22 & 23 May - Off to the coast

22 May

Much as I would love to have returned to Chelsea, we were off to a new cat sit in Felixstowe in Suffolk. I finished packing a bit earlier than expected so we checked out early and Bruce called an Uber. (We always like to leave ample time just in case.) The driver arrived after about 7 minutes and we headed to the Liverpool Street Station. I can't begin to describe the route we took. He was following a GPS app like Google maps which took us all around the cow's barn. We crossed the Thames at Blackfriar, then wended our way east through exceedingly heavy traffic. We ended up at the Tower and crossed the Tower Bridge back to the north bank and into more congestion. It took well over an hour to travel the seven miles to the station. It was an Uber, so the fee is the same no matter how long the trip takes, but I couldn't help wonder if a London cabbie would have sussed out a different route. I remember reading about the training that London cabbies go through in order to earn the right to drive a cab. It's called "The Knowledge" and only the most determined can achieve it.

At any rate, we got to the station with about 5 minutes to spare before the train departed. We found our seats and settled in for the trip to Ipswich where we would change trains.

Two years ago when we were coming to England and planning to travel around the country quite a lot, I found a site called Trainline which helps you find what is usually the cheapest and most direct service. Through them, I bought a "Two Together" Railcard. It has served us very well over the last two years. Three quarters of the way into the trip the conductor came around to see our e-tickets. No problem. Then she asked to see our Railcard. I was a bit non-plussed, as there is no actual physical railcard. I looked on the app but didn't know where to find it. The conductor said she'd come back. I got out my laptop, trying not to panic, went to the Trainline website, found the railcard and waited for her return. Curiously, I found two railcards listed, but figured that maybe one of them was from the first year and the second was the current year. Back came the conductor. I showed her the railcard. "Right," she said, "I need to see the expiration date." I opened the card. It said 'valid 8/11/23'. Now, I know I have a valid railcard, so why was I panicking? I opened the second and saw 'valid to 10/8/24'. "Right. Thank you," said the conductor and off she went. It was the first time in two years that any conductor had asked to see our Railcard. It's a pretty straight-forward thing, but I felt 'guilty until proven innocent' throughout. I was left wondering if that was the residue of my "goody two-shoes" upbringing.

Anyway, we changed at Ipswich, and when this conductor came up to see our tickets, I had Railcard at the ready which, of course, he didn't ask to see. We arrived at Felixstowe, walked the 5 minutes to our house sit and met Nene, our charge for the week out front. He purred and let us pet him and I felt altogether better. He didn't ask to see our Railcard, by the way.

23 May

Awoke to overcast skies and chilly temperatures, but we decided to explore Felixstowe and the seaside anyway. The main part of town is a pedestrian area closed to traffic.

There are the usual high street shops, several charity shops and a couple of shops selling antiques and collectibles. It looks like it has seen better days, but who amongst us hasn't? We walked down to the seafront walkway passing all the usual things you sea at the seaside: stores selling buckets & spades, candy, and cheap souvenirs, lots of fast food stands and those quintessentially British structures, the beach huts. I don't think there's really any American equivalent.

On Felixstowe Pier there's a restaurant which we might visit for lunch if the sun ever comes out. There's also a huge games arcade and a stand selling coffee, hot donuts and Cornwell-made ice cream. Of course, I had to have a cone, since they carried honeycomb flavor. It may have only been 58 degrees out (14C) but weather be damned, I'm having my Cornish ice cream!

After a quick stop for lunch (life is short, eat dessert first) we walked in the other direction, passing through the Felixstowe Seafront Gardens. It is also called the Heritage Trail - Pram Walk named as such for its use as a route for pushing prams (baby carriages). It sits below the South Beach Mansion which once included the area within its grounds. In 1891, the German Kaiser and his wife stayed there with Queen Victoria & Prince Albert. It is said that the Kaiser and the Price rode along the beach on Donkeys. I would have paid money to see that. (Anti-royalists might have called the scene "Two asses on two asses.")

At any rate, in 2003 the gardens were included by English Heritage on the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. Restoration work on them was completed in 2015.

On the way back to town I passed this rather grand looking building, Harvest House.

I looked it up and it turns out that it's a retirement housing complex built in 1985. I would never have guessed that, but it helps account for the fact that most of the people I saw out and about were rather elderly.

On the way back to the flat I bought some wonderful local cheese: Baron Bigod from Fen Farm Dairy in Suffolk. It has the appearance and consistency of brie and a wonderful flavor. Nom nom!