Italian Odyssey - 2

Leaving Dubai proved harder than we anticipated. Our 5.00am pick up was on time, though the doorman had to wake him up as he was asleep in his car! The airport was surprisingly busy for such an early start, and when we saw our flight was going to be 30 minutes late we were not overly concerned, However when we were on board and we were advised that 9 passengers who had checked in, had decided not to travel, there was a big delay, as we all had to wait while they found and off loaded all their baggage. Bastards!!!!! We were now very late, and that meant consequences for us with our train connections at Gatwick.

We turned on our phone on arrival at Gatwick, and friend Jim was already on the case. We knew we would have tight connections, and Jim was texting us revised connections for trains. We had to get from Gatwick to Victoria Station, then transfer to the tube for a train to Euston Station, then a race across to the intercity train for Wilmslow. It was a circus!! We raced onto the platform for the train to Victoria as the "Stand Clear" was being yelled. I jammed open the train door with my case and told Carol to get on while the guard was having a coronary. We were on the train! We got to Victoria with Jim texting us directions and times. We knew we had no time to queue for tube tickets so just pushed through as gates opened! We finally got to Euston, but knew we would never make our Wilmslow train. Thankfully, the Virgin Train's staff were fantastic, and we were put onto the next train at no cost, even though our ticket was " no changes, no refunds". We were so glad to see Jim's smiling face at Wilmslow station.

What a lovely few days we had with Jim, Joan and their family. Talk about being spoilt! Saturday, we were off to daughter Lizzie's place for a fantastic lunch. Lizzie had stayed with us in Balmain, and now we got to meet her partner Rob and lovely little daughter Emma. It was the nicest day with wonderful food, and lots of wine. We were not even worried about the weather, which was cold and wet. Sunday Jim had arranged a lunch at a local restaurant with his son Stephen and his partner Mary, plus grandson James. The restaurant was Lebanese, and excellent. It was BYO, and the wine just flowed. The last time we had seen Stephen he was a teenage boy, now we were lunching with him and his 24 year old son!! It was such a great day all round. Monday, the weather Jim had been promising arrived, albeit just for a day. It was a Bank Holiday. We took a lovely drive up into the Peak District, with amazing scenery at every turn. The quaint villages and green fields were just beautiful, and being spring, the blossom trees were in full bloom. We finished up in Buxton, where there was a huge Fair, with stalls and music and hordes of people. There were even Morris Dancers!! For those not familiar with Morris Dancers, these are grown men who dress up in colourful clothes with straw hats full of flowers, and bells strapped to their legs. They prance around waving hankies and banging sticks. It is classic John Cleese and the Ministry of Funny Walks!!!!

The drive home was equally spectacular, stopping at a reservoir for a walk around the lake. There were people everywhere, out for picnics and walks. The day finished with a BBQ where all the family came around to Jim & Joan's. So much lovely food and wine and beer. A perfect end to our long weekend. We had been thoroughly spoilt all long weekend. Tuesday dawned wet and windy. Our time in Wilmslow was at an end. After a lazy breakfast we were off to the station, and this time it was all very leisurely, as we boarded our fast train to London, ever so glad that we had time to catch up with friends we have not seen for far too long. We cannot thank Jim & Joan enough for their wonderful hospitality, and the opportunity to spend such lovely time with them and their family.