Was always going to be a tough day bidding farewell to Samantha and Marcus in one go. Alan, (Samantha's partner) knows just how tough the separation is for Samantha so he arranged to drive from Northampton to Bristol and then after a 10 minute pit stop, turn right back round and do the return trip. Credit to him for the sacrifice.
It was a quiet and fiddly morning; one of those periods in time when you are not sure what to do, a time when you don't want to start something only to curtail it. A time when planning is put on hold.
The allotted hour arrived, hugs and tears followed and Samantha and Marcus departed. I should clarify that it was not Marcus weeping thereby protecting his masculinity. I can only re-iterate how good the time with our children was on this trip; again and I care not that I repeat myself, they make us so proud.
So after the dust settled we then did make a plan to head into Bristol to find nightwear for Kimberley later; preceded by a trip with Cherie to the Mall at Cribbs Causeway. The second trip would be minus Cherie who had booked appointments for the afternoon. First trip included the Highgrove shop.
Visit the link to see what Prince Charles and Camilla do in their spare time. Kim managed to pick up some lovely gifts here. Prior to Highgrove we visited the Gromit Unleashed Shop.
Our middle of the day outing concluded with Coffee and cookie at Marks and Spencer's.
The second run was into the City where we parked at Cabot's Circus in a multi storey We were immediately struck by the arrival of all Christmas including a spectacular German Christmas Market. Canada had not gone full blown Christmas when we left so this came as a surprise. Particularly the beer Keller with the singing Moose...
History in the UK has a habit of creeping up on you so it was a chance glance that led to my finding the oldest Methodist Chapel the new room Bristol
On my vacation bucket list visit to an Indian Restaurant so a rapid alteration to an earlier plan found us in Bradley Stoke enjoying fantastic food and atmosphere. The national dish in the UK has become a curry and there are fewer places better on earth. I'm not suggesting there is an authenticity to the dishes but they sure as hell taste great. I stretched my legs here with Keema Naan, Mixed Bhuna, Lamb Vindaloo, Pilau Rice....All in all seventh heaven. Kim also found a very palatable dish which bodes well as Indian food is not her first choice.
Stuffed, chuffed and enough....Back to Pilning and soon to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment