Day 09 - Norwich to King's Lynn

This morning we left the beautiful town of Norwich, in the east of the UK.  We headed north and our first stop was in the seaside town of Cromer.

The most amazing thing about the UK, is that while moving through the towns and cities, every second or third building is centuries old, and is either a celebrated heritage site or the front is modernized and it is turned into either a retail shop or office.   

The different areas have different styles, and for example the area close to Norwich and the area we are in today, use pebbles up the walls as well as pebbles on the roads.

 

We have travelled east from Norwich towards the coast and have driven through three or four of the most beautiful, picturesque villages, stopping at a bookshop/tea house near Kelling for a short pit stop.  We continued on to Stiffkey Village and stopped at The Red Lion pub for lunch...   offering fresh local specialities of crab and lobster.   

We both chose the Dressed Crab with lovely fresh beetroot leaves salad, the freshest coleslaw salad and baby jacket potatoes.

Mine of course has been ordered by my ever loving husband who has requested the lack of any recognizable body parts on my plate. (hence his crab has 4 claws in the pictures!)

Turned out to be a delicious lunch!

 

 

And of course I am sipping on my usual half pint of larger and blackcurrant while Paul is working his way through the different ales on tap available from the local breweries. 

 

Needless to mention, by the time Paul is done with the crab, there's nothing left except the shell!

The weather is changing today with really heavy skies and a few drops if rain along the way.  We are hoping that the wet front will have moved through the UK by the time we board our boat on Monday for our canal trip.

Here is a map of todays route.

On our way to Kings Lynn, we drove past Sandringham Estate, the Queen's residence.  Beautiful part of the country. Long solid wall all around the estate and lovely official looking gates.  Paul proceeded to do a doughnut wheelie on the beautifully raked gravel outside the gate.  Can't take him anywhere!

We missed out dinner as I was feeling like I may have picked up a stomach bug with terrible nausea. I was in bed at 4.30pm.  Paul didn't even go and have dinner after our lovely lunch.  He dined on whisky and red skinned peanuts.  Thanks to Nutmania in South Africa.

Day 08 - Cambridge to Norwich

What a wonderful day!

We started off with a lovely continental breakfast and left Newmarket for the most beautiful town that I have ever seen!  CAMBRIDGE, I can now tick that off my bucket list.

We went for a lovely walk along the canals and through the town, with trendy restaurants and of course everyone riding bicycles.  What a beautiful town.

We then travelled north east towards the North Sea shore to a beautiful seaside town called Lowestoft.  

We went for a walk along the pier and had a quick drink at The Fisherman's Wharf, listening to the seagulls.

Imagine naming your boat "Chocolate Starfish" !!   LOL!!!!

Leaving the area and traveling inland again towards the north, we arrived in Norwich.  After booking into our hotel, we went into the town for a nice walk, which turned into a long, long walk in search of a nice restaurant for dinner.

We eventually founded this trendy, beautiful restaurant called "The Last - Winebar and Restaurant" where we had an amazing dining experience which has restored my faith in British Cuisine!

Paul had a venison casserole followed by decadent vanilla cheesecake while I had lemon crusted salmon with pesto baby potatoes, followed by delicious balls of ice cream with a shortcake biscuit.  Yum!

We are now going to make our way back to the hotel and I am sure to another fairly early night.

I feel like my muscles are exhausted tonight like I walked about 50 kms, but of course it was most probably no more than 5kms.  Just these old bones complaining, no I am not referring to Paul!

So the end of my second day draws to a close. 

Wonderful day....thanks for sharing with us,

Day 07 - Northampton to Cambridge

Upon landing at 5.05am local time, I make my way to our designated meeting area and get a nice big hug from Paul. We are excited to start our holiday together.  

We travel from Heathrow through Oxford, grabbing a morning cup of coffee from the local Costa’s.  We then drive through to our friends, Johnny and Barbara who have the most beautiful home in Northampton. We spent until lunch time chatting and catching up, and then after thanking them for their fabulous hospitality, we make our way to Newmarket.

Newmarket is the most beautiful little village. We book into the Premier Inn and then take a nice long walk down the High Street, and wander around the shops, stopping at a lovely pub called

The Golden Lion, where I sample one of my very favourite drinks called “Lager and Blackcurrant”. So delicious, but even a half pint gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling. (yes, the last of the great drinkers!)

After a lovely Fish and Chips for me and a Steak and Ale pie for Paul, in the hotel restaurant, we are getting ready for bed. Been a long day and we are both exhausted.

Tomorrow will be a great day together, and we will update the blog tomorrow evening.

Sleep tight to all of our family and friends back home.

Day 06 - Oxford to Northampton

So at last I am ready to leave Johannesburg and join Paul in the UK on our adventure.  

 After saying a tearful goodbye to my two little ones, and my two daughters, I am packed and ready to go, I am dropped off at the airport and after a delay with the flight leaving, 

I am off on a British Airways A380. Not able to sleep and still coughing, I watch three movies and try and pass the time.