The last few days have been busy. 

On Saturday we took Trixie to stay with her breeder in Duncan. That meant a ferry each way, with a very pleasant visit in the middle; and a stop at Old Town Bakery for a cinnamon bun. These are the king of cinnamon buns, quite irresistible, though I could not eat all of mine.

Trixie was super excited to see Sandy and could not get out of the car fast enough. The feeling was mutual.  She has already started to whip Trixie into shape with an ear trim and a few adjustments to her diet as she was getting a bit chunky.

Back home that night, the true chore of packing began. I never like to pack too far ahead of a trip as things change e.g. the weather forecast., I can also be a bit flighty on deciding what to bring – even though I appreciate the value of a capsule wardrobe for others it never seems to work for me.

We were up early Sunday with only the tech left to sort. This often seems to be the trickiest part – do we have enough power adaptors? Charging cables for all of our many devices? Battery packs for charging phones and equipment on the fly? I am sure you get the picture.

We were completely packed and ready over an hour early. Which meant we arrived at the at the airport way too early. Then our flight to Calgary was delayed. For the first time in  more than 20 years, I did not have lounge access! What!?! How do people handle this? They but overly expensive crappy airport food and stupid things they don’t need at the shops.  A collision of both had me buying some Roger’s Chocolates because – well – why not? The salted caramels were truly disappointing.

The flight to Calgary and connecting to our London flight was seamless. We were in Premium Economy on the London leg and what a let down that was. On the positive side,  entertainment system worked (it often doesn’t) though I only watched one movie. Rick watched a few things – all on his iPad.  Dinner wasn’t bad. Breakfast was abysmal – a container of yogurt and a piece of cherry loaf wrapped in plastic. The seats were not good. I was initially optimistic about the footrest, useful for someone as short as I am. And the seats were definitely roomier. But man – everything was so freaking uncomfortable! Yes, you are looking at privilege talking right now… I apologize. Both of us slept very little.

We arrived on time and zipped through customs and immigration using our biometric passports. We were tired but on fire! We had no trouble making it all work – problem-solving on the fly. We got on the right train and arrived at the right station as planned. Then THUMP! It all came to a halt. A small stumble really. How were we supposed to get from Tottingham Station to King’s Cross? The trains south left from St Pancras – one stop on from where we were… but the northern ones? We finally found someone to ask and realized that King’s Cross was basically the same stop as St. Pancras but we had to go outside and into a different building to get the northern trains. 

Once there it was a bit of a wait to discover the platform number – finally announced only 10 minutes before the scheduled departure.  We filled a bit of time searching for platform 9 ¾ for a trip to Hogwarts. It was easily discovered once I realized that really long line of people were all waiting to have their photo taken there.

Once the platform was called, we hoofed along as quickly as we could. It was a loooooong train with cars numbering from A to M. We were in coach B which meant a very long walk along the platform.

Traveling on a train is so very civilized. The scenery rushes past (at ~ 200 km/h). It is easy to get up to walk around. Progress towards the destination is highly visible in a way that an airline map cannot compete with.

Once settled in we spent the 2 hour trip gazing out the window or snoozing. We shared a delicious sandwich consisting of smoked beef, lettuce, cheese and sweet pickles. OMG – I am in love. It’s pickles and cheese sandwiches for me going forward. How did I get to 66 not knowing about his? I was raised on a few weird sandwiches: cheese and onion, grilled peanut butter, a hefty “Dagwood” shared with my sister every once in a while…. But this was enlightening!

We passed through bucolic fields with stone fences, little brick houses in villages with stone churches and spires that could be easily spotted from a distance. It did make me think that I could probably score a nice collection of bird songs for the Merlin app ;0) There were a few fields of solar panels, discretely placed, as well as a scattering of small windmills; a subtle contribution to alternative energy.

Once in York, it was a short, scenic walk from the train station to the hotel.

Judge’s Lodging was originally a private family home built in 1711. It is quite pretty and our room (Wilfred) was well appointed. We had to haul our baggage up 3 flights of stairs to a room tucked under the eaves with tiny hobbit doors that were easily navigable for me though Rick had to watch his head. These had clearly been the servant’s quarters as the floors below had massive, tall windows that looked out to the street where all the action would have been.

We set up a few things, but not much. Feeling thirsty and hungry we popped back downstairs to the little outdoor patio restaurant. I had my usual non-alcoholic flavoured soda. Rick ordered the rose. When the prompt asked him if he would like soda water or lemonade with that he chose the soda.  What arrived was a glass of rose and lemonade.  Rick did like it and it seemed quite refreshing but a part of me was screaming “It’s an abomination!” in my head. We toasted our safe arrival and shared a few small plates of food – neither one of us being particularly hungry.

Looking around the patio and watching people go by it was clear the demographic was dominated by people like us: retired travellers in our 60s and 70s, still wanting to have great experiences.

After our snack, we decided to set out for a little stroll around the neighbourhood as darkness was beginning to fall. We kept a particular eye open for restaurants. I loved the names of a quite a few of them.  A couple of favourites are included here.

Along the way we bumped into a street performer singing opera. He was very impressive, even taking requests. Here is a wee snack size. He finished with “Time to Say Good-bye” and I videoed most of it. So great!

There wasn’t a lot open or a lot of people out and about. I did see a few cool little shops I will want peek in when we go for our wander tomorrow. We also went by the cathedral to have a first look. It seemed lovely but full darkness was falling and very little of it was lit up the way I would have expected.

We are back in our room now – barely coherent. Having hung our “milk” sign on the door (for tomorrow’s coffee) and closed the curtains, it is time for sleep. Everything will be even brighter tomorrow.

P.S. AI was not used in any way to support what is written here. Due to the late hour, please forgive me any typos or obvious mistakes.