This has been an BUSY but very fun week. Marysia and I have been able to spend some quality time together! I will give you a little bit of a warning now, this could be a very long post.
Monday 23rd August 2021
It has been a very busy day today which has been a complete contrast to last week!
As soon as we woke up I took Boris out for his usual morning walk before coming back and drinking my morning tea which Marysia had already made for me.
We sat and watched the telly for a little while before starting to get the last of the things we needed to pack ready. We had a bit of time to kill before it was time to take Boris off to the kennels for his little holiday.
After Boris had been dropped off we headed straight back to Marysia’s to pack the car, I was quite impressed as we managed to pack everything into the boot! Our first stop was the petrol station to fill the car up and also check the air in the tyres. Once all of that was sorted we were on our way!
The journey to Cambridge was pretty good, we stopped just before halfway for something to eat at KFC and only had one wrong turn which was pretty impressive!
We arrived at the Travelodge just after 5pm, checked in and then unpacked in our room. It didn’t take us too long to get settled in – I did have to run down to the car to grab my water bottle and sliders that I had forgotten! We decided to have a hotel picnic for dinner as we had our KFC earlier in the day so went down to Sainsburys to get some sandwiches, drinks and snacks to eat whilst we watched an episode of Downton.
I had a quick shower and got cosy before crashing for the day.
Tuesday 24th August 2021
Day 2 of our trip to Cambridge – Imperial War Museum Duxford & family meal.
We woke up at 6.20am this morning which is pretty much the time we would usually be awake when we are back at home! I guess a routine can’t be broken in one day!
Once we were up and out of bed, we got dressed and ready to head down to breakfast. We got down there just after it opened so everything was nice and fresh – the hash browns were nice and crispy!
After we had finished breakfast we headed back up to our room to make sure we had everything we needed for the day – although there wasn’t many things we needed to take with us! We also had a little bit of time to kill so we watched a little bit of telly before heading off to pick up my Auntie Debbie and sister, Tasha.
It didn’t take us too long to get to the Imperial War Museum and so we sat in the car for about half an hour before it was the time booked on our tickets. It also gave the queue a chance to die down before we went in as when we arrived there was a lot of people waiting to go in.
There is SO much to see in the war museum! Our trip started off in the Air Space where we were welcomed by a volunteer who explained what was in the hanger. This first hanger houses over 30 different aircraft and features an exhibition based upon the history and technology of aviation. There is a number of impressive aircraft but one of the most famous exhibits in this part of the war museum is Concorde which you are able to walk through! I have been to Duxford IWM quite a few years a go on a school trip and Concorde still feels massive!
We then moved on to the second hanger which is the Flying Aircraft hanger this is where a selection of aircraft is kept whilst they are being maintained and or repaired.
The next place we headed to was Historic Duxford, it was interesting to learn a little more about the role that Duxford played within the war.
We then headed into the Air and Sea hanger there was plenty to see in here although one of the things that I remember the most was the Biber (a German submarine from WW2) which was operated by a one man crew. It would definitely have been very cramped inside even for one person.
It was then time for a break where we found a place to stop and have some donuts and Marysia was able to have her much needed coffee!
We then moved on to the 1940s Operation Room which is where the information on enemy aircraft was plotted on a map. Instructions were then issued to the pilots scrambling to meet the incoming enemy aircraft. I found this part of Duxford IMW the most interesting as the reconstruction of the Operation Room with the video clips and audio really brought the scene to life. It was also interesting to see how the Operation Room would have looked when it was in use.
Our second to last stop was Land Warfare this is at the far end of Duxford IWM. Within the Land Warfare exhibit you can find tanks, trucks, and other military vehicles from WW1 to the present day. One part of this exhibit that really struck me was ‘The Normandy Experience’ where the entrance is made up of a mocked up landing craft which would have been used to bring the troops to shore when you walk across this you can hear an audio of what it would have been like for the troops on D-Day.
The final hanger was the American Air Museum which is filled with some very impressive aircraft plus the design of the hanger itself is very impressive.
We then stopped for an ice cream, thanks to Debbie! We definitely felt as though we all needed the sugar boost by this point!
Our final stop of the day was a wonder around the gift shop where I bought a few new pins to add to my collection, a book (Chocolate Cake with Hitler by Emma Craigie) as well as a keyring.
The journey was very quiet on the way back due to everyone being so tired from all of the walking! After we dropped Tasha and Debbie off Marysia and I went to visit my Nan and Grandad’s grave before heading back to the hotel.
We had a little bit of time to chill out, shower and get ready before going for a meal with my family.
Rockers is a very interesting restaurant and we had some amazing food! I had a half rack of ribs with chips followed by a chocolate brownie for dessert – I felt like Marysia was going to need to roll me back to the hotel afterwards. It was great to catch up with some of the family too!
It has been a very busy day but it has been so good! I am looking forward to our day tomorrow and going to London for the day.
Wednesday 25th August 2021
Day 3 of our trip to Cambridge – Day in London
We were up quite early this morning as he had to make sure we were ready to get the train into London.
As soon as we were awake and dressed we headed down to breakfast, I had some orange juice and toast. After we finished breakfast we headed up to our room and decided which train to get to London. I quickly went to Sainsburys to get us a bottle of water each and some tissues. When I got back up to the room Marysia was one the phone to the bank so I went to the train station to get out train tickets printed.
On the way to the train station I managed to spot a few of the cows from the cows about Cambridge event that is going on. It didn’t take too long to get to the station and back. I also had a quick chat with my parents on the way back.
We didn’t have too much time to kill once I got back to the room and pretty much headed straight back out again to go and get the train.
The journey into London was very straight forward as we were on a direct train to Kings Cross. We arrived into London a little while before the time booked for the Harry Potter Photographic Exhibition so we had a wonder around the Harry Potter shop in Kings Cross. I managed to get myself a pin to add to my collection.
We then headed outside and had a quick look at the market before going on the underground and working out what line we needed to take to get to Covent Garden. It was straight forward and was only a few stops from Kings Cross. We made the mistake of opting to use the stairs to get out of Covent Garden Underground station – there was ALOT of steps, 109 to be exact! If you are going to use this tube station I would recommend using the lift rather than the stairs as they are steep and there is a lot of them.
After we recovered from the stairs we went and found the Harry Potter Photographic exhibition but as we had about half an hour before we were due to go in we went and a had a little look around Covent Garden and the market there.
The Harry Potter Photographic Exhibition was better than I was expecting from the reviews I had seen online after we booked the tickets. We had out tickets checked by a friendly security lady who had a bit of a chat with us before we went in and had our bags checked by another security lady. We then scanned our tickets and took some photos by the Ford Anglia which was suspended from the ceiling, we were later told that this was one of the cars that was used in the films. I found it really interesting listening to the different facts from the guides dotted throughout each section. I also liked how each area had a different theme, one of my favourite sections was Gringotts and the Ministry of Magic.
There is quite a few photo opportunities however Marysia and I skipped the flying broom and Ministry of Magic ID as it was a little pricey!
All in all we took about 2 hours to wonder around the exhibition before getting to the Butterbeer Bar where we decided to get some lunch as well as a bottle of Butterbeer each. Once we finished lunch we had a look around the giftshop where I got myself another pin for my collection.
Once we finished in the Harry Potter Exhibition we made our way over to the Forbidden Planet Megastore (it is a shop that specialises in TV and Movie merchandise) to have a look. I managed to find another pin, and a few books whilst we were in there. It was very busy and some of the shelves seemed to have been ransacked earlier in the day.
The last place we wanted to visit was M&M world however we almost didn’t go in as we were quite tired from all of the walking we had done, the heat and the massive queue outside. However we decided to join the line and see if it moved quickly. Luckily it did! After having a bit of a wonder round we both filled a bag with M&Ms at the pick and mix station, I also found a pin and picked up a couple of blankets (one for Boris and one for me). There was a few interesting things to look at and we definitely didn’t see the whole store so it would be good to go back and try to see a few of the other floors.
We then headed back to Kings Cross station to get the train back to Cambridge, we had a bit of time to kill so I went a got a drink and by the time I found Marysia again it was time to get the train back.
We were both VERY tired when we got back to the hotel. We decided to head straight back out of the hotel to get dinner at Nandos before we crashed.
We ended up falling asleep quite early as we both had very tired legs from all of the walking we had done.
It is our last day tomorrow and it will be a bit more of a chilled day!
Thursday 26th August 2021
Day 4 of our trip to Cambridge – Shopping in Cambridge
Woke up a little later that the passed few days. We had an early night last night and we definitely needed the extra sleep after all the walking from the last 2 days
For breakfast I had bacon, hash browns and beans – plus a croissant with Nutella. I took full advantage of our second to last breakfast before heading to the room for a shower.
Once we were ready we headed into town, via a pit stop at Sainsburys for some water. We decided to walk into town as it wasn’t too far from the hotel.
We found lots of the Cows about Cambridge on our way which I took a few photos of and registered on the app. We decided to go and find a quiet Starbucks to have a drink in before exploring some shops.
We went into Decathlon where I picked up a new backpack before heading to Forbidden Planet where Marysia bought me another book, we then looked in some of the charity shops before heading back over to the other side of town.
As we were both getting hungry we went and found McDonalds which was VERY busy although luckily we found a table to be able to sit at and rest for a little while.
After we finished our lunch we went to the Harry Potter themed shop called The Department of Magical Gifts (I got another pin in here) before finding some more cows to add to the app.
My Auntie Debbie had given me a Waterstones voucher so we popped into there to find some books, my to be read pile grew a little more!
We decided to head back to the hotel via the Grand Arcade where we found more cows to add to our collection and went into a free computer exhibition celebrating 30 years of the World Wide Web.
Walked back to the hotel, did a little bit of packing ready for leaving tomorrow, also had a hotel picnic for dinner. We were both very tired after all of the walking over the last three days.
Friday 27th August 2021
Day 5 of our trip to Cambridge – Travelling home
It has felt like a long day today probably because most of it was spent in the car travelling back home.
We were awake pretty early so headed down for breakfast, we didn’t have to rush too much as we had pretty much packed everything last night.
After breakfast we headed back to our room and made the first trip to the car with our stuff, before we made the second and final trip we nipped into Sainsburys as Marysia needed to get some water for the journey.
Before we knew it the car was packed and we were on our way back home. The week seemed to have flown by!
The journey didn’t seem to take too long, we stopped around half way to get some drinks and were back on the motorway before too long.
Once we got back to Marysia’s we unpacked the car and headed straight to the garage as the front tyre on the car had bubbled after going through a pothole and needed to be replaced. Unfortunately the garage didn’t have any in stock but were able to order one for tomorrow. They advised we shouldnt drive too far on it so we have had to cancel our breakfast for tomorrow. We decided to go and get some bacon to make some bacon sandwiches instead – not quite the same but definitely better than risking the tyre bursting!
We headed home and unpacked before settling down and relaxing for the evening.
Saturday 28th August 2021
We woke up quite early but had plenty of time to kill before the garage said we would be able to go and get the tyre changed on the car before going to pick Boris up from the kennels.
We had a cup of tea whilst watching the news and then watched the last couple of episodes of The Chair on netflix whilst having breakfast before getting ready.
Marysia rang the garage to see if there was any news on when the new tyre would be delivered and they agreed to call her back once it did.
I sat and read my book whilst Marysia played on her game for a while. It wasn’t too logn before the garage called back and we could head down there to get the car sorted.
Once we got to the garage they managed to fit us in quite quickly. It also didn’t take very long to change the tyre over, once it was done we headed straight over to the kennels to pick Boris up.
We headed back home and took Boris for a quick walk before I settled in to watching Clickbait on Netflix – I am hooked.
The afternoon seemed to disappear really quickly and once Marysia fed Boris I took him out for his post dinner walk. We then went and got a KFC as we missed out on breakfast this morning. I then spent the rest of the evening watching more of Clickbait whilst Marysia carried on with
Sunday 29th August 2021
As Boris was back I was back to taking him out for his morning walk as soon as we woke up. Once we got back Marysia had made a cups of tea for me ready to chill in front of the TV and watch a bit of the news.
Once I had finished my tea I started packing my stuff and putting it in the car ready to leave. We got back to mine quite early as I had quite a lot of stuff to sort out!
I had another cups of tea before unpacking EVERYTHING out on to my bed. I then sorted out my washing before walking down to Aldi to get some snacks and food for the next few days.
Once I got back I put my shopping away and started to tackle all the things I needed to put away. It took a while but that could have been that I was also watching the latest New Amsterdam episode at the same time.
I had my lunch whilst watching the last episode of Clickbait on Netflix – it was SO good!
I had a quick catch up with my mum and then rang my Auntie Debbie before spending the rest of the afternoon adding things to my Notion set up. I have become obsessed with Notion and am loving creating my own little dashboard.
This evening I will have a shower, get into my pyjamas and read my book before crashing.
I need to get a lot of studying done tomorrow.
Stacey Lipowski 
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