London one-way!

Our weekend escapade was to Colchester, the same train line to Norwich but half the way. Colchester is the oldest recorded town in Britain’s history, which was an interesting focal point.

We had a look at a few of the small museums surrounding the castle, one that gave an insight into the flora and fauna of the local area, and the other into the habits of the people who used to live in a big house next to the castle.

It was actually quite nice outside, no heat but the sun was a change. Don’t ask me how you can have the sun without heat but that’s Britain for you. We walked past the castle and through a big park, and down along a segment of the original Roman wall that protected the city.

We didn’t realise, because the map didn’t show it, but the circle we took meant that we walked up the big steep hill rather than down it, which was quite embarassing  when these oldies come up walking faster than us…we did make it to the top without having coronaries though, and to the front gate which still stands.

After that we had a wander around the main streets of Colchester, me being dragged into various shoe shops. We came across a pub called The George, which Mrs Ayers told me is nice – she lived there for a while and they would save money to go once a month for dinner – she said we should go have a drink there, but it looked so nice we decided to have lunch there. We grabbed a newspaper on the way in, and sat ourselves (dahhhrling) in these two big comfy chairs with a small table between. The room had a low ceiling and old Victorian carpets, with a few other lounge and arm chair sets around the room. The windows were big but divided with many panes. It felt like we should be sitting there in our dressing gowns smoking a pipe.

For such a posh pub, we were not so posh with our Daily Mail – only because it had a free DVD in there. We got table service, and Lija had the steak and kidney pie while I had the fish and chips. But this was nice food. I had cod with a layer of batter thick enough to be tasty, but thin enough to enjoy and not be stodgy, while the chips were hand cut, thick and roasted not fried with rock salt to taste. It also had a nice salad with it.

Can I help it? I enjoy my food and I like to see how some favourites can be improved and made in an original way.

Apart from being old, Colchester has got to be known for its  op-shops. Over here they call them charity shops, for a good reason, but when us Aussies turn around and say Op-shop they have no idea what it means. We were taking a squiz for Lija’s birthday party next weekend, which she is having at an 80s joint. I bought a pair of purple leg warmers and Lija saw a few very bad shirts that would have been perfect for the occasion.

When we had to catch the replacement bus from Colchester Town station to Colchester North station we found out it had already gone, so when the station master said the next bus is in 45 minutes and the train leaves in an hour, and the north station was 2 miles away…we said great, thanks, we’ll walk. 2 miles isn’t far…it took us about half an hour give or take a detour/getting ever so slightly off track in a roundabout way. How do these things happen?!

Altogether a great day out. Next week we’re having in London to prepare for the big par-tay. Watch this space for more soon…

Tags: Travel

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