Day 50 – to Leicester (“lester”)
- Once packed, we walked to the train station, found a table at Wetherspoons for breakfast, and bought drinks at a convenience store for the rest of the wait.
- I was able to work on train and got a lot done despite the woman next to us calling everyone in her address book. She even had to yell so her “nan” could hear her wish her a Happy Birthday.
- It was a long-ass walk to our hotel. Between the creepy cab driver who tried to get us to get into his van and the “temu” stores, that part of town felt like East LA.
- I broke a nail on the damn sidewalk tiddies. I know why they have them and I appreciate their function, but they also seem to put them in random places, like the middle of the sidewalk where there is nothing of note (no intersection, no curb cuts, no obstruction to the path, etc.) Why? Anyway, they stopped the wheels on my bag, made the thing tump over, and then the crashing chaos broke my nail on the way down. I only get to have nails when we are out of the US for 30+ days, so this pissed me off.
- We were early-ish but able to check in. Our room was a huge (like 600sf huge) studio apartment.
- After settling in, we were hungry, so we searched for food near us. We are close to a college campus and lots of places have a 15% student discount, but a lot of places were closed or takeaway only. We ended up at an Aussie-themed pub, Walkabout. They had good pub food, a great beer selection, and cheap drinks. I declared that I would move in if someone would bring me my laptop.
- On the way back to our hotel, we stopped in a Tesco (small grocery chain) for beer and breakfast snacks like bagels, cream cheese, and bananas. They only have self checkout unless it’s for tobacco, so he hesitated for us to use them (with the beer), but I said it would be alright and scanned the beer first. As soon as it alerted “18+” the security guy told us it was fine and we finished our purchases. I thanked him on the way out and he seemed genuinely surprised as if it’s just how it’s done.
- Once back at the hotel, he immediately found the TV hookup for his handheld computer, a ROG.
Day 51 – UK’s National Space Center
- After a lazy morning and a DIY breakfast (yay for a kitchen!), we ventured out for lunch and then headed to the UK’s version of NASA, the National Space Center for wandering through the exhibits and an IMAX film. The place also had dinosaur stuff (why??) and was riddled with young children and Royal Air Force cadets, but it was interesting.
- We stopped for snacks on the way back at a fun bar that has events every day. Once we heard them setting up for whatever Tuesday stuff was planned, we got out of there.
- …and then I found myself crawling into bed for a nap. I guess the nightmares from the night before had really taken a toll on me.
- When we got ready to venture out for the evening, we found Firebug, a casual bar with some older video gaming areas (Mario Cart, Street Fighter), and a separate venue for bands. We enjoyed a couple of drinks and some snacks, but when we heard a band starting up, we bailed.
- We stopped at a little market for some snacks and drinks and then headed back to the room. While I “worked,” he spent the evening gaming.
Day 52 – free city circle tour
- After our DIY breakfast, I did some committee work (one last task) and some editing while he gamed.
- Across the street, we found Pepe’s. But instead of the tacos like he grew up with, this one was flame-grilled Piri Piri chicken. It was really good once a table of a mom and three really loud tweens left. The food was great. I grabbed two recipes online for the rub and the sauce, so we can replicate this at home.
- After a massive session of handwashing to get the piri piri off our fingers, we got on the “hop on” free city bus, It just makes a loop, but it’s also a great way to get back to our train station when we leave. We didn’t see anything worth hopping off for, so we just rode the full loop. We stopped at the store for dinner and breakfast foods.
- Once back at the hotel, we scoped out the free laundry area, but it was so bad that we decided against using it. They really need to invest some time and a little money into that space
- I did some editing “work” while he gamed, but then my back started hurting, so I laid down with some of my YouTubes and promptly crashed.
- I woke up ready to get more work done (light at the end of the tunnel). When the wifi failed on me for the second time, I went downstairs. A guy working in the lobby cafe had a glass of bubbles and a glass of water. That sounded perfect so I told the bartender, “I’ll have what he’s having.”
- I got a few things done before he appeared and said he was hungry, so we went back to ours and made the dinner we bought earlier.
- I got another chunk of work done before my back said “no more” to the chair in our room. We took that opportunity to find Duffy’s bar (Irish, of course) a block over. It was good music and a busy, but conversation volume crowd. In the back was a massive party of karaoke that we had zero actual interest in. When we went to take our seats, the bartender warned us of the private party in the back. We were like “yeah we can hear it.” I later asked her what it was for. She told me it was A Level leavers. I asked their ages (16-18). That explained the outfits, the number of smokers, and the tone of the night. They were fun for people watching. Them scream-singing the very long Riff Off from Pitch Perfect II (the one with the Green Bay Packers) had me crying I was laughing so hard.
- Back in our room, we heated up the yummy chocolate desserts we had saved for later. They were like tiny chocolate lava cakes. yum!
Day 53 – resting, working, gaming
- After a DIY breakfast, we tweaked some of our travel plans to make things easier and cheaper for ourselves. That also allowed us to add Berlin, which we had previously taken off the itinerary.
- I guess that took it out of us because we both took naps next. But then I realized why we both found the bed, it had been raining. I guess the pressure changes made us sleepy eventhough we didn’t know the weather had changed.
- He found us a great shawarma place for lunch before our almost-daily grocery shopping.
- We spent the rest of the evening working, gaming, and YouTube watching, with a break for dinner.
Day 54 – to Cambridge
- After our DIY breakfast and final packing, we waited for half an hour or so in the hotel lobby before boarding the Hop! bus to the train station.
- As far as trains go, we were quite early, so we saw 3-4 of them leave from our platform before it was our turn. We aren’t exactly anxious, but we don’t know how long the bus and finding the platform will take, so we nearly always have a bit of extra time. This train was all general seating, which is annoying after being on so many with assigned seats, quiet cars, etc.. The cars were also showing a lot of wear and desperately needed a makeover. Except for an English “TedDEY”–obviously a cousin to the original Australian TedDEY, Australian TedDEY II, Portuguese “TedDEY”, Italian “TedDEY”, and Swiss “TedDEY”–named Antonio with, and we shit you not, a brother named Teddy who had no one to teach him to use an indoor voice, everyone was quiet. The first 90 minutes were pretty good. I was even getting a tiny bit of work done without any (of their very bad) Wifi. And that’s when a legit mentally handicapped person got on the train with a lot of help from a rail attendant. She had very little spatial awareness, and part of her disability includes the need to talk constantly. To her credit, she explained all of this while she was asking if she could sit with us. I asked her twice to sit because people behind her were queued up (again with the spatial awareness thing) trying to stow their bags and find a seat. She was annoying, but less annoying than English TedDEY. She was also very nice. For a few minutes, she found something to do on her phone and went quiet. Once we got to Cambridge, she wanted us to have a certain latte from some cafe. But she never stopped talking so we couldn’t tell her that we don’t drink coffee. She was also a little nosy, asking what hotel we were staying at, what we paid, etc. We did our usual dodging with “I don’t remember,” and “I’d have to look and I can’t do that with this bad wifi.” And then, all of a sudden, she was getting off with us (despite telling us that Cambridge was boring and had nothing to do). After we got our bags and moved to the train’s vestibule, she lost her bag even though it was right in front of her. She went into panic mode, so I tried to calm her down. For sure, I have done the same thing; the panic feels very real. Once the doors opened, she was gone in a flash. We got off the train and purposefully walked the wrong way, like usual. We do that to let the crowd dissipate since we are not in a hurry and many of them are. A lady from our train (from Vancouver Island!) made a point to come tell us that we are saints for putting up with her and suggested we have a good strong G&T instead of lattes. I assured her, “oh, we are going to a bar!”
- We also took a quick break at the train station. They had some interesting signs in the ladies’ bathroom. You could go to the info desk for the station and ask for “a package from Sandy” to get emergency supplies. All of the UK (and in a lot of places in the US) have an ultra similar code word for women’s safety and it’s posted in all the bathrooms, but this was the first time I had seen one that was for hygiene needs.
- Cambridge busses are free to job seekers (and a few other groups)! That’s cool!
- We checked in, dropped our bags in our room, and were immediately out the door. He found a burger place just around the corner.
- After our late lunch, we wandered the area a bit, found a tree grafted from Newton’s apple tree, saw some of the campus, fought through a couple of tour groups, dodged a few motorcycles, and window shopped a little bit. And then, we found a camera shop that carries DJI cameras. We learned they would be having a big sales event the next day! We are doing more research but if we want the DJI one, we need to get it in Europe as they can’t sell them in the USA right now. (#FuckTrump)
- Next, we stopped by Sainsbury’s to stock up on Cokes and food for a day or so. While there, we saw a real live witch. She had bat sunglasses, a spiderweb tattoo on her neck, and an actual witch hat. College towns are the best. Once back in the room to unpack our groceries, we also had a chance to unpack our things.
- Dinner. Pizza was packed with two giant tables and a lot of Kids Eat Free families, so we pivoted to our second choice, las iguanas. It isn’t really Mexican, his enchiladas were really burritos, but my strawberry marg packed a punch and my shrimp and mac & cheese were both outstanding.
- Next, we found Maypole. This bar has been around since 1982 and won a 2026 award for bar of the year. I’m like 95% sure the owner was working. It’s a great spot.
- We went back to our hotel. Once inside the walk to our room was way longer than the one-block walk from the bar to the front door.
- And with this writing and the editing of the images that we took today, I am officially caught up to the day with writing and editing. This is where I like to be. We both make notes during the day. During the day, I can edit some of the copy. And in the evening, I like to edit images from that day and upload them into the gallery. Go me!
Day 55 – touring Cambridge
- We had an early “DIY room service” breakfast because…
- DJI was in town! Thanks to stupid politics, we can no longer get DJI products in the US. (Apparently iPhones and other Apple products made overseas are fine, but DJI is not. “Funny” how it’s rules for thee and not for me…) I have already downsized my camera twice, but I’m looking to do it again; the body and lens are just too much weight and bulk for what I get. The DJI Representative was very kind and answered all my (dumb) questions. We were looking at the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 Pro. It’s a tiny rig that is made for vlogging (YouTube). It just dropped, so we might get it while over here. Or a new phone might be just as good. We are still weighing our options.
- After “shopping,” we wandered the town and Kings College area. We saw the same witch (at an earthly hippie artsy type shop) from the day before. We also saw a memorial to a professor who recently passed away, Jason Arday. May he Rest in Peace. He was obviously adored by many. There were hundreds of notes and flowers.
- Rant #1 of this post. It’s been building for a few days. Why are the British and their Tourists (but mostly people who sound British) always so close to me? It hasn’t mattered what large city or smaller town we are in. It hasn’t mattered if there is room to spread out.
- They walk so close behind you that you can feel them breathing. On the super-skinny sidewalks with room for 2 people to pass each other, they walk 2-3 across (and don’t move to single file when others are also walking). Did they not live through COVID and maintain a 2-meter(6’) distance from others like the rest of the world? Have they never heard of pick pockets? Do they not just need breathing room?
- In addition to being ultra close, they all seem to be on a mission to walk faster than anyone else. Of course, we aren’t in a hurry. We give grace to anyone headed to class or work. But this was the intersession. There were no classes. Students were mostly gone and wouldn’t come back until September. Everyone was away on their own Holiday.
- Third, they can’t seem to pick a side. They drive on the left, but everything that is labeled (like in airports) says to keep right. But when they are on a sidewalk, they could be on either side. In fact, they just wander aimlessly and change sides all willy-nilly, despite being in a walking sprint. And, if you see them coming and veer to the right, they will veer to their left as if they’d rather play chicken than get where they are going in their big dang hurry.
- Finally, when they want to stop, they just do. They don’t move over to the side and out of the way; they make the long line of people behind them walk around them. For a society deemed so polite by most international observations, it’s a very rude thing that they seemingly all do.
- For lunch, we went to Honest Burgers where they serve rosemary “chips” (fries) that were amazing. However, I’m tired of one more thing, so here is Rant #2 for this post. Nearly every place we find has a Kids Eat Free policy. In the USA, this is only applied per purchase of adult entree. So, if a couple bring in their three kids, two of them eat for free. But in England, they just can. So a parent can bring in all six kids and they all eat for the cost of just one meal. This means that the rest of us are paying for all the kids’ meals. That money has to come from somewhere. So, here we are spending $45 USD (in this case, sometimes it’s as much as $60 USD) on a pretty basic lunch of burgers and fries. I am all for free school lunches, free schools, WIC, SNAP, Libraries, and all the other things that benefit kids in our society. Those things help our society develop and grow. But I don’t see why they need to eat free at nearly every restaurant in a tourist area. If the parents can afford the trip, they can afford to feed their own children that they chose to have. Usually, we avoid those places; they are going to be loud and busy and service will probably be slow and weak. However, when nearly every place has that, it’s almost impossible to avoid, especially in a country where most pubs are family-friendly until 9pm.
- He started calling all the toilets “of course” because they are nearly always up or down stairs; they are almost never on the main level of any bar, pub, or restaurant.
- We spent the afternoon resting and napping. I guess we needed to make up for that early morning.
- For our evening, he booked us a Punting Boat tour. The whole thing was very interesting and filled with great views. Each boat weights 2.5 tons, holds 8-12 passengers plus the Punter, and is made of solid oak. Our punter was full of great information about the various colleges (we passed seven of them) and the bridges (we saw all the main ones). At one point, a guy on a hill beside the canal dropped a small painting he was working on. Our Punter flipped us 180º and got us close. We grabbed the painting and gave it to the guy. We also had a fairly rare sighting of a family of local swans; they usually stay away until all the Punting Boats are locked up for the evening. There were also sightings of a fox running along the canal bank.
- After the ride, we found a cool pub, Pikerel, with a nerdy clock for some drinks. When it got louder, we moved on to the hotel lobby bar. It was a great way to round out our evening.
Day 56 – Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial
- After our DIY room service brunch, we grabbed a bus to an area outside of town. At the Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial, we walked the grounds, went to the chapel, and toured the Visitors’ Center. It is a very beautiful tribute to those who gave their lives, whether they were found or not.
- After catching our bus back into town, we had a late lunch at the Italian place we tried to visit the night before. After a top-up from the market, we spent the rest of the afternoon resting/working.
- Then, we got some concerning news: Norway had an air-traffic controllers strike. It could be difficult for us to get into Oslo for our next cruise. To be extra safe, he bought back-up bus tickets from Amsterdam to Oslo (a 20-hour ride), that we hopefully will not need.
