London / Peterborough Part I
I leave my Amsterdam hotel room before the sun comes up and walk the 30 minute walk over to the train station with plenty of time to spare, before catching a train to the Hook of Holland. I've ridden enough European trains this summer, that this one should be fairly routine, but as the time approaches closer and closer to departure I start to get worried when the sign on the platform I'm supposed to be on, doesn't show the train I need. I see a family of American's and ask if they are going the same way as I am. They say yes, but are looking just as worried as I am about the train. 5:00am approaches and there's still no sign of the train so we frantically look around at the other platforms to see if there's a train. No luck. We eventually find a station agent, and he informs us that the train already left on a platform around the corner (there was a change that was announced in dutch!). I start to panic knowing that if I don't get to the ferry by 7:30am, I will then have to wait until 4pm before the next ferry arrived. The station agent points myself and the stranded American family to a train that's about to leave. He says its a bit slower, and we have to change trains in the Hague, but there's a slim chance we may still be able to make it in time. We hussle aboard, and I chat a bit with the family I just met. They're from Philadelphia, and were in Amsterdam visiting friends. We all cross our fingers, and end up pulling into the port at about 7:25am. Everyone is already aboard the ship and we run with luggage in hand through customs. I'm relieved as I run up the ramp to find the colossal Stenalines Dutch Flyer still docked in port. The ship is a behemoth, and has 2 movie theatres, a casino, bars, restaurants and room for thousands of people and their cars on board. I settle into my chair and just read and sleep during the 6.5 hour journey.
We dock in Harwich and I breeze through customs, stopping to chat a bit with the agents before I board my train that takes me to Victoria station. My final destination is Stepney Green and seeing Jazzy after 3 very busy weeks apart. We spend a couple of hours sipping tea and catching up, and I try and fill her in on some of my more memorable trip moments. I feel good knowing that I'll be finishing up the last 9 days or so of the trip with Jas, and that it will be with family that I haven't seen in about 8 years or more.
Given that we have so little time to spend with everyone, we decide to call my Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Catherine in Peterborough (which is about an hour north of London), and make plans to meet up tonight instead of tomorrow. We rush to get to the station, and in all the commotion of purchasing tickets and running to the train, we manage to lose them. We probably could've just stayed on without the ticket people checking them, but because we don't know the system or how much fines will be, we decide to play it safe and get off at the next stop. We buy another couple of tickets (they aren't cheap either!), and end up being over an hour late by the time we get into Peterborough.
My uncle is there waiting for us at the train station, and we get back to his place (where we'll spend the next few days). My aunt, uncle and cousins have really bent over backwards to host us. My cousin Alexander even had to give up his bed so that Jas and I would have a place to sleep. Its so late when we get there that just my Aunt and Uncle are still up. We chat and have a snack, then turn in for the night.
The next day, they take us to a quaint little village just outside of town called Stamford. We go to a nice tea shop for lunch, walk around a bit and just explore some of the shops. After explaining my broken camera story, my aunt and uncle decide to surprise me with an early, very unexpected, and very very unnecessary birthday gift. They buy me a new digital camera to replace the one that died in Belgium. I was totally shocked when they handed it to me, but we definitely did make good use of it during the rest of the trip.
My older cousin comes round for a visit, and we catch up for a while, then my grandpa comes over and we all go out to a really nice Italian restaurant for dinner. We're stuffed to the gills, and decide to take my aunt & uncle's dog Bonnie out for a walk, and burn off some of the excess calories we consumed. We spend the evening just relaxing; chatting and watching a few of the several thousand tv channels my uncle has on satellite.
We get up the next morning and meet my cousin Ronnie and his wife for brunch. Again its more catch up, and chit-chat, then after a brief pitstop at their house to meet their lovely deaf dog, we head over to the football (soccer) pitch and watch him play. Its a successful result for their team, then its back to my Aunt & Uncle's for a big dinner. We go out with my cousins for a couple of pints and a game of pool, but don't stay out late as we have an early flight to Scotland the next morning. My Uncle has the unenviable task of getting up at 5am (on a Sunday no less!) to drive Jas and I out to Luton airport, which is over an hour away. We were spoiled absolutely rotten by my aunt, uncle, and cousins, and leave Peterborough eternally grateful for their amazing hospitality. Once we arrive at the airport, we discover it packed to the brim with travelers (even though its 6am). This is actually the busiest travel weekend for the UK as the schools have just wrapped up there. We spend about an hour just getting to the check-in counter, but with all the other travelers in the same conundrum, are pleased that we still catch our flight. Its farewell to England (for now), and on to more family fun in bonnie Scotland.
We dock in Harwich and I breeze through customs, stopping to chat a bit with the agents before I board my train that takes me to Victoria station. My final destination is Stepney Green and seeing Jazzy after 3 very busy weeks apart. We spend a couple of hours sipping tea and catching up, and I try and fill her in on some of my more memorable trip moments. I feel good knowing that I'll be finishing up the last 9 days or so of the trip with Jas, and that it will be with family that I haven't seen in about 8 years or more.
Given that we have so little time to spend with everyone, we decide to call my Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Catherine in Peterborough (which is about an hour north of London), and make plans to meet up tonight instead of tomorrow. We rush to get to the station, and in all the commotion of purchasing tickets and running to the train, we manage to lose them. We probably could've just stayed on without the ticket people checking them, but because we don't know the system or how much fines will be, we decide to play it safe and get off at the next stop. We buy another couple of tickets (they aren't cheap either!), and end up being over an hour late by the time we get into Peterborough.
My uncle is there waiting for us at the train station, and we get back to his place (where we'll spend the next few days). My aunt, uncle and cousins have really bent over backwards to host us. My cousin Alexander even had to give up his bed so that Jas and I would have a place to sleep. Its so late when we get there that just my Aunt and Uncle are still up. We chat and have a snack, then turn in for the night.
The next day, they take us to a quaint little village just outside of town called Stamford. We go to a nice tea shop for lunch, walk around a bit and just explore some of the shops. After explaining my broken camera story, my aunt and uncle decide to surprise me with an early, very unexpected, and very very unnecessary birthday gift. They buy me a new digital camera to replace the one that died in Belgium. I was totally shocked when they handed it to me, but we definitely did make good use of it during the rest of the trip.
My older cousin comes round for a visit, and we catch up for a while, then my grandpa comes over and we all go out to a really nice Italian restaurant for dinner. We're stuffed to the gills, and decide to take my aunt & uncle's dog Bonnie out for a walk, and burn off some of the excess calories we consumed. We spend the evening just relaxing; chatting and watching a few of the several thousand tv channels my uncle has on satellite.
We get up the next morning and meet my cousin Ronnie and his wife for brunch. Again its more catch up, and chit-chat, then after a brief pitstop at their house to meet their lovely deaf dog, we head over to the football (soccer) pitch and watch him play. Its a successful result for their team, then its back to my Aunt & Uncle's for a big dinner. We go out with my cousins for a couple of pints and a game of pool, but don't stay out late as we have an early flight to Scotland the next morning. My Uncle has the unenviable task of getting up at 5am (on a Sunday no less!) to drive Jas and I out to Luton airport, which is over an hour away. We were spoiled absolutely rotten by my aunt, uncle, and cousins, and leave Peterborough eternally grateful for their amazing hospitality. Once we arrive at the airport, we discover it packed to the brim with travelers (even though its 6am). This is actually the busiest travel weekend for the UK as the schools have just wrapped up there. We spend about an hour just getting to the check-in counter, but with all the other travelers in the same conundrum, are pleased that we still catch our flight. Its farewell to England (for now), and on to more family fun in bonnie Scotland.
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