A Royal Kickoff!

Could we have packed more in just three days?  Hardly!  Jill and Gary met us when the London train arrived at Norwich station and our adventure began!  At that time, we had been awake for about 36 hours but the excitement of seeing our friends gave us new energy.  On a drive through Norwich to Wymondham, where they live, Gary pointed out important sights and recanted local history.  Since Norwich is the end of the line in northeastern England, the city is a destination, not a drive-through.  Settled by the Normans in the 11^th century, the area has a unique history of its own.

After a brief introduction to our accommodation, we walked the town of Wymondham in a steady mist and saw their grand Abbey established in 1107.  It is among some of the oldest churches in England.  Dinner was a plate of bangers and mash at the Green Dragon Pub. As we walked through the village and enjoyed our food, I kept repeating, “This is all so very English!”

On the first full day, Jill and Gary had booked a boat tour of the Norfolk Broads which are a group of shallow navigatable lakes connected by a network of rivers. Channels off the rivers were formed as peat was harvested many years ago.

During the leisurely cruise, we admired lovely and expensive river vacation homes and the bright green wooded undeveloped banks – in the rain.  We did not care! We were with our friends, and we were eating!  Jill served us a catered English tea for our lunch.  Several kinds of finger sandwiches, pork pies with chutney, scones with clotted cream and jam, cupcakes, cake slices, quiche, and berries were presented to us.  We all tried some of everything!  After eating I could hardly breathe.  But that evening, we snacked on the leftovers before heading to bed.

Not to be outdone, the next day was spent on a westward drive to Sandringham Estate.  The road there reminded us of almost anywhere USA, except there were no mile-high road signs indicating fuel stations and no signs pointing out how many miles to the next fast-food joint.

Sandringham is just one of the homes belonging to the Royal Family,  It’s the place where Queen Elizabeth and her family spent Christmas each year. Her annual Christmas address was delivered here. King Charles is said to maintain the tradition.  The house was acquired by royalty in the 1800s and except for additions, is much the same as it was originally.  The grounds, however, have expanded from 60 acres when first purchased to 21,000 acres now.  As we toured the palace, we were reminded that the palace is a home; it is lived in.  Our visit made us feel a bit like sneaky intruders in someone’s fabulous home when no one is home, not touching; not taking, just looking in on their lives.

The King and Queen Consort were scheduled to arrive at Sandringham on Friday to launch the Norfolk Flower Festival.  All the roped pedestals which guide visitors and prevent us from touching anything and carpeted protective walkways will be removed for their stay; it will become their home once again.  The lovely English manor is elegant, light-filled and gives off the impression of being loved and lived in.  The dining room in which Queen Victoria held grand dinners with 16 courses, now features locally sourced foods and foods grown on the estate.  When the King and Camilla are in residence, they prefer to have their meals on the terrace just outside the white drawing room. 

Before walking the gardens we stopped at what once were the stables and had coffees.  There we met a family from Marin County California, Cleveland, Romania, and the US Army.  We didn’t exchange names, but we learned a lot from each other.  Sitting just at the next table, they realized we were fellow Americans when they heard Stan discussing something that indicated he knew something about California.   Of course, Stan’s dead-giveaway accent could have tipped them off as well. The two ladies in the group from Romania gave us suggestions for our upcoming stay in Romania next month.  The leader of the group, probably a close relative of the Romanian ladies, was with his stunningly pretty high school daughter and super-fit son now stationed in Italy.  Like our nephew, Cliff, the son is an adrenalin junkie and US Army overachiever.  It’s funny how things work.  Among all the beachside restaurants and cafes to be chosen as we drove northward, we met them again when we stopped for a late lunch.  They were a family whose collective personality made us want to know them better.  In any respect, they made our coffee break a lot of fun.

Afterward, we drove the North Sea coastline — it is so very English!  Rarely new construction was seen; when we passed buildings less than one hundred years old, in spite of being relatively new, they are modeled after old styles.  Preserving culture and honoring tradition is keen here in northern England.

We arrived in Cromer, a seaside village famous for Cromer crabs (similar to our blue crabs), shoreside walks, and the flourishing old-style Cromer Theater at the end of the pier.  We went there.  Built at the turn of the century when the end of the pier was converted from a bandstand into a theatre, the theatre has gone through periods of good times and periods of dire downtimes resulting from bad weather and WW II. In its current state, the theatre has been entertaining patrons since 2005.   We saw a rollicking show of wonderfully trained singers and dancers topped off by a pair of comedians that made us cry in laughter.

No, we are not done yet!  Jill and Gary drove us to London on Sunday.  It’s a two-hour drive but we had four tickets to “The Lion King.”  It’s been performed continuously in The Lyceum Theatre since 1999.  Stan and I have seen many stage shows and musicals but never “The Lion King.”

Of course, it was wonderful!  We all know the story, but the costumes that magically but clearly resemble the animals they are meant to represent, are simply mind-boggling! The little boy who sat two seats from me was spellbound. So was I.

Jill and Gary made their return drive to Wymondham after dropping us off at our hotel near the airport for the night.

Now, this is what makes this trip Royal. Each year, Buckingham Palace makes itself available for tours during summer periods when the Royal Family is away. Tickets are secured weeks in advance. Jill suggested we take a chance and try for tickets. Online we snagged two tickets that popped up for a Sunday afternoon for a 3: 00 tour on Monday. It is certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for folks like us from the US. Thanks to Jill for the tip. It was fabulous, naturally but very realistic and not over the top at all. Long live the King!

Fast forward.  After a long, long trip from London to Warsaw starting at 4:30 am on Monday. and having to switch airlines midday from Polish Airlines to British Airways, we made it to Warsaw at 5:30 pm but our baggage did not.

Left in London, our luggage was delivered to us not the next morning (Monday) but the next (Tuesday).  We bought no interim products to get us by except toothbrushes and toothpaste, absolute musts!  The first evening, however, we showered. and rubbed our teeth clean with salt. By day two, our clothing could almost stand alone.  We washed them in the washer in our apartment (a must-have) and wrapped ourselves in big towels until they dried. How happy we were to meet the delivery driver at 8:30 am on Thursday.

Our sincere, more than that, our heartfelt thanks to Jill and Gary for showing us your best — and it was wonderful! Thank you, dear friends!

Now, let’s see Warsaw!