The journey South

Last night I dreamt I went to Norway again. 

Am I getting confused?

The last time we were in Norway we were on a Royal Caribbean cruise and we loved it. We loved it so much we decided to do it again, on a different ship to a different country. Or two. Or five. The Baltic Sea is jam packed full of exciting Baltic countries, and that's where we were headed. Ian and I would be joined by the girls, never ones to pass on a free holiday, and Heather and David, who had experienced small ship cruising but were now willing to try going large. 

The large Brilliance of the Seas

I don't want to spoil things by giving away our itinary too soon, but planned activities included blackjack and poker lessons (Vicky, Jackie, Heather), towel folding classes (Vicky and Heather) and rock climbing (Kathy and Heather), Heather having agreed to all this beforehand of course.

What animal is this?

Lots of eating, drinking, and making merry would ensue, and I was anticipating fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Kathy can't wait

The ship would set sail from Harwich, so us Northerners decided to journey South the day before and overnight in Colchester, leaving us a quick half hour journey the next day. Boarding begins at 11am and in order to get the maximum value for our pennies we wanted to be first on board. To that end I had booked us into a Holiday Inn Express. The Southerners would meet us at Harwich, at 11am sharp, and not be late. 

On the morning of departure I was up at the crack of dawn champing at the bit. My cases were packed and ready. I had showered and moisturised. Perfume was on. House secured. But where were my fellow travellers? Well, Ian had decided that he wanted to go to his physio class and Vicky was simply asleep. I just had to twiddle my thumbs for an hour or three. At last Ian came back and Vicky got up, and after a quick shower for Ian (¥%##%) we were ready to go. 

Off we went, down the A1, with Vickys holiday CD playing in the background. We waved our hands in rhythm with 'Sweet Caroline', belted out 'Summer of 69' and felt nauseous at 'Can't Stop'. We were on hollliiiiiidddddddaaaaaaaayyyyyyy! 

As planned we stopped off in Cambridge for lunch and a stroll, parking in a central roadside short stay spot which gave us two hours. We crossed a quaint bridge and piled into a lovely bistro. 

Punts

We exited the Bistro just in time to get caught in a freak monsoon and had to duck into a sweet shop for shelter. Ian took advantage of this and bought some lovely mints. We then proceeded to play dodge the showers while seeing the sights. 

Kings college

We returned to the car just inside our time limit, only to find we had got a parking ticket. Ian had put the ticket on upside down. No matter. He took photos of everything in order to appeal, the gleam in his eye showing he would take no prisoners. 

As we journeyed on the sun came out and it was shining brightly as we arrived at the holiday inn. To our surprise, although it was really cheap, it was very nice. Clean rooms, huge showers and even a pillow menu

Ian composes his latest appeal

Which one is your favourite?

On investigation we found there was a vintage inn nearby, so headed there for tea. It was a lovely pub, with real ale, and we had a lovely meal, before returning to the hotel. 

The crown

We quizzed and headbanged for a bit before agreeing to meet at 9am sharp for breakfast. Then it was time for a giant shower!