cops would have found me and gotten me through Bath in a decent time frame. They had gotten all my bags out anyway so all was good. Quickly threw them in the back of the MERC and drove to pick up my work friend stegglés. Now i had no idea how this weekend would go, i knew her but i didn't really know her. I knew work stegs and we had pretty much always been in a group environment so I didn't really know her. And everyone knows she is a nice person, with a good heart. These three days, well two and a half thanks to the car hire place, i was hoping to scratch the surface and get to know her a bit. I was going to make our time heaps of fun with cool things in mind, and of course spoil her.
A quick hug and presentation of the 4.5 things on her smile list (it worked, she was smiling) and we were off...............in the wrong direction. I think the excitement to see each other and talking about our individual trips had kind of made us go of course which is what we liked to call the "scenic route." We did make a few u-turns and some voluntary/not so voluntary scenic drives whilst touring the UK. But these detours had shown us some really beautiful english country side that we would have missed otherwise. My bone to pick on the motorway is the speed signs, is it 60 or 70mph and when a 50mph area finished i was the last car to know! Conditions were perfect for driving, we both had heaps to talk about during the driving stints, the car was really fun to drive, one stick behind the wheel had indicators/lights/front and rear windscreen wipers/washer/high beams all on the same stick??? And it had an interesting handbrake that was on the side where you would find a clutch, though the only drawback was that my seat needed a lumbar support. On the way to Chepstow part of the motorway and bridge was closed. This turned out to be a massive detour that added an hour to a trip that should have only taken about an hour and a half. So we couldn't see some castles before heading to the medieval markets in a town about 20mins north of Cardiff, called Caerphilly. They had a park and ride station too, but unlike Amsterdam it wasn't hidden and i didn't have to drive around on some pathways! Hahaha!
As we pulled in and were given directions, Instantly we both held back our laughter, it was our first welsh accent, very funny! And trying to read signs in welsh was confusing and we were intrigued as to how those words are pronounced. By this time a had let the cat out of the bag and told stegs the secret place was cadbury world, needless to say she was very excited (and not so secretly, so was I. Mmmm chocolate). We rode the double decker bus to the markets. There is something about being on the top deck of a double decker bus that makes you feel like a kid, and for me act like one! The castle was big, even had a moat that was a bit icy. I told stegglés that i was going to give her a guided tour of a castle i knew nothing about. I explained that the moat was used for water skiing, and she asked how was the skier pulled along. And like all great moments of bullshit, i explained that a horse ran around the moat and towed them along. I did struggle with the remainder of my bullshit tour, but i did manage to explain the one metre slits in the castle walls were. Some historians would point out that this is where the archers would be situated having protection and an eyesight into their enemies. But with BS tours i explained that the slits were ye old EFTPOS swipe facilities. Markets would surround the walls and vendor could utilize the efficiency of EFTPOS. Cards were much bigger, and with time and development they are the size they are today. But if the lines were down they had a massive manual swipe tray which took three men to operate and that carbon paper used made them look like smurfs! The fayre was a lot of fun. There was ferret races. They introduced our four racing ferrets, The Dude, Shadow, Mighty Mo and Bob. I thought Bob sounds like a champion ferret so he was my choice. Stegglés chose her ferret by looks, this scattered coloured brown one was trying to dig out of the pen and he looked the goods. As they were lined up the one i thought was Bob wasn't, but actually the one stegs had chosen. So in effect we were going for the same ferret. Had some pre race jitters, plenty of yawning from Bob, and the jester type host of the ferret races decided to do some ferret juggling. He was surprised that no one tried to stop him. I was thinking it was a genuine medieval thing to do, so when in Caerphilly, juggle away! It turns out Bob is a supreme ferret athlete, he whipped em! I'd doubled my money and later shouted the gorgeous princess of the Caerphilly castle to some green apple liquorice. To the winner goes the spoils! We walked around the grounds, walls and stairwells of the castle. We even had a Christmas room, well according to bullshit tours it was the Christmas room! I did wear my recently acquired helmet for the majority of the time we were at the markets. Did i look silly, you bet i did! As we were exploring three guys came out in full armour. Time for some dueling. They had swords, daggers, shields and even a judge. I dare say these guys aren't in training, their fitness levels were a bit below par, but one who seemed the least fittest was pretty much unbeatable. And funnily for me he was the black knight, it must have been a re-enactment before he had all of his arms and legs cut off by King Arthur in Monty Pythons Holy Grail!! The black knight always triumphs! We then went exploring some more and showed stegs where the horses ran to pull the skiers along the inner wall. We were about to have something to eat when our jester from the ferrets started his flaming juggling act. It was very funny and he wasn't very PC but that made it even better. When you have small kids watch him set a postman pat doll on fire some were egging him on and some were a bit distraught. A quick bite followed by a theatrical performance where i dare say we would have walked out of, if we were a third of the audience. Checked out an old crossbow and a few different catapults. The sun had set and we tried to take some pictures of the gorgeous sky silhouetting the very well restored castle. It was really pretty and it topped a great day of scenic routes and all things medieval. Hopped on the double decker bus back to where our car was and we were singing Christmas carols along with the other passengers. Very cool, very christmassy and lots of fun. As i told stegs, i knew she was fun, but I didn't know she was this much fun!! Haha!
We drove to Cardiff and to our hotel. I thought stegglés would have been staying in some hostels everywhere she had been and i thought a nice place to relax with fancy looking bathroom and über comfy beds. Checked in, went to our room and it was a queen bed, not what i had booked, i was thinking about going back down to the reception and change it but stegs said it was ok, I even showed her the confirmation email that said twin single. We got settled then headed out for some Christmas markets and dinner. It was only 7:30 when we got out and most of the markets were closed......hmm. Couldn't find the ice rink either. After much walking and little debate we found a place that wasn't as busy as Jamie Olivers Italian restaurant, and it catered to one fussy Australian male :-D I was craving pizza and this place had it. I have tried more things in the last few months than i ever have and stegs has a plan of action for me when i get home. I'm open to trying new foods now, though a year ago i probably wouldn't have been as open if at all. Food was great, we saw a group of smurfs outside, and i don't know how they were coping with the cold. We sat there talking about life, what is the next plan, next adventure. We are both the same age and it's nice to spend time with someone of the same age, in a similar situation. Most of my friends are either a few years older or a few younger. And we came to a conclusion, pretty early on it's the little things in life that are important. They can be little things you or someone else does, little things in nature. Its so easy to be happy in life. So, that's the motto of the trip, "The Little Things."
It's like the old couple in Levanto watching the sunset. In a world where everyone is busy, stressed and priorities seem lost. It's the little things that make such a huge difference. Pleases, thank yous, holding doors open for strangers, instead of walking with your head down, look up, take everything in, you might see something which normally you would have missed. Beauty is all around us. I'm going to spend more time looking at the stars, the moon, enjoying a warm evening on the beach, relaxing, no phone, me and my thoughts, might even make my own castle in the sand.
She warned me that she has a noisy stomach (i didn't warn her about my stomach) gets up regularly and may kick in her sleep. I was about to build a pillow barrier but soon fell asleep. I slept better than i thought i would, mind you i was very tired. I didn't get kicked, and she didn't get up at all in the night. Today's plan, cadbury world and our night in Studley castle. More accidents, road closures and the detour involved several roadworks greeted us for day two or our road trip. We were a bit concerned that we may not make it to cadbury world in time, plan B was to go on Monday, but Cadbury world is closed on Monday, so it's Cadbury World or bust!. As we got close and realised we were going to make it, elevated hands slaps were in order. We took a few wrong turns, google maps has the location of Cadbury World wrong. It has steered me so well for the last 7 weeks. We asked a local to help us and with his perfect directions we were there...........heaven! It was so cool, we both has massive smiles on our faces as we drove past the first massive purple cadbury sign. Needless to say we had been sampling the chocolate goods of Cadbury during our trip, even had a bit of a delicious discovery, Cadbury's fudge! It was a bit cold in Birmingham but the warm liquid goodness was soon to be in our noisy stomachs. As like yesterday singing carols in a double decker bus, and seeing the amazing Christmas display in Belgium i really felt like a kid again. The place is amazing, so much to see, so much to do. I think stegglés favourite part was the little Cadbury car ride, it was really cute with cocoa beans doing everything, skiing, swinging from vines, singing and dancing. I think my favourite part was the packaging area, the smells, you need to bottle that fragrance!! Forget sex panther, that is the smell of desire!
I'm writing this while flying to Malaysia. And remember i talked about looking up when you walk, i took a look outside into the dark night and saw six shooting stars in a matter of minutes! It illustrates a perfect point of the little things that are all around us.
Our first port of call is the essence of Cadbury. As you enter they give you a curly wurly and a packet of buttons, nice start. You head into a room and watch holograms depicting how Cadbury was discovered and how it grew to what it is today. Then you get to the tasting room, yeah the tasting room. You get to choose some lollies and then they fill your cup in delicious warm melted cadbury............ Imagine it, yup delicious! And that warmed us up! My mouth is salivating just thinking about it. I had marshmallows and stegglés had sour bears, both were very happy with our choices. I was tempted to ask the lady in control of the melted choc to just hook it to my veins!! We walked back toward the reception and entry of the main area, there is a playground. There are a lot of kids there on a sugar high, and plenty of parents happily waiting for them to burn off that sugar. The main entrance has a big chocolate Christmas tree and Christmas crackers on the roof with chocolate bars falling out. The tour starts with a wonderful room depicting the Mayan rainforest and the the discovery of the cocoa bean then into another room where you see the trade with the Spanish. The place is amazing and well worth it, no oompa loompas though! You sit in a theatre where you are taken literally on a ride that the cocoa beans go through, the chairs shake back and forth as if you are the cocoa bean. There is even a heating lamp when they are roasted. We then did the car ride, saw Santa but weren't allowed to take your own photo so we got out of line. Santa looked a bit sad to not have stegglés sitting beside him. They have an interactive room where you can see yourself from so many angles standing around a big globe, you can get your photo taken and then they fill you up with chocolate and make a virtual mould, I did two one thumbs up, one with my hand sticking out from my groin. Stegs was more sensible and did her tough girl pose! The last destination for heaven on earth was the big store, and we did make some purchases? You bet we did, not to much though. One of them is being carefully and secretly couriered back to Australia. We walk out with enormous child like smiles and some chocolate to keep us busy for a bit.
Now what is to happen next was the big build up, the build up to staying a night in a castle. Stegglés was very excited, as was I. I had stayed in a castle earlier in my trip thanks to Stephan and Alena, but you can never get complacent about staying a night in a castle. We agreed to upgrade the room since we slept ok in the same bed the previous night. The bed was king size (good in a castle fit for a king) and the bathroom was pretty nice too. The castle was bigger and more impressive than any of the photos I had seen. Stegs was pretty excited to be there, I kept saying we're in a freaking castle. Tonight her mission started, get me to try some new foods. She will choose my venue and choice of dinner. For tonight it was a choice of carvery, thai or indian. Thai is her favourite food but her choice was carvery. I had to try all the meats, have a yorkshire pudding, put gravy on it and eat a sampling of all of the veggies on display. Deal! Dinner was really nice, the mini i guess brussel sprouts were a bit meh, but everything else was good. We headed back to our castle, showered and stegs wanted to watch a movie on my iPad. The decision was Life Of Brian, a Monty Python classic. So we had a mini cinema in the middle of the bed with accompanying Cadbury chocolates, cola bottles and of course plenty of water. I think she liked it? She was laughing a fair bit. They are an acquired taste due to their sense of humour being a bit strange. I nearly dozed off midway through the movie. Mind you i could probably recite the entire movie in my sleep.
Sleep was much better than the previous night, i was more comfortable, though still keeping right on the edge of the bed. The alarm went off, i got up but the sleeping princess was still laying there without much knowledge of what was going on! After about half and hour i thought it best to wake her so we can get to Cardiff again and do some outdoor ice skating. Stegs had only been once before when she was 10 or 11. We got some photos of us in front of our castle and our Mercedes hire car, we felt right proper. All the roads were clear and Cardiff came to us in two hours. Found a park which was for the museum..... But after doing a lap around the museum we had realised it was closed. Stegglés asked someone who was about to leave where we can pay for our parking so we can eventually get out. Found the ice rink, waited for a bit, and the next session available was 3pm.....Grrrr! We had to leave Cardiff at 2:30pm at the latest to get the car back in time. So we went to find the Christmas markets, and they were a bit of a disappointment. We had a delicious yorkshire pudding wrap i was laughed at for grabbing the tomato sauce so i had the gravy instead. But it was a good choice! Lucky i trust her with food! We found a little shop that was devoted to Wales and anything welsh. I had to get my flag patch and stegglés had to get her fridge magnet. We had seen a lot of the city the other night, and no surprises it was a much different place during the day, still rather pretty but a little bit deserted for a capital. It's a lovely city that doesn't feel like a city. Then came the time when we had to leave and head back to Bath. We only had to fill the car up once just before Bath so the mileage was very good! After a shaky start our navigation and driving team work worked very well, faultlessly. Dropped steggles off, dropped the car off and headed back into town via a cab. Had a very nice cabbie but the traffic was immense, to get there saturday morning it cost me £7, but to get back it cost £12. Train station doesn't do luggage storage, but found an Internet cafe that does. Ready for my last night in Bath and my last few hours with stegglés. She caught a bus into town, the monday bus..... I knew a place where we could get good food, but i wasn't allowed to have pizza. Dammit! Turns out the place has a function upstairs and will not be serving food. Two doors down we found a Japanese restaurant. So it was another experimental dinner for me. This time i had to choose, i don't know the difference between the styles, i know Frankie advised me last time i had Japanese but i couldn't remember it. I took a punt on a chicken and prawn rice dish that included corn, shallots and some massive mushrooms. I even tried stegglés dinner and i think it was better than mine, but just a tiny bit. The soup was nice too, stegs had some even though she's not a fan of miso soup. But this one was ok for her. All the while through the dinner i couldn't help but think about the few remaining hours i have with Rach, in England and Europe. It was all going to end soon, but i tried not to think about it and focus my time and energy with my good friend to whom i now know better. She has given me advice to help me be a more confident man when approaching women. And i threw away the friend card and the notion of a back up plan, silly name! (inside joke)
Then the time came to say see you soon. A hug, a wave and she was back on the bus. I'm glad i got to spend some time with her, as brief as it was. The rumors are true, she is a great person and whoever snags her will be the luckiest guy.
Time for more trains planes and automobiles. See you soon Gold Coast!
No comments:
Post a Comment