It’s gone far too quickly, our holiday in Northumberland, but it’s not over yet. We’re off to Liverpool to see friends Susan and Andrew who upped-sticks from Dorset last year and we’re dying for a nosy around their new house! Before we even get there we need to pack, have breakfast and then we can head off, saying our goodbyes to our breakfast companions Sue and Graham and of course Pearl. It’s been great to see Pearl again. We’ve had such a good laugh, its been fabulous to finally meet up at long last.
According to the route finder which selected the fastest route, its 219 miles to Liverpool and should take 3 hours 40 mins. In our minds then, if we leave at 10am we should arrive at our destination at 2pm, having added in a thirty minute coffee break. With these facts in mind we sat down to a sumptuous breakfast of smoked salmon and scrambled egg, toast, yoghurt and orange juice…..take note S&A, hugged Pearl goodbye, plugged in SatNav Steve, messaged the Liverpool contingents with our ETA of 2pm and with that we were off. Me in the driving seat, Maice in charge of the kitty purse, the map and of course SatNav Steve.
We were hoping the drive to Liverpool would be hassle free and straightforward which it was to some extent. Its just the high volume of traffic we didn’t expect nor the roadworks which slowed us down and meant our ETA kept being put back which we didn’t expect as we left at 9.40am, twenty minutes earlier than we expected. After what seemed like a very long and tedious drive we made it to Liverpool. You certainly had to keep your wits about you driving in the city. Its definitely not for the feint-hearted, but with SatNav Steve guiding us in and the promise of a chilled glass of Prosecco and a slice of Susan‘s homemade coffee cake on arrival we were determined not to get lost. And we didn’t. We arrived at 3pm, five hours and twenty minutes after we set off and there on the doorstep was Susan frantically waving us towards her new abode. We were advised to take everything out of the car and into the house, you know, just in case, although they didn‘t quite realise how much ‘stuff’ we had. After a number of trips to the car and back we’d decanted everything from the car into the hallway and were soon sat in the conservatory drinking Prosecco. Just what was needed after a long days driving. I have to say they haven’t changed, Susan and Andrew apart from Susan’s hair that is, which seems to have become a very vivid shade of purple. It looks great, and as we said it wouldn’t be Susan without her purple hair. Apparently she’s had lots of compliments when she’s out and about, from both men and women. Good for her…..it certainly lifts the spirits.
After a tour round their new abode we both agreed it’s very comfortable, homely and has a really good feel about it although the Harry Potter cupboard under the stairs which contains the downstairs loo is a bit disconcerting! Should one wish to use the downstairs ‘closet’ one must bend ones head to get into the ‘cupboard’ and remember to keep ones head bent when seated on the high rise toilet. With feet a’dangling one then had to sidle forward in order to extricate oneself off the seat remembering not to stand up straight and bang ones head. As if by magic we soon perfected the art of using this facility, negotiating our way in and out without banging our heads. It was certainly well frequented that afternoon what with the G&T’s and Prosecco we were drinking! With non stop chatter as soon as we came through the door it was soon time to eat. We had an early supper which consisted of a Greek takeaway……Maice and I eating swordfish and calamari, Susan and Andrew eating kleftiko and chicken. I must say I was salivating over Andrews lamb kleftico which was my favourite Greek dish when I was a meat eater. It looked lovely, smelt lovely and it was lovely according to Andrew! After supper us girlies retired to the lounge with a mighty glass of Susan’s speciality ‘local’ gin complete with a slice of orange whilst Andrew made himself scarce and watched the football…..I don’t know something about the Euros and Andrea Boccelli!
What a great evening we had. Laughing and chatting, catching up…….something we’ve done every single day of our road-trip and it was marvellous. It had been a long day and by eleven we were exhausted what with the driving and drinking copious amounts of gin and Prosecco. There was nothing for it, we needed to sleep and subsequently retired to our separate boudoirs. Yes folks, we’ve got a room each. Very posh. Note to selves……. must remember to write a good review!!
Tomorrow our road-trip comes to an end but we’ve still got one more visit to make and that‘s to my mother who lives across the water. Happy days…..x
M&A xx