uk train trip -- Wales

I changed train a few times on the five hour journey south; all the while reading the entire book I'd bought from a group of very persistant young sellers of a second hand stall in Leeds. I was a little chuffed about reading a whole book in one day, albeit a teen read. It wasn't till I had almost arrived, when night had already fallen, that I thought that I probably should have prepared a little more for my arrival in Cardiff than this: ha ha

I did however manage to find my way to my hotel wandering along the dark streets. After settling in I came down stairs and further confirmed that I should have prepared a bit more for this leg of my journey. With only one full day in Cardiff, I had arrived too late to actually be able to book a day tour that would allow me to see the countryside. An indian girl asked me to wander the city with her which I did. That was an experience. She was a very driven, full on type of person.

On the Thursday, after getting over the disappointment of not being able to see the countryside of Wales fairly quickly, I decided to just go with what I had and do holidaying stuff rather than sightseeing. I did however go to Cardiff Castle and take a look.

It's not the most interesting castle I've seen here. It has been changed many times over the years and then restored so it has so many different mismatched layers etc. I wandered around the grounds in the cold listening to the history. It was fascinating to see a lifesize trebuchet up close after playing so many games of Age of Empires. The house that you can see in the background just left of the trebuchet had some pretty elaborate rooms too.

After spending the morning at Cardiff Castle I wandered the shops happily browsing slowly and indecisively. I did buy a thing or two and then found a Starbucks--not hard to do these days--where I sat and ate coffee and cake and cheerily used my new phone to access the free wi-fi. It was here I decided I would go see a movie. So after checking times and location I made my way over to the cinema and sat down (happy feet) for two hours of being entertained by This Means War. On the way home from the movies I stopped by the supermarket and grabbed some welsh cakes for a simple tea. I had also amused myself during the day by looking at the signs and such that had welsh on them. It's a strange looking language and yet another that seems odd to try and read.

The next morning I decided to head off reasonably early and go straight to Swansea where my next B&B was booked. I had been unable to book three nights in Cardiff, the Friday night seemingly booked out everywhere. I quickly assumed there must be something on which didn't surprise me. Most of my trips here I've managed to catch some event without intention. And I was right. A rugby match in Cardiff, Wales vs France. So I'd booked a night in Swansea, the second biggest city in Wales that is on the south coast. When I arrived and made my way into town I decided to hire a car and drive around the Gower Penninsular which is supposed to be quite spectacular. Honestly, I failed to see it. Because I literally had trouble seeing it. Pfft. Silly uk roads. Most are like you see below. Hedged in laneways practically. Keeps you from actually seeing the scenery. Therefore the destinations were where you had to sightsee only I didn't really know where I was going and I found it difficult to actually find the spots you could stop at the destinations. I had lunch in a little shack of a fish and chip shop on some beach--I can't remember which. I strolled on the beach for all of 10mins but with no sun and the cold wind I quickly gave up on the Gower Penninsula.

I managed to find my B&B which was nice and with a few hours of daylight left decided to head inland and search out some waterfalls. The first one I stopped at was with some kind of shop...tinsmith I think. But it was already closed so I continued on to find Melincourt Waterfalls. That I found, enjoyed the walk along the wooded, creekside path and savoured the site of the falls. I hung out there until the light began to drop and headed back into Swansea, hoping the satnav wouldn't take me through one of the dreaded roundabouts. Most I've come across here are large complicated ones. While I enjoyed driving around, the one massive roundabout I had to venture into had me a little stressed. Multiple lanes, multiple exits, stop lights, hoards of vehicles and needing to be in the right lane to get out at the right spot. Urg. I don't like them. But I survived. :)

I spent the evening playing with my phone (and the free wi-fi) and watching movies on tv and eating yummy snacks. The following day, after a leisurely start, I checked out with the owner expressing interest in my surname. He mentioned an old tale that most welsh children were told of Beth Gellert and dog or some such thing. I've vaguely heard of it before. I returned the car and wandered along the streets, getting a little distracted by the shops. I bought a wales labled item for my collection and stopped somewhere for lunch and waited for my train. I spent the entire three hour train journey back to London reading an ebook on my phone that had me sucked in and entertained the whole way. And happy that I still had quite a lot of battery left when I arrived.

The Wales segment wasn't what I anticipated. I'd hoped to see more of the mountains and scenery which I've heard is quite beautiful. But I did still enjoy it. Just in a different way. It was nice to have a whole week of roaming and doing relaxing enjoyable things just because I could.

uk train trip -- Lake District

On the Monday morning I caught the train--with a few changes--to Windermere in the Lakes District. I decided to come up to this area as I've heard it mentioned numerous times that it's a beautiful area. The town was certainly a welcoming sight with it's delightful stone buildings and age old architecture. A pokey little village that reminded me with ease that I'm in England. I spent most of my daytime hours wandering about the area, feeling a cold until I'd been on the move for a while. I spent the evenings cosied up in my freely upgraded room at the Ravensworth with yummy snacks and movies I borrowed from the lounge downstairs.

It was only a short walk from my B&B to Lake Windermere but the path was utterly delightful. Winter stripped trees, loads of rock walls and moss creeping over everything as I snaked along inbetween pretty stone-built houses and wooden gates in the stone walls that have that air of leading to secret gardens. The chilly air and overcast weather made it mysteriously mystical. I felt potential stories lingering in every view. The rush and roll of the creek and my feet crunching over the dirt and pebbles were almost all the sound that accompanied me. Apart from one afternoon when I was walking around listening to Steph Geremia play her irish flute on my ipod. That was a bouncily happy afternoon. Parts of that walk were danced. I also climbed a hill for a view over Lake Windermere. This lake is the biggest that England has.

The day I arrived, after settling in to my room, I set about finding a day tour to book for the next day. I went to find Mountain Goats as that's the one that was recommended but the tour I'd hoped to do was booked. The lady said if there were maybe five people interested they could get another bus together. I said I'd visit the tourist information centre or call by the end of the day and see if they were getting another bus together. As I was talking to staff at the tourist information centre and looking over a brochure from another company a phone call came through to the centre to see if I was there still and that four others were interested. So I ended up being able to book the tour I'd originally wanted to do. In the meantime, while all that was being clarified and booked, I bought myself some sock from the tourist information centre purely because of the brand name. It was a mini thrill to find a selection of 'Gelert' products.

The day tour was...interesting. We had one girl throw up on the bus at the beginning of the day. Thankfully it wasn't too stinky. We also lost a couple in Keswick as they never returned from lunch and after waiting as long as we could we left without them. They made their way back to where we started and our driver later met them with their luggage which finished the tour with us. As for the scenery, the reports are true. It is quite beautiful in the Lakes District and I bet it's even nicer on clear sunny day. I think we saw 10 different lakes in all, lots and lots of drywall fences, loads of paddocks and a sprinkling of sheep all over the place.

The farm above is apparently where Beatrix Potter went when she gave up scrawling her children's tales. I think she was quite successful with farming too. Sheep farming of course. We also went on a boat ride around Lake Derwent. It was a little ferry-like vessel. I sat on the outside to better view the lake and surroundings where it was cold and was bored well before the 50 min round trip was made. Honestly, the Lakes District IS nice but I think I like the land part best. As for water, I think it's most beautiful in streams and rivers. After the boat ride we went into Keswick for lunch.

Towards the end of our day we visited Castlerigg. Yet another stone circle. There's certainly more of these than I realised. We also drove over Ashness Bridge which they say is the most photographed bridge in Cumbria. I don't know about the other bridges but this was pretty little bridge. And then there was a bunch more of the typical, beautiful scenery that makes up the Lakes District.

After wandering around Windermere on my last day there, I sat by the train station and ate a late lunch before making the longest of my train rides on this holiday.

Note: Double click a picutre to view them all more closely.

uk train trip -- Leeds

The family I work for went to the snow for the week with others leaving me with a free week since there were extra family members around to help with the boy. Since I've recently been to Iceland and I'm heading to Italy for Easter, I decided I'd take this opportunity to see some of the UK...and keep the costs down. From an email telling my of super cheap fares if I book early, I got train tickets for this past week a while ago. I also booked accommodation and then got distracted with other things. So this was going to be an interesting holiday with only those things booked and nothing else thought about. (I usually put more planning effort in.)

So on Saturday 10th March I rose early and dragged my luggage to Kings Cross Station to make the first stretch of my journey to Leeds. My new phone (fake iphone so it has lots of apps and gadgets and stuff) happily arrived a couple days before I left when I wasn't expecting it until after I got back. That gave me plenty of distraction, not that I mind travelling. I could plug it into the wall and fiddle away with my new toy. And thankfully I've mostly got my head around how it works now.

In Leeds I'd arranged to couchsurf with a local family and I caught the bus they suggested and met me at the stop they said to get off at. They were very friendly and chatty and welcoming. The mum is a crafter; an art class teacher in fact. We spent that afternoon pulling out supplies and crafting away. I had another go at felting. I haven't done much before. Just a little before I left Australia. She had a variety of greens so I did a basic swatch with the top layer being carefully placed as to resemble layers of grass. Then roll, roll, roll, roll, roll...for what seems like ages. I'm pretty happy with the outcome though. I think I'm going make it into a zip purse. Sometime...

I hung out with them all day and they ordered in Thai for tea. Yummo. After their little girl was in bed was sat and chatted and she helped me make a list of things I could see and do in Leeds the next morning.

Sunday morning I caught the bus into Leeds city centre and wandered down to Clarence Dock. There went to the Royal Armouries Museum to amuse myself a while until the shops opened. I only looked through the tournament section but it was fascinating. Jousting intrigues me. It's such a strange entertainment. And all the armour and things they wore and did as a part of it all. Some of the armour was funny too like the mo helmet below. They also displayed and explained the art on the armour and how it was done. I found that particularly interesting.

I then left the armoury and made my way back into the town visiting the Corn Exchange which is an interesting building to look at. Then I went along some arcades and streets which were really quite pretty. I just wandered around, eventually stopping in at a bagel shop for lunch. Then slowly made my way around and back to the bus and back to my hosts in the early afternoon.

That afternoon, with the sun gorgeously shining, my host and child took us to a nearby nature reserve for a walk in the woods. Followed by a late afternoon tea at a cafe.

The next morning I left early to catch my train to my next destination.

Leeds was not anything spectacular though I had a nice weekend there. Nothing amazing or noteable to visit. Though I did spend a lot of my time there hanging out with the host family who were lovely. Perhaps I'm just used to be overwhelmed by the fascination of being in other countries and seeing 'icons' I've only ever previously heard about. I tend to be having exploring holidays rather than relaxing ones over here. On to my next destination, where I intended to do more of the exploring holiday format...

a daring fashionista or a rebel?

The year must have been 1924. Maybe 1925. The woman in the photo already well embracing the changes this decade brought.

She was dressed elegantly in a glittering knee length gown with a string of pearls at her neck and wrist and showing off the latest leg fashion with fancy stockings and shoes. Her hair was styled fittingly to the era and face artistically painted in the bold statement that is attached to the 1920s. From a scrawling on the back we are told she was "heading out for a cup of tea with friends". Or at least that's what she'd told her household...

This same woman has been identified in other photos recently found that were taken about the same time. The location is believed to be only a short train ride away from the house where she was living. Experts are suggesting that she attended a party held at a secret location where the drinks were stronger than tea leaves. Perhaps she was more than embracing the changes in a time where the masses began to sway the prohibition of alcohol. Perhaps this pretty face was a rebel at heart.

This night was a blast. I had so much fun simply preparing for it. Searching and finding the bits and pieces for my costume was fun. The ebay dress was simply perfect. Exactly what I wanted. Twenties style but more on the elegant side than flapper. I was so delighted when the seller accepted my offer and unlisted the item 9 days early. Researching again (had a 20s party for my 30th) and deciding on hairstyle and makeup was fun. Happily found a youtube on 20s styles for long hair. Took me a couple of hours to pull off but it was worth it. And the makeup is more silent movies glamour. The eyes shadowed at their highest on the inside and triangled down to the outer corner giving the added emphasis of frightened beauty who needed rescuing. A common role for women in the action movies. I pumped up the makeup by attaching fake eyelashes for the first time ever too. That really finished off the face. Pulling it all together was fun. I love the whole look though. All that I got worked together so well. In my opinion anyway.

The Prohibition Party was a ticketed event. The location shared only just a few weeks before the night. I popped upstairs to show the boy my full outfit as we both had dress up parties this weekend. He was awed and giggled. I sure looked different. Then I trotted out on my own to catch the train to meet friends. I did feel a little bit funny but at least it was normal clothes just from a different era. Once I'd met up with my friends it was great. After pre-drinks near by we headed off to find the party. It took us a good 15mins or more to find the place even though it was just "around the corner". Ha ha. It was held at the Old Vic Tunnels at Waterloo station. It was a fantastic location. You walk half way down a tunnel and then in a side door and along a bit more until we reached the entrance. When we handed over our ticket, we were handed USD$100 (Fake of course.) These tunnels truly made it feel like a secret location, hiding away from the law. We stopped by the cloak room and passed by a vanity table where you could get your hair or makeup done if you wanted and then through to the party. We stopped by the bar and I ordered The Gatsby from the cocktail menu stuck inside an old book. It came in a tea cup wonderfully keeping in line with the hiding of alcohol consumption. It tasted nice too.

We stepped into the next room where there was another bar with leather couches and wooden cargo boxes for coffee tables and a roulette table! We stepped up and handed over our USD$100 for chips and learnt how to play. Ha ha. That was fun. Especially coz I never lost a cent. I won a few times but it wasn't long before all my chips were gone. Some people were getting quite lucky towards the end of the night when I squeezed back in for another play after finding a USD$100 on the ground...and a friend gave me a $100 chip of his own. I didn't do any better though. There was black jack in the next room over as well. I watched my friends play that later in the evening but I didn't play myself. In another room off that (all these rooms separated by large archways) were tables and chairs and a big screen showing a silent movie with a live pianist adding the background music. The whole place was wonderfully set up. Even the toliets were dressed in the 20s. On the way to the toilets were a couple of set ups great for photos. Like the one we posed at with an old velvet upholsted chair and end table.

We sat around chatting at the tables for ages drinking our 'tea'. Eventually we were wandering about and returning and...repeat. Everywhere you went there were amazing costumes to admire. Everyone looked fabulous. And I do like this style. It was nice to be complimented a few times on my own. Particularly the makeup and it's hitting the mark. I only wish I'd ventured to the hall where the band was at the right times. The first few times I went past it was just music playing. I later realised these must have unfortunately been the times where the band was on a break. Later in the night I was there while the band was up and that was great. It was packed and we were always bumping others. I actually stayed for quite a while dancing by myself. If you know me, you'll know this unlike me. But there's something about this music that makes me feel like dancing. More than any other style. It was a thrill to actually recognise a good number of the songs. I was a bit disappointed that I only realised they were singing "Ain't nobody here but us chickens" towards the end of the song because it's a fun song. A silly one. The musicians, though I found hard to understand the words, were great at playing. Always love the double bass and the singer changed instruments a few times. Even playing the bagpipes for one song which was amazing (to hear it in 20s style music) and sounded awesome. I stayed with some of my friends until they kicked us out.

After figuring out where our bus stop was we caught the night bus home. Another first. (London trains make their last run at midnight.) By the time I got home, admired my artistry some more, made no attempt to resist a photo shoot and THEN had to take out all fourty one hair pins and scrub off the make up, I still slid into bed smiling at 5am. It was a fabulous, fun night. I'm so glad I went.

And I'd happily do it all again. ^^

the land of ice and fire

Phew! It's been a super busy week. Now that I'm through it I can tell you about the week before. ^^

On Wednesday evening I rolled my suitcase along the London streets to the local tube station. It was the 8th of February. Winter in the northern hemisphere. At a station down the line I waited in my puffy down coat, watching trains pass causing the ebb and flow of passengers. Then round the corner she appeared. Smile on her face which my face replied to. Our long anticipated adventure was beginning.

Stephanie and I arrived at Heathrow airport in comfortable time. Already checked in we bought some tea and headed to our gate. We chatted and ate until called to board our airplane, named Hekla. We raised our eyebrows at the name. Being named after a volcano also known as the gates of hell was definitely an interesting start to our journey.

We sat on the plane, buckled in and ready, for an hour before we finally lifted off. This extra time to our flight though allowed us to watch the travel show about our destination and view the whole of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, which Stephanie had not yet seen. After our late delayed flight followed by an hour bus trip, it was the early hours of the morning when we walked into our room at Hotel Klettur in Reyjkavik, Iceland.

Thursday

We arose at 9am and peeked out our curtains only to find we couldn't see much. As we wandered down to the breakfast area we wondered when the sun would rise. It's pretty sleepy during the winter months in Iceland after all that partying over summer.

This day--and Saturday morning--was our exploration of Reykjavik and tourist shopping. This city, the northern most capital in the world, is one of colourful buildings and 'decoration' (aka. artful graffiti). Snowy mountains were a delightful sight across the bay. The names and words provided entertainment as we wondered how to even pronounce them. But the puzzle that first hit us was stillness in the streets. It was weekday. Late morning now and occasionally a car would pass by with just a scattering of people about. It was strange to think this was a capital city; especially since we both just came from London where we've been living recently. But I suppose it's to be expected when the whole country's population rounds to 330,00 or so.

After the various staff at the tourist information centre kept changing our minds we finally booked a day tour for the next day. We dragged our feet through a supermarket, sometimes guessing at what was being sold, and then on through the streets to the hotel where we rested for a while.

At half past eight we stepped through the doors of the elevator all rugged up. The lobby was filled with other rugged up people talking softly. We squeezed around to a spot on the couch and waited alongside them for our bus. This evenings excursion was particularly anticipated. One of those events that's on your wish list but as Australians has a good chance of not ever being done.

We rolled out of Reykjavik and along the highway and soon turned off onto a country road. Hoping but not entirely hopeful we gazed out the windows as we travelled along. There was not much to see. The dark night was all around, disturbed in patches where towns and highways lay. Every now and then a star or two could be seen for a while before it disappeared again. It had been raining in the afternoon and the clouds still lingered. The bus frequently stopped so the guide could step out and check the skies. Eventually we pulled onto a dirt road and were told our chance had come. In hopeful anticipation we stepped into the cold night air and stared up into the sky. The clouds parted and there it was, right above us. Aurora Borealis. I was stunned. Was that the northern lights? I looked at Stephanie and she looked back just as puzzled as I. In the clearness of the patch was a wide streak with perhaps a faint tinge of green, not quite cloud shape. Disappointment rolled in and flooded out my expectations. While the sky was the clearest my camera remained off. While I had expected that this natural phenomenon would be less brilliant than the pictures on the internet and in books, I was expecting colour. The phenomenon of this night was seeing how green the lights appeared when you photographed them. Vastly different. As the clouds filtered across the sky again it was quite hard to distinguish where the northern lights were. I was taking photos to see if those clouds I was looking at were actually the lights.

As we were heading back to the city we stopped in a street briefly as the clouds parted again and gave us all a better viewing. This time, further from town lights, the green was more noticeable to the naked eye. Stephanie got a few good photos with her mini tripod though I managed to take some ok ones too considering mine were all handheld. The guide obviously had a proper tripod and good camera to take this picture.

Unfortunately my disappointment tainted this experience. I hope in different, in better conditions with more luck the viewing of the aurora borealis could feel more magical. Since I plan to head somewhere further north at the end of this year in hopes to achieve a white Christmas (another on the wish list of maybe nevers) I think I'll try view them again.

Friday

A late night and an early morning is a mix that produces a sleep start. By breakfast the excitement of today's adventure had us fully awake. Soon enough we were aboard the bus heading along the south coast passing snowy, volcanic scenery. Iceland is situated just south of the arctic circle and over the line where the Eurasian and North American plates meet. All the geothermal activity makes this country a fascinating place. Active volcanoes, geothermal springs, glaciers, geysiers and bubbling mud mixed in with it's viking history. Iceland makes use of its geothermal treasury and most homes are heated naturally. The water that comes from the hot taps comes straight from the earth.

In our quest to experience Iceland and as much as our krona allowed, we had decided on glacier hike. We walked up the ash and lava rock covered ground at our expedition location. Already in harnesses (for the unlikely event of needing to be pulled out of a crevasse) we paused to strap metal spikes to our boots. With ice pick in hand, we stomped cautiously onto the ice of the glacier as we'd been instructed. Perhaps a little overzealous as we didn't need to stomp as hard as we all started out doing so. We found the crampons gripped amazingly well in the ice and were soon trodding along. The sound was an unusual experience. I think its one that will stick with me. An odd delight.

The glacier beneath our feet stems from the volcano, Katla. The same one our plane was named after. It's one of the ten largest volcanoes on earth and it erupts every 80 years or so. The last eruption being a little over 80 years ago. Our guides reminded us of the news events of the trouble caused in 2010 when the volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted. Katla, they informed us, is a hundred times the size of that one. Previously unconsidered, the volcanic erruption, which would unleash tremendous havoc of lava, ash and smoke, would also cause great flooding as the glacier would melt. This knowledge, withheld until we were half way up, made the experience that more surreal. We saw pyramids of lava gravel where the glacier had swept it all together, various formations of ice sculpted by nature, layers of ash stuck in the ice. We caught a little flowing ice cold glacier water in our hands for a taste. Clean and fresh. We stopped at a narrow crevasse and our guide chipped at the ice and we listened to it fall in an almost crackling manner. That was apparently the sound the ice made when the volcano was disturbing the ice below. At another hole the guide chipped again at the ice but we never heard it hit anything. We did make sure we walked where the guides did and followed their instructions seriously.

And as if the sounds and sights and updated knowledge weren't enough, the weather kicked in its bit. They say here in Iceland, "If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes and it will be worse". Once we were near the top--or rather as far as we would be going--it began to snow. That was a delight. It also meant more danger as the snow hid the dangers in the ice. We paused to eat a bit of lunch and then as we headed downward again along came the hail, then sun, then snow, hail, wind, sun, rain, wind, hail...

The glacier walk behind us, the bus pulled into our first stop on the return trip. We stepped off a moment of sunshine. Colours shimmered through the mist. Skogarfoss was showing off. Our last stop before Reykjavik was another waterfall, more casual than the previous one. It may not have been as grand but it allowed you to walk all the way behind it. Which we did and increased our dampness. Back at the hotel we had a quite night in.

Saturday

The morning we spent wandering the streets again as I mentioned earlier. We saw the viking boat sculpture, an icon of Reykjavik, and visited the Church of Hullgrimur which is the tallest building in the city. You can climb the tower there and get a broader view of the city. The bell is really loud when you're in the tower too. We continued attempting to pronounce icelandic words. Especially Eyjafjallajökull which according to the tourist t-shirts is easy to say,...“AY-uh-fyat-luh-YOE-kuutl-uh”. I still can't say it. It's the last 'll' that really gets me. It's quite a different sound from 'l'.

Our afternoon excursion ended up being the most anticipated. Being left till last. The blue waters surrounded by black jagged rocks and rising vapour as we approached had us buzzing. We walked through a valley of volcanic rock to a building that ushered guests through to the Blue Lagoon.

We braced ourselves a moment at the door. Then we pushed ourselves outside into the freezing cold in naught but our bathers. The air stung our skin and our hairs instantly pricked up. We walked quickly to the water's edge and stepped delightfully and carefully into the murky blue water that now tingled and warmed our bodies. There's something quite blissful about soaking in fabulously warm water in freezing winter temperatures. The blue lagoon was never more than about chest deep but we mostly sunk ourselves to our necks or pulled ourselves along with our hands, legs trailing behind, in the shallower areas. We floated all around the lagoon and played in the mineral mud that covered most of the bottom. In some areas it was so thick and squelchy, grey and gritty being mixed with the volcanic dirt, up to our ankles. It was textural pleasure. We stayed all afternoon. Happily soaking for hours. Covering our faces with the white mineral mud, the clean version, that they kept in boxes around the lagoon a couple of times. We spent some time in the sauna and the steam room. We had a cold mist shower and sat in cave. We stood under a pelting waterfall and let the pounding massage our muscles. We bought and ate ice creams from the in-water kiosk. We talked, played, laughed and thoroughly relaxed.

We did some cold stints traverse the bridges and paths to fetch cameras and take photos. The first half our pampering was really quite foggy and sometimes we couldn't see much beyond two metres. The second half was clearer and grew darker as the twilight came and the lights were turned on. But we got out in time to change and poke around the shop before catching the 7pm bus back to Reykjavik.

Once ready we walked into town and eventually decided on a place to eat. In a cosy pub we sat ourselves down for an icelandic meal. Sadly unable to try puffin, it being out of season, I settled for a jar (side dish/starter) of mink whale, a jar of icelandic cheeses and fruit and a lamb burger. The whale, which was only seared, was a bit too fishy and gross for me. I tried it but Stephanie finished it for me. The cheeses I mostly liked and burger was good. This day rounded off our trip nicely.

Sunday

I fumbled out of bed and across the room to my phone to switch off my alarm. I sank into the chair with a groan. It was too early to be awake. And that is what I complained about to Stephanie who was still in bed. But awake we needed to be. I hauled myself out of the chair and moved across the room. The light blinked on and I squinted a moment. We were now both half lively and moving about getting dressed and packing the last few things into our suitcases. We snacked on the last of our food stash and then pulled our weary selves down to the lobby to catch the 5:30am bus.
It's always a bit somber heading to the airport when it's for the return flight after a holiday. But we went satisfied. We checked in the quick way and then Stephanie slumped in a chair while I queued for some duty free tax back. I rumaged around a tourist shop trying to hurry as the duty free station took up more time than I'd hoped. I spent the last of my krona and then went to find Stephanie at the gate. We boarded the plane and settled in. As soon as our in-flight screens allowed us, we set Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two playing and watched it all the way home.

Read Stephanie's version of events.